《Chosen [Gift]》 Prologue There was a book. A lovely book. The only book. I worshipped that book. I lived for it. My mind revolved around every little event, every hour of the day. It Was My Addiction. The first time I read it I was immediately hooked. I would focus on it for hours, sitting, lying down, standing up, any position that allowed me to keep my eyes on it. It didn¡¯t matter what I had to do, the book came first. I spent days not even talking to people if I could help it, all for the sake of absorbing more. I would laugh, I would cry, I would loathe and love. Every little emotion that I might have missed over the years, or thought that maybe I knew was finally real as I read. Nothing had ever reached or touched me like how this one small collection of pages was. Then the unthinkable happened. I made it to the end. The only word I could describe myself as in that moment was ¡®lost¡¯. I don¡¯t think I even felt sad, just¡­lonely? I felt like someone I loved just died, honestly. In a way, I was mourning. I even came close to crying thinking about how there was nothing I could do to change how things were. Depression clouded everything I did for about a week, and I could barely function. What¡¯s worse is I just instinctively knew that there¡¯d be nothing more. No more books, no more stories, no more fun and interesting arcs, everything I lived for for the past week and a half just...ended. And me, I felt like a part of me ended with it. Yes. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Yeah, that¡¯s right. Yeah. Yeah, a part of me did die. And I¡¯ll never ever get it back. And yet, with that sacrificed part of me, a ghoulish obsession started to grow. You could call it desperation, really. You see, after being in shock for those sad, lonely days I had a realization. If I wanted to get that piece of myself back, and if I couldn¡¯t get something new, then why don¡¯t I just go back to my beloved old. If all I have to do to resurrect myself and become whole once again is reread this one, beautiful book, then really how bad are things anyways? In fact, isn¡¯t that just great? Yeah, it¡¯s great. And so I read and read and read my little heart out. I lived it, I breathed it, I dreamed it. I felt the ups, the downs, I sympathized, I raged. Happy, sad, mad. My life was the book yet again. And yet, I still couldn¡¯t get the same feelings and high as I did the first time. There was a small empty feeling all the while¡­but even that could be replaced, at least a little bit. My mind was filled to the brim with theories and repeated remembered phrases that just wouldn¡¯t leave, and my obsession grew with every read. And, of course, in my obsession new nuances were brought to the surface, epiphanies that I never even could have grasped the first few times the words graced my eyes, and I¡­ my mind couldn¡¯t take the realization. Ignorance is bliss, and what¡¯s been noticed cannot really be unnoticed. Newfound injustices, newfound horrors, newfound atrocities being revealed and repeated, thrown into my face again and again. How could I not have seen? Weren¡¯t they obvious from the beginning? Why wouldn¡¯t they have been? Why didn¡¯t I care about these things before? The things I loved were all being warped and molested, laid bare to show me what I desperately didn¡¯t want. And so- Against my wishes- Against all wants- I had to see it. I had to. And so I¡¯d read. And read. And get angrier. And angrier. Yes. Yes¡­ Ignorance was bliss. They¡¯d hurt him so much. My favorite. And they¡¯d hurt him. The unfairness. The suffering. But I can¡¯t stop. I need this. This story is me now. It¡¯s a part of me now. So I¡¯d just keep reading. And rereading. And regretting. And hoping. And wishing. And noticing. And dying a little inside. And then the end came. Only¡­ this time it was both me and the book. Chapter One It was warm¡­no, it was cold? So warm that it was cold? So cold that it was warm? And is it dark right now? Or maybe it¡¯s light? Everything is too loud, but I can¡¯t hear anything. All my senses are just failing me, aren¡¯t they. Alright then, I guess I just wait if everything is just going to lie to me like this. Waiting was apparently the right idea. After some time had passed a voice decided to finally spook me. Or maybe grace me? Maybe it was showing me some mercy after I just floated there in abstraction and confusion for so long. But mercy is a very relative thing, isn¡¯t it, because this form of ¡®mercy¡¯ felt absolutely flattening. Every new word felt shoved into my mind like it wanted to topple me. Every sentence was a wave. Every notion was a hammer to nail me into my place. I flinched. I was dizzy. I almost felt seasick from my own rocking. Was that a man? Was it a woman? Where were they? Were they anywhere? Maybe a projection? Of course nothing in this stupid room would give me any indication of anything. How annoying. I made a face. A very pouty face. I was¡­rotated? I was even forced to sit, although I felt like I was sitting in outer space, so like, did it even freaking matter if I was put into place? Was I even facing the right direction? Did any of this even change anything? My face was obviously still peeved, although maybe more of a confused peeved. Okay let¡¯s be honest I didn¡¯t even think of doing that in this stupid forsaken place I was in. For all I know with how the rest of this crap was going I¡¯d try to talk and nothing would come out. Or maybe it¡¯d like, somehow, idunno, only talk inside of me or something? Like backwards? I didn¡¯t need to get more frustrated than I already was, ya know? But, yeah, fuck it. We can play the stupid androgenous voice¡¯s game. ¡°Yeah, ok. Hi. What the fuck?¡± How do you even fucking steal someone? Did they mean kidnapping? ¡°Did you take me off the street or something? Sounds like it with your creepy choice of words. Am I in your dungeon or garage or whatever in some sensory deprivation tank or something dumb like that? What was even so interesting about me?!¡± I felt something touch me, jostle me, and yet it was so soft against my skin and so deliciously warm that I could really feel the affection from it. The caresses just wouldn¡¯t stop, almost lapping against me like waves, even as I was told all this ridiculous bullshit. Even if I tried to flail and push against whatever was touching me, nothing at all was there, and I just couldn¡¯t connect. Another thing to chalk up to this dumb room I guess. ¡°Yeah, alright, whatever, we¡¯ve entered into your little fantasy kingdom, great. So how am I supposed to have ¡®died¡¯ in this little skit we¡¯re acting out?¡± I felt something¡­ and then nothing. Was I worried before? Why had I said that? Why did I even ask? I opened my mouth to start asking what just happened, and then I just¡­closed it. Was I even about to say something? I guess not, huh. Okay then. You could practically feel the shrug at the end of their sentence. Why did it all feel so evil to hear? Did something actually¡­ Oh well, that¡¯s ok, what was I thinking about before? Oh yeah right. ¡°So why do you like me so much, like you keep saying?¡± Yeah ok, the voice wasn¡¯t, like, wrong or anything. If I was in the same shoes then hell yeah I¡¯d wanna have a meeting with that person, maybe pick their brain a bit about a few things. Is that what was happening? My mind was still a little fuzzy. What was the book¡¯s name? They¡¯re right, I read it so many times, but why can¡¯t I remember how much? But¡­yeah, like¡­ I did indeed love that book. ¡°It was my everything. It was so fun¡­ that in a way it was my world. In my mind I lived in it.¡± The waves picked up frequency against me. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. I could feel myself getting angry, and at first I couldn¡¯t understand why. It took a few teeth clenching moments of enraged confusion before I started to feel something almost loosening around me. Then the words just kind of burst out of me like they couldn¡¯t possibly be held back anymore. ¡°But WHY? What wonderful and amazing fantasy world would just have a god that randomly decided to exclude people like that? What were you possibly thinking writing that poor little child into getting abused and thrown away at only 7? You tortured him for his whole freaking life for WHAT?! Just a stupid plotline?!¡± The waves stopped. I could almost feel the voice flinch. ¡°I don¡¯t care if it made an interesting story, I can¡¯t stand having to have read such an awful life happening to a little kid. If that story was my everything like I told you, then how do you expect me to just be ok with such abuse? He didn¡¯t deserve any of it, just like all the other people your silly deity in the book neglected didn¡¯t.¡± I could feel myself starting to cry, and my nose getting stuffy. It felt like a scabbed over wound had been ripped open afresh. Part of me even felt embarrassed and stupid for lashing out like how I was over just a book, but dammit! This was finally my chance to ask those questions that¡¯d been plaguing me for so damn long! The waves started gently lapping again, although this time slower, and with less heat. Something about the way the voice was discussing all of this felt both like it didn¡¯t care at all about the subject, and that it thought I¡¯d immediately understand if it explained itself like this. It even sounded a little condescending, like it thought I should have known all of this by now. All things considered, I was still very infuriated with its attitude, although my feelings halted a bit once I realized that all my tears and stuffiness were gone all of a sudden, almost as if the waves that had been hitting me had stolen them away. The voice could tell I wasn¡¯t fully over the subject. It almost seemed desperate to win back my opinion of it. What an uncaring person. What a stupid excuse. Didn¡¯t the voice make everything? Couldn¡¯t they have fixed it too?! The look on my face must have been all too obvious to decipher, and the voice rushed to calm me down. Something seemed to be suddenly pulling me in, closer and closer towards a brighter, hotter, heavier, and even louder spot in this vast expanse. I blinked for a while and ran the speech that had been thrust at me through my head a few times to make sure I was understanding everything correctly. I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t getting more and more excited by the second every time I reconfirmed what I¡¯d just heard. I was practically vibrating by the time I replied. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Are you sure? You¡¯re ok with me changing whatever I want? Really?¡± If I had the ability to jump for joy in this stupid place I of course would have by now. Instead, all I could manage was a vague flapping of my arms and a tilt of my floating body. At least the silly little noises of elation I was making could show off how crazy happy I was. The voice was chuckling at my antics, although I could barely even notice the sound under all the hooting and hollering that I¡¯d been doing, but the next thing it said stopped my revelry immediately. I wasn¡¯t even given a chance to really try and understand what state I must have been in, or even to reply, before I felt a weird crunch. It almost felt like the world was just removed from existence in the exact spot that I¡¯d been floating in. I couldn¡¯t see for a couple of seconds and I panicked pretty hard, but then I could see just fine, maybe even better! The voice that I could barely pinpoint before seemed to now have a definite center, at the very least. The brightness was even cranked up a notch from what it was before, although somehow it didn¡¯t hurt my eyes, and as I brought a hand up to my face to try and shade my eyes for a better view, I stopped midway in astonishment. That hand. That wasn¡¯t my hand at all. I was in control of it, but my hands were never this sleek, nor had I ever painted my nails this shade of red. With even further amazement I found that my new hand was attached to an arm that was wearing a pure white robe with golden accents. Furthermore, I could tell that all of my body was different than before under that almost angelic looking robe. I couldn¡¯t help patting myself down and feeling myself up through the cloth to check that all of this was even real. Do I feel different? Was it not just my hands? I¡¯m curvier for sure but I feel more¡­in shape? Maybe even stronger. At least more well put together. As I mused over my new peaks and valleys, flatness and curves, my slow bending brushed my new hair into my face. I hadn¡¯t noticed earlier because it was considerably shorter than it had been before, but even my hair was different. Instead of the long wavy brown hair I¡¯d had just a moment before, what I could see of my hair was now¡­ red? It seemed to start out straight and maybe a platinum colour at the top before suddenly becoming rough and curly at the ends, stopping at my neck. The ends were an oddly rusty red colour that I¡¯d caught out of the corner of my eye, and to even add to the effect they seemed to be constantly dripping a bloody substance on my robe with every move I made, dying it with the droplets and then seeming to just fade away only moments later. In my wiggles and efforts to see myself I felt a weird tugging on my back, almost as if some small thing behind me was catching on the sudden wafts of air. In my old body I¡¯d never been that flexible, and this new one didn¡¯t seem to suddenly have that talent either, because despite all attempts made, I couldn¡¯t seem to reach back and grab whatever it was that was making me feel those odd new sensations. The voice¡­The light maybe I should call it now? Whatever, the voice had decided that I¡¯d had long enough to get acclimated, and started up talking again. I of course had a thousand questions at the tip of my tongue trying to bubble out, but the voice seemed to be having none of it at the moment, and kept talking. There was a sudden sensation of something sucking and tugging at my mind, of folders getting flipped and rifled through at top speeds, of ripping and tearing of paper, of many things evaporating. It seemed the voice was making many removals and I was just forced to let it make whatever arbitrary decisions about what I¡¯d need to remember as it pleased. That time I wet myself at the sleepover? Gone. My school career? Poof. The faces of my friends and family? Might as well have never even existed. Other people¡¯s names? What other people. My own name apparently didn¡¯t even make the cut. Seems I wasn¡¯t that person anymore anyways, so I suppose there was an argument to make there. My basic core was still the same though, especially my feelings and perspective. My memory was especially clear when it came to anything to do with my beloved book; The story seemed almost engraved upon my brain. The voice was clearly pleased with itself, and let out a triumphant huff. The feeling of it placing its hands on its hips in victory was not lost upon me. Honestly, I was surprised I didn¡¯t even feel mad about strips and strands of myself being cut away. Chapter Two The world of Enradica was a vast and pious place. The people were all filled with purpose and drive, along with a good dose of belief. It would be hard not to believe, when every single person on the planet had been touched by the God-dess itself. No matter where they existed on this wide stretch of earth, everyone lived with a confidence that when they grew to the age of 7, they would be blessed by the hand of the God-dess with a [Gift] of their very own. It was always a momentous occasion, something that every child, and even everyone who knew them, would look forward to and celebrate. The first major milestone in anyone''s life. A gigantic, defining moment. Who you¡¯d be was decided here. In this particular country of Odessia, it wasn¡¯t uncommon for someone of humble birth to reach the age of 7, go to the church to have their [Gift] divined, and have been given such an amazing [Gift] that they were told they¡¯d be promoted to a noble upon their 16th birthday. It was that big of a deal. It was also possible that the [Gift] you had received would be perceived as a [Curse], and that your life would be forevermore ruined and terrible, but that¡¯s just the gamble that one had to accept. There was some overlap with [Gifts] of course, as is bound to happen when there¡¯s billions of people roaming around. It was entirely possible that what would seem like the same [Gift] was actually a slightly weaker or stronger version. Perhaps one person receives [Good Strength], and the other person receives [Great Strength]. Clearly one is superior to the other. The decision of whether a [Gift] was high tier enough to be a noble was completely up to the church¡¯s discretion, however. Having no king and being a theocracy, the pope was the highest authority in the land. Of course, to become the pope, the only qualification was for one to simply be given the [Gift] of [Pope]. In such a country where a simple whim of the God-dess could change one¡¯s social standing in a single birthday, there would understandably be some who drew the short end of the stick. A noble title was not passed down through family here, so a child¡¯s nobility was only achieved by themselves. However, there was the belief that a [Gift] could be hereditary, and many nobles would marry only each other in the hopes that their children could possibly take after one of them. It¡¯s not like there wasn¡¯t a prior precedent, which made many hopeful, although there was every possibility that a long line of, say, [Earth Mages] could be suddenly interrupted by a [Carpenter]. Typically in the case of a noble family¡¯s lineage being interrupted there was the usual response of lying in wait, and hoping that the right to nobility had just skipped a generation, as was also deemed possible. Or, perhaps, they¡¯d just have more children, and therefore more chances. But, in typical cases, just having a ¡®lesser¡¯ [Gift] was not enough to deter the family from treating their children with at least some sense of care. There was, as always, an exception to the rule, always a chink in the chainmail of the system. Amongst the entire population, regardless of status or position, regardless of [Gift] or [Curse], there was one such existence that everyone loathed. The forsaken ¡®giftless¡¯ people. Of course those with a [Curse] were at least seen as pitiful, unlucky, or like they¡¯d made some kind of mistake towards the God-dess. But the ¡®giftless¡¯? In all minds they were the dirtiest of dirt. The greatest of sinners. They had drawn the God-dess¡¯s ire so deeply that she didn¡¯t even bother to give what she gave so freely to every other soul on the planet. The church told them so, so it must be true. In such a devout world, being a proven sinner was the worst thing you could be. Noth was one such ¡®giftless¡¯ sinner. Noth Kieran was only 7 when his life took a drastic change. He came from a nice noble family, an Earl¡¯s son, the lineage of whom had been going strong for a long long time. The family had been predominantly Greater to Superior [Warriors], and were darn proud of it. Noth¡¯s mother was a commoner from birth, but had later achieved a soft title of Baroness at 16 due to her [Gift]. Noth¡¯s father, a silent and serious man, had not given much time towards his son, seeming to not really care about the boy so long as he fulfilled his familial duties. In fact, the time spent together between the two was so little and far between that the child didn¡¯t even really know what colour his father¡¯s eyes were. All he knew was that the man was a beastly tall tower, and that his hair was the complete opposite of Noth¡¯s black. To counter the complete lack of love he got from his father, Noth¡¯s mother loved him deeply. The two spent every day together, doing any kind of fun activity they could think to do that day, and if ever something were to go wrong, Noth knew his mother would be there for him. Then the day came where something did indeed go wrong. Horrifically wrong. At Noth¡¯s much awaited 7th birthday, the whole residence was decorated to the nines. Every servant he passed by smiled, bowed, and wished him the best, and whenever this happened his mom would squeeze his little hand and beam down at him. He felt so stuffy and giddy and happy and nervous; He was just a little bundle of emotions. But overall, he was sure today was going to be an amazing day. He was sure he¡¯d finally be recognized by his aloof tower of a father on this day, and finally feel accepted instead of softly shunned. When the carriage he and his mother had been riding in made it to the church, his heart skipped a beat. This happened once again when he was helped out of the carriage, and even again when he walked through the entrance. His mother could feel his small body shaking and stopped them for a moment, taking him to the side of the walkway and crouching down so that she could see into his eyes. ¡°Noth. My lovely boy. Are you scared?¡± The way she patted his head after he shook his head and teared up a little did in fact help his shaking to subside, if only a little. ¡°My Noth, please, don¡¯t be worried. No matter what happens today or what [Gift] you¡¯re given, I will always love you. You could become, oh, a [Chimney Sweep] and I¡¯d still look at you with the same loving eyes that I do now. You¡¯ll always be my baby boy. Understand?¡± Noth had no choice after hearing that speech, no choice at all. There was only one thing he could do. He grossly sucked up all his snot like he was trying to even suck back in all the tears he leaked, scrubbed his little face, and gave his mother a determined look. With a pleased coo, his mother kissed the boy¡¯s forehead and sprung up, leading him back along the path. Even though Noth¡¯s little legs desperately wanted to shake, he did his utmost to stride along with the most confident steps he could muster. The priest awaiting them was nice. He would smile, Noth would smile, Noth¡¯s mom would smile. The priest even offered Noth some candy once they made it into the secluded divining room, making Noth certain that this must be a very good person. With his mother holding one of Noth¡¯s hands and the priest holding the other, the divining began. He was surprised there wasn¡¯t more pomp and circumstance beforehand, like he¡¯d thought there would be. No astronomically complicated ceremony that had to take place to summon up the God-dess¡¯s will and peek into what was given. In fact, part of him was a little disappointed that such a big day would be done so simply. It was warm for a moment, then cool. His heart felt a little different maybe, like it had changed from the previous way it used to beat into an entirely new routine. How odd. His little doe eyes that had been staring hard at the hand being held by the priest looked up to see if maybe this was a sign, and when he made eye contact with the priest he was immediately frightened. The priest was giving him the most murderous glare he¡¯d ever seen in his life. Sensing the sudden hostility, Noth¡¯s mom quickly snatched up her son and backed away, holding him tight and mustering up as commanding a tone as she could manage. ¡°What is the meaning of this? How dare you look at my son in such a way.¡± Without answering her, the priest reached down next to him and picked up a piece of parchment and a quill. He hurriedly scribbled something down and shoved the completed note towards the two, standing up abruptly and marching himself out without a word, not even waiting for either of them to so much as touch the parchment. Noth¡¯s mother, scared and baffled though she was, eventually tore her eyes away from the door the priest had left through, and picked up the note almost like she was afraid to even see what it said. When her eyes had finally wavered their way across what was written, she almost collapsed, catching herself at the last moment. The note, now uselessly fluttering to the ground, landed at Noth¡¯s feet, and this time it was his turn to pick it up. His fearful little eyes scanned the page, and not understanding why it had upset his mother so, he tugged on her dress, stood on his tippy toes, and waved the paper up at her. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Mama, what¡¯s [Choose Your Own Path]? Is it my [Gift]?¡± Swallowing a lump in her throat, Noth¡¯s mother sunk down and tightly hugged her son, tearing up at his adorable unknowing question. When he heard a small sob leak out of her mouth he pulled back, looking worriedly at her. The complete and utter desperation and distress on her face was a sight that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He was so stunned to see his loving and caring mother have such a foreign look on her face that he even stopped breathing for a few seconds. After a small while of letting the dismay sink into her in the small quiet room they were in, Noth¡¯s mother finally wiped her eyes and stood up with a purpose. She took the note from Noth and ripped it to shreds right in front of him, doing as thorough a job as she could so that no one would ever be able to make out what was once marked upon it. Then with the shreds tightly clenched in her hand, she led Noth out as quickly as she could and hustled them out of the church. He tried his best to keep up with her long, fast strides, sometimes stumbling a little as he was tugged along. Every priest they passed along the way seemed to have a look of dismissal and contempt on their face, although he hoped that he¡¯d just been imagining it all. Noth felt all but tossed into the carriage, followed quickly by his mother and a swift yell to take them both home. Still confused and worried, the quiet and sombre ride back to the estate did nothing to allay his fears. When they arrived back in front of the mansion, his mother picked him up and all but sprinted to a smaller villa that existed a bit of a ways behind it. There was a lovely attached greenhouse that almost made up half of the building, and it was full of trees and almost every kind of flower money could buy around these parts, cultivated expertly and beautifully. It was a wedding gift, given by Noth¡¯s father 8 years ago. This, of course, included the attached villa as well. It was meant to house Noth¡¯s commoner grandparents from his mother¡¯s side, but they¡¯d died only 2 years into his life, so he¡¯d never remembered them. Empty as it was, it was a perfect place to hide him for now. ¡°Noth, sweety, I need you to listen to me and do exactly as I say right now, okay?¡± The urgency in her voice made him look serious in an instant, his eyes as focused as they could be, his little hands balled into fists. ¡°I¡¯m going to go and do a few things. I may even have to have a talk with your father. No matter how long I¡¯m gone and no matter what happens I need you to stay in this greenhouse. You can even go into the villa and see if there¡¯s anything to eat and drink, but do not leave here unless I say it¡¯s ok. If someone tries to come and take you I need you to run and hide, alright?¡± Her words were scaring him, and his trembling came back. He could feel his little nails making marks and trying to cut his hands from how tightly he had them clenched. He was so confused and concerned, but the way his mother was looking at him allowed no resistance. He grimaced for a moment and tugged on her dress, choking out a quick question. ¡°...Are we gonna be ok?¡± His mother¡¯s stern face fell at that, and she scooped up both his little hands, brought them up to her face, and squeezed her eyes shut. ¡°Yeah¡­Yeah, I¡¯m gonna make sure we¡¯ll be just fine. I¡¯m your mother, I¡¯d never let anything bad happen to you. I love you. We¡¯re gonna make it through this. Trust me?¡± She stared into his eyes, smiled cheekily, and kissed both his hands. He nodded along, the look on his face ever so lightly being rewritten with determination not to let his mother down. Noth¡¯s mother reached out to ruffle his hair, but then paused. After a little moment of consideration, she pulled her prized blue bracelet off from her wrist and gingerly handed it to him. ¡°This¡¯ll be yours until I come back, so you have to keep it nice and safe for me, my love. I¡¯ll be sure to come back and retrieve my bracelet from you once all this is done.¡± Noth knew how special this bracelet was to his mother. The marbled, ring-like, blue tube was a family heirloom, passed down on his mother¡¯s side for generations, and she took very much pride in keeping it with her and safe at all times. If he had the bracelet there¡¯s no way his mom wouldn¡¯t keep it safe, and by extension, he was also sure to be safe. He hugged the bracelet to his chest and bowed to his mother in an approximation of what he¡¯d seen the knights do. She gave him a sad little smile and hugged him close, before standing up tall and strong and leaving with a determined stride. An hour passed, and child that Noth was, he was feeling a little hungry and increasingly drowsy from boredom. He made his way into the villa and checked through the cupboards. The building was well maintained and cleaned as an homage to his mother¡¯s parents, but it wasn¡¯t particularly well stocked, since it was rare for the building to actually have any visitors. He¡¯d managed to find some crackers in a small paper wrapping, probably forgotten by some maid at a tea time long past, and ate a few of those as he sat at a table in the kitchen and fiddled with the bracelet his mother had left with him. The waiting was weighing on him greatly, and with nothing too terribly entertaining to do, another hour later he fell asleep, his head resting in his arms on the table. A sudden bang woke the child up, and as he jumped and looked left and right, he could hear a commotion coming from the greenhouse through the doorway. He leapt up from his chair and quietly made his way to the doorway, peaking through the crack at the scene beyond. His mother and father were both in the greenhouse, yelling at each other, and the entire image felt incredibly threatening to Noth. He could hear his name being mentioned a few times, and curiosity won over his fear, convincing him to sneak closer and closer towards them until he could discern their words much better. ¡°No child of mine would be born a sinner without a [Gift]! How could you bring such a disgrace back home to me?!¡± ¡°Just because he was forsaken doesn¡¯t make Noth any less your son!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say his name around me right now. For all I can tell he might not even be my son! He takes after you far too much, how would I be able to tell, Natalia?¡± ¡°WHAT?! You would dare consider such a thing about me? To suspect my virtue, all because you can¡¯t accept your own blood over something so trivial! How weak of you!¡± A sudden slap rang out, and the sound of a slender body slumping onto the floor followed. Noth¡¯s father practically growled out his reply. ¡°I will not have such blasphemous words spoken on my property. Sinners are anything but trivial, and I refuse to accept such a thing into my own family. They warned me about taking in a wife from such humble origins, they told me to find a much higher ranked noble to link myself with, someone who matched my prestige. I should have listened to their words. I should have known better than to choose some random tramp from off the street, regardless of whatever [Gift] you¡¯d been graced with.¡± His hand¡¯s grip on his sword was gaining more and more strength, statement by statement. Meanwhile, Noth¡¯s mother¡¯s glare was increasing just as steadily. Both of them had the most contemptuous faces that Noth had ever seen from them. He wanted to run over to them and convince them to stop this awful fight they were having right this instant, but his little legs refused to move. All he could do was watch on with horror. His mother was the one to break the silence of their glare-fight. ¡°Fine. If you think so poorly of me and our son, then we don¡¯t need someone as disappointing and heartless as you. My son certainly doesn¡¯t need this kind of neglectful and hateful father, nor do I need that kind of husband.¡± Apparently this wasn¡¯t the right answer, because even as she slowly stood up and made her way away from him while holding her throbbing cheek, Noth¡¯s father was gnashing his teeth with fury. The next thing she said was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I was such a fool not to see how unworth it all you were, Ruth.¡± There was a loud but brief ringing sound that usually accompanied rapid unsheathing. Noth sprang up. His mother turned. There was a slash. A splash of blood. Her head and hand fell o f f. Chapter Three Noth stood there like a statue and stared on in terror. The sight seemed like it was carving itself into his eyes. The body that used to be his mother was now red, and wet, and¡­apart. Her hand had managed to stay nearby, but her head had tumbled and rolled and somehow landed a small ways away from the rest. His mouth tried to force out a scream unbidden, but all the noise his small figure could make was just a high pitch, desperate sob, almost sounding like a sudden weight had come to crush the air out of him. His little legs wobbled with the sudden force of his despair, and in but moments he came crashing down to his knees on the hard floor. He couldn¡¯t even register the feeling of it. The only thing he could feel was the pain twisting in his heart. Noth¡¯s father stood there, his now cold facade belying his true cocktail of emotions. It didn¡¯t even look like his eyes were focused on any one thing, or that he¡¯d even cared that his son had seen it all. Even when Noth started making little wheezing sounds in his panic, his father just silently left the greenhouse. Only the Earl himself could have ever noticed the way his lips started to tremble as he stepped through the door. It felt like Noth¡¯s heart was stopping and starting, repeatedly. He couldn¡¯t breathe. His hands and feet felt nothing but cold. All he could hear was his own arrhythmic heart. His vision was swimming. He was sweating and turning colours. And finally, after what felt like ages, Noth couldn¡¯t take it anymore, his little child body crumpled slowly to the ground as his consciousness left. Time passed, feeling both long and short, not caring about the goings on of the world. The cobblestone floor was cold, and the poor boy was woken up by his shivers. He curled up his little body and squeezed his pounding head, the fuzziness that pervaded his mind not letting him even attempt to think just yet. Eventually the pain subsided enough that he could lift his aching muscles up, just enough for him to glance around the barely lit greenhouse. His eyes unsurprisingly landed on his mother¡¯s corpse quickly. Noth started to half crawl, half drag himself over towards her, and along the way he felt his hand grab something. When he lifted it up a little to get a better view of it in the dark, he realized he was holding a hand. Her hand. His mother¡¯s hand. Noth¡¯s already dim eyes went blank. He moved as if on autopilot, bringing the severed hand along to what he identified in the darkness as the bulk of his mother¡¯s body, and did his best to place the hand against the stump where it belonged. The way it kept flopping and falling off, instead of just simply sticking on to the spot where he was pressing it against, brought an even deeper frown to his face than he was already wearing. He stared blankly for a small while at the hand laying uselessly next to where he¡¯d tried so many times to place it back on, and then decided to look for the head instead. It had become light outside by the time he finally found his mother¡¯s head. It had rolled itself under a bush, and had been partially covered by the leaves near the roots. During his long span of searching, Noth had gathered back enough of his strength to fight off the ache in his body and walk. This allowed him to hug his poor mother¡¯s head as he toddled his way back, crouching down and gingerly placing her head roughly about where it should have been positioned. The little boy stayed crouched there for a while. His eyes swept over all her various parts, and the places they¡¯d been cut. Of course, he knew what death was by now. There was no lack of peasants and animals dead along the roadways and streets. There was also the one poor occasion where a cat his mother had been keeping had captured and killed a bird right in front of him when he was 5, but just like when he saw any of those other corpses, his mother had swiftly covered his eyes just like any of the other times, and told him that he shouldn¡¯t see such things. Now there was no one here to shield his eyes. No mother to make him look away. So, like any overly curious child, he looked. The morbid curiosity of a naturally curious person called to him. He patted her in the various places that had visibly turned pale, and realized it had all turned cold and stiff. He tried rubbing his hands together for warmth, and placing them on her arm, seeing if he could possibly warm her up a little, but that didn¡¯t seem to work. During his staring and prodding he¡¯d gotten a bit better glimpse of the gory details of her severing, and it turned his stomach in a way he wasn¡¯t quite sure he¡¯d ever exactly felt before. It was bothering him a terribly large amount. Even when he looked away, the scene of his mother getting slashed would just flash through his mind, ending with the severed stumps that he¡¯d just been observing. At some point while he¡¯d grabbed his tummy to try to hold back the sickness, he¡¯d managed to rub a little bit of dried blood from his hands onto his shirt, and seeing the splash had given him a small hopeful idea. On the rare moments when he¡¯d manage to somehow cut or scrape himself, the family doctor would bandage up his wounds, and then they¡¯d get all better. Perhaps, maybe, if he did the same now, his mother could also get better. At the very least it would help him to keep all her parts together where they should be. Noth stood up and searched around the greenhouse and the connected villa for something he could possibly use as bandages. Many cloth items he came across could have possibly done the job, but they¡¯d all need to be modified to become the size he needed, and his small child hands couldn¡¯t quite do the job themselves. Eventually in his search he discovered some garden shears, and realized that he could use the gigantic scissors to cut the cloth to size. He took a thin sheet off of a bed and started to cut strips out of it. They were a little wobbly and uneven, but Noth decided that they were the best he could do right now, and quickly hurried back down to his mother. He was in the middle of trying to position and wrap his mother¡¯s hand back on when someone burst into the greenhouse. Noth heard several footsteps coming towards him, and looked up at the intruders when they stopped just short of where he was kneeling. He recognized them all as servants of the estate, but he didn¡¯t recognize at all the looks on their faces. When he would pass by them before, they¡¯d all look his way with pleasant smiles, waves, possibly even respect. Now, nothing but scorn and annoyance decorated all of their faces. They especially looked disgusted at what he¡¯d been in the middle of doing. Noth quickly dropped everything and put his hands behind his back, looking away like he¡¯d been caught. The servants couldn¡¯t keep the indignant tones out of their voices. ¡°What¡¯s this have-not doing around here?¡± ¡°The lord didn¡¯t mention we¡¯d have to deal with him, too.¡± ¡°No no no boys, that wasn¡¯t at all in the job description. We were only told to bring back the lady¡¯s body, not to capture this little mistake as well.¡± ¡°Good, don¡¯t want to have to touch the little failure. Might catch something.¡± Their sneering done, the three men set to work, two of them lifting up the rigid body, while the last one picked up the head and hand. As they started to take away his mother¡¯s body, Noth sprang up in concern and tried to chase after them. ¡°Where are you taking my mom?¡± He tried to grab on to the last man¡¯s vest, but a sudden kick to his torso launched him back, knocking the wind from him. With a noise of blatant revulsion and the dirtiest glare, the man slammed the door behind him. Time passed once again, this time much, much longer. Noth faced 2 years secluded like a beast in a cage inside the villa. His father had placed guards outside the building to make sure that he couldn¡¯t go anywhere. A servant would come every few days to give him the bare minimum and foulest of leftovers. Everyone refused to talk to him. He could feel how indignant they all seemed to feel about his very existence. He could hear random pairings of people gossiping sometimes. Maybe it would be news of the earldom, like how the lord had been searching for a new wife after the previous one had horribly died of illness, the same illness that was now plaguing his only heir. Maybe it would be news of the estate, like new servants being brought in to replace old ones that had come over with the now deceased lady. Maybe it would be about the terrible beast they¡¯d been begrudgingly tasked to keep locked away, or a ghost that needed appeasing. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Just like how he¡¯d been locked up in the greenhouse/villa, it meant that other people hadn¡¯t really come in to take care of the place either in the past 2 years. What used to be a well kept greenhouse now had broken glass panes, weeds in abundance, and layers of decaying leaves and flowers caked all over the floor. The cozy and polished villa was now full of creaking if not cracked floorboards, rat holes, drafts, dirty rugs and sheets, layered on dust, and complete darkness at night. Honestly, if Noth had been told the place was haunted, he¡¯d have believed every word of it from the sheer ambiance alone, so he could easily understand how the rumours of the existence of a ghost came about. The large visible bloodstains on the floor of the greenhouse did him no favours with the beast rumours either. He¡¯d heard enough words of hatred and displeasure thrown both in his face and behind his back to finally grasp why everyone had suddenly turned against him. It had in fact everything to do with his [Gift]. To everyone out there, it was seen as a sign that the God-dess that everyone loved, the merciful, caring, loving God-dess who shined their light on all, loathed him. No one wanted to be hated by an almighty being, especially not one beloved by all, so they wouldn¡¯t take some odd small chance that such hatred could somehow fall upon them. They were afraid that, just like these most hated of people, they would have their precious [Gifts] taken away, and be left with nothing. Noth couldn¡¯t really understand why people believed he didn¡¯t have a [Gift]. Didn¡¯t the priest they¡¯d met write one down? [Choose Your Own Path] might not have sounded as concrete as maybe being a [Painter], but surely it was a [Gift] too, right? It¡¯s not as if they¡¯d shown up to the church and the priest had declared his [Gift] was [Nothing!]. At the same time, though, he hadn¡¯t really changed at all since he¡¯d turned 7, unlike all the other stories he¡¯d heard about people receiving their new purpose. He hadn¡¯t all of a sudden become stronger or faster, nor had he miraculously picked up a proficiency in some new skill. He¡¯d perceived no indication of any kind of change. Maybe that¡¯s why they viewed him as different. If anyone had to ever interact with him they followed a few set patterns, he¡¯d found. Some would act fearful, like they had really been convinced that some horrific beast had been kept on the premises. These ones would try to open the door as sneakily as possible, drop whatever food they¡¯d come to deliver and a bucket of water, and run away as fast as they could. Then there were the people who knew exactly who and what he was. These were the ones who simply did as they were told, although their every movement was full of distaste at the thought of being anywhere nearby him. If they caught a glimpse of him during their brief opening of the door, they¡¯d level a look of pure contempt at him that made him feel much less than human. He¡¯d try to not be visible when they dropped by for just such a reason, but he was also compelled to stick around nearby the door because these same people were the ones most likely to gossip outside with the guards afterwards. Yes, the gossip may have mostly been the bad things they had to say about him, but for a child starving for human interaction, it was one of the few things he had for entertainment and information about the outside world. Of course, there was the last group of people, the worst pattern Noth had seen. Most people were afraid to be in the room with him, let alone touch him. However, sometimes some of the more violent servants that were sent to deliver food to him would get some ideas. It had started out with simple bullying, calling him names, perhaps stomping his food or being a little rough with him. They were fearless in that regard. But there were maybe 2 or so of them that had decided that it was fair game to beat him and teach him what his place should be if they could catch him. They would sometimes suddenly replace whoever was scheduled at the time just to get the chance, and without knowing for sure who was going to be delivering his food for the day, it was always a gamble if he¡¯d manage to escape the especially awful ones in time. Today he was fairly certain one of the particularly loud gossips should be stopping by to deliver his putrid slop. This one liked to go on and on, and he always found the silly little interpersonal dramas she¡¯d regale to the knights funny and interesting. It was one of the few joys he had that helped him keep hold of his mind. He crept into the greenhouse and stayed near the back, taking extra care to hide himself behind a withered tree, one positioned in a spot where he could peek out of and see the door with minimal other plants obscuring his sight. He had to try his best not to slip up and ruin her mood by letting her spot him, otherwise her gossip might be too filled with made up fables about him and his mother instead of her typical dramas. His internal clock was telling him that any moment it would be time, and soon his ears were greeted by the creaking of the greenhouse''s door hinges. After holding his breath and listening as hard as he could to the thunking sounds of objects being placed, he heard the woman finally close the door and walk away. Noth scampered across the leaf strewn floor as swiftly as he could, trying his best to not crunch them too loudly, and sat his small body underneath a broken glass pane by the door. He could just barely make out the sounds of the woman whispering to the knight. She wasn¡¯t very good at being quiet however, and her whispers steadily rose into more of a hushed tone, one much more audible to Noth¡¯s ears. ¡°-and he¡¯s been muttering to himself a lot more lately. You know he¡¯s been trying to find a new wife, but the stories of him still having his first heir- even if it is a sickly and dying one- are still keeping a lot of the better marriage candidates away. Someone once said they heard him considering if it¡¯s time to just put the little thing out of its misery, and I think we all know who he means. Seems if we¡¯re lucky we¡¯ll be rid of a particularly bad nuisance soon.¡± The excitement in her voice was about as high as the sudden pang of fear Noth felt upon hearing this news. His father was finally going to get rid of him, just like he had done to Noth¡¯s mother. His heart started beating a mile a minute, and he rushed away towards his room, no longer caring to hear what other idle gossip the woman might have said next. He ran through doors, down halls, and up stairs, panting all the way, until he managed to launch himself into his room. The ratty furniture and blowing curtains greeted him. He flopped down onto what he considered his bed, consisting of random curtains and cloths he¡¯d managed to scrounge together from the villa on top of a mattress he¡¯d had to drag off of a collapsed bed frame. Noth could barely breathe, he was so scared. He panted and wheezed, trying to force his contracting lungs to take in air. His heartbeat was ringing in his ears, and the lack of air was starting to make him light headed. The brief thought that he was going to pass out again just like he did on that day was almost sickening to him. It was like a confirmation to him, in a way, that nothing had changed, nor was it going to, from the time that his mother had been killed. It was just that he was getting the fainting out of the way before the death, in this instance. A loud thunk from somewhere nearby broke him out of his thoughts and panic, just long enough for him to take a deep gasping breath in surprise and shoot up into a sitting position. Somehow all his shaking had knocked loose his mother¡¯s bracelet from amongst the cloths that he¡¯d hidden it in. He reached towards it, almost in a trance, and held it to his chest, hugging it for dear life. Memories of his mother flashed through Noth¡¯s mind, and from them a particular one stood out the most. It was a time when he¡¯d tugged on the bracelet she was wearing by accident, and she¡¯d been terribly upset with him for it. She¡¯d sat him down and lectured for half an hour about how deep the history of her family and the bracelet was, how the God-dess had entrusted her lineage with it, and how it brought with it the promise of the God-dess¡¯s love and protection so long as the wearer had it. It was also believed that if the bracelet were ever to be broken that chaos and madness would fall upon the world. The child couldn¡¯t help but think that it was the fact that he was in possession of the bracelet that led to his mother¡¯s death. Perhaps the God-dess had never intended a have-not like him to hold on to the bracelet. Or even if that wasn¡¯t the reasoning, it could have been that his mother was only able to die precisely because she hadn¡¯t held on to it. He¡¯d pondered this train of thought a handful of times, and the only conclusion he could come to accept was that this all started and ended with him. Oh how he wished his mother was still here. He wished she could pat his head like she used to. He wished she would hug him close and stop him from hyperventilating. He wished she could reassure him that none of this was his fault. That he was just a child. That there¡¯s no way he could have been the reason for any of this. He wished someone still loved him. He needed someone, anyone, on his side. For a second he thought he heard someone whispering nearby, maybe down the hall, or in the next room. Not just one whisper, either, but a cacophony of whispers. Only one of the whispers could be understood, however. The sudden flood of noises in the building he was supposedly alone in scared him once again. He creeped out as sneakily from his room as he could, squinting his eyes in the darkness to try and see if he could spot any trespassers. He did the same in both of the rooms next door, but he couldn¡¯t seem to find anyone. The child scurried to his room, confused and now somehow even more frightened. Was the building actually haunted like some people had suggested? He curled up into as tight a ball as he could on his bed, tears springing to his eyes. Chapter Four Noth stayed still like a statue, a trembling statue anyway, for a short handful of time before letting out a long sigh and turning onto his back. What use was it to try and defend himself against a ghost? If it was going to attack him, it would have done so already, and besides, it¡¯s not like he could stop anything that it might have wanted to do. But you know¡­ maybe having a roommate wouldn¡¯t be so bad? Perhaps a new friend? Someone who could be on his side. The newfound hopeful thoughts only reaffirmed a wish that he¡¯d always felt but never said aloud: He wished he wasn¡¯t so alone. He clutched the bracelet tight in his hand and squeezed his eyes shut. He wished with all his heart that he had someone to be with him, someone who cared, someone who would help him, someone who would always be there, someone he didn¡¯t have to be afraid to lose. It was a desperate need, an anguished wish, a grave hope, a final plea. A sudden bright light that shone through his eyelids made him open his eyes. At the foot of Noth¡¯s bed was a shining ray of sunlight, somehow coming through the ceiling above. There was almost the faint sound of a choir singing, emanating from the distance when his eyes locked on to the light. As he stared at the phenomenon, a woman started to slowly drift down the shaft of sunlight, somehow floating feet first through the wood, and stopping about a foot above the floor. She looked positively ethereal. Her skin was pale, but seemed to be lit by some inner light, almost like her bones themselves were made of light. Her eyes were white, but had a rimming of flaky looking orangey rust around the iris. Her almost shoulder length hair started out like it was the most platinum of blondes, but about halfway down was coloured as if it had been soaked in fresh blood and had subsequently become a shade of rusty red. The ends curled outwards just a tad, looking like they were trying to keep hold of everything they¡¯d managed to soak up, but as Noth watched on, he could see that the strands would drip the heavy red liquid every so often onto the beautiful white and gold robes she wore. A serene smile was plastered across her face, one that somehow didn¡¯t reflect the intense look in her eyes as she gazed down upon him. When she opened her mouth to speak, Noth could make out a faint light shining inside of it with every word that trilled out from between her lips. The mystical woman reached out one of her long and elegant arms to him and he flinched, thinking that maybe she would hurt him. This did not deter her even for a second though, and she caressed his small, slightly sunken cheek. Her touch was somehow warm, yet somehow cold, and even the words she spoke just moments ago felt like they left a small buzzing feeling against his ears. He couldn¡¯t help but mumble out a tiny question in this confusing situation. His voice struggled for a moment to put out the words, since he hadn¡¯t talked in so very long. ¡°Are-¡­ Are you a ghost?¡± Honestly, Noth couldn¡¯t think of any other explanation for why this lady would have suddenly appeared in his secluded villa, and the way she had been floating mixed with all the other peculiarities meant she couldn¡¯t have been human. A ghost seemed the likeliest explanation, especially when paired with his previous train of thought from before she¡¯d arrived. A ghost. Someone who died here. Just like his mother. Maybe she¡¯d even seen it happen, just like him. Maybe she had met his mother before, too. His curiosity was shoving away his fear, once again, and the fact that she made him think about his mother right off the bat was drawing away any apprehension he may have had just as quickly. The beautiful vision giggled at his question, and it felt like the sound alone was ever so softly kissing Noth¡¯s ears. He couldn¡¯t help but blush a little bit at the sensation. She twirled around swiftly, showing him four small gray wings, ever so slightly tipped in a rusty red, that fluttered on her back. His mouth opened wide in surprise at the sight, never having seen such a thing before. He reached out to brush against one, and a feather snapped off and fell on his lap. He quickly tried to say sorry, but before he could, the feather decayed into rust and then disappeared. The mystified look on the boy¡¯s face made her giggle once again. ¡°No, I¡­ Well they¡¯re so pretty but¡­ I¡­ I¡¯m not supposed to take things from people I don¡¯t know.¡± Noth averted his gaze as he stumbled and mumbled through his words. When he glanced back over at her he noticed that her serene smile had grown wider and more intense, and for a second he felt fear flash through him. Was she displeased with him? Maybe now she wouldn¡¯t want to be his friend. He rushed out his next words before even thinking about it. ¡°But wait, um, if we got to know each other then it would be okay! Um, I¡¯m Noth! Noth Kieran. What¡¯s your name?¡± As Noth fisted his pants in worry, the woman¡¯s smile relaxed, although her eyes also seemed to take on a tinge of sadness. ¡°What?!¡± The small boy couldn¡¯t even fathom not having a name. Everyone hated him, and yet even he still had something to be called by. His mouth hung open in the cute way kids show their bewilderment, and he reached out to pat the arm of the seemingly sad creature. ¡°Well, ok, if you don¡¯t have a name that¡¯s fine. I could name you!¡± She seemed to have perked up a good bit at his suggestion, which led to exciting the boy even more. He started making a serious and determined face, laced with a smile. ¡°Yeah! Okay, what would be a good name for you? Hmmm¡­¡± The woman¡¯s mouth wiggled like she was suppressing laughing. She watched the small boy muddle it over for a little while as she covered her mouth with her hand. He was just too cute. After some time of revelling in the feeling, she had decided to throw him a bone. The boy stared at her blankly for a few seconds. ¡°An angel?¡± She looked a little like one of the drawings he¡¯d seen etched on the walls of the church when he¡¯d gone there before. His words made her smile morph into more of an amused smirk, and she leaned down to pat his head. The angel¡¯s head pats felt nostalgic, and he felt his heart squeeze a little. Along with his heart, his hands also squeezed, and he was reminded that he still had the bracelet in his hands. He jumped a little, remembering the wishes he¡¯d made, the way he¡¯d held the bracelet, and he couldn¡¯t help but think that maybe it caused all of this. Maybe this angel had been sent to grant him mercy, finally. He fidgeted under his angel¡¯s hand, and as if she knew what he was thinking, she leaned in and whispered in his ear. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Noth was surprised that she seemed to have read his mind, and he felt a gigantic urge to hide his face in embarrassment. His shyness was making asking questions even harder. He shifted in place a little and looked at her through his eyelashes as he managed to choke out his question. ¡°Why¡­are you here?¡± A very brief look of madness rippled through the angel¡¯s face. It was so quick that Noth almost doubted that he even saw it. She quickly centered herself into the forgotten beam of sunlight and pressed her palms together, closing her eyes and looking as angelic as possible. She spread her arms and wings and seemed to emit a blinding light from her body. <-mercy. Divine grace. Righteous clemency. In accordance with your [Gift], you have both chosen and been gifted with me.> The angel kneeled down and kissed his forehead, pulling back to beam lovingly at the boy¡¯s bemused face. She giggled at the sight and gave him a cheeky wink. Noth didn¡¯t believe any of it. With a great deal of skepticism, he pulled back from her and narrowed his eyes. ¡°You mean the God-dess sent you to me? They were being ¡®merciful¡¯ like everyone always says they are, and sent me an angel?¡± The beautiful face in front of him that had been smiling this whole time instead twisted into a very cynical visage. She leaned in closely, and Noth had a tingling feeling inside like he was watching something staring at its prey. As the angel kept slowly advancing towards him, her face seemed to grow more and more warped. Even as he tried to scoot away from the twisted gaze, she still continued to chase after him. With each sentence her voice seemed to get more and more frantic. Noth was terrified. No one would ever want to hear that the deity of the very world you live on couldn¡¯t care less about you, or that they were using you for some fun. Of course, that¡¯d be worrying news to most people. But to have this news delivered to you by a deranged angel mere inches from your face? The absolutely horrific expression plastered across her beautiful features only served to make everything even creepier. As the child stared at her in terror, he suddenly noticed that her eyes were starting to leak a weird rust-like substance, just like her fallen feather had turned into. The tiny child couldn¡¯t take anymore of what he was seeing, and covered his eyes and curled into a ball. He was so scared, and no amount of his curiosity could erase all the fear he was being flooded with. As he trembled, he felt two slender arms wrap around him, and hands giving him loving pats on his head and back. As Noth sniffled and slowly started to raise his head hopefully, he heard an almost imperceptible mumble. <...And that stupid god does so love a struggle.> Noth¡¯s eyes snapped up to her face in worry, but all he saw was the usual serene smile the angel¡¯s face typically seemed to sport. She cupped his sunken cheeks gently and kissed his forehead. The place she kissed was warm, almost too warm, and the feeling lingered for a while. He could almost believe that the feeling never really left, and that he¡¯d actually just grown used to it and forgot it was there. He picked his hand up just a bit to try and touch the spot, but had it suddenly squeezed by the woman¡¯s slender hand instead. The loving and pleading way she looked at him made him gulp, and after a few moments of slight apprehension, his curiosity and hope got the best of him once again. ¡°How exactly will you help me?¡± The angel traced a finger over the sunken ridge of his cheek, then with a flick of her hand, she suddenly held a steaming dish of meat. With just a whiff of the delicious fragrance wafting off of the plate, the little boy already started drooling. She handed the food off to him, giggling and stroking his head as he scarfed it all down. Her gaze fell on the beautiful blue bracelet that sat forgotten on Noth¡¯s lap. The child, who had been in the middle of his first good meal in years, slowly stopped shovelling his food into his mouth. He¡¯d followed her gaze, and realized what she¡¯d asked for him to sacrifice. The last good memento of his mother, something that she¡¯d treasured dearly. Something she¡¯d told him to protect. It was important. But she¡¯d also told him to protect himself. Would Noth be able to survive without making this sacrifice? Was one more important than the other? ¡°W-what¡­ What will you do to it? Will it be ok?¡± Noth studied her angelic face, but her expression never changed the entire time. What should he do? If what she was saying was true, then his mother¡¯s bracelet should be ok. Was it worth blindly risking the bracelet for his safety? Did he trust himself to not somehow hurt it like she¡¯d said? He took another bite of the meat in front of him, letting the delicious flavour wash over his tongue. Would he be able to live like a person again if he agreed? With the powers she was offering, could he finally be strong from now on, and never have to be afraid all the time like he had been? Just earlier this was exactly what he¡¯d been wishing for. He¡¯d found someone to be on his side, and he¡¯d even acquired a way to get out of the hell he¡¯d been in. There was no way he could say no at this point; His hope had grown far too large for him to just go back. ¡°And this promise is¡­forever?¡± The angel¡¯s smile seemed to grow three times as big, and her gaze took on a much more fanatical intensity. She cupped his face and almost touched her nose to his, looking deeply into his eyes. Her breath was sweet as she spoke. The boy felt a small urge to cower from the intensity of the being in front of him, but now was not the time for fear. He put down his plate and fisted his little hands in determination, staring right back into her piercing gaze. This was his only real chance, and he wasn¡¯t going to let something so simple take it away from him. ¡°Alright then, Angel. Take my bracelet, do whatever it is you need to do with it, and please, help me. Grant my wishes. Stay with me. Please.¡± Chapter Five With a shudder of ecstasy the angel leaned away, tilting her head back slightly and looking down her nose at Noth with an almost sinister grin. She all but lunged at the boy, the bracelet already in her hand, and Noth instinctively flinched and closed his eyes. He felt an almost searing pain wash over his arm and bit his lip hard in reaction, shutting his eyes even tighter. Her hand laced its fingers with his on the unafflicted side. Another hand lifted the burning side¡¯s hand, and a kiss was quickly planted on its palm. The kiss seemed to spread a cool, summer breeze through him, the feeling licking away the pain and even healing his now bleeding lip. There was a humming, almost glowing feeling that was suddenly faintly radiating from where the pain began, and when he opened his eyes he realized that his mother¡¯s bracelet was now fused with his flesh, just a little up his arm, below his wrist. He pulled his hand from the angel¡¯s and ran it over the bracelet, feeling the smooth transition between his skin and the bangle. Perhaps to another person who wasn¡¯t too close it would just look like it was a type of flat armband style of cuff, the kind that laid against your flesh, but as Noth slid his fingers against it, he came to realize the truth. It was stuck on him. It was stuck inside him. His mother¡¯s bracelet was f u s e d with him. The angel could see the disgusted and panicking look on the boy¡¯s face growing more and more each second, and when he started scratching at the offending sight, she grabbed his hand away and hugged his face into her chest, cutting off his vision. Of course, she was failing to mention that most of the people in this world who would do such a thing were considered ¡®Oddballs¡¯ or ¡®Reprobates¡¯, but what he didn¡¯t know won¡¯t hurt him, and she didn¡¯t think that anyone would ever notice that it wasn¡¯t just a regular fancy armband anyways. She continued to pour more excuses/reassurances out of her mouth. The angel smiled tenderly, and she pulled back a bit so she could look down at her young charge¡¯s face. Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. It took Noth a few moments to process just what she was saying. ¡°We¡¯re bonded¡­? What does that even mean? And what sort of wish should I even make?¡± The confused and slightly pouty look on his face made the angel panic a bit, seeing that she¡¯d failed to put his mind at ease and her voice moved one octave higher in response. Noth hadn¡¯t missed the pleading look on her face, nor the begging tone in her voice. The imploring spirit was clearly trying to gloss over something for the nth time this day, and with how she¡¯d been so eager to overshare some of the scarier things she¡¯d told him on this day, he could only become more worried of what she¡¯d consider so awful as to need to hide it this desperately. But, on the other hand, if she thought it was so frightening that he didn¡¯t need to find out about it right this instant, then maybe she had a point. Maybe he was, in fact, not ready to learn about it. He decided to let it slide for now, but Noth had grown cautious after these past 2 years, and he knew not to fully forget about such a worrisome thing. For now however, let¡¯s just see how helpful this new power was supposed to be. ¡°Okay¡­And what am I supposed to say? Do I just say ¡®I wish¡¯ and then whatever I want?¡± The angel¡¯s face clearly looked relieved when the boy had decided to go along with her, although her face started to take on a cynical look the more she talked. <... after all, that twisted thing does love a show.> A concerned look crossed the child¡¯s face for a second before he decided to just ignore the blasphemous things he¡¯d just heard. What would he wish for? This was a test, so maybe something simple to start out? He wasn¡¯t too enthused to have to say silly things, or make a big display, so starting off with a small and simple wish seemed to be the right choice. He didn¡¯t know how he could ever manage to put his embarrassment aside long enough to pull off what was required of a truly big wish. And how do you ¡®put power into it¡¯? Despite feeling a bit confused about some of the directions the angel told him, Noth could feel the giddiness in his heart rising as he thought of a few trivial wishes, the excitement starting to become visible on his little face. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I wish¡­ um, I wish for some new clothes?¡± He looked up to the angel to confirm he¡¯d asked the question the right way, but then an abrupt tingling feeling made him look back down. His worn and torn clothes he¡¯d been wearing for the past 2 years, the remnants of the fancy outfit he¡¯d worn for his big day at the temple, had been fixed! Not only that, but he could feel that they even fit his body better than they ever had! Noth opened his mouth wide, his eyes shining in awe. He started patting his clothes down all over, trying to make sure that what had happened was really real. As he patted over his sleeves he could feel that the area over his now concealed bracelet was strangely warm. When he started to reach over to pull his sleeve back and take a look, the angel suddenly swept him up into a tight hug. The mile a minute questions and the constant nuzzling he was receiving successfully distracted the boy. He tried to push and wiggle free, and when he finally managed to fall out of her hold, his butt plopped on the hard, wooden floor. Noth looked to his left and right. He took in how odd it was to be nicely dressed in this slightly worn down room, and he knew immediately what his next wish would be. But this next one would be much bigger than just his small wish for clothes. It¡¯s good to test his limits but¡­was he really going to do this? With a slightly shy, if not agitated, look on his face, the child clasped his hands, blushed a little, and turned towards the heavens. ¡°Oh graceful and loving God-dess, who watches all of us. Um¡­ Uh¡­ Could you, please¡­ Um¡­ I wish that this villa was as pretty, and warm, and clean, and, um¡­nice as it used to be! Please.¡± Noth shut his eyes tight once he was done speaking, squeezing his hands together uncomfortably hard as he cringed a little from the embarrassment. A strange creaking and groaning sound, accompanied by an almost numbing buzzing feeling, made him open his eyes. All around him the house was suddenly repaired and new looking, as if by magic. Well no, precisely by magic. Even the furniture looked brand new, and had been put back into their proper places. The draft that had continuously tickled at him had also been fixed! He slowly spun in a circle, completely amazed by the spectacle, and consciously ignoring the crescent shaped eyes that the giggling angel was making at him. The boy ran over to touch the curtains, the glass, the bedposts, the blankets, the mattress. He ran his hands over almost everything at least once. Then, when the boy was satisfied that everything was really actually for real fixed, he ran outside the room, letting out an all new gasp at the beautifully immaculate hallway. He sprinted down the hall, almost stomping his feet, just so he could feel how solid and not broken the floorboards underneath the carpets were now. He skipped down the stairs and bursted into the kitchen, pulling open every cupboard, one after one. When he saw they were still mostly empty like he¡¯d left them, he took in a deep breath and instantly announced his next wish, eyes wide and expectant. ¡°I wish that my kitchen had food in it!¡± He stared at his opened cupboards, and even though he felt the tiniest of the tingles that he¡¯d felt so far, he didn¡¯t see anything happen. A corner of his mouth rose in confusion, and he silently pointed at the empty cupboards as he turned to look at the angel. With a sweeping gesture, she motioned towards the kitchen table, and there, sat upon it, was one small plate of meat and potatoes, with a single roll on the side. Noth toddled over to look at it, his little face blank for a few moments as he stared at the meal, before he realized his mistake. He hadn¡¯t been exact, not at all. His wish wasn¡¯t very grandiose either, neither in wording nor substance. With a shrug, Noth accepted his loss, and sat down to eat the summoned food. As he pulled up his sleeves a bit so as not to dirty his freshly made new clothes, a sight caught his eye that made him freeze. The bracelet. The. BRACELET. His mother¡¯s bracelet was cracked all over! A small shriek escaped his lips as he grabbed his wrist and leaned down for a better view. At the sight of his panicking, the angel rushed over. She¡¯d been too late to stop him from noticing this time. Noth started opening his mouth to recite his next, obvious wish, when the holy spirit clapped her hand over his mouth. It took a second for Noth¡¯s worked up brain to be willing to understand what the angel was frantically explaining to him, but once he had calmed down a little while watching her gesticulate and spew out words at him, he started to digest what she¡¯d been saying. His mother¡¯s keepsake wasn¡¯t going to break; Not so long as he was careful, anyways. The cracks were a necessary and thankfully temporary evil. There was even a chance he¡¯d get so good at his wishes that the cracks wouldn¡¯t even have to be there. What she¡¯d said when she had first made the deal with him was true. The harm done to his bracelet came completely from his actions alone. Noth started to absentmindedly eat his food as he mulled this over. His heavenly spectre relaxed around the same time that she noticed that he was relaxing, and decided to loosely wrap her arms around him while he ate, a perfectly loving smile on her face as she watched him. It reminded Noth of his mother, and for a moment he felt conflicted. Was he letting this stranger he suddenly met just today get way too close, way too fast? Should he stop how touchy she¡¯d been with him? He wasn¡¯t looking at her like a replacement for his mother, was he? He felt that that would just be too disrespectful to the memory of his mom, that she was so easily replaced in a day. The memory of when the angel had scared him earlier was of course still fresh in a corner of his mind. No, for all that she was acting motherly to him, he couldn¡¯t really see her as a mother. She was far too unfamiliar, mystical, and just plain odd for him to get a good understanding of how he felt about her right now. It had only been a day, however. No need to rush his evaluation. The only thing he could think for now is that she hadn¡¯t noticeably lied to him, but that didn¡¯t mean that she¡¯d outright always told him the truth either. If this partnership of theirs was going to continue, he¡¯d need to find a way to convince the divine spirit to spill some answers. Sooner rather than later would be preferable. Chapter Six True to the angel¡¯s word, the bracelet really did patch itself up completely, around half a day later. Not so much as a single crack remained. On the other hand, however, Noth¡¯s resolve to get some answers on the new situation he¡¯d found himself in wasn¡¯t bearing any fruit. It¡¯d been almost a week, and his probing had been deflected left, right, and center. The angel even seemed to have picked up on what he was hoping for, and looked to be having fun with the whole situation. There was only one thing that stood out as a possible clue that something might be going wrong. This past week, whenever the servants would come by to bring him his slop, Noth and his angel would scoop it up and bury it somewhere deep inside the greenhouse, so as not to arouse any suspicion. They¡¯d talked it over, and had agreed that anyone taking notice of him not eating the putrid scraps they delivered to him was likely to bring in questions, and possibly even some trouble. For now they¡¯d lie low. It helped that Noth¡¯s big wish to repair the villa hadn¡¯t touched the still broken and overgrown greenhouse. But even while the beautiful spirit would laugh and clap along as Noth stomped the disgusting food remnants down into the freshly dug dirt, the boy would often catch her throwing worried or conflicted glances his way on the days that the servants gossip had gotten just a bit too loud. Noth had been trying to think up how he could broach this particular question to the angel, thinking that she might try and evade it just like she¡¯d been evading giving him any answers. On the 7th day, much to the child¡¯s surprise, she made all of his thinking for naught. As Noth was about to stand up after having eaten his freshly wished up dinner, the lovely vision of a woman flew over to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from the side as she gently spoke into his ear. The look on her face as he glanced over at her immediately set off his alarms; It was just a few steps off of the twisted expression she¡¯d shown him before. The way her almost whisper-like words blew against his ears would have made him blush, if he hadn¡¯t already had a full week of contact with the overly touchy angel. Now, though, as he was slowly getting used to the way she did things, he could tell that something was going on, something probably not good, and his body immediately stiffened in reaction. He stayed quiet and listened, worried what words might waft from between her lips next. The angel let the fingers of one of her hands stroke ticklingly across Noth¡¯s cheek, then came up to lovingly tuck a strand of hair behind his ear. Her mouth came the tiniest amount closer to him as she loudly whispered. Her words carried along a grating sort of feeling, and the boy jumped up from his seat, her arms falling away from him as he clapped his hand over his ear. He looked down at her with the most affronted face he could, his mouth open with his teeth bared. The anger and fear he was feeling in his stomach was bubbling over so badly, that it felt like it would turn into some kind of froth and drip down from his lips. He tightened his grip around his ear painfully hard, leaving nail marks in the soft flesh around it. His shoulders rose as he started to hunch. He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. His muscles tightened so hard that they ached. ¡­His father was coming back to finish what he started? This time, Noth would be his target, just like what befell his mother. His terror had him running before he even realized what he was doing, and he found himself moments later, curled in a ball under the covers of his bed. His teeth chattered loudly. When the sound caught his attention he stuck his finger in his mouth to quiet it. Dear God-dess, his worst fears were finally going to happen. What would he do? How could he stop that monster? He was just a little kid! After a long time he finally calmed down enough to realize he really only had one person to discuss all this with: The one who¡¯d told him this terrible news in the first place. ¡°Angel.¡± Barely a second passed before she seemed to appear out of the darkness at his bedside. Her smile looked calm and serene as she floated next to him, like she¡¯d expected to be summoned, but her eyes betrayed a small look of worry upon seeing the state of the boy. ¡°How much time do I have before father comes for me?¡± ¡°How do you know? Was it the gossip? Did you hear something I didn¡¯t?¡± The spirit cutely huffed and put her hands on her hips. ¡°Then how could you be so sure that it was happening soon? What makes you so sure about something so scary?!¡± Noth was almost yelling at her, and he was certainly glaring. This was far too serious and fearsome a situation for mere speculation. He needed answers, dammit! Her smirking face and teasing tone were only making him more upset, but it seemed that only fueled her need to tease him further. The angel tapped her cheek and twirled in the air as he indignantly glared at her, until she finally laid down next to him in the bed, resting her head on her arm. ¡°I already asked you that!!!¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. She giggled and winked at his roar, but only seconds later her face fell just a tad. The implications of the angel¡¯s words washed over Noth in waves, more and more realizations of exactly what it all meant repeatedly popping into his mind. A life that only got even more miserable than the current hell he was suffering. That all of this could and would go even further south. That a different Noth had had to face all of this completely alone- A different Noth that already had to face his father trying to murder him. ¡°What did that version of me do to stop father?¡± She said it so matter-of-factly that Noth almost didn¡¯t register what the angel had said. He remembered wishing he could be strong enough to escape this hellhole a few times over the past 2 years, but to think that that other version of him had had that particular wish granted instead of his wish to no longer be alone¡­ How awful. And his father¡­was killed? That was possible? That was an answer to all this? As she shrugged and nodded along with her own words Noth grew more and more pale. Was this the only way? He¡¯d have to become a killer, just like the father he¡¯d loathed, cursed, and feared for the past few years? Would it be justified like it seemed the angel thought it to be? Was it even alright for an angel of all things to have such thoughts?! ¡°Is that¡­really the only way? Do I really have to do it?¡± There had to be another way, or else he¡¯d be forced to kill a killer and then become a killer. Then he¡¯d just be living his life waiting for someone to come kill this new killer he¡¯d created. It would never end. He didn¡¯t want to be part of such a hateful thing. She dropped this revelation on him in such a passing tone, like she was remarking on how sad it was that it had been raining lately. Noth almost didn¡¯t believe that he was understanding what she had said correctly. His lips trembled a little as he tried to grasp on to this new string of hope she¡¯d so casually cast before him. ¡°Are you-¡­There¡¯s some sort of secret?¡± The angel smiled cheekily at her slowly reviving ward, then got up from the bed and floated slowly towards the door. Noth chewed on his lip, trying to think through what all of this might mean. It seemed like getting that info might be the best way for him to solve this situation, but how would he even procure it? He sat up and looked pleadingly in the angel¡¯s direction, timidly hoping she¡¯d feel like handing out more hints. ¡°Would you happen to, um, have any ideas¡­ on a good way to, uh, go about... finding that out?¡± The holy vision peaked back behind her shoulder at Noth, the face he was making positively tickling her. She looked away to compose herself even as her shoulders shook a little from her suppressed giggles. She placed her finger on her chin and pretended to think for a while as she calmed herself, and then sauntered over to the boy, casting a long shadow over him as she leaned down, stopping inches from his face and looking at him impassively. ¡°Well¡­ I suppose you have a few options, don¡¯t you? There¡¯s plenty of possible ways you could go about this, but at the end of the day it all depends on you. How willing are you to confront your demons? How bold are you willing to be? How fearless? Are you a mouse? A lion? A dog? What kind of beast are you willing to become to escape this enclosure you¡¯ve found yourself in?¡± Anxiety was clear in the child¡¯s eyes as he tilted his head back and looked up at his angel. The tips of her hair tickled over his face, and the little drops of blood it would occasionally drip had started to cover him in damp splotches. He could feel them land on him, and slide across his face, making their way down his neck... But then they would suddenly vanish. When he tried to back away from her, further towards his bed, it only increased the weight of the drops landing on him. The feeling was almost maddening. Combined with how much he was trying to focus on what she had been saying to him, he couldn¡¯t think at all. All he could do was stare wide-eyed up at the woman above him. For a long while he just gazed up at her, stuck in that position, being rained on as he turned her words over and over again inside his head. After a long time had passed and Noth¡¯s face had been thoroughly baptised, he let out a big sigh and turned his head to the side, covering his face with his arm. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what I am, let alone what I want to be. Why do I have to be something?¡± The angel¡¯s face softened, and she laid down next to him once again, softly stroking his hair. ¡°Do I have to decide now?¡± ¡°But it¡¯s so hard to choose¡­¡± The boy¡¯s free hand fisted his shirt as his mind fought itself over what choice to make. Seeing this, the spirit moved her hand from his hair, and placed it on top of his clenched hand. Noth removed his arm from his face and glanced over with a pitiable, thankful look, before rolling over and closing his eyes. He squeezed his pillow tight, hoping that what the angel had told him would come true, and that he¡¯d miraculously have found a path to follow by morning. The rustling of the curtains and the feel of the sheets being pulled up to blanket him made him loosen his hold on the pillow just a smidge. The sound of his angel humming to herself nearby as she floated about the room, watching over him as she did, relaxed him just a tad further. It wasn¡¯t too much later before the exhausted child had fallen asleep. Chapter Seven Although he knew that he was seeing a dream, Noth could also tell that this was more than just a mere figment of his mind¡¯s creation. He saw flashes of himself, visions, one after another, all involving some bleak situation or outcome that the child had yet to face. He could never see enough to truly know what was happening or why, but just the scenes alone combined with the feelings flooding into him let him get the gist of it. Pain, misery, the feeling of being alone even when surrounded by others, betrayal, the notion that things really could have been so much better had he only known. A constant longing for the one person he¡¯d ever been loved by, and yet would never come back. A general feeling of helplessness combined with a sense of spiralling out of control. There was a picture stuck in the back of his head of his father¡¯s expressionless and yet somehow disapproving seeming face. Of course there was a feeling of disgust at what the man had done, but there was also a feeling of regret, maybe a tinge of a wish that he didn¡¯t have to become a monster to save himself from one. He also felt a completely different hidden wish start to ooze out from the corner of his heart. If he¡¯s destined to become a monster anyways, it isn¡¯t necessary to lose the monster that forged him at the same time; Then he¡¯d truly be alone. A lonely little monster. He¡¯d truly have forsaken every possibility of family or any hope of normalcy if he gave up on his father. But how could those feelings be there when the man had killed the one good thing in Noth¡¯s life? The duality of these emotions were so confusing. The child was staring at the wall for a while, churning over the thoughts his dream had brought to light, before suddenly realizing that he was actually now awake. Something about him felt somehow different, like something had changed, and like he wasn¡¯t quite the ¡®Noth¡¯ that he knew himself to be. Maybe a piece of him felt like he¡¯d been slightly tainted by his dreams. He slowly picked himself up, moving to the edge of the bed and sitting there for a small bit longer, letting his mind gather and remember the situation he was in more and more, and then his head swivelled to the door, instinctively knowing where his angel would be. ¡°I¡¯ve made my decision.¡± ¡°My dreams showed me that I have a lot of different wants that are all fighting each other, and no matter how I thought of things, everything hinged on just one point; I don¡¯t really know my father. I won¡¯t know what I actually want to do or what emotion is going to win out unless I somehow get to know him better. You say there¡¯s some important secret, some fact that if I knew it, would magically make things be different. Well, the only thing I know for sure is that that monster isn¡¯t going to let something meek and lesser get to know him. There¡¯s no way a mouse will be allowed to approach him, and no amount of sneaking is going to let me understand that man¡¯s mind. The only way that Earl Kieran will let me close is if I show him I¡¯m strong enough that he has to listen to me. I have to send in a monster to fight another monster¡­ even if I¡¯m only pretending.¡± There were almost tears in her eyes as the angel clapped her hands, a touched look messily plastered on her face. She quickly floated over and swept him up in her arms, hugging him lovingly and burying her face in his hair. Noth let himself relax a bit, loosely hugging her back as his face blushed a small bit from the praise. When she finally let go and beamed down at him, he averted his eyes a bit, hoping she wouldn¡¯t notice his cheeks, or the tears that were threatening to fill his eyes. Her giggle and the way her eyes teasingly narrowed easily dashed any such hope. ~~~ An hour later the pair left out of the greenhouse¡¯s door, food in Noth¡¯s belly and slightly fancier clothes adorning his body. His bracelet had two tiny cracks in it from the wishes he¡¯d made, but he¡¯d long since gotten over freaking out when the cracks would appear, now that he¡¯d thoroughly tested that they would always repair back to normal at a later time. That¡¯s why he also didn¡¯t bat an eye as he made his third wish of the day. He¡¯d learned over the past week¡¯s time that he could make his wishes at any volume, and he planned to put that fact to good use. ¡°I wish the guard would fall asleep.¡± The barely audible wish was followed by a thudding sound, as the now loudly snoring guard fell to the ground. Noth lightly jumped over him as he headed out the door, making sure to stay quiet until he was further away, so as not to accidentally awaken the sleeping man. When he felt that it was safe, the boy straightened up his posture and tried to remember what it looked like to walk with dignity and authority. He needed to confidently stride into his old home like he still belonged there if he hoped to not be stopped along the way. Even though he took care not to go through the front entrance, he should still be able to get away with coming through a lesser used side door and acting like he¡¯d come from the front. No one should think that he wasn¡¯t allowed in if he was, in fact, already in. Best that he didn¡¯t run into too many people, though, just to be on the safe side. Luckily for Noth, his angel was being very cooperative today after the moving speech he¡¯d delivered to her earlier, and she scouted ahead, checking who would be coming down the hallways. Half of the staff were new, since the people who were loyal to his mother were chased out of the building when she¡¯d been killed, so that meant half of the staff didn¡¯t know what he looked like yet. Those were the people that Noth could get away with encountering on his path to the monster¡¯s lair. And as a matter of fact, he was now faced with having to shoo one such person away, just before he turned the final corner to his destination. ¡°I¡¯m sorry young sir, should you be here? Do you not have an escort?¡± A young, cute maid who couldn¡¯t have been older than 15 leaned down to talk with him. From the feather duster in her hand it was clear she¡¯d been put to work dusting the hallway, all the more reason that avoiding her hadn¡¯t been made an option. She was still being moderately polite to him, and with her young age it was obvious that she didn¡¯t know who he was, so Noth knew he had a chance to swindle her. The thing that he was really concerned about was his angel. He worriedly glanced at where she was floating nearby, trying to signal her to at least hide or do something so that the young girl wouldn¡¯t notice her. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The angel¡¯s mischievous smirk and the way she almost whispered the last sentence were perturbing for the boy, for sure, but at least his trump card hadn¡¯t been blown yet, so that was a relief. He looked back up to the maid in front of him and tried to remember how he used to smile at the servants. Sadly it came out a bit more unwilling and crude than he¡¯d meant it to, but perhaps that would reinforce a sort of ¡®evil young master¡¯ image to her? Maybe going a petulant route would work to shoo her away. He tried to summon up the attitude of the rude little lords he¡¯d heard about from his mother¡¯s tea parties. ¡°I don¡¯t need an escort. I also don¡¯t need a conversation partner either. Should I go to the head maid and tell her that one of her new maids is shirking her duties? Or are you all done, and that¡¯s why you feel the need to pester me?¡± The wounded look on the young girl¡¯s face rebounded and hurt Noth too, but he did his best to not let it show, doubling down on his act and glaring at the girl as he crossed his arms. He felt so sorry, but he needed this to work. ¡°Well?¡± The maid bowed, mumbled out her apologies, and moved back the way Noth had come from, so that she wouldn¡¯t find herself in his way again. He could make out the quiver in her voice and the small sniffle she let out as she trudged away. He closed his eyes and mentally thanked her for her sacrifice, while also wondering how such a sensitive girl was able to work in the same building as the man he knew his father to be. Shaking his head to stop himself from thinking about the girl, Noth continued forwards, at last reaching the doors of his final destination. Luckily or unluckily for him, his father was a [Superior Warrior], and therefore didn¡¯t have any guards directly guarding him, so the entrance to his office was completely unwatched. It would be a lie to say he wasn¡¯t nervous as he stared at the doors. His worst nightmare was sitting behind them, and here he was, about to open the only barrier now standing between him and the beast he called a father. The boy¡¯s heart was beating like he was about to face a great battle, one from the story books his mother used to read to him. He wished he was as strong and brave as the knights in those books, but how could he be? He wasn¡¯t a knight. He was a kid. A 9 year old kid. A 9 year old kid who was short for his age. A 9 year old kid who was about to stroll into a room alone and confront a murderer. Clearly his only option was panicking. When his angel saw this, she swooped in and hugged him from behind. When the boy clenched his fists and seemed to stop shaking, the spirit swooshed over to his side and kissed his cheek. Noth nodded fiercely and took a step forwards, reaching his hand out to firmly grasp the door, but then faltered a second later and let go. He glanced up sheepishly at the angel beside him and bit his lip a little. ¡°Um¡­ It wouldn¡¯t be bad to be a little bit cautious, right?¡± At his angel¡¯s snort and amused smirk, he looked away and blushed. A small moment later a wish had been made for an invisible barrier to cover his body, a rather worryingly large crack had formed on his now fragile looking bracelet, and he once again grabbed the door with a purpose. When the door swung open and his son confidently strolled in, the Earl understandably looked perplexed. The two stared at each other with equally uncomfortable faces until Noth¡¯s father finally broke the silence. ¡°Noth? ¡­How did you leave Natalia¡¯s Villa?¡± His voice was obviously confused, but it also had a certain undertone of fear to it that Noth caught on to very quickly. It was a strange realization to him, to hear the very man he¡¯d cowered at the thought of for years now expressing any amount of fear back towards him. Emboldened by this new discovery, the boy scoffed at his now tawdry seeming father. ¡°The first time you see your only son in such a long time, and those are the only words out of your mouth. Such a touching reunion, father. I¡¯ve been doing just fine inside my cage by the way, thank you for asking.¡± The sarcastically worded slaps that Noth sent towards his father seemed to be working, and the smallest hint of pain was showing in the man¡¯s eyes. He almost looked as if he was seeing a ghost with the way he stared at his son. The boy almost couldn¡¯t believe that he¡¯d been so scared to confront this man before. How could a man who was so afraid of his son so easily murder his own wife? Perhaps that¡¯s just how monsters were. ¡°You¡¯re looking at me like I¡¯m some horrific beast that escaped from somewhere and happened to wander into your office. Or maybe it¡¯s how you¡¯d look at someone you were sure you¡¯d never have to look at again? Did you forget that this was my home, too? I believe that this is still the Kieran lineage manor, right? Well, father, in case you¡¯ve forgotten in the time we¡¯ve been apart, I¡¯m still Noth Kieran, the only heir of the great Kieran legacy. I belong here.¡± Now that he was saying it all out loud, the words he¡¯d oh so often been fed about his station growing up somehow seemed so¡­silly, so nonsensical. The past two years had shown him that none of what he¡¯d been promised in life would ever truly be guaranteed, which was especially proven evident by how easily it had all been snatched away from him. A legacy? Effortlessly breakable. A father? They could abandon you with ease. A home? Just another thing to be taken away. How ridiculous the idea of it all was now that he was looking back on it. At least he could say he¡¯d gotten one good takeaway from it all. He¡¯d learned his lesson to never take anything ever promised to him for granted. The focus of all Noth¡¯s misery did nothing to defend himself against the antagonistic words being spat at him, and even as his son started slowly striding towards him, all he did was flinch. Laughter spilled out of the boy¡¯s mouth at the display of weakness, but the only thing he could feel was anger. He stopped at the other side of the desk the man was standing at, levelling him with the hardest glare he could as he looked up at his father. ¡°I¡¯ve heard stories that you¡¯re trying to fix that, though. Rumours that it wasn¡¯t enough for my own father to kill my mother, his own wife, but now he even wants to kill his only son too, so that he can start up a whole new family. And now that son of yours is standing right here, right in front of you. What will you do?¡± There was a moment of silence as the usually stoic face of Noth¡¯s father steadily morphed into an expression of pure pain and misery. It was such a pure, childlike expression, that it made Noth honestly doubt what his eyes were showing him for a second. Who knew that such a strict man could ever possibly make this kind of face? Part of him was even tempted to turn and ask his angel if she was seeing this, too. His astonishment was abruptly cut short however, when he noticed his father¡¯s hand shakily starting to unsheathe his sword. ¡°You¡¯re¡­You¡¯re right. Oh dear God-dess no, it¡¯s finally come to this, hasn¡¯t it?!¡± A tear began to fall from one eye as the man slowly stalked around his desk, his sword sheath trailing on the floor, messing up the fancy carpeting. The Earl stood in front of his son, shaking and let more tears fall for a few seconds, before his eyes suddenly filled with bloodlust and rage. Without warning and with lightning fast precision, the sword came sailing right for Noth¡¯s head. The boy fell backwards onto his butt hard, a shriek tearing from between his lips as his hands came up to shield his face. A loud clanging sound made him screw his eyes shut. A second passed. Another second passed. The snivelling sounds of a man¡¯s anguish made Noth lower his arms enough so that he could look upon the face of his attacker. Chapter Eight Ruth Kieran was a sight of pure anguish. He¡¯d collapsed down onto his knees, fat tears streaming down his face, and his sword laid forgotten on the floor next to him. Everything about the picture looked wrong to Noth. Why was he crying? Noth¡¯s the one who got attacked! Noth¡¯s the one who could have almost died! The child checked himself over to make sure he was really as fully in one piece as he felt, his eyes wide as we looked toward his angel and gave her a quick thankful nod for the shield. His gaze inevitably drifted back to his father, whose wails were seeming to increase in volume the more time that passed. The sounds were making the boy''s heart ache deeply, and the clear sense of suffering being conveyed moved him. He cautiously crawled to the side of the man on his hands and knees, sat down next to him, and gently patted his shoulder. ¡°Are you¡­ You¡¯re ok, right? Did you get hurt?¡± Ruth Kieran¡¯s words came out in sobbing pants. They were almost hard to even understand. ¡°I¡­ FAILED¡­ you. I couldn¡¯t save you! I¡¯m so weak¡­¡± The man gnashed his teeth and his fist pounded the carpet. Noth flinched at the sudden movement, but then after observing the man for a few moments, he returned to patting his shoulder once more. The boy was completely baffled by what any of this could have meant. Deciding that the only way to understand was to ask, he leaned in and spoke as calmingly as he could. ¡°But¡­I¡¯m here? I¡¯m fine.¡± Noth figured it was best not to mention the irony of this monster trying to save him from anything. The words were very close to spilling out of his mouth, however. ¡°No, no you¡¯re not fine at all! You¡¯re here now, people have seen you! They¡¯ll talk.¡± The more words that escaped from the Earl¡¯s lips, the more his body shook, and the deeper his sobs grew. His head started drooping closer and closer to the floor. ¡°I locked you up to protect you while I strengthened my resolve to do what¡¯s right¡­but it¡¯s too hard! I can¡¯t! How can they expect me to do such a thing?! I¡­¡± Before Noth could even realize what happened, the man had his shoulders in a tight grip. The position felt like he was going to get shaken violently, so he braced himself and clenched his teeth. But the shaking never came. Instead his father¡¯s forehead was planted against his own, as the man looked down into his eyes. For the first time ever, Noth was finally able to learn his father''s eye colour; It was blue, a beautiful, icy blue. ¡°You¡¯re Natalia¡¯s son! You¡¯re my son! You¡¯re all I have left¡­ I¡¯ve done everything they¡¯ve told me to, but how could they ask this of me?!¡± The child¡¯s mind seemed to freeze at all the new revelations he was being showered with. As he watched the tears falling repeatedly in front of him, he tried to force himself to take in what this all meant. His father didn¡¯t want to kill him. In fact, it looked like his father loved him. It seemed in some way that his father also had loved his mother. But then why did he kill her? And¡­ Wait. Someone¡­ told the Earl to kill his son? Who could order an Earl? Noth fisted his pants and stared hard into his father¡¯s eyes. His voice was steely as he choked out his question. ¡°Was it a higher noble? Or maybe the church itself told you to remove an eyesore.¡± No answer was given, instead he was just met with even more desperate sobbing. It seemed like the man was just too saddened and afraid to say. ¡°Father, I need to know. I deserve it.¡± ¡°I¡­ ha¡­ I can¡¯t¡­¡± The boy¡¯s face twisted into a scowl. He honestly missed his father¡¯s cold and strict appearance from before, when compared to this. A monster seemed much more manageable to converse with than a blubbering fool. He didn¡¯t know how to handle or interact with any of what he was seeing right now. Noth let out a sigh, acknowledging that he most likely wouldn¡¯t get anything more out of the man for today. It was time to retreat for now. He peeled his father off of him and took a step back. ¡°I¡¯ll leave for now, father, but I still need answers. I expect to hear some when I come back tomorrow.¡± The tragic look on Ruth Kieran¡¯s face as he desperately reached towards his leaving son would probably haunt Noth¡¯s nightmares for a while at least. It had been completely and firmly etched into his memory. The boy hurried his steps like he was trying to escape from the scene he¡¯d never in his wildest dreams thought that he would have seen. He all but ran out of the office, navigating the halls without a care for who saw him, and dashed back to the safety of his villa. Out of breath, he flopped down on the stairs that he had no strength left to climb, and flung his arm over his face as his mind churned through everything that had happened today. ¡°I never want to leave this place again. It¡¯s too much.¡± A cold hand stroked Noth¡¯s arm, and he gradually started feeling refreshed. When he felt a light kiss land where the hand had previously been, he moved his arm up to his forehead and glanced up at the angel. ¡°I also never want another big day again.¡± The nervous giggle and the avoidance of his gaze told him just how unlikely that dream was. He let out a small frustrated huff and stared up at the ceiling for a moment before settling his eyes back on her. A clear look of worry sat across his features. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Do you think¡­ I did good today? I didn¡¯t mess anything up? Or at least not worse than it already was?¡± His angel drifted closer to the small boy, her hands coming to embrace his cheeks as she placed her face just inches away from him and tenderly looked into his eyes. The more the spirit talked, the more starry eyed and worked up she seemed to be getting. Noth debated on whether he should slip out of her grasp and maybe escape to his room, but luckily his angel let him go and swiftly flew up the stairs, looking down at him once she reached the top. The sly look in her eyes had him wary for a moment, but a yawn that snuck up on him a second later had him crawling up the stairs after her. ~~~ The rest of the day had passed by so uneventfully that Noth almost felt disappointed by how such a big day could end so mildly. Even though he¡¯d napped so soundly from how frazzled his nerves were, the same wasn¡¯t true when it came time to sleep. Too many worries and possibilities and trains of thought occupied him every second that he laid in bed, and in the end he was only able to squeak out about 4 hours of sleep. When his angel roused him awake at the time he¡¯d told her, she had a terribly guilty look on her face. Crabbiness almost had the boy snapping at the well meaning comment, but he just sighed and got out of bed instead. ¡°No. He¡¯ll be expecting me now, since this is around the same time I showed up yesterday. We go now.¡± A few wishes later and the boy was once again inside his family manor. He didn¡¯t even bother trying to hide from the servants this time now that his father was expecting him. The man most likely had informed people to not impede his path. It¡¯s just the kind of thing the orderly Earl would have done. Of course, this didn¡¯t stop those that Noth did come across from giving him a myriad of different looks. He did his best to just ignore their reactions and keep marching towards his destination, but his face slowly grew more and more unsettled each time he heard the dark chuckles and derisive words of the angel floating behind him. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something an angel is supposed to say. Especially not out loud.¡± The spirit flew in close as Noth reached the final hallway outside his father¡¯s office, and suddenly hugged him tight from the side, staring at his profile. The child had stopped in place, and his eyes were locked on the now visible door. Her words seemed so loving and passionate on the surface, that at first they brought a blush to the boy¡¯s face. But the moment he turned his head to look at her, he realized that he¡¯d made a mistake. The slightly unhinged look in her eyes as she gazed at him, combined with the odd way she was smiling so widely that it almost looked like the corners of her mouth would rip, immediately made the blood drain from his face. Her hold seemed to tighten on him when he started to lightly tremble, but after just a handful of seconds she suddenly let Noth go and slowly flew away, down the hall they¡¯d just been headed towards. She hummed and giggled and called out her next words in a sing-song voice. Noth was supremely confused by her sudden changes in behaviour. His little legs were still rooted in place, almost afraid to take another step closer to the thing that had scared him so, just moments ago. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he watched her flittering around and decided to let his curiosity win over his fear, yet again. ¡°W-what kind of favour?¡± He frowned at the answer he was given. The boy hated how ambiguous the angel could be over things that were important for him. Every time she did something like this it drove his curiosity wild. His frustration at his lack of understanding somehow managed to eat up the rest of the fear that had had him stuck in place, and he finally managed to move forwards once again, his grumbling having pushed the incident from a minute ago to the back of his mind. He slogged himself to the doorway his angel had landed herself next to, and after a brief moment of apprehension and a quick repeat of yesterday¡¯s oh so essential shielding wish, Noth finally entered his father¡¯s office, once again. His father, Earl Ruth Kieran, was clearly the most haggard that Noth had ever seen him be. It almost looked like he¡¯d aged a handful of years overnight. Lines and creases the boy was sure hadn¡¯t been there before pervaded the man¡¯s face, and he came very close to turning and asking his angel what had happened. Or better yet, he also came close to just blurting the question out to his father directly. Noth¡¯s childhood had taught him that such questions would be impolite, however, so he decided to shelf the question and see if he couldn¡¯t remember to ask someone about it later. ¡°My son, you¡¯ve come! I¡­¡± At first the Earl had smiled and stood up from his desk when Noth had entered, but it seems the wind left his sails very quickly afterwards, and he flopped back into his chair, his face falling along with his body. A second later he slumped forwards against his desk and hung his head. Shaky words left his mouth and were mumbled into the wood. ¡°...I was thinking that maybe you wouldn¡¯t come back, or that maybe I¡¯d just dreamed the whole ordeal yesterday. I couldn¡¯t get a wink of sleep¡­ I was worried you¡¯d be d-disappointed in me just like everyone else. I¡¯d almost convinced myself you wouldn¡¯t come today.¡± The feeble words put a confused and concerned look on Noth¡¯s face. The past two days had shown him a man that was nothing at all like the father he¡¯d seen when he was younger. Where had his monster gone? He had to admit that his father was correct; he was indeed very disappointed. But once again, his curiosity reigned supreme. He needed answers, no matter how different things were going than he¡¯d imagined. The boy strode up to the desk, deciding that it¡¯d be best to just get to the point. ¡°Well then it¡¯s good that I showed up. You promised me answers today, father. I was promised. If you want me to not be disappointed so much, then I¡¯d like to hear them. Please.¡± A just barely audible sob escaped the man¡¯s lips, and his shoulders trembled for a few seconds, but after a deep sniff and a wiping of his eyes, the Earl gazed across the desk at his son. ¡°You wanted to know what exactly again? I¡¯ll tell you anything. I owe you that much. It¡¯s all gone to hell anyways, you deserve to know what¡¯s happening before it comes to you.¡± Chapter Nine A corner of Noth¡¯s mouth pulled back in annoyance when he realized that he had far too many things he wanted to ask, especially with the addition of what his father had just said. ¡°...You said you¡¯d answer all my questions, right?¡± When he got the affirmative nod that he was looking for, the boy thought hard for a moment about what to ask first. It was difficult to pick which one to settle on at the beginning, but one question was screaming more loudly to be asked than the others. He had to know the truth about the man he was dealing with. Noth crossed his arms and levelled a harsh look at his father. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start with the worst one then. Why did you kill mother?¡± The Earl¡¯s lip quivered when he heard the question, but his shoulders squared up and he inhaled hard, his face obviously trying to go back to its old stoic look, but falling just short. ¡°I did what had to be done. She was going to leave me, and she was going to take you with her, and I couldn¡¯t allow her to do that. You¡¯re my only son, and she wouldn¡¯t have been able to take care of you properly. She especially wouldn¡¯t have been able to protect you with your¡­ affliction. I love you. I love you both. But I had to make a decision for the good of the family. I had to do my duty. I had to do the right thing. People were talking to me, telling me things, saying things¡­ She could have put you both in jeopardy, I had to make a choice, I¡­¡± As more and more words spilled out of his father¡¯s mouth, Noth¡¯s eyebrows sunk further and further down. His mouth was set in a thin line. Even he, in his young age, could tell that all of these explanations were nothing more than beautiful excuses. He was sure this was nothing but the reasonings that his father rationalized to himself after the fact. When the Earl caught the look on his child¡¯s face, the man knew exactly what it meant. He shrunk a bit in his chair and stared at his desk so he wouldn¡¯t have to see more of that disapproving gaze. ¡°I¡¯m not lying, I really am trying to put the family¡¯s prestige first, like I was taught to do¡­ I just¡­ I was also just so angry at your mother at the time. We were fighting, she was going to leave me, she was going to take you away¡­ and she said she was disappointed in me.¡± The way the Earl hung his head and muttered the last words, combined with how he¡¯d also mentioned ¡®disappointment¡¯ earlier in the conversation, told Noth just how big of a complex his father seemingly had about it. Honestly though, he couldn¡¯t believe that this was his father¡¯s great and grand reasoning for taking his mother away. It would have been so much better if his previous excuses had actually been the truth, than to have known that the decision ultimately came down to how much of an angry, timorous man his father was. Noth was so exasperated that he came close to yelling at the man about what a coward he was, but instead bit his tongue and growled out a different question, continuing down his list of grievances. ¡°...And what about me? Where am I in all of that? What was your plan for me after you¡¯d murdered mother? You say she couldn¡¯t have protected me, what was your great idea for it?¡± His father¡¯s shoulders trembled once again, and the man turned his head slightly towards the wall, doing his best not to look at Noth. ¡°Er¡­ I¡­ I am¡­ ashamed. It all happened so fast, so of course I didn¡¯t have enough time to think of a very good plan. When the¡­ when the men came¡­ when they came to get your m-moth¡­ when they came to get the b-body¡­ they told me you were still in the greenhouse. I figured that if you were still in there, instead of running back to the manor or running away, then maybe you felt the safest there, so I ordered a guard to watch over the place. You were already in danger, I figured I could just keep you in there and keep you safe. Safe from everyone. I-I was too afraid to visit you, for fear of how you¡¯d look at me. I¡¯m sorry. I promise I¡­ I did my best.¡± When the Earl glanced over and saw the glare Noth was levelling on him, he flinched, his next words running out from between his lips as fast as they could, as if he thought that they might appease the boy, or maybe just to get things over with quicker. ¡°I spread a rumour that you were just sick and recuperating, so no one would find out what you were, but that didn¡¯t stop the staff from knowing. Of course, the church also knew, considering they¡¯re who identified your [Gift] in the first place, or lack thereof. That was the most dangerous of all. A few higher nobles that were under their thumb also started¡­ saying things. Advising¡­ things. They said such awful words to me so casually.¡± The trembling grew worse and worse. Tears were pattering onto the desk left and right. One of his father¡¯s hands came up to grip the edge of the desk in a white knuckled hold. ¡°They kept telling me that I had to kill you and remarry! They said it was the only way to do my duty and make things right for the noble lineage. They all kept saying it and saying it and whispering and ordering and yelling and I just couldn¡¯t take it! I didn¡¯t want to, Noth, believe me! I don¡¯t want to at all! But I have a duty, they¡¯re expecting things of me, I have to do what¡¯s right, Noth, no matter how awful it feels! Just like always¡­ B-but I failed! I couldn¡¯t kill you!¡± Ruth Kieran collapsed down against his desk, blubbering and wailing and pounding against the wood. Noth pulled a disgusted face at the scene he was being shown, and stepped back, which only seemed to raise the volume of his father¡¯s cries. He glared at the man in front of him with so much aversion, to the point where he started to feel sick to his stomach from it all. This just didn¡¯t make sense. It was making him so angry! How dare he be the one crying?! Where had any of the dignity that he was supposed to have go? Why was he acting more like a child throwing a tantrum than the literal child right in front of him who¡¯d learned such awful things only mere seconds ago? It was all just so upsetting! All of a sudden, slender and cool arms wrapped around Noth from behind, hugging him tightly as his angel whispered into his ear. The hug seemed to bring him a small bit of clarity, if only for the second that he was surprised by it, and he sucked in a deep breath, trying to hold back his anger so that he could think. Deciding to take the angel¡¯s advice, he gently removed her hands and marched out of the room, without a word to the puddle that was his father. He wandered aimlessly through the halls, fisting his pants hard, not even paying a speck of attention to anyone who he might have passed by, trying his hardest to just not think of anything at all so that he could hopefully calm down a bit. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Before he¡¯d realized it, Noth had ended up in some random guest room of the manor. He emptily glanced around for a while before deciding to climb up on a small couch, laying curled up tight on his side. He didn¡¯t spare a glance to his angel that was kneeling by the side of the couch, gently stroking his hair. He didn¡¯t have the time. There was too much to think about. First and foremost there was the awful showing from his father just now. What was any of that? His mother¡¯s death was a mistake made out of anger and a hurt ego? That¡¯s possible? The boy couldn¡¯t imagine someone being capable of making such a deadly mistake for such stupid reasons. And yet, it had been told to him with much more sincerity than the excuses that had come pouring out of his father¡¯s mouth before. Noth hated to admit it, but it seemed that really must have been the truth. And so what did all these newfound sides of his father show? Ruth Kieran was a coward, Noth was 100% sure of this fact. He was a coward who could neither stand up against his complex for the family he professed to love, nor against the peer pressure and orders from his colleagues and higher ups to do something awful. He spouted out about duty and lineage like he was a child parroting something an adult told him to say. A fear of failure could only cover so much of his wrongdoings. At this point, Noth¡¯s father had completely lost all respect that the boy had ever held for him. He could only see the man as a crybaby and a child. But did those labels stop him from being a monster like Noth had thought he¡¯d been? No. Not by a mile. Ruth Kieran would always be Noth¡¯s monster. Perhaps in reality monsters came in a variety of different kinds, just like the different types he¡¯d seen and heard about from his mother¡¯s reading. Perhaps there were lesser monsters and greater monsters out there. Perhaps there could be monsters that seemed great and imposing, but were really much smaller and weaker in secret. It seemed that his father was that type of monster indeed. The kind that hid under noble motives to do pusillanimous things. A cowardly monster. And Noth wasn¡¯t going to be beaten by a cowardly monster, no matter what. He would become much too strong for that. He simply had to. The boy was reminded of what his angel had said before, in what feels like ages ago now. Was he a mouse? A lion? What was he? Would he grow up to be some kind of monster like his father? Well, he was surely not a mouse; He¡¯d confronted his fears and even been attacked head on and survived. Was he a lion? No, Noth didn¡¯t feel quite comfortable or confident enough to think himself so high and righteous, not with this ugly feeling that was brewing in the pit of his stomach. And yet, at the same time, with what he¡¯d withstood, his righteous convictions, and this newfound power, he felt¡­ strong. Much stronger than a mouse, or maybe even a lion. Strong enough to survive at the very least. Maybe strong enough to wrench back some kind of life of his own instead of the life of a beast in captivity. But does an escaped beast eventually become a monster? He felt strong enough to become a monster, for sure. Did that mean that one of his fears had come true, and he¡¯d indeed been turned into a monster as well? Perhaps maybe he¡¯d only become half a monster, just strong enough to defeat the monsters that had him in their sights, but not enough that he lost his¡­ well what would the other half be? If his father was a monster and his mother was just a loving human, then did that make him half human? No, that didn¡¯t feel right either. Maybe one too many things had happened for him to have very much ¡®human¡¯ left inside of him. But maybe with enough time it could just be another thing that he could snatch back from his broken life. Perhaps he could even come out the other end as something even higher than he¡¯d started as. Just another thing to work towards. Well, if Noth was going to go down this new path, he was going to need to reclaim what had been stolen from him first and foremost. What was the easiest thing he could achieve right now? The boy sat up and ran through all the possibilities, doing his best to plan out what he needed, what he could and couldn¡¯t achieve. He smiled ruefully as he realized a hard learned lesson; If he didn¡¯t want to follow the downfall of his lesser monster of a father, he should plan things out as effectively as he could. Once he¡¯d made up his mind, Noth stood up with a purpose, and was met with cheers of admiration from the angel waiting next to him. He turned to her and grabbed her hand, squeezing it as he led her through the halls, and back to his father¡¯s office. The limp and lifeless man inside slowly lifted his head when he heard the door opening, his watery and red eyes still a bit shaky as they focused on his son. The boy confidently strode up to his father, coming behind the desk and fiercely grasping the man¡¯s collar, staring hard into his eyes. ¡°You say you care about duty and lineage and what everyone says. You say it¡¯s the only way. And now, I¡¯m here to offer you a different way. If everything¡¯s too hard for you to take, then don¡¯t take it anymore. Get out of the way and I¡¯ll take it instead.¡± The Earl¡¯s eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open at the sudden declaration. It took him almost a minute of hesitation to respond, but he tried his best to straighten out his face and grit his teeth. ¡°No, I can¡¯t let you do that. If even I, a [Superior Warrior] couldn¡¯t take it, then how am I supposed to just shove things off onto my young, unblessed son, who the God-dess hates?!¡± A small growl of frustration leaked from Noth¡¯s mouth as he roughly pulled his hand away, the boy balling his fists and raising his voice with a punctuating stomp. ¡°Who says the God-dess hates me?!¡± A second later Ruth Kieran¡¯s eyes and mouth grew wide at what he was witnessing. The bottom half of his son¡¯s eyes had suddenly changed colour, turning from the coal-like shade of black he¡¯d gotten from his mother to an almost glowing red rust. The man''s head snapped up and his eyes and mouth grew as big as saucers in even greater astonishment when a miracle appeared behind Noth just a moment later, radiating a holy light. The beautifully spread wings in flight, the holy garb, the unnatural colouration of the hair, and the ephemeral way that the hair was dripping with blood. The Earl was a pious man. He¡¯d been to church enough times to know what the vision in front of him was. He pushed back the seat he¡¯d been sitting in frantically and dropped down onto his knees to pray so hard that they stung harshly. He couldn¡¯t close his eyes, however. Something wouldn¡¯t let him look away from the angel in front of him. And that same beautiful spirit''s eyes seemed to be boring holes through him as they stared right back. The angel¡¯s every word sent reverberations through the Earl. She closed her spread wings and landed soundlessly on the floor, lovingly placing her hands on Noth¡¯s shoulder and cheek, before she continued. Noth put on his best triumphant face when he saw the look his father gave him at his angel¡¯s words. Truth be told, he was a little peeved that she¡¯d stepped in, since he was trying to hide her as his secret weapon. But, all in all this was probably the fastest way to make his dull-witted father listen, so it was probably for the best. Who would believe the silly snivelling man if he said he saw an angel anyways? Or who knows, maybe people would believe, and would take it as a sign that the boy had holy backing. Perhaps that was for the best. After taking a few deep breaths and hard gulps, the Earl finally bowed his head and spoke, the words coming out clearly awed. ¡°What did you¡­ need of me?¡± Feeling like he¡¯d finally won, the boy lightly tilted his head back and looked down his nose at the man. Chapter Ten: -Angel Intermission- At first I was like, really confused, and I still didn¡¯t want to believe this weird thing talking to me was supposed to be a god or whatever, but ya know¡­ It¡¯s really hard to deny the facts when your whole body literally changes into a different creature. Kinda had to give up on that fight. Oh man was my new body was crazy beautiful, sleek, and graceful now though. I was totally loving it, although I¡¯d never admit it out loud to that stupid voice/light/god/whatever though. The only thing that actually took getting used to before it stopped super bothering me was the constant dripping my hair was doing, but all in all it wasn¡¯t so bad. What was bad though was how my mind had changed. Sure, it was convenient how the god thing had set everything up for me. If I wanted to know something? Boom, I knew it. Didn¡¯t even take any time. If I wanted to stop knowing something? Just as easy. Everything I could ever wish to know about the world of this beautiful story that I¡¯d fallen in love with was right at my fingertips! And if I wanted to discover it all anew? Poof, gone. It made for a very nice little switch I had control over. What wasn¡¯t nice? I was sure I was different on the inside. Sure, obviously I¡¯d physically been changed, but it felt like some personality sliders had been tweaked inside my head or something when the stupid god-whatever had been rifling through it. No matter how much it had assured me that it wouldn¡¯t dare to change anything about the thoughts in my head that it loved oh so much, or that it¡¯d only removed inconsequential things from the past, I wasn¡¯t buying it. I was sure it¡¯d added some things it hadn¡¯t told me about. I could feel the difference. For one thing, I could feel myself going crazy. Not loopy to the point of gibberish but I felt like maybe the stupid deity had somehow infected me with itself. It would make sense if I was its ¡®emissary¡¯ like it had claimed before, but like¡­ I didn¡¯t freaking want it! I could tell something was wrong when I suddenly started to agree with some of the things it had said to me. The casual and careless things that had upset me so much when we¡¯d talked the first time around really did seem to be correct. The more information of the world that was pumped into my head, the more that I believed that the God-dess (as I remembered it was supposed to be called) was actually fair in its assessment. I still couldn¡¯t really believe that it had been fair in what had happened to my favorite character in particular, but I was biased and I had to accept that. That¡¯s another thing! I was biased! I was too biased. In fact, when it came to anything that had to do with Noth, the character I cared for enough to throw everything away, I was absolutely nuts. I¡¯d even figured out that the dumbass god had actually found a way to kill me so that it could bring me here, and I didn¡¯t even really care because it meant that I¡¯d get to be in the same world as him. I may have had a hefty bit of obsession in me before but like there¡¯s no way in hell that I¡¯d had this much hiding in there! And so, much to my old self¡¯s dismay, I started drowning in all my 20 million thoughts about Noth. I¡¯d learned a good deal of tricks, skills, and secrets from the god thing while it made me wait for my time to shine, and among those was the ability to just¡­watch. I watched over my dear, lovely Noth from above, seeing in detail every little thing that happened to him. I watched him learn to walk, I watched him play with his mother, I watched him be read to sleep, I watched him learn about the importance of the bracelet, I watched it all. Anything that happened to him, I saw it. This new body didn¡¯t have a single apparent need to it either, so I didn¡¯t have anything to distract me past the usual teachings of the God-dess. But this brings up yet another problem. I¡¯ve found myself muttering like that damn god. A few of the words that escaped my mouth sounded much too similar to what it¡¯d said to me when we¡¯d first met. I even caught myself calling Noth by the same silly pet names that I¡¯d been called! But¡­ It¡¯s true. It was all true. I feel the same way that the god thing had felt towards me about Noth. He was just so¡­ interesting. I couldn¡¯t get enough of him, just every tiny piece of him was so compelling! He was so lovable! I couldn¡¯t deny it, I ~loved~ him. And yes, that¡¯s right, its words were completely correct. Noth was so¡­ petite. So little. So s-m-a-l-l. Something that small needed me. And so I waited until the God-dess set me loose. It felt like I had to wait forever, but watching over my boy made the time much more bearable. I had to watch the awful day that Noth was stigmatized, and then later also had to watch him see his mother get murdered, and¡­ Yes, it was hard to sit still and let it happen, for sure, but¡­actually no it wasn¡¯t. Already knowing exactly how things would go down due to the combination of my previous constant rereading of the story mixed with my all seeing powers dulled the pain of it by a good deal. Even if I felt awful for not being there, I was secretly very alright with it since this was a necessary step in my poor boy¡¯s tragic backstory. It also meant I was getting even closer to finally being with him! But there was another much more important factor than any of that. I was enjoying it. I was enjoying watching Noth squirm and have awful injustices dumped down on him. I was enjoying watching him survive through it and seeing how he¡¯d come out on the other end of it all. I loved watching Noth struggle. That damn God-dess MUST have infected me! ~~~ After watching my poor, pitiful, small boy wrestle with the dreadful lot in life he¡¯d been given for a little over two years, the God-dess started whispering in my ear. My time would be coming soon. Closer. Closer. The time seemed to drag by when I knew that any day now I could finally be there. It was agony. I loved it. I hated it. I couldn¡¯t wait. And when the day came? When the God-dess finally told me that today was the day? I don¡¯t know how I didn¡¯t just spontaneously combust or something. Their words preaching patience and the reassuring waves they threw at me helped. My mood definitely took a step down when I was told that I wasn¡¯t allowed to do anything until Noth wished for it. But still, I waited, and I stared, and I drew closer, and closer. I couldn¡¯t help but mumble to myself as I drifted nearer and nearer to him. I listened as hard as I could, even hearing his thoughts, ready to spring as soon as he gave the signal! He missed his mother. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. He was needy! He missed being loved. He was lonely¡­ HE¡¯S FINALLY DOING IT!!! ¡­And then I messed up a little. It seems I¡¯d accidentally said that last bit out loud. The child heard me and got scared. Damn. That¡¯ll really slow things down, won¡¯t it. My face felt a little hot as I watched Noth looking for me. If I¡¯d had enough self control I could be with him already, dammit! And now he was just getting even more distressed than before. This isn¡¯t what I wanted at all. I¡¯m already failing, aren¡¯t I? I was a sad little loser for a moment until I realized that I¡¯d been wrong. Noth¡¯s fear had somehow managed to boomerang around into hope, and that was actually making him redouble on his feelings from before! Yes! I felt like my eyes would pop out when he finally thought the phrase that would set me free. He was wishing for company! That could be me. That WOULD be me! He was wishing for it so hard. I can finally go! Oh wait, first impressions are important. Alright, let¡¯s do it like I planned! Let¡¯s give him the works. Lights? Check. Mood music? Check. Beautiful entrance? Mega check. I was looking positively stunning. I couldn¡¯t help but eat up the crazy awed looks Noth was giving me. No, gotta keep a good look on my face. Calm down and smile. Can¡¯t go wrong with smiles. Lovely smile? Check. No wait, he looked a little unsettled for a second there. Maybe I should say something. I¡¯ll put a little bit of holiness in my words, let him know I¡¯m not like, some sort of teleporting harpy or something. AAAaaahhh!!! He¡¯s so cute! It¡¯s even more overwhelming when you see it right in front of your face! He¡¯s a little smaller than a 9 year old should be since they¡¯ve been almost starving him with that ¡®food¡¯. I love that he¡¯s still so tiny, it¡¯s really enhancing just how adorable he is~. I totally feel like I can forgive them a little for feeding him that slop, although the way his cheeks are a bit sunken is kind of overwriting that feeling. Oh and that beautiful black hair and those matching black eyes that he got from his mother! The way his hair has the subtlest amount of curl to it like it¡¯s trying so hard and failing to be straight! The eyes look so deep and vacuous like they¡¯ll suck me in, and yet somehow if the darkness could glow it would look juuust like that! Oh my god~. He¡¯s gorgeous, thank you for passing on your colour scheme to him, dead mom! Oh, and for your sacrifice, too! Maybe I can get away with touching him a bit? Ah, but he flinched. Too bad though my love, I¡¯m gonna touch that cute little face of yours no matter what! Oh my god he¡¯s so soooft! Little bit too emaciated though. We¡¯re gonna have to fix that. But then he asked me if I¡¯m a ghost. What the hell. I¡¯d tried so hard to give a super holy and grand first impression to the kid and he goes and calls me a freaking ghost. Ok no, he¡¯s thinking about his mother, so this probably just means he¡¯s thinking of me as a motherly figure. I need him on my side. This could be an in! Be nice, talk sweetly, show him some love, make sure he knows you¡¯re not a ghost though, that¡¯d only make things more difficult. Look! I¡¯ve got wings and stuff! Touch em, they¡¯re crazy real, I promise! Ah crap, ok I didn¡¯t know my feathers came off that easily. Wait, he looks a little upset, uhhh¡­ well hey, if the evidence is gone then nothing happened. I¡¯ll just make the stupid feather go away! OH GOSH HE¡¯S SO CUTE! Look at the little face he just made! Do you like my parlour tricks? Go on, take all my feathers, I can keep doing that as many times as you like! No, if I say it like that he¡¯ll get too shy. Be elegant. Be cool. Reassure him. Nope, you did it wrong, now he¡¯s treating me like a stranger. Fuck. What do I do? He¡¯s glancing this way, smile dammit and figure out how to fix this. Why does he look scared? Ugh! Think! Oh hold on, looks like he¡¯s introducing himself. Guess it all worked itself out. My little Noth. Noth Kieran, from back while he was still a child and hadn¡¯t changed his last name to Kellen yet. It¡¯s amazing. I¡¯m really here. The God-dess really did it, she really put me in the book. I¡¯m¡­ Who am I? He asked me what my name is. I don¡¯t have one. He seemed utterly in shock that someone could just not have a name. He was even patting my arm, oh my god how sweet! When he offered to give me a new name I was over the freaking moon! Yes! Name me! I¡¯m new and I¡¯m Noth¡¯s! I wonder if this is how pets who finally get adopted feel? Oooh he¡¯s getting really into it too, look at him thinking about it so hard. I love that look on his face, I wish I could save it forever~. Oh my gosh, I can¡¯t let him see me like this! It¡¯s too much! Alright, let¡¯s help him out a bit since it seems like he¡¯s having a little bit of a hard time. Ahem. Elegant. Regal. Helpful. Nailed it! Aaaand just like always he subverts my expectations. Honestly I was thinking that he¡¯d come up with an actual name he liked or something, maybe even an offshoot of his mother¡¯s name. You know, instead of ¡®Natalia¡¯ I¡¯d become ¡®Natasha¡¯ or whatever. But really. Really. He decided on a species instead of a name. ¡®Angel¡¯. This is like naming your dog ¡®Dog¡¯. I¡¯m kinda freaking worried. Is he¡­is¡­ is my boy slow? Is he a little dumb? Okay, he¡¯s just a kid sure but like¡­really? Just zero naming sense I guess, no shame in that, not everyone¡¯s good at it. I said I wanted him to name me, I gotta sleep in the bed I made. Let¡¯s just give him an out for when he realizes how dumb this is later. He can give me an actual damn name then. He isn¡¯t wrong though, is he? I suppose the God-dess did make me into an angel for whatever reason. Probably cuz of the whole ¡®emissary¡¯ thing it mentioned. Whatever, it doesn¡¯t really matter what I am, let¡¯s just enjoy my time with Noth. Pat pat pat~. Ah damn, I know that look on his face. Don¡¯t even have to read his mind to know what this one means. Go on, ask me whatever you need, you little cutie! Aaaah, the the faces he makes really are the best! Of course his first question would be why I¡¯m here. I¡¯m here to help, obviously, but really I¡¯m here to watch. I can¡¯t just tell him that though. He thinks I¡¯m some kind of ¡®Angel of Mercy¡¯ that the God-dess sent to save him. How dismayed would he be if he found out that they¡¯d really set loose an angel with a different m word in its name on him? Oh yesss, I can¡¯t wait to see the look on his face! But that¡¯ll have to be for another time, when he needs me too much to throw me away. No no, it¡¯d be better to keep up the elegant and holy image for as long as I can get away with it. Where was that light beam? Let¡¯s get back to that previous show I was putting on. Look holy, holy¡­ Look at you, you¡¯re a merciful angel, at least for right now, and no one needs to know otherwise. Alright, perfect, and now for the speech! Hit em with the holy words, hit em with the divinity, hit em with the righteousness, add in a flourish for style points! Make that God-dess upstairs proud! Okay, and now a little forehead kiss to seal the deal! Oh, but he looks confused now. Maybe we make a little excuse here. Did he buy it? Nope, didn¡¯t buy it an inch, in fact I think that one might have backfired on me. Well damn. Now he¡¯s even questioning if the God-dess even really sent me. So much for looking like an angel of mercy to the boy. This is all going in a weird direction just constantly isn¡¯t it. Am I not even able to impress one needy little child? Fine then, let¡¯s just stop trying to be good and just tell him the truth. Besides, why should I let that dumb god thing take all my freaking credit?! This is all up to me! Just because I¡¯m told to do something doesn¡¯t make all the achievements go to whoever ordered it! I don¡¯t need Noth thanking the stupid deity that chose to screw him over just for its entertainment in the first place, I need him thanking me. He needs me. I¡¯m the only one who can save him. NO ONE ELSE. It felt like everything was twisting around me as I talked. It felt hot, and I started feeling¡­weird. My eyes are really itchy. Did something happen? Alright, maybe I need to stop for a second. I¡¯m okay, right? Everything stopped being all twisty and hot-like, right? Right. Where¡¯s Noth? Oh man, I really just keep fucking this up, don¡¯t I? Chapter Eleven: -Angel Intermission Continued- Yeah so, how do you calm down kids again? Maybe the little trembling lump needs a hug? Hugs and pats should definitely help. Hugs, pats, apologies and reassurances. Add in a small splash of truth and love and it should do wonders. Maybe also let¡¯s reclaim some of that face that I think I just super lost. It¡¯s perfect right? I couldn¡¯t stop myself from mumbling a little line about how the stupid god loves seeing struggles, but seeing as how much that¡¯s turned into the pot calling the kettle black I should prolly shut up about that. Crap, this kid notices everything. Keep smiling, keep smiling, don¡¯t show anything but the smile, I need him to like me dammit! Stop screwing everything up! He won¡¯t stop looking at me now, he must be so confused. He must think I¡¯m doing a real crap job at being an angel, huh? Ah but his little surprised face looks so cute! I have to kiss him! He deserves kisses, at least on the forehead! Oh my goodness and he¡¯s turning so red, I can¡¯t take it! I¡¯ll never get enough of his cute little faces, please keep me, Noth! I¡¯ll be helpful! I¡¯ll be soooo helpful! I¡¯m sorry for scaring you, don¡¯t think about it too much, I¡¯ll try not to be bad in the future, so just keep me! Look! I can make you food! Real food, not the slop you¡¯ve been forced to eat ever since you got locked up. You¡¯re so emaciated, please, eat! Eat, and then one day soon I can pinch and squish the chubby little cheeks you¡¯ll get~. Okay but don¡¯t eat it too quickly, you look like a hamster. Oh, but what a cute hamster! I have to pet him! Pet, pet, pet. Dear lord, this boy is just too precious. I¡¯ll always protect this precious little thing. Let me promise him that. I¡¯ll always keep him safe and well fed. And I can grant him some powers! Wishes would be a great start! We could make a contract. We could assimilate. I could become a part of him. Let¡¯s see him try returning me then, heheheh. Ok, keep a straight face, straight face, this has to go perfect. If I use that handy dandy bracelet of his this¡¯ll all be even easier to do. Saves me the trouble of making my own artifact. Plus he loves it since it was his mother¡¯s, so he¡¯ll treasure it well, and not break it too early. It wouldn¡¯t be good if it broke before he learned to use the powers and made¡­ Well, let¡¯s not think about it. He¡¯s a smart and careful character, even if he is still a child right now. He¡¯ll break it one day for sure, but I¡¯ll make sure he¡¯s nice and prepared first! Besides, it¡¯s nice having something physical that shows our bond together~. When the tiny boy asked me if my promise would be forever I felt like I¡¯d die. This is amazing, AMAZING! Forever! For-ever. F-o-r-e-v-e-r! Him and me. Noth and his angel. The two of us. And he looks like he really wants it, but he¡¯s being shy about it! My favorite character wants me to be with him forever. I was grabbing his face and staring deep into his eyes before I even knew what I was doing, just to make sure I hadn¡¯t misunderstood the look that I¡¯d just seen. Wait, was that too much? Let¡¯s dial it back a little bit. Oh, but look at that brave little face of his! So cute! Precious! I love it! Oh my gosh and he¡¯s practically begging me to do the contract and stay with him. Yes! Yeees! Yeeeesss~! It¡¯s finally happening! Thank you God-dess! Quick, I have to do it before he changes his mind! Yes! Alright, bracelet, check! Holiness, check! Amazingly cute little boy, check! This might hurt him just a little bit, but I¡¯ll do my best to keep it minimal, so it¡¯ll be okay, right? It¡¯s always scary doing something for the first time. If I mess this up I¡¯m gonna freaking cry I swear! A few brief moments of pain, some hand holding, and a healing kiss later and the contract was complete! I¡¯d even fused the bracelet into his arm so he wouldn¡¯t lose it. Now he¡¯d never be caught without his powers and link to me. I did it completely for his benefit and not just because I always wanted him to wear it, I swear. Winkyface. I feel like the God-dess is laughing at me. Oh no, he¡¯s scratching at it and he looks grossed out! Crap! Wait! Stop! I kinda told him that it was necessary and that plenty of people do body mods like it all the time. And boy, I sure do feel bad for lying. Yup. Look, it¡¯d be a huge hassle to have to undo and dammit I want him to wear it! JUST WEAR IT OKAY?! Please! It¡¯s good, I promise! It¡¯ll be great! It looks great on you! And like, now you can use my power! Cuz we¡¯re bonded now! We¡¯re bonded now¡­ Oh my god¡­ I feel like I¡¯m gonna cry. This is amazing. It doesn¡¯t feel real. It¡¯ll feel real if I feel him using my powers. Quick, Noth, make a wish! Woah ok his face had some stink on it when he asked what being bonded means. What the hell? What did I do wrong? Why does he look so put off??? Maybe he just doesn¡¯t like the idea in general? Shouldn¡¯t he want that the most though? I mean he literally just wished for it a little while ago, he should love the idea. So then it¡¯s me?! He hates me?! Does he hate being bonded to me for some reason?! No he must just not like the idea of bonding in general, let¡¯s go with that one. But it¡¯s not so bad! He¡¯ll learn to like it, I¡¯m sure! We¡¯ve only just started bonding, if he¡¯s already freaked out about it now then how will he feel about it when it gets stronger? Damn damn damn. B-but look! Powers! He gets cool powers! Wishes! Anything he could wish for! Out loud, anyways! This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Ok if I¡¯m being completely honest, I¡¯m lying to him a little bit. He doesn¡¯t actually have to ¡®wish¡¯ for it at all, he just has to want it enough. But hey, why remove the training wheels if he still needs ¡®em? Besides, it¡¯s cute! And hell, if he gets really good at it and we assimilate more he can even do it in his head! Isn¡¯t that great? Please please PLEASE don¡¯t worry about the whole bonding thing! Just assimilate with meeee. Oh thank the God-dess he moved past it! ¡­Huh. Okay this kid is really overcomplicating making a wish. You did just fine making wishes earlier, I mean you summoned me with one, why would making some random tester wish be so hard now? Maybe he wants the first one to be special? Or maybe he just wants to know the rules or something? Wouldn¡¯t this be like¡­a great time to play a trick on him? Ya know, get him back for this emotional rollercoaster he¡¯s been putting me on since I arrived. Yes. Let¡¯s mix a bit of a lie with a bit of a truth and spin it into maximum embarrassment and see what we can get. I wonder how silly he¡¯ll feel while he does it? I feel kind of warped right now like I¡¯m drunk. Why is the idea of this making me so giddy? Aaahh, I can¡¯t wait to see the look on his face when he tries it! Am I acting like all of these silly little wish rules are the God-dess¡¯s fault and not mine? Yes. <... after all, that twisted thing does love a show.> Is this the pot calling the kettle black once again? Hell yeah. Gotta take the stabs you can get. I watched the little cutie get more and more excited as he thought through all the stuff he could possibly ask for for his first wish. Seemed like he decided on starting small and working his way up from there, the smart cookie. I had to hold myself back from cuddling him while he thought it all over. Noth¡¯s cute little voice squeaked out his wish for new clothes, and the way he looked over at me to check that he did it right was melting my heart~! He must have felt the artifact that we were using as a connector react to the wish or something a moment later though, cuz he didn¡¯t look my way for very long. My melting heart spit out a few teardrops at that, but I couldn¡¯t blame the kid. You¡¯d look away too when magic starts happening to you. The problem is, that I could feel it happen too. It¡¯s my power after all. It never felt like such a tingly little shock to the body like this when I use it, though. Should I be worried about this? I¡¯d forgotten how cute his clothes had been before this whole mess started. And they even fit him better, awww! Even with how little and shittily he¡¯d been fed, he was still a growing boy, huh? Honestly, I was touched to notice such a change. Little dumb of him to wish for new clothes on his crazy dirty body though. My conscience wouldn¡¯t let me put such nice clothes on such an unwashed frame, so I had to give the kid a freebie clean along with it, of course. Totally worth the sneaky power use in my opinion, especially with the face he was making. I absolutely loved it every time he made that awed and amazed face! Sooo precious~! I have to hold him, aaaah! I love you Noth, you¡¯re so perfect and wonderful and cute and the clothes suit you so much and don¡¯t pay attention to that bracelet just yet or you¡¯ll get too worried to enjoy this! Don¡¯t the clothes feel nice? That¡¯s magic for ya! The kid¡¯s excitement is contagious I swear, what¡¯s he gonna wish for next? I can see his thoughts plainly on his face. He wants to fix up his home next, doesn¡¯t he? Yeah, it is real freaking dilapidated in here, I get it. Crazy how quickly this place went to hell, huh? Must be the rush job his dad ordered to make this place for his in-laws. That kinda wish is gonna be a bit higher tier than a simple wish for clothes though, considering we¡¯re in a villa or whatever. I had to really stop myself from making an evil face when I noticed him getting embarrassed. He¡¯s really gonna do it, isn¡¯t he? Yeees. This is gonna be great. If I could record this right now, I totally would. Oooh, I feel a little warm. Sorry my love, but show all of this silliness to me. Okay, he¡¯s starting out strong with the usual church phrases¡­and now he¡¯s lost it. Oooh and he¡¯s tripping over his words! I need popcorn for this. Geez this kid is cute~. He even said please at the end. My Noth is so perfectly sweet! And the way he closed his eyes like he was mortified after, oh man I¡¯m just eating all of this up. I could watch this scene forever. I need to make sure things go well on this wish since he did such a great job! I¡¯ll give the wish a little extra power, just for my Noth~. The extra boost I gave it made the house a bit sturdier than it had been before. Shouldn¡¯t be breaking on the kid anytime soon. Aaah, watching Noth gawk at and run his hands over all the furniture felt so crazy wholesome! This is definitely one of the things that makes this all worth it~. I gotta follow him and make sure I watch all of his cute little reactions. Alright, yes, we¡¯re in the kitchen! What¡¯re you gonna do in here, my love? Are you still hungry? Looking for some food? Wish for a feast then! I can¡¯t wait to see it! Oh¡­ Oh no. He did it wrong¡­ The picture was right, but he didn¡¯t put enough power or focus into the wish at all. Most of all, he¡¯d communicated what he wanted to me very poorly. That disconnect is gonna cost him... What a mess. Well, it¡¯s only the first day, he¡¯ll learn. Don¡¯t look so confused, my poor little thing. There, it¡¯s over there, on the table. At least he got something tasty, let¡¯s think of it that way. Oh no, and now he¡¯s noticed the bracelet. What a freaking mess! NO, you can¡¯t just wish it fixed, that¡¯d be like wishing for more wishes to a genie or something. Geez, I better get over there and explain, what the heck am I gonna say so that he can understand what¡¯s going on?! Calming a kid down is so HARD! I¡¯m sooo not cut out for this! I¡¯m definitely no teacher, either. Does what I¡¯m saying even make sense to him? Keep the words simple, simple. It¡¯s a learning experience, it¡¯s ok, please stop freaking out! Okay, phew, he¡¯s calmed down and eating now, thank heaven. Yeeesss. Eat. Get some meat on this tiny little body. Grow. I¡¯m no good with kids, no matter how cute you are. I miss my tortured-badass-emo-grownup-pitiful-villain Noth. But, I guess if he¡¯s still tiny like this I have a free pass to hug him all I want, so it¡¯s not all so bad, now is it? And I get to watch my favourite person grow up~! The idea that he¡¯s still just a child is really going to make things hard on me, though. I promised I¡¯d help him, and if he freaked out that much just from realizing his bracelet was breaking, how is he going to handle all the awful stuff I have to tell him? There¡¯s so many terrible things I have to tell him, need to tell him, from now on¡­ but I don¡¯t know that my heart can take it, or even more importantly how he¡¯ll feel about it all. Do I have to tell him? Maybe I can just hint at them instead. I have a feeling I¡¯ll just keep putting it all off until I absolutely have to tell him something¡­ But¡­ You know? ¡­Wouldn¡¯t that be much more fun? Ah, I can¡¯t wait to watch how he struggles through this next one! Chapter Twelve Over a year and a half had passed, and Noth had turned 11. With the help of his angel he¡¯d successfully come to an agreement with his cowardly monster of a father. Although he¡¯d chosen to continue to live inside of his mother¡¯s villa, Noth had made sure that his father would treat him once again as the heir to his family¡¯s lineage. This of course came with the understanding that Earl Ruth Kieran would offer his full support to the boy. He¡¯d need money, proper education, information, protection, and his father¡¯s noble backing if he ever hoped to climb up to a high enough position to force his many enemies to take him seriously. On top of all of this he made two promises to the Earl, in exchange for all the help that Noth would need. First: Noth had promised that he would grow the prestige of the family name, and never bring shame to it. Second: Noth had promised that he would forgive his father of his sins, and set the man free of the burdens that had been destroying him, if in return he¡¯d step down from his political and noble positions once Noth turned 16 and became an adult. It took a good bit of talking before the Earl had been fully convinced that his son could even come close to possibly keeping these promises, but his own weariness combined with the support of the awe inspiring holy angel lowered his apprehension by a good deal. Besides, it wasn¡¯t like Noth¡¯s father didn¡¯t hope for a better future for his son. Plus, if this was what he had to do to atone for what he¡¯d done, then it was far too easy to pass up. A select number of teachers were summoned and paid off to not discuss anything that had to do with Noth outside of the manor. Of course, it would only be a matter of time before the church would eventually learn that not only had the child not been killed, but that he was also being raised how he should be, instead of being locked up like before. It was a fact that they¡¯d just have to accept and figure out how to work around for now. It would cause nothing but trouble if everything was noticed before Noth had grown up a bit more and was prepared to face his oppressors, however, so for now the name of the game was trying their best to not get caught too quickly. Noth¡¯s life was currently progressing along as planned almost too well, and the boy couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit antsy because of it. Nothing had really gone smoothly since he turned 7, so why should things have suddenly decided to be any different now? There was just no way that the hardest trial he¡¯d faced in the past year and a half could be tests and the distasteful looks from a chunk of the servants. And then, as if to manifest his niggling feelings at the back of his head and prove that he¡¯d been right all along, something happened. A thorn showed up to pierce his side, to get stuck in his paw, to get in his eye. A new monster had come to harass him, this time a snake-like one. *** It would seem that monsters must all know each other, because the man, Jeck Felitt, was a childhood friend of Noth¡¯s father. The two of them had met at a noble get-together when they were young, and the snake had managed to wind himself around the boy whose parents were of a higher status than his right away. The count¡¯s son Jeck had realized quickly that he had everything to gain from making ¡®friends¡¯ that could be of use to him, and although the [Gift] he had been given was good, it wasn¡¯t quite enough for the church to grant him with a noble title. If he wanted to keep leading the life of luxury he¡¯d been accustomed to, he would need to make the correct allies wherever he could find them, and Ruth¡­ Ruth was perfect. He could see all the insecurities and fears of failing that had been growing in the boy even from a young age, and he knew exactly how to use such things. And so, the snake used his inherent nature to do what snakes do best: He whispered sly words in the child¡¯s ear. As time passed and the whispers grew louder and more abundant, Ruth Kieran grew more and more cowardly. Jeck knew exactly what buttons to press to prod the man, just what fears to prey upon to make him do or think whatever he needed. And with a man of such status in his pocket to use as he liked, what could he want from life but even more puppets to dance along to his tune? Using all of his natural snake-ish talents, he¡¯d managed to crawl his way through to the elite, and although he still did not have a noble rank, no one dared to think of him as anything less. Sometimes even the church would come knocking at his door, seeking for the use of his forked tongue to apply pressure on some target or another. This time they¡¯d offered a very good deal in exchange for having him press on the Earl from the Kieran family once again, or if that failed, to find a way to deal with the young child that had become an eyesore to them himself. With this particular request, Jeck had found himself working on what he¡¯d first thought would be an extremely easy job for much too long. It had been years now, and Ruth still hadn¡¯t succumbed to the flood of pressure both Jeck and the other ¡®friends¡¯ he had in his corner had dished towards the Earl. He was sure that the little fool would fall for his words and kill the child as easily as the man had killed off his wife, and yet here the boy was, alive and kicking. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be this hard, he was a master at these kinds of matters, and the fact that his plans had never faltered like this before made the snake very frustrated. Suddenly, however, like a gift from above, he was offered an unexpected path through the frustration that had plagued him. Jeck overheard from his good ¡®friend¡¯ Ruth Kieran that he was looking for a teacher of the arts for his son, on one of his visits. What a breakthrough! Though he may not have been blessed enough to receive a noble title, he¡¯d still been given a great boon by the powers above. His God-dess given [Gift] was to become a [Superior Painter], something that he¡¯d put to good use in conjunction with his connections to make yet even more connections amongst the vain aristocracy. Who could possibly say that he wasn¡¯t fit to do this job? Combined with the fact that he and the Earl had known each other for so long, there was no way he could possibly fail to get the role. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. This wasn¡¯t a full change in plan, as Jeck becoming a teacher meant that he had an excuse to be at the manor often, if not stay over, which would provide ample opportunities to further encourage the removal of Noth, as was his mission. But there was also the secondary option that the church had provided him with as well. He now had a much greater chance of getting into close enough range to take care of the boy himself, just as he¡¯d been told to. A handful of schemes started to work themselves through Jeck¡¯s mind as to how he¡¯d handle Noth. The ones that replayed through his mind the most usually contained parts where the snake could belittle and discredit the boy, possibly even humiliate him in the eyes of everyone, which would furthermore humiliate Ruth Kieran as well. He enjoyed making people who were viewed as ¡®greater¡¯ feel ¡®lesser¡¯ far too much to not pick a plan that involved such things. Such methods may not have been enough to complete his task in the eyes of the church, but they were just as integral of a step to the man all the same. He¡¯d miss out on this kind of fun if he just let some random assassin take care of it, so why not enjoy the fruits of his own labour? His first meeting with the boy was rather plain and unwelcoming. Although he¡¯d been given the teaching job already, Jeck had actually met the child for the first time as he¡¯d been on his way to report to the Earl that he¡¯d successfully moved in. The two bumped into each other by pure coincidence, but the snake knew how important first meetings were, and he wasn¡¯t one to be caught off guard. He bowed with respect as was expected when one met with a noble, even if the boy hadn¡¯t managed to become one, so that he could give Noth a sign that he meant goodwill. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, young master, I didn¡¯t mean to get in your way. Do you recognize me? We only met once, while you were still just a baby, so probably not. I¡¯m Jeck Felitt, your new teacher.¡± Of course, the story about having met him before was a lie. Noth¡¯s mother had been far too wary of the snake to actually ever let the man meet her child. This didn¡¯t matter though, as Jeck needed to quickly set a precedent with the boy of age and superiority. Since age had been addressed, Jeck opened up his mouth to continue on to the superiority segment, but the look on the child¡¯s face quickly made him shut it. There was a clear look of contempt radiating from the boy¡¯s countenance. When the man¡¯s visage changed to a more bewildered look, and he opened his mouth once more, he was suddenly interrupted before he could even finish his first word. ¡°It¡¯s great meeting you painter, but I¡¯m in a hurry here, and I¡¯m neither kind enough nor sociable enough to keep humouring you with a conversation.¡± The boy drawled the words out in a terribly bored and arrogant manner, not even bothering to say a single word of farewell before he left. It had been so long since anyone had dared to talk to Jeck in such a rude way, that he honestly didn¡¯t know how to react to it for a few moments. His feelings were made all the more difficult to sift through because he¡¯d also been surprised that Noth already knew what his [Gift] was without being told. He stood in place for a small while as his mind made up that yes, he should be furious about this incident, and continued his march to the Earl¡¯s office. There was no way the snake wouldn¡¯t give that brat¡¯s father an earful about this. His opportunistic mind was even spitting out ways he could use this confrontation to his benefit. After giving Ruth Kieran an earful on how the child was a disrespectful menace that the failure of a father should have raised better, as well as finding a way to slip in another suggestion that it would be ¡®easy to get rid of this particular problem and start anew¡¯, Jeck felt both a good bit better, and like he¡¯d accomplished something today. Strangely enough he never did hear how the boy had known about his [Gift], since it didn¡¯t seem that the Earl had even talked about him to his son yet. That, however, would have to be a mystery for another day, because the man was getting hungry. Although he kept his slender snake-like physique, he was actually quite a glutton; The type of man who could eat and eat and eat all he liked without a single ramification. He was going to need a small feast for him to fully wash away any lingering feelings the awful interaction had left inside him. ~~~ Oddly, no matter how long he looked around, Jeck somehow couldn¡¯t find a single servant that wasn''t already busy with something. Even finding the servants at all had seemed like quite the hard debacle in the first place. It almost felt like everyone had been avoiding him or something, and he¡¯d just caught a few unlucky passersby. After enough searching and rejection, he decided to just give up and go to the kitchens himself; He was too hungry and frustrated to have to wait any longer. Luckily for him, he managed to find an unsuspecting woman in there to dump his demands for sustenance upon, and as she bowed and got directly to work on it, a smile spread across Jeck¡¯s face. Yes, this cook would do nicely for his plans. She seemed just tight lipped and detached enough for him to get away with what he needed. He¡¯d make sure to make good use of her services again in the future. ¡°Miss, could you please let me know your name? I want to put in a good word for you with the Earl.¡± The woman didn¡¯t bother to look his way again once she¡¯d begun working on the food, almost making Jeck think that she¡¯d completely tuned him out as she focused, but right before he decided to ask a second time, she muttered her reply in a dry and uncaring voice. ¡°M¡¯name¡¯s Elillith, lord.¡± The snake¡¯s smile grew more firm as he reconfirmed how reticent the woman was. She truly didn¡¯t seem like she cared what he was talking about in the slightest. He was excited to make that lack of attention become the cook¡¯s downfall. Sadly, however, he would have to be patient for a while longer, because if he was too hasty with his actions he¡¯d lose the chance to take his emotional lumps of flesh from that hated boy, Noth Kieran. First, he¡¯d firmly put the little worm in his place. Jeck could be as patient as he¡¯d need to be, if it meant he¡¯d get to witness that kid breaking. Chapter Thirteen On top of the myriad of lessons that Noth had been taking, he¡¯d also been spending much of his free time reading. The boy was curious by nature, and he planned to use that fact to his benefit as much as he could. Luckily for him, the manor had an impressive library, and when his father found out that his son seemed so enamoured with books, he stealthily tried to add in more and more, so as to hopefully catch a glimpse of his son happy one day. Noth had also made use of that same curiosity in another way. He was determined to grow accustomed to his angel-given powers and grow even stronger, strong enough to stand on his own two feet and protect himself. The boy had decided to practice and grow his skill at making wishes by focusing on his abundant inquisitiveness. He often found himself wanting to know about the people he would pass by in the hallway, or meet for his lessons. A part of him wanted to simply understand others around him. He¡¯d whisper the wish quietly once he believed he was out of earshot, and strangely enough, his angel would always lean down and whisper the information that he wanted to know back. His bracelet would still tingle, and a small crack would still form, so he believed this still counted as practice, but a small part of him still told him that something seemed off. He¡¯d noticed that the cracks forming in the bracelet seemed much more minute than they had a year ago, or at least he hoped that was true, so he figured he¡¯d keep doing what he¡¯d been doing and see how far it could carry him. Most of the time when he¡¯d hear what the passing servants had for [Gifts], they were quite predictable. All different tiers of [Maids], a sprinkling of [Labourers], a [Butler] or [Stableboy] here and there, even one or two [Coachmen] mixed in. And of course he¡¯d find a smattering of [Chefs] or their variants occasionally, even if he rarely ventured near the kitchens. But what really surprised Noth was when he¡¯d find someone with a rare and confusing [Gift] wandering around. A [Technician] was a find that the boy wouldn¡¯t have expected to see amongst the servants, even if it was something he could easily rationalize, but the finding of a [Lesser Beloved of the Verdant] was a [Gift] he¡¯d never heard of. Luckily the angel took pity on him and quickly explained that it meant they were a type of earth mage, and Noth couldn¡¯t help but look at the person with a little bit more interest than before. The Earl had made him promise to both report to his office once a week, and to also eat dinner with him 3 times a week, under the guise of keeping track of the boy¡¯s progress and any important news. Noth had honestly wanted to refuse the order, not liking the feeling of being kept under any form of watch or control, but when his angel nagged at him that it was just the ¡®clear ploy of a desperate father hoping for time with his son¡¯, he relented. He didn¡¯t particularly like his father, but he still had that small shred of a desire for normalcy that burned inside of him. Besides, he might get valuable insight into the life of nobility that books couldn¡¯t teach, if not valuable insight into the life and mind of monsters. It was always easier to study something in a controlled environment than out in the wild, and Noth was acutely aware that he was nowhere near done having to deal with monsters in his life. One special day something annoying happened. After doing his typical weekly report, Noth bumped into someone in the hallway. The man was lanky, pale, and particularly oily seeming. The look in his eye was obviously not well-meaning, and his smile looked far too practiced to be anywhere near genuine. Noth immediately knew he was dealing with something disgusting, and the almost cooing purr that slipped through the lips of the angel that had been following behind the boy alerted him that something had caught her attention. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, young master, I didn¡¯t mean to get in your way-¡± Suddenly, in the middle of the man¡¯s introduction, his angel grabbed the boy by his shoulders from behind, her lips almost kissing his ears as she loudly whispered. ¡°-Jeck Felitt, your new teacher.¡± This was important. His angel rarely ever just offered up information like that if it wasn¡¯t important, and she especially seemed to not issue warnings to him unless things were particularly dangerous. The time she¡¯d warned him of his father¡¯s upcoming murder attempt flashed through his mind. Did that mean this man also had designs to kill him? ''Jeck Felitt the Snake'' was firmly cemented into his mind as his next monster from that very moment. This new monster may have come into his home, but that didn¡¯t mean that the boy was as safe interacting with it as he was interacting with his father. This monster had come in from the wild, and Noth was too smart to let himself be caught without a plan against an unknown monster. Before the snake could hiss another word in his direction, the child decided he had to put an end to this attack and retreat. ¡°It¡¯s great meeting you painter, but I¡¯m in a hurry here, and I¡¯m neither kind enough nor sociable enough to keep humouring you with a conversation.¡± It would be a lie to say that Noth didn¡¯t revel a little in the stunned look on the man¡¯s face, but he couldn¡¯t let himself stay around for too long, so he¡¯d just have to save that moment in his memory to enjoy later. And with that he made a hasty exit. The boy almost passed by a servant a few hallways later, but stopped just short before a mischievous look crept onto his face. He¡¯d decided to play a little prank on the snake, and see how it would respond. Half an hour later, Noth had run around the whole manor, snagging any servant he could find and giving them whatever difficult or far away task he could think of. ~~~ ¡°So that monster¡¯s name was Jack Felt?¡± The angel let out a small laugh at the boy, not sure if he¡¯d said the wrong name on purpose or not. Noth was sprawled out on his bed in the villa, like he always did whenever he had something he wanted to think over. The spirit sat on the edge of the bed and stared down at him with an amused look. <...Maybe it¡¯s time for a wish?> The child let out a small exasperated laugh, realizing that the angel was no longer in the helpful mood she¡¯d been in earlier. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Alright, yeah. I wish I knew more about that snake from earlier.¡± The vision turned and let herself drop down next to him on the bed, her face inches away from his, and as his bracelet started to tingle, she softly spoke to him. Noth frowned. The more he heard about the man, the more he knew that there was no way Jeck had entered the manor for a good reason. Why would a man of such renown be so willing to become the teacher of a child that hadn¡¯t yet been conferred any kind of noble title whatsoever? Was he doing this to get closer to Noth¡¯s father? Perhaps it was one of those ¡®favours¡¯ the angel had spoken of? The boy thought of his father, the first monster he¡¯d ever had to conquer, and then of Jeck. While both may be monsters, Jeck seemed to somehow be clearly higher up in the monster food-chain than the Earl. If the man was a snake, then his father, being the cowardly mess that he was, was¡­ A mouse? He couldn''t be a rat, that would be too far on the rough side, but maybe perhaps more of a ferret? Something from the rodent family for sure. Whatever he was, there was no way the law of nature would let his father win. Would he have to step in and intervene then? He still needed his father, and if there could only be one or the other, he¡¯d easily choose the lesser of the two evils. Something was bothering the boy about all this however. Going off of what he¡¯d heard from his father during his weekly report earlier, a teacher would be coming for him that Ruth Kieran had known since he was still a child. The man had even called them ¡®friends¡¯. If Jeck was that man, then it was unlikely that there was some connection the Earl had that he hadn¡¯t already reached and plundered over the years. So then why? What could he possibly receive from doing a favour related to the man now? Or, could it be, that the favour wasn¡¯t about his father, but targeted at someone else? If that was the case then things got a lot more dangerous, especially when he remembered that his angel had actively gone out of her way to warn Noth about the snake. The boy¡¯s face grew impossibly more grave. ¡°What kind of¡­ I wish I knew what kind of favours Jeck usually does.¡± The spirit''s face twitched a little as the wish started to take effect. When Noth gave her a grim nod, she looked away from him and turned onto her back, crushing her wings. He was staring at the side of her face so hard as he received his answer, that it would have been impossible for him to miss the fact that even though he could hear her clearly, her mouth never moved the whole time. ¡°Wait, go back! Children? Why would anyone want to buy children? You mean like for adoption?¡± The angel looked at him out of the corner of her eye, her face twisting in an emotion that Noth couldn¡¯t identify. She sighed before she answered, her voice coming out very strained, even as her mouth continued to stay still. Noth was baffled for a moment that such things actually existed, but outrage quickly overtook that emotion. Such awful things could really happen in the world? And they were happening to kids of all people?! The boy¡¯s own trauma added more onto the heaping helping of utter loathing and contempt he felt for such an awful realization. How many monsters must the snake have had dealings with if such things were a common enough occurrence that they made it to the angel¡¯s list?! And just as bad was the man actually helping people to do such horrible things! The boy already held a bad opinion of Jeck Felitt from the start for being an obvious monster but now? NOW? Noth hated Jeck Felitt. Such a hideous thing like Jeck Felitt didn¡¯t need to exist in the same world as Noth. Noth would REMOVE Jeck Felitt. It seemed that everyone else lived like such an abominable thing like him wasn¡¯t running around freely, but Noth could do no such thing. There was no way he could just ignore and accept such a man. If no one else was brave enough to fight and end such a snake, then that left no one but himself to do it. And by the God-dess he would do it. Nothing else in his world mattered to him right now as much as stopping Jeck did. Sure, Noth knew there must be people out there who were actively trying to find a way to end his own life right at this moment just because they didn¡¯t like who he was, but that whole affair would just have to sit on the backburner for now. Were his current thoughts for Jeck far too similar to his own assailants? That didn¡¯t mean a thing either. Noth Kieran was just a small child who had no choice in that matter, whereas Jeck Felitt was a grown, evil monster. The difference was as vast as opposite sides of the world to the boy. The feeling that Noth had had before, when he was forced to face his fears and go against his father, returned to him; The idea that you needed a monster to defeat another monster once again pervaded his mind. The child was of course no monster, it¡¯s true, but, as he¡¯d had to accept, he was half monster on his father¡¯s side, and that would have to be enough. Lesser monster though his father may be, Noth had gotten plenty of time to study the monster that was his father after he¡¯d come back here. If he could use any of what he¡¯d previously learned in his attack against Jeck, then he¡¯d be sure to make use of it. And even if he couldn¡¯t, that was fine too, his prey wasn¡¯t going anywhere, and this would give him lots of valuable time to study this much bigger beast. He¡¯d keep a keen eye on his target, he¡¯d make a plan, and when the conditions were at their best, he¡¯d strike. Chapter Fourteen Three days of deep hatred and contemplation passed, intermixed with worried looks and the occasional question or two from a very concerned angel. Noth¡¯s sudden worsening mood wasn¡¯t unexpected, but of course the spirit didn¡¯t like to see him so visibly rattled for quite this long. The first day she¡¯d maybe snuck in a pleased, if not bordering on sinister, smile towards the boy, but now it was chaffing a bit just how greatly he was being affected by this new information. And yes, he was indeed affected. Terribly so. This new revelation was eating him up inside. His thoughts constantly struggled between all the possible things he could do to help the victims he¡¯d learned of, and all the possible things he could do to Jeck. But amongst those unending ruminations, he also had to realize that it wasn¡¯t only the snake that was doing such horrendous things in the shadows. There were very many monsters lurking about outside the average citizen¡¯s gaze, and maybe even some prolific and too large to stop monsters that weren¡¯t abashed to show themselves directly in the light of day. The boy imagined at first that the ones that were hiding would be the most difficult to remove, but it could also be that the well known monsters were allowed to roam about untouched for a reason, and whatever reason that was would make them very hard to uproot. Everything seemed like far too much work for just one small hated boy, and while he spent his time getting older and stronger, more and more atrocities would be happening where he couldn¡¯t reach. While Noth had been drowning himself in his irritation and frustrations, time had marched forwards as it always does. He hadn¡¯t noticed because he didn¡¯t particularly care, but he¡¯d actually managed to miss one of his tri-weekly dinners with his father yesterday. The boy¡¯s thoughts had been so loud and ceaseless that he hadn¡¯t been paying attention to much else, and had barely eaten for a day and a half as he focused more and more on his new problems. He¡¯d hardly even paid attention to what the angel next to him had said, so of course he hadn¡¯t heard even a single word of the servants beyond his door, who had come to fetch and serve him. There wasn¡¯t even the slightest possibility that the unwilling servants, who were still loath to get close to the stigmatized boy, would come into his room and actually touch or get near him. It wasn¡¯t until the next day, when his father himself had barged in to see him, that Noth had actually listened to what was being said to him. ¡°Are you planning to break such a simple agreement with me so easily?¡± The words almost sounded pouty, like a child that had been left behind by his friends. The petulant tone spoken nearby out of nowhere made Noth turn his head towards the voice, but the far too close face that had suddenly filled his periphery was what really snapped him out of his thoughts. His father was still only halfway to him from the door, but his angel had somehow managed to abduct him off of his bed and away to the couch while Noth had been too riveted in his thoughts, and had sat down with the boy placed firmly on her lap. Her arms seemed to be wrapped around him as tight as steel beams, and as he became abruptly aware of them, he also became equally aware of the fact that his lungs were slightly burning, like he¡¯d been taking incomplete breaths for a long time. Though his angel had often shown him this kind of close skinship since she¡¯d come into his life, and though he¡¯d been desperate for affection and had felt fuzzy and happy whenever she¡¯d done such things in the past, he found himself shying away from such things more and more as time passed. Noth was 11 now, and sitting on someone else¡¯s lap just felt¡­awkward to him as he grew bigger and matured. He wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d be able to take her cutting off all forms of affection, but he was sure that he didn¡¯t want to be treated like a kid so much anymore. And so, instead of the precious fuzzy warmth he would have previously felt from this action, more than anything he was feeling annoyed that the spirit had decided to take advantage of his lack of vigilance in this way. His uncomfortable lungs had also reinforced the thought that he should be upset by this. The boy tried to get up as he looked sideways to give the angel a grimace of displeasure, but he stopped for a quick moment when he noticed the look on her face. The way her eyes were clouded and dim and the way her mouth was stuck in a crooked nearly too wide smile made her look almost intoxicated, although he could feel a subtle, close to ¡®evil¡¯ undercurrent to the look. He shuddered and redoubled his efforts to escape. ¡°Get off me you creepy ghost!¡± The way her face snapped back to the usual beam she wore and her eyes immediately stopped looking so addled was also a good bit disturbing to Noth, and when she automatically let him go while she was responding, he leapt up and balled his fists, glaring at her. The boy couldn¡¯t help but snap out his next words with a heavy deal of repulsion mixed into them. ¡°Stop doing such weird things to me! You¡¯re such a scary woman sometimes, what the hell?!¡± A look of pure hurt crossed the beautiful vision¡¯s face, one that kept looking more and more wounded by the second, and Noth¡¯s heart stung a bit as he saw it. Everything always seemed worse when it happened to pretty people, and whether it was their anger or their sorrow, you wouldn¡¯t want either pointed at you. He wasn¡¯t sure how to take back and fix what he¡¯d just said, as he was still a young, unsociable, and inexperienced child, so all he could do was stand in place and shiver lightly as he watched. This of course, created a misunderstanding. It was understandable why Ruth Kieran misunderstood the interaction that he just witnessed. Part of it lay with the fact that ever since the angel had manifested in front of him in his office she¡¯d never shown herself to him ever again, although he still knew she was with his son. He could only see Noth¡¯s intense reaction and displeasure at whatever was happening, and not at all anything that had been done to him, so the man had to guess. His pessimistic mind spun out the worst possible assumptions about what was happening to his one and only son, and he rushed over to the boy¡¯s side quickly, horrible worry strewn across his face. ¡°...What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen? Did the angel do something to you, Noth?! Th-that must be why you¡¯ve been locked in here and missed dinner yesterday!!!¡± The way the man exploded and lunged at his son made the already emotional boy flinch and step away with a grimace. Of course this action reinforced Ruth¡¯s anxieties, on top of leaving him feeling rejected, making for too powerful a combo for the Earl to take. He quickly turned his head left and right, gritting his teeth as he looked around for a clue as to where the angel might be. He even went as far as to take out his sword from its sheath on his hip, determined to fight and kill the horrid spectre who would dare touch his son, but his anger quickly died down as he realized how futile his actions were, and his sadness ultimately won out. Tears started forming in his previously blazing eyes as he once again felt powerless. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ so sorry¡­ your father is so... useless, Noth¡­¡± Noth shook his head at the stupid situation, feeling far too overwhelmed as he looked between the two people whose moods he¡¯d somehow utterly tanked in just the matter of a few minutes. He was going to have to find a way to fix this somehow, and the thought was far too tiring to the boy. As he tried to think of a way to solve this with his meager social skills, his stomach rumbled loudly, the sound drawn out as if in protest. Right, he hadn¡¯t eaten in over a day. No one could blame him if he just¡­ The child put on a blank face as he swiftly headed for the door of the gloomy room without sparing the two sad beings inside a passing glance. It was a clear escape attempt. Sadly for him, however, his still growing legs were no match for his father, who immediately followed after Noth, bringing along all his overprotective feelings and angst with him. And as Noth turned when he reached the door he caught sight of his angel, with her fingers loosely arched over her lips. He could just barely make out her soft tinkling laughter, along with a small mischievous mutter. Noth quickened his retreat. ~~~ A lovely dinner had been prepared for the Earl and his son, and Noth dug into it eagerly. After the first couple of spoonfuls, a graceful angel finally floated her way into the room, making a beeline over to her precious boy and standing behind him as she stroked his soft hair. The way Noth¡¯s head jerked a bit out of nowhere and the quick grimace on his face did not go unnoticed to his father across the table, who was already on high alert from earlier. His concern for his beloved son just barely managed to win out against his cowardly nature once again, and he decided it was time to broach the question. ¡°My son, are you¡­ alright? I¡¯m worried about why you hadn''t left your room for a few days before this. You¡¯d tell me if you were being harassed by¡­¡± The Earl coughed and his eyes swam around the room in a way that made it all too obvious who he meant. ¡°...someone?¡± One corner of Noth¡¯s mouth frowned, and he put his food down slowly as he glanced behind him. Did he count these honest affections he was being shown as being harassed? It¡¯d be a lie to say they weren¡¯t making him uncomfortable, but at this point he was so used to having the bothersome angel around that she¡¯d become almost just another part of him. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to think of her as his arm or leg, perhaps even a vital organ, because her mere existence gave him so much. The things she could give to him were by far worth any discomfort. After all, one wouldn¡¯t cut off their foot just because they stubbed their toe, no? And as the days passed and he grew more and more acclimated with her powers, he could feel a strange sense that the two of them were becoming more and more integrated in some indescribable way. He could only guess that this was the ¡°bonding¡± phenomenon that his angel had hinted at before. The boy¡¯s eyes made contact with the angel¡¯s expectant ones, and he felt a small twinge of regret for how mean he¡¯d been to her earlier. It¡¯s not like he hadn¡¯t learned how odd the spirit liked to act sometimes over all these days together, and perhaps it was a little unreasonable for him to still freak out like he had. Maybe he¡¯d have to just eat his niggling feelings of fear and discomfort, instead of letting them sit there and stew like he had been. There were already too many things going on in his life as is, he didn¡¯t need to create a bad relationship with the only close ally he had on top of it all. He turned to the Earl and slowly opened his mouth, even as the petting on his head was growing in intensity. ¡°Yes, but no. Though she may be mischievous, she¡¯s done nothing wrong to me, father. And as for my recent behaviour¡­ No, I don¡¯t think I am ok. I''ve been quite furious lately.¡± Relief was clear on Ruth Kieran¡¯s face, but it only lasted for a few moments before his visage grew slightly stern. With one concern out of the way, another easily took its place. ¡°Furious?¡± The man stroked his chin in thought as connections formed in his mind, and his eyes turned slightly more serious. ¡°This doesn¡¯t have anything to do with Jeck, does it? The day he came to complain about your manners was also the day this whole shut in act began, if I¡¯m remembering correctly. I had promised to scold you for your rudeness to the head of the house''s personal guest, you know. I can¡¯t believe after all those classes you¡¯d be so disrespectful to your new teacher. And he¡¯s my friend, on top of that! I know how taciturn a child you can be, but that¡¯s no excuse to be rude to such an important person!¡± The more he talked, the more Ruth Kieran seemed to be working himself up, his words coming out more and more roughly, and the more his grip on the fork in his hand intensified. By the time it had been bent in half, the man had slammed his utensil down onto the table in front of him, sending it flying by the sheer force of impact and leaving a divot in the table¡¯s wood. Noth had only seen his father get angry like this once, before. The memory of that time was vastly unpleasant. And this equally unpleasant man was choosing to side with that hideous monster against him? The atmosphere in the room grew icey instantly. If looks could kill, the glare Noth was levelling on his father would have been an immediate death sentence. Somehow, even though it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, there was still one deafening sound pervading the air: Someone was giggling. Someone behind the boy. Someone the Earl couldn¡¯t see. He could feel them though. His eyes were playing tricks on him, making him hallucinate that he could see an evil smile floating in the air. A smile far too wide to be normal. ¡°You dare call that monster a friend?¡± The question was practically growled out at the man. He tore his eyes away from his hallucinations and looked at his son¡¯s face. Perhaps the lights in the room had dimmed, but the boy¡¯s eyes were almost shining in a colour that he hadn¡¯t seen since the first day a little under 2 years ago that he¡¯d angered Noth. The queer rusty sheen that was creeping up his irises looked so unnatural and flakey, like they¡¯d simply flake off and fall onto the boy¡¯s long eyelashes any second. It felt like the world was somehow shrinking in on him and growing darker the longer he looked into those eyes. ¡°Are you really that stupid? You must be. How disgusting.¡± Noth¡¯s eyes looked away from the Earl, and the man immediately fell to the floor. Chapter Fifteen Ruth Kieran was stuck in bed and unable to leave his room after fainting, and the whole manor was abuzz with rumours about how it could have happened. Some people believed that the Earl was just overworked. Some who knew about Jeck thought that perhaps he¡¯d possibly poisoned him for some unknown person¡¯s ¡®favour¡¯. The prevailing theory, however, was that Noth had done something to his own father. It was a fact that the two Kierans were alone in the dining room when the Earl collapsed, so it was only natural that people would suspect that he was the culprit. It didn¡¯t even matter that he was only 11, since the biassed servants of the house could easily believe that a God-dess forsaken child was capable of doing awful things. Noth, the subject of such mean rumours, couldn¡¯t care less what they all thought; He was much too busy trying to sort out what had happened to even give anyone a passing glance. All he knew was that he¡¯d been boiling with rage, his eyes had felt itchy, he¡¯d felt a familiar tingling -although accompanied with a harsh heat this time- in his bracelet, and then his father had dropped all of a sudden. Did he think it was his fault? The possibility certainly seemed likely, considering that he¡¯d grown very accustomed to how it felt every time he¡¯d made a wish so far, and he¡¯d definitely felt the sensation happen. After making wishes as often as he could to train himself over the past few years, it would just be strange if he wasn¡¯t intimately aware of how it felt. When his father fell, Noth hadn¡¯t really registered it at first. It took him a minute or two of staring at the spot where the man had previously been sitting before he realized something was wrong and dashed over to his father¡¯s side of the table. Noth had of course called for a servant right after he¡¯d determined that the Earl was still breathing, and you¡¯d think that that would have earned him at least some points of compassion, but no such feeling was had. Instead, everyone gave him nothing but sidelong glances. ¡°Don¡¯t they realize that if I wanted to hurt my father that I wouldn¡¯t report it right after I did it?¡± Sure, it was uncomfortable having almost every servant he passed by stare at him with a small variety of different, and yet somehow still all negative, emotions. And in his own home no less. Honestly, however, at the end of the day the manor wasn¡¯t really Noth¡¯s home, so if things became a little too much, then he could just easily hide out in his villa. After years of being scorned by most of the people he met, he wasn¡¯t all that put off by the looks he was receiving anymore though, and it was hard for him to care what these ignorant fools thought of him enough to actually want to hide away. But¡­ as always, there was an exception to the rule. Someone was indeed bothering him enough to make him hide. Jeck was looking for him. In fact, the man was looking for him fervently enough that some of the servants were actually starting to put more credibility into the rumour that this had all been caused by Jeck himself. It was easy to believe that everything could be some big plot to erase the Kieran bloodline thoroughly, perhaps requested by some higher up that saw the family as some kind of obstacle or nuisance. And it was also equally as easy for Noth to realize why the snake was looking for him, knowing that the boy was most likely the real reason that he¡¯d come to the Kieran estate. When Noth first learned that Jeck was looking for him, for a moment he¡¯d actually felt scared. But after a night of fear and hiding, the feeling had instead morphed and changed into anger, as fear usually does. It would be a lie to say that a small bit of that fear wasn¡¯t still hanging onto his heart and squeezing at his lungs, but the anger did its best to drown out most of that feeling. There were some nights during the first few days, however, that the boy would wake up from nightmares of the snake finding him, catching him, and brutally killing him in the exact same manner that he¡¯d watched his mother be murdered in. It only made sense that these terrible dreams would only fuel his fear further, making it roar and scream in his ears along with his heartbeat. But this wasn¡¯t Noth¡¯s first time going through this kind of thing. It was almost humorous to him how he¡¯d somehow managed to find his way back into almost the exact same situation as when he was younger; Stuck in the villa, hiding, afraid, hoping that today wasn¡¯t the day that the monster outside decided that it was time to dispose of him. Many things were on the child¡¯s side this time however, including experience, knowledge, and a firm feeling that he could win against the beast that had been skulking around on his home turf. And, biggest of all, just like the last time he¡¯d overcome a monster, he was no longer alone. His angel and the amazing power that she¡¯d gifted him would be both his ally, his shield, and his weapon. His experience and knowledge helped him first. They reminded him of his vow to always have a plan, to always know what you¡¯re trying to accomplish first and then have clear goals towards it. They also told him that, of the many things he¡¯d learned over the past few years, his curiosity could be a powerful force. He knew that many things that were scary became considerably less so once you knew them more in depth, and had become more used to their presence. These two facts together would be the driving force for what he¡¯d have to do next. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Noth thought back to when his angel asked him what he would choose to be, and how he¡¯d confront his father. If you¡¯d have asked anyone else, then perhaps they¡¯d say that the boy¡¯s choice of action for this particular monster would make him a mouse, but Noth knew better. He wouldn¡¯t scamper through the shadows, hiding in fear, and hoping to survive. He would take refuge in the shadows and observe his prey. He¡¯d learn its patterns, he¡¯d track its thoughts, he would get to really know the actions of the beast in front of him. And then, when he¡¯d observed the snake enough, and when the time was absolutely right, Noth would strike, and he would fell the disgusting monster that dared to try and hiss at him. He wouldn¡¯t be a mouse, no, far from it. He¡¯d be a hunter. A powerful hunter. A monster hunter. He just had to be. That was the only choice, he could accept no other. *** Jeck had been busy as a bee trying his best to track down his target. Common sense would dictate that the boy hadn¡¯t been coming to his classes lately because of his father¡¯s recent collapse, but Jeck¡¯s intuition told him otherwise; He was sure that Noth was avoiding him on purpose. It was an easy enough thing to check and confirm, considering all he¡¯d had to do was ask the other teachers and learn that they¡¯d all still been having regular classes with the manor¡¯s young master. Jeck had had the brilliant idea to just wait to ambush the boy as he left one of the classrooms, but on multiple occasions he¡¯d stood patiently outside the room for hours, only to see that at the designated ending time, the teacher was always the only body to leave the room. He couldn¡¯t find hide nor hair of Noth during his thorough sweep of the classroom afterwards, even when the teachers swore up and down that the boy had been dutifully attending class just mere minutes before. Thinking that perhaps his target had possibly gotten the other teachers onto his side somehow, Jeck had taken a crack at the servants instead. He was an effortlessly smooth talker usually, and it wasn¡¯t hard for him to gain the assistance of the younger maids in the manor, who hadn¡¯t yet realized how dangerous of a man they were talking to. They would all giggle and gossip with him after only a few minutes of his persuasive words and tales, and would easily cough up any amount of assistance or knowledge he¡¯d passively mention wanting. In fact, the lack of challenge almost made Jeck let loose a few damaging remarks to the young fools on multiple occasions, but he¡¯d managed to hold himself back in light of his true goal. Instead he did his best to sow the seeds of greater distrust and disgust towards the horrible child who''d dared to hurt his own father, as often as the conversations allowed. However, even with the maid¡¯s assistance, he still was only barely able to catch a glimpse at the boy in passing. And with how much fear mongering he¡¯d been doing amongst the young maids, they¡¯d all become much too afraid to approach the villa where Noth lived to show Jeck its location. There was no way the man who¡¯d lived in relative luxury his whole life was going to tromp through the high grass and back trails behind the house with no guide, so that plan had also become quite the bust. On many days, Jeck would return back to the guest bedroom he¡¯d been staying in in increasing frustration. He simply couldn¡¯t believe how difficult it could be to find the stupid child. The only way he could console himself was with thoughts of all that he would gain once he finally caught hold of the little beast. The boy was almost a golden egg laying goose if he considered all the bountiful blessings the church would grant him for completing this favour, and the thought helped to severely ease Jeck¡¯s irritation. Of course something so rare would be hard to get. Of course something so amazingly helpful would take time and effort. This would all be worth it in the end, yes¡­ The snake wriggled his way over to the easel in the sunny corner of his room, stroking the beautiful painting he¡¯d made just days prior. It depicted his own pale, thin hands, overflowing with gold; Gold that he¡¯d never be in short supply of when he finally reached the station he¡¯d been painstakingly crawling his way towards all this time. Jeck loved the colour of gold, the sparkles, the shine, the heft¡­ Even the chill of it in his hand and the way that holding on to it tightly would slowly warm it up. Everything about gold was just right. It was his favourite thing to paint. Next to that painting was another easel, with a blank canvas sitting on top of it. As he felt his resolve growing more and more, he turned to this next painting and gently dipped a brush into the waiting paint nearby. He¡¯d create this next masterpiece in the image of his second most beloved thing: His soon approaching increase of power. Soon all of this would be his. If he could paint it, then he could also make it real. Jeck definitely believed this. In a corner of his painting he made sure to add a beautiful purple herb, reminiscent of lavender, resting in the hands of a particular kitchen maid. Jeck couldn¡¯t help but smile to himself, feeling smug, certain that this next plan would surely work. He may have to give up his ability to break the elusive child in the end, but he could just as easily extract his pound of anguish from the boy¡¯s father afterwards anyways. All he needed was a bit of the lovely herb he¡¯d already sent out for, and a stoic woman with exactly the right job. He knew who she was. He was aware of what she could do. And he knew what he had to do to get the outcome he wanted. This time, the woman¡¯s [Gift] would become the greatest of weaknesses, and no one would be any the wiser. It would be so foolproof that even if it did somehow fail, that icy wench would be the only one to take the blame. Yes, this plan would be far too perfect and ironic to fail. Chapter Sixteen Two weeks passed. Noth had learned many different things during his time of studying Jeck, along with his deep thinking. First of all, he¡¯d learned that he was wrong about his feelings about the looks and whispers that he¡¯d been getting. The first week he¡¯d been sure he was perfectly fine with and able to ignore them, but the second week was drastically different. As it turned out, the boy didn¡¯t actually like feeling constantly scrutinized while he went about his day. In fact, it was decidedly grating. It could have just been because he was constantly on high alert due to Jeck, but he was sure that he was somehow more sensitive than he¡¯d been before. He could feel every pair of eyes on him, judging him. He could hear every whisper. Noth started to notice his constant feelings of being on edge manifesting in certain ways. If a servant brought him a cup or plate that wasn¡¯t a certain colour or shape, then he¡¯d tell them to fix it as menacingly yet subdued as he could. It was hard for him to hold back his smile whenever he noticed them visibly get upset, annoyed, or even a little sad. It only seemed right to the boy to pay them back in the same discomfort they were giving him. Sometimes when he¡¯d lay in bed he¡¯d feel slightly bad about it, especially for the ones who teared up slightly, but those feelings would immediately evaporate whenever he was put back into the same situation once again. It only upped his annoyance further that he had to correct them so often; He just couldn¡¯t understand how it was so difficult for them to learn and adjust to something so simple. Another way his sensitivity was manifesting had to do with Jeck, and Jeck alone. As he watched and studied him from the shadows, he¡¯d realized that even just looking at the man made his eyes itch. They felt like maybe an eyelash had fallen into them, or perhaps that they¡¯d been upset by allergies, but no matter what he did or how much he rubbed, they never got any better unless he left the area and stopped looking at Jeck. Noth had actually managed to rub at the corner of his eyes so much that he¡¯d started getting small red rash lines, and it was all so irritating that he often had the thought that maybe he should just stop his surveillance of the snake, at least once a day. Of course, that was always just an idle passing grumble; There was no way he could stop now. The boy had been managing to completely stymie the snake so far. Noth would sneak into the manor to eat, keep up with his studies, and surveil Jeck, then would carefully sneak back out when he felt satisfied or in danger. He was supposed to be learning how to appreciate the arts with the man three times a week, but with his father bedridden, there was no one who could stop him if he just so happened to not show up. It would be a lie if Noth said he didn¡¯t love the frustrated look on Jeck¡¯s face during and after the wasted blocks of time. Honestly, seeing it was the highlight of his day, every single time. There were, however, moments that Noth came a little too close to running into the snake. Sometimes they would catch glimpses of each other through a window, or down a hall. Whenever such things would happen, the boy would make sure to give Jeck the most smug of smirks he could manage before escaping out of sight. Occasionally he¡¯d even wish himself invisible, either out of necessity or just out of the desire to truly stump the man. The only problem that Noth had encountered so far with his scheme was actually his father. After the big fainting incident, Ruth Kieran hadn¡¯t woken up even after four whole days had gone by. His sleep had been fretful, wrought with fevers, sweating, gasping, and unintelligible screaming here and there. The boy had contemplated coming to visit his poor father, but after considering the gorilla war he was waging with Jeck, he¡¯d decided to only show up if it seemed like the Earl was taking a turn for the worse. He may have felt slightly guilty for the predicament his father was in now, but that didn¡¯t mean that he was willing to put himself in danger for the man. Unexpectedly, though, in a stroke of apparent luck, Ruth Kieran awoke after a week had passed. It took very little time before people realized that this in fact wasn¡¯t the end, however. It became apparent that the Earl had become slightly unhinged after his ruthless sleep. He¡¯d woken up disoriented, but it didn¡¯t take long before he started gibbering nonsense. He¡¯d claw at his flesh hard enough to both tear his skin and rip his nails, leaving himself constantly anaemic and battling a few minor infections. His every reaction to outside stimuli was too violent for anyone to approach him, requiring the man to be held down if they ever hoped to treat his wounds or attempt to force-feed him. After a few days of this, the Earl had managed to calm himself down from the violence and had instead crumpled into a small rocking ball. People could at least talk to him in this state, but his answers were very short and stuttered. He stayed in that one small spot on his bed and rocked all day for almost a week. A large problem for Noth reared its ugly head when the servants who attended to the Earl noticed a certain pattern. If anyone mentioned Ruth Kieran¡¯s son to him, or perhaps something that strongly reminded the man of Noth was brought up, he would proceed to immediately throw a fit in a style reminiscent of the first few days after he¡¯d woken up. It would only last around an hour before he¡¯d tire himself out and fall asleep for a small while, but the strong reaction solidified everyone¡¯s belief that the boy must have been the reason for the Earl¡¯s current affliction. The final nail in that belief¡¯s coffin was when Noth himself arrived at the poor man¡¯s door. Although Noth had been told that his father was gradually getting better, he had distinctly noticed a lack of any summons from his typically needy father. The same man that had demanded so many trivial dinners and reports throughout the week, just for the obvious purpose of getting to see his son, hadn¡¯t even called for said son once. It was obvious that the boy would realize that such a thing was strange. Another small part of his mind was actually quite worried for how his father was doing. A wedge of that worry had to do with the fact that yes, that was his father, monster or not, but that wasn¡¯t the only piece to it. There was also the much more intense fact that he needed the man to live until Noth could finally become independent from him and forge a future of his own. If he lost his guardian while he was still considered a child then he¡¯d be at the mercy of the church, and considered the orphan of a noble lineage. The church took direct control over such children, since high ranking [Gifts] were considered to be a sign of the God-dess¡¯s favour. Even if they didn¡¯t consider the child¡¯s gift to be of noble rank, that didn¡¯t mean that the ugly duckling of a lineage couldn¡¯t end up giving birth to the next swan. The most important and driving point of Noth¡¯s worry, however, was ultimately his guilt. He was fairly certain that he was the main cause of his father¡¯s collapse, if not also the ailment that was currently plaguing him. He¡¯d made attempts to ask the angel what exactly he¡¯d done, since he was almost sure that no wishes had come from either his mouth or his mind at the time, but she¡¯d refused to tell him anything. The only thing his angel did was give him a mysterious if not bordering on nefarious smile, almost as if any second now she¡¯d rub her hands together and laugh like a plotting villain. This was understandably frustrating to the boy, but he¡¯d eventually resigned himself to somehow figuring it all out on his own in the future. He couldn¡¯t expect the silly spirit to answer every one of his questions; After all, would it make sense for someone to get angry at their cramping hand when it didn¡¯t tell them why it was cramping? It was a bold move to simply go and see his father when the snake was currently stalking the manor trying to sniff Noth out. His guilt and worry clouded his mind a good bit while he made the decision, but in the end the boy had convinced himself that should he be found he could simply just escape. He knew it was an arrogant thought, but he¡¯d managed to slip away and observe his prey so well so far that his confidence was at its peak. What¡¯s the worst that Jeck could do to him? Hit him? That would be one of the stupidest mistakes he could make while he was still inside of the Kieran manor, the home of Noth¡¯s father. There was even a small mischievous piece of him that wanted to get caught, just to see in what way the snake might strike. It seemed like the perfect kind of test, a dive into the ways of his current monster of study. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The cherry on top of all of this was the thought that there was a chance of him solving the riddle of what he¡¯d done to his father, but only if he could perhaps study him in person and somehow uncover his true condition. His curiosity was spurring him on greatly to find out what exactly happened, and if he was being totally honest, it was in close competition for the biggest driving force in his rash decision-making. Noth was curious to a fault. Noth was so curious, in fact, that it almost felt like he¡¯d start breaking out into a rash at any moment if he couldn¡¯t find out what it was that was being kept secret from him. And that damned ominous look he¡¯d gotten from the angel whenever he couldn¡¯t hold his questions in any longer! That look was ruining him the most! It was almost as if that look was haunting him whenever he looked at her, or when his mind strayed towards his father as of late. And so, spurred on by his profound inquisitive nature, Noth found himself at the entrance of Ruth Kieran¡¯s room. The maids and doctors that had been looking after his father scampered away like they were running from a bad smell after giving the boy a quick head nod, and soon the two were the only ones left in the room. The man he¡¯d once found so terrifying was now just a crumpled ball on the corner of his bed, frantically rocking as he muttered to himself. His cowardly father who he¡¯d seen cry in front of him a few too many times had still never looked this¡­ unsightly before. The amount of bandages and bruises covering his arms and legs were striking, standing out in far too obvious a way to be just simple wounds. Whenever he caught glimpses of the Earl¡¯s face behind the arms and hands madly winding themselves around the man¡¯s head, he could see how pallid and sunken it had become over just the past few weeks. The way his fingers were fisting his hair looked like they would pull it out at any moment, and as Noth continued his observations he actually did notice many discarded strands laying nearby on the bed. The boy carefully stepped a little closer in the hopes that he might be able to make out some of the words his father was saying underneath his breath. ¡°...Ican¡¯tIcan¡¯tit¡¯stoomuchnoplease¡­ ¡­don¡¯t, no¡­ ¡­not¡­too¡­ ¡­whatdoI¡­¡± The words were so quiet and slurred together that it almost felt like Noth¡¯s ears were getting tired from how hard he was straining them to listen in and make sense of what he was hearing. He steadily continued to move closer and closer, but whether he¡¯d moved too close too quickly, or possibly that he¡¯d gotten careless in his impatience, his father¡¯s head suddenly snapped to his direction. The boy¡¯s heart felt like it stopped for a second, and he couldn¡¯t help but open his mouth wide in horror. He¡¯d never seen his father¡¯s eyes open so wide before. It was almost supernatural how wide his eyes had become. If the man¡¯s eyes popped out of his head and rolled to the floor, Noth wouldn¡¯t have been surprised; That¡¯s how absurdly wide they were. But it wasn¡¯t just that the eyes were wide, they also seemed oddly big, as if they¡¯d somehow puffed up or perhaps ballooned somehow, and were struggling in their small confines. They were particularly glassy as well, almost looking like a reflective white lake, with only small specks where his usual blue eyes would be. And leaking from the corners of those giant eyes in single straight lines¡­ Oh no. That colour¡­ Noth knew that colour very well. The boy couldn¡¯t help turning his head to the angel behind him once he¡¯d realized. The slightly amused eyes of his angel that were busy studying his poor father. The rusty colour of his tears were an exact match for the colour rimming around the irises of her eyes. Suddenly her gaze swept to meet his own, and the intensity in her stare made the boy bite his lip. Noth was so stupefied by his own astonishment and lack of understanding, that the sudden yelling that started filling the room took a while for him to register. His neck felt stiff as he tried to tear his eyes away from the angel and investigate the noise. It felt like it took an eternity for him to manage to escape, but just as he succeeded, the angel¡¯s arms whipped out and pulled the boy away. The inhuman way that the two of them shot across the room like a snapped rubber band made Noth¡¯s teeth that were still clenching his lip bite down all the harder, slicing into his weak flesh. It was obvious that Noth would want to cry out in pain and annoyance, but his mouth opened instead for a completely different reason; He¡¯d finally noticed the cause of all the noise he¡¯d been hearing since before he¡¯d been dragged away. His father had apparently been flailing about like a madman while the boy hadn¡¯t been looking, and Noth had caught sight of the hand that had been unintentionally rocketing towards him just as he¡¯d been yanked out of harm¡¯s way. Of course the situation was dangerous enough already, what with the man being a [Warrior] and Noth still being just a young boy, but everything was suddenly made all the more dire by a totally new realization. Ruth Kieran¡¯s hands were turning into claws. As the boy stared on, disgusted and horrified by the scene he was witnessing, his father started slowly transforming. Even as his body seized, flailed, and screeched, parts of him would suddenly bubble, distend, and ripple, as if trying to make up its mind on what form it should take. The man¡¯s ears, clearly visible behind his short messy hair, were starting to grow tufts of fur. The man¡¯s teeth, bared as he screamed in agony, were starting to grow jagged and extended. A truly grotesque grinding sound competed with the man¡¯s screams as his nose started elongating, forming an almost snout-like appearance on his face. Noth wanted to close his eyes. He wanted to look away. He couldn¡¯t stand it. It was all too hideous for the boy. Yes, he¡¯d told himself a million times that his father was a monster. He acknowledged that. He knew it well. But seeing and believing something was just so different. Especially when the process was as unbelievable as this. No¡­ This is unnatural. For all that the boy had repeatedly told himself that his father and Jeck were monsters and not humans, that didn¡¯t mean that he was so deluded that he thought it was actually literal. Noth¡¯s mind screamed at him over and over again that something was wrong, and he had to accept that he knew that this was somehow his fault. His father was visibly turning into some mouse-like thing, just as the boy had thought him to be. There was no way this could be a coincidence. Whatever he¡¯d done that had caused the man¡¯s collapse was the only possible reason that Noth could scrape together as to why this might be happening; That mysterious power he¡¯d used that his angel was playfully refusing to tell him about must be to blame. A moment after his angel crossed into his thoughts, her hand gracefully came up to his mouth. One of her beautiful fingers traced up the trail of blood that had been dribbling down to his chin, the red stain erasing as she passed over it. Next, her thumb gently slid over his abused bottom lip, the swollen and bleeding divots disappearing as the brushing digit passed. She gazed into his face with a look of satisfaction, even as he stared back with a look of dismay. His lip quivered under her thumb as he worked up the courage to look back upon his father, even as one of his hands came up to clutch at the spirit¡¯s sleeve. The boy¡¯s eyes started to blur and swim, and a lump was forming in his throat. He knew it would hurt all the more to hear it, but he had to hear the truth from her. ¡°Did¡­ Did I do this?¡± ¡°Then how do I¡­ f-fix it?¡± Chapter Seventeen Noth¡¯s angel had been beaming at him with a soft, proud smile, but when he asked her how to fix this mess her face fell just a bit. She almost looked peeved that he¡¯d ever even asked her such a question. The look grew even further annoyed as she glanced over to the boy¡¯s writhing father, still screaming his head off in the background. The angel huffed and muttered something that Noth couldn¡¯t hear, and soon after with a flick of her wrist, the noise suddenly stopped. The boy timidly turned his head to his father, and his eyes grew a little wider as he realized that the noise had stopped because he had stopped. The man was frozen in place in an almost impossible, if not uncomfortable, position. As Noth took a step towards his father to get a closer look at the oddity, his arm was all of a sudden seized, and an a graceful hand was gently brought to his cheek to turn his head back around. His angel looked slightly guilty... Or maybe disappointed. <...You don¡¯t like it?> ¡°N-n-no. I hate it. It¡¯s horrible.¡± The more Noth frowned, the deeper it seemed that the angel would pout, and after a short while of staring into the boy¡¯s face, she let out a long sigh and hugged his face into her chest. The boy pulled back for a moment to glance up at her face. His angel seemed to be showing a mix of emotions, ranging from disappointed to apologetic to impatient, but the resigned acceptance that he eventually discerned was what put his heart at ease. He pulled back in and hugged her tight, embarrassment be damned. Who cared if he was too old for this stuff, he was still a kid, and he greatly needed the comfort right now. She gently rubbed his back, while he squeezed her and just breathed as they embraced. After a small amount of time Noth finally pushed away, not letting himself make eye contact with the angel, and slightly turned towards his father. ¡°We should um¡­ help him.¡± His angel giggled at him, a loving and pleased look beaming down at him from her countenance. Noth could almost feel that look, and it felt like he would get feverish from the steadily rising heat in his cheeks and ears. However, to counter that heat, every step that the boy took towards his suspended father seemed to make him feel colder and colder. The two climates seemed to wage war against each other inside of him. He was scared. He was confused. He was hopeful. He was sorry. But when the angel fluttered beside him and he took her hand, it seemed that his heart calmed down and the battle was won. Yes, he could do this. He wasn¡¯t alone anymore, nor was he powerless; In fact, that hadn¡¯t been the case for just short of two years now. He no longer had to just stand by and let bad things happen against his will. He would no longer accept unfavourable circumstances. Noth gripped the hand of his angel tighter. He¡¯d been given this power, and he would trust in it and make the best use of it that he could. The boy looked up at the spirit, his face more resolved than before. ¡°What do I need to do?¡± ¡°Which is¡­?¡± The angel giggled once again at the frustrated and impatient look on his face at her response. She knelt down, placing her head next to the boy, their eyes both on the same parallel as they looked upon his father. She was right. No matter how guilty he felt, or how much he thought that his father didn¡¯t deserve this, he couldn¡¯t truthfully even think that his father wasn¡¯t a monster. Even after all the vague coddling and love his father had shown him during his return to the Kieran manor, he still had only slightly absolved the man of the ugly monster image that he¡¯d placed upon him. A cowardly monster didn¡¯t just suddenly cease being a monster. This option would prove to be impossible, and knowing himself as much as he did, the boy was pretty certain he¡¯d be too stubborn to ever use this first option, even in a similar situation. ¡°...And what¡¯s the other way?¡± Noth was sure his angel was trying to give him a reassuring smile, but he could easily see that it was a bit off. Either she wasn¡¯t actually sure about what she was saying, or she wasn¡¯t telling him something, yet again. The boy had to stop himself from huffing, pouting, and obsessing about being left out of the loop for the umpteenth time. If he had to, he could do all that later; For now, his poor frozen dad was the biggest concern. It took him a while to think up what exact wish he would make, and after adding, removing, and rethinking pieces of it again and again, he settled on just what he would say. This was going to be a big wish, and he¡¯d been told that they worked exceptionally better the more flourish and pomp he put into them. He glanced at the expectant look on his angel¡¯s face, and his cheeks reddened slightly as he clasped his hands together and bowed his head in reverence. ¡°Oh merciful God-dess, who watches over us all. Please save my unsightly father, an unlucky man who deserved none of this sudden cruelty. I wish he would go back to the man he was, and no longer suffer from this hardship, transformation, and madness. Oh, and I also wish he wouldn¡¯t remember this whole ordeal!¡± There was a definite cracking sound coming from the boy''s bracelet. An almost searing heat mixed with a familiar buzzing assaulted Noth through the accessory, and his eyes almost felt like something was crawling into them from under his eyelids. He tried to close them, but the bright glow that started to emanate from his father¡¯s body convinced the curious child to instead keep them wide open. The monster frozen in front of him was gradually looking more and more human, although the transformation was happening quite slowly. Noth caught the graceful wave of his angel¡¯s hand out of the corner of his eye, and the glowing body of his father subsequently landed on the room¡¯s bed, laid down in a much more relaxed and much less frozen position. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The boy nodded, and after giving his father one last long look, he left the room. He found the doctor and the Earl¡¯s personal maids and harshly warned them not to approach the room in his best ¡®disagreeable young master¡¯ act, and when he was satisfied that they wouldn¡¯t peep in on his father, he skulked out of the mansion. ~~~ A half hour had passed since Noth had left the manor like he was running away from something. He needed a moment to just rest and not think of anything, and also to come to terms with everything, to process his feelings on it all, and to accept all of the craziness that he¡¯d just had to witness up close and first hand. The boy found a big tree on the front lawn that he had once played with his mother around when he was much younger, and he practically flopped down on the ground against its base. He stared off blankly into the distantly blue sky, feeling the breeze leisurely blow by as he let his mind do whatever it needed to work again. His body felt as heavy as the inside of his head. Just as the boy¡¯s eyelids were starting to slowly close, a long shadow was cast over him, and his now reopened eyes quickly became stuck to the source of it. Jeck was there, standing in front of him, with an obviously forced smile plastered across his face. Actually, for a moment, Noth had understandably managed to forget about Jeck, considering that such an impossible thing had happened to the boy just earlier. If not for the distraction of the prior events, Noth would have never let himself just idle so obviously out in the open like this. It was almost as if he¡¯d simply been asking to be caught. The boy sighed inwardly, accepting that his brief moment of peace and contemplation was already thoroughly broken with the appearance of this man. He didn¡¯t quite have the energy to really deal with Jeck right at this moment, but he also wasn¡¯t the type to just simply back down when challenged, either. Noth did his best to gather his nerves as the snake opened his mouth. ¡°I finally managed to track you down, young master. I swear, I kept almost running into you but then you¡¯d suddenly disappear every time. Why, if I didn¡¯t know any better I¡¯d say that you must have been avoiding me, although I know that you¡¯d never do something so horribly rude to a guest like me, right? You must have been exceptionally busy, what with all your duties, responsibilities, and the all too sudden ailing of your father. So busy, in fact, that you couldn¡¯t even show up to the classes that that same loving and gracious father had set up for you.¡± Noth grimaced as he listened to the deluge of words pouring out of the snake¡¯s mouth, but he especially pulled a face at the word ¡®gracious¡¯. He could already see where this guilt trip was going, and he really didn¡¯t feel like wasting the time to see how bold of an insult the man could eventually work up to right now, so he decided to end all of this and go home as quickly as he could. He stood up and brushed himself off, not letting his eyes even so much as glance towards the man in front of him as he talked in the most bored and bothered tone that he could manage. ¡°Oh yes, right, the ¡®painter¡¯. You¡¯re so correct and quite thoughtful to have realized how hard my circumstances have been. Thanks. I¡¯ll do my best to make some time to show up to your next class, so wait for me there. Well then.¡± He turned without a goodbye or even a nod, and left the clearly fuming snake, striding away with as much authority in his steps as he could muster. The angel who had been perched on a branch of the tree all along, watching the whole situation unfold, drifted down after him, her clear, tinkling laughter following them all the way back home. ~~~ ¡°Why didn¡¯t you warn me that he was coming at all?¡± His angel¡¯s big, cheesy, unapologetic smile made the boy want to sigh, but he held it in. ¡°Whatever I guess, just make sure you actually alert me from now on, okay?¡± He rolled over onto his other side in his bed, looking at the wall instead of her. It had been a long and eventful day. Noth just needed to sleep it all off and deal with the aftermath tomorrow. His ¡®class¡¯ with the snake wouldn¡¯t be until the afternoon, so if he woke up early enough, he could somehow manage to work the fine details of his plans out. He pulled his covers under his chin and closed his eyes, letting the sleep embrace him, but the feeling of another person cuddling up to him under the covers made him open his eyes again with slight annoyance. The boy huffed and glanced back at her, noting the amused yet mildly concerned look draped over the angel¡¯s countenance. He snuggled back into place and once more closed his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s simple, I¡¯ll set a trap fit for a snake. All I have to do is show up and see what creative little insults he can come up with for me, and then show him how little his words mean to me; That¡¯ll rattle that monster up for sure. And then, when he gets upset and acts a bit more dangerously, that¡¯s when I¡¯ll get him.¡± The sound of his angel giggling through her hand like they were up to something mischievous together made Noth smile just the tiniest bit. ~~~ The pair arose in time to watch the sunrise, ate a very early breakfast, and let Noth stew over his fun new scheme for the day. However, their planning was interrupted when a servant warily came to the villa to notify the boy that his father had awoken, and was requesting for his presence immediately. The two rushed over quickly, concern plastered on Noth¡¯s face that maybe something had gone wrong with his wish. He all but threw open the door to the Earl¡¯s chambers, and rushed to the man sitting up in the bed. After a thorough check of all the areas that had transformed on his father previously, Noth let out a long, relieved sigh at the fact that his father looked human once again. The Earl chuckled at his son¡¯s antics, a carefree and happy look evident on his face. ¡°Glad to see you were worried about me, my son. Seems you do actually care for this old man, no matter how much you tend to hide it.¡± The boy pouted at his father¡¯s slightly teasing words, his arms crossing and his face turning ever so slightly away in a small show of rejection. ¡°Yeah, okay. I heard you¡¯re supposed to be all better now. Is anything still wrong?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve heard that with a little bit of rehabilitation I should be right as rain again soon. It must have been hard on you, being the master of the house while I was out. You can complain to me, you know, son.¡± The Earl pet his adorable son¡¯s head, even as the boy¡¯s shoulders hunched up a little from the contact. Noth contemplated just leaving if he was going to be treated this way, but suddenly the boy perked up. An almost impish look crossed his face for a split second, before he quickly used his meager acting skills to put on the most teary looking face he could manage. ¡°Actually, father, something bad happened while you were going through that terrible sickness, and I missed you so much and had nowhere to turn to. I was told awful things, and I was really scared and confused about what to do¡­¡± The boy peeked up at his father through trembling eyelashes. ¡°...Could you please help me? It¡¯s about one of my classes.¡± Chapter Eighteen As promised, Noth showed up to his afternoon ¡®Appreciating the Arts¡¯ class with his teacher Jeck. The boy sat down in a very unrefined slouch; One knee was bent so that his foot was placed on the corner of the chair''s seat, and his chin rested on his hand on top of his knee. The way he seemed to rarely blink as he openly stared at and studied Jeck made the man¡¯s nerves just a tad more on edge. The class started tentatively, and, just as Noth had predicted, the longer that it went on, the more his teacher grew bolder with his insulting comments. It started off with light insinuations and mentions about how lucky Noth was to have such an amazing father, then to talk of what brilliant gift the boy surely had as a prestigious Kieran, then next to how the man couldn¡¯t wait to hear about what noble title would be given to the young master, and soon after about how sad it was that the Earl¡¯s wife wasn¡¯t here to experience the wonderful life of her son these past few years. It was exhausting to realize that all these topics were only just the beginning of the snake¡¯s disgusting whispers. Honestly, Noth was rather impressed by the man¡¯s gall that he¡¯d observed so far. If the boy wasn¡¯t already so aware of what was happening, he¡¯d have been successfully distracted from the actual class that they¡¯d convened for. There were a few times that Noth had debated on if he should ask the man what any of these topics had to do with the ¡®Art¡¯ he was supposed to be learning about, but when he imagined the possibility of the snake smoothly and confidently replying, he decided it wasn¡¯t worth it. The man¡¯s words weren¡¯t worth dignifying with a single response from Noth. Besides, he figured that the longer he quietly stared, studied, and listened to the man, the more Jeck was likely to up his insults. The boy couldn¡¯t wait to see what else this repulsive adult was willing to say to a child¡¯s face; In some odd and sick way, Noth was having a lot of fun seeing just how far this particular monster was willing to go with this. He had to fight against the queer and almost wicked smile that he could feel growing on his face, and as the feeling grew stronger he instead hid his mouth against his knee, much to the misunderstanding and delight of Jeck. There was another funny fact that was making Noth want to smile and laugh amongst this whole situation. The fact that Jeck was enough of a hypocrite to denigrate Noth over things that were clearly at fault with the painter himself as well without even batting an eye was just all too shameless for the boy to not find hilarious. Perhaps this case of the pot calling the kettle black was part of what spurred on the man¡¯s apparent dislike for Noth? After all, people never like others who suffer from the same unfavourable circumstances as themselves. It reminds them of all the things they hate about their own lives and shortcomings, so it was an obvious reaction to have. Something about that interesting little possible insight really tickled something inside of the boy. Learning these tidbits about people¡¯s actions was very enjoyable to Noth. And then there was the angel behind him that was only one step short of cackling at the whole situation, and not actually trying to hold it back at all. Noth was doing his best to ignore her. Interestingly enough, the painter actually stopped his constant hail of deprecation after the first hour had passed, and proceeded to seriously show the boy different styles and schools of paintings for at least a good thirty minutes. The sudden change into a studious and heartfelt mood from the previous one was very off-putting to Noth, considering how completely off topic the beginning of the class had been up to that point. You could actually feel how much care and passion was being put into this particular segment of the class, and the boy almost let out a noise of appreciation once he realized what was happening. Either the cunning and experienced snake was using this moment of duty and focus to lure Noth into a false sense of security before brutally surprising him with some new heavy hitting remark, or¡­ It could actually be that the man really felt quite strongly for this particular subject. Yes, that last theory would actually make sense. The man was a [Superior Painter] after all. In this vigorously religious country, who wouldn¡¯t have a passion for the [Gift] that was personally bestowed upon them by the God-dess? Just as Noth had generously thought that the snake might have a human side to him after all, the rug was soon swiftly pulled out from under him. It turns out that both of his theories seemed to be correct. Once Jeck¡¯s beloved topic had finally finished, the man returned to berating the boy with aplomb. This time the subject matter was much more blame and shame heavy, as if the man had to sound out what exactly Noth would react to, since his softly hinted insults from earlier hadn¡¯t quite done the job. As things began to ramp up more and more, even Noth, who was used to being constantly treated like filth by the servants who¡¯d brought him food in the villa for two years, couldn¡¯t just sit there and not react anymore. A well placed remark questioning his mother''s chastity and faithfulness was the straw that finally broke the camel''s back. Seeing the anger slowly developing on the boy¡¯s face, the snake seemed to get all the more excited. Jeck put on the most menacing face he could muster as he scolded the boy for things that were clearly not his fault, or were completely out of control for a child. ''Oh, he should be so very grateful that the kind Earl was keeping such a useless son.'' ''If his father weren¡¯t so loving Noth would typically be tossed out onto the streets.'' ''The God-dess was so merciful to let such an unwanted child live such a nice life.'' ''It was a kindness that the God-dess took away Noth¡¯s mother at the beginning of such an awful revelation.'' ''What possible future could an unwanted child have?'' ''It would be doing everyone a great favour if such a person wasn¡¯t around to bother others anymore.'' ''Yes, that¡¯s all the boy was, was a bother.'' Somewhere amidst this flood of verbal abuse, the door to the room opened just a crack. The sound was almost too soft to be audible, so it was no wonder that the snake, all too intoxicated in the power his words could have over the weak, didn¡¯t notice that someone was watching him. Of course, Noth could easily catch this change out of the corner of his eye, both due to the position he was sitting in, but also because he¡¯d been eagerly awaiting this moment. He had to do his best to not give the game away too soon, and he made sure to re-bury his face in his knee, so that Jeck couldn¡¯t make out the mischievous expression that he was starting to make. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. As the implications that, ¡®Yes, Noth should just give up and die already¡¯ grew more and more clear, the gap in the door subsequently grew wider and wider, until it became suddenly very evident that the Earl was standing there in the doorway with an extremely ugly expression on his face. His loud, almost stomping footsteps as he made his way towards his childhood friend were both threatening and deafening; There was no way that the snake couldn¡¯t hear Ruth Kieran¡¯s menacing approach now. Jeck¡¯s face looked absolutely pallid out of seemingly nowhere once he realized that he¡¯d been caught in the act, and you could clearly see that the gears in his head were turning as he tried to figure out how he could best worm his way out of the situation. The vindictive laughter of an angel was echoing throughout the room, but no one but Noth could hear it. *** The Earl was practically snarling as he confronted the painter. It took him barely even a blinks-worth of time to unsheathe his blade and point it at the snake''s neck. ¡°Explain yourself, Jeck¡±. ¡°Wha- Er- No, you seem to have misunderstood me, Earl Kieran!¡± ¡°Oh I highly doubt that, sir. I¡¯ve been looking in on your little ¡®class¡¯ for just a bit longer than you must realize, and unless I¡¯ve misunderstood that this was actually a class to blatantly bash and abuse my son, and was in fact not the art class that I asked you to perform, I think I¡¯ve seen correctly.¡± ¡°No no, you see, there¡¯s a missing context!¡± ¡°And what would that be? What possible context could exist that would give you the excuse to repeatedly say such horrible things to my child?¡± Jeck bit his tongue. He was too frazzled and scared to come up with a good argument out of the blue, and he¡¯d in no way expected the man who¡¯d been sick for about two weeks now to just stroll in on them like this. The only thing that he could come up with to tell him at that very moment was the reasoning that Noth was a [Gift]less invalid, hated by the God-dess, but he knew how poorly that answer would work in this situation. When Jeck stayed silent and just kept sweating with his head bowed, the Earl sighed and looked at the man with pity. As his words started to poor out, his blade slowly lowered as well. ¡°I know talking down to people like this has always been a bad habit of yours, even ever since we were kids, but I didn¡¯t expect it to go this far. You may have shared your thoughts on my shortcomings with me out of kindness because we were friends, but I can¡¯t see how the things you¡¯ve been saying to my son can be considered anything close to that. If I¡¯d just stumbled upon you saying something in one small slip of the tongue, I could forgive you my friend, but this¡­ Exactly how many ill-mannered things were you planning to say, Jeck?¡± Even as the seconds ticked by, no reply was given to the Earl. Anything that Jeck could have possibly said would have only incriminated him further, and more importantly than that, he¡¯d never actually seen Ruth Kieran get angry like this before. The man that he¡¯d known and manipulated since childhood was supposed to be a cowardly wimp who could only ever worry about what others thought of him. Jeck had made sure to prey upon those insecurities many times in the past, so he knew very well of their existence. So then what was this? That spineless and pathetic Earl was actually standing up to him? And for the son that the snake had almost convinced him to kill a few times? What he had failed to notice was that for all that he could succeed to disparage Ruth Kieran to his face time and time again, the Earl¡¯s self esteem problems didn¡¯t mean that he would simply roll over and watch the snake do the same to others, especially not his loved ones. Honestly, Jeck was starting to get furious. He wasn¡¯t used to being talked down to like this, and he was quite upset that he¡¯d been caught in such an unsightly spot. The biggest thing that he hated, however, was that right now he was completely powerless to do anything about this particular situation. He wasn¡¯t a noble, even if he had noble parents, and he¡¯d completely been caught red handed. What¡¯s worse is that the Earl¡¯s sense of duty that he¡¯d had drilled into him throughout his life and that Jeck had constantly used against him could easily make this turn into a case of defamation against a noble and lead to something terrible for the snake. The lightest he could get away with was imprisonment. The harshest was death, although the Earl would be looked upon unfavourably by the commoners for it. In reality he knew that the only appeal he could make now was to lean on his friendship with the Earl, and to try and make the man feel guilty for doing this to a friend and doubting him. The problem was that right in the moment that Jeck opened his mouth to protest, a third voice that he hadn¡¯t heard all day suddenly spoke. It was a far more meek voice than he¡¯d ever heard from the boy, and the timidness that his words were laced with made the man frown. When has that rude boy ever sounded like this before? Certainly not when Jeck had been around. ¡°Father, please. I don¡¯t want to come between you two any further. I¡¯m sorry that you had to see such an ugly side of someone you cared for for so long.¡± The way the boy¡¯s eyelashes fluttered slightly as he appealed to his father was very convincing. Of course, Jeck didn¡¯t buy it, but it seemed that of course the idiot father of the boy was eating it right up. The Earl immediately dropped his sword and snatched up Noth into his arms, and gently stroked the boy¡¯s hair. As he watched what should have been a touching scene, Jeck¡¯s blood was boiling, and it was only made worse when the boy flashed a smug look in his direction from inside of his father¡¯s arms. That look completely said ¡®You know I¡¯ve won, right?¡¯. Before the snake could strike back at the boy in any way for this, however, the pitiful look was back on the boy¡¯s face, and he looked up at his father once again. ¡°I know that there¡¯s no way that I can stop you from sending my teacher away from here, but could you maybe let him stay for just one more day before tossing him out? I want to try and talk to him just a little bit more. I hate the idea that I¡¯m going to have to end up in a bad relationship with someone my father had cherished so much. I wonder if I can maybe get him to like me, if only just a tiny bit.¡± Ruth Kieran couldn¡¯t help but sniffle at this cute and sweet display, and so of course he allowed it. After a few words of caution from the Earl and continuous reassurances from his son that he¡¯d be ok, the man finally left, and Noth and Jeck were once more the only people left in the room. Once the sounds of retreating footsteps were far enough away, the sombre atmosphere of the room immediately changed, and a smug, malicious smile spread over Noth¡¯s face. His eyes were narrowed like a hungry beast who¡¯d successfully cornered their prey. ¡°Oh no, look at this poor painter. Seems as if you¡¯ve screwed up and gotten on my father¡¯s bad side. What will you do?¡± Chapter Nineteen Noth tilted his head in a coy, doll-like way as he watched the man in front of him fuming. His fingers came up and touched his lips as he giggled, his smile becoming a tad bit wider, if not a shade more evil. He was obviously loving watching Jeck lose like this, and the thought that anyone would ever look at him with such a face was making the snake¡¯s insides writhe with anger. Half of him was already contemplating all the ways he could kill this child right this instant. He still had a mission from the church to finish, after all, but even more importantly he himself wanted this horrid child gone now. How DARE such a dirty thing think of itself as better than Jeck?! As his mind churned over all the ways he¡¯d like to destroy the little abomination, the boy¡¯s face suddenly turned into a look of pity. ¡°Look at you, getting all mad over there when I¡¯ve done nothing wrong to you. You do know that you need me right now, right? I¡¯m the only one who could possibly get you back into my father¡¯s good graces at the moment, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯d hate to lose such a good friend, right Jeck?¡± The way the boy had spit out his name made the man¡¯s mouth twitch, but he had to begrudgingly admit that the boy was right. This held especially true if he was going to murder the child and not get suspected by the Earl directly after. The power he¡¯d gained through the Earl wouldn¡¯t go away easily, but he¡¯d lose any possible favours that somehow connected to the Earl or his lands in the future, and that was bad for business. Jeck ground his teeth and forced himself to growl back a response. ¡°...And what do you want out of this?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s really easy. See, all you have to do is come and have a quick tea party with me tomorrow morning, and I¡¯ll make sure to put in a good word for you. Does that sound simple enough?¡± Noth¡¯s giggling and mocking tone were a perfect match for the amused and ridiculing look on his face. It made Jeck want to hit the boy so badly, but instead he laced his hands together to stay them, and gave the most curt of nods he could muster. If he didn¡¯t leave the room now, he felt like he would explode, and then he¡¯d surely lose any and all chances he had at salvaging this. He quickly left the room without another word, grinding his teeth at the feeling that he was running away from the horrid child. He tried to distract himself by looking at tomorrow as yet another chance, an opportunity to get things done, to set things right, and as he marched down the hallways towards the kitchen his face slowly loosened up and calmed into the slightest of smiles. Right, he¡¯d forgotten. He¡¯d found the perfect tool for this weeks ago, didn¡¯t he? Jeck headed to the kitchen. He had a certain maid to find. His revenge would be oh so easy with this. Why had he even been upset? *** Noth had looked like the cat that ate the canary all afternoon. He was so immensely pleased with how his plan had gone earlier that he almost felt like he¡¯d start humming to himself any minute. His father had even gotten over his cowardice enough to stand up against that bully of a ¡®childhood friend¡¯ of his, and all for the sake of his beloved son! How unexpected! How amazing! The boy would randomly catch himself giggling at various times as he went about his day, and as he ate his dinner in his villa he was in much too bright of spirits to really notice anything around him. Perhaps if he were not in such an unwary state then he would have noticed the subtle glances and worried looks that the angel beside him had been throwing his direction for the last few hours. It wasn¡¯t until the boy was sitting satisfied after his delectable meal that she suddenly decided to drop a bomb on him. She wrapped her arms loosely around Noth''s neck in a hug, but the way it felt like they were slowly tightening in on him immediately had the boy worried. He fought to keep the smile on his face and not lose his mood even as he quickly recognized that he knew what this pattern meant. He failed just a small bit however, and it was clear from his features that he was nowhere near as over the moon as he¡¯d previously been. ¡°Yes, I remember that being something you mentioned.¡± His voice came out with a small timid edge to it. Noth couldn¡¯t help but ball his fists on the table when his angel giggled and leaned in to whisper into the boy¡¯s ear. He was getting more and more sure. Yes, he knew what this meant all too well. The angel slowly unwound her arms from around him, her slender arms and fingers making prolonged dragging contact against his neck as she moved. He hated it. It was almost a ticklish feeling, if only it hadn¡¯t felt so threatening. She gracefully knelt next to him and placed her arm on the table with a light flourish, resting her head against it as she looked up into his worried face. She looked elegant. She looked lovely. It would have almost been the kind of picturesque scene you would have found in a painting if Noth wasn¡¯t so acutely afraid of what would fall from between the vision¡¯s lips next. Her mouth seemed to move painfully slowly as he stared at it with bated breath. A beaming smile spread across his angel¡¯s features, and it felt to Noth like her voice was suddenly filled with soft caresses. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. For a moment, Noth thought that the latter half of his angel¡¯s words weren¡¯t said to him at all. The look in her eyes seemed to have turned glassy, like she was looking right through him. It surprised him to feel how much he actually hated noticing that; She¡¯d always fawned over him at any and every point of time that he¡¯d known her, so it felt extremely lonely and foreign to see her expressing that same love towards someone or something else, even if she was looking towards him as she did so. Noth had never really felt clear jealousy like this before, and although he was fairly certain that this might in fact be the emotion that he was feeling, he had no idea whatsoever what to actually do with it. She said it was a kitchen maid? What had some kitchen maid done to catch the eye of his uncaring angel? He would have thought that she¡¯d only brought up the maid because she was somehow integral to taking down Jeck, if only that damn wistful look hadn¡¯t shown up out of nowhere. Noth felt absolutely blindsided. Maybe a small part of him even felt betrayed, like she¡¯d been lying to him. But another part of him was also trying to remind him that she¡¯d mentioned that she might care for a few others right before she¡¯d first brought up that she¡¯d ask him for these ¡®favours¡¯ someday, and that it wasn¡¯t like she¡¯d been keeping this possibility a secret. It was too bad for that secondary part, however, because the first one had grown vastly larger than any semblance of whispered rationality on this subject. The boy did his hardest to reject these ugly feelings, deeming them ¡®wrong¡¯ and ¡®unfair¡¯ in his mind, and so to muffle them he tried to use a tried and true method of his. If he let his curiosity reign and learned more about the kitchen maid, then maybe he could succeed at getting over these negative emotions. Noth did his best to erase the sulkiness from his voice and not pout as he began his inquisition. ¡°You said it was a kitchen maid? What¡¯s her name?¡± The dreamy almost purring way that the angel responded almost felt like it was stabbing Noth in the chest. He could feel the fondness oozing out of his angel¡¯s words, and he couldn¡¯t fully stop the grimace from creeping onto his face. ¡°Do I¡­ need to go and see her now? Or maybe should I confront her before the tea party?¡± That response was also deadly in its own way. If he couldn¡¯t go and see the maid right now, then that meant he¡¯d have to wait to satiate his dizzying amount of questions about the woman, and he really wouldn¡¯t be able to stand that right now while his only hope of feeling better about all this rested on him learning more. He squeezed his fists, his nails painfully trying to cut into his skin. ¡°Alright. Okay. You¡¯re probably saying it¡¯ll ruin things if we go now¡­ But if we wait then I- Oh right! I wish that I knew more about Elillith!¡± The sudden remembrance of the fact that he could just wish to know more was a ray of sunlight to Noth, and he was immediately filled with energy as he blurted out the words. Sadly, his angel¡¯s reply swiftly deflated him. Noth could feel his brain short circuiting. The cheeky words felt like sandpaper against his mind. There was no way he wasn¡¯t making a wretched face right about now. He absolutely loathed that the powers he¡¯d been granted by the angel could just be vetoed suddenly whenever she felt like it. He was feeling so irrationally frustrated by this whole conversation that he was oh so close to just marching down to the kitchen right this instant so that he could find and interrogate this Elillith person and see what made her so damn special. The only thing that was stopping him was the fact that he¡¯d ruin everything that he¡¯d already spent so much time working towards if he went right now. The boy¡¯s eyes dropped down to look at his hands that had crept up unbeknownst to him and were fisting his shirt like they wanted to break it. His stomach hurt slightly from the overflow of his frustration. He wanted to scream and let it all out, but he¡¯d never really been the type to scream out his emotions before; He wasn¡¯t really sure how, and the last thing he needed was to mess up somehow and feel stupid and silly on top of feeling angry. His mind kept telling him that this really wasn¡¯t anything to throw a tantrum over, and that he was acting like a spoiled child right now. Wasn¡¯t he trying to grow up as quickly as he could? Could he really afford to be so childish about something like this? But he was still young, and his body didn¡¯t want to listen to such rational thoughts. Every deep soothing breath he tried to take only seemed to manifest as hyperventilating, instead. In the end, he chose to run away from the table like he¡¯d been burned, off to the safety of his bed, once again. ~~~ After a night of intense pouting and feeling too silly to look at the angel who had followed him to his room, Noth had gotten far too little sleep. The boy rubbed at his eyes again and again as he prepared himself for the tea party, wondering if his face looked nearly as miserable as he felt. It crossed his mind a few times to maybe wish himself more awake, but he¡¯d instead decided to make himself live with his actions, thinking it a good way to atone for how stupid he felt he¡¯d been acting last night. Besides, no matter how much he¡¯d tried to plan everything out, he wanted as much of a safety net as he could manage, and in this case that meant not wasting his wishes on small needless things before the show even began. Noth dressed fancily, in clothes that showed off just how wealthy his family was. He needed Jeck to take one look at him and immediately see how big the divide between them was. After his rare morning breakfast inside the manor, Noth briefly informed a maid that he would be having a small tea party with Jeck in half an hour in his greenhouse, before heading back home to prepare. He found a lovely little tea table in a back corner of the greenhouse that he and his mother had often frequented together many years ago. It was his favourite spot in the whole greenhouse, even when he was younger, because it felt so hidden and secluded from everything else. There had even been a time when he was 5 that he¡¯d tried to make a small secret base here amongst the bushes. His mother had noticed his completely unstealthy actions and had surprisingly tried to help him with his endeavours, although the maids soon noticed them as well, and had nagged them until they promised they¡¯d stop. It didn¡¯t matter to him at all that the greenhouse was currently vastly different looking than in his memories. Most of the servants still refused to come anywhere near the villa and greenhouse, and even if they¡¯d wanted to, Noth would have never let them. Because of this, years of lack of attention had made the flora wilt and die. The trees were withered looking and desperately holding on to their last few leaves. Somehow the bushes were overgrown, but yet still lacking in any amount of greenery or life. Any area of them that you¡¯d attempt to touch would most likely break off with only the slightest amount of force. The floors were caked with decaying leaves, and a constant smell of humidity and rot permeated the air. Spiders had made their homes all over the place, and even the small tea table he¡¯d been sitting at was positively filthy and overrun with dust and webs. Noth hadn¡¯t even cared, he had pulled out the seat and sat right down on it with no hesitation. It¡¯s not like he had any reason to be afraid of getting a little dirty, he was more than used to the feel of it after 2 years of rolling around in this same muck, and he could easily wish away any bites he might receive. The added bonus was the possible chance of seeing Jeck¡¯s reactions when he was told to join Noth amongst all this grime. Yes, this place suited Jeck very nicely. He could only hope that today¡¯s events could be added into his list of beloved greenhouse memories. Chapter Twenty The boy couldn¡¯t help but smile and feel at peace as he reminisced over his simple and warm memories of this greenhouse, his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand as he let himself remember more and more of those good times. He did his best not to let the angel that was clinging to his back distract him from his reveries, and he was even succeeding at it, until the voice of the approaching maid brought him back to reality. Noth¡¯s smile immediately dropped as he remembered the situation, but one corner of his mouth tugged up a little bit for an entirely different reason. The maid¡¯s voice was completely devoid of emotion. It almost sounded dead. She was calling out for her young master again and again, but each call sounded dull and uninterested. It somehow went past sounding like she was doing something she didn¡¯t feel like doing, and right into sounding like she really just didn¡¯t care. Noth had never heard someone sound so completely apathetic about anything before. He was stunned for a few moments as he tried to understand if the maid was doing this on purpose or not, but he soon realized that she must have been here to guide Jeck to him, so Noth shouted his reply to her so that she could find him. A few minutes of waiting for them to find their way through the unkempt greenhouse later, and Jeck and the maid were finally standing in front of Noth¡¯s quaint little table. The boy did his best to smile up welcomingly to them, although he failed to fully keep the predatory glint out of his eyes. He extended his hand out towards the opposite seat in invitation when it seemed like Jeck was hesitating to sit down, and when the maid nonchalantly pulled out the chair for the man with her hand that wasn¡¯t carrying the refreshments, the pressure on him to sit and conform to etiquette was too strong for him to rightfully resist. Noth opened his eyes wide as he tried to engrave the image of the Jeck¡¯s face recoiling as he begrudgingly sat down and felt the dust, film of rotten leaves, and freshly broken webs that were all now firmly pressed against his legs and back. The boy was so filled with glee that he had to fight against the smile that he could feel trying to bloom across his face. The maid had paused for a small while in seeming contemplation before she placed her frilled apron over her free arm and roughly scrubbed her arm across the table. It seemed she was trying to remove the filth from it before she set down the things she was carrying, which made perfect sense, but the way she went about it was so against maid etiquette that Noth couldn¡¯t help but tear his eyes away from his opponent and look up to her. He quickly spread his arms out across the table to stop her actions. ¡°No, leave it. I¡¯ve finally gotten it exactly how I want it. Put down the refreshments and you can go.¡± There was almost too little reaction from the uncaring maid besides a slight shrug of her shoulders and the immediate dropping of her apron. It didn¡¯t even seem like she cared about the line of grime that was still clinging on to the white of her clothes at all; She just quickly went about placing down the cute tray of snacks and pouring them both their tea without a word. The unchanging doll-like quality of her face was piquing Noth¡¯s interest a little too much for his liking. Did he know this maid? He was sure he¡¯d remember someone like her if he¡¯d come across her during his recent years in the manor. He¡¯d never met someone so lacking in expression like her before; Every other servant seemed to have their feelings about him obviously painted across their faces, and even the most disciplined out of them seemed to have at least some sort of reaction or other. Who was this woman? He stared at her very intently as she came closer to pour his tea. He¡¯d gained absolutely nothing from watching her face, and as he let his eyes drift over her messy orange-brown hair and followed a loose lock that cascaded down, he finally noticed her dress. He hadn¡¯t been paying attention to the outfit earlier, but the subdued look of it and lack of detail pointed towards her being a kitchen maid. Noth didn¡¯t often take many trips down to the kitchen, since normally the food was brought to him instead, so he didn¡¯t know the kitchen staff all that well. For a moment the boy was pleased with himself for solving the riddle, and his curiosity was briefly satiated. But as the maid quickly and sloppily bowed before turning to take her leave, Noth¡¯s curiosity roared full force back to life. He grabbed her wrist as fast as he could to stop her from getting away. A kitchen maid. Was it her? Was she the kitchen maid?! He had to try his very hardest not to yell his words as they blurted out uncontrollably from his lips. ¡°Wait! Wait just a moment! Maid, what¡¯s your name?¡± The woman seemed a little shocked from his outburst, but even that reaction was dull. She turned back towards him, and for the first time he felt her eyes actually land on his figure. They still had the same glaze that they had over them before, but now he could tell that they were actually pointed directly at him. ¡°M¡¯name¡¯s Elillith, young master.¡± The confirmation of his suspicions made the boy¡¯s brain freeze for just a moment before he felt his stopped heart start up again just as hard as before. This was her! This was the kitchen maid! The one his angel had mentioned! He was finally meeting her! Thank the God-dess that he¡¯d only had to wait one day! His eyes worked even harder to drink in every single feature of the woman in front of him. His hold on her wrist got a little tighter without his knowledge as his mind raced through the multitude of questions he had for, and about, the maid. He opened his mouth to start spilling the deluge of questions he had for the woman onto her, but a sudden hand grabbing over his own and quickly removing the boy¡¯s hand from the maid¡¯s wrist made him unconsciously turn his head. His angel¡¯s face was now only inches away from his own. She was smiling gently at him, but her eyes seemed to brook no argument about the situation. Her breath lightly tickled over his face and slowly woke him up from the fog of his over-focus. Noth glanced away from her gaze and looked towards the two other people present. He¡¯d completely forgotten about Jeck¡¯s presence in his obsession to satiate his rampant curiosity. He was aware of how bizarre he must have looked as he physically held the maid back and thoroughly scanned her over from head to toe. And just now he¡¯d even looked like he¡¯d whipped his head over to gaze at thin air. He wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the both of them thought that he was crazy. Noth blushed just a bit and mentally thanked the angel from stopping him from acting even more embarrassingly. He adjusted himself back into the proper seating position, clasped both his hands firmly on his lap, and briefly looked towards the maid. ¡°Ahem¡­ You may leave.¡± Noth was happy to note that at least the maid didn¡¯t seem perturbed by his odd behaviour, but then again he shouldn¡¯t have expected much of anything to show on the woman¡¯s seemingly frozen face. If she could overlook the odd way he¡¯d acted towards her, then that would certainly be a blessing. It would¡¯ve been hard to approach her again in the future if she became wary of him after this. Once again, Elillith gave a shallow bow and promptly left, leaving Noth and Jeck to themselves. It was only once the kitchen maid was finally out of sight that Noth actually turned to look at Jeck¡¯s face, and the clear anger and bewilderment the man was showing at being so ignored after he was made to sit in such an uncomfortable spot was wonderful. The boy couldn¡¯t help but smirk at this unintended outcome. This tea party was starting out very fruitfully. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Where are my manners? Please, you don¡¯t have to wait for me, help yourself.¡± With his chin placed on his hand, Noth smugly watched Jeck. The rules of high society clearly stated that people of lower status couldn¡¯t eat before those of higher status did. Although neither of them was a noble, the son of an Earl would always outrank the son of anything lower down the totem pole. Even if the man hadn¡¯t been trying to follow along with etiquette by not eating yet, Noth was sure as hell going to make sure that he rubbed his status in the snake¡¯s face. A small, sincere sounding reminder ought to hurt the status chasing man much more than an obvious sneering comment would. Schemers were the kind of people to read into every little thing after all, and there was much more digging to be done in indirect words. The boy practically looked like he¡¯d start purring when he watched the already upset face in front of him grow just a shade redder. Of course Noth took even greater interest in the fact that even after he¡¯d given permission, Jeck still didn¡¯t make a single move to consume anything. ¡°Oh no, could it be that you don¡¯t like this kind of food? I should have it replaced then.¡± The boy put on his best concerned face and started to get up from his chair. ¡°N-no wait, I do like them, I¡¯ve just er, I¡¯ve been unwell lately. Too many sweets tend to make it worse. You understand.¡± A giant smile immediately ripped across Noth¡¯s face when his prey took the bait. Yes, of course this stupid snake wouldn¡¯t just let him get rid of his poisoned offerings so easily. Noth did his best to fight against the smile, but it was almost impossible to erase. He resolved to just act around it instead. ¡°Oh that¡¯s wonderful, so you don¡¯t dislike it. You¡¯re wrong however, I don¡¯t understand. You can¡¯t even have a single cookie?¡± Noth gingerly picked up one of the cookies from the tray. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his angel just barely flinch, and he made a mental note not to somehow lick his hands for any reason. The boy quickly sprung up and rounded the table, shoving the cookie in the man¡¯s face. His smile grew just a tad wider as he watched how Jeck¡¯s mouth firmly pressed shut when he saw the encroaching object. The way the man had to lean back into the disgusting chair that he¡¯d so obviously been loath to touch before, just to get away from him, made Noth feel amazing. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s so sad to hear! And what about the tea, is that no good, too? I can¡¯t possibly imagine a way that tea could be bad for you.¡± Noth dropped the tainted baked good on Jeck¡¯s lap as his hand swiftly grabbed the handle of the teacup nearby. The speed at which he brought the cup up towards the man made a small bit of the liquid inside splash onto his vest. Jeck¡¯s shivering as he stared down wide eyed at the wet spot on his chest brought out light glee-filled chuckles from the boy. When he¡¯d had enough of watching the man silently squirm, he gently put the tea cup back down on the table and moved to go back to his seat. The power he felt like he had over this man he¡¯d deemed a monster felt almost intoxicating. Noth was having so much fun toying with his prey that he had to bite his lip and focus on steadying his breathing just so that he could calm himself down enough to move on to the next step. ¡°How unfortunate. Well then we¡¯ll just have to move along to the main topic, won¡¯t we?¡± The boy reached out and grabbed another cookie, and brought it over his plate. He¡¯d have to have been blind to not catch the sudden hopeful shift that took place on Jeck¡¯s countenance. How had this man ever been the one going around and manipulating people when everything was so obvious on his face? Was it possible that he was the kind who could easily dish it out, but was actually very weak against it? Or could it be that he¡¯d only really emotionally manipulated Noth¡¯s father, and had used other means when he formed all his other connections? Noth could accept that second option rather easily, considering how effortless it seemed to be to affect his father¡¯s moods. There was also the third option that the man had been so thoroughly flustered by Noth that he didn¡¯t have the wherewithal to focus on controlling his expressions anymore. This option was Noth¡¯s favourite. Jeck stared at the cookie held between Noth¡¯s fingers like his life depended on it. Noth giggled to himself a few times as he looked back and forth between the man and the cookie. A wonderful impulse passed through his mind, and the boy suddenly squeezed his hand around the cookie, crumbling its soft bread to bits, the thick remaining chunks falling down onto the plate. His eyes narrowed in joy at the snake¡¯s shocked reaction. He slowly reached out for another cookie. ¡°You know, I¡¯m really having fun with you right now, but I need to stop letting myself get distracted. I called you here to have a talk, and so far it¡¯s feeling a little one sided. I thought you needed my help?¡± Those words seemed to be the key that woke Jeck up. His face grew a touch more resolved, and he sat up with just a tad more decorum and authority than he¡¯d had before. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re correct. I¡¯ve come to ask you to please fix the misunderstanding between your father and I. I¡¯d hate to lose such a good friend after thoughtlessly saying the wrong things. I never meant to be rude towards you, young master.¡± Noth was impressed at how composed Jeck seemed, even while he spoke complete bullshit to the boy¡¯s face. How dumb did he think Noth was? He acted as if Noth hadn¡¯t been there and heard the words he was speaking. ¡°Oh, is that so? But it really sounded to me like you meant all those words. Or maybe you think I don¡¯t actually have ears?¡± He did his best to sound calm, even while his hands were busy angrily picking apart the cookie he held. ¡°No, this isn¡¯t what I wanted to talk about at all. I don¡¯t really care how much you obviously hate me. I¡¯m here to talk with you, not to listen to you lie to me.¡± Jeck opened his mouth to protest the boy¡¯s words, but quickly closed it when a cookie came sailing at his face. ¡°Shut up. Your lies are boring. Let¡¯s talk about interesting things instead. Maybe I¡¯ll even fix our stupid little ¡®misunderstanding¡¯ if you can figure out how to answer my questions, so pay attention!¡± Noth grabbed a fistfull of cookies and menacingly held them up until the man across from him finally nodded his head in agreement. He narrowed his eyes at the man and placed the cookies down on his plate, then slowly started tracing the finger around the rim of his teacup. ¡°Good. First of all, I¡¯m aware of your greedy intentions. You¡¯re doing one of those ¡®favours¡¯ of yours for someone right now. One that involves me, I¡¯m sure. I want to know who it¡¯s for.¡± There was a clattering noise as Jeck jumped up and reached across the table, roughly grabbing Noth¡¯s shirt. The snake¡¯s voice hissed out as he slammed his free fist down on the table. ¡°How did you know? Who told you?!¡± The boy stared down at the hand that was fisting his shirt with an indignant look, and then calmly grabbed his cup of tea and splashed the liquid inside of it into the man¡¯s face. He playfully rocked the cup side to side as he sat there and watched the snake jump back and desperately scrape the tainted tea off of his face. As Jeck spat out a final sputter and levelled a murderous glare at the child, Noth let out a soft unimpressed laugh as he held the teacup out to his side. ¡°The important thing isn¡¯t how I know. The real important point is that poisoning someone is a crime.¡± And with that, Noth dropped the teacup, letting it shatter on the grimy stone floor. Chapter Twenty One To Jeck¡¯s credit, he only mildly flinched at the loud smashing sound from the teacup, and didn¡¯t let himself overreact to the boy¡¯s accusation. Instead, he did his best and quickly adjusted his face to one of ridicule, like he was hearing something absurd. But even as he replied to the damning statement, he slowly reached his hand towards the back of his belt to fish for the dagger he had hidden there. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d say such words to me! You mean to tell me you think I¡¯d actually do something so outrageous? I haven¡¯t even so much as touched that food! You should be looking into your own kitchen staff instead of these baseless accusations.¡± Noth just stared at the man with a pitying look on his face for a short while before he calmly stood up and grabbed another cookie from the tray. He wagged the cookie side to side as he stepped even closer to the man, the pitying look morphing into something much more condescending. ¡°You¡¯re really going to try to say something so stupid to me when you¡¯ve been so easily spooked by these cookies this entire time? Not to mention the tea. I¡¯m not as foolish as you seem to wish I was, painter. And you were even so scared when I said I¡¯d ask for a change of refreshments, too. As if I wouldn¡¯t notice how jumpy you¡¯ve been!¡± The area around them began to echo with the sound of the boy¡¯s demeaning chuckles. But it wasn¡¯t just that. No. Jeck could hear what sounded like a chorus of ghostly chuckles joining in with the boy¡¯s, completely surrounding him. It was maddening. It was frightening. He couldn¡¯t bear to be laughed at like this. Jeck wanted the sound to stop. It took him a few moments to collect his nerve, but Jeck knew what he had to do to make the laughing stop. He firmly took hold of his dagger and moved as quickly as he could, lunging at the boy in front of him. He was no trained warrior or assassin, nor had he ever been that spry, so his moves weren¡¯t particularly practiced or swift, and even Noth could see the man¡¯s oddly slow approach. A look of disappointment and anger filled the boy¡¯s features as he realized what was happening. He absentmindedly crumbled the cookie in his now fisting hands, and levelled a glare at the charging snake. Noth could feel something hot welling up inside of him, some queer, undefinable feeling that almost didn''t feel like it was coming from the boy himself, and before he could think, he fiercely pointed his crumb covered finger at the man. An authoritative voice boomed out from Noth, overflowing with power. ¡°You disgusting thing. .¡± The boy¡¯s voice seemed to overlap with the righteous timbre of his angel as he gave out the command. A loud cracking sound from the bracelet followed shortly after. All of a sudden Jeck was sitting on his knees, his hands were firmly planted on the floor, and his head was bowed and heavy, as if it had a great weight attached to it. His dagger had been tossed to the wayside at some point during his descent. He quivered in bewilderment as his mind tried to catch up and figure out what exactly happened, but he quickly gave up on that when Noth¡¯s feet abruptly stopped right in front of him. Jeck strained his neck hard as he dragged his weighted head up just high enough so that he could see his enemy¡¯s face, but he almost immediately dropped his head back down at the shock of what he saw. He had expected the angry, arrogant look on the child¡¯s face. That made sense. But those eyes¡­ Those glowing, flaking, rust coloured eyes¡­ They were unnatural. He felt dirtier just from witnessing it. How could something like that even exist? Something inside Jeck was positively screaming at him that he saw something he shouldn¡¯t have. A moment after his brain processed that feeling¡­ the itching started. It was in his ears, his eyes¡­ It was almost like a million tiny bugs were squirming around them. Then the scratching feeling seemed to spread over his brain. Jeck lifted his hands, not even realizing that the pressing gravity had already left his body, and tried his best to itch at the incessant feeling. He shook his head wildly. He itched, and scratched, and clawed- but nothing worked. The feeling wouldn¡¯t stop. It felt like everything he tried to do simply couldn¡¯t reach deep enough. Even as he scraped and peeled at his red and bleeding skin, he just couldn¡¯t reach any relief. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Noth and his angel stared down at the writhing, desperate man. They watched as he tore at his own skin and hair. Noth was surprised at how little pity he felt towards the thrashing snake, even after he fully accepted that he was the one who put him in such agony. Yes, he¡¯d felt bad the last time he¡¯d used this power, but only because he hadn¡¯t wanted to see his father go through such torment. But the man in front of him? This monster? He deserved all the torment he had coming to him. His angel drifted closer behind him, bringing her hands up to gently cover his eyes as she purred into his ears. The boy reached up and calmly removed her hands, taking them away from his face, but never actually letting go of them afterwards. He shook his head resolutely, and stared down unblinkingly at the man who had now started sobbing at his feet. Noth could see that some of the skin that Jeck had failed to assault yet was very slowly beginning to harden and form into shiny, translucent scales. ¡°No, I won¡¯t. I won¡¯t feel sorry for a man who tried to kill a child just to satisfy his greed for power. It¡¯s only right that he truly becomes the monster that he¡¯s always been inside. Besides, I¡¯ve already spent enough time suffering. Why should I suffer any more because of the likes of him? It¡¯s his turn.¡± Noth¡¯s words delighted the angel, and he could hear the soft sound of her wings quivering as she let out a pleased, cooing noise. The hands he still held quickly moved to wrap around his waist, and she placed her head lovingly on top of his. And in that position, the two of them just stood there in silence for a while, just watching the grotesque transformation in front of them. Screams filled their area of the greenhouse. Jeck had stopped moving from the pain, and at some point had stood up in horror when he finally noticed the changes working their way through his body. Small patches of scales solidified. Two large fangs protruded down from his upper canines. His eyes slowly morphed into a golden hue, and the pupils became slits. His nose was steadily flattening, although still vaguely discernable. The more he watched the transformation, the more disgusted Noth became. He didn¡¯t want to admit it, but he actually did hate what was happening. Yes, the man deserved this, but actually seeing the bad thing he¡¯d wanted to happen to the man happen right in front of him was just far too cruel. He felt like he was steadily losing a piece of what kept him human the more that he watched this, and he couldn¡¯t afford that; He couldn¡¯t let himself sink down any more than he already had. Not yet. Not now. For now, Noth would have to accept that he¡¯d punished Jeck enough, and put an end to things. Noth took a step forward, leaving the embrace of his angel, and looked up somberly at the man-turned-snake. He placed his hand on top of the bowed head of the sobbing man, and patted it a few times. The boy stood on his tippy toes so that he could make sure he was heard, and solemnly spoke into the snake¡¯s ear with a hushed voice. ¡°Know that your avarice was your downfall, Jeck Felitt. This is the end.¡± He stepped back and whispered a wish into his clasped hands, his eyes firmly locked onto Jeck the whole time. Jeck finally felt relief for a moment and he lifted his clutched head in hope. The awful feelings that were pervading him had finally stopped. But it was to his belated dismay that he realized that he couldn¡¯t feel anything at all, except for a growing sense of cold spreading up from his feet. He looked down at his unresponsive legs, and saw that they had both become stone. He frantically willed them to move, but even as he focused and worried over them, the stone had already rapidly spread halfway up the trunk of his body. In desperation, he reached out both of his arms towards Noth to plead for help, but midway through the motion they had already turned to stone. Jeck¡¯s face turned grim; His throat felt too dry and stiff already for him to even attempt to call out with his steadily freezing vocal chords. He only had enough time to force out a single tear from his wide open, horrified eyes, before he finally, fully, became a lifeless work of art. The boy stared at the newly formed statue in front of him, letting his eyes slowly roam over its perfectly chiselled stone, before letting his gaze land on the sculpture¡¯s eyes. Even though he¡¯d petrified the beast, the eyes inside still shone with a lifelike golden beauty. Noth couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly as he felt the irony of it all. He couldn¡¯t help but think that the colour was a perfect fit for his vanquished snake¡¯s inherent greed. He studied the scene in front of him for a little while longer before abruptly turning and taking a small stroll towards the nearby bushes. He stopped in front of the lovely little spot he¡¯d once decided to make his secret base, and slowly nodded his head before letting himself mumble out one last wish for the day. Fresh verdant vines slithered out from the chosen patch of earth and grabbed hold of the statue, lifting it up and placing it neatly where Noth had wanted. The boy admired how the crisscross of vines over the statue resembled snakes. Yes, now it looked perfect. Of course, Noth planned to keep this petrified monster he captured. He planned to seal it away in this special place that would never reach the eyes of others. He planned to come back here every once in a while to look at it and remember. It would serve as both a trophy, and a reminder. Noth could win, even against such twisted beasts. He had successfully hunted down his prey today, and this would be his eternal evidence of that fact. But it would also serve to show him that even amongst his own cruelty, he hadn¡¯t had the heart to let his enemy suffer for long. Yes, it was an act of mercy and a choice to preserve his humanity, but it was also a show of weakness. Such a decision could one day lead to his downfall if he wasn¡¯t careful about when to show his mercy. He would have to reflect on what he did and didn¡¯t have the power to do before he ran around being merciful left and right in the future. For right now, however, Noth was satisfied that he¡¯d done his best. Could he relax a little bit now? The boy plopped down on the putrid floor and rested his head on his knees. His hand tremblingly reached out for his angel, and when he found her slender leg nearby, he wrapped his arm around it in a firm hug. She beamed down at Noth and leaned over to stroke his hair, which seemed to signal the boy¡¯s body to finally start to let his tension go. It seemed that with every breath Noth felt better and better, like something was being washed off of him, or like something that was blocking his nose or covering his eyes was being removed. The boy didn¡¯t quite think he could make it all the way to feeling ¡®good¡¯, but ¡®better¡¯ was good enough for now. As his senses stymied by tension and stress slowly came back, he let go of his angel¡¯s leg and looked up at her, instead using that hand to tug at the hem of her robe. ¡°We should go. It smells disgusting in here, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve completely ruined these clothes by now.¡± His angel giggled and helped the boy up, doing her best to dust him off in vain. Noth let out a weak laugh and looked at his dirty hands as they walked away, and he couldn¡¯t help but mumble to himself as he thought over her words. ¡°...I don¡¯t think that I like that at all.¡± Chapter Twenty Two: -Angel Intermission- A few years have passed since I came to be with my Noth. I¡¯ve gotten to watch every trial, tribulation, and triumph of his up close with my own two freaking eyes, and I¡¯ve been eating. it. up! It¡¯s like I¡¯m watching a mega high definition movie from the front row seats, and even though I¡¯m doing my best to stay out of the way and watch this awesome show unfold, if things end up taking a turn that I can¡¯t stand I don¡¯t just have to shout at the screen and be upset, I can just freaking step in and fix things! Of course, the problem with that is that I¡¯m enjoying everything way too much, even the bad scenes. Watching Noth get worried, sad, angry, or scared was just so de-li-ci-ous. It was like binge eating chocolate every time I saw it. Heck, with our bond I could even feel that he was feeling those things, and it was just great. And when he felt jealous over me when I was telling him about that favour? Ooooh it felt like coming in from the cold and taking a nice warm soak, I loved it for a multitude of reasons. If I can I¡¯m gonna milk that feeling for all that it¡¯s worth, Noth permitting! Although hey, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t share in his good feelings too, so it¡¯s not like I only like when he¡¯s feeling bad stuff, even if it is weirdly pleasurable. The only real saving grace to all of this (for Noth) though, is that I feel an equally large sense of pure satisfaction whenever he overcomes an obstacle or defeats one of his ¡®monsters¡¯. I¡¯ve never gotten to experience such a raw and profound satisfaction before in my previous human life. And it seems like the feeling grows larger with greater targets. The removal of Jeck alone managed to take me out of commission for a few days from the serenity of it, and he''s not even that great of an evil comparatively! Really, I think this is all the God-dess¡¯s fault. This stupid angel body she gave me really feels like she tainted it with some weird stuff. Like for instance with Noth¡¯s dad! If I¡¯m being honest, I really don¡¯t care for the guy. Like, a part of me feels bad for him since I know all his circumstances and stuff, but like¡­ I just can¡¯t stand how weak he is. Weak weepy people like him are just one of the things that I can¡¯t stand. If it¡¯s something that Noth thinks is the right thing to do, then I don¡¯t really care what happens to him. But when Noth used the madness on him? Oh yes. Yeeessss. Whenever Noth uses his wishes it feels good, like nice little butterfly kisses, especially now that he¡¯s getting the hang of them, but that¡­ When he used that power it just felt sooo goooood~. It felt good the whole time until he made it stop. Even the short while he used it on Jeck it felt good! I need to find ways to get him to use my true powers more! But for now I¡¯ll just have to content myself with the nice loving caresses of him using my first power without the training wheels¡­ Once he figures out how to use it reliably, anyways. In all honesty, feeling how this body reacts to these powers is scaring the crap out of me. I know what I am. I know what the God-dess made me. I know I can¡¯t escape all of this. I hate thinking about it, but it¡¯s only a matter of time before these growing feelings and instincts take me over and everything comes crashing down. I can only hope that I¡¯ll still maintain some tiny bit of rationality when it happens¡­ At least enough that I don¡¯t try to harm Noth. The good news is that I have a handful of years before it all happens, thankfully. Angels were never intended to last over a decade anyways. Until then I¡¯ll have to do my best to help him gain enough power so that when the worst does happen, he¡¯s at least vaguely ready for it. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I¡¯m also surprised at how quickly my boy¡¯s growing up and learning to handle all these harsh situations¡­ Is a total lie! Pretty sure Noth has those natural buffs a main character gets in stories that makes them so different from everyone else. Viva la God-dess and its story! But to be fair it¡¯s not all just natural character buffs. Because¡­ well, you see¡­ I cheated! Even though I love this Noth and I know that he¡¯s physically the same one as the Noth that I fell in love with, and even though I know for sure he¡¯ll grow up to look the same as he once did, now that I¡¯ve entered in and changed the course of his story, there¡¯s no guarantee that he¡¯ll have the same emo villain attitude like he did before. Hey, what can I say? I¡¯m a sucker for depressed bad-boy characters I guess. Besides, my goal was to save that particular Noth, and somehow even though this is all freaking wonderful, it feels a little sad that I couldn¡¯t do anything for the Noth that I knew from before. I thought really hard about how to fix that after I first met this little child version of him and realized how different he might end up being¡­ and then I found a nice opportunity. I infected his soul a little bit while he was dreaming. I just put a little fragment of him in there on the night before we confronted his father. Not enough to take him over per say, or to really change him all that much, but just enough to influence him a little bit. My hopes are that the old Noth¡¯ll help to guide him a little, and maybe somehow his actions will also let that poor little fragment find peace. Really, though? A part of me just did it because I wanted him to realize deep down just how much I¡¯ve saved him from the shitty life he could have had. It would suck if it was only me and the God-dess who knew how different things would have been for him. And as a plus, I get to keep a little bit of the previous beloved villain inside of this new love of mine. My new love¡­ he¡¯s quite a different boy. It¡¯s to be expected, since his life hasn¡¯t swirled down the toilet quite to the extent that the previous one¡¯s had. This Noth has hope inside of him, and he even makes plans for his own future. He¡¯s proactive. He¡¯s motivated. It¡¯s not like this one can¡¯t fall into the trap of moping like the previous one could, but now he actually has goals, and things that he wants to protect. He¡¯s able to afford nurturing the gentleness that he¡¯d always tried to keep, but had been forced to give up in his prior life. And yet, I love that he¡¯s still held on to that characteristic ruthlessness of his! And he¡¯s still a loner! And still a little bit gloomy! And calculating! I can¡¯t wait to see what he grows up to be~! Not like any of this matters at all in the end though, I¡¯d still love our current Noth like crazy no matter what he turns out like! Another difference that¡¯s so interesting to see is how things have changed since his father didn¡¯t die this time. We got to meet a whole new character that had only ever been referenced before in the book: Jeck Felitt. That snake was never part of the main story before, not even mentioned in Noth¡¯s tragic backstory, so it really caught my eye when he showed up one day and started making a big fuss. Can¡¯t say I¡¯m upset about it at all though, considering his arrival helped Noth to use my powers even better. If these new developments are gonna help him to learn his abilities and get even stronger faster, then I¡¯m all for it. And as a bonus I get to see tons of new situations unfold! Something I¡¯m not enjoying, however, is the constant gaze of the God-dess that I can feel boring into us. It¡¯s oppressive and heavy. I can also feel its hand moving things around in the background. The ministrations are almost enough to go unnoticed, but not for me, not in this body. No matter how small the influence, I can feel it happening. And I don¡¯t LIKE it. I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s the all important deity of this world or whatever, this is my world to change. It said so itself! Only Noth and I are allowed to change things. Anything the God-dess changes will just have to get fixed. Chapter Twenty Three: -Story Time Intermission- Let me tell you a story. I¡¯ll start from the beginning: Once upon a time there was a boy. The small boy, Kess, had grown up in the orphanage his whole life. However, because the orphanage was deeply impoverished and only had one elderly caretaker, it was more accurate to say that Kess grew up on the streets. The streets were hard and unforgiving, and it wouldn¡¯t be a lie to say the boy routinely saw crimes and demise happen around him almost every day. He was hungry, and his friends were dropping left and right like flies. He was scared that any day he¡¯d be next. And even as he worried over himself and the others, every dead child at the orphanage seemed to be quickly replaced with a new one. But when Kess turned 7, things suddenly turned around. An older child who had managed to get a job and escape would sometimes come around to visit the others and help out. They¡¯d lectured that as soon as Kess turned 7, he should immediately go to the temple and learn what [Gift] he¡¯d been granted. Apparently the whole thing was free, by the grace of the loving God-dess. There was no reason not to go, especially with how firmly he¡¯d been told that he had to. Besides, he¡¯d heard of everyone else having a [Gift] once they were old enough, so why shouldn¡¯t he? The church was dazzling. Growing up in the slummy streets didn¡¯t allow Kess to see a lot of beautiful things, so seeing such a large and beautiful building looking so immaculate and clean on every inch, was a first for him. It truly felt ¡®holy¡¯ compared to everything else he¡¯d witnessed. Everyone inside of the building was kind and helpful. No one scorned him for being a kid who showed up alone and didn¡¯t know anything, and soon enough the priests and acolytes had ushered him into the correct room. The priest inside had explained to the confused boy that the purpose of these rooms was for privacy, as sometimes it was better to keep certain [Gifts] a secret. Kess wasn¡¯t sure why he¡¯d said that, but he¡¯d never expect anyone in such a holy place like this to lie to him. Plus this had all been vouched for by one of his own who¡¯d been successful. It was really odd to Kess how nothing special or ceremonial seemed to be happening. It just felt a little hot in the room and that was it. Maybe he felt a little tingly compared to when he first came in? In the end he just wrote that off as him being nervous, however. He was afraid to ask the details of what was happening, lest he somehow ruin everything or make these nice people mad at him in some way. So instead, he just sat there and waited, watching over everything as closely as he could to see if maybe he could find a clue. The only obvious thing that happened, however, was just the priest writing something down on a piece of paper and giving the boy a small smile. The boy took the paper from him, but squinted his eyes and turned the note in all different directions before the priest understood what was happening and leaned down to whisper what it said to the illiterate child. After a brief congratulations, Kess was shown to the door and told to take as long as he needed on the way out, and that seemed to be it. It was almost disappointing how mundane it all seemed. Kess had gone home very confused. He held on to the note for dear life, like if he somehow lost it then everything would be over. He¡¯d trudged over to the caretaker and tugged on her dress, getting the elderly woman¡¯s attention, and motioned for her to lean down. When she¡¯d complied with a worried look on her face, Kess came in close and whispered into her ear, telling her that he¡¯d been to the church today, and asking what it meant to be [Lucky]. The sweet old caretaker patted the young boy, explaining kindly that it meant that the God-dess had blessed the boy with great luck. She gave him a heartfelt wish that his luck would give him a better life, and then sent him off on his way. Having [Superior Luck] didn¡¯t really make sense to him. How did one use ¡®luck¡¯? It didn¡¯t seem as defined and reliable as having some kind of career or skill as your [Gift] like he¡¯d heard of others having. It was very disheartening having such a confusing thing be what he¡¯d been blessed with. If only he had something like [Servant] or maybe [Chef], then maybe he could be just like the successful orphans who¡¯d finally gotten out of the slums and had enough to feed and take care of themselves. It would have been even more amazing if he could have gotten a great enough [Gift] that he suddenly became nobility! Everyone had heard of that fairytale-like story happening on occasion. Why couldn¡¯t it be Kess? A night of apprehension passed, and in the morning things suddenly took a very odd turn. The lord of the area had coincidentally come by yesterday, seen that the orphanage was in such dire straits, and had unveiled a corruption scam that had been leeching away most of the orphanage¡¯s money. He was such a capable man that the whole thing was solved in only just a day, and the orphanage was returned all of its money promptly. The children and their old caretaker rejoiced, having now been given enough money to afford food and new clothes, and they all got together to have a nice small feast that night. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Kess couldn¡¯t quite tell what to make of the events. Everyone kept repeating how lucky they¡¯d been. Yes, it sure was a lucky coincidence¡­ The following few days were filled with just as much luck. On the first day, Kess went out for a stroll through the slums he knew so well and stumbled upon a small hidden chest of coins. The boy was kind enough to hand the chest over to the caretaker, in thanks for all that the old woman had done for them, and soon enough repairs were underway on the orphanage, and the caretaker had even managed to hire two assistants to help her take care of all the children. Soon after, a well off and loving couple that was unable to conceive showed up to the orphanage, fell in love with Kess faster than light, and adopted him the very same day. A few days later when Kess felt a bit lonely and went to visit his friends, he found out that a number of them had also been lucky enough to get adopted. Even the parents who had adopted him had a subsequent stroke of luck and discovered a gold mine on a patch of land that they owned. The sudden deluge of luck left no room for doubt any longer. The boy had to accept that all of this was the work of his [Gift]. And so, the years passed. Kess grew. Kess was loved. Kess learned how the world worked. Kess became proud of the amazing [Gift] he was given. And as he grew into a young teenager, a thought wedged itself into his mind: The church didn¡¯t give his [Gift] the credit it deserves. He¡¯d learned that people with amazing and useful enough [Gifts] would be granted a noble title and assist the nation and the church. He¡¯d even once wished that his blessing would have been great enough to achieve such a feat when he was young and didn¡¯t know what an amazing power he¡¯d been given. But now? After all these years of seeing it in action? Kess was certain that both he and the church had underestimated just how astounding his [Gift] could be. If they¡¯d only known what he now knew, Kess would have easily been conferred a noble title at 7 and have become full nobility at 16. And now that Kess had reached that exact age, he felt that he was owed what was coming to him. He was confident he could awe them all! And so, with this prideful train of thought, he set out to the church, determined to meet with the highest tier of priest he could, firm in the belief that he would do anything to show them the brilliance that was his [Superior Luck]. Sadly, however, things rarely ever go how you expect them to. For the first time in 9 years, Kess was having trouble getting what he wanted. Instead of immediately recognizing his amazing [Gift] and giving him the title he deserved, they proclaimed that such a late declaration of nobility was rare, and only happened under very special circumstances. Even if they had thought that he deserved a title, no one in this particular church had the authority to grant such a thing. For the first time, Kess¡¯s luck had failed him. A month passed, with Kess desperately petitioning his parents to take him to the capital so that he could meet with the higher ups of the church, and when he was certain that his concerned parents weren¡¯t going to give in to his pleas, he grit his teeth and set off on his own, the pouch of money in his hand and the bag on his shoulder his only companions. With that, Kess¡¯s journey for nobility began. He was met with many an adventure on the way to the capital. He made unexpected friends. Many coins were found and earned. And eventually, he reached his destination. His luck finally redeemed itself when he made it to the church that housed the pope. By complete coincidence, the pope himself was making rounds through the corridors when Kess began petitioning the priests. The man took an interest in Kess¡¯s bold claims about his [Gift], and made a proposition to him; If he could solve a small problem that the church was having, then he, the pope himself, would listen to what Kess had to say. Of course, Kess completed his mission flawlessly. The pope was pleased by the boy, and met with Kess in his office. Kess¡¯s respectfully delivered request to be made nobility elicited a small laugh from the pope, but when he saw how serious Kess was, he reconsidered. The pope let him know that it would be possible, but the path would be hard, and so he made yet another proposition to the boy. If he could prove himself to the pope by completing a handful of important tasks for him, then Kess would be given a title immediately. Furthermore he would sweeten the deal. Each task would rise in difficulty, and any of the tasks that Kess completed after the second one would raise the rank of the nobility that he would be conferred. It would be absurd to think that Kess had possibly turned down such an offer. And so he blazed through the challenges placed before him- That is, until he was set upon Noth. Chapter Twenty Four: -Story Time Intermission Part Two- You already know the tragedy of Noth. At 7 his father killed his mother in a fit of rage. He was trapped inside the villa she died in for years. However this story¡¯s Noth was never saved by his angel. This Noth had to save himself. As he almost turned 10 in captivity, his father suddenly fell upon him. The emaciated boy should have easily been slaughtered by his [Superior Warrior] father. The only saving grace he had was ironically the very same [Gift] that had caused this accursed life in the first place: The power to choose his own path. And so, Noth unknowingly made his choice. It only made sense that someone with [Monster Strength], the second highest rank that a [Gift] could achieve, could beat a [Superior Warrior]. As much as what [Gift] you were given was important, the tier of your [Gift] of course had a huge impact on how much you could do with it. In a rock-paper-scissors sort of way, skill would beat out pure ability most of the time, but that was only if both opponents were of the same level. The young Noth hadn¡¯t really known how tiers and [Gifts] worked at this point of his life, especially since he had been locked away directly after being introduced to this aspect of the world. All that the boy knew was that to defeat a monster you had to become as strong as one, so his heart made the selection for him, in his desperation to survive. He had no understanding that this happened because of his [Gift], and there was nothing to tell him that anything had even changed about him, except for the sudden confidence that he could win this fight that had washed over him out of nowhere. But a newfound ability doesn¡¯t also come with a newfound mastery of said ability. Noth had only just gotten this outrageous strength. It only made sense that he didn¡¯t know how to stop himself. After all, how would a young, untrained boy know how to hold himself back? It was only a matter of course that he would accidentally kill his attacker. Yes, if even an accident would cause that, then doing it on purpose would certainly cause it. And so, Earl Kieran died that night, with a look of fear and satisfaction mingling on his frozen, pale face. This whole fight had started in Noth¡¯s villa and had ended in his greenhouse. How appropriate, if not ironic, it felt to the boy that his father should face his end in the same place that he¡¯d so abruptly ended the boy¡¯s mother. Noth tried to laugh at the feeling, but it only came out as strangled gasps instead. The air felt stuffy in here. He hated it. The already tainted greenhouse had gotten even more filthy. No amount of sweet memories from the past could overwrite this. Noth had no intention of letting such a disgusting place remain here to taunt him. The boy decided he had no choice but to use his newly acquired strength to demolish it all. No more greenhouse. No more villa. The only thing that Noth kept from his home-turned-rubble was his mother''s precious bracelet that he¡¯d had tucked inside of his pocket this whole time. She must have been watching over him even in death. The only thing he could think to explain all of this was that this holy bracelet had saved him and given him this amazing ability, at his mother¡¯s behest. He would make sure to keep this saviour of his safe and close forever if he could, lest he somehow lose it and subsequently lose his new life saving power along with it. With his previous home destroyed, Noth quickly turned his eyes to the manor. The Kieran manor. His father had been taken out of the picture, and with that, Noth was now the only Kieran remaining. Who belonged there if not for him? He skulked into the building he¡¯d once known so well, not even bothering a glance towards anyone he passed by. None of these hateful people had shown him an ounce of pity when he was still imprisoned, so why should he show them any amount of care back? It¡¯s not as if he needed these people¡¯s approval now that he was strong. Who could possibly stop him if even his father couldn¡¯t? The boy made his way to what used to be his room, but he couldn¡¯t get comfortable in it. The room just felt like a lie, like some echo of a life that no longer felt possible or even at all real anymore. Instead, he marched himself to his father¡¯s bedroom, the room that belonged to the master of the house. To the victor came the spoils. Sitting on the slightly too high poster bed felt like sitting on a throne to Noth. It made the feeling that he¡¯d won and been given what should have been his set all the more into his mind. But the more that the idea solidified, the more that another feeling sunk into him. He killed the monster. He won. And now he sat in the monster¡¯s spot. He had replaced the monster. He had become the monster. And now he had the strength of a monster to prove it. Was all of this the price of his freedom? Noth couldn¡¯t sleep. The scene of his father dying haunted him every time he closed his eyes. There wasn¡¯t a possible chance for peace. ~~~ A day of seclusion passed, with Noth not even bothering to leave his new throne room. The only thing that made him finally leave was when his hunger grew too great for him to ignore any longer. When the boy unabashedly stomped through the halls and raided the kitchen for the first fresh food he¡¯d eaten in years, an understandable event occurred. The guards of his villa that had been sent away by the Earl yesterday were now back, and had decided to capture the little roaming beast. A small group of men rushed into the almost fully vacated room, surrounding the boy who was still eagerly scarfing down morsel after morsel of food. They slowly closed in with their swords drawn, but even as they grew closer and closer, Noth never once looked up at them. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Even as the boldest of the men roughly grabbed the boy by the collar and raised him, Noth still didn¡¯t even bother to react to them. A few shakes and some yelling at the unresponsive boy later, the guards decided to take Noth down to the dungeon, seeing as how the villa that had previously been his prison had been destroyed all of a sudden. They demanded to know the whereabouts of the missing Earl multiple times, and eventually in their anger one of the men reeled back to hit the small boy, but instead of his fist connecting with the child¡¯s face, a hit instead intercepted into his wrist. A yowling sound filled the cell as the guard crouched over and cradled his broken wrist, his hand bending at almost an impossible angle away from his arm. The rest of the men stared down at their hurt comrade with looks of both disbelief and disgust. It wasn¡¯t long before those exact same looks turned towards Noth, the perpetrator of this disfigurement. None of them wanted to be the one to take the next swing at the boy and possibly end up like the first. A man gently helped up the injured one, while another took out his sword and nervously covered the others¡¯ retreat. They loudly closed the jail door behind them and firmly locked it, double checking that the awful thing inside was completely stuck within. With one last worried glance behind, the guards quickly retreated up the stairs. But just like a nightmare, when the group made it halfway up the stairs, a loud metallic groan rang through the dungeons behind them, stopping them in their tracks. The men didn¡¯t even dare to look back as they heard the plodding sound of small feet come towards them and start climbing up the stairs. Their teeth clenched as they caught a small black head of hair passing by them out of the corner of their eyes. Noth slowly made his way back to his room, not sparing a single thought to his prior captors. ~~~ A week passed, and with everyone, including the repeatedly defeated guards, thoroughly afraid of Noth, it was no surprise that rumours about the boy began to circulate throughout the manor. Some of the people who had never seen Noth before believed that the boy from the villa really had turned into a monster or beast, and that¡¯s why the Earl had locked the boy up. Some of the more prejudiced amongst the servants believed that the God-dess forsaken boy may have been possessed by a demon, which had led him to evil and sin. There was no one who didn¡¯t firmly believe that the child had done something to his father, if not that he had done the absolute worst to their beloved master. It only stood to reason that everyone began to leave the manor in droves. Oddly enough, amongst the constantly leaving staff, a new one returned. The old [Butler] of the family, Gent, who had left in anguish when the wife of his lord was brutally killed, had come back out of concern once he heard the news of the Earl¡¯s untimely disappearance. When he found the poor young boy all alone the elderly man was brought to tears, certain that there was now only one Kieran left in the world. The butler¡¯s family had served the Kierans for generations, and anyone holding the Kieran name was deeply important to him. Gent didn¡¯t care what [Gift] any of them may have been given, all he cared about was keeping this proud and noble lineage safe. He¡¯d already lived through too many of his master¡¯s deaths to not try his best and save this last young and vulnerable one. It took a while of constantly sticking around, doing his best to take care of the boy, and constantly regaling him of stories about the boy¡¯s mother, but eventually the jaded Noth came to truly accept the butler back into his life. However, there was one more person who deigned to stay inside the mansion. The kitchen maid, Elillith, was found still working away at her maidly duties, as if nothing at all had changed. She didn¡¯t seem the least bit perturbed by anything; If you¡¯d asked her about the rumours going around in the mansion, she could tell you every single one of them, but in the end she really didn¡¯t seem to care. When asked if she, too, would be eventually leaving, she recited that this was her home, and that there was nowhere else for her to go. She hadn¡¯t stayed out of a great sense of responsibility or even pity. Elillith had stayed in the manor for exactly one reason only: Sheer apathy. And in a return of that same apathy, Noth could find no real reason for the unknown maid to have to leave. And just like that, a new family had formed around Noth, in his newly conquered home. ~~~ Taking over the Kieran manor would of course never have gone smoothly. The escaped servants had gone down into the nearby town, and begun to spread their rumours and fear amongst the inhabitants. You couldn¡¯t take a step through the streets without hearing whispers of the monster or demon that now lived in the defunct Kieran manor. The butler had tried to go down and bribe the now unemployed servants with the vast money still left in the Kieran family¡¯s stores, but it would have been impossible to close up all the leaks in information forever. Because of this fact, both Noth and the butler agreed that it would be safest to change locations. But equally, at the same time, they hated the idea of giving up the manor, although for different reasons. For Noth, it was a trophy. For Gent, it was a legacy. There was no way that either of them were willing to so easily give it up if they didn¡¯t have to. ¡­and of course, Elillith couldn¡¯t care either way. Instead, they came up with the idea of changing Noth¡¯s identity. He wasn¡¯t willing to give up his first name, but he could easily fudge the second one. They decided that he would live in hiding as ¡®Noth Kellen¡¯ for now, with the excuse that he was from a branch family of the Kierans, and was given the manor in the dearly departed Earl¡¯s will. But the church was not stupid. The church had many ears and eyes working for them, and even if they hadn¡¯t heard the rumours of Noth, they would have still dispatched someone to deal with any kind of creature that was terrorizing one of their cities, let alone anything that had threatened one of their chosen nobles. Paying off the ex-servants could only work for so long. It took a while for the hastily concealed information to finally reach them and be verified, but after a few years they had no choice but to send assassins after Noth. However, Noth was not something to so easily be killed. The now teenage Noth had a much better grip on his [Gift], and had easily repelled his attackers. Most hadn¡¯t made it out alive, either dying right away in the fight against their target, or later succumbing to their wounds on the way back. Only one of the assassins had ever managed to make it back to the church alive. Hearing the report that the boy who should have just been a forsaken child was suddenly taking down hoards of experienced exterminators deeply surprised and scared most of the church. They were sure that some form of evil must be afoot, and they feared that some new demon may have come into play. But the higher ups in the church knew the truth, that what they feared had come to pass. The boy had chosen a [Gift]. And they hated that fact. ~~~ Noth lived his life in relative seclusion and boredom. He was depressed for a number of reasons. The only real excitement or joy he found amongst the monotony of living was the rush he felt when he got to use his powers. When he fought against his attackers was when he truly felt most alive. And as the years passed, he even found excuses to sneak down to the town in the night and terrorize the people who had once been the manor¡¯s servants. He saw them as traitors who couldn¡¯t even be satisfied with the money they¡¯d been leeching from the Kieran family¡¯s reserves. He couldn¡¯t help but see them as annoying flies, ripe for the extermination that they so richly deserved. And in this way, he rationalized using his strength against these weak creatures. Noth had fallen into the trap very few had ever realized existed. The God-dess gave everyone a [Gift], but did that mean that everyone would want to use it? And yet, very rarely did anyone ever resist the inherent allure of using the divine blessing that was given to them. After all, would the God-dess really let just any random person go against its whims? No. In the first place, [Gifts] were designed to feel good and right to use; They were almost a drug-like existence in that way. And with such a gentle and unnoticeable incentive, the God-dess¡¯s creations would dance in its palm. There were only two truly free beings alive: Demons, And the children who could choose their own paths. -However that was only true until they chose. And Noth had chosen. Now his already controlled fate was even more so. The play was all set up. The pieces were in place. The villain was ready. ¡­And then the star of the show, Kess, came. Chapter Twenty Five Things almost seemed to be moving in a blur for Noth after his triumph. It felt like his brain couldn¡¯t quite comprehend what had happened, and even though he could feel a sense of satisfaction at having defeated Jeck, the reality of it all still hadn¡¯t particularly sunk in. It just didn¡¯t feel real yet, as if time was still stuck on the confrontation and hadn¡¯t moved past it. Noth was practically stuck in a daze. Perhaps his mind was just tired after all of the earlier events, but he couldn¡¯t focus on anything, just running on autopilot until he woke up the next day. It would be a lie to say that his brain wasn¡¯t still foggy after he woke up, but at least now he was able to hold on to a train of thought or two if he really focused. His body felt strangely heavy and sluggish when he tried to move however, so even after the slight improvement to his mind, he eventually accepted giving up on the rest of the day and hoping that this lethargy would soon clear away. It took almost three days after the incident before Noth felt conscious and healthy enough to tackle the aftermath he¡¯d been forced to put off. He hadn¡¯t been able to realize it with how muddled his head had been, but now that he had the wherewithal to look back on the previous days, he was almost certain that his typically clingy angel had been missing from the moment he left the greenhouse. His mumbled and absentminded wishes had all been granted just as they should have been, even without her visible presence, so perhaps it didn¡¯t really change anything if she was perpetually nearby him or not. Noth found the realization interesting, and a piece of his curiosity was echoing back that it was worth taking a bit of time to look further into. However, an even larger chunk of his mind could only scream at him that this had never happened before and was therefore greatly worrisome. Sadly, once his missing angel popped back into existence, she acted like she had no idea what he was talking about. In the end, Noth was once again forced to give up on getting any answers from her for now. ¡­Very begrudgingly, though. First up, he¡¯d have to report to his father, who he¡¯d not seen since the confrontation between the two ¡®friends¡¯. There was a small concern that his father might have left the event feeling wounded, and even if Noth¡¯s intended purpose was to open his father¡¯s eyes to the snake in front of him while simultaneously driving the monster back, that didn¡¯t excuse any amount of hurt or burden he¡¯d caused to the man¡¯s emotions. Unexpectedly, however, instead of consoling a saddened man, Noth instead had to console a worried father. Considering that the boy had been missing for a few of their scheduled meetings and dinners, it was no wonder that his father¡¯s reaction was like that. Honestly, either of his father¡¯s possible reactions would have been a handful to deal with, but the boy felt a small tingle at the back of his heart at the reaffirmation that Ruth Kieran cared much more for his son than he did for whatever awful fake ¡®friend¡¯. Hopefully this meant that he wouldn¡¯t care all too much that Jeck wasn¡¯t ever coming back. There was, however, a new problem that was poking at Noth¡¯s side: His father was having nightmare driven insomnia. Somehow this new disease had cropped up while Noth had been knocked out the past few days. It sounded too fishy to not be related to the previous accidental madness incident from all those weeks ago. Far too fishy indeed. Especially with the way his angel was suddenly refusing to look at him right now. However, the boy could do nothing but sigh and ask a different question; He knew his angel too well to think she¡¯d chime in with a helpful answer to this on command, so a less invasive question would have to be used instead. ¡°...Is there anything we can do to fix this again, angel?¡± However, unexpectedly the Earl jumped in quicker than the angel could respond. ¡°No, please, really! I wouldn¡¯t want to bother either of you over this, and especially not the angel. It¡¯s nothing so special as to need divine help, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be fine. Let¡¯s just give it a few days to run its course.¡± Noth wasn¡¯t really buying it. His father looked haggard and rough, like he might be slowly descending back into his previous crazy pre-monster state. The boy¡¯s worry was immense when he realized that this might be the precursor for that whole awful event repeating itself, but the gentle hand of his angel on his shoulder mixed with her reassuring murmurs in his ears helped to decrease his fears a hefty amount. This rollercoaster of emotions he was feeling over his father was reminding him yet again just how much things had changed over the past few years. All of a sudden the monstrous, murderous, scary, crybaby that was Earl Kieran had found a place in Noth¡¯s heart anew. Now it was hard to see him as anything more than an overemotional, caring father, who sometimes couldn¡¯t help but let himself get carried away by his feelings. A part of it felt wrong, like Noth was too easily forgiving the man who¡¯d butchered his mother... And perhaps that part would never, ever let go. And really, there was a secret part of the boy that was happy that he didn¡¯t lose that piece of cynicism towards the man. So long as that part of him remained, he was sure that even should his expectations be betrayed again, he¡¯d at least be ready for the fall this time. It was a necessary defence, a shield for the future, a protection for his heart. Never would Noth let himself get fooled again. But¡­ Maybe¡­ He could still get away with giving at least a sliver of his heart to those who loved him. There was no way he would like everything his loved ones did. Maybe, for now, he could try to forgive those who showed they were worth it. And maybe, with Noth around, and with the new power he¡¯d been granted, he could stop such tragedies from striking again. He could slowly wipe the dirt and filth off of the people he cared for. It was worth a try at least. ~~~ Noth was doing his best to hide his excitement as he headed down towards the kitchens. It seemed that now that there was nothing else in the way, he¡¯d finally get to make some progress on solving the mystery of the kitchen maid Elillith, and the enigma of why his angel seemed to favour her so. Perhaps this was his chance to finally put one of his many questions to rest, for the first time in a long while. The kitchen was upsettingly full of staff when Noth arrived, making it seem like he¡¯d have to weave through the myriad of busy, hot bodies if he wanted to find the particular one he was looking for. Just the thought was making the boy claustrophobic. He¡¯d never in his life had to be in such close contact with so many people at once, especially in the smoky heat that the ovens were oppressing the room with. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. For a moment, Noth could even feel his throat closing in on itself, just from his own imaginings. The boy let out a small gagging sound as he clutched his throat and turned away from the stifling room. He was breathing a little too hard, hard enough that his chest hurt just a tad as his lungs tried to catch up and correct themselves. There was a light pressure on his head, recognizable as the soothing pats of his angel¡¯s hand, and Noth did his best to try and focus on that feeling instead of any of the others assailing him, in a desperate attempt to calm down more quickly. This unforeseen attack from his own unreasonable panic greatly worried Noth. It seemed so odd and even scary to have his body suddenly overreact in such a way. But even more than worry or fear, Noth was miffed that his body would betray him in such a way. How could he ever become a great monster hunter when he got panic attacks from something as simple as a crowded room? How completely silly of a thing to have such a freak out over. He fisted the clothing at his chest and scowled, staring down at his aching heart as he swore to somehow fix the stupid reaction someday. Just beyond Noth¡¯s busy thoughts he could make out the dim murmurs of the kitchen staff nearby. It seemed that they were trying to sort out whose job it was going to be to check up on the suddenly unwell young master. Unsurprisingly, most of the servants didn¡¯t appear to want anything to do with Noth, for various negative reasons. The angel next to him exhaled a clearly displeased huff, her arms tightly crossed in her anger. She even stopped floating, her unadorned feet planted firmly on the ground in a rare display. The boy gently tugged at her sleeve, doing his best to dissuade her from any bad ideas her irritation may bring forth. He was in no mood to pay such minor rudeness from the servants any mind; If anything, this was nothing compared to how he¡¯d been treated before. Somehow the room had come to a consensus as Noth attempted to soothe his angel. Elillith, the last kitchen staff who¡¯d had any interaction with the unwanted boy, was shoved to the front of the crowd to deal with the problem, while everyone else swiftly turned around and went back to looking busy. The look on her face didn¡¯t particularly change just as usual, but Noth¡¯s heart squeezed a tiny bit when he thought he noticed a small irked look in her eyes. His grip on his angel¡¯s sleeve tightened a small bit as he watched the kitchen maid¡¯s slow approach. ¡°D¡¯you require help, young master?¡± The droning quality to her bored sounding voice was so hard for Noth to discern. Was she angry? Tired? Was she anything at all? He spared a quick glance towards his angel, hoping to catch a glimpse of her thoughts on the matter, but all he saw was a big pleased smile painted across her previously peeved countenance. ¡­Why did this please her so much? What was so special or important about this maid that she never sees? It was so annoying always feeling like he knew none of the answers¡­ especially when that very annoyance was combined with a light peppering of jealousy. Noth straightened up and reaffirmed the reason why he came here in his mind. He¡¯d find out the answer to this riddle himself, dammit! And it all starts with today! ¡°Yes, I need you in particular. Come and follow me outside, Elillith.¡± A few moments later had them both under the shade of Noth¡¯s favourite tree, just outside the manor. The boy sat himself down unceremoniously on the tree''s roots, motioning for the maid to join him. He¡¯d expected any amount of hesitation, perhaps maybe a question, or even a look of light disgust to grace the woman¡¯s features. At the very least he expected a tiny rebuttal that a servant cannot sit with their master, even if it was just on the ground. Contrary to any of Noth¡¯s expectations, however, Elillith immediately sat on the ground, right in place. She paid no mind for her clothes or hair becoming dirtied by the soil. She paid no attention to whether she was sitting in leaves or mud. Not a word was uttered, and her expression remained unchanged as per the norm. Her eyes seemed unfocused, and yet her gaze was clearly pointed in his direction. Noth thought back to their first meeting, when she swept the acrid and disgusting filth off of the garden table using her apron. The woman hadn¡¯t even batted an eyelash at the action. She truly seemed in both meetings to be a completely unfazed person. Noth couldn¡¯t help but study the woman in front of him all over again, his analytical eyes scanning every small detail he could find in the hope of gaining even just the tiniest bit more understanding of her. Sadly he found no new information about her in this way. It was like he was watching a statue with how emotionless her face looked. The boy quickly glanced around for his angel, finding her sitting on a tree branch above, looking down encouragingly at the two of them as she happily swung her feet. Noth couldn¡¯t help but frown a small bit as he realized his best bet would be to ask the stoic maid questions about herself. But Noth wasn¡¯t a very sociable person, not even a little. So how was he supposed to do this kind of thing? How do you get to know someone? ¡°Umm, so, how¡­ Uhm... Tell me about yourself Elillith.¡± ¡°M¡¯name¡¯s Elillith. M¡¯ a kitchen maid. I help in Earl Kieran¡¯s kitch¡¯n.¡± The boy grimaced at how massively unhelpful her answer was. He couldn¡¯t help fisting and pulling out the grass peeking out between the roots next to him as his mind went into overdrive, struggling to think of what to say next. ¡°Yes, wonderful, you¡¯re a kitchen maid. Great. Do you like being a maid here?¡± ¡°Y¡¯don¡¯t have to like somethin'' t¡¯ do it.¡± ¡°Then¡­is that a no?¡± ¡°S¡¯not.¡± ¡°...So it¡¯s a yes then¡­?¡± ¡°S¡¯not.¡± Noth wanted to scream. This whole conversation barely even qualified as being a conversation. His frustration was rising immeasurably, but the boy grit his teeth and tried to continue on. ¡°Then what even made you come work here?¡± The question felt stupid once it left the boy¡¯s lips. Obviously it was to make money using her [Gift], just like most of the other [Maids] in the manor. ¡°Th¡¯ young lord¡¯s mother gave me a job here, s¡¯now I work here.¡± That answer didn¡¯t sound right. No, all of Noth¡¯s mother¡¯s servants were removed once she died. Why would they have just left this one here? As Noth stared at the maid in disbelief, his mind rocketed through all the possible explanations. Was it due to her quiet unreadable nature that they simply forgot about her? Perhaps the woman¡¯s stoicness made it so they¡¯d disliked having to converse with her, resulting in there being no one to tell her to leave. Or could it be that she was lying? But with how straightforward and dull a person she seemed to be, it didn¡¯t seem likely that she¡¯d lie about something like that. Or maybe that¡¯s the trick, and her coldness is a facade to help her hide her nefarious secrets better! But if she was up to something or posed a threat to him, then it¡¯s unlikely that his angel would have reacted with such care towards the woman in the first place. Noth hated how much of a riddle this was all continuing to be. As his mind steamed with the sheer amount of unending theories weighing him down, his lips let out a small mumble, unbidden. ¡°How is it possible that Elillith the [Maid] stayed behind?¡± ¡°But young master, ¡®m not a [Maid].¡± Chapter Twenty Six Noth had received many classes in the short time that he¡¯d been taken back into the Kieran manor. Amongst all those classes were of course etiquette classes, although Noth didn¡¯t tend to actually care what they taught him about that particular topic. If everyone was rude to him in their ignorance and arrogance, then why should he treat them in any kind of courteous way back? Yes, it was an important topic to know, and yes, if the need arose he could follow along and play pretend with everyone. But unless it was perfectly necessary, Noth would shove all that pretentious crap into the back of his mind. Of course not all of the etiquette he learned was only for interacting with nobles or important company, some of it was really just basic manners from one person living in this world to another. For instance: It was generally frowned upon for people who did not know each other well to ask what someone¡¯s [Gift] was. Sure, a job could inquire about that information, or family and friends could certainly be privy to it, but to the general public, it was quite a rude thing to want to know. It was akin to asking a stranger how much they weigh. Of course, no amount of rudeness could stop the spread of rumours, and if you were famous or infamous enough, it was likely that whispers of whatever [Gift] you may have could easily spread amongst a community. It was especially the case of forsaken people like Noth. But no matter what, the takeaway is that directly asking someone you aren¡¯t close with about their [Gift] was terribly rude. Noth didn¡¯t forget that fact. Noth had learned that bit of etiquette just like the rest, in fact he knew it very well. However, over a year of asking his angel what everyone¡¯s [Gifts] were with impunity, along with his raging curiosity, had weakened his tongue. The boy couldn¡¯t help but blurt out the question. ¡°You¡¯re not a [Maid]?! Then¡­ then¡­ But you work in the kitchen! You¡¯re not a [Chef] if you work as a kitchen maid¡­ Well then what¡¯s your [Gift]?!¡± Noth couldn¡¯t help but lunge forward and plant his hands on the ground in front of him as he excitedly yelled his questions. He felt like he was going to explode with curiosity at the newfound revelation. His eyes were practically sparkling with wonder. But the eager look on his face quickly fell when Elillith suddenly stood up and walked away without a word. Noth was terribly confused and disappointed, and tried to call after her, but his angel gracefully floated down from the tree, stopping his attempts as she swept him up into her arms. The boy bit his lip hard at her words, belatedly realizing just how he¡¯d screwed up. He leaned his head against his angel¡¯s chest, feeling himself start to tear up slightly in frustration. He couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d been so stupid, letting his curiosity get the best of him yet again. It was obvious that Elillith wouldn¡¯t have liked being treated so rudely, no matter how nonchalant she seemed to be about everything. And now because he¡¯d been so absentminded he¡¯d lost the chance he¡¯d been looking forward to so very hard. Noth¡¯s voice trembled a little as he fisted his clothes. ¡°I don¡¯t think I like today, angel.¡± The statement felt partially untrue, since he¡¯d had a perfectly good and enlightening talk with his father just earlier, but the hurt the boy was feeling wouldn¡¯t let him express itself in any other way right now. His heartache wasn¡¯t about to let him speak any kind of rational words on the situation. Her gentle words really touched Noth¡¯s bruised mind, sinking in like a cooling salve into his overheated and overworked head. Yes. Tomorrow. Hopefully things will work out somehow then. ~~~ Tomorrow came. Noth tried his hardest once again with Elillith. He didn¡¯t learn too much extra, but he was pleasantly surprised that the kitchen maid didn¡¯t seem too obviously upset with him and didn¡¯t particularly resist coming out to talk with him again. The people in the kitchen did their best to not show any reaction to her being called out, either. Noth wondered secretly if she was being alienated from the others because she was hired by his mother. He hoped that wasn¡¯t the case. Noth wasn¡¯t about to let his tenacity go to waste. Just because he didn¡¯t find out what he wanted after the first try didn¡¯t mean that he was just going to roll over and give up. If he couldn''t learn what he wanted from her until they were closer then he¡¯d get closer. She¡¯d become friendly enough with him to tell him what he wanted to know eventually. Or at least, Noth did his best to convince himself of that fact. Persistently, Noth made time to visit with Elillith every single day. The progress was slow, and it was hard to tell that he was making any real headway with the woman. But eventually, his efforts began to show fruit. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. It took the boy a year before he finally somehow learned that her real job was to be the food tester in the manor, doing the lesser kitchen maid chores whenever her duty didn¡¯t call. It wasn¡¯t until Noth was 13 that he found out what her [Gift] was. Elillith was [Unafflicted]. She was unable to get truly sick, only feeling the pain directly after being stricken with whatever illness or poison, and then immediately getting better. Noth felt so proud of himself for finally reaching his goal that he wanted to jump up and let out a victory cry, but the years of actually caring about his social interactions with Elillith had tempered him just enough to hold back his elation for now. It wasn¡¯t until much later, when he was back in his bed for the night, that he realized that he still hadn¡¯t actually solved the mystery he¡¯d originally set out for. Still, Noth was very, terribly proud of himself. ~~~ At 14 Noth had finally gotten close enough to the reticent Elillith to learn a bit about her past. Of course, it took several snippets of conversation for him to piece it all together, but in the end he was finally able to put together the basic picture of the puzzle that was his stoic kitchen maid. Just like him, the woman¡¯s life had fallen apart due to receiving her [Gift]. It hadn¡¯t happened the day of, like in Noth¡¯s case, but instead when she was 10. Elillith¡¯s poor family, located in the slums, was concerned that someone [Unafflicted] like her wouldn¡¯t serve any real practical purpose, and therefore wouldn¡¯t be able to find any kind of good paying job. Besides her being able to eat the most rotten of food available, they were never properly shown a way that her ability could be truly beneficial. Her parents were in desperate need of money, and having 6 mouths to feed wasn¡¯t helping at all. And so, in the winter, when things had gotten the worst they¡¯d ever been, her parents decided to sell her to a slaver who¡¯d shown an interest in her. They didn¡¯t even spare her a second glance as she was dragged away screaming. At first, Elillith was horribly scared of what would befall her. She was locked away in a cage in a dark shack behind what she could only make out as a big building. When the slaver first came, she cowered as far back in her cell as she could, but all that ever happened was a plate of meat getting pushed in under an opening in the bars. The man demanded for her to eat the food, and when she finally gave in, the man clapped and smiled at her. Elillith was only allowed to be confused by this for a moment, however, before she let out a harsh, throat wrenching cough. But that was all. Nothing else bad happened while she kept eating her meal. The excited eyes of the slaver never left her mouth, even after she¡¯d finished every bite. It didn¡¯t even seem like he cared about her face in the slightest. Honestly, that fact made Elillith feel a tiny bit safer. She was scared what might have occurred if he¡¯d had any interest in the rest of her looks. The man went on to tell her that what she¡¯d just eaten had been sprinkled with a fast acting moderate poison. He sang the praises of her [Gift] while also demanding for her to tell him how the poison had tasted. The young Elillith had never had a proper education, so she could only trip over her words and use the blandest of expressions to try and communicate to the man. He was clearly displeased at her lack of knowledge, but still praised her and promised that she¡¯d learn to communicate correctly one day. And that was the basis of her enslavement. Every day she¡¯d taste the slaver¡¯s meals. Every day he¡¯d make her describe the taste. Multiple times a day she¡¯d get very briefly sick or hurt. Sometimes she got lucky, and the poisons or contaminants were too slow acting, which never even affected her at all. Sometimes she got unlucky, and the poisons were so horrifically deadly that she¡¯d collapse from the organ rending pain. But even those awful reactions only took a few minutes at most before her body corrected them. The most unlucky occurrence, however, was the fact that Elillith¡¯s vocabulary wasn¡¯t getting any better as the months and years went by. Even though he demanded for her to become more eloquent, the slaver never actually did anything to help the young girl learn. Perhaps he thought that she¡¯d just pick up fancier words while she had her multiple communications with him throughout the day. And of course, because she wasn¡¯t getting smarter as he¡¯d wanted her to, the slaver grew more and more angry with her. What started as verbal abuse steadily grew more and more physical. And Elillith, who learned that no matter what she said it would never be enough, gave up on trying to say anything to him at all. Eventually the slaver decided that he no longer needed such a faulty slave. And so, he had Elillith disposed of. Noth never learned exactly how, but somehow his mother had found and saved the dying Elillith, which is how she eventually came to work at the Kieran manor. ~~~ Noth was in a funk all the way back to his villa. His mind was completely clouded by how unfair his kitchen maid¡¯s past had ended up being. He felt it was even as sorrowful as his own story. It only made sense that he¡¯d steadily warmed up to Elillith over these past few years, just as she had with him, but the sudden realization of similar past suffering easily solidified their bond inside his young heart. Noth honestly had to stop himself from hugging her when she¡¯d finished the story. He could understand why the massively unfazed woman had immediately left when he¡¯d asked her about her [Gift]; She¡¯d probably be very wary about anything to do with it after the experiences she¡¯d had. Perhaps if Noth hadn¡¯t eventually been blessed with his angel then he¡¯d also react awfully to someone bringing up the [Gift] that had ruined his life. ¡°Was this why you wanted me to get to know her? So that I¡¯d learn how similar of circumstances we share?¡± The disheartened teen leaned against the shoulder of his angel as they both sat on his bed. She placed the side of her head on top of his own and muttered a reply as she laced one of her hands with his. Noth was silent for a little while, turning over what she¡¯d said in his mind for a short while before squeezing his angel¡¯s hand and smiling. ¡°Thanks, angel. It almost feels like I¡¯ve gained a new family member.¡± His angel lifted her head and smiled back at him with the most contented smile he¡¯d ever seen. She hugged him close and rested her head on his shoulder. However, the frustrated, maddened look in her eyes said otherwise. Chapter Twenty Seven There were a handful of new changes that developed during the passing years of Noth¡¯s fervent attempt at friendship. Firstly, Noth himself had changed. Now that he was 14 and hitting puberty, he¡¯d become a good deal taller and more toned than he had been as a scraggly, malnourished child. He was proud when his height finally surpassed that of his angel¡¯s, although he still was a head shorter than his father¡­for now. His short hair had grown out a tad, the slight curl to it was made much more evident now that it was allowed to reach a bit past his ears. The most shocking change, however, was the colour of his hair. The base was still the same black that he¡¯d inherited from his mother, but the ends had somehow grown into the same colour as his angel¡¯s rusty hair. Thankfully he didn¡¯t start dripping blood like she always did, but the fact that this change must have something to do with the assimilation that his angel had mentioned before had him worried that it was only a matter of time until it really did happen. Noth hoped that if he wasn''t allowed to keep his natural black hair colour, then hopefully he could keep his black eyes forever instead as a keepsake of his mother at the very least. The change in his hair seemed to come about from him learning greater control over his angel-given powers. On one of the first few times a year that he¡¯d gone back to gaze upon his trophy of Jeck, he¡¯d finally recalled the way he¡¯d commanded the man to kneel during their confrontation. Noth had been so distracted with worrying over his father, trying to win over Elillith, and ruminating over the mysteries and omissions of his angel, that he¡¯d honestly let the thought of it slip by. Of course, asking his angel for help proved to be full of frustrating riddles and unhelpful advice, but every now and then she¡¯d let slip one or two choice morsels of guidance that helped to discover just what he¡¯d done. Noth found that with enough power, the right emotion, and the right alignment of his will combined with his angel¡¯s, he no longer had to spit out longly worded wishes. Instead, all it would take was a one word demand. Honestly, though, he could really only manage to pull it off successfully about 60% of the time. He knew it involved him feeling a certain way, some specific kind of anger, but Noth had never been very good at controlling his emotions. He was no great actor who could call up a mindset at the drop of a hat. Sure, he''d been able to do some light acting when confronting his prey, but that didn''t mean that he could just do it when it wasn''t necessary. If he wasn¡¯t directly in the moment, Noth had great difficulty using this particular power. His angel had hinted at him a few times during his long, stressful attempts over the past few years to try to replicate what he¡¯d done, that there was something even more impressive that he could learn to do if he learned to wield his powers well enough; He could possibly use her wishing powers without even saying a word, much like the power he¡¯d inadvertently used that drove his father and Jeck crazy. This leads us to the next, most worrying change: The health of Noth¡¯s father seemed to be declining. The manor¡¯s doctor claimed that it was due to stress, mixed with insomnia induced lack of sleep and anemia. The poor Earl had been looking more and more haggard as the weeks went by. Some days he just didn¡¯t have the strength to leave his room, and even worse, some days he couldn¡¯t keep down his food and could eat only small amounts of soup for dinner. His once intimidating body had whittled down enough to make him visually, obviously, sick. Noth was worried more than words could express. What made the situation even more awful for Noth was how adamant his father was that he didn¡¯t want the boy to use his powers to try and heal him. He¡¯d said various nonsense about being unworthy, and that this was the natural flow of things, but Noth could see past the vague rambling excuses. He¡¯d learned too much about the coward that was his father to just let himself get fooled by such easily unveilable lies. The man was obviously just scared to have Noth use his powers against him again. After all, hadn¡¯t the boy done this to him in the first place? The gossiping of the servants travelled far, even if you didn''t want to hear it. It was impossible for someone in the manor to not have heard the many theories about what had happened all those years ago to cause the Earl¡¯s collapse during his dinner with his son. The few holdouts that had been sure that Jeck was to blame had quickly changed their minds on the day that Noth had gone to visit alone with his sickly father. The agonizing screaming that emanated from the room could be heard from even outside the manor, causing every unlucky listener¡¯s skin to crawl. It was hard not to believe that the boy was somehow at fault after that. And oddly, the child had even been strong enough to do whatever it was he¡¯d done to a [Superior Warrior]? It was all just too strange and spooky, there was no way that it wouldn¡¯t get people talking. Of course, Ruth Kieran didn¡¯t want to believe a single word of any of these silly things they were saying about his son, but the more he heard the repeated suspicious circumstances behind each and every rumour, the more it was hard for him to deny them anymore. He knew about the angel his son had formed a pact with, and he knew how powerful his son most likely was because of it. He also knew that not every angel was a good and merciful angel. Even if he wanted to believe in Noth, it would have been a huge lie to say he didn¡¯t have his doubts. Honestly, he was just plain scared, and the fact that he could ever feel that way towards his own son was eating him up inside. Noth knew all of this. Of all the questions he¡¯d asked his angel about what he¡¯d done to his father and Jeck, the answer to what his father thought of him now, after suffering like this, was one of the few that she¡¯d deigned to give him. He¡¯d been sure he¡¯d covered his tracks by wishing for his father to forget the incident, but he¡¯d been stymied by his own uncaring attitude towards the manor¡¯s servants. At this point, it was most likely a relationship that was far too gone to ever fix. Almost all the servants were scared to ever interact with him now. It was almost amusing how easily their disapproval turned to fear. Noth might have actually preferred this reaction to before when they hated him, if the fact that they still considered him a monster either way didn¡¯t chafe so much. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The only person who hadn¡¯t changed during all this time was Elillith. Honestly, it would run counter to her severely stoic and taciturn nature if she had started acting like she cared. But Noth knew deep down inside that that wasn¡¯t really the truth of things. Even if she didn¡¯t clearly show it, he¡¯d seen how she¡¯d slowly opened up to him over time, and even if it had taken a few years to accomplish, the two had become wonderfully close friends. There were many things that Noth wouldn¡¯t and couldn¡¯t bring up in their conversations, but that didn¡¯t mean that there weren¡¯t also a large handful of things that he talked with the woman about. She felt almost like a quiet elder sister to him, and even if sometimes he wouldn¡¯t get much of a reply, it felt good just knowing that he had someone who would listen to him that would never judge him. Eventually, after they¡¯d grown so close that Noth had learned of her past, he even brought up the panic attacks that he¡¯d sometimes get when surrounded by too many people, thinking that maybe the quiet woman who had also once been locked away might possibly relate. When the boy had talked to his angel about it, she hadn¡¯t seemed to really understand how he was feeling, and when he¡¯d tried to force himself into the busy kitchen to face his weaknesses, all the kitchen staff would scurry away from him in fear. He¡¯d needed some ideas on how he could possibly tackle this worrying problem. Luckily for Noth, it was one of the days where Elillith gave him a proper answer, instead of her usual robotic responses. She¡¯d even somehow managed to put a slight look of concern on her typically unmoving face. She suggested they go out to one of the Earldom¡¯s nearby towns. She said that walking through the streets during a time they¡¯d be the least busy was best. Her answer was even more worrying for Noth than solving his panic attacks. Noth hadn¡¯t left the grounds of the manor in about half his life, not since that fateful trip with his mom to the church. Irrational though it was, a childish fear still haunted Noth. He felt that if he left the manor, another awful event could happen. He knew how little it made sense, but at the same time, it was hard to doubt his own clearly engraved memories of the last trip he¡¯d taken. He did his best to act nonchalant and tell Elillith that he¡¯d let her know when he was free enough to go, but it would be a lie to say he wasn¡¯t shaking inside. For the first time in a while, Noth was forced to hold on to his angel and panic for a while that night. ~~~ It was only a month later that an assassin appeared. This wasn¡¯t the first person to try an attempt on Noth¡¯s life. The assassins had actually started showing up in the manor about a year after Jeck¡¯s ¡®disappearance¡¯. A small handful of people had already been sent to try and stealthily remove the boy through various means throughout the past two years. Sometimes his angel would warn him of a poisoned meal, or perhaps of a servant trying to prick him with an infected needle. Noth had to admit that some of the attempts on his life were downright creative. Every time he¡¯d ratted out the offending assassins to his father, and every time the Earl had taken care of them. But this time was different. None of the assassins had ever directly attacked him before. That is, not until this one. The assassin snuck in while Noth was asleep, but his angel had woken him up before the attack began. The boy was scared witless at the idea of a trained attacker headed towards him, especially one that was sent to kill him. He didn¡¯t have any clue on how to respond. The Kieran line had always been [Warriors] who needed no overt training in how to fight, their God-dess given abilities having taught them all they would need, so Noth had never had a single class on anything of the sort. He¡¯d looked towards the angel with an extremely pleading look, hoping she¡¯d offer him any amount of helpful advice, but she would only ever give him one unhelpful response: Noth¡¯s eyes grew to the size of saucers when his door was suddenly flung open, but the menacing dagger glinting off the light from the window was all he could see. In a panic, he yelled the first thing he could think of. ¡°I- I wish the dagger was gone!¡± The dagger did in fact disappear, just like he wanted, but that only seemed to slow the confused assassin down for a few seconds, before their big, menacing hands reached out for the boy¡¯s neck. Noth¡¯s panicking brain had honestly thought that if their weapon went away, then the person couldn¡¯t attack him and might just give up and leave. He felt silly for having such a childish thought. The boy did his best to crawl to the other side of the bed where his attacker couldn¡¯t reach, but he had moved too slowly, and was swiftly caught by his calf. The grip was so strong that he could already feel the bruises forming on his leg as he was dragged back. In his desperation as the hands reached for his neck once again, Noth managed to finally choke out one last sobbing plea. ¡°Please save me.¡± And just when Noth could feel the rough hands touch his skin, the assassin flopped onto the floor, motionless. The boy laid there for a moment, quaking as he worked up the courage to finally move. When he calmed himself enough to sit up and crawl over to the edge of his bed, he grimaced at the sight of the pristine corpse that was now draped across his floor in an unceremonious manner. It looked like the body could hop up at any moment and be perfectly fine, if not for how overly stiff and still it was. Noth¡¯s mind wouldn¡¯t let him forget the sensation of the swiftly fading heat he¡¯d felt when he¡¯d tried to piece together his mother after she¡¯d died, and his morbid curiosity had him reaching out to touch the body before he even realized it. A sudden soft, thumping sound snapped the boy out of his trance, however, and when he looked up at the source of the noise he found his angel standing on the floor, repeatedly weakly kicking at the unmoving sack of flesh¡¯s stomach. Her gaze swiftly turned to the astounded looking boy whose hand was frozen in the air just inches from the cadaver. When Noth vehemently shook his head, the angel subsequently turned her attention back to the corpse, and gave it a few more kicks for good measure. The boy watched her with a look of disapproval, before eventually looking back down. His hand skittishly patted and nudged at the body a few times, but then he pulled back his hand and stared at his palm with an unsatisfied gaze. The bed dipped next to him as his angel sat down and leaned back, propping herself up on her arms. Noth pulled a face at her words. Of course he would have died, what did she mean? She rolled her head slowly to look at him and giggled. The angel gracefully leapt up from the bed and twirled around playfully, stepping around the corpse in front of them carefully before ending up in front of Noth. She lovingly nuzzled her cheek against his own, and then pulled back enough to purr her next words directly in his ear. Chapter Twenty Eight Noth didn¡¯t really believe what he was hearing. There¡¯s no way anything she¡¯d been saying could be true. Why would the angel tie her life to his awful one? Didn¡¯t she know how risky that was for herself? The angel planted a loving kiss on Noth¡¯s forehead. <-Is you!> Her face really radiated with the love she felt for him, and the bashful teen was bewildered for how to respond. She always told him she loved him, but what she¡¯s just told him somehow felt even more personal and deep than just that simple phrase. Noth opened his mouth, trying to desperately figure out what to say back, but his angel suddenly continued on and ruined the touching mood. She stood up straight and smiled down at him with a slightly unhinged look before tilting her head back and letting out a few very evil cackles unbefitting of an angel. Noth quickly closed his mouth, the tender feelings from just a moment ago being thoroughly forgotten with this new knowledge. ¡°...So you¡¯re saying even if I die, you¡¯ll be perfectly fine?¡± Her face when she looked back at him practically had the words ¡®oops¡¯ written all over it. The angel coughed and giggled, nervously smoothing down her robes for a moment before kneeling down in front of him and taking hold of his hands. Noth¡¯s completely unconvinced and unimpressed expression prompted her to keep talking and explain herself further. The angel gave him the cheesiest smile she could. He did his best to stubbornly keep the sour expression on his face, but eventually Noth had to cave in and crack a small smile as his angel continued shining her cheesy look at him. He weakly coughed and rolled his eyes around the room in search of something to distract himself and hopefully help him wipe the dumb look he could feel on his face off. Of course he easily found something to focus on instead, lying stiff and cold on the floor, right next to his kneeling angel. How could he have forgotten the dead man in the room so easily? Noth tilted his head and sighed as he motioned towards the corpse with a wry expression on his face. ¡°So what do we do with this? I have no intention of sleeping with something rotting next to me, and waking up and tripping over him after forgetting he¡¯s there doesn¡¯t sound so great either. At least I don¡¯t have to worry about one of the servants walking in and finding this mess, since they¡¯re all so afraid of me.¡± The angel sprung up with a little bit too much excitement, taking the hand of the pristine cadaver almost like they were close friends, and dragging him along as she lightly skipped out of the room. Noth stared after her with a concerned if not exasperated look until she turned the corner. If she didn¡¯t look the part, he never would have called the weird woman an angel. The boy sighed and climbed out of bed, curiosity and worry telling him to go and see what absurd thing she was off to do this time. ~~~ Noth found his angel deep in his greenhouse with a much dirtier and more scuffed version of the corpse she¡¯d been carting off. It seemed she hadn¡¯t taken even a small amount to care for the body as she¡¯d been dragging it around, and had let it slam into, and get caked in, whatever was on the way. When he¡¯d followed the trail she¡¯d left through the filthy floor of the greenhouse, the boy eventually arrived at the scene her humming and dancing around in the air in a small clearing just a little distance off from Jeck. It all looked so surreal, and yet somehow he believed that if he searched hard enough, he could find a far too similar painting of this scene in a church somewhere. A jubilant angel was a for sure check, and of course a poor corpse being brought to its final resting place wasn¡¯t all that uncommon as well, and if any of the bushes or trees around them looked healthy or were blossoming in any amount instead of the unkept and gloomy atmosphere they gave off, then the picture might just be complete. A small piece of Noth actually contemplated trying his hand at making the painting himself one day; It just felt like it had to be done. Stolen story; please report. ¡°A good spot for what exactly?¡± The angel didn¡¯t even bother to respond to him. Instead, she skipped a merry circle around the slain man, her wings flapping and fluttering behind her in almost a sort of dance, and when she finished a few laps around him, she skipped her way over to Noth, stopping behind him. She hummed a jaunty version of a funeral tune as she reached around and showily took one of his hands and then the other, bringing them together into a praying position. The boy looked down at his hands and pulled a face. He didn¡¯t really know what to say, especially since she¡¯d suddenly sprung this on him. Noth had never actually been to a funeral, so he¡¯d never witnessed what priests or anyone else did or said on such occasions. In his studies he¡¯d been instructed on proper noble etiquette in the assumption that one day he would become one, and yes, that had a chapter on proper noble funeral etiquette, but it didn¡¯t instruct you on how to pray. Perhaps this was just something it was assumed a person knew how to do that he was just somehow lacking, like the social cues he¡¯d had to slowly learn. How frustrating. Eventually Noth gave up and decided he was overthinking things too muc, and making it more of a big deal than it should have been, so he threw in the towel and made a wild guess. ¡°Whoever you are, I pray that you go gracefully to the God-dess¡¯s side and live a better life.¡± He felt his bracelet tingling like it usually did when he made a wish, but instead of the heat he would normally feel, a sensation of a nice, cooling breeze swept past his skin. A cracking, rumbling sound came up from the ground in front of them, and a small yet deep chasm formed underneath the waiting body, dropping it down into its depths before suddenly closing up with the same speed. It almost looked like that ground had opened its mouth and ate him up. A brief twinkling glow lingered over the area where the phenomenon had just occurred, and only a minute later a beautiful red bush full of various scarlet flowers had sprouted up as if from nowhere. It was obviously unnatural, if not because of the immediate speed of growth, then because of the strange fact that no two flowers on the bush were of the same kind. Noth came closer to the bush, reaching out to gently caress his fingers over the various petals, but when he moved his hand to try and pluck one, it was swiftly caught and pulled away. Noth quickly retracted his hand and held it firmly against his body, staring down at the terrible plant in front of him in silent horror. As he watched the shrub like it would move at any moment, the very same angel that had warned him of the dangers of this plant lovingly ran her hand over one of the flowers and lightly picked it, bringing it closer to the flinching boy and showing him its thorns from only meer inches away from his face. Then, after slowly running her finger against the many barbs for him to see, she instead tilted her head to the side, letting the blood dripping from her hair land on a thorn. In an instant the stamens of the flower erupted out like tongues, wriggling hungrily in search of the source of their sustenance. Their tips and sides seemed as sharp as knives, seemed to be able to extend about 10 feet away, and moved desperately in the air looking for where the blood had fallen from. The angel immediately had to fling the offending flower a few feet away in response to the flailing appendages, and after about a minute of intense thrashing, the entire flower fell still, withering and dying in an instant. While his eyes kept flickering back and forth between the angel¡¯s unmarred hands and the withered remains of the monster flower, Noth¡¯s mind was busy running a mile a minute. There was such a vile monster as this? His angel didn¡¯t have any blood in her body? He¡¯d actually come so close to touching something so vile and yet he never even realized it? The angel¡¯s ok with growing a literal monster plant right next to where he lives? The flowers were still evil even if they¡¯re not attached to the bush anymore? What would the detached flowers do if they drank their fill of blood? Would a second bush sprout? If this was what happened when he prayed for a sinner, what would happen if a good person was prayed for instead? What if he prayed for a living person? Noth¡¯s litany of questions was stopped abruptly short by the casual next words of the angel that had been holding him from the behind ever since he fell into deep contemplative silence. If the boy¡¯s head could turn 180 degrees it would have. He practically jumped out of her arms so that he could look her in the eyes. He¡¯d been waiting so long to hear the answer to one of the many riddles he¡¯d been stuck with, and now she was actually going to tell one directly to him? ¡°You really mean it this time? You won¡¯t bullshit me, or string me around like usual?¡± The hopeful glimmer in Noth¡¯s eyes dulled just a tad at her falsely ignorant words. He knew she took great pleasure in teasing him with information. The soft giggle she let out upon seeing his face basically confirmed it. Chapter Twenty Nine Having suspicions of something was one thing, but having those suspicions confirmed was completely different. Noth had been fairly convinced that the church was behind most of the problems he¡¯d faced in his life, at least in one way or another, so it wasn¡¯t much of a shock, persay, but knowing it was the pope of all people¡­ It made sense. Of course the top of an organization had the power to tell them what to think and do. The fact that this country was a theocracy meant there wasn¡¯t a single person who could keep the pope in check. The church being his enemy was already hard enough. The pope directly being the one who wants him gone was even worse. Just thinking about trying to fight against such an insurmountable power difference felt overwhelming. How could you possibly even make a dent in such an ancient, God-dess backed institution? Especially one that has convinced the whole country that you¡¯re the #1 most blasphemous human existence. He did have the powers of an angel. Holy powers. Would holy powers even work against the church that literally serves the exact same God-dess that the powers came from? Noth absolutely hated how powerless he once again felt. A deep feeling of depression washed over him, one that wrapped around him like a blanket and held on tight. He absolutely loathed the pervading thought in his head that everything he could possibly try to do was futile, but in the end that same loathing simply turned into a great sadness, one whose only answer accepted was to give up. At this point, he was all too willing to do what the sadness instructed, even if it all hurt so much, or felt like a waste. The boy couldn¡¯t hear what his angel was saying anymore. He didn¡¯t notice her taking him to his room. He didn¡¯t know how or when he fell asleep. He didn¡¯t know what he ate for breakfast. He barely even felt the tingle from the wish absentmindedly he made for it. Days passed by without any notice or care. Every movement happened on autopilot. Time ceased to exist. Life lost meaning. Eventually even the sadness had gone away and had left behind only emptiness. All he could do was wait to meet his fate. At least the days would pass by quickly if he slept. Oddly enough as the days and weeks passed by, Noth slowly started coming back to his senses. His thoughts were still a little blurry and sluggish, but he could still make simple, if not impassive, observations. For instance, his angel seemed sad and worried, and he¡¯d gotten much thinner than he was before. He felt tired and heavy all the time. His villa seemed darker now that he hadn¡¯t been opening the windows. Somewhere in his blurred memory he remembered a few things. His angel used to open up the curtains for him at the beginning of the day, but at some point it seems that that had stopped. He¡¯d been mechanically wishing for food every day, but he¡¯d only eaten a small bit of it each time, and then walked to a back window to toss it. At some point Elillith had started coming to the villa to find him every once in a while, and sometimes she would even clean and check that he wasn¡¯t sick or anything. His father had tried to come and see him once a week, but he always left with tears streaming from his eyes when Noth would barely respond to him. After a month of this had passed, a second intruder entered the villa. Even if Noth¡¯s angel hadn¡¯t desperately woken him up, he would have known that someone was there; That¡¯s how seemingly unstealthy this particular attacker was. As the door swung open with a slam and the stomping figure made its way closer to him, the groggy boy felt more and more crabby. Noth absolutely hated being woken up to loud sounds, and even with his senses dulled from depression, his half awake mind still felt a large flare of annoyance and anger at the sudden intruder. He sat up in bed and levelled a glare at his opponent. His eyes began to lightly glow, and the bottoms turned rusty orange. Unlike when he once practiced it with such difficulty, he now easily overlapped with the voice of his angel and gave a demand. ¡°Just ¡± The assassin suddenly clutched his chest and keeled over in an instant. As the colour faded from his eyes, Noth yawned and laid back down, not sparing the corpse another glance or thought. ~~~ The angel told him not to just leave a body lying around, and after nagging at him for an hour that he might get sick or that he might worry Elillith should she stop by, Noth finally relented and followed his angel and the corpse she was dragging to the designated greenhouse spot. He gave the most halfhearted prayer he could, which basically amounted to ¡®I pray you¡¯ll go away to the God-dess already.¡¯, and then sat down in the dirt and watched. Interestingly enough, instead of the ground opening up, this time the body spontaneously combusted and was immediately reduced to ashes. Of course, just like before, a red bush grew, although this one¡¯s flowers seemed even bigger. Noth wondered if the flowers related to how great of a sinner someone was, but he didn¡¯t really care enough to ask out loud. Noth rested his head on his knee and stared at the beautiful monster in front of him for a little while, before getting up and walking over to a particularly eye-catching rose that was growing from it. He grabbed one of the oversized petals and swiftly plucked it out. He was mildly surprised that it didn¡¯t burst into tendrils and try to kill him like he¡¯d seen last time. He plucked another petal and another, but nothing happened. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. As he absentmindedly removed the last petal and looked down upon the now barren flower, a question suddenly formed in his brain. Perhaps he would have thought of this question much sooner had he not been dropped so deeply and instantly into depression. It almost felt like it was burning into his mind, pressing down on him with an anger that easily slipped past the shell of his recent dampened emotions. He turned to the angel who was standing nearby, and even though his face had mostly retained its bored veneer, a fire was starting to burn in his eyes. ¡°...Does the pope only want me gone because he thinks the God-dess hates me?¡± The previously upset face of the angel swiftly broke out into a smile when she realized that this was the first question he¡¯d asked in ages, and took it as a sign. She assumed a position like she had to think really hard about the answer, but then shrugged and shook her head. Her answer was far from what he¡¯d expected, and at the mention of a ¡®shinier toy¡¯, the only thing he could think of was the graceful and powerful holy spirit that was standing in front of him. Noth pulled the first confused face he¡¯d made in weeks, and tilted his head slightly as he looked her up and down. She giggled as she realized what his questioning gaze meant, affecting a bashful posture and playfully motioning at him to stop. The angel smiled extra wide and sauntered closer to him, grabbing both of his cheeks and looking him directly in his eyes. Suddenly the angel¡¯s gaze picked up intensity, almost giving a feeling like they were boring into Noth¡¯s soul. Her hold on his cheeks grew the slightest bit tighter. It wasn¡¯t hard for Noth to understand the meaning behind her last words. His eyes shone with an understanding and clarity that was impossible not to recognize. As his hand came up and firmly grasped one of his angel¡¯s hands on his cheeks, she dropped her intense stare and broke out into a cheesy smile. Noth could understand her words. He could even understand why someone could fear those with his same [Gift]. But at the same time, the absurdity of the entire country ostracizing small children just because they ¡®might decide to become too strong or bad¡¯ was¡­ just too silly of a thing to believe. A thought kept repeating itself around and around in his head; Perhaps if people didn¡¯t treat these children so awfully, then they¡¯d never have a reason to do such things! It all just seemed so stupid and unreasonable that just because of people¡¯s fear and ignorance, and just because some almighty pope somewhere was afraid of getting ousted from his oh so wonderful God-dess granted position, Noth had to suffer and eventually die. How could life be so absurd and cruel?! The boy angrily turned and stomped back to the bushes. They wanted to send assassins to him when he¡¯d literally done nothing wrong and had only been trying to quietly live his life? Noth growled at the injustice of it all and started messily ripping out petals from the oversized flowers by the fistful. How dare they? How dare they? How could this possibly be seen as fair?! Why was this just allowed to happen?! Why why why?! All of a sudden his angel¡¯s strong arms were pulling him back, away from the picked over bush. He struggled in her arms, still reaching out towards the few flowers that had somehow managed to survive his onslaught. Somehow just the sight of the bush offended him, symbolizing all the unfair things in his life. He wriggled and squirmed, baring his teeth and yelling, and eventually he angrily pointed at the target of his hatred, screaming at it as his eyes once again lit up and grew rusty red. Particles gathered around the bush, dark, pulsating particles. More and more gathered, smothering the offending shrub. The darkness thickened, until you couldn''t even tell what it was covering anymore. And then, when it all dispersed, nothing was left in that spot but grass, a bit of rust, and all of the previously plucked petals. Noth panted and snarled, his eyes running rampantly over the now empty spot, scanning it to see if even a speck was left. It took a moment, but as his eyes lost their colour again, he began to cool down just enough to think. He was angry, yes, but if anything it was a resolved anger. Who cares if he felt hopeless? Who cares if he felt depressed? He wouldn¡¯t let that damn pope or any of his other lackeys have the satisfaction of killing him, for however long he could hold onto his life. Even if he thought he didn¡¯t stand a chance, that didn¡¯t mean that he had to make it easy for them! He was going to struggle and scream and be a thorn in their eye for as long as he could get away with it, dammit! Fuck everyone and anyone who dared to try and stop him! He was still young, and had a ton of life ahead of him! He¡¯d grow up to be an unstoppable monster hunter, and one day he¡¯d hunt down the biggest monster of all: The stupid pope who¡¯d condemned him all this time! And he wasn¡¯t alone in all this! He had an amazingly powerful and maybe crazy angel on his side, one that promised to do her best to never let him die. He had to live not only for himself, but for her sake! Besides, she¡¯d been there helping him through such tough times, it almost didn¡¯t feel fair to her to just give up now. Noth knew it would be hard, but he strengthened his resolve, told himself to quit being such a crybaby over something that hadn¡¯t even happened yet, and after smacking his cheeks a few times, he¡¯d smacked himself out of his funk. No more was he going to sit still inside his villa, letting life attack him as it wished, and waiting for death. Today was the day to make a change! Noth stayed still in his angel¡¯s arms and let his mind turn over and rummage through all the things he could start getting done right now. He needed something that could both keep his mind busy so he wouldn¡¯t panic and fall back into depression, and also could be counted as making progress somehow. He didn¡¯t like how small his list of options was, but the fact that he had any options at all was better than nothing. Noth diligently weighed the pros and cons of each of his options before deciding that there was really only one that made sense to do right now. The boy gently removed his angel¡¯s arms from around his waist and held one of the confused woman¡¯s hands as he started marching towards the exit. ¡°We have to go talk to Elillith, angel.¡± Chapter Thirty Although he''d gathered his resolve, Noth hadn¡¯t realized that it was this difficult to stop being depressed. He¡¯d managed to march over to Elillith and ask her to finally take him out to town by the end of the week while he was riding on the sudden second wind he¡¯d felt after getting mad. He was proud of himself. Noth had even felt accomplished as he went back to his villa, despite not having really done much. But after making it back home, sitting down, eating food, running his fingers along the cracks he¡¯d made in his bracelet after his embarrassing temper tantrum, and taking a small nap, he realized something. Once his adrenaline, anger, determination, and minor sense of having made progress faded away, he was once again left with nothing. Maybe he didn¡¯t feel quite as hopeless, and his head wasn¡¯t nearly as clouded and foggy as it had been, but he could feel the grip of his depression still trying to keep hold. The signs were frankly annoying to deal with. Noth couldn¡¯t help but want to grind his teeth at how much of a setback these unwanted notions, feelings, and reactions were being. He felt bored, but at the same time the thought of doing anything at all was unappealing. Noth loved reading, but reading felt tedious all of a sudden. He could take a stroll around the manor, or sit under the tree he liked and bathe in the sunlight, but the thought of having to go back outside again after having already gone out earlier seemed like too much. Even the thought of going into his greenhouse and doing any of the possible activities he could get up to in there seemed repulsive, just because it required effort. As he stewed over all the activities he was feeling an aversion to, Noth suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from outside his window. It seemed to be coming from downstairs, just outside of his kitchen. The boy hardened, grimacing as he assumed the worst; Another assassin had come only a day after the last, and this one was getting a pre-dinner start. Perhaps this one would try and poison him? Maybe instead of something lethal, this one would drug him so he couldn¡¯t fight back? The fact that his angel was being completely quiet about this might have meant that this new assailant hadn¡¯t yet made it into the house like the others had when she¡¯d notified him. Or maybe it was possible that there was some new tactic that even the all knowing angel couldn¡¯t see coming? As his mind chugged through all the possibilities, Noth grabbed onto the hem of his angel¡¯s robes and led her as he cautiously made his way downstairs. When the boy finally snuck his way into the kitchen, he started to hear yet another noise that he could only assume was coming from the noisy intruder; Someone was ravenously chewing something. And yet, this sound was still coming from outside of the window? The only thing he could assume was that someone had come inside of his kitchen, stolen food, and then gone back out to eat it. However, the biggest catch to that thought was that Noth didn¡¯t even have any food in his villa, whenever he got hungry he simply wished food into existence, and it had been a while since Elillith had brought him any snacks while she visited. What could they possibly be eating? Did the church send some upstart wannabe assassin this time who¡¯d brought their own lunch or something? But then Noth remembered. He¡¯d thrown out the remainder of his breakfast that morning, just like he always did lately. Immediately the boy¡¯s face warped into a mosaic of disgust and disbelief. Now he didn¡¯t even want to go looking for whoever was outside. Who¡¯d want to see the image of someone chowing down on their perishable leftovers that had been lying in the bug ridden dirt for half a day? And then there was another part of him that wanted to just shoo whoever it was away, considering that there was absolutely no way that he could go on listening to them eating without picturing it in his head. The latter won out, and Noth took a deep breath before heading outside to confront whoever it was. The wind left his sails immediately when he saw that the only one there was a cat. Noth almost felt upset at himself for how his mind went straight to assassins and assassins only. Of course his angel hadn¡¯t notified him about this, the cat probably came here to eat every day. No wonder the food he¡¯d dumped had always been mysteriously missing by the next day. How foolish of him to not even have once wondered where it had gone. The boy sighed and sunk down into a defeated squat, running his fingers through his hair as he watched the cat. ¡°I¡­guess I shouldn¡¯t beat myself up about something so silly.¡± He cocked a small mocking smile at his own rash actions, and then turned to look at the angel he¡¯d dragged along behind him. ¡°How long has this cat been here?¡± ¡°What, and I never noticed her?¡± The boy¡¯s face wrinkled up for a second at her words, but then he let out a weary laugh and leaned his head on his hand. ¡°Hah, well¡­ I don¡¯t like the way you put it, but I guess I have been pretty busy. At least, that was true until this whole affliction stint. I suppose it¡¯s good that this cat got to get nice and fat off of my pain though.¡± He reached out his hand in a friendly motion, hoping to appeal to the feline as he made little noises to attract her. The angel put her hands on her hips and puffed her cheeks out a bit in a cutesy display, leaning down to make sure Noth would hear her. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Noth stopped making noises and tilted his head, then leaned over to get a better view of the cat¡¯s stomach. It was indeed rotund in a way that simple fat couldn¡¯t achieve. Perhaps the angel was right. His mother had always loved animals, and he¡¯d learned to care about their wellbeing because of it. How disappointed would his mother be in him if he didn¡¯t try and help this one out in its time of need? Besides, even if it was unwittingly, he¡¯d already started feeding it; Noth felt responsible for this cat now. ¡°Oh. Then is¡­ Um¡­ She¡¯s probably really¡­ close then, right? Do we need to do anything? Should I wish her up some blankets or a towel or something?¡± His angel looked touched at his concerned words, but then she looked a bit worried a moment later. Then, she finally looked down at him with an embarrassed look and shrugged. The boy pulled an incredulous face at this, and couldn¡¯t help his accusatory tone. ¡°I thought you were supposed to know everything? What happened to that?¡± It was understandable why she crossed her arms and glared at his words, but a moment later she bit her lip and began to drum her fingers on her arm. Eventually she responded with a sigh and an awkward if not a little annoyed look. Her mien grew just the slightest touch pained for a moment when she started talking again, but as soon as Noth registered that fact, she turned around and began to slowly float towards the manor. Noth sat there in confusion for a few moments as he stared after her and tried to figure out what was wrong. For a second there, it seemed like his angel was upset that they had to go see Elillith. But didn¡¯t she like her? He remembered getting jealous because the angel had seemed interested in a different person for the first time, and he remembered her saying that his reward for getting to know the kitchen maid better was gaining his first friend. It was a much more practical and self attained reward than he¡¯d been expecting to receive, but in the end he didn¡¯t have any complaints about what he¡¯d acquired. However, ever since he and Elillith had become friends, the angel suddenly seemed to go cold towards the woman. In fact, it rather seemed like she disliked it whenever Elillith came near. But why? What changed? His angel¡¯s mind and jealousy were a complete enigma to Noth. ~~~ ¡°Yer makin¡¯ too big of a fuss about it.¡± Elillith seemed, as ever, unfazed about the situation. Instead of seeming concerned about the cat, she seemed to be busy checking Noth over, and seeing if he truly was ok now like he''d said. She gave his pallid and slightly too thin cheeks a few light touches and slaps, and pressed her forehead against his own to check his temperature. Noth could hear the sound of grinding teeth coming from his side, but he did his best to ignore it as he silently prayed that his angel wouldn¡¯t do anything bad. It was impossible to keep the awkward look off of his face, though; This was all far too much up close attention for him. ¡°Look, I¡¯m really ok now, so you don¡¯t have to do all this. I won¡¯t worry you anymore, I promise. So can you please help me out with this little thing, even if I am ¡®making too much of a fuss¡¯?¡± The kitchen maid¡¯s eyes looked utterly unconvinced, but after staring Noth in the face for a short while, she let out the smallest sigh, and then quickly marched back into the kitchens. The boy was worried for a minute that he¡¯d done the woman wrong in some way, and debated on going after her, but the fact that she went into the cramped, hot kitchens kept him hesitating for a few minutes. Soon enough, though, Elillith returned with a small pie packed to the brim with meat and veggies, and shoved it into Noth¡¯s hands. ¡°Y¡¯Eat, I talk.¡± Noth tried his best not to frown. The idea of eating still wasn¡¯t terribly appealing, but he knew she was only forcing this pie on him because she was worried. He knew how much skinnier he¡¯d gotten over the past few weeks, and it¡¯s not like he wouldn¡¯t feel the same way if the tables were reversed. It took a lot of willpower and a few large breaths in and out, but after a few moments the boy started mechanically eating the pie. After the first few mouthfuls he really wanted to stop like usual, but instead he gripped the fork tighter and dug in for more, stopping every so often to take a few more deep breaths and regather his determination. Every time he stopped like that, his angel would lovingly stroke his back to encourage him, and she¡¯d hum happily whenever he started back up again. Elillith watched his every move closely, displeased that it seemed so hard for him to eat, but still relieved that he was at least eating as much as he was. ¡°How¡¯re y¡¯plannin¡¯ t¡¯ take care o'' a cat when y¡¯can¡¯t even take care o'' yerself?¡± Noth lifted his head and looked the woman square in her face, making sure to chew as exaggeratedly as possible to show her that he was keeping his end of the bargain. The maid scoffed and rolled her eyes like she was unimpressed, but after a moment she showed a rarity to Noth; She let the tiniest of smiles grace her face. The boy could count the times he¡¯d caught her smiling like this over their past few years together on one hand. ¡°Ah, fine. I use'' t¡¯ know a stray fr¡¯m th¡¯ slums. Me n¡¯ m¡¯siblings would look after it like we owned it.¡± Her words made Noth perk up immediately in hope, and he quickly opened his mouth to ask her questions, but she just as quickly put a hand up to stop him before pointing back to the almost finished pie in his hands, and straightened her face back into its usual unaffected look. ¡°Lemme fin¡¯sh. None o¡¯that means I know ¡®bout pregnant cats. Th¡¯ one we had w¡¯s male.¡± Disappointment was immediately written all over Noth¡¯s face. He solemnly ate the last bite of his pie and put the tin it had come in down to rest on his knee, but when Elillith reached down and stole it away he looked up at her. He¡¯d never seen the mischievous gaze she was giving him before. She let out a low, unnatural sounding giggle with her uncaring and sluggish sounding voice. ¡°Like I said, yer makin¡¯ this all too big a probl¡¯m. All we have t¡¯ do ¡®s go t¡¯ th¡¯ pet shop. Wern¡¯ we go¡¯n out n''ways?¡± For the n¡¯th time today, Noth felt stupid for not seeing the obvious answer right in front of him. He cursed how slow he¡¯d been lately. Was it because he¡¯d been sleeping too much? Maybe it was just caused by his mentality lately? Or maybe because he hadn¡¯t really been eating, like Elillith was worried about? He stared at the empty tin in the kitchen maid¡¯s hands for a few moments. He couldn¡¯t just let himself stay like this, not with how dangerous of a turn his life seemed to be taking. If the answer to this problem could possibly be as simple as eating more, then¡­ ¡°Elillith,¡± Noth commanded in his most determined tone. ¡°Bring me more pie.¡± Chapter Thirty One Noth followed behind Elillith as they navigated through the streets. They¡¯d decided that to avoid peak traffic, leaving 2 hours before midday would be best. The boy had spent the past few days before they¡¯d left memorizing, and then subsequently practicing asking, all the questions for the pet shop they were headed to. As they navigated through the crowd that was small and yet somehow still far too large for Noth¡¯s comfort, he ran the list of questions through his mind on repeat, trying not to forget a single one. And at the end of the list, he included a reminder to purchase a cat dish. The idea of the poor feline eating all of her meals off of the dirty ground wounded him in a way he couldn¡¯t quite understand, and a regular plate or bowl would have been much too big for the small thing. Occasionally Elillith would glance back at him, making sure to ask if her young master was still doing alright, or if he wanted to stop off somewhere and take a break. Every time she asked, her eyes would quickly scan over his face, or sometimes a hand would come up to check his temperature, and the young teen couldn¡¯t help but be touched by how much care the stoic woman was showing him. A piece of his heart already thought of her like the big sister he never had, and this trip was already nailing that thought in all the more. How nice would it be if he could just choose his family. If so, then perhaps he¡¯d have a much bigger one than he did now. Noth thought he would have quite liked it if he¡¯d had a handful of brothers and sisters on his side growing up. They all would¡¯ve had to have been older than him, though; the boy didn¡¯t have the faintest of ideas on how to care for someone younger than him. The angel that had been soaring happily above the crowd while they¡¯d weaved through it suddenly called out to Noth, telling him to stop in the nearby alley. He tugged on Elillith¡¯s sleeve and led her to where the angel had pointed, and once there he turned to try and watch the graceful descent of his angel, but instead was barraged with a wave of worry from Elillith. The boy hadn¡¯t considered that his sudden departure from the streets would alarm her so, but thinking back on the reason for this little trip before the pregnant cat fiasco, and also the fact that she¡¯d already been on the lookout for him having some kind of adverse reaction and needing a break, it made sense. ¡°I¡¯m fine. The crowds were tough, but that¡¯s not why I pulled us here. My a-... my [Gift]? -told me to come here.¡± Technically he hadn¡¯t lied, but Noth felt odd having to twist his words around while speaking to a friend. As it turns out he was doing it at her request, but that didn¡¯t make it any less awkward to do. He¡¯d tried to talk to her about [Gifts] many times over the past few years as he tried to gain her friendship, and he thought that telling her about his first would help ease her into the idea, but the stoic woman would always stop him. The first time he¡¯d offered to tell her, she quietly replied that she''d already heard what it was and didn¡¯t care. It was a fitting response from someone always so unaffected by things, although Noth was a little peeved that even the unsociable and uncaring Elillith already knew about it. However, when he tried to tell her that he somehow acquired a different [Gift], the woman immediately stopped him once again. She¡¯d given him a harsh reprimand about why you should never tell others what your [Gift] was, and each subsequent time he¡¯d tried she¡¯d given him the exact same speech. Even after the two had become friends, she still refused to let him tell her, citing her own past as an example. So now, in an attempt to respect her wishes, if he ever had to reference his angel or powers in front of her, Noth would just call it all his [Gift]. If Noth was being honest, it was actually a rather good thing that he was getting into the practice of hiding his [Gift] from others. That¡¯s what you were supposed to do in polite company anyways, unless it was for work or interpersonal reasons. The fact that he didn¡¯t talk to many other people frequently besides his angel, who was literally a part of his [Gift], his father who was his only family, and Elillith, who was his only friend, meant that he didn¡¯t really have any experience with trying to hide a piece of himself. The only real practice he¡¯d gotten in that was with his teachers, or with Jeck. But in the instance of his classes, he had other subjects being taught to him and focused on, so he didn¡¯t really have much talking of his own getting done, and in the instance of Jeck, he absolutely hated and avoided the man until his final confrontation with him. Noth had absolutely no practical application of keeping secrets in a casual environment, so really, he should have been reasonably pleased with this turn of events. But no, deep inside of him, a childish part of his heart felt a little sick about these perceived ¡®lies¡¯ he was telling to people who cared about him. At Noth¡¯s words, true to her usual nature, Elillith nodded and dropped her outstretched arm that had been headed towards the boy¡¯s face, then turned her body to look away, giving him some privacy. The reaction happened so fast that Noth couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bit hurt at how quickly she¡¯d given up, even if it was to be expected. As he gave a small wry smile at the tiny wave of unreasonable rejection he felt, the angel finally landed, strolling up close to the pouting boy and giving him a cheshire cat-like smile. When the boy turned and gave her a look the angel giggled in reaction, and then gently took hold of his head and turned it back to look at the kitchen maid as she whispered in his ear. Her words immediately set off warning bells in Noth¡¯s mind. Was he being attacked again? Did he have to send Elillith away because she might get caught up in the crossfire? Usually his angel only did something like this when bad things were about to rear their ugly heads, but the fact that she hadn¡¯t explicitly mentioned a person or approaching event this time just made Noth even more worried. His previously upset face turned grim and sharp instantly. He couldn¡¯t help asking how ugly everything might turn out to be this time. ¡°Should I be worried? Am I in danger? Are we?¡± Noth bit his lip. If this favour was anything like the one that made him get close to Elillith, then it wasn¡¯t going to be dangerous. But at the same time, Noth had been told to meet her during the time he¡¯d been entangled in his scuffle with Jeck, and in fact he¡¯d really only met her for the first time while he¡¯d been served the poisonous cookies. If you looked at it from that angle, it was possible that this ¡®favour¡¯ might actually have its own bit of danger to it too. In that case the angel was right; In the face of an unknown danger, Noth needed to send Elillith away. But how? If his angel was right and everything wasn¡¯t going to take very long, then¡­ Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Hey, Elillith?¡± The boy called out to the kitchen maid. She belatedly turned around at the sound of her name, her face stiff and yet somehow still exactly the same as always. Her movements were cautious, as if she was worried about what she might catch a peek of. Noth had to suppress a sigh at her actions. What did she think she¡¯d see? There were more important things going on, so the boy would just have to let that one go. ¡°Something came up. Head to the store without me and I¡¯ll meet you there after a little while.¡± The kitchen maid¡¯s eyes flashed with worry for a moment, perhaps misunderstanding why he was saying all of this. However, her determination not to delve into something that was seemingly related to his [Gift] was strong, and after a moment she dutifully bowed, entrusting him with a hand drawn map she¡¯d made earlier just in case, before departing for the store. Noth watched after her until she turned the corner and disappeared from his sight, hoping for her continual safety during her trip. Once he was sure she was fully and truly gone, he turned to his angel, a serious look pervading his countenance. ¡°What do I need to do?¡± His angel gently laced her fingers in his, slowly floating along backwards as she tugged him towards the other end of the alley. Her smiling eyes never left his, and even when they reached their destination, she pointed the way without even a single look. Noth didn¡¯t believe her, and rightfully so. The things she listed as being ¡®simple¡¯ were rarely ever so easy to accomplish. But that didn¡¯t matter right now, if there was some grand reason that the angel pointed this particular event out to him, then he had to follow along with it. Who knows how important this could end up being? There was no time to waste on being apprehensive. Noth put on the most resolute face he had, standing up tall and running to the corner. The scene that met his eyes was far different than what he¡¯d thought he¡¯d see. When the angel said ¡®cargo¡¯, he hadn¡¯t thought it would be this. There in the alley was a large man loading 3 children into a steam-powered, motorized cart. They were bound and gagged, but you could tell they were desperately screaming and wiggling, doing their utmost to get free or get help. The sight of these children being taken like this was absolutely disgusting to Noth. He was burning up inside. His throat felt tight. His hands were clenching so tightly that he could feel his nails cutting into his flesh. These kids were getting stolen. They¡¯d end up a slave like Elillith. They¡¯d end up locked away, just like he was. They¡¯d get sold. They¡¯d have to suffer in worse ways than even he himself had suffered. How could someone do this, and to kids of all things? They looked so tiny, like they¡¯d only just received their [Gifts]. Is that why they were being stolen then? Was it really just like what happened to Elillith? How awful. How horribly awful. Noth¡¯s eyes felt like they were on fire as he called out to the man. ¡°Hey you big chunk of meat! What do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± The thug turned around, looking understandably surprised and confused, but also looking very annoyed. He crossed his arms and jerked a finger back, pointing at the children behind him. ¡°What does it look like? I¡¯m hauling away some slaves.¡± Noth felt himself unconsciously grind his teeth at the man¡¯s unabashed reply. He really sounded like he didn¡¯t see anything wrong with what he was doing. The boy couldn¡¯t help the way he growled out his next words. ¡°Those aren¡¯t slaves, they¡¯re children.¡± A tired sigh escaped from the muscled man¡¯s mouth. He uncrossed his arms and reached for a nearby club, patting it threateningly against his palm a few times. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve got a deadline here. Are you gonna stop pestering me and go away quietly, or do I gotta make you?¡± It was strange, but suddenly Noth felt cold, almost icey. Maybe he was just too used to being threatened, or maybe he¡¯d just gotten so mad that his rage circled back around, but he felt surprisingly calm now. It felt like as his tensed body relaxed and straightened back out, all the released heat and tension instead came up to accumulate in his mouth and eyes. His eyes started to change colour and glow, and as he spoke, the words from his mouth somehow felt powerful. ¡°Oh? Why don¡¯t you be the one? Last time I checked, bugs like you don¡¯t talk.¡± The man was clearly unimpressed by the boy¡¯s words, and he opened his mouth to give a derisive reply back, but¡­ for some reason he couldn¡¯t talk. He grabbed and massaged his throat, but not a single sound would come out, not even a cough. If anything, he felt like he was stuck holding a breath, not able to inhale or exhale at all. As he tried desperately to figure out what had done this, his gaze focused back onto the teen in front of him, and that¡¯s when he noticed the new glowing half-colouring to his eyes. He knew right away that this must be related to some [Gift]. That meant that the only way to get his voice back was to stop the one who¡¯d used their [Gift] against him in the first place. He quickly raised his club and started dashing towards Noth, but the boy¡¯s words reached him far faster than the man¡¯s attack. ¡°Why don¡¯t you on the ground like the revolting bug you are?¡± Suddenly the man flopped down on the ground, his arms and legs scrambling around randomly, every which way. He couldn¡¯t make a sound, nor could he move how he wanted to. The thug was truly and thoroughly scared. ¡°What a useless looking bug.¡± Noth so desperately wanted to remove this odious man who would dare do such vile things to kids from existence, but he could feel the frightened stares of the kids pointed in his direction. His priority was saving those kids, not punishing this particular monster. Even if he¡¯d vowed to be a monster slayer, saving others came first, and it wouldn¡¯t do if he ended up traumatizing the kids, after all. Noth sighed and decided to make the right choice. ¡° little bug, before you get squashed.¡± And just a few seconds later, Noth watched as the man was launched away, off over the rooftops. Chapter Thirty Two It was a bit of a struggle to free the children, considering Noth had never really done much with ropes before in his life, but eventually he managed to untie all three of them. At one point he¡¯d considered giving up and wishing the ropes off, but with all that he¡¯d just done with his demands, his bracelet was looking thoroughly cracked and beaten up. He decided to err on the side of caution, just to be safe. Noth quietly swore to himself to try his best to get more practice in with his demands in the future; Just 3 of them in one day had been enough to reduce his bracelet to such a sorry state. The children had decided to huddle up together in a corner of the alley as they looked at him. The three of them seemed pretty close, what with how they¡¯d all waited for each other to get untied and then immediately started hugging. It was actually a rather touching scene to Noth. He felt extremely proud of what he¡¯d done today. However, his pride quickly started to melt down when the children¡¯s relieved faces suddenly took a turn for the suspicious. He could hear them whispering to each other in their little huddle, and eventually the tallest one of the bunch seemed to get pushed forwards by the other two. This particular child was actually rather gorgeous. She was dressed in dirty and ratty clothes, but her lavender hair was positively luscious and flowing. Her skin looked pristine and perfect, even with the random splotches of dirt she¡¯d accrued on it. Her face was so shapely and lovable, that it almost looked like she must be wearing makeup to achieve such perfection. Noth wasn¡¯t quite sure he¡¯d ever met someone as beautiful as her; She even gave the angel, who the God-dess had directly created itself, a run for her money. As the little girl started to talk, even her voice was sonorous and charming. ¡°Mister, thank you for saving us, but um¡­ Who are you?¡± Her words were so compelling and lovely to listen to that Noth would have immediately given her the world, had she asked for it. He didn¡¯t even hesitate to tell her what she wanted to know. ¡°My name¡¯s Noth Kieran, and you¡¯re welcome, children.¡± The beauty opened her mouth to ask the next question, but the boy of the group suddenly jumped out from behind her and started yelling in disbelief. ¡°What?! He¡¯s lying! I¡¯ve heard of the name Kieran before; That¡¯s the Earl who owns this town¡¯s name! There¡¯s no way a noble would have come down just to save us!¡± Noth shouldn¡¯t have been surprised that the people living here knew the name of the lord who governed over them, but it was quite surprising that a child as young as this one knew about it. As Noth turned his attention to this particular child, he took in a few details. The scrawny boy was an interesting colour that Noth had almost never seen before, since he¡¯d been locked away in the manor for most of his life. Although the boy must have been mixed, considering how light of a colouration he had, the purple, amethyst-like gleam to his skin and hair meant that he must have been part Kysthid, a race that lived predominantly in the North. The only times Noth had ever caught a glimpse of the Krysthid race was the few occasions he¡¯d passed by crowds of people in his mother¡¯s carriage. Since he was still very small, and the sudden purple colour particularly popped and stood out from the mix of peaches, yellows, tans and browns that he usually saw, he¡¯d very rudely asked his mother about it on one of their trips. She¡¯d told him how they were a mystical race, said to have descended from crystals themselves, which was why they had mostly come from the cold and crystal laden mountains to the north. Rumour had it that they were the race most likely to be given rare, never before heard of [Gifts], but that they always came with a price. Remembering back on this, Noth had a lot of questions to ask the small boy. However, he¡¯d thoroughly learned after his fiasco with Elillith that now was neither the time nor place. Instead of being entranced by the fact that he¡¯d met someone from such a mystical heritage, he should instead address these children¡¯s concerns. ¡°I promise you, I am Noth Kieran. But I¡¯m not the Earl, I¡¯m just his son, and even if my father may be a noble, I¡¯m not one.¡± The children all gasped and huddled, discussing this newfound information together and deciding what to do with it, before once again pushing the taller, beautiful girl forward to speak. ¡°If you¡¯re not a noble, then you won¡¯t have an impressive [Gift]! Tell us what your [Gift] is to prove it!¡± The young girl¡¯s voice once again compelled Noth. It wasn¡¯t like he was being forced, but almost like he just really wanted to tell her for some reason. It¡¯s not like it would hurt for him to tell such small kids what his [Gift] was, although if Elillith were here she would have been appalled to hear this conversation. Funny that these kids who were presumably getting kidnapped for their [Gifts] like her had such a different philosophy on the topic. Although on second thought, maybe that¡¯s why they had been targeted in the first place. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t such a good idea to trust these kids, then. Could he just lie and tell them some other [Gift]? No, what if one of the three had an ability that could sense lies? That would certainly be a good enough ability to try and capture someone over. It wouldn¡¯t do to try it, then. Noth really wanted to wish and learn about these kids, but he just didn¡¯t have the time right now, nor did he have the ability to quietly wish yet. The children already didn¡¯t trust him, it would be bad to suddenly mumble to himself and go quiet for swaths of time while an invisible angel talked to them. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Alright, so he¡¯d tell them the truth. But which truth should he tell? Does he tell them about the first [Gift], or whatever his current one was? Well he didn¡¯t really know the exact name for whatever he was considered to be now, but if he told them his previous [Gift] then there¡¯s the small chance that they might react poorly to him from ingrained ignorance. That meant there was only one answer to give them. Would it be possible to tell them only half of it though, and have it not be considered a lie? ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll tell you about it. My [Gift] lets me talk to my own personal angel.¡± The kids seemed awed by Noth¡¯s words, although after a few seconds the boy seemed skeptical about it. ¡°Wait a minute, that doesn¡¯t sound like what you did j-¡± ¡°What¡¯s their name?!¡± The third child who had been silent all this time suddenly spoke up. Compared to the other two, she¡¯d been dressed in nice looking clothes with no visible holes. Her ashen hair was up in a cute tiny ponytail, giving her a little sister-esque look. Her olive skin was plump and still had its babyfat, like she¡¯d eaten properly her whole life. It was interesting to Noth that this more well off looking girl seemed so close to the two others, who were clearly from the slums. Her eyes had grown the sparkliest of the three when he¡¯d mentioned the angel, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile as the overly eager girl toddled closer to him. There was just one problem though. ¡°Um¡­She, well¡­¡± Noth sighed and looked awkwardly away from the kids intense gazes. This was going to be a really hard one to admit. ¡°It¡¯s ''Angel''? She doesn¡¯t, um, really have a name.¡± It was amazing how quickly the children¡¯s faces all dropped at his answer. The way they huddled together again, whispered to each other, and gave him derisive looks... It was obvious that they didn¡¯t believe him. And only a moment later, just as abruptly as the whispering stopped, the kids all mad dashed away from him, down the alley and towards the street he¡¯d come from, escaping from the suspicious teen. ~~~ Noth had been in a funk for the rest of the day. Even after he¡¯d met back up with Elillith, talked to the pet shop owner who told them how to handle the pregnant cat, bought the dish that he¡¯d wanted to get, and gone back home, the boy still couldn¡¯t get what had happened earlier out of his head. How utterly embarrassing! The children he¡¯d personally saved just turned around and looked at him like he was a freak! And why shouldn¡¯t they have? He told them that the name of his angel was ¡®Angel¡¯! That sounds horribly made up! On top of that, he¡¯d told them his [Gift] was to talk to his angel, when they¡¯d seen him use his powers first hand! Of course they¡¯d see through him! How stupid of him! As Noth laid in anguish on his bed, bemoaning all the ways he¡¯d messed up with the children, his angel sat down at his side and calmingly rubbed his back. She leaned down and whispered into his ear, as if she was sharing a secret. Learning something new about the mother he so missed was indeed a good enough distraction to break him out of his cycle of self hatred. So that meant he could have had little brothers and sisters running around right now if his mother hadn¡¯t decided to wait? It wasn¡¯t the older siblings that he¡¯d previously wanted, but after seeing how cute those children were earlier, he wasn¡¯t too put off by the idea anymore. Oh, but now he¡¯d managed to bring his thoughts back full circle to the kids from earlier again. A low groan escaped Noth¡¯s mouth at the returning reminder of his failure, but then he turned over with a serious face. He grabbed the hand of his angel that had previously been stroking his back, and looked her straight in the eyes. ¡°...I¡¯m sorry it took me all this time to realize I never gave you a name. Do you still want one?¡± The happy beaming smile and emphatic head shake she gave him in reply said it all. Noth did his best to give her a sweet smile back, even as she began to visibly tear up. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll get to work picking out a perfect name for you. I won¡¯t make you wait for long, I promise.¡± The teen gently brought the hand he was holding to his lips, sealing his promise with a kiss. Chapter Thirty Three Noth had been very busy since he¡¯d gone out, and a month had flown by before he¡¯d even noticed it. The assassins had unsurprisingly not stopped visiting him, intruding into his villa at least twice a week now. Noth had gotten so used to them showing up that he¡¯d even started using them for practice with his powers. The boy was making good progress, getting better and better at making his demands with each new attacker he faced, and was now able to use the ability 6 times in a row before he got into dangerous territory with his bracelet and had to kill them off. It slightly disturbed him how little he cared about having to kill all these people. He was so worried, in fact, about his lack of care about them, that he started getting more serious with his prayers just to compensate. He¡¯d even read some texts on funeral rites that the young priests would often study, just so he could better learn what words he was supposed to be saying. Actually, Noth had also been very busy holing himself up in his library as well as of late. The most pressing reason was of course to look for a suitable name for his angel. He¡¯d looked through various holy texts for mentions of the names of past saintesses, or female popes, choosing what he deemed to be the holiest of the names to add to his list. It had taken longer than he cared to admit to whittle them all down and decide on one, and he felt bad for the many times he¡¯d had to warn his angel not to peek, but when he¡¯d finally picked it, he felt so accomplished. ''Serris''. She cried the first time he called her by her new name. Her tears faded away just like the blood drops she perpetually dripped always did. Noth couldn¡¯t help but be fascinated by the blending of the two dripping liquids. But even bigger than that fleeting fascination was how right it felt to call her name. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that with this new name, he¡¯d managed to somehow prove that his angel was well and truly his. There was another cause to look up names that had recently occurred as well. Elillith, caring friend that she was, would help him to look after Noth¡¯s new cat whenever she decided to come visit, and when the time had come for it to give birth, the boy had ran over to ask for her help immediately. The kitchen maid had insisted that he needed to calm down and that the cat would do just fine, but Noth¡¯s nerves had never once left the edge during the entire night. He was so grateful to have the calm and steady Elillith there with him, someone who could be trusted to take care of the poor feline, should his high strung nerves betray and paralyze him. When everything had finally calmed down by the end of the night, Noth couldn¡¯t help how his eyes wandered over to the angel who had been completely unhelpful in this situation. Serris had thoroughly insisted that she loved animals, but that she¡¯d much rather be there for moral support, since she didn¡¯t really feel like touching such a dirty cat. The boy chastised himself for having expected anything at all from the unreliable angel. At least having a friend had proven fruitful, once again, so that was nice. There was no need to force the angel to be what she wasn¡¯t. Someone else could fit that role instead. After everything was said and done, and all the felines had been nice and cleaned off, Noth was left with a litter of 7 kittens, and a very tired mother cat. They¡¯d replaced the towels and blankets that the feline had crawled into, and made sure that there was food and water nearby, so now all they had to do was sit and admire the cute little twitching potatoes in front of them. Elillith brought up the topic of names and collars for the little babies, and Serris muttered an unhelpful comment that only Noth could hear. And the boy couldn¡¯t do anything about it but grimace, because she was right; Noth hadn¡¯t even bothered to name the mother cat anything but ¡®Cat¡¯ before, just like he¡¯d done with his angel. He was really coming to dislike the topic of names. On top of Noth¡¯s reading and his practice with his powers, there was one more thing that had been eating up his time this past month: Training. As his neurotic mind continued to obsess and replay over the failure he¡¯d had with the children, something unexpected caught his attention. Noth realized that if there¡¯d been more than one thug in that situation, he might have actually been in trouble. His bracelet was already in bad shape after he¡¯d confronted just the one opponent, and even though he¡¯d been practicing to increase the amount of times he could use his demands, he actually very much disliked that it was his only source of attack. Yes, he could just wish instead of demand, and yes, that would do much less damage to his bracelet, but there was no way that in a real fight his enemies would just let him quickly make all the wishes he wanted. At the end of the day, being able to do a simple one word demand was just much more suited to the situation. The only answer Noth could think up on such short notice was to start training his thin, teenage body up. Thankfully his father hadn¡¯t even batted an eye at the request for a trainer. The Earl was just happy that his son was no longer in the depressed trance from before. Honestly, Noth was pretty sure that if he¡¯d asked his poor worried and thankful father for a gold mine at the moment, the man would have actually considered it. It only took Ruth Kieran a day to decide on the new instructor, simply choosing a retired knight from the local town and paying the man off to not speak of this to anyone. It would start rumours if people found out that someone from a lineage of powerful [Warriors] needed lessons. Loud enough talk could lead to the church asking questions, and they already disliked Noth enough; There was no reason to give them any excuses to pay any closer attention to him. The knight himself was a big burly man with the corresponding [Great Warrior] abilities. He¡¯d served in a number of wars and monster raids, and even mentioned having to fight off a few demons during his service, too. Age catches up to everyone eventually, however, and with such age, he¡¯d slowed down and lost the strength he¡¯d once had. The knight had had no choice but to retire once he¡¯d made it into his 60¡¯s, and had been living in relative peace for the past couple of years. He explained to Noth that he¡¯d been enjoying his newfound freedom, but when the Earl called on him he decided that he¡¯d been getting bored lately anyways. Besides, who could pass up joining in on such a hush hush situation? The knight seemed to find the fact that he was being paid hush money to teach the boy, combined with the order that he wasn¡¯t allowed to talk to the servants, extremely interesting. Noth was determined to do his best to not let the nosey old man find out a single damn thing. *** Thergurd shuffled the papers on his desk around with a bored look on his face. His neck folds slightly jiggled as he looked left and right, scanning over contracts in front of him. After a few moments he sighed, stroking his plump, rumbling stomach. He really was in no mood for this right now. If anything, he was feeling hungry again. He got up and made his way out of the poorly lit office, strolling down the pathway and stopping in front of a well armed man. ¡°Therrus is out for the evening, so I¡¯ll have to have you show me the latest stock.¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The young guard¡¯s face wavered for a moment, but he did his best to quickly hide it, bowing to the portly man and undoing the lock on the door he¡¯d been guarding. The duo entered with the guard at the lead, the dank dungeon they were now treading in echoing with the sounds of their steps, as well as faint sobbing and low tortured moans. They stopped in front of a particular cage that was tucked up against one of the cells, one with a small maroon, goblin-looking creature. It had tiny horns adorning its head, and the littlest wings fluttering upon its back. ¡°An imp! I see Therrus was successful in procuring the lesser demon I¡¯d tasked him with. Good, good¡­ And the [Gifted] children?¡± Once again the young guard¡¯s face wavered, this time falling into a grimace. He took them both over to a cell further down the hall. This one held two children inside of it, both huddling up together and whimpering in fear, their wrists and feet restrained by chains. The guard couldn¡¯t help the tremble in his voice as he reported to the man, fearing what the bad news he had to deliver would bring. ¡°These two came in a few days ago. It took the man we hired a week to track them both down, and then he had to wait until they left their homes to nab ¡®em, which apparently also took a few days. Supposedly that¡¯s why they arrived so behind schedule.¡± ¡°Ah yes I see. That¡¯s what we get for using such an amateur this time. But, there seems to be a problem here.¡± The pig of a man turned and looked the guard straight in his eyes. His arm jiggled slightly as he lightly pointed towards the cell. ¡°I ordered 5 children. Why is it that I only see 2? Judging by their looks, I seem to be missing the [Greater Charming Beauty], the [One Who Hears], and even the forsaken one.¡± As the guard lowered his head and started to tremble, Thergurd narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, clearly fed up with how the young guard was stalling. After gathering his courage for a few minutes, a response was finally spat out, along with a deep bow. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, sir! We hired a separate man at first to catch all five of the kids, but then he never showed back up. It¡¯s been almost a month now, and there¡¯s still no word from him, so we went ahead a week ago and hired a good tracker to do the job instead. From what I¡¯ve heard, the first man¡¯s disappearance is one of the things Mr. Therrus went out to check today, and the second man we hired is still trying to catch the other three kids.¡± Thergurd let out a piggish snort, his obvious displeasure increasing a notch with this new news. The porcine man absolutely hated having his plans interrupted, not to mention that he had patrons who would be waiting for the goods as well. The rumbling of his tummy only increased along with his anger, and as his eyes scanned over the two shivering children, a wicked grin pushed back his oversized cheeks. He quickly did some mental weighing of their worth, and eventually motioned towards one of them. The fearful guard didn¡¯t miss a beat, thankful that he hadn¡¯t been chosen instead. He separated the desperately clinging children and grabbed up the chosen one, hauling her down the hall and into a dimly lit room at the end. The only things in this new room were a small but sturdy table, a chair, a plate, a spear-sized skewer, and a dastardly looking cleaver. The child quivered and whimpered as she was placed down on the little table, her head hanging uncomfortably off the end of it despite every effort she made to lift it up. By the time she started to feel a little light headed from all the blood pooling in her brain, the door opened. Thergurd entered, the relieved guard exited, and not a single word was exchanged. The terrified girl¡¯s gaze was practically glued on the portly man¡¯s eyes. They seemed crazed, looking almost as if he were drugged, from his excitement. The man sat down in the little wooden chair with a loud creak and produced a large napkin from somewhere, placing it along the chest of his clothes as if he were about to enjoy a great feast. And he was. Thergurd was going to have a very enjoyable feast. It had been a while since he¡¯d gotten to enjoy such a fresh one like this. His mouth was watering. His stomach was practically roaring in demand. He grabbed up his cleaver and raised it high. The countenance of a madman was etched across his features. The screaming child only managed to keep up her screams for the first chop. Nothing but gurgling came out until the second chop. By the third chop she no longer had a head to gurgle with. Thergurd hated having his food look at him, so he quickly removed her head and tossed it away into the corner, letting it roll forgotten along the dirty floor as he got to work cracking open his feast. Yes, young girls were definitely a wonderful meal. Perhaps if he couldn¡¯t quickly find good enough buyers he¡¯d take his time enjoying the other girl as well. *** At this same time, Therrus had arrived at the alley he usually met with the hired thugs in. He¡¯d scoured the outskirts of the slums for almost two hours, searching for the stupid bastard who¡¯d been dumb enough to stand up one of his father¡¯s requests. So far every lead seemed to prove insignificant. The best information Therrus had been able to find was that his quarry had been seen chasing some children into a nearby alley a few days ago. Although he hadn¡¯t found much in the alley he¡¯d been pointed towards besides an abandoned cart, he had decided to do a thorough check of the other nearby alleys and streets, just to be extra doubly sure. Yes, Therrus had learned to be very very thorough over the years. He had a habbit of running his fingers over the nubs on his right hand where his pinky and ring finger used to be, whenever he needed to be reminded to be thorough. Trauma was an excellent teacher to not repeat the past. Therrus was terribly determined not to see his fingers disappear into his father¡¯s mouth ever again. As he roamed along the alleyway, his keen eyes were suddenly pulled towards something; An oddly shaped lump was peeking out underneath a cloth. It looked as if whatever was underneath had been hastily covered with some dirty and forgotten rug had been lying nearby, and left there. Therrus was far too dutiful to leave this rug unturned, and of course lifted it up to take a look at what it was hiding. He instantly regretted being so thorough. Underneath the rug was the thug he¡¯d hired. The man¡¯s burly limbs had been twisted and tangled around in all different directions, and his head was lying at an odd angle as if his neck had been snapped by a great force. His mouth was wide open in anguish even in death, and it was precisely because it was so open that Therrus could notice what might just have been the most disturbing fact of them all; The man was missing a throat. His wide open mouth was just a mouth, ending abruptly as soon as it reached the end of his teeth, almost like a doll. The grotesqueness and unusual nature of the corpse left Therrus speechless. He moved on reflex, immediately putting the rug that had been covering the body back into place once he¡¯d seen everything. It wasn¡¯t hard to guess why someone had put it there in the first place, now. Therrus left the alley swiftly, pulling up his collar and doing his best to blend in with the street crowd, hoping that no one noticed him leaving and later fingered him for this disgusting murder. So many thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to understand what he¡¯d just seen. The situation was so confusing, so abnormal. But in the end, there was only one sure, hated outcome. Therrus would have to question the kids his father wanted if he planned to learn any more about the man''s disturbing death. They¡¯d be able to tell him what happened. Chapter Thirty Four Occasionally Noth would head into town to look for the children he¡¯d saved. The idea that they¡¯d been chased after and caught once meant that they¡¯d obviously be sought after a second time. Noth hated the thought that those kids whose trust he failed to receive might just wander into another kidnapper¡¯s clutches just because he didn¡¯t know how to interact with children. Besides, his curiosity was screaming in his ears to find out why Serris had deigned to notify him about them, and he wouldn¡¯t find any clues if they weren¡¯t accessible. A tiny piece of Noth¡¯s mind would also sometimes wonder whatever became of the bug he¡¯d tossed away, but he¡¯d always quickly stop caring about it a few minutes later. At least twice a week for the past month, Noth had been patrolling the streets during the tiny bit of time in which the crowds slightly let up. At first he was apprehensive about going out without taking Elillith along, thinking that he needed her as a sort of security blanket for this kind of expedition into the densely packed roads. He even considered that she might somehow know how to better connect with the kids, considering that she¡¯d previously had a few siblings. But, in the end, Noth knew there was no way he could bring her along. If the confrontation he had with the thug was too dangerous to bring her along to the first time, then any subsequent times would be no different. Besides, in one way or another, this was an issue pertaining to his [Gift], since his angel was the one who¡¯d started everything. There was no way that he could tell Elillith why he was doing this without her freezing up at the topic of [Gifts] again. Even worse, since the children were targets for kidnapping and slavery all because of their abilities, it might even be a very damaging topic for her to hear and possibly relive. No, letting Elillith know a word about this was definitely not allowed. But even without his friend nearby, Noth would never truly be alone. That thought comforted the boy, just as it always had, even from the very first day that he''d met his angel. Noth made sure to stick to the walls, doing his best to stay out of the thick of the still quite bustling crowds. He¡¯d learned that he¡¯d feel claustrophobic no matter what in this environment, but at least having a nice still wall on one side gave him a small sense of security. Whenever he¡¯d come across the alleyways that branched out from the streets, he¡¯d search them for the children. Sadly, the paths usually only contained garbage, forgotten items, the occasional drunkard, or the much more common rogue looking to steal some quick cash. The boy had gotten pretty used to attempts on his life as of late, so he didn¡¯t bat an eye at the thieves threatening him. The ones that seemed to lack any kind of bloodlust were treated mercifully; Noth would merely put them to sleep for a while using his wishes. But the ones who were ready and willing to kill him, however¡­ Sometimes he¡¯d turn them into a pile of stones. Maybe he¡¯d collapse them into sand. There were times he even turned them into trees. Some thieves would be casually tossed off into the distance, just like the thug had been. Or if they really managed to offend him, he¡¯d simply erase them, not even leaving a speck behind. It all just depended on what Noth was feeling like on the day. In the end, he couldn¡¯t help but be a little grateful to them all for being such great practice. This time around patrolling he was actually a little hopeful about finding some new assailant in the alleys; He had a certain ability that he¡¯d thought up that would need some practical testing, and the usual alley-thieves seemed like the best test dummies he could find on such short notice. But as he sauntered along near the path that he¡¯d first found the children, something unexpected happened. Serris, who¡¯d been flying around above the buildings, landed behind him, loosely rested her hands on his shoulders, and eerily whispered into his ear. Noth was always on alert while he roamed these backroads, but now he could feel every one of his hairs standing at attention. There was something important going on? Did that mean it was something related to the kids he¡¯d been looking for? Or maybe did the angel just give up on them and move on to the next of her ¡®favours¡¯? Noth desperately hoped that she hadn¡¯t; He still needed to redeem himself for the previous failure! And more importantly he needed to know why the children were so important in the first place! After a quick wish for invisibility, Noth quietly made his way into the waiting alley. Before he even turned the corner, he could hear the sounds of a man mumbling to himself, and even though the boy was invisible, he carefully peeked around the corner as if he might be caught at any moment. It paid off to be careful, especially when you didn¡¯t know what kind of [Gift] you might encounter. For all he knew, this man he was peeping on could see through his invisibility, or some other similar ability that could expose Noth¡¯s presence. The lean man swept his shoulder length hair out of the way as he inspected something. Noth had to really squint to try and see what the man was looking at, but even that didn¡¯t really improve his eyesight enough. With his curiosity fueling his courage, Noth took a few tentative steps closer, his breaths coming out as slowly and cautiously as he could manage, even despite the frantic beating of his heart. After a moment that felt like an eternity to the boy, he finally managed to get close enough to make out what the man was looking at, but the view was so unexpected that he almost took another step forward just to make sure that he was seeing it right. In front of the mystery man was a pile of bodies that Noth easily identified. Everyone in the pile was someone that Noth had sent flying for attacking him. Each corpse in the pile was in varying states of decay, which made sense to Noth, considering that he¡¯d sent them away on different days. Honestly, it made sense that they¡¯d died, considering the sheer amount of force that had launched them away in the first place. Noth felt a tad bit guilty that they¡¯d died, though, since he¡¯d rather thought all this time that sending the people away had been on the lighter side of his punishments. What didn¡¯t make sense about all this, however, was the fact that all of his victims were gathered in one place; Noth had distinctly seen them go flying in random directions, and never in the same one twice in a row. Had this man gathered them all here from their various locations? But why? The boy refocused his attention on the man, listening hard to the words he was mumbling. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°-dren said they didn¡¯t know anything, so then¡­ And this one is twisted but¡­ I¡¯m sure they¡¯re all from the same¡­ Should I ask father? No¡­ The kids might¡­ Perhaps after¡­¡± Noth could only pick up bits and pieces, but the fact that the man was studying the bodies so intently, on top of the fact that he mentioned ¡®kids¡¯, seemed to mean that he knew that the two things were linked. Or, at least, Noth hoped that the kids he was mentioning were the same ones that he had been looking for. Did he know the children? Was he an investigator looking for them? Maybe he was looking into who was to blame for all these corpses, instead? Or perhaps, was he in league with the kidnapper thug from before? Noth did his best to burn the image of the man¡¯s face into his mind, just in case he lost sight of him somehow and had business with the man later, for better or for worse. But just as he was scanning over the mystery man¡¯s features, the man suddenly seemed to come to a decision and nodded. He turned around and walked resolutely in Noth''s direction. The sudden movement towards him scared the boy, and he quickly pasted himself against the wall, covering his mouth and praying that the man hadn¡¯t noticed him all the while. He had to fight against the relieved sigh that threatened to flow out from between his lips when the man finally made it past him. It took him a few moments to collect himself and calm his raging heart enough to start after the leaving man, but the unexpected determined words that the man suddenly uttered made Noth immediately stop in place again. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to interrogate those damn kids again before father gets to them.¡± Noth¡¯s mind went blank instantly, and only one thought filled the now free space; This man knew where the children were? He could find their location if he asked this man! His impatience and curiosity overflowed even more fervently than before, and his mouth opened unbidden. However, just before the first word fell from his mouth, the hand of his angel clamped it shut. Serris waited a few moments until the riled boy calmed down and nodded, then moved her hand away with a giggle and smile. She gracefully beckoned for him as she floated away in the direction the man had left in. The angel turned and led the way for her beloved boy, not letting him see the twisted smile that was growing on her lovely face. ~~~ The hall was dark and damp. Whimpers and groans echoed through the air. At first when Noth had followed the man into the unremarkable looking building, he didn¡¯t know what to think, but now? With the obvious cells and the chained up prisoners? Unless the constabulary had a habit of locking up rare animals and children, then this was most definitely a dungeon, meaning these poor trapped people had all been stolen with the intent to make them slaves. A weird, sick feeling bubbled up from the pit of the boy¡¯s stomach. He had to desperately struggle to not throw up and break his invisibility. He couldn¡¯t just ruin things when he still didn¡¯t know for sure where the kids he was looking for were, or what the man¡¯s exact connection with them was. Serris fawned over him, weightlessly hanging off of him as she hugged his shoulders and whispered to him of her love, and how he¡¯d be okay, that he was strong enough for this, and that it was a necessary labour. She peppered him with kisses all over his ears and the side of his face as she talked, even as Noth continued to follow after the man, and even though the nausea in his stomach and the general disgust he was feeling at what he was witnessing was making him terribly upset, he was actually very thankful for how distracting she was being. He desperately needed the calming words and actions she was flooding him with right now; If not for them, he would have thrown up and attacked the suspicious man long ago. After making his way almost to the end of the long holding hall, Noth¡¯s prey finally stopped, coming up to a dimly lit cell and opening the door. Noth¡¯s eyes trembled when he caught sight of the children who were lying defenselessly inside. He¡¯d had his suspicions since coming here, and he¡¯d hoped desperately that they were all wrong, but no, his horrid thoughts were correct; The children he¡¯d saved had just ended up captured anyways. What¡¯s worse, they all seemed to be far worse for wear than the last time Noth had seen them. Their clothes were practically in shreds, the boy had bruises and welts puffing up all over his face, and the two girl''s arms and legs were in much the same state, even though their faces seemed to have been spared. The disgusting implications of why they made sure to keep the girl¡¯s faces ¡®pretty¡¯ disturbed Noth just about as much as the fact that the children had been hurt in the first place. He trembled with self loathing at the thought that he¡¯d let this happen, that it was all his fault that they¡¯d ended up like this. If only he¡¯d done a better job talking to them, if only he knew how to win their trust, they wouldn¡¯t have had to go through all this. What was the point of any of this power he¡¯d been working on if he failed on such a simple task? ¡°Alright, we¡¯re going to try this again. Which one of you wants to tell me about who killed Piall?¡± Noth weakly looked up at the man¡¯s question, noticing the mean looking branch that was being smacked menacingly in his hands. Was he the one who¡¯d hurt the kids? Was it him and that stick that did it? ¡°We told you already, we don¡¯t know! Why do you keep asking us?¡± The sobbing and strained voice of the gorgeous girl on the floor tore at Noth¡¯s heart. He wanted to reach out and free them all right now, but the moment he tried to move, his angel¡¯s oddly strong arms held him back. He looked back at Serris incredulously, but all she did was slowly shake her head and whisper that it wasn¡¯t time yet. Noth bit his lip, trying to understand why it was that she¡¯d make him wait. He struggled to force himself to calm down and follow along with her will, all while the confrontation in front of him continued. ¡°Oh really? But I don¡¯t believe you at all. It¡¯s amazing how unwilling you all are to talk, there must be some incredible secret you¡¯re all trying so hard to hide, right? Cute though that may be, I suggest you tell me the answer sooner, rather than later. I¡¯ve been nice so far and only roughed you up, but it would be easy for me to turn you over to my father¡¯s clutches instead. You don¡¯t want to end up like that thing, do you?¡± The man pointed with his stick at the cell next door, and the children¡¯s frightened whimpers suddenly grew louder. Noth hadn¡¯t looked inside that cell at all, having had his attention completely stolen away by the children he¡¯d been so worried about, so the sight inside of it caught him completely off guard. There was the majority of a child inside. The child was still alive, although barely. One of their ears was missing. A hand was gone. A leg had been messily severed. One of their eyelids drooped down as if it wasn¡¯t covering anything anymore. The slight stench of rot was drifting out from behind the hastily bandaged wounds. The vacant looking child seemed like they would pass on at any moment. Noth¡¯s lungs burned; He¡¯d stopped breathing the moment he caught sight of the atrocity. His blood felt cold as ice. It felt like even his heart had stopped beating. What type of monster could have possibly done such a thing? Chapter Thirty Five Noth¡¯s short circuiting mind didn¡¯t regain its consciousness until almost a half hour later, when he found himself standing in someone¡¯s office. Apparently while his mind had been preoccupied he¡¯d been running on auto-pilot, and had followed the man into a room outside of the dungeon. Across the desk that was piled with contracts and folders, Noth¡¯s target sat, busily scanning over a stack of documents, and signing off on a few of them. The boy whose mind wasn¡¯t completely recovered trudged his way around the desk and read off the signature. ''Therrus''. So the man¡¯s name was Therrus? Noth ran his eyes over a few of the other easily visible pages, noticing Therrus¡¯s signature on a good number of them. However, even more of the papers were signed by someone named ¡®Thergurd¡¯. Did that mean Therrus wasn¡¯t the one in charge here? Noth¡¯s gummed down mind worked overtime to remind him that the man had earlier mentioned a ¡®father¡¯, the same father who had mutilated the poor child he¡¯d seen in the dungeon. It would make sense that ¡®Therrus¡¯ would be the son of ¡®Thergurd¡¯, if the typical naming conventions of the country were being followed. Adding on top of that the fact that the majority of the signatures belonged to ¡®Thergurd¡¯, it all made too much sense to not be true. As Noth¡¯s foggy consciousness cleared up more and more, he started to actually read some of the papers in front of him. The papers that Therrus was currently looking over all seemed to be letters that were either being sent out, or that had been received. The letters that were going to be sent all seemed to be advertisements for a slave auction, or replies to the letters that had been received, stating that yes, they did in fact have the particular ¡®product¡¯ the recipient had inquired upon in stock at the moment. Upon further investigation, it seemed that most if not all of the papers that were signed by ¡®Thergurd¡¯ were actually slave contracts, or bills of purchase. Honestly, Noth was still very furious reading about all of this, and with this evidence atop of the literal kidnapped people and children he¡¯d seen just before this in the dungeon, he should have been absolutely livid. And he was. Noth was completely and utterly enraged, but funnily enough, it was the type of anger that was so intense that it actually circled back around into calmness, or at the very least a quiet, unshowing simmer. Noth coolly turned his head to Serris, his eyes blazing with a question. She giggled and took a few steps back, raising her hands in a show that he was free to do as he liked; There would be no resistance from the angel this time. Noth slowly turned his gaze back upon Therrus, casually making his way to the front of the desk. The boy¡¯s bracelet had been tingling the whole time since he first made the invisibility wish, and as Noth suddenly slammed both of his hands down on the desk with a loud noise, both the tingling and the invisibility vanished. A startled Therrus stared across the desk at the tall teen who was leaning on the other side. He hadn¡¯t heard anyone open the big, sturdy door, let alone the sounds of someone¡¯s footsteps echoing from the stone bricks lining the floor. How did this person get here? Was it their [Gift], maybe? Who would do this? Perhaps a rival slave trader? Before the man could ask any of his questions, Noth straightened up, glaring icily at his opponent. The air grew chilly in an instant, and the strange, glowing eyes that were gazing down at Therrus full of distaste froze him in place. It felt as if Therrus speaking a single word would somehow break something intangible. And yet, completely unaffected by the atmosphere, Noth¡¯s mouth readily opened up. ¡°Therrus, right?¡± Therrus¡¯s tiny nod to the question was all he was allowed before Noth continued. ¡°Just in case I¡¯ve somehow misunderstood something, you were the one who kidnapped and damaged those kids you have trapped in your little dungeon, right?¡± The man was shocked to hear the dungeon mentioned. No one but their clients and their enemies knew that it existed, and you¡¯d have to go pretty deep into the facility and past many guards to get there. Therrus¡¯s assumption that this boy across from him might be from a rival slave trader strengthened. He quickly stood up from his chair, an accusatory look on his face, and opened his mouth to call the guards. However, the teen across from him who had been anticipating such a reaction, acted much more quickly. ¡° right back down. You haven¡¯t even answered my question, how rude.¡± Therrus¡¯s mouth clanked shut as his body slammed back down with a jarring force. His teeth hurt from the sudden way they¡¯d clinked together on his impact with the chair. He sucked on them reflexively as his mind desperately tried to catch up with what had happened. The scary thought that the teen across from him had used some kind of [Gift] against him rattled Therrus, and he tried once again to leap up and call for the guards, banking on the hope that whatever strong skill he¡¯d been struck with wasn¡¯t usable in rapid succession. ¡­But his legs refused to move. It was almost like he was fused to the chair. He desperately struggled and resisted against the invisible hold, but nothing seemed to be working. In awe, he looked up at the boy who¡¯d attacked him, forgetting any possibility of being allowed to call protection, lest he be forced into something even worse. The boy¡¯s predator-like gaze had never left him this whole time. Despite the warm, rust-orange glow they were giving off, the look in his eyes was absolutely chilling to Therrus. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Noth was getting tired of waiting. ¡°You¡¯re still not going to answer my question?¡± The man silently shook, the chair he was sitting on instead filling the silence with little tapping noises. Noth slowly strode around the desk, watching the fear blossoming on Therrus¡¯s face as he drew closer. Small beads of sweat began to roll down the man¡¯s face, and he screwed his eyes shut as Noth reached out a hand towards his face, certain that the boy was about to harm him, but instead he opened his eyes to a gentle hand wiping the sweat away from his brow. Noth gazed down at Therrus with a slightly annoyed look as he thoroughly wiped his hand off on the man¡¯s vest. He lowered his head to an even level with the man, and spoke a dispassionate command. ¡°Answer me.¡± Therrus¡¯s mouth didn¡¯t open even a single millimeter, his panic holding too tight of a grip for him to manage to do anything but fist his hands around the arms of the chair. Noth¡¯s impatience continued to rise at the lack of response he was receiving. Why did everyone always make him take the hard road to get any kind of real answers? He was sick of playing these kinds of silly games. Noth stood up straight with a sigh, and glowered down at Therrus. If the man wanted to be forced, then Noth would simply have to oblige. ¡° me.¡± With a loosening feeling, Therrus¡¯s mouth and tongue immediately started moving unbidden. It all felt so uncontrollable and odd, that the man completely stopped shaking from how absolutely astonished he was. His voice came out so willing and even eager sounding, that for a second Therrus genuinely questioned whether or not it was really his voice. ¡°Yes! I¡¯m Therrus! I am the one who beat those dirty little children up, although someone else actually brought them in.¡± ¡°Wonderful. And what might a barbarian such as yourself¡¯s [Gift] be?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a [Greater Assistant]! Father chose me to help his business over all my other siblings, because my [Gift] fit so well with the work he needed done!¡± ¡°So those kids weren¡¯t so damaged because of some kind of enhanced strength, but because you just hit them that much.¡± The way Noth¡¯s words were practically growled out didn¡¯t go missed by Therrus whatsoever. He knew that the teen across from him must have been well and truly enraged by that fact, and yet his damned mouth still spouted out a reply as if possessed. ¡°Yes, well, I really wanted some answers from them, but they just wouldn¡¯t tell me what I wanted to hear!¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Noth¡¯s face morphed instantly, first turning into a purely livid look before smoothing out into something more sinister. ¡°That sounds like a wonderful idea, maybe I should have copied your style of getting information. This one was starting to feel too nice.¡± Therrus tried to swallow to fight back his fear. His terror and worry were increasing exponentially the more questions he was forced to reply to. Unfortunately for him, however, his throat was far too busy saying the absolutely worst truths, and there was no swallowing to be had. ¡°Actually, funny you should mention that, because if my father had any say in this, those kids would have ended up way worse. I mean, just look at my hand for instance. When I was younger he took a few of my fingers off because I was lazy with a contract once, and then he ate them in front of me. And I¡¯m his own son! If my father had gotten angry and took those kids to the end of the hall then they¡¯d end up much worse off than some bruises and swelling. In a way, I was the lesser of two evils!¡± Noth¡¯s visage grew even colder at the man¡¯s words. His mind easily remembered the broken and incomplete girl he¡¯d seen in the cell next to the beaten children. The disgust he¡¯d felt before came roaring back at him. Evils the man had said. Evils. Yes, that term was exactly right. He was dealing with a pair of evil monsters, the next more evil than the first. How grotesque that such things were allowed to just run free and commit whatever horrors they pleased. Even though the boy was already boiling over with his silent fury, his inquisitive and calculating mind was still in full effect. This oh so special sounding room at the end of the hall had caught Noth¡¯s attention and seemed in need of inspection. Of course he¡¯d heard enough to be completely sure that he knew what he was dealing with, and he could easily take this moment to remove one of the two monsters that were currently inhabiting his list right now, but a twisted and morbid part of him wanted to see just how far their atrocities had actually gone. When Therrus received Noth¡¯s demand to lead him to the aforementioned ¡®End of the hall¡¯, he gained a fleeting hope that he could perhaps use this chance to escape and save himself now that he was no longer bonded to the chair. However, his body was moving in such a mechanical and unsolicited way, that any thought of him successfully wrenching back control and using his own legs to run away was quickly forgotten. Therrus knew that they would have to pass at least 3 guards in the direction they¡¯d be heading, so perhaps he could call for their help when they came near? And yet, as soon as this thought crossed his mind, the teen gave him a shark-like smile. ¡°I do so wish that you¡¯d stay quiet until we get there.¡± The sealing feeling that suddenly filled Therrus¡¯s throat told him exactly how that second plan would go. ~~~ Therrus stiffly led Noth. The guards they passed by didn¡¯t even bat an eyelash at the two; The fancy clothes that Noth was wearing made them believe he was simply a buyer that was here to peruse their wares first hand. The familiar door to the dungeon made Noth pull a face, his body swiftly tensing as he walked inside of it once again. He already felt sick, knowing the sights that he¡¯d have to witness all over again. The thought crossed his mind to just close his eyes until his little puppet told him that they¡¯d reached their destination, but something strange happened before he could make up his mind; The caged imp started speaking as they walked by. It was staring right at the now visible Noth, and its eerie voice seemed to be repeating itself endlessly as it clasped its small spiked hands together. Noth was deeply confused as to why the imp was suddenly so enraptured by him, but when his angel flew between them and told him not to forget why he was here, the boy refocused his attention back on Therrus. The mystery of the imp could wait; He had much bigger fish to fry. Chapter Thirty Six The dim and dank room that Noth was brought to smelled of blood and rot. The little desk and chair stationed in the middle of the room quickly caught his eye, especially when he noticed the dulled cutting implements sitting on top of it. The way the wood of the desk was thoroughly soaked with blood also explained one of the overwhelming smells that were competing for supremacy in the room. There were even small splotches of dried blood that had somehow rocketed over 8 feet away from the obviously overdrenched chopping block that was the desk. The boy¡¯s eyes could discern tiny chunks of flesh and hair that had somehow escaped the central spot of carnage and were haphazardly strewn about the room, and at first, he believed that they must be the source of the other foul scent that was assaulting his nostrils. However, there would always be something worse under the surface if you went looking for it. Perhaps Noth wouldn¡¯t have spotted the pile in the corner if his angel hadn¡¯t quietly taken him by the hand and led him over to it, but unluckily for him, she did just that. The contrast between the heavenly spirit and the rotting pile of heads was so dizzyingly vast that it almost could have distracted Noth from the grotesqueness of the mound, but no. No, there was nothing that could have stolen the boy¡¯s gaze from the horrific sight in front of him. The only thing that saved him from the repellant picture was the moment when his body forced him to fall to the floor and vomit, in a feeble attempt to deal with the sudden wave of nausea that hit him. Even then, his eyes still swam with the afterimage of what he¡¯d seen. Men, women, and children of all ages, their heads in various stages of decay, laying amongst a pile of all types of discarded bones. And then there was the freshest head of them all, laying near the edge of the pile, closest to Noth. A small girl¡¯s head, frozen in a visage of pure terror and pain. The rats and bugs may have gotten to some of her face, but there was no way Noth wouldn¡¯t be able to tell what that look was. She seemed so young. Too young. In fact, she appeared to be about the same age as the children Noth had come here to rescue. Because Noth didn¡¯t know any better and had come here late, this innocent girl had been murdered and devoured, a fate which those children he¡¯d wanted to save could also be subjected to at any moment. Noth¡¯s mind felt like it was snapping in half, along with his heart. It took all of the strength that he had left just to get back up, and even then his head was still reeling. Who could do such a disturbing thing? The sheer revoltingness of what he¡¯d just witnessed had erased all traces of his anger, and now had only left him with intense disgust and fear. Noth¡¯s mind was in chaos. He had to escape, he couldn¡¯t be in this room for even a second longer. The boy¡¯s vision tried to swim a bit when his running amped up the nausea he was feeling. He had to fight against the bile that was once more rising up his already stinging throat. Noth¡¯s brain chanted again and again at him that if he could just get out of the room he¡¯d be fine, just get out and close the door behind him, and then none of the terrible things he just saw could possibly get to him any more. The air in the hallway outside of the room somehow felt refreshing once it hit Noth¡¯s skin, almost as if it was somehow purer and cleaner than the air that he¡¯d just been touching, even if it was still the dank air of a dungeon. The boy crouched down and clung to the bars of a nearby cell for balance, panting as if he couldn¡¯t get enough air into his lungs. As his vision started to clear up, and as the pounding sound of his heavily pulsing heartbeat subsided, a thought ran circles through his mind. This time, he¡¯d really paid the price for getting too curious. Curiosity killed the cat, as they say. Perhaps he should have known better than to have thought he could dig so deep and come away from it completely unscathed. It would be a lie to say he went there purely for the sake of finding out more about a future monster. He already knew what kind of monster he was up against before he even set foot into that God-dess forsaken room. He¡¯d seen the girl in the cell. He saw the contracts. He heard what kind of ¡®punishment¡¯ the man had done to his own flesh and blood. No one made him come to that room but himself. Noth had let his own damned morbid curiosity do this. He hadn¡¯t needed to dig so deep about Jeck when he''d condemned him, so why go seeking for something that he knew would just hurt him this time? As the boy slumped against the bars and lamented his own poor choices, he caught the silhouette of Therrus out of the corner of his eye. The man was doing his best to slowly and stealthily walk while hugging the bars of the opposite cell, most likely in an attempt to escape while Noth seemed distracted. It was only now that Noth remembered that he hadn¡¯t given the man any more demands or wishes once they¡¯d made it to that atrocious room. The boy sighed, the sight of Therrus reminding him of why he¡¯d come to this stupid building in the first place. This was no time to be bemoaning his own self inflicted choices; There were monsters in need of removing. Work first. Take care of the evils, save the children, beat yourself up for your decisions later. Noth swallowed hard to regain control, and then his haggard sounding voice suddenly filled the hall. ¡°And where are you going?¡± The small scared squeak that Therrus let out somehow helped to soothe Noth¡¯s nerves just a little bit more. Yes, this was why he came here, to confront and destroy the monsters that had hidden away here. There was no time for a monster hunter to act weak when the very monsters he was hunting were around, even if this one was the lesser of his two quarries. The boy straightened up further, his determination refuelling his tenacity, and a note of dignity and control returned to his features. Slowly, he took step after menacing step towards his prey. ¡°What was it that you said? That you¡¯re the lesser of two evils? What a cute line that was.¡± Noth stopped right in front of the quivering man who was desperately trying to somehow melt through the cell bars behind him. A small sense of satisfaction filled the boy; This was how it should be. The only fear here should be from the hunted to the hunter. Stolen story; please report. ¡°But don¡¯t you know? No matter in what amounts, evil is evil is evil. Being lesser or greater means nothing to me.¡± Noth turned away from Therrus, doing his best to calmly saunter back to the accursed room that he¡¯d ran away from. Show no fear. Let nothing deter you. It¡¯s just one disgusting room. It''s not like this was the first room with corpses in it that he¡¯d ever seen. The boy opened the door, reminding himself not to breathe in the acrid stench of death that it was caked in. He stood inside, holding the door open for Therrus like a gentleman, a menacing smile on his face as he beckoned to the horrified man. ¡°¡± Therrus had no choice. His legs would listen to no other commands but Noth¡¯s. He had to go back into that terrifying hell-hole. And when the door closed behind him, he knew that he¡¯d never be leaving this room again. Noth waved the man after him as he made his way to the center of the blood covered room, pulling out the chair to the chopping block/ table and motioning for Therrus to sit in it. And of course, the man''s body obeyed. When he was finally seated in the chair, Noth firmly gripped both of the man¡¯s shoulders from behind, letting his fingers slightly dig in. ¡°You know, I don¡¯t like you at all. It¡¯s hard to like anyone who would so ruthlessly beat children and help their father kidnap and sell others. But, as much as I hate to admit it, you are in fact right; Of all the monsters currently on my list, you are, in fact, at the very bottom. The true lesser of evils. But that doesn¡¯t mean that I can just let you roam free because of it.¡± The boy let go of Therrus¡¯s now stinging shoulders, and slowly made his way around to the front of the table with a contemplative look on his face. He half sat on the edge, casually leaning back on one arm, almost as if they were friends in school, just having a chat. However, the face that looked down upon Therrus was certainly not friendly. ¡°After seeing this room, all the anger that I had for you went up in smoke. Truth be told, I don¡¯t even really want to deal with you anymore; Your father is my real target now. So that leaves me with the problem of what to do with you. I saw you earlier, you know, checking all the bodies of the street thugs and thieves that I¡¯d made fly away. I suppose it could be almost poetic to do the same to you, if we weren¡¯t in such an enclosed space.¡± Therrus had already been shivering in fear when he¡¯d been made to enter this hellish room, but now that he knew that the very person he¡¯d been seeking information on was considering killing and disfiguring him just like all those grotesque corpses that he¡¯d studied, he was close to passing out in terror. His face was white as a sheet, and he was still as the grave; So still in fact, that his muscles just couldn¡¯t work up the strength for him to move at all. Why had he ever wanted to know what kind of fiend was behind such brutal murders? Why had he thought that he wouldn¡¯t catch such a person¡¯s eye? However, the very fiend in question didn¡¯t bat an eye at Therrus¡¯s fear, carelessly continuing on his pondering with a bored tone. ¡°Should I turn you into sand? Or completely erase you? Both methods are quite effective means of removal, but I think I¡¯d prefer something with more substance. I suppose you¡¯re comparable to Jeck in a way, perhaps I should turn you into a statue like him? But you¡¯re not important enough to me to want to keep. Maybe turning you into a tree would redeem you? At least then you might be somehow pleasant. Do you have a favourite kind of tree?¡± The teen¡¯s ramblings seemed so casual and monotonous, as if he was just having an ordinary conversation about a topic that he was asking an opinion on. Therrus was mortified that the conversation about how he would be killed could happen in such a relaxed and easygoing tone. He hesitantly tried to open his mouth to respond, feeling pressured by the expectant look on Noth¡¯s face, but he was quickly cut off. He should have never expected the boy who was planning to end him to care about his opinion in the first place. ¡°Oh well, I prefer apple trees, and at least then you¡¯d actually benefit people somehow. Rest assured, Therrin, you¡¯ll finally get to become something good.¡± Noth reached out to pat the man¡¯s head, even as Therrus opened his mouth out of habit, his brain so overloaded with fear that it couldn¡¯t even be bothered to stop him from correcting the boy about his name. However, before he could even get out the first 3 words of his sentence, Therrus had already been wished into a small beautiful tree in the shape of a sitting man. Noth¡¯s eyes swam over his handiwork, taking in the swirling pattern of the little tree that he made, and gently running his hand over some of the smooth, green leaves. His head mechanically turned to where his angel had been watching in a dark corner of the room. The odd ability he had to always know exactly where she was had never failed him. ¡°Do you think this tree will grow? Or will it be too dark in here?¡± Serris let a small grin grace her face, and she flew out of the darkness, getting a good look as she landed next to Noth. ¡°Yeah¡­ I sure hope that¡¯s the case.¡± Noth stared at the leaves that shuddered the tiniest amount from the draft in the room, but then closed his eyes shut hard. After a while, he opened them back up and turned to the accursed pile that he¡¯d been trying so hard not to look at. No amount of ignoring them was going to just make them go away. His hand sought out his angel¡¯s, firmly holding on to it, as if he was desperately trying to gain some kind of strength from it. The boy¡¯s voice was a little shaky, but the resolve inside of it was undeniable. ¡°I was never able to be there for my mom¡¯s burial. I don¡¯t even know if the church gave her proper funeral rites. These people¡¯s ends may have been even more horrific than hers, but it¡¯s not hard to draw a parallel since they both died the same way. Will you help me make sure that they get the burial they deserve? At least, as a roundabout way for me to say goodbye to my mother.¡± The angel beamed at Noth, floating up to give his forehead a sweet kiss. With a graceful gesture, a wave of golden particles swept over to the mound of heads, picking each of them up and cleaning them off. The decay reversed itself, leaving every head in a pristine condition with a peaceful look on their faces. They were all placed one at a time around the roots of the new tree, almost looking like a morbid art display. When the golden wave ended, Serris wrapped herself clingingly around Noth¡¯s side. She looked as if she desperately wanted him to praise her, but instead the boy solemnly nodded and thanked her. Noth¡¯s prayer was brief, but heartfelt. He hadn¡¯t known any of these people, but he genuinely wished the best for their souls. He fervently hoped that the God-dess would treat them well, and that they¡¯d live the wonderful lives that they deserved in heaven, or be reincarnated into better situations. And at the end of his prayer, Noth opened his eyes to a beautiful sight; The heads had been raptured away on heavenly beams, and replaced with a patch of flowers that circled the small tree. Each flower radiated out pure heavenly white light. At their core, they seemed to be shaped like a puffy white dandelion, but as Noth reached out his hand to touch one, he felt an intense, pleasant warmth. Somehow even just being close to those flowers seemed to fill him with a feeling that everything would be ok. Serris flew over, gently picking one of the flowers and offering it up for the boy to take. Noth gently ran his fingers over the small flower, scared that it might be just as fragile as the dandelions that it took after, but instead he was surprised at how fluffy and firm it felt. It reminded him of the soothing feeling of petting the kittens back at his house. Yes, a feeling that no matter what, everything precious to him would be protected. He knew who needed such a reassuring feeling right now. The boy plucked three more of the flowers, and then turned and marched out of the room with a purpose. Chapter Thirty Seven The children were understandably alert when Noth approached from down the hall. They vaguely knew what that room''s purpose was. They¡¯d seen what state the girl in the next cell had come back in multiple times. And they¡¯d even seen Noth walking past them with Therrus, the very man who had beaten them senseless. The children had already been wary of the suspicious teen before, but all this other new evidence combined didn¡¯t paint Noth in a particularly trustworthy light. At least Therrus wasn¡¯t with him this time. To be fair, the obvious way that the teen had had control over the frightened man was what scared them the most. Hurt though they may have been, they¡¯d all been listening closely to the short altercation just a little ways down the hall. And of course, all three of the children had seen what Noth was capable of in the alley previously. It only made sense for them to be afraid of him. It would have been a lie to say that they didn¡¯t feel a small sense of relief when Noth chose to stop at the girl¡¯s cell next to them. Of course, they quickly lost their relief and switched to worrying over what he might do to the already broken girl, and all of their eyes were plastered on the two of them with an anxious gaze. However, what they saw next completely baffled them. With just an odd little mumble and the tossing of a weird looking flower, the girl¡¯s dying and taken apart body fixed itself. It was a miracle that only a [Saint] or [Saintess] could have possibly pulled off. Was that what he was? Was that why he was so powerful? Could it be that he hadn¡¯t been lying about the angel? ¡­Had they made some kind of mistake? *** All it had taken was a little wish, and the cell doors of the children were easily unlocked. Noth absolutely hated the sight of what the monster had done to the poor girl. He could tell from the various stages of purple and rotting on her limbs that her wounds and removals hadn¡¯t all been inflicted at the same time; The poor thing had probably been suffering through these repeated horrific events for almost a week now. The fact that she hadn¡¯t yet died from the state she¡¯d been left in could only be attributed to a powerful [Healer] or [Doctor] stopping the blood flow, or possibly even due to the girl¡¯s own [Gift] somehow. Who knows if her resilience was truly a blessing or a curse in this situation, however. If her survival had been because of her own [Gift], she surely must have been cursing having it right now. The boy leaned over and dropped one of the flowers he was carrying onto the little girl¡¯s chest, hoping that its calming effects could somehow help her in any way right now. He was sure she¡¯d need it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t have to suffer like this for any longer. I¡¯ll save you from this, and then I¡¯ll save you again. However many times you need saving, I¡¯ll be there. I may not know your name, but I¡¯ll promise you this.¡± He shot a quick glance back at Serris, making sure that he was actually able to pull off what he was planning to do. Her face looked a little concerned at his decision, but she ultimately nodded at him, deeming it acceptable. Noth knew what was making her worried, and honestly, he should have been worried too, but there was no way he could just leave this suffering child here. He would just deal with the repercussions of his actions later. The wish was quick; All he asked was for the perfect recovery of the poor girl in front of him. And the results were equally as fast, to be expected. Her removed bits were completely regrown, almost in the way a lizard might regrow their tail. Even her eye was in pristine condition, and her previously sunken eyelid covered it nicely again once it reformed. Noth scanned her over thoroughly, making sure that not a single piece of her had been forgotten. Her now steady breathing and rosy complexion signalled her full recovery, and when the boy was fully satisfied with the results of his wish it felt like a heavy fist had removed its grip on his heart. He¡¯d have to just endure the sensation of a million tiny needles stabbing into his arm that he was feeling right now. Doing his best to mask the pain he was feeling, Noth made his way over to the cell of the other children. The looks of wonder they were throwing his way as he entered their cell almost made the boy chuckle. What fickle kids they were; He¡¯d seen how scared they¡¯d looked when he¡¯d first made his way over, and he knew how badly they must have thought of him. He didn¡¯t hate their change of opinion, however. In fact, Noth had to hold back how pleased he felt now that he¡¯d finally impressed the kids he¡¯d so desperately wanted another chance with all this time. At least he didn¡¯t have to look directly at their admiring faces as he loosened their ropes, although he could still easily feel their stares upon him. As Noth made sure that the children could escape the ropes if they wanted to, he quickly cautioned them. ¡°It¡¯ll look suspicious if a guard comes in here and sees that you¡¯re all suddenly free, so do your best to at least look like you¡¯re still being restrained. I can¡¯t heal all your wounds just yet, either. I¡¯m sorry, I hate to put you all through this for even a second longer, but if I want to make sure that evil man will never try to capture you again then I¡¯m going to have to use you all as bait. I promise on my life though, that I¡¯ll save all three of you from this disgusting place, and that I¡¯ll never let you get hurt again. Please just put up with it for a little while longer until that horrible man comes back, and then I¡¯ll take you all out of here.¡± Noth hurriedly handed each of the children one of the flowers he was holding, trying to not give any of them a chance to say anything back to him about his plan. He was embarrassed about how unreliable he sounded to his own ears. ¡°This flower will represent my promise to you all! Until I rescue you, this holy flower from the God-dess will help to calm you and keep you safe! Let it be the reminder that you will be leaving here today.¡± And with his hopefully heroic sounding speech made, Noth stiffly marched out of the cell and closed the door behind him, practically rushing into the room at the end of the hall to get away from the children¡¯s eyes. He couldn¡¯t have possibly stayed in front of them for another moment and still have looked trustworthy. The pain in his arm was just far too strong. Noth huffed, struggling as he swept off the bloody implements from the top of the desk, and then climbing up to sit menacingly on top of it. Through bared teeth from the pain, Noth growled out his reply. ¡°It¡¯s simple. I¡¯ll wait for him to come. There¡¯s no way he won¡¯t.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The angel floated over to the boy, gingerly picking up his tensed arm, and traced her finger over the jagged edges of the almost shattered looking bracelet. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to hope that the bracelet can regenerate enough for me to make at least one good wish. Maybe if I¡¯m lucky I can even take Thergurd by surprise and play a little war of attrition with him until I have enough power recovered to finish him off. But really, at this point? There is no plan. I never expected to have gotten myself into this much of a mess.¡± It was easy for Noth to think over all the needless uses of his wishes and demands he¡¯d made today. How simply could he have just taken Therrus¡¯s keys to the cells away before he turned him, and them, into a tree? Why had he used too many demands on Therrus before deciding to finish him off? Perhaps if he was a bit more persuasive he wouldn¡¯t have even needed to use most of the demands he¡¯d made against him. But it was easy to overanalyze your choices when you weren¡¯t in the middle of making them. And it was easy to beat yourself up over a choice that you had no way of knowing would spiral out of control. All he could do was accept these mistakes, learn from them, and figure out how big the new mistakes he was about to make would be. Serris gave Noth¡¯s arm a small kiss, the feeling leaving a tiny tingling sensation on the boy¡¯s skin, and then she placed it down upon his leg and made her way over to the patch of glowing flowers. When Noth shot her a confused look, the angel laughed and gracefully picked one of the beautiful flowers and brought it over to the boy, slowly twirling it around as she held it in front of him. As the angel drew even closer she started to run the fluffy feeling petals of light back and forth against the boy¡¯s lips with an almost mischievous look on her face. Noth was a little annoyed with her antics, but he knew her well enough to know there was something more to all of this than just what she was saying. He did his best to inquire further without opening his mouth too much wider so she couldn''t suddenly stick the flower inside. ¡°...What kind of benefits do you mean?¡± Noth wasn¡¯t sure that he could trust that she wasn¡¯t omitting something, just like usual, but if she hadn¡¯t told it to him by now, then she probably wasn¡¯t inclined to tell him at all. He looked down his face, seeing the almost blinding light of the holy flower that was pressed against him. It was made of pure, solid, fluffy light. Could that possibly hurt him on the way down? Or perhaps there was some repercussion for consuming something named after the love of the almighty deity that controlled this world? Was it possible that he¡¯d be cursed or something for doing it? Maybe this time the God-dess really would hate him like everyone had always said. ¡°What¡¯s¡­ the catch?¡± The almost cooing laugh that Serris let out at his words, along with the sly face she showed him as she took the shining flower away and held it to her chest, made Noth¡¯s worry instantly go up another tier. Every word that the angel annunciated in her soothing tone had the exact opposite effect as they fell from her lips. The predatory smile that she flashed before continuing her words made Noth¡¯s skin turn to goosebumps. Although he hated to admit it, his mind immediately understood what she was saying. If someone grew addicted to the power that the flowers gave and wanted more, then the best way to get more was the corpses of the innocent. There were likely plenty of innocent enough people roaming around on the streets for him to pick from. How many constant deaths would someone be able to cause to keep up with the craving for flower driven power? Noth doubted that he would so easily fall victim to the power trap, however, especially considering that just like his angel had said, he was not someone with a normal [Gift]. How would having a huge amount of wish uses feel any different than having his bracelet fully charged? Besides, he was a monster hunter. Why would he want to engage in the very same activities as the kind of monsters he hunted? With confidence in his resolve strengthened, Noth stood up and firmly seized the flower from his angel, tightly closing his eyes as he devoured the flower¡¯s petals in one big bite. The slightly warm petals immediately dissolved on his tongue before he swallowed them. At first nothing felt different at all. Noth even considered triumphantly that he¡¯d been right, and that he wasn¡¯t supposed to feel any different. But that thought was quickly dashed once the tingling set in. It was almost like a small electric current was running through his body, one that was stimulating all his muscles and even his very soul. Noth felt himself growing gradually stronger and stronger. Eventually he felt almighty, like he could tear down this entire facility if he so much as thought about it. The teen was so preoccupied with his sudden feelings of power that he didn¡¯t notice the changes in his body that were taking place right away, but eventually they began to catch his eye. His hair had grown past the length that he¡¯d been strictly keeping it at; His slightly curly hair that used to just barely tickle the base of his neck was now a few inches past his shoulder and brushing his chest. The orange-rust shade that the ends of his hair had been infected with by his angel was now a shade darker, close to turning into a bloody colour, and those same ends were curled outwards in a menacing spike-like shape. On top of his obvious hair growth, another phenomenon was taking place: Noth¡¯s eyes were emitting heat. It almost felt as if his eyes were so hot that they¡¯d start boiling, but at the same time it didn¡¯t hurt somehow. When the concerned boy asked his smiling angel what had happened to them, she just laughed and told him that his eyes were now glowing. The fact that the light they were putting out was strong enough to light up the hand he brought near his face to check easily confirmed what he¡¯d been told. Noth¡¯s eyes felt hot, yes, but there was also a burning sensation from his back. And yet when he tried his best to reach back and feel what was happening there, Serris quickly came close and filled his vision with an obscenely wide smile. Her distraction easily worked, as Noth¡¯s brain was too overtaken by the reminder that he was now, in fact, far too strong. And he liked it. Finally, he felt like no one could defeat him. What was the first thing he should do with all this newfound power? Should he rampage through the building and destroy everyone who opposed him? Should he break the building apart brick by bricks so he could lay its sins bare to the world outside? Should he build a throne out of the corpses of his enemies so that everyone would learn not to stand in his way? But a small counter argument in his brain quickly stopped any such impulses. What if the kids he had promised to save were shown something unsightly? Wouldn¡¯t that add another big trauma onto the ones they already must have from this awful experience? He couldn¡¯t show them something so frightening. Yes, it would be better to stick to his original plan and dispose of Thergurd in here, away from their young eyes. Noth perched himself on the edge of the desk, looking casual and yet dangerous, as if he was primed to strike at any moment even from his leisurely position. ¡°The plan''s still the same as before; I wait here for my unsuspecting prey, and then demolish him.¡± Chapter Thirty Eight It took almost two hours of waiting before the show began. Noth¡¯s target burst into the dingy room in a jubilant mood as he dragged a victim behind him. The man seemed quite porcine and jiggly, much more than Noth had pictured, and yet somehow it seemed all too appropriate for the gluttonous cannibal. The boy stayed motionless on his perch, watching as the unsuspecting monster laughed to himself at the pitiful resistance of the little girl whose wrist he was crushing. Of course, Noth recognized the scuffed, tear-covered face of the desperately struggling girl immediately; It was the quiet girl from the trio, clinging to the flower she¡¯d been given as if it was her only lifeline. Her cutely tied up ashen hair had been all messed up, and she was now sporting a red and swollen cheek that hadn¡¯t been there just a few hours ago. It was all too easy to guess who the culprit must have been. It took Thergurd a few moments to actually take in all the changes that had come about in the room; The mythical looking flowers, the tree in the shape of his son¡­ But the most baffling one of them all was the stranger who was sitting on his butchering table and staring at him as if he were a disgusting flea. There was no way a stranger was supposed to be let down into these dungeons without his express permission, and since he obviously hadn¡¯t sanctioned the trespassing teen, they most likely weren¡¯t someone friendly. Thergurd had amassed a large amount of enemies over his decades spent slaving; He knew how deadly the employees of his rival slavers could be. However, as per his own orders, there weren¡¯t any guards nearby to call on. He had to think quickly if he wanted to protect his life. Good thing he at least had a shield with him. The pig used his grubby hands to pick the gently sobbing girl up, holding her in front of him in the hopes that she could absorb the attacks that would surely be coming his way at any moment, and did his best to retreat back through the still open door. Little did he know that he would never be leaving this room again. The boy sighed at the rotund man¡¯s dishonourable actions. He was already upset that the sickening man had so gleefully beaten and pulled one of the children Noth had just promised to protect into the room, but now the pig even wanted to use her as a human shield? It was stupid of him to have ever expected any kind of decency from such a man. It almost didn¡¯t feel worthwhile to have to even interact with such a worthless sack of fat. Despite all of his indignation and anger, Noth¡¯s voice came out sounding very bored and disappointed instead. ¡°Look, just¡­ stop. ¡± Never before had Noth been able to give demands in a whole sentence. The fact that he could meant that he now had access to much more detailed demands than he¡¯d had before. The amount of power that he felt pouring off his tongue with each word was enough to feel nearly intoxicated. He almost wanted to give the pig even more demands just so that he could feel it all again. However, luckily for Thergurd, the little girl he was holding hostage was much more important to Noth than the horrible porcine man. The teen calmly got off from the wooden chopping block he¡¯d been waiting on and made his way to the stuck and terrified girl. He couldn¡¯t help the way his face fell a little bit from hearing her whimpers grow more and more audible the closer he came. She must have been scared out of her mind this entire time. Noth leaned down and spoke softly, hoping that his words could have any amount of a calming effect on her. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m sorry you were hurt by him while I wasn¡¯t there, but now that he¡¯s here there won¡¯t be anyone who can ever hurt you again.¡± Noth carefully pried the pig¡¯s fingers off of the trembling girl, freeing her, and then gently led her a few steps away. He slowly caressed her messy hair in what he hoped came off in a caring way. ¡°Thank you, you did an amazing job. So did the other two.¡± When it seemed like her fear had eased at least a tiny amount, Noth smiled reassuringly at the girl and then left for just a moment, taking a quick stop at the trembling sitting pig before coming back and kneeling in front of her. He held up a small key, offering it to her with a slightly serious look on his face. ¡°Now, can you do me a favour and go tell the others it¡¯s safe to stop pretending to be tied up? Then I need you to get the girl in the other cell and hide as best you can; There¡¯s still guards roaming about, so it¡¯s not fully safe just yet. I promise not to leave you guys waiting for me for more than an hour, okay?¡± The little girl gripped the tatters of her dress tight, looking very overwhelmed, but eventually she looked down at the now crooked flower she was still holding in her hand, gave a single firm nod, snatched away the key, and quickly ran past the Thergurd and out of the room. Noth stared after her through the open door with a little smile on his face. Those kids were so brave. Was he that brave back then? He couldn¡¯t remember anymore. But it seemed like so long as the three of them had each other, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about them for now. ¡°Serris. Do me a favour and tell me when an hour is up please? I don¡¯t want to break my promise to those kids.¡± Somewhere in the darkness of the room, a giggle and an affirmation came his way. How nice it was to have someone always there to help with the trivial things. It meant that he could focus as much as he needed on the important things, the things that really needed to be dealt with. Things like¡­ Noth closed the door with a menacing smile on his face. Yes, now there were no distractions. He was free to do as he pleased. Now he could give the porcine man exactly what he deserved. He could see the sweat pouring down Thergurd¡¯s face. By now the man had realized that he was well and truly stuck in place. He¡¯d have also realized that he wasn¡¯t even allowed to make a single peep. The idea of how absolutely powerless the pig must have been feeling right now was really tickling Noth inside. It felt almost ironic that such a prolific slaver was being subjected to such things against his will. The boy¡¯s mind raced with what other humiliating things he could have the man suffer through. What would be good? He climbed back up onto the table and stared down at the man, sifting through one thought after another, until finally he clapped his hands and showed a large wicked smile. He¡¯d finally decided on a good start to the fun. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°¡± And of course, Thergurd had no choice but to comply. He slowly made his way towards Noth on his hands and knees, making little snuffling sounds the whole way. The look of utter frustration and confusion on the man¡¯s face was like icing on the cake. When he finally made it all the way to the boy who¡¯d been sneering at him the whole time as if he was something worthless and yet funny, the pig levelled a glare upon him that would have murdered him in an instant if looks could kill. And yet, Noth didn¡¯t even bat an eyelash before placing his boot right on the offending face and letting out a malicious giggle. ¡°It seems you¡¯re not busy enough if you have the time to give me a look like that. Let¡¯s see¡­ This room is filthy and the floor could use some cleaning, so why don¡¯t you for me?¡± The man¡¯s glare could no longer reach Noth with his face busilly buried in the floor as he licked. After a few minutes of licking passed, Noth began to worry that maybe this particular punishment wasn¡¯t quite enough. The man was a cannibal after all; Even if the floor was terribly dirty, it was dirty with the man¡¯s own past victims. Would it be like licking an old plate that still had little bits of chicken and grease left over on it? The boy¡¯s face grimaced at the thought. Perhaps even though he personally found it disgusting, there were people who wouldn¡¯t? A change of punishment was definitely in order. ¡°Hmmm, alright, that¡¯s enough, pig.¡± Noth kicked the man in the face to get him to stop. It was wholly unnecessary, considering he could simply will the demand to stop, but this just felt better. He watched as the flesh of his victim rippled, the fat taking an extra minute to settle back into its drooping place. This, of course, gave him an idea. ¡°Instead, how about you dance for me? A jig sounds good, then you can show off just how much you can ripple. ¡± The spot Noth chose for the jig was the spot in the room most filled with small bits of bones and cartilage. No matter how much extra padding the man¡¯s feet had, it would still hurt to be constantly jumping up and down on those sharp little spikes. Also this would make for an excellent test into how complicated he could make his current demands. He¡¯d successfully given two demands at once earlier, so if he could make it to three then that would be even more amazing. The thought that he could ask for even more insane amounts of demands one day was making Noth''s blood rush, and as his porcine puppet followed along to his cruel orders, the teen couldn''t help but clap along and laugh like a madman at the sight of it. Yes, this was his power, true and amazing control. ...But that wasn''t fully true, was it? No, his angel came equipped with an even stronger and more evil power than this, didn¡¯t she? Noth had been afraid of using that power again, in all honesty. He¡¯d seen what it had done to both Jeck and his father. Hell, his father still seemed to be suffering from it in some amount or another. It was far too strong and effective for him to risk tampering with it even more, and what it did to people was even more disgusting. And yet, Noth¡¯s mind was overflowing with thoughts of power, infected by the rush of divinity that he was feeling. And that power trip was telling him that there was no way he should be afraid of how powerful he could be. Why not use the broken power? Why not? Didn¡¯t he hate Thergurd even more than he¡¯d hated Jeck? This time he was not so young, weak, and inexperienced. Didn¡¯t Serris seem disappointed that he¡¯d given up on it both of the other times? Why not try it again this time and impress the almighty angel? He¡¯d thought it would be harder to remember how he¡¯d used the madness all those years ago, but it was actually surprisingly easy, as if he¡¯d just done it by deeply buried instinct. He stared into the direction of the dancing man until he managed to catch the huffing and sweaty looking pig¡¯s eyes, and then it felt like something slowly eked out of his eyes. How eerily simple it all was. It didn¡¯t even take long before it started to take effect either, just like when he¡¯d done it to Jeck. However, unlike the time with Jeck, the demand that the man was under to dance didn¡¯t break as he started to transform, although interestingly enough he was now able to scream. Noth watched closely with morbid curiosity as the dancing jiggling man changed, his ears elongating upwards, and his nose growing rounder and flatter. His out of breath wheezes in between his screams started to sound more and more like snorts. Yes, this was what this monster truly was on the inside. A big, panting, gluttonous pig. The boy scanned the room, finding a long, slightly thick, skewer-like metal implement, and grabbed it up. He poked and prodded various spots on the pig as it danced. He felt sadistic joy from the way it would squeal with every poke for a while, but slowly the fun was starting to fade, and Noth¡¯s mind got a little clearer. Why had he even wanted to do all this in the first place? What had even been so fun about it? Despite everything he''d believed, revenge really hadn''t been everything it was promised to be. With a sigh, he muttered out a small jaded sounding question into the air. ¡°Has it been an hour yet?¡± And helpfully, Serris¡¯s voice replied from some indiscernible spot. Noth lowered his skewer and looked towards the door. He had children to save. Shouldn¡¯t he be out there rescuing them, instead of cruelly torturing this man in here? Maybe the man deserved it, but Noth wasn¡¯t a monster torturer, he was a monster slayer. Why had he even entertained such awful ideas? All he had to do was rid the world of the evil man and be done with it. And yet¡­ The idea that he should bring home a trophy from this hunt kept nagging at him, and he couldn¡¯t ignore it. In fact, it didn¡¯t even take long for Noth to think up what would make the most excellent and ironic trophy. But how would he get it? The boy looked all around the butchering table, looking over all the different knives and saws that were littering the floor, but eventually he settled on the most deadly choice of them all. He stared off into a dark corner and asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. ¡°Serris?¡± ¡°Will you please bring me the pig¡¯s head?¡± Chapter Thirty Nine It was amazing how quickly everything happened. It felt like in a blink¡¯s worth of time Thergurd¡¯s body came crashing down, and his angel was standing in front of him with a smile, holding a pig¡¯s head in offering. Yes, his angel was indeed the most deadly of all. It was interesting to notice that his bracelet still tingled as if he had made a wish. Seems there was no skirting around the system by just simply asking his angel to do something for him instead. Oh well. Noth looked at the severed head whose eyes were still wide open in despair, and felt slightly disgusted at the thought that he¡¯d have to somehow use his hands to take the thing from her. There was no way he was willing to just touch it. The boy looked down at the skewer in his hand, entertaining the thought of perhaps having Serris stick the head on it like a pike, but the idea of showing something so gross to the children that he was about to go see was obviously a bad one. If he was going to take his trophy back with him somehow, he¡¯d have to go about it in a more secretive way. That really only left one choice then. A minute and a quick wish later, and the head was nicely placed inside of a sack. Noth slung it over his shoulder and marched out the door, all the while trying to ignore the feel of the head bouncing against his back through the cloth with every step he took. There was a promise to keep and kids to be saved, this was no time to be fussy over what was touching him where. It took a little while to locate where the children were, but eventually he found the four of them hiding behind some storage boxes and blankets in a cell, not too far away from the room he¡¯d been in. In a pleasant surprise, the girl Noth had healed was already awake, although in a drowsy and seemingly impaired state. It appeared that she¡¯d still need a bit more time to fully recover her mind, but sadly that was time that the group just didn¡¯t have to give. Luckily the children had talked it over while they had waited for him to come and get them, and they¡¯d decided that the boy and the beautiful girl would just support her out, while the ashen haired girl who¡¯d almost been eaten would be carrying all their flowers. Noth was grateful that they¡¯d already worked out some kind of plan. He was also once again amazed with how undaunted they all continued to be. After a quick wish to erase all of the children¡¯s wounds, Noth started to lead them through the long dungeon hallway. However, an unexpected request suddenly stopped him once they¡¯d made it halfway. The mousy voice of the ashen haired girl spoke up from the back of the group, startlingly cutting its way through the silence. ¡°Um, is it¡­ Could we maybe¡­ Is it possible if, um, we¡­ let all the others go, too?¡± The way she dragged out her words and hesitated showed just how much she thought her request was going to be rejected, and yet it was still quite brave of her to have said it anyways. In all honesty, Noth hadn¡¯t even once shot a glance at any of the other slaves and kidnapped people that had been locked up in here; He¡¯d really only cared about the children he¡¯d been looking for. But¡­ maybe the little girl was right? Perhaps it was the right thing to do, instead of leaving them in here to rot for no reason. It was doubtful that any of these people actually deserved to be here, and if it would earn him points with the kids then why not? ¡°Alright yeah, I suppose you do have a point.¡± The teen¡¯s words came out sounding a little bit put out, and the tiny girl pulled a little apologetic frown. Noth panicked at the look and quickly rushed out his wish. ¡°I wish all the cells were unlocked!¡± There was a loud echo of sound as every single one of the cell door locks broke apart and disappeared. And there was also the sound of dozens of people getting up off the floor and coming over to their doors in wonder. Unexpectedly however, there was barely a single sound of anyone actually opening the doors. On further observation it seemed that no one could actually easily open the doors, because they were all still very much tied and fettered. The imploring gaze of the children was hard to ignore, and Noth quickly pulled a face as he made yet another quick wish. ¡°Yes yes. Ok, um, I also wish that everyone was untied and all that.¡± And of course the wish worked. However, something unexpected happened. There was a small clinking sound, as if something had chipped, and when Noth looked towards the location of the sound, he realized something very important: His bracelet was now halfway broken. Noth¡¯s face wrinkled a bit as he stared down at the bracelet. How had it gotten so terribly broken down after just a few wishes? Was it more brittle because of all the divinity that had been suddenly forced through it? His thoughts were suddenly interrupted however, by another child¡¯s voice; This time it was the Krysthid boy. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Why are none of them leaving their cells?¡± It was a good question. The group looked around, but just like before they¡¯d all been untied, no one had dared to open their cell doors, they all just stood next to them and anxiously stared at the exit instead. It took a moment, but Noth finally figured out the riddle; They were all scared that the guards might come in at any minute. No wonder they weren¡¯t willing to just rush out if there was no guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t just be cut down and put back. Someone would have to lead the way and get rid of the guards that were obstructing the path. Noth couldn¡¯t help the sigh that escaped from his lips as he accepted that speculating about his bracelet wasn''t all that important right now. Instead, he should be thinking about how he was going to get everyone out of here. If he didn¡¯t have the ability to make a bunch of wishes, then he¡¯d just have to somehow make whatever he could wish for really count. But how? What options did he have? His eyes wandered around the dungeon as he pondered the possibilities, but they eventually settled on the item that he had still been carrying around without realizing it: The spear-like skewer. ¡°Serris, will the bracelet survive me wishing for an enchantment?¡± The angel smiled, giving a small nod of affirmation. With permission granted, Noth raised the skewer in front of him like a knight, and with the most serious of faces, whispered his wish into the metal. ¡°I wish that anyone I pointed this skewer at would immediately turn into sand.¡± With the wish made, a painfully hot sensation assaulted Noth¡¯s wrist, and the overworked bracelet rang out in a shattering noise. The overly cracked bauble looked like it would break apart at any moment, and the jagged edges felt like a million knives cutting into the boy¡¯s flesh. At the same time, the metal of the skewer seemed to glow, and as Noth pushed through the pain and tried to focus on the changes his weapon had acquired, he noticed that every movement he made with it let out a gorgeous, heavy swooping sound. Somehow even just having it in his hands felt reliable. Yes, maybe with this he could manage to get everyone out of here just fine. ~~~ The guards stood no chance against the enchanted skewer. The moment that Noth noticed one of them, he would just point the metal implement in their direction, and their entire body would just instantly collapse into sand. Even if they managed to notice the boy and his group first, they still weren¡¯t able to reach in enough time to not just become another pile on the floor. It was almost scary how effective the enchanted skewer seemed to be. Noth had to make extra sure that he only ever faced it forward as they went along, for fear that he might accidentally point it towards the children following behind him. After about 30 minutes and a little guidance from his angel, Noth finally safely led the children out of the building and back onto the streets. Serris also notified him that the slaves and abducted people had been following after them from a distance, and would also all make their way out in about 10 minutes. Noth smiled down contentedly at the children. Who cares how much pain he was in right now? Everything had been worth it if it meant he kept his promise to the kids. Now all he needed to do was make sure that they got home safe, just as he¡¯d failed to pull off previously, and he could finally say he successfully finished his angel¡¯s favour. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve escaped, tell me where to take you and I¡¯ll escort you all back to your homes safely.¡± However, unlike what he¡¯d expected, not a single child spoke up. Instead they all just gave him blank stares like he''d asked them something strange. Did they want to go alone? Was it such a wrong thing to ask? Did they not want such a weird person to know where they lived? As Noth¡¯s face grew more and more worried, the trio of children¡¯s faces grew more and more awkward, until eventually the beautiful girl was forced to step up as their leader once again. ¡°No, you see¡­ We¡­ Well, we don¡¯t have anywhere left to go.¡± Now it was Noth¡¯s turn to make a blank face at what he was being told. The meaning of what she¡¯d just said swirled around Noth¡¯s head, and none of the possible reasons he thought up for why what she said could be true were good. He felt more and more saddened by these children¡¯s fates by the second. How could he, someone who also once didn¡¯t have anywhere to go but the prison he¡¯d been caged in, let a child suffer through anything similar? The teen knelt down, getting on the children¡¯s eye-levels, and did his best to look each of them in the eye. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that. If you have nowhere else to go, why don¡¯t come and stay with me? Of course, you¡¯ll be free to leave anytime you find a different place you¡¯d like to be. Does that sound alright?¡± The way all of their expressions seemed to quickly change for the better warmed Noth¡¯s heart. The children looked amongst each other in joy and surprise, and eagerly tugged on his pants-legs to try and get him to hurry up and take them home. The smile that blossomed across the teen¡¯s face at their antics was practically impossible to erase. He turned to his angel with a tender look on his face as he started leading the group towards his manor. ¡°Serris, could I please ask you to go tell Elillith I need her to prepare the rooms in my villa, as well as some food for the kids?¡± His angel gave him a wide smile and gracefully flew away. Noth¡¯s heart felt so full from all the amazing people around him that he didn¡¯t know how to process all the overwhelming happiness that he was being flooded with. His family had grown once again. Now he had a caring yet cool big sister, and a gaggle of courageous and lovable younger siblings. Noth couldn¡¯t wait to see how life would be with this sudden increase of people to hold dear. He never knew that he could feel this way before, and he never wanted it to stop. No matter what, he¡¯d do everything in his power to keep this big new family of his safe. Unbeknownst to the boy who was stewing in his own reverie, the upset angel he¡¯d sent off had taken a detour to beat up the escaped demon that had been stalking him since the dungeon. He made the perfect punching bag for her to take out her overflowing jealousy on. Chapter Forty: -Jean Intermission- Jean was a beautiful girl. A charming girl. A lovable girl. She knew what she was; It was impossible not to. There was no one who showed up to the church at the age of 7 who didn¡¯t know what their [Gift] was, and she had somehow unluckily become a [Greater Charming Beauty]. Jean had never asked for such a thing, had never made any secret wishes to the God-dess before bed at night, and had certainly never secretly longed for such a thing in passing. In fact, before she¡¯d turned 7 she looked just like all the other neglected orphans in the orphanage; She had frumpy, dull, tangled hair, her skin was dirty and pallid, and she¡¯d been a rather quiet and aloof little girl. She was a regular old ugly duckling with a fear of talking ingrained into her. And yet, all it took was a single trip to the church and in just a few days not a single flaw could be found in her new, lovely body and voice. Jean hadn¡¯t always been in the orphanage, though. Early on in her life, after she¡¯d been born, her mother had left her in the care of a neighbourhood grandma that had always been kind to everyone. She¡¯d told the grandma that she¡¯d come back for her baby later, but then, as it turns out, inevitably never came back. The old woman didn¡¯t actually know the baby¡¯s mother too terribly well even though she''d caught glimpses of her occasionally as the woman grew up, but because she had such a deep love of children, she decided to keep the baby and look after her as her own. She¡¯d never been told what the baby¡¯s name was, however, and as the little baby grew up and started to resemble her mother at that age, the grandma with slight dementia took to calling the child after her missing mother¡¯s name: Jean. Despite the old woman¡¯s choice to take care of Jean, not everyone in the neighbourhood was so kind. Some children would pick on her and play pranks on her, and some of the more awful adults would tell the small girl ugly truths about her missing mother. Like, for instance, the fact that her mother was an escort, which apparently meant some kind of high class whore. Jean didn¡¯t know what exactly a whore even was, but from the mean looks and sneers she received when people would say the word, she knew it must have been something bad, no matter how high class it was. They also told her that her mother¡¯s ¡®name¡¯ was fake, and that ¡®Jean¡¯ was just her whoring name. This meant that even her very name stemmed from some ¡®fake¡¯ and ¡®bad¡¯ thing. In hindsight, it made sense. ¡®Jean¡¯ wasn¡¯t a terribly usual name, not from the way that naming conventions in Odessia usually worked. If anything it would be closer to how the church named their chosen Nobles. There¡¯s no way a simple commoner who lived just one street off from the slums could have such an extravagant name. As the people¡¯s harassment grew more and more harsh, Jean learned to just stick to herself and not bother to say a peep unless she had to, lest she give her harassers more fuel. Even when the grandma who¡¯d been taking care of her had finally succumbed to her old age and died, and Jean had been forced to go to the orphanage in the next town over at the age of 5, she still didn¡¯t give up on the unfortunate habit. She was sure that no one in the orphanage would like her either. After all, her very existence was somehow dirty and bad. However, things were different. After a few months of her being in the orphanage, a shy boy named Helt appeared. They were the only two children there who preferred the quiet, and they¡¯d often find each other by accident when they would go off to hide from all the others. It was only to be expected that they eventually bonded and became friends. And then, in Jean¡¯s 6th year, when she¡¯d finally started to open up a bit and would sneak out into the streets to go exploring with Helt, they found Ren. She was somehow smaller than the both of them, even though she claimed to be their same age. She was like a sweet, ashen mouse, and whenever the duo would stumble upon her, she always seemed to be sad and alone. But the way she would blossom into smiles whenever they would talk to her easily melted their hearts. She may not have been from the orphanage, but they felt extremely close to the lonely girl. And so, their trio was formed. Upon hearing from everyone around them that they had to go to the temple at 7 and find out their [Gifts], the three of them made a pact that they all had to go together and find out what they¡¯d be at the same time once they were all of age. And of course, they all agreed that no matter what they were told, and no matter what would become of them, they would always, always, ALWAYS be friends and stick together. Ren still had parents, unlike Jean and Helt, so Ren had asked if they could come along on the day as well, since that was the tradition, and of course they¡¯d agreed. It only made sense. Why try to spite their dear friend just because she had an opportunity that the other two didn¡¯t? Sadly, that decision was what led to the trio¡¯s downfall. However, that¡¯s for someone else to explain. ~~~ When Jean first learned of her [Gift], she really didn¡¯t feel much of anything. They told her that she was now a [Greater Charming Beauty], but¡­ wasn¡¯t she still just ¡®Jean¡¯? Nothing¡­really changed, did it? Had they possibly gotten it wrong? She came out and told her friends, but she couldn¡¯t really believe a single word of what she¡¯d been told. Everyone said she still looked the same when she asked. Helt, who was next, told them all what his [Gift] was, and they all clapped and cheered despite not really knowing what it meant. Jean was worried about the slight shadow that appeared over his amethyst visage after he¡¯d told them, but she was much too baffled about her own [Gift] to really give it much thought. And then finally there was Ren. Ren had looked so happy when she¡¯d been escorted in with her parents, but the absolutely chilly atmosphere, combined with the way that both of her parents just marched out without their daughter, well¡­ It was easy to tell that something had gone terribly wrong. Ren was refusing to tell her friends what her [Gift] was until they left the church and got somewhere private to talk. Her ashen visage matched her ashen hair. She was practically shivering under the cold looks of all the priests that they passed by. What could have happened? Even when the group finally made it to their little hideout, she still insisted on repeatedly asking if Helt and Jean would keep their promise to stay her friends no matter what her [Gift] was, and of course they said ¡®yes¡¯ every time. It wasn¡¯t until the girl had finally calmed down enough to tell them what it was that the two of them could understand why she was acting as she was. If the adults were to be trusted, then she¡¯d gotten the absolute worst [Gift] of them all, if you could even consider it one. Ren was even scared to go home to her parents, considering the way that they just left without her. The trio hugged and decided to keep her with them in their secret hideout for now, until they knew what to do. In the end, the three of them really only had each other. Their pact would never change. And they would never change, either. ~~~ After a week had passed, Jean had to face reality: She had changed. Perhaps she hadn¡¯t looked any different after she left the church, but it only took three days before her beauty and charm truly manifested itself in its entirety. Her hair had gone from dull, frumpy, and tangled, to lucious, beautiful, bouncy, and flowing. It looked like she somehow stole the lavender hair of a princess. Her skin was so beautifully pearlescent that it practically glowed, and it was almost like it just repelled any dirt that might possibly try to stick on to her. Her face and entire body shape had changed to be more shapely and perfect. Even her voice had suddenly taken on an irresistible tone, and on the occasions that she had to ask someone for anything, it seemed that they well and truly couldn¡¯t resist her words. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. And then there was the feeling she would get. Jean wasn¡¯t sure when it started, but somehow after her change she grew more willing to talk to others. In fact, any chance she had to use her beauty, charm, and voice against someone unsuspecting felt surprisingly good. As she grew more and more accustomed to her [Gift], her powers of persuasion grew all the more, along with how right it felt to use. But there enlied another problem for Jean; A problem that she just couldn¡¯t stand. It was the problem of her heritage. It was commonly thought that people had a chance to pass on their [Gifts] to their children, and Jean was in fact her mother¡¯s daughter. Could it be that her whore mother had had a similar [Gift]? Could it be that she had felt the same way that Jean was feeling right now? Was she somehow stuck turning out exactly like her mother that all the neighbours had disparaged? The thought of it made Jean¡¯s [Gift] feel disgusting and dirty, and by extension that made Jean feel dirty for even having it. And yet, it felt so good and right to use, that there was no way for her to possibly just give up using it. And so, whenever Jean used her [Gift], she felt horribly, horribly guilty. She decided to stop using her power if she could help it, and her power stopped growing. ~~~ Noth¡¯s villa was more luxurious than the kids had ever seen, and while the fourth girl that had been rescued was taken to a back room to sleep off the aftereffects of whatever was still ailing her, the teen had somehow created a delicious plate of food for the trio to eat. He was such a mysterious existence to the children, and to Jean especially. He¡¯d rescued them valiantly, and she knew that they could trust them, and yet¡­ well¡­ In truth she really only couldn¡¯t trust him because she knew that he wouldn''t be able to control him. It¡¯s not like she had some burning desire to keep everyone at her beck and call, she had no control or power fantasies. But when you have an innate power to have someone hang on and follow your every word and then it doesn¡¯t work on someone? It was a little disconcerting for sure. Yes, it had looked like he¡¯d been swept away by her charm when he¡¯d first rescued them, but Jean knew the truth. She¡¯d used her [Gift] enough times to know what it felt like. And yet, when she tried to use it on Noth, she¡¯d feel¡­ nothing. Not a single gratifying feeling. He complied along just fine, and he gave her the same look of awe and attraction that everyone did, but¡­ that was it. Her visible and audible beauty had done its job, but nothing else. Had he truly not wanted to answer her questions, he wouldn¡¯t have. And that realization was vastly worrying, because it meant that her greatest weapon was unusable. Jean couldn¡¯t help but grimace at her thoughts. She was such a coward and a hypocrite. She¡¯d been so afraid of her own [Gift] that she hadn¡¯t even used it to help her friends escape, for fear of what her enamoured captors might do to her afterward. She knew for a fact that if she had used the full force of her powers that they would have been able to escape, and yet she selfishly feared what she¡¯d end up becoming in the end. Her awful [Gift] was good for one thing, and one thing only, and she couldn¡¯t stand the thought of becoming something so filthy. How did anyone stand being forced like this? How were people so okay with their roles being so one dimensional? Or perhaps everyone was okay because they just didn¡¯t get such unlucky [Gifts] like her. The girl stewed in her own self loathing as she slowly ate her food. Her eyes that had been staring off into the distance ended up landing on the kitchen maid that Noth had told them was called ¡®Elillith¡¯. The woman was busy bringing the children some juice with the blankest look on her face that Jean had ever seen on a person. Elillith didn¡¯t seem like she would have a single care in the world. Is that what it was like to be a maid? How carefree was it to have your [Gift] just guide you through life? You wouldn¡¯t have to think of anything but your job, and feel fine and right doing it. Jean couldn¡¯t help the sigh and bitter murmur that escaped her lips. ¡°I wish I was a [Maid] like that.¡± Noth, who was seated nearby, had taken notice of her jaded words; It was impossible for his ears not to pick up every beautiful word she said. It took him a few seconds to understand what the small girl might have been talking about, but when he finally understood it, he let out a short giggle at the misunderstanding. ¡°Oh, you made the same mistake that I once did. How nostalgic. You see, Jean, Elillith actually isn¡¯t a [Maid]. She¡¯ll tell you so herself, although she doesn¡¯t like to say what she actually is.¡± Jean was absolutely flabbergasted by his words, and quickly turned to Elillith for confirmation. The kitchen maid gave her a small nod of affirmation back, although she quickly shot Noth an unimpressed frown afterwards. The tiny girl couldn¡¯t understand how such a thing could be happening. She asked a flurry of questions to try and understand why someone who wasn¡¯t a [Maid] would possibly be doing the job of one, and received an answer that immediately shattered all her preconceived notions of the world. Apparently MANY people in the world had jobs that were tangential to their [Gifts]. Noth had seen the shock and surprise in the girl¡¯s eyes, and couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at her reaction. It only made sense that Jean hadn¡¯t known about such a common thing; She had only just received her [Gift] a little over a month ago, and she¡¯d had no formal education or parents that could have taught her about such well known facts. The teen quietly muttered something to himself, and suddenly out of nowhere a textbook softly landed on top of the table they were eating at. ¡°I can see why you¡¯d find it so surprising, so let me read you a passage from a book that I found very interesting while growing up. I think it will help you to understand. ¡®The God-dess may lay a path for everyone, but it¡¯s not such a rigid path as one might think at first glance. A [Carpenter], for instance, may be forced to work with wood, but how they choose to go about it will define what they ultimately choose to be. Perhaps they only build houses, as expected, or maybe only furniture? Does one specialize in chandeliers? Fancy picture frames for the aristocrats and nobles? Could it be that they become an artist who makes beautiful wooden sculptures? There are many different ways they could specialize their crafts and become unique amongst their similarly [Gifted] peers. Even something as seemingly single purposed as a [Maid] has their different choices. Yes, they could work under a noble or some other kind of rich employer in a mansion, but there¡¯s also the possibility of becoming a housemaid for one of the more well off commoners, or perhaps you do freelance work for a day at wherever is willing to pay you. Perhaps you work in a dorm in a school. It¡¯s not uncommon for some [Maids] to work in hospitals as pseudo nurses. Yes, you wouldn¡¯t be able to do all of the work that a real [Nurse] could, but that doesn¡¯t mean that it would be any less of a necessary job, nor would anyone scoff at you for taking the noble and selfless path of the healing arts. It¡¯s even possible that instead of using your [Gift] for working purposes, it could help you to find a good marriage. There are plenty of [Maids] who end up marrying into families for a hefty dowry, simply because of their [Gift]. Even merchant families would be glad to marry in a [Maid], since their organizational skills and cleanliness would surely help to keep stock of inventories. All of this means that at the end of the day, it¡¯s not the skills you possess, but how you choose to use them that creates who and what you become.¡¯¡± As Noth closed the book and gently placed it back down onto the table, Jean was practically shaking. Did this mean that all this time, she¡¯d been able to choose a different path than her mother? Had she been wrong this whole time? Her [Gift] was more than just the dirty thing that she¡¯d thought it was? ¡°I¡­I can be something¡­ different?¡± Jean¡¯s gaze turned back to Elillith, and her eyes began to tear up. ¡°C-could I¡­ Could I maybe¡­ b-be a maid one day?¡± The sudden wetness in her eyes alarmed everyone in the room, and when Noth shot Elillith a panicked and begging gaze, the woman quickly came to Jean¡¯s side and wrapped her arms around the small girl. ¡°Wh¡¯not givvit a try?¡± The unpassionately drawled words oddly gave Jean the most hope she¡¯d ever felt in her life. For the first time, Jean truly felt saved. Chapter Forty One: -Helt Intermission- It was impossible for Helt to ever forget that he was different. It was a fact that was inherent as soon as anyone laid their eyes upon him. The way his sparkling pale-amethyst appearance shone differently from anyone he had ever met proved how different he was. And yet, despite how lightly coloured he was when compared to all the other krysthids, and no matter how much he would never be accepted by the others of his kind, he was still cursed in the exact same way as the rest of them. The krysthid race may have been blessed with amazing [Gifts], but they always came at a unique, terrible consequence. Helt had been raised on the glorious myths of his race, even while that very same race treated him with disdain. Every night, before bed, his mother would tuck him in and sing him the tales of their ancestors. She¡¯d sing of their adventures, of their deeds, of their [Gifts], and of the curses that came attached. Helt absolutely loved those stories, he always wanted to hear more and more of them. And yet, on the rare occasions that he was allowed to leave their house, their neighbours who shared the exact same amazing ancestors as he did would treat him as if he were dirt. One night, when the bullying grew particularly bad, his mother suddenly packed everything up and left with him. When they were far enough away from the town to stop and make camp, his mother told him a different story than usual. She told him the story of the father he¡¯d never met. Apparently he was a beautiful man, with an even more beautiful soul, and a very interesting [Gift]. He¡¯d been an [Explorer], and had come to the town Helt¡¯s mother lived in to learn the ways and culture of the Krysthids. Most of the townsfolk decided to treat the man like air, but in a twist of fate, he and Helt¡¯s mother had fallen in love. She knew that she couldn¡¯t keep him there, the others would never have allowed him to stay forever, and his [Gift] would have nagged at him to keep moving on. In the end, he promised to come see her again in 5 years when he was accomplished in his field and could settle down with her in a human town. However, neither one of them expected that she would give birth to their child the very next year. The townsfolk didn¡¯t take kindly to the mixed-breed child. They found his oddly pale-amethyst skin to be a sign of the diminishing of their crystal-based ancestry, and feared that his presence would somehow cause his light colouring to spread. Basically, they saw him as a disease. His mother had done her best, trying to protect her child until his father kept his promise and returned for her. In the end, she had to choose between waiting for someone she loved who might never come back, and keeping the child she¡¯d made with her beloved safe. The choice was obvious, but of course she¡¯d been holding out hope all this time, until it finally became too much. Helt and his mother fled to the nearest human town, stayed there for a few days, and after his mother learned which way to go for their destination, they left again. They wandered from town to town for months, slowly heading for the town that Helt¡¯s father had once said he was from. However, an incident occurred shortly after Helt had turned 5. One day, his mother went out to get them some food, and then didn¡¯t come back for 3 days. When she finally did come back, she looked scared, as if she was being chased by something. She snatched Helt up and ran through the streets as if they would die if she stopped. Eventually they turned into the door of a dingy building and stopped. As his mother slammed the door behind her and panted, even while she still desperately held on to him, a man he¡¯d never met before strolled out of a back room to greet them. Amazingly enough it was another Krysthid, one who¡¯d left the northern territories to start up a business here, amongst the humans. Helt¡¯s mother put him down and started talking very quickly in hushed tones, not letting her son hear a word of what she was saying. She handed the man a big bag of crystals from their homeland, something that would have been worth a lot of money here in the human lands, lovingly kissed Helt¡¯s forehead, and told him that this man would be looking after him for a little while. The tiny boy didn¡¯t even get a chance to ask his mother what was happening before she fled, back into the streets. From what he could understand, something bad was happening to his mother, and he was supposed to wait here with the other Krysthid until she dealt with it and came back. He didn¡¯t know the man at all, and he was rather uncomfortable with others of his kind because of how they¡¯d all treated him, so he was too afraid to ask him any questions about what was going on. And as Helt kept his mouth shut, a week passed, and the man arbitrarily decided that Helt¡¯s mother wasn¡¯t going to come back. In the end, the man did what most people did with unwanted children, and gave Helt to the local orphanage. In the first bit of luck in his life, Helt quickly became friends with the quiet girl Jean. He could tell that she had a lot of the same wounds that he did, and they would sometimes slowly open up to each other about things from the past. However, no matter what, Helt made sure to never mention his mother to anyone. He didn¡¯t know what danger she might have been in, but he held out hope against hope that she would one day return to him, and he wasn¡¯t going to do a single thing to somehow sabotage his chances. Eventually Jean and Helt found Ren, and they knew she needed their love and support, so they adopted her into their group. Helt could sense that Ren was a little bit afraid of being in her own house for some reason, so he often recommended to Jean that they go and fetch her to play. The trio grew closer and closer to each other, made promise after promise, and then one day they all went to receive their [Gifts] together, just like a family would. When he first met them, Helt could tell that Ren¡¯s parents were a little bit odd. He knew what it was like to have a parent who truly and deeply loved him, so he could easily spot when those feelings were absent. But they were his friend¡¯s parents, and he didn¡¯t want to start anything on such an important day, so Helt kept his opinions to himself. Jean went first, and came out looking confused and unsure. She told everyone what [Gift] she¡¯d gotten, but they were all quite skeptical about it. Sure, Ren and Helt loved her like family, but it¡¯s not like they were blinded because of it; They could easily see how plain the girl was. Perhaps her [Gift] meant something different than what they thought? Some of them could be a little cryptic in how they were named. Helt went second, and the only thing he could think of when he left the back room was that yes, he was right, [Gifts] could be named quite crypticly. He¡¯d been told his [Gift] was something called [One Who Hears Things] by the priest, but nothing else. He hadn¡¯t even been told what the curse that came with it was, like was supposed to happen in the northern territories. How was he supposed to know what his curse was?! He mentioned what his [Gift] was to the others, but no one seemed to have any idea what it might be, which didn¡¯t bode well for anyone knowing what the curse was, either. Helt could tell right away that something was different, but it took him a little longer than it should have to notice the voices he could now hear. Sometimes while they¡¯d been waiting for Ren and looking around the church, the boy could hear some very soft voices whispering to him. They were never the same voice, and they were never from exactly the same spot, so he didn¡¯t think it was just one person following him around and messing with him. Was this his [Gift]? It made sense, after all he was in fact hearing things, but how was this beneficial in the slightest? Perhaps if he could manage to make out what they were saying he''d hear something important? He tried his best to listen more closely to what the voices were saying, and although he would sometimes miss some of the words, he could hear them just the tiniest bit better. However, after a little while his head started to hurt, almost with the same sensation you¡¯d get when you strained your ears. But his test had been successful! Helt had been able to sort of make out what the voices were saying when he tried, and when he looked around and listened in on some of the conversations going on around him, he realized that he was hearing the thoughts of the people around him. It was amazing! He really did have a [Gift]! The small boy started to giggle happily to himself, excitedly imagining what he could do now that he had such an amazing ability. His friends would be so impressed when he explained what it was that he could do! But his happiness quickly faded when he realized¡­ that he could still hear the voices. In his excitement he¡¯d ignored them, but the voices had never actually left. In fact, they were just short of the volume that they¡¯d gotten to when he was straining himself to listen. What happened to the whispers from before? Now they were stuck at a mumble. No¡­ It couldn''t be. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Helt made a dour face and focused on using his [Gift] once more. After a few minutes of desperate concentration, the voices once again grew the tiniest bit louder. Now they sounded like the softest of murmurs. He could even hear a passing thought from Jean a handful of feet away, as she poked at her face while studying it on some reflective surface. She was thinking that maybe the priests had gotten her [Gift] wrong, and that she¡¯d never be a beauty. Helt turned his head away from her and stopped trying to use his [Gift], hoping that he could give his friend some privacy. But of course things wouldn¡¯t be that easy. Helt was a Krysthid. Krysthid [Gifts] always came with a curse, and Helt had found his. The voices were now stuck at a just barely understandable level, unceasing no matter what he tried to do. And Helt knew that if he tried to use his [Gift] again, they¡¯d only get louder. Louder and unending. Yes, this was indeed a curse. As Helt stewed in the hopelessness of his newfound hell, Ren¡¯s parents returned. The fact that they weren¡¯t with Ren and quickly left without her was immediately alarming to the child duo, and as the adults strode past, Helt heard something. He hadn¡¯t wanted to. Perhaps their voices were a little bit louder because he¡¯d been watching them so hard as they left. But one thing was for sure, Helt hated what he was hearing. Ren¡¯s mother was thinking about what a waste of her time Ren had been. Ren¡¯s father was thinking about who he could go to to sell the disgusting girl so she¡¯d finally do some good for the family. Helt couldn¡¯t understand a mother treating their child like that, sure, but if that¡¯s what a father could be like, then maybe he never wanted to run into his own. Helt was deeply worried for Ren after hearing those thoughts, and when the girl came back looking like she¡¯d just gotten the worst news in the world, his heart felt horribly shaken. Even if he didn¡¯t want to, he knew what the poor girl had been told; It was all she could think about, besides the fact that her two close friends might just abandon her too. The boy was going to make absolutely sure that that fear would never come true. For now though, they had to hide her. ~~~ After a week of pure torment and little sleep, Helt finally found out what Ren¡¯s parents had done. He¡¯d tried to warn the two girls before the thug had shown up to kidnap them, but he¡¯d been just a little too late. And as the three of them were tied up and taken over to a vehicle, the small boy had to resist his fury at the new information he was learning. Ren¡¯s parents didn¡¯t only try to sell off their daughter. They¡¯d also been busy adopting Helt and Jean during the week, so that they could sell them off, too. It made perfect sense; Didn¡¯t the two children tell them about their wonderful new [Gifts]? They¡¯d know exactly how valuable such children would be to sell off. The icing on the cake was how he was also constantly hearing his first friend Jean fighting with herself about if she should use her [Gift] or not. He¡¯d heard countless times why she was apprehensive about it, but he couldn¡¯t really understand why she¡¯d hesitate to use it even in such a horrendous situation. But just as she finally seemed to be resolving herself to use her abilities on the man, someone else showed up and easily saved them. During the past week Helt had heard many things, whether he wanted to or not. He¡¯d grown used to the constant prattle from his friends; At the very least he liked them and he cared about their feelings enough to hope that his unbidden eavesdropping might somehow be beneficial. But Helt had also heard countless other voices constantly. Anyone who strayed within 10 feet of the boy would start broadcasting whatever inane thoughts that would happen to cross their minds. Because of this, the boy had learned a large amount of random useless gossip and trivia, enough to make his head hurt. One of those bits of trivia was about the Earl who ruled over this particular region; Earl Kieran. He¡¯d heard odd little tidbits about the man from passersby, but he knew for a fact that the man was at least in his early 30¡¯s by now and was a [Superior Warrior]; There¡¯s no way that he could be the effeminate teen in front of him. The teen clarified that he was the Earl¡¯s son, someone that Helt had heard practically nothing about. Then he even went on to claim that he had an angel! How absolutely crazy a claim. Helt couldn¡¯t possibly believe such a thing. He passively tried to listen for the teen¡¯s thoughts, hoping to verify whether or not all he¡¯d said was a lie¡­ and yet he couldn¡¯t find a single thing. In an act of confusion, Helt even tried to actively use his [Gift], regardless of the consequences, and even then he still couldn¡¯t find a single one of Noth¡¯s thoughts. In fact, he couldn''t find anyone''s thoughts at all. Helt should have been put off by the sudden revelation that his abilities weren¡¯t working on this person, but after a week of constant and unending noise, the fact that there was someone who only produced quiet was comforting. ~~~ Noth had taken the kids home to live with him. Helt was immensely pleased with how everything had turned out. Sure, he¡¯d heard the nasty and awful thoughts of everyone in that dungeon, and he knew some of the absolutely vile things that occurred when Noth had come to save them. Luckily for the boy, however, his pain had dulled his senses a good bit, so he didn¡¯t have to hear the whole story. He only knew that the awful slave owner had been tortured and killed. Anything else he¡¯d learned wasn¡¯t really new, considering he¡¯d seen what Noth was capable of in that alley from before. Besides, the fact that he was brought to such a nice and quiet place in the end really skewed his thoughts on the whole ordeal. Somehow, after the rescue from the slavers, Noth¡¯s quieting effect on Helt had grown stronger. Now if Helt was within 15 feet of Noth, all of the voices would just stop. It was so very peaceful. Helt didn¡¯t care what was making it happen, all he knew was that he was finally free, at least for a majority of the day. Of course, he still could use his [Gift] if he wanted to and negate the effect, and if Noth left the villa for whatever reason then Helt would just have to deal with the bombardment of voices again, but it was certainly better than nothing. And even the voices weren¡¯t so bad here! So long as Helt didn¡¯t stray too far from the villa, he wouldn¡¯t get close enough to most people to even have to hear very many voices at all! It was true that there was the occasional maid who¡¯d come along and relay some information to Elillith, who¡¯d been staying there with them, but even that only happened maybe twice a week. Elillith was quiet even in her mind, oddly enough, so it was rare for her to have a passing thought unless one of them started talking to her or brought up Noth. And even then, somehow her thoughts were noiseless, just appearing as pictures or scenes in Helt''s head instead of words. Jean was overjoyed by the fact that her worst fears didn¡¯t have to come true, so her gloomy thoughts from the past month and a half had all but cleared up. That only left Ren. Ren was acting strange. And her thoughts were turning even stranger. Chapter Forty Two: -Ren Intermission- I am Ren. Ren is me. Ren! I made two wonderful friends, friends who I want to be with forever! A lot of bad things happened to us, but I think we¡¯re finally going to be okay now. I don¡¯t have to be ignored by my parents anymore. I don¡¯t have to be scared of being thrown away again. I get to live in this beautiful house and be happy with everyone! All of my favourite people are here! Helt and I like to play in the greenhouse sometimes. If we¡¯re lucky then we even get to help out with the cats! We try to bring Jean along, but she¡¯s been super busy with learning to be a maid. She seems so happy now. I¡¯m so happy for her! Noth said we can go in the greenhouse and play all we want, so long as we don¡¯t go too deep inside. We especially can¡¯t go past the tables and chairs, he said. Noth saved our lives and brought us here, so of course we have to listen to him, right? And sometimes Elillith will come in with us and bring snacks! I love her snacks sooo much! And I love Elillith, too. She¡¯s the best! I wish she was my real big sister! We all do. One time, when we were alone, Helt told me a secret in the back of the greenhouse. He said that he¡¯d heard something from one of the maids Noth¡¯s dad had sent. Apparently, everyone thought Noth¡¯s [Gift] was the same as mine! That¡¯s amazing! Someone with the same [Gift] as me had done all those super amazing things?! Does that mean that I could do all that stuff one day too? Helt kept saying that it could be a lie though, so I just had to go make sure. I asked Noth, and he said it was true! He said that the [Gift] that we had wasn¡¯t a bad thing like everyone said, and that it was actually the best! All I had to do was want something really hard, and then I could be whatever I wanted! That sounds soooo cool! I¡¯d been sad that I didn¡¯t have an awesome [Gift] like my friends did. But now I just had to find what I wanted and be it! I¡¯m gonna make them all super amazed with what I become! ¡­But what do I want to be? I think¡­ I want to be like Noth? He¡¯s the only other person with my [Gift] that I¡¯ve ever heard of. He¡¯s smart, and he¡¯s cool, and he¡¯s handsome. He''s always been nice to me, and he even saved me and my friends! Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. I really really like him¡­ So why not be like him? Plus, I¡¯d get my own angel! ~~~ I¡¯ve tried so many times, but it never worked. Why? I want to be like Noth so super bad, but nothing ever changed. I don¡¯t get it. I asked him why, but he just says that you have to want it with all your heart, and that it took him a while to do it. Am I doing it wrong? Don¡¯t I want it with all my heart? I¡¯ve been trying for almost a year now. Am I¡­ not good enough? ¡­Were my parents right? Am I so much of a failure that I can¡¯t even use my own [Gift] right? No one will like me if I¡¯m like this. Everyone¡¯s going to leave me. Jean, Helt, Elillith, even cool and amazing Noth. ~~~ While I was off being alone and pouting in the greenhouse, I made a new friend! I sort of broke the rules and went past the tables to cry. I didn¡¯t want anyone to find me, and no one would see me there. I also was kind of hoping that whatever secret was back there would help me figure out how to use my [Gift]. And I found a statue and some bushes back there! There was also a pig head? But it was so gross that I couldn¡¯t look at it for too long. The statue was weird but pretty at least. The bushes were the best thing there though! Why would Noth keep such amazing bushes all to himself? There are so many different red flowers on it! And they¡¯re all so beautiful! They¡¯re almost as beautiful as Jean! I should pick some of them and show them off to everyone. They¡¯ll love them! But my new friend stopped me when I reached out to touch them. She pulled my hand back and told me that the flowers were dangerous. I couldn¡¯t see her, but I could feel her and hear her. And she was right! If Noth found out that I¡¯d been to his secret place and picked his flowers, I might have been in trouble. I thanked her, and she giggled at me. She told me that I was very cute. No one except my friends have ever told me that! So I asked her if she wanted to be friends with me too. And she said yes! I told her my name was Ren, and she told me her name too. It was such a pretty name! It matched with her pretty voice. I asked her why I can¡¯t see her, and she said it was because it wasn¡¯t time yet. She said that when she finally gets strong enough, she¡¯ll let me see her. We made a promise that when I finally get to see her, we¡¯ll both do our best to grant whatever wish the other makes. That sounds so amazing, just like something from a fairytale! I hope she won¡¯t take too long to get strong. And I hope she can help me to finally use my [Gift]! She made me promise not to tell any of my other friends about her. She said she was embarrassed, and that she didn¡¯t want to meet anyone else until they could finally see her. She said that she only came over to see me now, when she wasn¡¯t ready, because she knew I was special, and that one day we¡¯d be together forever and become really really close. Even closer than Jean and Helt! She also told me that if I tell everyone about her right now, that I¡¯d get in trouble. Since she¡¯s back here in the secret area that we¡¯re not supposed to be in, if I tell them about her then they¡¯ll all know that I was there. She¡¯s right, my new friend is so smart! I¡¯ll make sure to keep it all super secret! She said she gets lonely and wants to see me every now and then, so whenever I¡¯m feeling down I should sneak back here and see her. I¡¯d hate to make my friend feel lonely. Feeling lonely is the worst! I promised her I¡¯d come to see her as often as I can. Before I left, she hugged me and rubbed my back a lot. It felt kind of weird and hot. It even kind of stung a little later, so I looked in the mirror and saw that she¡¯d left a small weirdly coloured mark on my back! Maybe my new friend was a little too strong? Or maybe my new friend doesn¡¯t know how to hug? That¡¯s so sad, that means she hadn¡¯t gotten to hug much in her life! How lonely! I have to make sure we hug a lot next time. We¡¯re going to be so good at hugging! I love making new friends! I¡¯m so glad I came here! Chapter Forty Three: -Angel Intermission- Woohoo, the snake and pig have both been defeated by my wonderful Noth! And the mouse has been effectively tamed! I¡¯m so proud of my cute smart amazing lovable boy right now that I could scream! It also doesn¡¯t help that I feel waaaay too good from him using my madness on (and eliminating) the pig. I was honestly proud of myself for not accidentally disappearing for a while from how amazing it felt, unlike how I did the last time. Throw in the fact that Noth actually ate those sacred flowers and ohhh maaan, idunno how I didn¡¯t just freaking die from all the pleasure~. Okay, so maybe I tricked him a little bit to get him to eat them, but it¡¯s not like he didn¡¯t know that I was tricking him somehow, so it¡¯s basically not even my fault! Hehe, he knows me so well by now. And since he knows me so well, he can¡¯t really get mad at me for tricking him a little bit sometimes. It¡¯s the perfect loophole! Besides, it¡¯s not like I even tricked him all that hard with this one, I mean, he totally needed the power boost on that one, or else he would have been in quite the pickle. In a way, he really just had no other choice but to eat them, right? And maybe he went on a tiny little delicious powertrip, but all in all he didn¡¯t handle the excess power too badly I think. If he were the Noth I knew and loved from the book then he would have ended up rampaging through the streets by the end of it all. Awww, that would have been so fun! Honestly, he¡¯s very different from the original Noth I fell in love with. I mean, of course he is, I literally did all of this so that he could have a different life. Sure, he can still brood over things and get a little too emotional sometimes just like he used to, but he just¡­ He just lost so much of his sealed off emotions, emo, badass-ness that I loved about him. Not that he doesn¡¯t have his badass moments! No no no, I really relish those, believe you me, but¡­ Maybe I helped him too well? I only wanted the best for him, and I wanted to give him some of the things he never got to enjoy before, but maybe I would have preferred if he stayed a bit more tortured? Part of me was hoping that him killing all those assassins would help to bring back some of the old Noth¡¯s memories that I¡¯d hidden away inside of him, but no such luck. Maybe I should pollute his soul a little bit more? I can¡¯t tell if this feeling is my natural emotions, or if it¡¯s just this new, madness inducing body that¡¯s making me feel this way. I¡¯m tired of having to second-guess every motivation I have. Why can¡¯t we just all be crazy all the time!? It¡¯d be so much more fun! At least Noth was still growing into the dark and cunning hottie looks that he''d had in the book! Dear god he¡¯s so gorgeous! And the fact that he was also slowly being dyed in my colours was making me want to melt~! ¡­Anyways, moving on. I gave Noth a friend. He needed someone other than me and his father to talk to; Someone who was broken in a similar way and could relate to him, but was still more on the normal side comparatively. Then they could help to heal each other¡¯s wounds in a way that I never could have done. BUT WHY COULDN''T IT HAVE BEEN ME?! What¡¯s so bad about him only getting to tell me about all his deep angsty feelings?! Why can¡¯t he just pour all of his misery on me and me alone?! I know meeting her made him happy in the end, I know he needed this, but why does it all have to end with me being the one who hurts because of it???? On that topic, I also stupidly helped Noth get even more family. Let¡¯s face it, I screwed up everything with how good I was feeling and re-cursed his dad. Boo hoo. We all mess up sometimes, get over it. Anyways, eventually that creeping looming madness will get the man killed, and when that happens I don¡¯t want Noth to feel like he¡¯s been left all alone or something. Even if I think he¡¯d be positively delicious drowning in his loneliness, and even if I want him to feel like I¡¯m the only person he has left in the world, that doesn¡¯t mean that I can handle the little puddle that he¡¯d become after the fact. That last little stint of depression he had proves that I can¡¯t really do well enough to pull him out of extreme despair; I mean, it¡¯s basically just the opposite of what my powers are, really, so of course I can¡¯t. And if I can¡¯t be the one to keep it together, and Elillith just barely helped, then perhaps having those three kids there will be enough to motivate him. It¡¯s amazing how much Noth actually secretly wanted a family. It¡¯s something I never would have guessed from the book¡¯s Noth, who didn¡¯t really seem to want anybody around. Although, I suppose he was perfectly fine with the butler and Elillith¡¯s presence, so who knows. Maybe they were his family in that instance. Perhaps this Noth only really wants one so badly because he¡¯s desperately seeking out normalcy deep down inside. That¡¯s really too bad for him, though; There¡¯s no way I¡¯d let him live such a boring and normal life! Even the extra family members that I gave him are in no way normal! Two of those children have obscenely strong [Gifts], and one of them is a ticking time bomb! I just... you know... I wish I was the one who chose them for him, and not that nosey shitty God-dess thing that keep fucking with my plans all the time! Hmph. Let¡¯s take a closer look at the abnormal [Gifts] of the children that I led Noth to, shall we? For starters we have Jean, the [Beauty]. A [Charming Beauty] to be exact, meaning not only is she pretty, but she actively charms everyone around her into doing her bidding, making her all the more powerful. Interestingly enough, the [Beauty] class of [Gifts] actually doesn¡¯t go past the ''Superior'' rank, and if someone were unlucky enough to get that, then just using their powers on someone would be enough to kill them. The fact that she has a ''Greater'' rank on hers is actually crazy powerful, I mean she could basically take over an entire nation if she didn¡¯t run into a good enough number of people whose [Gifts] somehow negated hers. Sadly, most of the God-dess¡¯s priests and anything with a rank higher than ''Superior'' wouldn¡¯t be affected by her ability¡¯s charm, so there won¡¯t be any fun instances like that happening. Either way, if the girl learns how to use her [Gift] well enough she could become insanely powerful, so long as she has access to the right human resources. There¡¯s also no way anyone could possibly kill her either, considering her [Gift] would automatically cause them to stop any attempts at major harm. The fact that she¡¯d even managed to get slightly beaten up by Therrus was only due to the fact that Jean had been desperately suppressing her abilities at the time. How silly of her to let her and her friends get hurt just for the sake of her precious pride. I''ll never understand that. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Then there¡¯s Helt, the Krysthid. Honestly, knowing about them as a race was wayyy different from seeing them in person, I mean their skin is practically mesmerizing. Helt may have been a halfbreed, but he didn¡¯t lose any of the beautiful crystalline skin that the Krysthids possessed. And because of that single fact, it meant that the God-dess had no choice but to both love and hate the boy, just the same as all the others of his kind. Hilariously enough, the myths of his people were actually accurate to a surprising extent. Once upon a time, the God-dess had found such a beautiful crystal that it was actually deemed worthy of living. They were given life in the hope that they¡¯d create more and more beautiful offspring, but one day the most beautiful Krysthid of them all decided to marry a human, creating the more humanoid species of Krysthids that we now have today. The God-dess of course didn¡¯t like this; They¡¯d made the crystals to look like crystals and the humans to look like humans, they didn¡¯t want their beautiful crystals to look any different. And yet, the God-dess still felt a deep love for what crystalline looks remained inside of these new Krysthids, so it decided to both reward and punish the beautiful, sinful beings. That¡¯s how we get the Krysthid blessing/curses that they have today. And Helt certainly has a blessing and a curse. If anything, he had one of the worst curses of them all. His [Gift] is so strong that it¡¯s steadily growing more and more uncontrollable, to the point where it will either eventually drive him mad, or he¡¯ll be forced to kill himself. If he gives in to the inherent temptation that everyone in this world has to use their [Gift], then he¡¯ll eventually find himself surrounded by constantly screaming thoughts, and won¡¯t be able to hear his own. And yet, the boy would effectively get to know everything, there would be absolutely no secret that could escape his grasp. That also would become a curse, however, considering all the things he¡¯d learn that he¡¯d wish he hadn¡¯t. The only possible silver lining that Helt could hold on to to keep his sanity is my Noth. The fact that he has my powers means Noth negates most of the automatic [Gifts] that try to touch him, so long as they were ''Superior'' rank or lower. That means that neither Helt¡¯s, nor Jean¡¯s [Gift] can ever affect him. ...Even though Jean¡¯s looks and voice did fluster Noth the first time he met her¡­ Hmph. I guess someone''s appearance doesn¡¯t count as an automatic [Gift] usage. ...Stupid Beauty [Gift]. The most interesting one for me was the last one, Ren, however. That tiny little cutie was the most pure person I¡¯d ever met. It was to the point where the evil angel parts of me wanted to corrupt her immediately, although I¡¯ve been doing my best to hold that part back, thank you very much. And yet, even though Ren was so pure and sweet, she was deeply plagued by her feelings of inferiority. Her friends had been helping her with it, but deep down she still desperately wished she could stop feeling like she was such a useless burden. It didn¡¯t help that she¡¯d gotten a [Gift] that seemed practically unusable, and that everyone else she knew had such cool and useful abilities. Honestly, it broke my heart that the tiny girl was spending all this time wishing that she could get the same powers as Noth, especially since I knew that it would never work. The problem is, what she¡¯s wishing for wasn¡¯t actually a [Gift]. The rules of [Choose Your Own Path] were actually quite finicky, and if you didn¡¯t specifically name off the exact abilities you wanted, and if those exact abilities weren¡¯t explicitly a [Gift], then nothing would happen. There was no way that Ren knew all of the things that Noth could do with my powers, because even Noth didn¡¯t know, so there was no way for her to ask for the correct things. And besides, Noth may be a [Chosen], but to become one of those, you had to have a higher being choose you, not you choose a higher being; It had nothing to do with wishing for a [Gift] in the first place! Until something big and important snuck up and decided to make a contract with her, there was no way it could happen. There was no way that I was going to tell Noth about any of that though. I may feel bad for all of the girl¡¯s wasted efforts, but that doesn¡¯t mean that another part of me isn¡¯t eating it all up. Besides, I need Ren. I need her softened up and desperate, so desperate that she¡¯ll agree to anything. It¡¯ll take some time, but once she¡¯s nice and ready she¡¯ll have no choice. And then¡­ Well, I still have some promises to keep with the God-dess. You think they''d let me wiggle around and change things willy-nilly without coming to some kind of agreement? They¡¯re not nearly so nice. It has big changes planned, and it¡¯s about time that I started getting ready to uphold my side of the bargain. Speaking of the not nice God-dess, it had begun to move in the background again. I could feel it shifting things around once I set my sights on the kids. Just like with Jeck, the pieces had been moved around by a subtle hand and pitted against each other. How clever of it to use him like that to take care of its trash. I suppose that even if I have been given my free will unlike the others, I am indeed still an angel at my core. Angels are meant to be the hands and feet of the God-dess, and if my powers are currently being used by Noth, then it only makes sense to make an angel¡¯s contractor take care of the God-dess¡¯s trash, especially if we¡¯re already so nearby. But¡­ ya know? I fucking HATE that. This is MY Noth. I¡¯M the only one who gets to make him do things! How dare someone else interfere with him?! This isn¡¯t what we agreed upon at all! And even now, I could feel that dirty God-dess moving things around once again! There¡¯s something disgusting coming this way that¡¯s going to force him to hear something that I really don''t want him to! It¡¯s not enough to force my boy to clean up its messes, now it¡¯s even going to make him meet one of its toys?! I can¡¯t even take the thought of whatever sick information it¡¯s planning on feeding to Noth through that dumb mindless mouthpiece it uses. I bet Noth won¡¯t even want to go! I bet he won¡¯t even care whatever that stupid God-dess tells him! I bet he¡¯ll like me and keep me around all the same, no matter what kind of slander he hears! My Noth is a good, sweet boy now, a caring boy, and he¡¯s growing into a wonderful man, so wonderful that he won¡¯t just listen to whatever gossip he hears about the people important to him! ...No matter how true it all likely is to be. Ok so if I¡¯m being honest, I¡¯m scared. I¡¯m scared that Noth will hate me after this. I want to rush over and kill that dumb toy right this instant so that the God-dess can¡¯t speak to him. But, in the end...¡­ I¡¯m just an angel. There¡¯s no way I could just go against the God-dess like that. ¡­At least, not yet. Not until I do what it put me here to do. If it wants to watch me squirm and cry, then I¡¯m just going to have to do what it wants. ¡­I¡¯ll just have to wait until it sets me free to get my revenge. Chapter Forty Four Another year had gone by. This was the most calm and blissful year that Noth had gotten to experience in a long while. Sure, the assassins still hadn¡¯t stopped visiting him, in fact they¡¯d even been coming doubly as often, but Noth barely even needed to bat an eye with how used to it all he¡¯d become. Their unpleasant nightly incursions didn¡¯t mean a thing next to how happy of a daytime life Noth was now leading. He had a friend who truly cared about him in Elillith. He had a newly expanded family in the three children he¡¯d rescued. He had a father who loved him that he spent time with a few hours a week. And most of all, he had an angel that would never ever abandon him. Recently, that very same angel would sometimes stare off into the distance with a very vexed look, but whenever he would ask her about it, she¡¯d just switch back to her regular beaming visage and ask what he was talking about. It was all too typical, there was no way Noth couldn¡¯t just let it go like she wanted. He knew he wouldn¡¯t be getting an answer from her anytime soon. Best to just wait for the oncoming tidal wave to hit him. These days, Elillith was very busy with watching over the three children. She¡¯d effectively graduated from being a kitchen maid into a nanny, although she still went out multiple times a day to fulfil her food tasting duties. Noth had been worried that she might be a bit overwhelmed with it all, but it seemed that she actually quite liked this change of events, so she was having however much fun an Elillith could have every day. And since she¡¯d been so busy, she¡¯d opted into staying in the villa with everyone, so that was an unintended bonus as well. It did sometimes make it troublesome when Noth had to deal with his constant intruders, though. For a while, Noth had been concerned Elillith might get scared if she discovered that assassins were constantly entering into her new home. But when he saw the lacklustre reaction sitting on her face on the night she ran into the corpse getting dragged through the hallway, he knew he¡¯d been silly to even worry. She¡¯d even asked if he needed help dragging the body away, as if she were simply offering to help carry away a particularly heavy bag of trash. The boy was thankful that she didn¡¯t ask him any other questions, but another part of him was a little concerned that she didn¡¯t seem more worried about the whole situation. Thankfully, the children never woke up during the night to wander around, so Noth never had to show them anything distasteful. Jean had followed Elillith around like a baby chick for a while, with a starstruck gaze in her eyes. She almost seemed to worship how Elillith could do all the things she did, despite not having any sort of [Gift] to do it with. She¡¯d asked the woman 20 million questions about everything, although Elillith wasn¡¯t nearly talkative enough to give her any proper answers. Eventually Jean gave up on asking things and instead decided to learn by mimicking. She did her best to help Elillith with every one of her tasks for a few short months, but Jean seemed to be learning a little too fast to be content with just that. It baffled her that everything seemed so simple and easy. She knew that it wouldn¡¯t have been impossible for someone non-[Gifted] to do, but the fact that none of it was really even a struggle once she learned how to do it properly seemed like it should be a lie. Sure, someone with a [Gift] for it might do it a little faster or better than her, but she was still getting tasks done quite impeccably in her own opinion. Once Elillith told her that the real [Maids] in the manor had even more complicated tasks, the eager Jean had quickly gone in search of the greater challenge. At first, Noth had been worried that the [Maids] might be offended by the commoner child who had managed to so easily enter the manor without a single beneficial [Gift], but he¡¯d forgotten one thing: The child was a [Greater Charming Beauty]. There was no way that anyone could have possibly scorned the girl. Most of the servants in the mansion were already acting like her older siblings or mentors by the end of the first week, and it seemed that some of them had even made secret fanclubs for the girl. Jean was having an absolute blast learning the intricacies of one job after another, and she¡¯d even grown close enough with a good portion of the staff to gossip about everyone¡¯s [Gifts]. It made her heart beat a mile a minute every time she learned about someone working there who had an odd or seemingly random [Gift] that didn¡¯t quite fit with the work they were doing. Noth was pleased that she was meeting so many people that could repeatedly prove how her worst fears were baseless. The girl would happily tell everyone at the dinner table about her new findings each day, and everyone would congratulate her joyously. Elillith would flinch at all the mentions of other people¡¯s [Gifts], though, even as she clapped along. Helt and Ren would usually spend their days playing somewhere in either the villa or the greenhouse. They would even take turns helping to feed and look after the cats, which made Noth smile every time he happened to catch it. He was so thankful that he had such good kids to look after. Noth had offered for them to take lessons during their free time, and at first Ren had looked excited about it, but when Helt immediately refused and said he¡¯d rather read on his own, Ren quickly parroted his answer instead. Noth was a little bit worried about how Ren would always just follow along with what everyone else wanted, but he didn¡¯t have the heart to say anything about it to her when she looked so happy following them both around everywhere. He¡¯d once asked her why she never followed Jean into the manor. Apparently even though she wanted to be with Jean, the thought of meeting all those new people frightened the tiny girl. Noth was surprised how much he could relate to that sentiment. Something strange had been happening over the past month, though. The tiny girl who loved to follow others around would sometimes go missing, once every week. Noth was worried that the girl might be off crying somewhere, so he¡¯d made a wish to know where she¡¯d been disappearing to. However, his angel refused to tell him, no matter the amount of power he put into the wish. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. She could be stubborn about the weirdest things at times, but Noth also knew that she liked to choose some topics that were very important to him to conceal as well. Should he be worried about this? Was it possible that Serris was just protecting the little girl¡¯s modesty? She¡¯d seemed interested in the children sometimes, but did she care enough about them to also care about their privacy and feelings? Even if they were his precious new family, Noth still couldn¡¯t help the small twinge of jealousy that he felt at that thought. No one liked losing something they felt made them special, after all. There was one more child that Noth had rescued along with the three others: The small girl from the next door cell who¡¯d been brutally injured and cannibalized. It had taken her two days for her mind to fully recover, and once she came to her senses she¡¯d immediately bawled her eyes out. The other three children had circled around her as she cried, hugging her and murmuring that she was safe and whole again the entire time. It was a touching scene to Noth, but it also reminded him of just how traumatic an experience they¡¯d all had to live through. He could feel the unease rising up in his throat at the thought that everything might come back to hurt them in some way in the future. Perhaps they, too, would grow some strange quirk they¡¯d have to learn to work around one day, like Noth¡¯s fear of leaving the manor¡¯s grounds, or how he couldn¡¯t feel safe if he slept anywhere but his villa. It was hard, but he convinced himself that it would just have to be something to worry about if it actually even happened, and not a moment before. The girl¡¯s name was Leis. She was 2 years older than the other children, and as it turned out, it really was her [Gift] that had saved her life down in the dungeon. Yes, the porcine monster had used a potion from an [Alchemist] on her injuries to keep her from dying too quickly, but it was most likely the fact that she was a [Great Knight] that had really kept her alive through all of her removals. If not for the added stamina and endurance that she¡¯d been blessed with by the God-dess, then she would have easily succumbed after the second or third day at the most. She hated reliving the horrific experiences she suffered through in the back room, and no one wanted to hear about any of the gruesome details either, so everyone had made a small pact to not bring anything about it up, but otherwise the girl happily talked about the other aspects of her life just fine. In fact, it was probably the fact that she was all too eager to brag about her [Gift] that had caused her downfall. Being a [Great Knight] was nothing to sneeze at, and if anything, the girl actually should have been conferred some amount of nobility for it. [Knights] were actually deemed a step up from [Warriors] in most cases, so being a [Great Knight] was equivalent to being a [Greater Warrior]. However, the famed Kieran family still had Noth¡¯s father, a [Superior Warrior] at its helm, and he wasn¡¯t showing any clear signs of retiring or needing replacing any time soon, so there was no vacancy for the girl to fill. There was still a small chance that something could happen to Earl Kieran some time in the future though, and if such a position suddenly opened up before the girl turned 16, then it was possible that talks would begin for her to fill in his spot. Having someone to lead the nation¡¯s armies was important after all, and the replacement wouldn¡¯t be respected unless they were the best. It only made sense that the girl had been prideful, even if she was only a runner up at the moment. No one knew what the future would bring, so with some luck she could become the next Earl in the future. As it turns out, Leis actually had a family waiting for her back at home, one that hadn¡¯t sold her out like Ren''s had. Despite the situations that the children came from, they all genuinely seemed happy for the girl that she had someone waiting for her return back home. It was unlikely that they weren¡¯t at least feeling a little bit jealous of her, but the way they didn¡¯t let it show and seemed sincerely happy for her warmed Noth¡¯s heart. After asking his father to send a servant Leis¡¯s parents were located, and a day later they showed up to the manor to retrieve her. The scene would have made Noth smile, but he was so tired of high emotions and tears at that point that he didn¡¯t want to look at their reunion for very long. A week after the girl had been taken back home, a letter arrived for him. It said how Leis would never forget him, and that if he became nobility before she could, that she hoped he would welcome her as his personal knight. The mischievous girl had also said that she would be equally willing to marry him and take his place in the Kieran legacy if he couldn¡¯t make it into the nobility, but Noth chose to tear that part of the letter off. Noth¡¯s father had been taking everything shockingly well. Maybe it was just that he was afraid to argue with his son for fear of angering him, or maybe the man was actually just happy that his boy had people to look after and love now. At the very least, Noth was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t because the Earl just loved kids or something, considering what he¡¯d heard from Serris about his mom¡¯s thoughts on the subject. Yes, Noth¡¯s father wouldn¡¯t go out of his way to go and see the children, but he also wouldn¡¯t go out of his way to avoid them either, especially if he happened across them on his occasional visits to the villa. His stern manner when Noth wasn¡¯t around would often scare the children, especially Ren, but the way that the Earl turned into an overly doting crybaby in the presence of his son quickly eased their tension every time. Sometimes Noth¡¯s father would even bring little presents over for the kids, since he knew that watching them open up the boxes to see what was inside would always put a smile on his son¡¯s face. All in all, Noth was very happy with the calm and happy family he was now surrounded with. If he knew it would change anything, he would have eagerly prayed every day that they could all stay exact like this forever. But he knew better. There was no way that he couldn¡¯t have known better. His life was never going to be this simple forever; Nothing was ever just allowed to be simple for him. A fleeting peace was just that, fleeting. He could feel the tension in the background pressing on him, and he could feel that something was about to break any minute. A year of constant night attacks would never have been the best that the church could pull off, after all. Any day now, Noth knew that they¡¯d launch their next attack. How could he be so sure? Well, it was so obviously plastered on his angel¡¯s face that she didn¡¯t even need to say a peep for him to know. The only thing he was unsure of was what they could have possibly been planning that would even scare an angel, of all things. Chapter Forty Five Of course, the day that the peace would be broken started out just as normal as any other before it. Noth had eaten breakfast with his beloved siblings in his villa. Jean went off to the manor to study the servant¡¯s jobs. Helt had clung to him like glue for a few hours, making sure they were always in the same room, and sitting and reading something somewhere nearby as Noth went about his usual routine. And as to be expected, this meant that Ren was also there clinging to the both of them as well. She¡¯d recently taken a liking to fiddling with people¡¯s hair, and sometimes Noth would let her put his hair up in a braid or ponytail. She absolutely adored playing with the rust-coloured tips of his hair, so she liked doing things to him more than to Helt. Eventually Noth told them that he had to go out, and so he left them to play in the greenhouse. The teen made idle chit chat with his angel as they made their way into the nearby town. She would roll her eyes as he lightly fawned over how adorable and strong the children were, and he¡¯d roll his eyes as she fussed and fawned over how much he¡¯d grown. Every time that they made this trek together over the past few months, he¡¯d end up laughing over some strange joke or comment she¡¯d make, and she¡¯d laugh along with him. Those moments were when he felt closest to her. Besides bedtime, when she¡¯d stubbornly cling on to him and say she needed to pet him to sleep, these were really the only moments that he had alone with his angel anymore. He loved spending time with his new family, but this quiet time with Serris felt so simple and refreshing, like a cool breeze wafting against you on an almost too warm day. It almost felt nostalgic, in a way. The two of them were off to the nearby town to keep the peace, just as they did every day. Noth felt anxious if he didn¡¯t wade into the streets and make sure that nothing abhorrent was going on once a day. It would be absolutely terrible if he let something happen to people who didn¡¯t deserve it right under his nose again, especially if those people were innocent children like his own. And because of this paranoia, the teen had been vigilantly stalking the streets, determined not to let another monster slip him by. For the most part, he¡¯d just found thugs and thieves in the back alleys, but on occasion his hunting would bear fruit, and suitable prey would cross his path. He¡¯d managed to get enough of a reputation that some of the seedier people in town would run away from him as soon as they recognized him, so for his 15th birthday his angel had gifted him a cloak as black as the night. It matched his original hair and eye colour, and somehow made him feel like he¡¯d been wrapped in his mother¡¯s love; After all, she¡¯d been the one to give those colours to him in the first place. Noth felt safe in the cloak, and nowadays, whenever he left the manor he would make sure to wear it. On this particular day he only encountered a thief, desperate for money to survive. The scrawny, starving young man quickly cowered when his knife was easily removed from his hands. Noth had learned how harsh his previous punishment for these ¡®lesser offenders¡¯ was, so instead he¡¯d chosen a different one. Now, if he knew these people were just desperate, he would simply wish them up some food and make them promise that they wouldn¡¯t ever ambush someone again, lest they really suffer his wrath next time. Perhaps he¡¯d grown a little too soft over the past year. But was that really a bad thing? At least now he had the power to back his leniency up. After a few hours of patrolling the town, Noth headed back home. His angel clung to him with her arms around his neck and her face buried in his hair, even as she still floated along. She had always been the clingy kind, but Noth could tell that something was decidedly off this time. Serris had grown more and more on edge while they¡¯d been out, and she hadn¡¯t said a single word to him for about two hours now. When he suddenly felt the vibrations from her talking right against his head as they reached the front gates, the teen almost jumped right out of his shoes. Her voice was so quiet and muffled, that if he hadn¡¯t been able to feel her talking he would have thought he¡¯d imagined it all. Noth turned his head a bit to look at her, but he couldn¡¯t see her face since it was still buried in his hair. ¡°What was that?¡± The teen grimaced as the arms around his neck tightened. He tugged at them lightly with his hands, but they refused to budge even a little bit. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What has you so freaked out?¡± He could feel Serris quivering for a moment against his back, and just when he thought he could feel something wet getting onto his hair, there was a sudden loud thudding sound. His angel''s arms had let go. She was no longer floating anymore and had crashed to the ground. She was slumped in the dirt in the most defeated position he¡¯d ever seen her be in. Her face was pointed downwards, and her hair was covering it, so he couldn¡¯t tell at all what expression she was making. He tried to kneel down and start asking her what was wrong, but before he could do much of either of those things, a long, slender arm whipped out and grabbed hold of his shirt, tugging him down to her level. The bleary, scribbles of eyes he could make out through the strands of her hair were completely fear inducing. Somehow, she almost looked like her eyes were melting, or perhaps as if a child had drawn her eyes out of crayons, and had drawn a dozen overlapping circles. Noth instinctively held his breath in fear, the words of concern he¡¯d previously been about to say instead dying in his throat. It took a lot for Noth to gulp down his fear and work up the courage to respond to the scary, monster-like thing that his angel had become, but after a few minutes of building his resolve, he closed his eyes, put a hand on the fist that had dragged him down, and replied in as even of a tone as he could manage. ¡°I have to go in there. It¡¯s my home, and my family lives there. Our family.¡± His words made the angel let go of her hold on his shirt, her hands instead coming up to cover her face as she began to sob. Tears from her eyes dripped down her arms along with blood from her hair. Noth frowned deeply, upset by the sight of the person he was closest to crying. This was no time to let himself be scared of her, he already knew she was scary sometimes! He quickly flung his arms around her head, hugging her tightly to his chest, and gently and slowly patted the top of her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what has you so worried, but do you really think that I could just suddenly start hating you? We¡¯ve been together for how many years now, and you¡¯re literally a part of me. You¡¯ve saved me from so much, and you¡¯ve always been there for me. Why would I ever, ever hate you?!¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Noth¡¯s speech and skinship seemed to be working, and after a few minutes the angel¡¯s sobbing had finally stopped. The teen tried to pull back and get a look at her face, but the sudden strong hug he received around his torso quickly stopped any plans for that. Figuring she wasn¡¯t quite ready to let go just yet, Noth decided to just keep lightly patting her head as he had been. But his hand stopped moving once he felt the rumbles of her words against him. She hugged him extra tight, enough to make him feel like his back might just snap, and then turned him around and pushed him away towards the gate. He looked back over his shoulder at her with doubt for a few seconds, but ultimately he knew that his stubborn angel wasn¡¯t going to step foot inside his villa until he saw whatever it was that she hadn¡¯t wanted him to see. For the first time in years, he¡¯d have to face something without her. It didn¡¯t take long for Noth to receive the offending item. Once he¡¯d solemnly made it into his villa, he realized that Jean had apparently been waiting for him, a letter in her hands. She told him that his father had received it for him from the church today, and that it was urgent that they reply to it. The fact that it was from the church made him frown in worry. He¡¯d known they must have been up to something. He¡¯d been right that whatever it was had to do with Serris¡¯s increasing angst lately. What awful thing had they come up with? Noth thanked the small girl, and she smiled beautifully and curtsied like the maids did, before she took her leave with an accomplished look on her face. Truthfully, he¡¯d wished that she hadn¡¯t left. He didn¡¯t want to be alone for this; It was too difficult for him to open and look at all on his own, and he would have been grateful for the company of one his strong, undaunted little siblings. The teen checked in the greenhouse for the other two children, hoping that maybe they could be the ones to keep him company instead, but he realized that the two of them must have been off in their rooms napping about now, since they were no longer where he¡¯d left them. How unlucky. He wasn¡¯t shameful enough to wake the children up just so he could act like a child himself, so it seemed that he would truly have to face this trial alone. Noth took a step back inside the villa, having decided that he¡¯d just trudge upstairs and handle this in the safety of his room, but then Elillith suddenly appeared, slowly making her way down the stairs. ¡°Elillith? Why are you-¡± Since his words faltered and fell off, the stoic woman decided to blandly answer his unfinished question. ¡°¡®M back fr¡¯m puttin¡¯ the kids down.¡± He¡¯d completely forgotten about Elillith in his panicking. Yes, the children were strong and in turn made him try to be strong too, but she was also quite the strong person, and she additionally knew the predicament that he was in to some extent. She was also like a cool and calm older sister to Noth, and had listened to a good few of his irrational fears, so why should he be shy with her right now? Noth¡¯s face crumpled down, letting go of the shock he¡¯d been showing and instead turning terribly grave. He marched up to the woman who had stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and when she quirked up an eyebrow in a rare change of face, the teen grabbed onto her sleeve in an almost cute and needy gesture. ¡°Elillith, can you sit with me while I read this letter? I¡¯m afraid it might have something very bad in it, and I need someone with me right now.¡± She didn¡¯t even respond. Instead she just moved over a bit, sat down on the step she was standing in front of, and patted the free space on the step next to her. Noth¡¯s face lightened up, thinking that the move was just like her, and he quickly moved to join her. He leaned a little towards her as he sat, his arm touching against hers like it was desperately seeking warmth. He was sure he was feeling much less nervous, until the letter came back into his view and easily dashed any such belief. What would it say? Would this letter be a decree of war between him and the church? Would it be full of rude words for him, admonishing him for having dared to not go along with their will to kill him? Had they somehow found out about his angel and now wanted to suck up to him? Really it could have said any number of insane things inside, and he wouldn¡¯t know a single line of it until he opened and read it. Luckily for Noth, his morbid curiosity for what could possibly have hurt his angel so much was quickly spurring him on, and after a few moments he ended his standstill and finally opened the letter. It was a decree. It had far too many flowery words written all over the page, but it really boiled down to three main points: It said that he had been deemed worthy of a noble titleage. He must show up to the main branch of the church within the week to learn exactly which title and land he would be receiving. That would also be the date when he would learn what his new, noble name would be. It all sounded positively crazy that the church would just suddenly recognize him as a noble. They knew what his [Gift] was, and they¡¯d hated him for it for over half his life. They¡¯d even sent assassins, and yet now they wanted to give him one of the highest honours that a citizen could receive? It just couldn¡¯t be true. If he had to show up in the pope¡¯s church, then that meant that the pope that hated him so much might actually have to talk to him. There¡¯s no way that the higher ups or the pope would be willing to just let that happen. And what¡¯s more, such a silly proposal couldn¡¯t possibly be what had flustered his angel so much. But then Noth caught sight of another, smaller note that was hidden inside the envelope, behind the main letter. ¡®The prophet wants to see you. He knows about you. He knows about your angel. She''s been lying to you. He wants to tell you the truth about her. There is no turning this down, it is the God-dess¡¯s decree.¡¯ The prophet? The prophet?! The one that¡¯s second only to the pope? The one that gets oracles from the God-dess? No one was allowed to go against a decree of the God-dess that came from his lips, lest the God-dess smite you. Noth¡¯s fingers crinkled the note where they held it. He hated how powerless he was feeling from just a title alone. It¡¯s possible that this was even worse than if it was the pope calling on him in a way, considering the fact that this was the prophet who knew about his secrets. Perhaps if this note had come from the pope, then Noth might have been able to somehow deceive him and convince him that there was no angel. There was even a chance that he could fake having a different [Gift] by using some kind of elaborate wish. Even if the pope ranked high in holiness, there was no way that he could have outranked an angel, after all, so Noth should have had the upper hand in some way or another. But none of that was true for the prophet. If the prophet said they knew something, then they definitely knew it. There was no tricking them. They were all seeing. There was nothing that the God-dess would not tell them. The prophet was their mouthpiece, after all. And what was worse, with such all-seeing eyes, there wasn¡¯t a single chance that the prophet wouldn¡¯t be able to see Serris. Chapter Forty Six Noth had read the ominous note again and again for an hour, desperately trying to figure out a single shred of information more than he had already gleamed. His mind turned circle after circle as speculated left and right about what any of this could mean. Why had the prophet decided to speak with him? If this was the God-dess¡¯s decree, did that mean that the God-dess was the one who had told him to do it? What was the purpose of this? There was no way that this was just going to be a friendly and informative chat, was there? Did the prophet stand to gain anything from all of this somehow? Had the pope enlisted their assistance to help remove Noth? Could it be that he and his angel had somehow enraged the God-dess, and this was a way of getting rid of them? The teen¡¯s mind wandered back to the flower he¡¯d eaten, the ¡®God-dess¡¯s Love¡¯. Could it be that consuming that flower had caused the almighty deity to frown upon him? Serris may have told him that there wouldn¡¯t be any adverse effects from eating it, but he¡¯d already known from the beginning that she was hiding something. He¡¯d let his hair grow out just the tiniest bit more over the past year, just in the hopes that he could hide the strange mark that had been left on the upper left of his back that day. What Noth had first believed to be some kind of bruise or discoloration when he¡¯d first noticed it the next day in the mirror had actually never gone away, instead only solidifying and growing more vividly coloured over time. His angel, as always, had been no help, instead deciding to keep it all a secret, just as she typically loved to do. When Noth¡¯s back twitched at the reminder of the mark that had been engraved upon it, another stray thought suddenly entered his mind. The thought firmly planted itself there, taking root and growing wildly the longer that it stayed. If the prophet knew everything¡­ then would he know about this mark? Of course, it was a silly question, as there wasn¡¯t anything that the prophet couldn¡¯t know. But that mere realization immediately filled Noth¡¯s core to the brim with excitement. Finally, someone who would know all the answers! How easy it would be, simply asking this prophet and learning the bevy of secrets that had been kept from him all these years! Every question that he¡¯d been madly wondering wouldn¡¯t have to just be stuck swimming about in his head anymore! In fact, the note was an invitation to learn about his angel in the first place, which was basically the root of most of the questions that Noth had! But the thought of his miserable angel who¡¯d been left sobbing on the ground quickly cooled his racing heart. Serris. She¡¯d been so afraid of this note. She knew he¡¯d have no choice but to go and see the prophet once he¡¯d read it, both due to the God-dess¡¯s decree and his own raging curiosity. Would it have been better to have respected her wishes and not have read it? Was he hurting the one closest to him by doing all this? Did he really think that the answers he¡¯d been so desperately seeking all this time could make him hate her? It felt so nonsensical to think that something could possibly convince him to turn against his angel, but Noth was aware that he should know better than to take something for granted by now. Just because his imagination wasn¡¯t good enough to come up with some awful scenario or another didn¡¯t mean that it wasn¡¯t possible. He¡¯d been unpleasantly surprised many times by now with unthinkable events, why suddenly believe that he was safe from them this time around? Was he going to think that way just because the past year had been so peaceful? How laughable. As if he was dumb enough not to notice a pattern repeating itself. Noth¡¯s mind had slowly managed to convince itself of the worst once he thoroughly thought things over. He imagined every possible awful thing he could think of for the angel to do. He hated doing so, but he had to admit that he might have inadvertently lied to Serris; He really didn¡¯t have any proof that it was impossible for him to hate her no matter what he heard. He trusted her enough to believe she wouldn¡¯t have done any of the horrendous things his mind had come up with, but he also knew just how easy trust was to break. He had to accept that despite all the time they¡¯d spent together, and despite how well he felt that they knew each other, in reality he knew very little about the secretive angel. As Noth was brooding, Elillith suddenly stood up. She turned around and took a step up the stairs, only to look back at the teen as if asking if he still needed her. With a grim nod, Noth also stood up, and he followed her slowly up the stairs, splitting off from her when she left for Helt¡¯s room. The teen firmly closed the door behind him when he finally made his way into his room further down the hall, and then leaned back against the door as he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. His eyes slowly scanned back and forth through the room in front of him fruitlessly; He couldn¡¯t see anyone else here. He could sense her here. It¡¯s why he came here in the first place. But it seemed like she was still hiding. Hiding from him. ¡°I know you¡¯re in here, Serris. I read the letter. It didn¡¯t even say anything about you yet, just that the prophet wanted to meet me to talk about you.¡± Silence was the only response. Noth gave a weak smile as his body slid down the door until he was sitting on the floor. Of course she wasn¡¯t going to let things be easy. ¡°I''m sorry, but I¡¯m going. It¡¯s not like I have a choice in the matter, but even if I did, I¡¯d probably still choose to go. You¡¯re precious to me, Serris, and I believe you always will be. But I think it¡¯s about time I finally got to learn about this precious person of mine, don¡¯t you? Not a carefully padded and omitted version, but the real honest truth about who it is I¡¯ve been keeping so close to me. You already know me well enough that you knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to resist learning the truth, right? You already knew about me long before we ever even met as well. Why not make this fair and let me get to know about you, too?¡± A moment later the crying face of his angel materialized in front of him. The big fat tears she was crying didn¡¯t lose out to the overly cheesy and dramatic sobbing noises she was making. Her graceful arms wrapped their way around his neck and pulled him against her like steel girders. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. It was hard to breathe, and it took a lot of pushing, but eventually she let go of him just enough for him to finally pull back, get some air, and stare her in the eyes. ¡°And? So what if I don¡¯t like it? In the end, you¡¯ll still be you, and who you are is very precious to me. You¡¯re a part of me, Serris. And if I find out a part of me is doing something bad, then can¡¯t I just do my best to fix it? If someone trips they don¡¯t just cut off their legs, right?¡± His words seemed to have at least gotten her sobbing to stop. Although she was still sniffling and tears were still dripping down her face, there was a smallest look of wishful hope beginning to shine in her eyes. Noth¡¯s face settled into a picture of pure resolve when he heard her reply. For a second Serris flinched back and looked like she was going to run away, but before she could move to flee, Noth¡¯s arms were firmly wrapped around her. He hugged her tight to his chest, just as she had done moments ago. ¡°Then I¡¯ll just have to get stronger, strong enough that it won¡¯t matter how broken or bad you may be, and I¡¯ll use that strength to cover for all your faults. And if you think that it¡¯ll be too hard for me to get that strong, then you¡¯ll just have to help me get there!¡± The teen could feel his shirt growing more and more soaked as time ticked on, and when his trembling angel still refused to lift her head, Noth started to panic. Did his words somehow make her feel worse? Should he have said something different? But those were his honest feelings! Was there something else he could say to make her feel better? He tried to softly nudge her shoulder to get her attention, and when that didn¡¯t work, he gently tried to push her off of him. It was a bit of a tug of war, but eventually Noth managed to move the angel at least a foot away. ¡°Serris? Are you alright?¡± His angel hid her sniffling face behind her hands, not letting him see the face she was making, even as her tears continued to drip down her arms. Noth hated seeing someone he was so close to crying, and yet a small piece of him found the scene absolutely stunning. He couldn¡¯t help but think that this could have been the muse for an absolutely gorgeous fountain, or maybe a mural. Perhaps it would even make for a perfect statue on top of a grave. As the time passed while the teen artistically contemplated the picture in front of him, Serris¡¯s tears slowly lessened. Eventually she let out one big sniff, breaking Noth out of his reveries, and roughly wiped the tears from her face. She looked rough, and haggard, and red. Bits of her hair were plastered to her face, and her breathing was still a bit unsteady. And yet, despite everything, the moment that she smiled at him as bright as the sun, he couldn¡¯t help but think she looked positively perfect. The sniffling angel leaned forwards, quickly giving his forehead a small kiss before bashfully retreating back. <... Thank you for the beautiful words. They made me truly happy.> ~~~ A week had passed, and the agreed upon day had arrived. It was time for Noth to visit the capital and meet with the Prophet. His angel had been moping for almost all of the days leading up to the scheduled meeting, but for some reason her attitude had done a complete 180 the day of, and now she was practically bouncing from excitement. When he¡¯d wished for clothes befitting a noble, he¡¯d been given a luxurious deep mauve suit, one that looked overly stylish and yet somehow still serious. Serris had even gone the extra mile and threw in a new black cape for him to wear over the right shoulder of his outfit. It looked to be the same base as the previous cloak that she¡¯d given him, but the golden trimming along the edges and the commanding looking golden epaulette on his shoulder made the cloak seem anything but ordinary. Elillith had entered the room at some point while Noth had been preoccupied with childishly playing with his new cloak, and even though Serris had been clapping along and laughing as he used his right arm to do a myriad of moves with the cloth, the unimpressed stare he was getting from his one and only friend quickly made the teen blush and sit down. She quickly came up behind him and started to organize his hair, brushing out his long, slightly curly locks of hair, and then putting it all into a low ponytail over his shoulder. She even managed to slick back a majority of his bangs, giving Noth an older and more serious look overall. The woman nodded nonchalantly, wished the teen luck in the most uncaring sounding tone, and then left to look after the kids once more. Noth truly wished that she showed a little bit more concern about her friend who was about to enter the lion¡¯s den, but he knew that that just wouldn¡¯t be like her in the slightest. Serris was flitting left and right and all around him, clapping her hands and looking at him in awe. ¡°Similar to what, exactly?¡± Noth let his hand run over the neatly styled ponytail draped over his shoulder. ...Should he maybe let his hair grow out more? Or should he try to gain a bit more muscle? Did he even want to look more like the failed Noth that his angel was romancing? He really wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about her words. ¡°Thanks¡­ I guess?¡± The giggles and winks interspersed into her words didn¡¯t really do much to make Noth believe her, but it also somehow made him truly feel silly to have looked so deeply into what she¡¯d said. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh and make a slightly upset face. ¡°Whatever then. Instead of this, shouldn¡¯t we be talking about how to get to the capital? You said we wouldn¡¯t need a carriage or anything.¡± Noth had never once in 6 years considered using his wishes for something like this. It was possible to just¡­ wish to go somewhere? ¡°...I can do that? Why didn¡¯t you ever bring this up before?¡± The angel gave a large beaming smile to the teen as she cupped his cheeks in her hands and looked deep into his eyes. Chapter Forty Seven Noth was a bit apprehensive about his angel¡¯s words. He trusted her, sure, but he didn¡¯t really feel like anything about him had changed enough for him to suddenly be able to do something that seemed so awe-inspiring. How could it be that such amazing teleportation could be possible? He¡¯d never heard of a single person with such an ability before. The closest thing he¡¯d ever heard of was a small handful of high tiered [Wizards], who were able to teleport within eyeshot at best. It was unfathomable that he would be allowed to just utter a word to his angel and suddenly be somewhere so far away. And yet, despite the way his rational mind was busy disbelieving it, the teen was already positively giddy from his building anticipation. ¡°It¡¯s true? You¡¯re sure this¡¯ll work?¡± When Serris nodded Noth had to keep himself from doing something odd with his hands in his excitement. If he didn¡¯t calm down, he was liable to screw everything up, and at the worst that could mean getting horribly lost or even breaking precious bracelet. The teen did his best to soothe his errant breathing, schooling his features into a more determined look, and concentrating on the task at hand. And yet, as the words commandingly came out of his mouth, a grin still snuck onto his lips. ¡°Take me to the capital¡¯s cathedral!¡± With a loving smile on her face, the angel spread her arms and flared her wings. They both suddenly wrapped around the teen, the wings seeming to have grown impossibly large enough to truly surround him, and somehow he felt well and truly engulfed in the feathers and hugs. It was a decidedly ticklish feeling, as her wing¡¯s many feathers repeatedly brushed against his exposed skin and hair in irregular intervals. Just when Noth thought that he might squirm and let out a small chuckle, Serris¡¯s feathers and arms retreated, revealing an entirely new location than where they¡¯d been standing only moments ago. With a victorious huff and a satisfied look on her face from a job well done, the angel triumphantly rose her arms into the air, her wings spreading high along with them. Noth looked in every direction, noting their location. They seemed to be in some sort of alley between two buildings, and all in all it wasn¡¯t too awe-inspiring of a sight, but even just the bricks on the walls next to them seemed of a far better quality than anything in the one town he¡¯d been to. The alley was shockingly clean, and though the street looked well-worn and a bit in need of a scrubbing, it still didn¡¯t seem dirty by any standard. And the small peek of the main street his eyes could make out¡­ The teen¡¯s feet were carrying him towards the beautiful vibrant buildings he could just barely make out before he even knew what he was doing. His breath caught when he finally made it out of the alley and onto the main street. It was absolutely amazing how colourful and lively everything was. The buildings may have looked like they¡¯d been there for a long time, but by no means did they look old. Every store and home were decorated with different whimsical colours, from reds to blues to purples to greens- Everything was a rainbow assortment of beautifully painted walls and roofs. Some of the sidings of businesses even had their own lovely artworks or murals painted and built into them. Even the street itself seemed to have beautiful scrawling patterns placed onto it. And amongst all this colour and life, the only building devoid of any hue at all was the one that he had come out of the alley next to; The church of capital, the home of the pope. It was an exceedingly large building, so large, in fact, that it took up almost the entire block in length. It had beautiful steeples, and many bells adorning them. The many spikey bits atop the rooves seemed as if they were trying to reach to the God-dess itself, like they were seeking a closer connection. But the most eye-catching feature of the great marble coloured cathedral had to be the many reliefs that were built into its outer walls. Many different depictions of the God-dess were carved into the walls, all of them standing side by side with their eyes firmly closed. There was an old man with a cane, a young woman holding a basket, a tiny boy carrying a ball, a middle aged cobbler man, and many many more, all superbly made out of what seemed to be pure marble, to match the rest of the church''s colouration. Noth¡¯s curiosity of course made a bid for him to ask Serris if any of these forms shown were truly how the God-dess looked, but he didn¡¯t allow the impulse to come to fruition; This was no time for such idle chatter. He was looking at the building that housed both his greatest enemy, and hopefully his most important informant. This was the time to get serious, lest he somehow manage to fail at his reason for coming here and fall into the hands of the pope¡¯s lackeys. The look of wonder and enchantment sadly bled out of his face, instead being replaced with a visage of great resolve. ¡°You¡¯re sure it¡¯s safe to go in there?¡± ¡°But what about after? What¡¯s to stop him from attacking me on my way out, once all that official business is done?¡± The angel slowly twirled and floated in the direction of the church¡¯s entrance, looking back towards the teen with a mischievous face as she went. Serris¡¯s conspiratorial wink wasn¡¯t lost on Noth in the least. So all he had to do was stall for enough time to teleport back out of there? That fit in almost too perfectly with his plan to question the prophet and finally get some answers. His eyes scanned over the graceful form of his angel. Was she truly ok with all of this? She¡¯d seemed so scared and miserable about it all before, so why was she suddenly so¡­ okay with everything? Was it all just an act, or had something transpired outside of his view again? The teen had to suppress a sigh at the fact that he might never get to know the answer to his question, yet again. But what was the point of looking so deeply into all of this? Serris was his angel, his partner. She was already a piece of him for years now at this point. What merit was there to questioning her actions now of all times? Why not just believe in her choices and see where the almighty angel had decided to take him? She¡¯d already done so much for him, now wasn¡¯t the time to be second guessing her reasons for it all. Instead, he''d listen to what the prophet had wanted to tell him about his angel, and see if any of the new information he learned would convince him to change his mind about her. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ~~~ The reception given by the church to Noth was lacklustre, to say the least. On the surface the priests who interacted with him had all seemed to be doing impeccable jobs, and yet there was still the lingering feeling of distaste in their every action. Perhaps their tone would be off, or they¡¯d do their utmost to refrain from ever being too close to him. At times they¡¯d shoot him sidelong looks when they thought he wouldn¡¯t catch them. It was all such easily noticeable signs, that the teen couldn¡¯t actually believe that they thought they were being stealthy in the slightest. He was used to such treatment from overly superstitious and ignorant people, there was no way that he was simply going to let some kind of reaction to their pettiness show. Instead, Noth focused his efforts on keeping to proper church etiquette, something he hadn¡¯t really gotten any practical practice on yet, and trying to keep his features schooled in a commanding and disciplined look. He wouldn¡¯t give the silly priests a single extra point to try and nitpick him on. It would have been a lot easier of a task to perform without an angel throwing a small fit beside him, though. Serris had a tirade of nasty looks, words, and actions to perform on her hated victims. Of course, she never let them hear or see her, but her small pranks of vengeance did, in fact, affect them. The way that the two priests that had been escorting him kept tripping, dropping their candles, suddenly getting cold chills, and having their small priest headpieces get knocked off, was quickly creating a misunderstanding. Clearly the highly religious priests would take these unlucky incidents to be caused by being near such a hated and forsaken being like Noth, and slowly their reactions to him changed from plain disdain to fear of being anywhere near him. It had the desired effect of making their glares and disrespectful actions stop, but it also had the unintended and yet still quite nice effect of making them hurry along at an almost unsafe pace. Because of their fearful rushing, Noth finally made it to the prophet¡¯s rooms nice and quickly, and the two priests beat a hasty retreat, scurrying away as if their lives were at stake. Noth thought that he should probably scold Serris for making people¡¯s already dreary misconceptions of him even worse, but¡­ Well it was hard for the teen to really care enough to want to say anything about it to her in the first place, so he quickly let that idea go. Before he could even knock, a deep, reverberating voice summoned the teen into the room. Noth did his best to straighten up and look like he belonged there, and then smoothly opened the door and strode inside. But something strange happened when he fully entered the room; The bond inside of him suddenly grew hazy. He reflexively looked back at the doorway where Serris had last been next to him, but the angel was nowhere to be seen. Noth anxiously took a step back towards the threshold and leaned his head out to look left and right down the hallways, but there was still no sign of her. The bond they shared had always given him some vague notion of her location all these years, and yet suddenly that feeling had completely vanished, as if he had all of a sudden lost one of his major senses. Even on the few occasions where his angel had gone inconspicuously missing, he¡¯d never felt such a loss before. He¡¯d still at least been able to tell that she was somewhere, just hidden from view. And yet now¡­ It was like she didn¡¯t even exist. In a panic, Noth opened his mouth to try and call out for Serris, or perhaps make a wish to see if he was still connected to her powers somehow, but before he could figure out what words to say, the booming voice that had summoned him into the room in the first place cut him off. ¡°Stop your panicking, boy. Your angel may have gone to the God-dess¡¯s side, but she will be returned to you quickly afterwards.¡± The teen looked in the direction of the deep, wise-sounding voice. Tucked away in a corner of the dimly lit room, a dark-skinned old man covered in far too many robes was sitting at a small table and drinking tea. His eyes were closed, and yet he accurately beckoned Noth over with a wave of his hand, and pointed towards an open seat across from him. Noth cautiously made his way through the almost too dark room, stopping at the table and yet refusing to sit. He looked down untrustingly at the man who was casually pouring him out a cup of tea, and his words tumbled out with a suspicious tone. ¡°Why is my angel gone?¡± ¡°The God-dess decided to take her away. It was the best way to make sure that your angel wouldn¡¯t end up attacking me at some point during our little talk, after all. She has no power over the mortal realm up there, so I should be perfectly safe. Please, try some tea.¡± Noth didn¡¯t like how casual the prophet seemed to be about all of this. They were talking about otherworldly holy beings, should he not be a bit more solemn or reverential about it? And yet, the teen couldn¡¯t bring himself to voice his opinions on the matter. How could he suddenly let his pickiness get in the way of finally learning the answers he¡¯d been waiting years to hear? With a sigh, he roughly sat down and took his cup of tea. As he politely took a sip, he was shocked to find that the flavour of the light and watery looking tea was actually rather dark and odd, and when he looked back up from the cup, the room had suddenly been filled with a pale yellow light, illuminating every nook and cranny of the previously dim premises. ¡°Forgive me but I needed you to be able to see, so I put a little something in our tea. The caretakers here are not allowed to view some of the tapestries in my room, and since I¡¯m blind I have no need for anything to light the place to begin with.¡± The teen would have been absolutely furious with the prophet¡¯s trick, had he not already been so absolutely fascinated by the sudden change in his vision. Perhaps it was a novel and unharmful enough trick that he could let this one slide. He sipped a bit more of the odd tasting tea to see if it had any further effects to it, and when he put the cup back down, the old man was standing up and slowly swaying his way over to one of the many tapestries adorning the walls. ¡°You can see this one now, correct? It should have a depiction of many different angels on it?¡± As he said, it indeed did depict a number of differently coloured angels wearing much the same robes. They all seemed to have very similar looks to Noth¡¯s angel, and although none of their faces were truly discernable, they all had easily noticeable different hairstyles with their own unique colours to them, and different wing colours that seemed to match their hair. Noth was absolutely enthralled with looking at all the many different angels that the tapestry was showing him. ¡°Tell me boy, what kind of angel do you think you have?¡± The question seemed odd to Noth. Shouldn¡¯t the prophet who knows everything know what kind of angel Serris was? Worried about where this was going, and second guessing his own words, Noth meekly replied. ¡°...An angel of mercy?¡± The old man¡¯s hand reached up and pointed to a particular angel, one with a pale yellow colouration, and long, flowing hair that came down to her hips. ¡°And is this what your angel looks like? This is the form that all angels of mercy come in. The God-dess can be quite uniform and uncreative with its angels, you see.¡± Noth was confused. That was clearly not at all what his angel looked like. The hair was much too long, much too straight at the ends, and the colour of its features just weren¡¯t nearly rusty enough. Not to mention that its hair didn''t start out in a white gradient, like Serris''s did, and was just the same colour the whole way down. Well, it was true that she¡¯d never once said aloud that she was an angel of mercy, but what else could she have been? In his confusion, Noth''s eyes scanned rapidly over the tapestry, until it finally fell on the image of a different angel, one that was depicted a fair distance away from all the others. Noticing that the teen¡¯s eyes had finally rested upon a particular angel, the prophet sighed and began to slowly make his way back. ¡°This one¡¯s going to take a little bit of explaining, my boy.¡± Chapter Forty Eight The old prophet returned to his seat at the table and grabbed hold of his tea once more. It was hard for Noth to look away from his angel¡¯s picture on the tapestry, especially when he realized that it was in such an odd place, but when the old man started talking once again, Noth immediately whipped his confused gaze forwards to look at his face. ¡°I¡¯m going to go a little off topic here, but don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get to what you want to know. It¡¯s just that there¡¯s a few things that need some good explaining before I get there, you see. Now, first of all, let me tell you a little bit about the God-dess, starting from my role here. I may be a [Prophet], but not many people know exactly what that [Gift] really means.¡± He stopped to take a small sip of his tea, smiled down into the cup, and then looked up towards the heavens. ¡°The God-dess is a very cruel and efficient being, and in that efficiency, it absolutely loathes redundancies. It would hate to have to manage giving prophecies to multiple people, as that would mean interfering with multiple people, which the God-dess is in no position to effectively do. For that reason there is only one prophet, and yet there is a prophet in every country and amongst every independent race. They''re all me, and I am them. And should I die, all the other prophets around the world die as well. That''s why it''s considered a war crime to kill me, no matter where you are.¡± It was obvious at a glance that Noth didn¡¯t fully understand, and a small chuckle escaped from the prophet¡¯s lips. ¡°Don¡¯t worry boy, I¡¯ll explain it to you. It¡¯s a sort of system that the God-dess set up for its own ease. Every prophet shares the same thoughts and experiences; We¡¯re basically all of the same mind. We may all have different looks and dispositions, but we¡¯re all born as one, see as one, and die as one. From the moment the previous prophets die, we new prophets are born all at the same time, and all across the world. And because we are the only existence to be born with our [Gifts], since the God-dess wouldn''t want to have to wait 7 years before we could be of use to it, we¡¯re all born blind, as a sign to others of what we are.¡± The old man pointed to his eyes and opened them, showing that they were milky with blindness, and yet somehow cosmically beautiful. ¡°Of course we still see, due to the nature of our [Gift] and the God-dess¡¯s benevolence, but we are immediately taken away from our families and raised in the church, so as to be able to fulfil our purposes at any given moment as soon as we gain the ability to talk. And it is here that we stay until we are killed or die of natural causes. In its efficiency, the God-dess has also cruelly granted us expanded lives, letting us live until about 250 years old so that we don¡¯t have to be constantly replaced. It may seem like an unfortunate way to live, considering all we really do is sit trapped in our churches for centuries and wait to be used as a mouthpiece, but that¡¯s just how our God-dess must exist, and it¡¯s how we must exist to serve it. And it¡¯s not just us who share this burden,¡± With a swoosh of his hand, the prophet pointed towards the tapestry of angels once more. ¡°... It¡¯s them as well.¡± Noth stared into the tapestry once again, his eyes automatically being drawn to the angel that looked just like his, and he intently watched the image as the old man continued to speak. ¡°In a way, we prophets and the angels are a very similar existence. We both serve the purpose of doing what the God-dess cannot, down here in the mortal realm.¡± ¡°There are things that the God-dess can¡¯t do?¡± The teen stole a small peek back at the prophet before returning his gaze to the many angels. ¡°I thought the God-dess was supposed to be omnipotent.¡± ¡°Well yes, but not in the way you might think. Everything in this world was created due to the God-dess and its whims. Yes, every living thing you know was created by the God-dess, and the way the people of this world live is in fact ultimately in its control as well. Every change and major event that happens here is caused by the God-dess in some way or another. But even the God-dess, being as powerful as it is, has checks and balances that it must adhere to. It can¡¯t directly affect the world past giving [Gifts] and performing the occasional smiting, and even that has its own particular limits. And so, because of its own natural limitations, instead of directly changing something, the God-dess uses people and angels to do its bidding for it. It¡¯s quite simple and obvious to see how we prophets are used in the grand scheme of things, but what goes largely unnoticed are the movements of the angels.¡± The prophet got up and once more made his way to the tapestry that had stolen away Noth¡¯s gaze, gingerly stroking it as he, too, admired it. ¡°You see, because of the way the God-dess¡¯s restrictions work, many of the feats that most would attribute to being the work of our almighty deity are actually performed by the angels that it produces. You could think of it in terms of a beehive of sorts; The queen bee gives birth to its specialized offspring, who then carry out its bidding in its stead, since the queen cannot leave the hive herself. In that same way, the God-dess creates its many specialized angels for their many specialized duties. An angel of inspiration might cause a new age of technology to come about, or an angel of mercy might appear to stop a plague. An angel of love might appear to help increase a dwindling population, or an angel of victory might appear to help a nation defend against hordes of monsters or demons. In this way, the God-dess controls the world. And ruthless as the God-dess you¡¯re now learning about is, what do you think happens to the angels in the end?¡± Noth wasn¡¯t even given a chance to open his mouth, before the old man turned to him and looked him dead in the eyes. ¡°If an angel is successful in their mission, then the angel merely fades away, returning its strength to the God-dess. And if the angel realizes that it cannot complete its task, then it dies, creating a sort of litmus test of whether or not the God-dess itself is needed to complete a task. And believe me, that is not an outcome that you want to see. However¡­¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Noth wanted to ask what would happen if the God-dess were to get directly involved, but the way the prophet¡¯s stern gaze suddenly took on a sad tone had the teen quickly closing his mouth. He knew that this was not the time to interrupt such important information. The old man took a few solemn steps, stopping next to the angel that Noth¡¯s eyes had been staring at the most. ¡°...There is one kind of angel that is different from the rest. One thing that most of the general public doesn¡¯t know is that our God-dess sometimes gets¡­ well, ¡®frustrated¡¯ shall we say. As an all knowing being, it would make sense that it doesn¡¯t only see good things happening. And while it may not directly punish the bad things it sees, that doesn¡¯t mean that it enjoys or condones those actions either. Sometimes, in its rage, the God-dess will release a special kind of angel. It¡¯s incredibly rarer than all the other angels, and it¡¯s given certain abilities that all the others aren¡¯t. Unlike any other kind of angel, it has the ability to directly harm others, and if it can see that the world is as rotten as the God-dess thinks it¡¯s becoming, then it will start a great catastrophe to punish the world¡¯s inhabitants at the worst spot that it can find. Such angels are called ¡®Angels of Madness¡¯, and are used as the God-dess¡¯s hunting dogs.¡± The more that the old man said, the greater that Noth¡¯s worry about what he was saying became, and when the old man ended his speech with a pointed look at the angel that looked just like Serris, Noth¡¯s mind felt like it was overheating. She was an angel of madness? Serris was? How? What could it all mean that the God-dess had sent him, a young boy in need, such a terrifying angel of calamity? Was it because of the awful fate that was meant to happen to him? Was it because the kind God-dess had hated seeing what would become of him? But then the words that Serris had said to him the first time they met came ringing into his head, as if to refute those thoughts. If her words were to be trusted, then the God-dess hadn¡¯t been the one to take pity on him, but the angel instead. The God-dess had merely allowed Serris to come to his aid, she hadn¡¯t been explicitly made to save him. But then what was she doing bonding with him in the first place? ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t understand. If she¡¯s supposed to be punishing mankind, then why is she here with me? Shouldn¡¯t she be off wreaking havoc somewhere?¡± With another look to the heavens, and a sigh as if something troublesome had been left to him, the prophet made his way back to the table and sat down, taking another deep sip of his now cold tea. Noth¡¯s eyes followed the man¡¯s every move, even as his confused and overwhelmed brain kept spitting out an unending wave of questions. ¡°Well you see, that¡¯s what makes this such a difficult and unique case. It¡¯s why it was decided that I had to talk to you and explain everything. Despite the fact that you definitely have an angel of madness attached to you, the God-dess made this one different from all the others. It still craves destruction, murder, and punishment, just as all of its ilk does, but it¡¯s performing its functions on a much lower and more precise scale. Instead of a massive punishment for all of mankind, it¡¯s being sent after very specific targets of removal. And my boy, if you haven¡¯t figured it out yet, it¡¯s doing all of this through you.¡± Noth¡¯s shock was clear as day on his face. It was so hard to understand what exactly this old mad was trying to tell him, and yet somehow it all made perfect sense. The way the angel had pointed him towards certain people, certain problems, certain monsters¡­ She¡¯d aimed him like an arrow and let him loose towards her targets. So far he¡¯d only failed to kill one of them, and even that one was still suffering slowly from her madness. No wonder an angel had been so eager to have him kill at any chance. No wonder her little ¡®favours¡¯ had led him to see and hear such atrocities. If he didn¡¯t do a good enough job finding trouble himself, then she made sure to steer him in the right direction every time. She was using him to find the darkness in the world and clean it up. Regardless of these new revelations that Noth was facing, the prophet still continued on. ¡°Using you as a vessel your angel has managed to quell most of her major impulses, and has instead managed to focus them upon one deserving target within reach at a time. So far the God-dess has been quite pleased with your progress, and you should find no need to explicitly go out of your way to find any more trouble than should already be coming to you... unless you really want to win some brownie points. But don¡¯t believe for a second that this means that your job will slow down; There¡¯s still plenty of people that the God-dess plans to have removed. And because this is the case, the God-dess has decided to use me to protect you, just this once. We can¡¯t have that silly pope up there getting more in your way than he already has at the moment, and the God-dess has much greater plans in the making that require your presence a bit further south. The plan is that I will grant you a noble title, a new name to go with your new noble title, a land to look over in the south, and the proclamation that the God-dess, in its infinite mercy, has forgiven you and granted you a new [Gift]. You can act out the rest of the God-dess¡¯s whims from over there.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Noth¡¯s jaw might as well have been dragging along the floor with this new information. He¡¯d heard from the message that they were thinking of making him a noble, but with all the talk of his angel and getting some answers, he¡¯d actually forgotten all about it. Besides, it all just hadn¡¯t seemed real! And now, the God-dess¡¯s representative himself was saying that this was all by the will of the God-dess? Then that didn¡¯t mean that it was some fancy scheme from the wicked pope, or some sinister trick that they were trying to play on him. He had been sure that it would all end up being some elaborate ruse, so he never really thought that it would happen. Instead it turned out that it was actually a real, honest to goodness granting of a noble title. And they were even going to give him land to rule over! It was everything that the child version of him had thought he¡¯d be given as an adult. ¡°Yes, we should have mentioned it in that fancy little letter that my note was attached to. Ah, but even with all my meddling in the situation, I still have quite a few things to explain and apologize for. For starters, it was decided that your new [Gift] was going to be [Heavenly Monster Hunter]. It was a little joke from the God-dess apparently, and I''ve been told that you''ll understand. And with the highest tier that a [Gift] can be, there¡¯s no way that the church could possibly withhold a noble position from you. Also don¡¯t worry, your [Gift] hasn¡¯t really changed. You¡¯ll still be a [Chosen] and have your angel and powers, just the same as before. But now, if any of the priests try to read your [Gift], it¡¯ll just appear as that new one instead.¡± At the name of his supposed fake [Gift], Noth couldn¡¯t help but perform a small ashamed wince. Of course the God-dess would know of the childish thoughts in his head. And yet, even if he thought of himself as some kind of monster hunter, that didn¡¯t mean he wanted others to know of the embarrassing title he¡¯d given himself. No matter how proud of it he was, that was definitely a private thing. Noth quickly choked out a question to change the subject. ¡°A-and my new name? What¡¯s my new noble name going to be?¡± ¡°Ah, well¡­¡± The old man¡¯s face, which had been mostly calm and unbothered as he had been explaining Noth¡¯s new [Gift], suddenly grew complicated. Chapter Forty Nine The old man poured himself more tea and took an uneasy sip. His mind was obviously trying to think something over before he finally opened his mouth. ¡°That¡¯s a tough one. It took a lot of arguing to bring about, and maybe a bit of me pushing my status around, but I managed to get them to agree to naming you ¡®Count Noct Kieran¡¯. It took a lot of weeding through some mean-spirited suggestions, but I managed to convince them to stick with that one since you have such deeply black hair like the night sky¡­ although none of them know about those orange tips that your angel managed to infect you with. I¡¯m sure if they did they would''ve had even more rude names in mind. It¡¯s probably best you prepare yourself for when they find out about that. But as for the title, well¡­¡± The prophet¡¯s face grew a tad bit more disgruntled. ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to stop that one from happening. It was, of course, the pope¡¯s doing.¡± It took Noth a little longer than it probably should have to understand why becoming a Count should be a bad thing. Shouldn¡¯t it be completely amazing that he was being conferred a noble title at all? But as he thought it over, the realization eventually dawned on him. What was the new [Gift] that the God-dess was telling all the priests he now had? [Heavenly Monster Slayer]? Sure, it may have sounded doofy and embarrassing to Noth, but at the end of the day it was still the highest tier that a [Gift] could possibly reach. Such an amazingly high tier would usually equate to an amazingly high status as well, and yet he had only been given the rank of a Count, the third lowest title possible. Hell, even being a [Slayer] of anything should denote a higher level of [Gift] than just, say, a [Hunter] or [Warrior]. His father was only a [Superior Warrior] and yet he was an Earl, the third highest conferrable title. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that his father was carrying on a long lineage of Earls, but with that being the case, wouldn¡¯t it also make sense that his only son, who had been given an insanely amazing [Gift], be at least a Marquise if not a Duke? But that brings back what the prophet had just said. The pope was the one who¡¯d made him a Count. Didn¡¯t it make sense that the person who hated him the most wouldn¡¯t want him to have such a grand status? Especially not one that could stand so close to his own. ¡°I suppose the only saving grace was that he didn¡¯t have the ability to make you the lowest noble status, a Baron. The only reason he could get away with making you a Count in the first place was because of your late approval into noble-hood, and the fact that most nobles who are [Slayers] are sent to a territory at the southern front, regardless of what exactly it is that they slay.¡± Noth nodded along. The prophet¡¯s words sounded accurate to what he¡¯d been taught in some of his lessons, so of course it would make a plausible enough argument. And yet he truly didn¡¯t think that becoming a Baron would have been such a bad thing. His mother had been conferred a Baronage, and although most other nobles tended to treat her as lesser, she was still completely happy with the station. It seemed to have made her feel closer to the average person despite her nobility, and she truly cared about the people under her watch. Noth would have been happy with such a life. If he was going to be given a land to care for, he¡¯d rather have felt like he was just one of the people, rather than some far off and untouchable existence. ¡°Yes, so my land will be in the south, bordering the demon infested mountains. Will there be any towns in my territory? Hopefully with people in them?¡± ¡°There will be, in fact, although just the one that¡¯s next to your estate. But if you were expecting anything large then I¡¯d have to tell you not to get your hopes up. It being as close to demon territory as it is, there¡¯re very few that are willing to live so close to danger. Perhaps only less than 100 people still live in the ravaged town. Just stubborn people who¡¯ve been through too much and yet aren¡¯t willing to leave the homes they have. Of course, stubborn as they are, you¡¯ll have a big job ahead of you trying to get them to accept you.¡± The thought of having so many lives to protect, people that might just completely reject him and not listen to a word he said, even if they were in danger, was scary. And yet it was all just so thrilling to think about. He could be a lord of a territory, just like his father and mother were. It was one of the many childhood fantasies that he¡¯d had to give up on once before, coming back to him once more. His own people. His own land. And he could do whatever he wanted with it to make it all prosper. Who cares about the neighbouring demons when he had an angel on his side! Perhaps it might be tough sometimes, but there¡¯s no way he¡¯d ever let any danger befall any of his people once the land became well and truly his! He¡¯d be sure to keep everything nice and safe. He¡¯d make it the safest and happiest territory in the world! With a look of excitement and impatience shining in his eyes, Noth leaned forwards towards the old man. ¡°What¡¯s the town¡¯s name?¡± The prophet took a look at the teens sparkling eyes and let out a hearty laugh. ¡°It¡¯s called Sleekka, my boy. Seems no one was clever enough to come up with a new name, so they kept the one that the demons they fought off had for it.¡± ¡°Sleekka¡­¡± The name sounded so foreign, and yet so interesting and full of mysteries. Noth¡¯s eyes twinkled as he imagined what it might look like. Would the weather be overcast and dreary since it was technically placed in the demon domain? He¡¯d always imagined the demon mountains as looking inherently evil, so would that same look be cast over the town? And what would the estate he¡¯d be moving into look like? What¡¯s the first thing he should do once he gets there? And how much of his true powers should he show to the locals? They were quite cut off from everything else, so would they even know what his new [Gift] was supposed to be? Would someone tell them? As Noth churned out question after question, the prophet just smiled and watched, but after 5 minutes of silence had passed, the old man decided it was time to speak up. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m sure you must have had other questions for me, right? The God-dess told me that you were the inquisitive sort, so I¡¯m sure you must have a bunch of them for me.¡± His words successfully broke Noth out of his trance. Right, he was wasting time just sitting here and giggling about the future like this. Hadn¡¯t he come to find out the answers he¡¯d always wanted to know? He scrambled to remember what he¡¯d wanted to ask before he¡¯d learned all of this new information, and after sifting through the more unnecessary questions, he finally thought of a more pressing one. ¡°Right! Ummm, what¡¯s the pope like? If he already knows so much about me, then I should probably find out more about him.¡± ¡°That old fool? Well¡­ Let me see. His name is Octavius, no last name, he¡¯s 167 years old, and he¡¯s actually quite a lazy man.¡± It was odd to Noth to hear such an old looking man call another person ¡®old¡¯. The prophet had noticed the face that the teen was pulling, and with a chuckle he gave him the answer to his unspoken question. ¡°I¡¯m already a little over 200 years old. It¡¯s just another 50 years for me and the other prophets before the God-dess takes us home and replaces us. I was already here in this church when the current pope was born, and I was certainly in attendance when it was announced that he¡¯d been given the [Gift] for it. I¡¯ve seen him all these years, growing into the sluggish man that he is today. I was even there when he made the decree 150 years ago that ruined your life.¡± Those words hadn¡¯t made a lick of sense to Noth. He wasn¡¯t even born 150 years ago, why would something that the pope did then have an effect on him now? The teen frowned and tilted his head, trying to comprehend what the prophet might have meant. What had ruined his life? Well, the pope most assuredly fell into that category, but besides that it would have had to have been getting his initial [Gift]. But there¡¯s no way that the pope had tampered with that, right? So what could¡­ And then it dawned on him. ¡°No¡­You¡¯re not saying he¡­¡± ¡°Yes, Octavius is the one that made the decree. He¡¯s the one that told the masses that [Choose Your Own Path] was a blasphemous [Gift]. As if the God-dess would allow such a [Gift] to exist if it hated it. They¡¯re the one who hands out everyone¡¯s [Gifts] in the first place! How absurd. And yet, I wasn¡¯t allowed to stop him. I¡¯m only allowed to say things to the masses that the God-dess tells me to say. And unluckily enough, the God-dess didn¡¯t speak a peep to me about any of it.¡± ¡°But how does that make sense? Why does everyone believe it so hard if the pope just one day said so without any proof? Why aren¡¯t there more people who question it?¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s been 150 years now, hasn¡¯t it? Just because the clergy live long lives doesn¡¯t mean that they typically make it far past 100, and the ordinary everyday person has a much much shorter lifespan. It¡¯s been about three generations for most of the population since the decree, each teaching it to the next. It¡¯s too firmly ingrained a thought for it to just be questioned so easily without a reason why to.¡± Noth¡¯s face fell like a sack of rocks. So it was that easy then? The pope says a few words and suddenly everyone turns against a portion of the population without even a speck of proof? But sadly enough, it made too much sense for him to question. Of course the average citizen would listen to the pope. He¡¯s in the number one position of power, one given to him by the one and only almighty deity of the world. Whatever he said must surely be the truth. Perhaps Noth would think he was biased to think that the pope was wrong, if the teen didn¡¯t have so much proof backing him up. ¡°...And he did all this just because he didn¡¯t like someone having a better [Gift] than him?¡± The prophet looked off to the side at Noth¡¯s mumbled statement, seeming like he was looking into the distance at something he didn¡¯t care for that had caught his eye. ¡°Well, when people have a cozy spot that they don¡¯t want to let go of, they tend to fight pretty harshly to keep hold of it. That lazy man doesn¡¯t want something to come along and remove the cushy position he¡¯s found himself in, and that includes even people with the potential to do so. It doesn¡¯t matter to him if they don¡¯t even want to try and steal it, the fact that they even possibly could is just too much for him.¡± The old man let out a little sigh, and his gaze drifted down into his cup of tea. ¡°The only reason that he never tried to pull anything with me, despite knowing that I actually hold a much greater amount of power than he does, is the fact that I can¡¯t act without the God-dess''s say so. Otherwise who knows what sort of stunts he¡¯d pull? I didn¡¯t used to live in such an out of the way branch of the church, you know? I used to live in the room right down the hall from him, until he decided that it was messing with his languorous lifestyle.¡± It felt like any minute Noth might just see the prophet break out into a speech about the old days, so he quietly thanked the man and desperately searched his mind for yet another question to bring up, one that he didn¡¯t think might backfire and make the old man look even more upset than he already did. ¡°Ummm, ah, right, so¡­ The ¡®God-dess¡¯s Love¡¯ flower! You don¡¯t get, um, cursed or anything for eating it, right?¡± The sudden random question seemed to successfully do its job, as the old man¡¯s face quickly turned to confusion at how out of nowhere it was. ¡°No, not that I¡¯ve ever heard of. It should just give you a boost of power, although many people can grow out of control because of it. Past the addictive nature of power, there shouldn¡¯t be any other side-effects. If you¡¯re experiencing any, then perhaps it has something to do with your bond?¡± Unbeknownst to Noth, his face was slowly forming into more and more of a smile. Sure, he was happy that the old man no longer seemed upset, but more importantly he was finally managing to get some of the answers he¡¯d been craving to know for such a long time. As the teen scrambled to think of what he should ask next, the prophet¡¯s face changed once again to his previous calm look. He poured Noth a fresh cup of tea and pushed it over towards him. ¡°Drink up, I can tell you¡¯ve got a lot to discuss with me.¡± And he did. The teen asked question after question, growing more and more ecstatic as he received answer after answer. Yes, this was exactly what he came for. Finally he felt like he was being included in all of the secrets his angel had kept from him. However, Noth was wrong about that. He was very, very wrong. Chapter Fifty: -Talks From Somewhere- - - - - - - - - - - - - Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. - <...Which is your fault. Again, you caused all of this. It all keeps circling back to your initial sin, doesn¡¯t it?> - - - - - - - - - - - -<...Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have increased your obsession so high.> - - - - - - - <...Touche again.> Chapter Fifty One It had taken some time to sort through all of Noth¡¯s various questions for the prophet, and because he was a bit on the spot, he couldn¡¯t force himself to remember all of them. He asked as many of them as he could manage to think up, and then when he started having to truly dig through his memory to think up more questions, the old man offered that if the Noth wrote to him about what he wanted to know, he¡¯d do his best to reply. The teen was positively ecstatic to know that he had such answers only a pen tip away. The answers he¡¯d already been given were positively wonderful to receive, almost feeling like tiny missing pieces he¡¯d never known had been gone were being returned to him one at a time. Sure, some of the answers weren¡¯t what he¡¯d expected them to be, and maybe a few had had more of a sinister nature to them, but overall he didn¡¯t regret learning what he now knew. Things seemed a little awkward with his angel when she finally reappeared from wherever she¡¯d been off to all this time. He was told she''d been taken to the God-dess¡¯s side, but that didn¡¯t tell him exactly what they were up to. For all he knew, Serris had been intently watching everything that Noth had been doing while she was away. He¡¯d known that she¡¯d started out antsy and a little depressed about him finally learning the truth about her, so when she showed back up out of nowhere with a disgruntled look as if she wanted to talk to him and yet was too mopey to say anything, the teen couldn¡¯t help but worry a bit. However, asking her what was wrong had never once produced the results he was hoping for in the past, so instead he just decided to wait for her to talk to him when she was ready, just like always. This unfortunately meant that their journey back home had quite a sombre and lonely feeling to it though, despite how brief it was. Noth had only been gone two-thirds of a day, and everyone else had expected him to be gone for at the very least two days, so the teen ended up coming home around dinnertime to an odd situation. His father had barely even interacted with the children past the occasional pop into the villa to find his son, or the random gifting of presents he¡¯d sometimes give to them all. And yet, when Noth opened the door and went into the kitchen, he found the strange scene of his father sitting and reading to the children, all of them completely enraptured in whatever story he was reciting, while Elillith stood, gently working on combing Ren¡¯s hair and putting it back up in her usual cute little ponytail. Everyone seemed to be so enthralled in what they were doing that no one seemed to notice Noth entering the room. It wasn¡¯t until the teen sat down and happily watched over the situation for a small while before everyone¡¯s gaze suddenly shifted towards him. ¡°Hm¡­?¡± The first to say anything was of course his father. The others took a little longer to get over their shock, but Noth¡¯s overly anxious father was not one to take his time. Not when it came to his son, anyways. ¡°Noth? Is that really my son? Already? ¡­Did something stop your trip?! I¡¯ll have to send a letter to the capital right away!¡± As the many gazes upon him all suddenly took a more worried tint at the Earl¡¯s words, Noth¡¯s face turned up into a slightly more smug and snooty look. ¡°No no, don¡¯t worry, I went and came back already. In fact, you all now have the honour of addressing ¡®Count Noct¡¯.¡± The teen was pleased to see how quickly everyone¡¯s faces shifted to a more awed visage at his brand new name. Even Elillith was showing hints of it on her usually immobile features. The only problem was that less than a few seconds later his father¡¯s impressed look cracked. ¡°Wait¡­ A Count? Ho-¡± ¡°Wow, they gave you a whole new noble name?!¡± Ren¡¯s small, excited cry quickly cut off the Earl¡¯s words, and it seemed no one else had reacted to what he''d said. Noth shot his father a small look of apology and then focused his eyes back on the eager faces of the children. The way they were all practically leaning across the table in excitement positively tickled him. Even the usually more mature and composed Jean was doing it. ¡°Yes. Every noble gets a new name once their title is declared. I¡¯m happy this one is at least somewhat close to the name I''ve been using so far. Funnily enough, they also gave me a fake [Gift] to tell to everyone.¡± The last statement really confused everyone, especially Jean, and to a much lesser but still quite meaningful extent, Elillith. It was probably best that he explain before someone gets out of their chair and shook him to get the answer out like they looked like they might. He felt bad having to omit how this particular [Gift] change came to be, but it was probably better for his own sanity that they didn''t learn that the God-dess had picked it to tease him. ¡°You all know I was a [Choose Your Own Path] before, and many people still think that to be the case. And most of the people in the know don¡¯t really want to tell the public what my current [Gift] is, since it¡¯s a bit too¡­ holy. It could skew the power dynamic of this country a little too hard if it came to light, and there are many people who don¡¯t want that- for various reasons. So, publicly, my [Gift] will be said to be [Heavenly Monster Slayer] instead.¡± Noth cringed at having to say the embarrassing [Gift] out loud, but he knew he¡¯d have to get used to it someday at least. After all, it was going to be following him around for a long time, whether he approved of it or not. The children¡¯s already shiny eyes had grown even more starry at what they supposed was a cool sounding [Gift], while Elillith just seemed to snort and mutter something under her breath. But his father¡¯s face took a noticeable turn. ¡°They gave you such an amazingly high tiered [Gift] because they knew what you had was even more amazing¡­ And yet they still only made you a Count?!¡± The Earl¡¯s words had started out in a hushed tone, but they suddenly grew louder and more indignant as he roared out the ending. The veins on his face were practically only a few steps away from bulging right off of his head, and he¡¯d managed to dig his fingers into the now closed hardcover book he¡¯d been reading before. A few frightened squeaks from the children filled the room in response. Noth sighed; He¡¯d never wanted his silly father¡¯s temper to flare up like this in front of the children. The teen stood up and leaned across the table, his long arm reaching out and his open palm pushing his father¡¯s outraged face. ¡°Stop it. You''re going to make the kids hate you.¡± Ruth Kieran¡¯s rage was quickly replaced with a visage of shock and confusion. ¡°Did you just push my¡­¡± The teen sat back down when he saw that he¡¯d successfully defused his father. The children still sometimes gave little wary glances to the Earl, but mostly they seemed to admire how easily Noth had stopped the scary man. Looking back and forth between his son and the kids, the Earl quickly realized the embarrassing way that he¡¯d lost his cool. He cleared his throat in a dignified way in the hopes it would erase the previous poor showing from their minds, and decided to bring up a different topic. ¡°Yes, well then. Ahem. Titles aside, I¡¯m assuming they still gave you a territory to lord over? Hopefully it¡¯s one that¡¯s not too far away from this father of yours.¡± ¡°Of course. It seems that all [Slayers] are given a territory near the southern front, so that they can serve the country by fending off the ''demon menace'' or some such.¡± Sadly, this answer only managed to quickly re-enrage the Earl. His eyes might as well have been on fire. The subsequent ¡®WHAT?!¡¯ that he shrieked out might as well have been the cry of a fierce beast. Noth couldn¡¯t help but let out another even longer sigh. Perhaps his father would never fix this nasty habit. As the man¡¯s fury grew, he suddenly flung the book that was in his hands, just narrowly missing Elillith and slamming loudly into a wall. The unphased woman barely flinched, but that certainly wasn¡¯t true for any of the children in the room. Noth was deeply displeased that the Earl was showing them such unpleasantries. It was even worse that he was doing it in their very own home. How were the kids supposed to feel safe now? The teen narrowed his eyes. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I won¡¯t allow this in front of the kids. ¡± And with a dismissive wave of Noth¡¯s hand, the seething Earl disappeared. With a weary look on his face, the teen climbed out of his seat and walked past all the others that were frantically looking around the room for his missing father. He found where the poor mistreated book had landed and picked it up, running his hand over its marred surface and bent spine. Noth knew this book, it was one of his favourites as a child. His mother had often read it to him before bed. He muttered a simple wish under his breath, and the book slowly mended itself, back to how it looked before his father had ever abused it. His arm began to prick a bit from how much he¡¯d overtaxed his bracelet today, but it was all worth it if he meant he could fix this situation. The teen slowly sauntered back over to the table where the children were, placing the now recovered book gently on top of it, and then turning and giving what he hoped was a reassuring smile to them all. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he just gets like that sometimes. He¡¯s not going to hurt any of you.¡± And he wasn¡¯t. Noth would make sure that the man would never hurt anyone he loved ever again. Partially for the sake of the children, yes, but also for the man¡¯s own sake. Because he loved him. He loved his father. And now Noth was a noble, just like him. He¡¯d finally become strong enough to keep the promise he¡¯d made to himself. He¡¯d use this power of his to help keep his father from dirtying himself any further. He¡¯d keep forgiving him. He¡¯d keep the man from coating himself in any further filth. And he¡¯d hopefully one day slowly remove the previously accumulated grime from the man. It was the least he could do for someone he loved. Shouldn¡¯t he be powerful enough to do at least that much by now? ~~~ Half an hour later, Elillith had taken all the children up to bed. It had taken a little bit for them to calm down, especially Ren, but once they¡¯d all let go of their stress and fear, only sleepiness awaited them. Noth had sat at the table and tried to look reassuring for the kids all the while, but once they were no longer in view he couldn¡¯t help the way he sagged. ¡°I suppose I should go talk to him.¡± Ruth Kieran was slumped outside the door to Noth¡¯s greenhouse, looking as if he¡¯d given up on the world. But when the door suddenly opened, and his stern looking son stepped out, the man quickly sprang up. Without a word, the teen beckoned for his father to follow him, and after a short and quiet trip, the two ended up at the base of Noth¡¯s favourite tree, right in front of the manor. As his son sat down with a tired groan, the Earl stayed standing, looking down as if he was admiring the teen. During the course of his return it seemed that Noth¡¯s previously well groomed hair had returned to its more natural and curly state. The ponytail might have been trying its best to keep everything in line, but at the very least the teen¡¯s bangs and ends had all gone back to their normal ways, especially the resilient orange tips he¡¯d grown. ¡°You look just like me when I was your age, before I started courting your mother.¡± Noth looked up at the warm gaze of his father. Even with how lovingly the man was looking down at him, the teen could still see how he twitched when bringing up his mother. He was sure that if he looked even more deeply into his father¡¯s eyes, he¡¯d see the hints of sadness that were welling up inside of him. It was quite rare for Ruth Keiran to bring up the wife that he¡¯d murdered, especially in front of his son. Perhaps Noth had resolved to never forgive his father for this one single thing, but that didn¡¯t mean that he had any plans to torture the man over it more than he had already been torturing himself. If this was something that his father felt like talking about, then he¡¯d go along with it if he must. ¡°Do I? I always thought I just took after mom. I have her same colouring, after all.¡± ¡°Yes, well¡­ When you were just a small boy you were exactly her spitting image, but now¡­ Now your face, your build, your curls, all of it clearly comes from me.¡± The quiet happiness that radiated from his fathers words almost made the teen¡¯s heart ache. He never once thought he¡¯d hear anything close to this about himself. ¡°What¡­? I suppose I¡¯ll have to take a good look at myself when I get back home. But how is my hair anything like yours?¡± The Earl put his hand on his head and rustled his short cropped hair. ¡°You may not have gotten my obvious silver hue, but I assure you, if I were to grow my hair out any longer than this, you¡¯d see exactly who you got your curls from. I¡¯ve kept it short for about the past 12 years since it kept tickling and distracting me, but I still had my hair quite long while you were a baby. For a while, we matched.¡± Noth had never known any of this. It had been so many years, and while it was impossible to remember back when he was still 3, he could certainly still remember how his mother looked. It distressed him to think that his memories of her might have grown hazy and incorrect, but he had taken great care to at least always keep a perfect image of her in mind. His father had a small portrait of the both of them still hung up in his office, and Noth had taken great care over the years of reporting to his father to stealthily steal peeks at it, so hopefully that had kept his image of her fresh. In retrospect his father was right, his mother had had long, frizzy, puffy strands, not the slight curl that he did. As Noth pulled forward a strand of hair and studied it, his father finally sat down next to him, and hesitated before continuing to speak. ¡°Your mother and I were deeply in love. I¡¯d fallen for her from the very first time that I saw her. Those black eyes of hers seemed deeper than anything I¡¯d ever seen before. We were always so very close¡­ But then one day, around when you were 5, I suddenly stopped getting to see either of you as much. Before, Natalia would bring the both of you around to see me multiple times a day, but then she just¡­ stopped spending time with me. I didn¡¯t know what I¡¯d done, and she would always tell me that there was nothing wrong. I knew I might have been a bit awkward around you at times, but¡­¡± The teen was deeply saddened by his father¡¯s distressing story, but then something about it suddenly reminded him of a story he''d once heard. ¡°Oh! My angel once told me that mother had always wanted more children, but when she saw how awkward you¡¯d been around me, she decided to wait until you seemed to have gotten over it. My guess is, she was probably trying to not overload you with too much time with me, so you could take the time to get used to it all.¡± The way his father¡¯s face changed was actually pretty hilarious. Noth couldn¡¯t help the small snort-like chuckle he made upon seeing it. ¡°WHAT?! All this time that was what she¡¯d been thinking?! Then why not say something about it to me?! Why did she always try to deal with everything by herself all the time?!¡± The man flailed about in a manner very unbecoming to an Earl, but after a little while of pounding the dirt and pulling up grass, he finally calmed himself. ¡°...Children, huh? Well I guess you managed to do something similar in the end, didn''t you? I suppose you¡¯ll be taking all of the kids with you to your new lands.¡± ¡°I plan to, yes. It¡¯d be hard to protect them from so far away, after all.¡± ¡°How unfair. I wish I could have gone to protect you as well.¡± Noth leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. He agreed with his father¡¯s pouting. He wished he could bring his father along too. That way he could keep protecting the silly man from himself like he wanted. Perhaps with Noth and the children gone, the man would have no one precious to him left to harm. Perhaps it was for the best that they were all leaving, in the end. But it would hurt too much to say that out loud. Chapter Fifty Two Eventually Noth and his father had to split up and head for bed. The teen was left in a sentimental mood after this emotionally charged night, and when he finally got into his room, he couldn¡¯t help how sombre everything felt. He stripped off the fancy outfit he¡¯d been wearing and changed into his pajamas, all the while thinking deeply about what he was going to say, and then flopped down onto his bed like he always did. ¡°Serris?¡± The teen called out into the air, but for some reason his angel still hadn¡¯t even entered the room. ¡°Serris, come talk to me about it. Please?¡± There was no response to Noth¡¯s words, and for a while silence ruled the room. It took almost 5 minutes of quiet worrying before the teen suddenly felt the bed next to him dip a little bit under the weight of his angel. <...You promise you¡¯ll listen to me?> ¡°Of course I will.¡± Noth rolled over so he could get a better view of her. Serris may have been sitting right next to him, but it seemed like her eyes were desperately avoiding looking anywhere near his direction. ¡°Do you think I should?¡± Those words seemed to ignite and explode something inside of the angel. In a flurry of emotion Serris jumped up from the bed, her robe whirling from the sudden movement. Her angrily narrowed eyes looked almost wet. Even as she glared at him with her shoulders shaking, Noth still just stared impassively at her. He could see how the angel was only getting more and more upset from that he wasn¡¯t replying, and eventually he decided to quirk his eyebrow and mutter out a response. ¡°So that¡¯s why you¡¯ve been pouting and gotten so upset? It¡¯s because you think I should be mad at you and I¡¯m not acting like it?¡± When his angel turned away and subtly hugged herself, Noth continued. ¡°...Do you¡­ want to be punished or something? You never struck me as the type to care so much about something like this. I would have figured you¡¯d just shrug and giggle like always.¡± From her profile the teen could see how her bottom lip was quivering. His words must have truly hurt her. Maybe she wasn¡¯t completely wrong, maybe Noth did want to hurt her a little bit. Perhaps in the back of his mind he did take her deceit personally. He sighed. Making the angel who¡¯d already become a part of him cry wasn¡¯t something he should be doing. If she couldn¡¯t tell the truth to him, then maybe that just meant it was all up to him to be the honest one. They¡¯d never get anywhere if he just stubbornly copied her, after all. But that didn¡¯t mean that he had to be completely nice to her about it. ¡°Huh. Alright. Well, before you just assume that I hate you now, why not at least try and ask me about it once?¡± His angel sent an uneasy glance toward him. She muttered under her breath that that''s exactly what she''d been trying to do, but a moment later after a soft little sniff, she quietly did as he asked. <...Are you mad at me now?> ¡°I¡¯d be lying if I said it doesn¡¯t upset me a little bit.¡± Serris immediately paled and flinched. Her gaze turned away from him once more. But when Noth started talking again, she quickly looked back his way. ¡°But isn¡¯t it silly for me to hate you of all things? I mean, you keep things from me constantly, how is it such a shock to know that you¡¯d kept yet another big thing from me? That would just be unreasonable at this point. Sure, maybe you¡¯ve helped me with impure intentions, but why should I have expected you to have gone through all of this for me without some kind of reason?¡± Before the teen could even blink after uttering his last word, his angel was upon him. Her hands were firmly holding his head, and her face was right in front of his own. The look in her eyes seemed to burn, as if she was looking at some injustice she had to correct. And yet, despite that smouldering gaze, there were still clear traces of the tears she¡¯d started crying. Noth had never been stared at so passionately before, not even by the angel in front of him that was currently doing it. And that was saying quite a lot, considering that Serris routinely gave him quite the passionate stares. He¡¯d grown accustomed enough to her hiding the truth from him that he could tell when the woman was doing her best to convey her honest thoughts. At the very least, the link that they shared seemed to be trying to send the same message to him. Why not trust her on this one? The teen raised one of his hands, placing it over one of hers on his head. ¡°I believe you. It¡¯s not that I ever doubted you when you said that you loved me all those times. I was just upset to hear that someone who seemed to love me so much had been using me without even asking me. You know I would have done it all willingly if you¡¯d only told me, right?¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Serris¡¯s burning gaze settled down a notch as she looked away and hesitated. <...I didn¡¯t want that for you. Turning you into some kind of assassin and forcing you to live an even more abnormal and unhappy life than you¡¯d already had forced on you¡­ No, even more than all that, I was scared for you to learn what disgusting thing I actually was. I wanted to stay as an amazing and beautiful angel of mercy in your eyes for as long as I could, instead of this¡­ evil and repulsive vengeance monster.> Noth¡¯s brow wrinkled when she called herself a monster. Had she chosen that wording because he knew how he felt about it? He knew she could be quite crafty in the ways she manipulated him, but he really wanted to believe in the angel right now. She was baring her true thoughts to him, this was no time to be suspicious. ¡°You¡¯re not a monster! You¡¯re nowhere even close to one in my eyes.¡± The teen used his free hand to turn his angel¡¯s face back towards his direction. Once she was fully looking at him again he cracked a cheesy smile for her. ¡°I should know, right? I¡¯m now a [Heavenly Monster Slayer] after all; I should be an expert at this kind of thing.¡± Serris couldn¡¯t help but slowly break into a fit of giggles at that. Noth waited until his angel seemed to have gotten most of the laughter out of her system, happily smiling at her all the while. He was pleased that she still had the ability to laugh like this with him. How awful would it be if their relationship had stayed in some odd frigid state for the rest of his life? It would be like losing all feeling in one of your limbs, even though you still had full control over it. When Serris finally wiped all the tears off her face and flashed him a smile, Noth decided it was time to ask the important question that he¡¯d been holding off. If she was feeling a little bit better like now, perhaps the likelihood of her answering would go up. ¡°Serris, tell me the truth about what I¡¯m about to ask, ok?¡± The teen¡¯s words immediately made the angel flinch. Her face visibly tensed up like she knew what was coming. And yet, despite this reaction, she did her best to give a slow and stilted nod. ¡°What does the God-dess want with you once it¡¯s satisfied? I was told that the end goal for most of the angels of madness is to cause a major calamity, but you¡¯re not the same as them, are you?¡± Serris¡¯s eyes grew wide, and she slowly shook her head, but no other response was given. Noth wasn¡¯t going to give up on getting his answers that easily, however. ¡°So then what? Instead of something big, the God-dess just uses us to take out a few dozen monsters and then she just reabsorbs you? That seems like something that could have just been accomplished with a big enough calamity anyways.¡± Once again Serris shook her head, but this time the look on her face had morphed into something more uncomfortable and complex. ¡°No? No, what? No it couldn¡¯t have been accomplished with a calamity?¡± The angel¡¯s head shook even more vehemently than the other times, and when Noth gave her a confused look she made little jerks to the side with her head, as if trying to tell him to go back. ¡°...No she won¡¯t reabsorb you?¡± Her reply this time was a barely noticeable nod. Noth thought hard over what this might have meant. Serris wouldn¡¯t be absorbed like all the other angels at the end? No, that wasn¡¯t quite right, not all angels got absorbed, some of them merely died and alerted the God-dess to a bigger problem. But Noth hadn¡¯t asked ¡®What happens if we fail¡¯, he¡¯d basically asked ¡®What happens if we succeed¡¯. Could it be that the price of her specialized existence was to die no matter how well they did? How could that make any kind of sense? But something in Noth¡¯s mind kept yelling at him that he was forgetting something important. How had the conversation with the prophet about angels gone again? He¡¯d told him about prophets, angels, their functions and their ends, and then¡­ Wait. The old man had started telling him about how angels met their end, and then said something about how there was a type of angel that was different from the others. Then he brought up angels of madness, didn¡¯t he? They¡¯re somehow different from the others? Do they not simply die or get reabsorbed? But then what? And yet further, his mind was still screaming at him that there was yet another important forgotten thing. What was it? Who could have said it, and how could it have possibly connected to all of this? Was it the prophet? No? It couldn¡¯t have been anyone else, could it? The only other person who¡¯d ever possibly be able to tell him about something from this topic would have to be Serris, but it was so rare for her to want to tell him anything about herself. But then again, if there were so few times, couldn¡¯t he remember all of them easily enough? What could she possibly have revealed about herself that could r- And then Noth remembered. She¡¯d once told him that they were linked. If one of them dies then both of them die. But hadn¡¯t she told him that she had a failsafe? Hadn¡¯t she told him that even if she died, he wouldn¡¯t? ¡­What was the failsafe she¡¯d told him? Something about having another form to work with if she dies? But what does that even mean? Does she turn into a different kind of angel if she dies? Or maybe does she become just an ordinary version of an angel of madness? ...What does she turn into?! Knowing how she¡¯d only been answering in head shakes, Noth tried to think hard on how to phrase his question. Once he settled on what seemed like the best way to ask it, Noth grabbed hold of his angel¡¯s shoulders and spoke with a great intensity. ¡°Do you have a second form because you¡¯re supposed to die at some point?¡± Serris gave a small, reluctant nod. ¡°Is your second form the regular version of an angel of madness?¡± When his angel shook her head, the teen scowled. So it¡¯s not a reversion to the usual angel of madness? Well at least that means her end goal wasn¡¯t to just give up and create a calamity. Perhaps that¡¯s a good thing. Hindsight being 20/20, Noth felt silly having even thought that was an option; Why have her pick off a specific subset of humanity just to kill off a big patch in the end anyways? ¡°Alright. Is it the form of a different angel?¡± But once again Serris shook her head. What? But if it¡¯s not some other kind of angel then what could it be that she transforms into? It couldn¡¯t be just a person or something, right? No, she said that whatever her second form would be would make things ¡®really fun¡¯. But then what could it be?! Noth was starting to get frustrated with how few possibilities his mind was thinking up. Eventually he just threw his hands up and decided to ask. ¡°Jeez, then what the hell is it?!¡± Oddly enough, with an awkward and uncomfortable look on her face, his angel replied to his cries this time. Chapter Fifty Three Noth was in disbelief. It was possible that there were things even the prophets didn¡¯t know? The God-dess could just decide to keep the truth from them? Ah, but perhaps it made sense; Just because you knew something didn¡¯t mean that you would want to give your mouth permission to speak it aloud. There goes Noth¡¯s secret plan to try and ask the prophet about it later. Besides, if it was something that the world¡¯s one and only almighty deity had forbidden being known, then perhaps he shouldn¡¯t be risking his life prying into the topic. Maybe it¡¯s best to just write this one off as something he¡¯d learn about in the future and not rush things. After all, if this was all part of some great and cosmic plan from the God-dess, then he¡¯d be sure to get a front row seat to whatever crazy thing it and his angel had in store, whether he liked it or not. There was no reason to fuss about it all ahead of time. At least if his angel was going to get a second form then that meant she was highly likely to stick around in it, instead of going off and disappearing. Serris looked visibly relieved when he decided to give up on his line of questioning. He couldn¡¯t really blame her, it must have been tough doing her best to give him information without going against the God-dess¡¯s will. The way she immediately snuggled up against him once he laid back down and pulled up the covers was kind of annoying, but he couldn¡¯t fault her for it after the emotional rollercoaster she¡¯d probably had to experience. He could do his best to just ignore his discomfort for the night. Besides, he probably needed the contact as much as she did right now anyways. ~~~ Another year had passed. Noth, who was now 16, had officially received the decree of his new title, name, and ¡®[Gift]¡¯, along with his territory. He was now completely viewed by the country as Noct Keiran, the Count of Sleekka. And with such a decree, he would now be expected to move into his new lands, post haste. Of course he was bringing along the kids; They were his responsibility, and he would never leave them in some far off place where he couldn¡¯t guarantee their safety. The surprising addition, however, was Elillith. She¡¯d shown up on the day of Noth¡¯s departure with her bags already nice and packed, as if it was a given that she was going. Noth had once spoken to her about if she wanted to come along with him, sure, but she¡¯d never really given him a single reply, just a vague nod before she left to tend to the children. He hoped she hadn¡¯t taken that simple interaction as some kind of order from her superior or something. Part of him would like to think that they¡¯d grown close enough that she¡¯d never assume he was using his status against her, but he knew better than to just think it was all that easy. Noth had also tried asking the knight who''d been training him to come along, but when he''d heard where Noth''s territory was he immediately snorted and turned him down, saying something about how he didn''t retire just to go and fight demons. The teen was a little hurt hearing his rejection, but he supposed the old man''s words made sense. It would be better to leave him here where he''d be safe and happy. The trip to Noth¡¯s new lands took about a day to reach, and so he, Elillith, and the children all had to stay overnight in an inn. Despite the worries of his father, Noth insisted on travelling without a single guard, citing the fact that he had a new, offensive style ¡®[Gift]¡¯. If everyone was told that he was a [Heavenly Monster Slayer], but then travelled while needing to be guarded, people might talk. Frankly, it called to question if he could even defend himself, let alone the territory he was given. Instead, Noth decided to keep this trip as a low profile family affair. In his mind he tried to imagine that they were on some kind of vacation or adventure. And maybe it would really feel like one until they all got acclimated to their new home. For most of the ride in the motorized carriage, the children all seemed to be extremely excited. There were so many new sights, new smells, new things along the way, and they seemed to really have loved experiencing it all, especially together. However, after the first eight or so hours of travel, near when the sun had started to set, they seemed to be getting quickly worn down. Eventually they all collapsed in a pile in the back of the carriage, beside the ever unaffected Elillith. She arranged them so that they were no longer laying on top of each other, and then covered them all in a blanket. Noth had been using watching them as his own entertainment, so once they were knocked out he got a bit drowsy himself, but he pushed through it since he was their group''s only source of protection. It''s possible he could have asked Serris to wake him up if it seemed like something dangerous was nearby, but he didn''t expect all too much from the angel lounging on top of the carriage roof, so he didn''t bother. The children all woke back up again once the carriage stopped for the night, as if the lack of motion woke them up. Or maybe it was the ambient noise of the busy main road outside of the inn. But just because they woke up didn¡¯t mean they were truly lucid, and the groggy children didn¡¯t truly seem to awaken until they were sitting at a table in the inn¡¯s dining room with a piping hot plate of food being served in front of them. Seeing the previously zombie-like children all suddenly come to life and start gobbling down the food like their lives depended on it put a smile on not just Noth¡¯s, but even Elillith¡¯s face. Funnily enough however, less than a minute later Ren¡¯s face turned slightly worried, Helt¡¯s expression turned questioning, and Jean¡¯s visage looked decidedly disappointed. Even though they were all making different faces, their eyes were all pointed to the exact same thing: Their food. Despite how excited they¡¯d all been to try the local delicacy, it seemed it wasn¡¯t something that agreed with their young tastebuds. Noth laughed and ordered something else for them that would be a surefire hit. Ren seemed very happy to see the food being replaced, but Jean and Helt shared uncomfortable looks over such precious food being wasted. The teen loved seeing all the different reactions the children had to things, and he hoped that even once they made it to their destination that he''d have plenty more fun experiences with this family he''d made. Tomorrow they would finally make it to their new home. ~~~ The air seemed to change as soon as they set foot inside the territory. It was around afternoon, and the heat had suddenly skyrocketed. The ground that had previously looked like perfectly normal dirt and grass seemed to transition into loamy ash, the kind that you¡¯d find nearby a volcano. In fact, that made a lot of sense, considering the decently sized mountain they could all make out in the distance. At first the trail they were following led them through lush vegetation and bustling wildlife, but about half of the way to the territory¡¯s only town, Sleekka, all of the greenery seemed to start petering out. Eventually everything they could see turned into just black craggy ground, dry ash, and the occasional dead tree. The scenery seemed so barron and uninviting, and it didn¡¯t make a lick of sense to Noth that someone would decide to live in this dead and decrepit looking section of the territory, instead of the lush and loving beginning of it. Besides, it was actually quite a threat to be living so close to an apparently active volcano; Why would anyone choose to live so close to it? As the group grew nearer and nearer to the town, they started to see the oddest thing yet; A thicket of tall, thin, bamboo-like trees, all twisting and swirling at random points and odd angles, painted in a gnarled looking deep navy colour. They all marvelled at what these odd trees could be, and how anything like them could have possibly survived in such a barren and burnt looking landscape. In the middle of that large outcropping of strange trees they could make out the shapes of many small houses, supposedly the town of Sleeka, tucked safely away within. And on top of a large hill in the very back of the town, peeking out even higher than the far too tall trees, a mansion rested its back against the other end of the thicket. Their carriage slowly made its way through the thin trail between the blue trees. Somehow once they entered the thicket the air seemed to cool off, if only slightly. The dilapidated town started to come more and more into view, and they could see how the bedraggled looking residents seemed to look at them with a mix of scorn and possible greed. The children almost shrunk back into the carriage as they felt the sting of the malicious gazes. Somewhere above the carriage the displeased chuckles of an angel reached Noth¡¯s ears. The teen knew from experience just what thoughts she must have had about the townspeople. And of course, Elillith looked unbothered, as always. *** A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The halls were cleaned. The maids were in place. The candles were lit. Everything was perfect for their new master to arrive. Not a single thing could go wrong, lest they lose their new lord¡¯s favour. God-dess only knows what would happen to them if they displeased him. They¡¯d been told that their new Count¡¯s [Gift] was extraordinary, although they hadn¡¯t been told exactly what it was. None of them knew the intricacies of noble society or the church, they didn¡¯t know why such an amazingly blessed person had been titled a Count, nor why they¡¯d been sent here, to the frontier. All they knew was that they needed this person desperately if they wanted to survive. It was possible that someone with such an outstanding and powerful enough [Gift] to be sent to such a dangerous territory might just have enough sway with the church to decide that he hated this place and didn¡¯t want to be there anymore. That was their biggest fear. And that was what the head maid Mellen was the most determined not to let happen. Mellen had triple checked that everything was clean and in place for the arrival of their new, important lord. Their supplies were not the most posh or sophisticated, and maybe the rooms, despite their best efforts, might look a bit bare and boorish. But they used the very best that they had to give. They would just have to outshine their limitations with hard work. The head maid marched back and forth, scrutinizing the maids, making sure that they all looked prim and proper. Sadly, one of them did not meet her expectations. That one would have to be removed. There was a young maid, one whose curls just didn¡¯t seem to be resting right today, and were frizzy and flying all over her face. The old head maid snatched up the woman¡¯s messy hair and threw her to the ground. ¡°Do you think we could convince our master to stay here when you show up looking like this? Why would he need such a messy woman to serve him?¡± Mellen delivered a final kick to the downed maid¡¯s stomach before motioning to some of the nearby manservants. ¡°Get this disrespectful thing out of here.¡± As the young maid was dragged away, Mellen double-checked that not a single bit of her hair or attire looked ruffled or unkempt. ~~~ Their new master arrived. He looked young, and yet confident. That was perfect; It meant that if they could successfully ensnare him, then he could protect the town for many decades to come. The unperturbed confidence that shone in his eyes as he strode down from the carriage was barely eclipsed by the curiosity he was showing in his new home. This was also to Mellen¡¯s liking. Perhaps he needed a bit of schooling in hiding such obvious interest, but such things would help to make the staff¡¯s jobs much easier. The head maid had been notified to prepare 4 more rooms for the family that the Count would be bringing along with him, but she didn¡¯t know what to make of the woman and three children that were accompanying him. The children all looked quite young, but they were all too old and much too different to have possibly been the Count¡¯s offspring. And who was this woman? Though their new lord may have grown into a fine looking young man, he couldn¡¯t possibly have been outside of his teens yet. And she looked to be in her late 20s or early 30s, maybe? ¡­Could it possibly be that this woman was the count¡¯s lover? ¡­And were those kids perhaps¡­ hers? All three of the children looked so different, but that could easily be explained away by them all having different fathers, even the purple one. Had their poor inexperienced lord been hooked by some wicked woman right when he reached the age of nobility? She was slightly attractive, but she didn¡¯t look like the kind of femme fatale that would be able to repeatedly steal men¡¯s hearts and genes like this. Was there some other trick to her? Maybe a [Gift] that attracted men¡¯s interests? Mellen looked the woman up and down several times, hoping that her discerning gaze could somehow pick up some extra detail that she¡¯d missed. Of course, she didn¡¯t let her scanning get in the way of giving a proper introduction of herself and the staff to her new master. But once all of those necessities were out of the way, the old head maid made sure to get her questions in. ¡°...And who might these four be, my lord?¡± The Count let a little smile grace his lips as he replied to her. ¡°Oh yes, forgive me for forgetting to introduce them sooner. This is Elillith, Jean, Helt, and Ren. They¡¯re like precious family to me, so do your best to treat them kindly.¡± Mellen¡¯s eyes followed along with the Count¡¯s gestures, doing her best to diligently burn such important people¡¯s names into her mind. Yes, knowing their names was the first step to learning more about her new lord¡¯s ¡®family¡¯. The more she learned about them, the better that she could tell if they were truly worthy of being here. ~~~ It didn¡¯t take the old maid long to come to a conclusion. In fact, it never took her long to know what she thought of someone in the first place. Perhaps it was one of the perks of being a [Superior Maid]. Their new lord was truly sent by the God-dess, she¡¯d become very reassured of that fact. But Elillith and the three children? Well¡­ Mellen had kept a keen eye upon them, and had sadly found them all quite lacking, some more so than others. The tall girl, Jean, seemed to win the hearts of all the others, but she¡¯d failed to fool the head maid in such a similar way. Mellen could see how flawed the girl was in actuality, and she saw nothing worth fawning so vulgarly over in her. If anything she was just a young pretty tramp who was desperately trying to find some kind of purpose to serve. How could someone still not know what they were trying to do with their lives by the age of 9? She¡¯d had 2 whole years to decide by now, how indecisive must the girl be? Pathetic. Mellen didn¡¯t like the thought of Jean sticking around her new master only because she¡¯d managed to be ¡®pretty¡¯. No matter how young the girl might have been, it still sounded positively indecent. Helt, the purple one, was supposedly the descendant of a people called the ¡®Krysthids¡¯? He might have been a bit of a novelty around these parts, and perhaps the young lord was keeping him as some sort of interesting trophy, but functionally the child seemed useless to Mellen. All he did was toddle along after the Count all day, and on the few occasions that the young lord left Helt alone at the residence, he seemed to curl into himself and give off a sort of overall pained look. How useless could someone be, seemingly without a function if their master so much as stepped outside. Yes, the only purpose such an inept thing could serve as was a trophy, just like Jean. And what would people say if they learned that their territory¡¯s master was keeping a unique little boy as some sort of pet? No, this certainly wouldn¡¯t do. The last child wasn¡¯t really even worth mentioning. As soon as she heard what Ren¡¯s [Gift] was, she immediately erased the girl from her sight. It might as well have been that Ren had never even existed, in Mellen¡¯s eyes. How kind and caring must their master be to let something as filthy as her exist in his presence? Or perhaps she was a piece of a collection, just as the other two were? Either way, so long as the Count listed her amongst his family members, there was no way that they could possibly do anything to her directly. No, Mellen couldn¡¯t do anything at all to the children directly, but that didn¡¯t mean that she was without her ways to torment them. If she could convince these unhelpful freeloaders to leave willingly, then no one could ever find fault in it, not even her new master. And even more importantly there was one eyesore that she could in fact easily deal with directly. The young lord may have been fooled by the cunning and cool woman, but Mellen hadn¡¯t bought for a second that she wasn¡¯t trying to prey on him. Perhaps her master had listed off the woman ¡®Elillith¡¯ as also being a part of his family, but at the end of the day it seemed that her true job was just to be a nanny to the children he¡¯d brought along. And if the woman was performing a job for their Count, then that meant that Mellen would have a certain amount of power over Elillith, considering how a head maid certainly outranked a mere nanny. Yes, no matter what it took, Mellen would remove these silly tumours that were latching on to their town¡¯s only hope. Chapter Fifty Four The town was indeed not large, and if anything was more like a sizeable village. The mansion that Noth would now be residing in was deceptively big and nice in comparison to how everything else here looked, and the fact that it was sitting at the top of a hill that looked over everything made it almost seem like it was in its own special little world. The way the staff at the mansion always acted like nothing was ever wrong made everything in the town outside seem so detached and far away. The inside of his new abode was always so clean, without a single thing ever out of place, and every maid was impeccable. The outside town was another story. The houses were all falling apart and looked to be from some odd bygone era, the people were all covered in wounds and had rough and weathered bodies, either looking like muscular labourers or starving waifs. The elders in the village had eyes that seemed to have seen multiple tragedies pass them by. The children Noth passed in the streets looked a little too thin to be healthy. There wasn¡¯t a single street stall in the main road, only people laying out their meager wares on blankets. Even the average person''s clothes were basically just patchworks that had been sewn together. And despite how everyone¡¯s eyes were glued onto the teen as he passed, not a single one of them tried to say a word to him. Since the servants at the mansion seemed to be the only people that were willing to talk to him, although usually only if asked to, Noth decided to grill them on what the situation and history of the territory was. Apparently this settlement had only been around for the past 60 years, after a team of paladins had liberated it from a tribe of demons that were nesting at the base of the volcano. The old buildings that made up most of the town were actually taken from the demons, which is why they looked so strange and ancient, and the mansion was actually made for the previous lord of the land before Noth. Apparently the last lord had been a reclusive Viscount who only left the mansion if the demon attacks grew truly bad, usually leaving most of the town¡¯s defence to his few knights. From what Noth was told, the Viscount¡¯s definition of ¡®truly bad¡¯ was very¡­ unacceptable. Supposedly, past a greater demon cropping up, or at least a handful of his knights dying, the man very rarely chose to leave his abode, and so the town slowly withered more and more under the constant assaults. Upon inquiring further about why such a dangerous and barren place was chosen to set up the town, Noth found out quite a lot of unexpected information. Yes, one of the reasons they¡¯d chosen this spot was because there was already a town set up here, as he¡¯d expected, but even more than that, it turned out that this was actually the only safe location in the territory. Noth had experienced how uncomfortably hot it had been outside, and how this location was magically cooler than everywhere else. Apparently that was the doing of the ¡®Lang Trees¡¯, the odd blue bamboo-like thicket that the town was nestled in the middle of. Supposedly those trees, when in mass quantities, actually cooled the area down. And even more importantly than that, on the occasion every 8 years where the volcano finally erupted, the trees actually managed to help keep the town safe from the flowing lava. It seemed they were completely immune to the burning hot lava, and would even immediately make any that touched it turn solid and then shatter into bits. If the town hadn¡¯t been located inside of the thicket, then there most likely wouldn¡¯t have been a town left after all these decades of eruptions. But then that made Noth ask the question that he had been wondering since he got here: Does the lava not reach to the outskirts of the territory where all the lush green foliage grew? Apparently only the occasional eruption actually made it to the greenery, which is why it had such nice opportunities to grow. And yet, despite how lush it was over there, it was still not a viable place for them to set up any towns. Noth would have thought it was just because of the eruptions, but an even more understandable reason was explained to him instead. Purportedly, those green lands that encircled the beginning of the territory were where most of the demons that plagued them resided. That was quite the odd thing for Noth to learn, considering that he¡¯d ridden through that area with relative ease when he came through in the carriage. He hadn¡¯t even heard so much as a peep, and yet everyone informed him that it was highly dangerous to even step foot in the area, lest the demons quickly descend upon you and commit all manner of awful deeds. In fact, apparently both the first and previous lords of the land had died when the church ordered them to lead an assault on the hiding place of the demons. Noth expected to hear a similar order from them sooner or later, considering how much they seemed to want him gone. Perhaps the only thing stopping the order from coming at him from day one was the prophet¡¯s interference. The teen promised to say a tiny prayer of thanks to the prophet whenever that thought made an appearance in his mind from now on. But if it was only a matter of time until the church decided to make its demands, then Noth might as well spend the time he had until then making the town a bit more livable. ~~~ Looking at the sad and starving state of the townsfolk, Noth decided that food should be the first order of business. From what he was told, most of the people grew their food in small personal farms, and some took on a terrifying amount of danger and decided to hunt for animals near the green outskirts of the territory. They¡¯d lost many a hunter over the decades, so that choice of profession was very unpopular. However, the personal farms that the townsfolk grew weren¡¯t large enough to sustain any families larger than 2, and since they were only safe inside of the odd blue thicket, there wasn¡¯t a lot of land to work with, leading to many of the town¡¯s denizens being on the verge of starvation. It seemed only those bold enough to risk their lives hunting or farming outside, and the people in the mansion living off of their noble¡¯s supplies, were actually able to eat reasonable meals. Noth knew how it felt to be constantly on the verge of starvation, living from one small offering of food to the next. No one should ever have to live like that. And so, the teen talked to his angel about what could be done. ¡°Would it be possible to feed all of the townspeople at once?¡± ¡°No, you''re right, that wouldn¡¯t do¡­ Well, what if it was just one unending meal?¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°No no, I mean like just one meal, like maybe a soup pot that never gets empty?¡± ¡°And then the next day I could still use our powers again?¡± And so that¡¯s exactly what Noth planned to do. ~~~ It was on Noth¡¯s third day in Sleekka that he produced the unending soup. He¡¯d chosen a hearty soup, one with both meat and veggies inside of it, so that the townspeople could get the proper nutrition that they so desperately needed. He had the large, child-sized pot set up in the middle of town, and sent a small handful of manservants around to spread the news that everyone could have as much free soup as they wanted. He figured that if the people heard it from the mouths of the others that lived amongst them then they might be more likely to believe the news, unlike if he¡¯d been the one going door to door and trying to talk to the aloof folk. The first day only about a third of the residents had shown up. It was understandable, considering how far fetched it was that he was actually going to just feed everyone for free. Noth was just happy that he¡¯d caught even this many people¡¯s curiosity. Hopefully they¡¯d spread the news through word of mouth to their neighbours, and more people would gradually show up later. He¡¯d given orders to leave the pot set up all day, and to move it to a nearby empty home at night. As long as the pot was outside there would be at least 2 servants from his mansion that would be working to serve the soup and helping to explain to the people what was happening, so the citizens could stop by at any time to get their chance at it. They were even allowed to stop by as many times a day as they liked, and the only rule was that each person had to bring their own bowl. Noth had made sure to stand nearby the servants so he could personally see all of the people he needed to protect with his own eyes, and each time he witnessed a townsperson listen to the servants and then rush away to get their bowl it brought a smile to his face. At first he¡¯d wanted to make a big sign that explained everything, but he¡¯d quickly scrapped the idea when he realized how low the literacy rate of the town was. Now a small part of him was happy that things had panned out the way it did. By the end of the day over half of the townspeople of Sleekka had shown up to get their free soup. ~~~ A few days later Noth had decided it was time to tackle the next improvement to his town. It was plain to see how dilapidated most of the buildings had become, and it would help in multiple ways if he used a bit of his powers to fix them up. He¡¯d waited out a few days to hopefully gain a little bit of the townspeople¡¯s trust before he started poking at their homes, and now that almost everyone in town was stopping by to get the free soup, everyone must have gotten at least some kind of look at their new lord. At the very least they¡¯d be able to recognize that he wasn¡¯t just some stranger they''d never seen before making odd offers to them. There was a tiny piece of Noth that was confused why no one had ever asked him where the soup came from, or why it was seemingly endless. Shouldn¡¯t anyone have noticed it by now? Sure, the townspeople could be easily tricked on the topic, but how had none of the servants asked him even a single question about it yet? Were they just that well trained, or did they somehow already have some form of infinite trust in him? In all honesty, the teen would have preferred the former to the latter. Really, though, he would have actually preferred at least one of them asking him and then gossiping about the answer to everyone else, rather than having to guess at what they were all thinking. Noth really didn¡¯t like not knowing what the people around him thought of him. And yet at the same time he wouldn¡¯t have been phased at all if he found out they all hated him. It would be incredibly easy for him to just live the same life of seclusion that the previous lord did, only ever seeing his servants and family, and be perfectly happy. He wanted to make a good impression as their new lord, but if they didn¡¯t like him then they didn¡¯t like him, and that was that. At least he¡¯d do his best to win them over before he decided to just accept their feelings and give up. Before trying to convince anyone to let him fiddle with their oh so important homes, Noth decided it was best to actually verify what would happen if he tried first. Of course he¡¯d already double-checked with Serris to make sure that what he wanted to do was even possible, just like always, but if he wished up a new home and it came out vastly different than what he was thinking or wanting, then that would be an important factor to know of ahead of time, before he messed with someone else¡¯s property. Equally as important would be to find out what happened to the insides of the building when he changed the outsides. And so, Noth found a home a little off the center of the town, but still along the main road. Perhaps if this experiment turned out to be a raging success then this house could serve as a bit of proof to the people he approached that he wasn¡¯t just some haughty noble making random bold claims. It¡¯s not like they knew what Noth could do yet, after all. As the teen was inside the house, checking what dilapidated furniture was already there, a sudden loud ringing sound filled the air. It seemed that someone was frantically ringing one of the bells in the small towers at the corners of the town. He could hear the passersby in the street gasp and start running, and the terrified voice of a woman shrieking at her children that there must be an attack, and that they have to hurry inside. Noth took off running in the direction of the bell as soon as he understood the situation. He ran along streets, and through alleys, damning himself for having been lax with his workout now that the knight that had been teaching him was no longer around. If only he¡¯d been more persuasive, maybe the man would have accepted his offer to come along to Sleekka and keep teaching him. Truth be told though, the knight had been right; It definitely would have been a tricky job to live a peaceful retired life in a town that suffered constant demon attacks. When Noth rounded the final corner, he suddenly came upon the scene of a man being chased. It seemed that the man was trying to distract the beast that was chasing him so that it would stop attacking his family¡¯s home, as they were running in the opposite direction of a demolished house wall while a woman and child peeked around it with great worry. The creature chasing him seemed¡­ odd. Perhaps it would have been a wolf, but Noth had never once seen a wolf depicted as half the size of a carriage, nor had he ever heard of one with deadly rock-like spikes sticking out of its back. In his confusion as to what he was looking at, Noth simply stopped in place. The desperate man didn¡¯t seem without a plan, possibly having lived through situations similar to this before, and had escaped inside of a nearby abandoned home. It was a smart move, considering that the strange beast would have been much too big to ever use the door. But what was stopping it from simply breaking down the house? After all, it must have been the one who destroyed the previous house¡¯s wall. It seemed that the wolf-thing had realized that very same fact as well, since it had already started its rampaging assault on the building. ¡°Serris, what is that thing?!¡± ...That was possible? Chapter Fifty Five So instead of dealing with just a simple beast, they were actually dealing with a demonic beast? Never once had the teen ever heard about a demon turning something else demonic along with it. Was this why they were so feared as a species? He¡¯d always heard about their fearsome strength or resilience, but they also had a trick like this hidden up their sleeves as well? Would anything that Noth did even work on such a freaky thing? It was rare for a wish of his not to work, sure, but the teen knew next to nothing about how demonic and holy forces interacted. After all, didn¡¯t both forces come directly from the God-dess itself? And weren¡¯t the demons known to be exceptionally hard to kill? He was just too lacking in knowledge to be sure of anything he wanted to do, and he¡¯d only get one shot at a surprise attack before the demonic beast chose Noth as his target instead. ¡°How do I defeat it?¡± Serris seemed confused by the question, as if it was a silly thing to ask. <...Make a wish?> The way his angel was looking at him as if he was being absurd flustered him slightly, and it was also rubbing the teen the wrong way that she was still looking so calm, despite the dire situation. But then again, when had she ever looked concerned as Noth was placed in a deadly situation? Perhaps it was just because she trusted in him. Or maybe it was because she¡¯d promised to never let any harm befall him? He really should just be trusting in the power of the angel who¡¯d already proved herself to be quite almighty instead of wavering like this. A startling cry pierced through the air, along with piercing through Noth¡¯s thoughts. It seemed the demonic familiar wasn¡¯t alone, to be expected. No, it was only too obvious that someone had to be nearby to control the beast. A demonic familiar, after all, surely belonged to a demon. The demon looked rather human, if not for how lanky and stretched out looking it was. Its skin was an almost blue hue, like a person deprived of oxygen. Two small horns jutted out of its forehead with a slight curl. Its clothes somehow seemed to be made of black scales, looking as if they''d been grown by the demon naturally. A small thin tail could be seen slipping through the air like a snake behind it. And being dragged behind it were the woman and child who¡¯d been left behind in the broken house, desperately squirming and screaming. Even as it was slowly and casually strolling through the street with its victims, the demon¡¯s deep black eyes seemed absolutely locked onto Noth. As it grew closer, the teen could make out a confused and yet pleased look on its face. Its lips parted, and it seemed to be murmuring words to itself as it grew closer and closer to Noth. It took all of Noth¡¯s power not to just stand there like a deer in the headlights and let this new scary opponent just walk up to him. He shook away the spell he¡¯d been under at last, his hand now slightly bleeding from how deeply he¡¯d pressed his nails into them. This was no time to be awed, intrigued, or scared by the very thing that was now ravaging the town he was to protect; Three of his subjects were already in grave danger! Noth¡¯s panicking mind spit out the first thing he could think of. ¡°Serris, get rid of them!¡± Power flooded the teen¡¯s voice. His eyes began to glow their rusty orange, and his angel¡¯s own eyes seemed to glow to match. Noth hadn¡¯t been looking at the angel behind him, and so he¡¯d missed the displeased look she¡¯d been giving the demon before he gave his command. Her eyes narrowed upon her target, and she did exactly what she¡¯d been waiting to do. Suddenly the angel¡¯s hands raised to the sky. Serris¡¯s hands began to glow. The sky immediately darkened and swirled. A flash of light filled the area as two holy beams descended from the heavens. Noth had to cover his eyes against the intense yellows and whites that were filling his view, and he could feel an odd sensation like some of the light was absorbing in through his skin. When it seemed that the lights were finally diminishing, he hastily scanned the scene in front of him. All he could see were the shivering forms of the stunned mother and child; Not even a speck remained of the demon. Noth breathed a sigh of relief that the two had made it out unscathed; He¡¯d feared that they¡¯d been in just as much danger from his overhasty angel than they¡¯d been from the demon. The teen couldn¡¯t help but shoot his angel an incredulous look at her chosen method of flashy annihilation, but she didn¡¯t look even a single bit perturbed by it. If anything Serris looked quite satisfied with herself, now that the demon and its pet were gone. Oh well, at least the crisis was averted. Now it was time to act like a Count and check on his subjects. The mother and child could barely reply with how bewildered they were, but at the very least they were able to get up and follow Noth over to the building the father had been hiding in. There was a good bit of rubble to climb over to reach the thoroughly hidden man, but they were all relieved when he was still able to reply to their calls. Thankfully they found him still in one piece, although he was covered in bruises and scrapes. It was plain to see that he¡¯d somehow twisted his ankle during his escape. Noth of course offered to ¡®fix him¡¯, since he felt guilty for not moving to rescue the man from the beast sooner than he had. It was no surprise that his odd phrasing had scared the family, however, and so they all vehemently refused. He¡¯d saved the people¡¯s lives, the teen was well aware, but somehow the state they were being left in was completely rubbing Noth the wrong way, and so he instead offered to fix their home. He was planning to go around the town and fix all of the homes eventually, so why not start with theirs? The family looked confused by this new proposition, but they¡¯d already snubbed their lord¡¯s kind offer once, so they weren¡¯t quite able to say no to him a second time. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. It took a good bit of doing trying to convince the family to spill out everything they disliked about their current house. It seemed these were a modest people, people who were used to living in the squalor and dilapidation that they currently found themselves in. It was obvious that the broken wall could use some fixing, but past that they didn¡¯t really seem to know that it was possible to make a better house. From their words it would appear that they hadn¡¯t even once thought they¡¯d like a single room bigger, or possibly cut differently. If anything, it was a perfectly standard house to them, and it would have been greedy to have asked for anything greater. But such a thing would never have sat well with Noth. The strange small hovels everyone was living in would have to go. And yet¡­ even if he knew they¡¯d been made by the demons, did that mean he had to completely erase the odd designs and decals built into the walls that the townsfolk had grown used to? ¡°...Would you like your new home to still keep the same¡­ culture about it?¡± Noth¡¯s question was only met with confused looks. Perhaps he¡¯d worded it wrong. He pointed at the strange symbols that adorned the building all the way around the walls. Interestingly enough, the townsfolk had never even really given much thought to the symbols that decorated their homes. It seems they¡¯d just thought that every house in the world was covered in those, standard issue. In fact, they were a bit uneasy with the thought of a house not having the symbols, as if it were somehow a structural piece and the whole thing would just collapse without them. After making up his mind and telling the family to remove anything they didn¡¯t want losing from the house, Noth was ready. He closed his eyes and called to mind the image of the cute little storybook cottages he¡¯d read about so often, imagining a two story one with a cozy interior. It took a bit of doing to figure out where to place the symbols on the image, but he eventually decided upon running a fist-sized string of them a little under the roof, on the walls of the house. Keeping his picture in mind he quietly made his wish, and when his eyes opened again he could see that the cottage he¡¯d wanted had come into being. It would be a lie to say he didn¡¯t feel a little embarrassed by the awed look the family was giving him. The teen quickly ushered them all inside to escape their gaze. The inside of the cottage was absolutely charming. Luckily for Noth, his wish had even produced chairs, tables, counters, rugs, beds¡­ Everything that could have completed the picture of a perfect little cozy home had been reproduced here. As the family made noises of awe and swept their hands and gazes over Noth¡¯s handiwork, the teen felt a deep sense of fulfilment. Yes, wasn¡¯t he such a good lord? He¡¯d fed his starving people, and these ones at the very least seemed to be happy with the new home he¡¯d thought up for them. He was making a difference and improving the lives of others. Wasn¡¯t this exactly what he¡¯d pictured when he¡¯d been told he¡¯d be given a territory? A fire was lit inside of Noth¡¯s chest. He¡¯d gained a new goal. By the end of the month, he was going to see every one of his people overjoyed by their new homes. ~~~ Learning from his first try at getting the people to tell him what they want, Noth thoroughly prepared before attempting the process again. That night he got Elillith and the children together to help look through the stacks of books in the mansion¡¯s impressive library and find all the pictures of houses that they could. He even asked them to draw up any pictures they could remember of the various houses they¡¯d ever seen, regardless of how poorly the pictures might turn out. Noth had been a little concerned with how sad and perhaps upset the children had all seemed when he¡¯d first called upon them, but he was happy to notice that their spirits quickly lifted while they all scrambled to complete the mission he¡¯d given them. They all laughed and giggled, and even Elillith seemed to be getting into it a bit. As they all did their best and had fun together, Noth could suddenly hear the angel that had been clinging onto him as he worked make a small growling sound. Somehow through their connection his head knew exactly where to turn to see the object of her displeasure. For just a moment, Noth¡¯s eyes had perceived the silhouette of someone peeping in at them through the crack of the door. When the peeper saw that Noth had noticed them, they immediately fled, but it was already too late. The teen turned his head away and looked towards the floor. In the smallest voice he muttered out a wish. ¡°I wish I knew who that person was.¡± His angel replied with an unimpressed snort. When Noth quirked his eyebrow and shot Serris an impatient look, she rolled her eyes and finally gave him the answer that he wanted. ¡°What? The head maid? But she always seemed like she had such good manners¡­¡± Noth couldn¡¯t help the confusion that painted his face. Throughout his whole stay here the head maid had seemed nothing if not completely respectful and proper towards him. Why would such a dignified older woman feel the need to snoop on her lord¡¯s private time with his family. Another sigh from his angel made Noth suddenly look up, and his vision was filled with the face of Elillith, his one and only friend, across the table from him. The stoic and cool woman had the most pained look on her face that he¡¯d ever seen her wear. Noth didn¡¯t believe for a second that even were she to lose an arm would Elillith be able to show such a face. A deep concern washed over the teen. ¡°...Elillith? Is everything alright?¡± The woman¡¯s pumpkin coloured eyes seemed to waver at his question, but after a few moments of struggling her face seemed to school itself back into the impassive look it typically had, and her gaze quickly turned away from him. ¡°...Yes, m¡¯lord.¡± Chapter Fifty Six: -Elillith Intermission- A dreary and depressing life, one that she would have to suffer alone. For a time she had just accepted that that was just her lot in life. But then Natalia showed up, and she changed everything. Natalia was the one who had rescued the young girl who was quietly accepting her death. It would have been a lie to say that Elillith hadn¡¯t loved Natalia. It seemed like it should be a lie that someone as lowly and broken should be saved by someone as noble and strong. It should have only been a lie that someone so brilliant could be so easily killed off. It was from that day forth Elillith lied to herself that she had no more emotions to spare. Elillith closed off the last of her mostly shut off heart. The first and only person she had loved was now gone. What was the use of a single one of her emotions anymore. No, it was better to just close her eyes and live out her life as Natalia would have wanted. Natalia, who she couldn¡¯t help but accept was now gone, still filled her empty thoughts. Natalia, who was strong, and kind to all. Natalia, who would save anyone within her reach. Natalia, who had even accepted someone as damaged as Elillith as a friend. Even if Elillith hated the existence of [Gifts], she wouldn¡¯t have dared to miss a word that Natalia spoke. They¡¯d gotten close enough after a few months to speak about them. Natalia had become a noble even though she¡¯d once lived in a slum. The two of them would often laugh together and reminisce about life there. She was an [Apothecary]. She was a [Superior Apothecary], in fact. She was the highest tier out of all of them in the country. She was only titled a Baron, the lowest noble title, despite it all. Natalia had been pregnant when she stumbled across Elillith. It seemed that Elillith had been dumped dying in a river that led into the backyard of the Kieran manor. Natalia loved taking walks near the river behind the villa her husband had gifted her. She often walked there with a guard or two whenever she felt anxious. When Noth was born, Natalia had shown him to Elillith the day after. When Elillith saw Noth for the first time she childishly hated him. When Natalia was in labour, she¡¯d almost died. When Elillith met Noth she wished Natalia had never gotten pregnant in the first place. All her life, the only things that Elillith had ever been given to her had been given to her by Natalia. She¡¯d saved her, she¡¯d given her a job, she¡¯d given her someone to love. It wasn¡¯t until Natalia died that someone ever gave her something else. And in a way, even Noth had been given to her by Natalia. Elillith had resisted Noth¡¯s friendship. Elillith would never have another friend. Elillith could never let another person into her heart. Elillith would proudly be alone forever. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. But didn¡¯t the boy look just like her love? Wasn¡¯t he the spitting image of Natalia? How could she stand to be so rude to the one thing that her precious friend had left behind? There was no way that she could be so cold to someone who looked like Natalia forever. Elillith had no choice but to give up. No longer would her life revolve around Natalia. Now her life revolved around Noth. Noth would be the axis that she would anchor herself around. Nothing would stop her from helping Natalia¡¯s final gift to her. Letting herself feel emotions again was hard. And yet with each and every year she could feel herself starting to gain more and more of them back. First only Noth was allowed in her heart, but one day he came back with yet three more children. And those children quickly wormed their ways into her heart as well. Noth had given her so very much. Of course she would be grateful to the young boy she¡¯d watched grow into a young man. There was no question that the children he treated like family also felt the same way. How could she not follow him to the new Territory he¡¯d been given along with the children? The territory looked barren. Everything was just a bit too hot. The town was a complete wreck. But Noth looked so happy about it all anyways. Noth wasn¡¯t even slightly daunted by how difficult the town would be. Only excitement seemed to cover his face. There wasn¡¯t even a single complaint escaping from his lips. His mother would have been so proud of him. The servants in the mansion looked like they worshipped him before they even met him. Elillith could see the shine in their eyes. It was like they were all looking at their very last hope. Why hadn¡¯t any of the townfolk they''d passed looked like that? Mellen, the head maid, seemed the most welcoming of Noth out of them all. Except for some reason she didn¡¯t seem to like even one of the ¡®family¡¯ that he¡¯d brought along. And maybe she even hated Elillith the most? Never one to overreact, Elillith did her best to just ignore the head maid¡¯s obvious scorn. Sadly, ignoring Mellen didn¡¯t seem to be working. Perhaps she was the type of bully who only grew worse if you didn¡¯t acknowledge her. The head maid harshly picked on Elillith, and roughly admonished every little thing the children did. It was easy to see how downtrodden the three children¡¯s hearts were becoming. Maybe she should say something to Noth? Even though it was all so obvious to everyone else, the head maid was careful not to let her lord notice. And Elillith knew how upset Noth would be once he found out someone had been treating his family this way. Noth¡¯s awareness was the only thing that could stop all this. ¡­But was it the right thing to do? The boy was already so busy trying to run an entire town. He didn¡¯t need these extra problems. Maybe she would just have to wait until Noth became less busy. Managing herself and the children so that Noth wouldn¡¯t notice anything was harder than it should have been. Even though the children had agreed that they shouldn¡¯t give Noth any bigger burdens, that didn¡¯t make the treatment they were getting any easier. And it was so very hard not to just say something and end their torment. None of them wanted to go on like this for much longer. And yet they would just have to hold it all in. Noth had done so very much for all of them. How ungrateful of them it would be to just give up and stack more problems onto him right now. At the very least while they were around him they would be safe from the head maid¡¯s torment. Mellen didn¡¯t seem pleased how often the ¡®family¡¯ would get together. Elillith had spotted her spying on them during many of their meetings with Noth. Anytime she found out they were all going to do something together, the head maid seemed deeply displeased. Nothing but contempt seemed to emanate from her gaze. Elillith had stumbled upon her reprimanding the children many times in just a month. Mellen seemed to disapprove heavily of everything Jean did. She thought Helt was nothing but dependent and worthless. And she treated Ren like some offensive smelling beast that had wandered in. How long could they all keep this up? Elillith didn''t think she could let this happen for much longer. Letting herself be treated in such awful ways was easy, because she¡¯d built up an immunity, but... People forcing her to watch her young beloved children being treated so meanly? They didn¡¯t deserve this. Even she didn¡¯t deserve this. Noth was going to be so upset they¡¯d kept this from him. But didn¡¯t he at least deserve to know? Perhaps it was time she stopped living her easy passive life, and took action for herself. Chapter Fifty Seven After a night of frantically drawing, finding, and even wishing up duplicates of pictures of various kinds of houses, Noth decided to return to the street that had been attacked yesterday. Oddly enough, before the teen could leave, Elillith suddenly ambushed him with the kids in tow. She hastily took the compilation of pictures out of Noth¡¯s hands, gently enough to not hurt any of them, but roughly enough to cause a look of consternation to smack onto his face. With a mumble to take the kids along on his trip, Elillith split the stack of pictures into three and handed them each to the children. The whole thing happened in such a rushing flurry that Noth didn¡¯t even have a single second to realize what was happening, and as he slowly made his way out of the mansion with a growing visage of confusion and concern, he could hear the tittering laughter of his angel following after him. Well, if the all knowing angel was telling him that, then Noth would just have to shut up and be grateful. The teen had been unaware of the numerous eyes that had been on him when he saved the family and rebuilt their house, but when he came back to check on how they were doing, suddenly almost everyone with a home on this street had been out and giving him intense stares. The townsfolk only kept their ominous silence up for the time it took Noth to finish speaking with the profusely thankful family he¡¯d saved, and then out of nowhere a particularly big and bold woman appeared. She approached with such fierce determination that the teen actually grew worried for a minute, and did his best to hide the children behind him. And yet, although he was trying to shield the kids with his body, he couldn¡¯t stop the woman¡¯s loud, booming words from assaulting their ears and making them wince. ¡°You!¡± Noth flinched a bit and nervously pointed to himself. The woman¡¯s eyes narrowed just a tad bit more, almost looking threatening. ¡°Yer the new Count, yah?¡± The teen¡¯s eyes grew a little bit bigger, but he nodded. Was she perhaps upset with him about something? Had he done something to hurt his image as a lord in her eyes? ¡°And yer the one who killed that demon yesterday, also.¡± This one she said in more of an unimpressed huff, even while her face took on a kind of smug smirk. Maybe she¡­ wasn¡¯t upset at him? And how had she known about the demon? Had she been there, hiding in her house yesterday? Before Noth could open his mouth to try and ask how she knew, the woman¡¯s booming voice once more smacked into his ears. ¡°And the house?¡± The way that everyone around them seemed to lean in and listen even harder didn¡¯t go without the teen¡¯s notice. He looked around at the almost predatory seeming onlookers and then back at the house he¡¯d upgraded. Oh, so this was why they were all here. Well, didn''t it make sense? Wouldn¡¯t anyone jump at the chance to magically get a better home? It would be especially alluring if there was already a tried and proven example of it that had popped up right on your street. Noth cleared his throat and tried to stand with dignity. This was going to be far easier to pull off than he¡¯d expected. ¡°Yes, I was also the one who made the house. I¡¯ll gladly do the same for everyone, although it will take some time. Ah, and of course, it will be completely free.¡± There were massive ripples of whispers around him when the townsfolk heard it would be ¡®free¡¯. Many of them seemed to be unconvinced of his words, wondering what he could possibly ask of them in the future, while others that knew he was the one behind the free food they¡¯d been enjoying were busy refuting the other¡¯s words. Just as Noth was wondering what he could do to help prove his sincerity, the children behind him sprung into action, with Jean acting as their representative as per usual. They surrounded the large woman with their tiny bodies and held out the pictures they held in their hands. ¡°Please ma¡¯am, look at these pictures that Count Noct prepared for everyone. He knew that you all might have trouble choosing the looks of your new homes, so he spent his own precious time last night making these!¡± Jean hadn¡¯t even needed to use a hint of her [Gift], her overpowering beauty and sonorous voice had been enough to quiet everyone down easily. The people crowded around the big woman, as much clambering to see the pictures she held as they were eager to get a better look at the gorgeous girl. They passed around the various pictures amongst themselves, marvelling at the many wonderful different buildings they¡¯d never seen before, and casting more and more hopeful looks Noth¡¯s way. It seemed they¡¯d been quite successfully won over. Yes, Serris was right. It was indeed a good idea to bring the children along. He really really needed to work on his social skills. Noth mouthed his thanks to the children and finally stepped forwards. ¡°Now if you could please form a line starting with this woman, I¡¯ll gladly get to work.¡± ~~~ It took quite a bit longer to work his way through all the homes than Noth had thought it would. It was true that the amount of wishes he could make in a day had grown to a very large amount, and in all actuality he probably had enough in him to make it through almost half the town¡¯s homes in just one day. The problem, however, was having to interact with the people whose homes he was making. There were times that some families would fight with each other over who was next in line. Some families wouldn¡¯t agree on the house they wanted. Sometimes someone would ask for a home that was much too large for their needs, and had to be thoroughly explained why it was a bad idea. Some just couldn¡¯t decide on what they wanted. And some had so many different changes and specifications to add that it made it hard for Noth to envision what exactly he was wishing for. By the end of the day so much time would have been wasted that Noth could only really make his way through around 10 houses a day at most. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. There was, however, a small saving grace for Noth through these mentally exhausting days. Usually at least one of the children would accompany Noth and assist him in dealing with everyone. It was a huge help, considering how the teen really didn¡¯t know what to say half the time when something went awry. Sometimes a particular child would be more helpful with that than others of course, like how Jean was practically unstoppable. But even the usually calm and reserved Helt and the shy and needy Ren had their moments to shine. It truly nailed in the fact that Noth wasn¡¯t cut out for this kind of interaction. The trickiest one had been the day before he finished everything, however. Instead of sending one of the children, they instead all insisted on Noth bringing Elillith along with him. They¡¯d refused to give him a reason why, citing the lame excuse that the woman had actually really wanted to come along, and shoved the two out the door. The trip had been a quiet one, not that Noth minded, but the real problem cropped up when he tried to talk to the townsfolk. So far he¡¯d had the children to help him, but this time he had the completely quiet Elillith, who was absolutely no help whatsoever in such social situations. Noth had had to work through the people¡¯s problems completely on his own, and although a part of him knew this was necessary for his own personal growth, another part of him was lamenting the entire situation. Another worrying aspect was how her eyes seemed to be boring holes into his skull the whole time. In the end Noth actually gave up and went home early that day from the stress. As the two of them marched home, Elillith looked like she desperately wanted to say something to him. The fact that he could actually tell what she was thinking just by looking at her was actually very surprising to Noth. He¡¯d love to say that it was due to him having gotten to know her so well, but that would have been a lie. No, it was honestly all because her emotions seemed to be leaking through the expressionless doll-like mask that she usually had for a face. And yet, even when he tried to ask her if something was wrong, Elillith would just squeeze her mouth shut tighter, not allowing a peep to escape her lips. It was all very troubling. Even by the time they made it back home to the mansion, Elillith hadn¡¯t spoken a single word. And when the children assembled and shot her hopeful looks she just slowly shook her head, causing their faces to all suddenly drop. Noth¡¯s face dropped too, although more in confusion than in the pure sadness that they were all showing. But still, even when he tried to ask, no one would give him an answer. Even later, when Noth had tried to ask his angel, she just gave him a wry smile and told him he¡¯d find out tomorrow. It never bode well when his angel refused to tell him something. He¡¯d have to be especially wary tomorrow. ~~~ On the foretold day all three of the children came along with him, something that hadn¡¯t happened since his first day of making houses. They all wore dire faces when they first left the mansion, but when they got into town and started interacting with the people they quickly did their best to look better. Ren didn¡¯t do quite as good of a job as the other two in hiding her feelings, however. Noth couldn¡¯t help but work slower as he observed them all and worried over what had done this to them, and yet somehow he finished up his work faster than any of the other days. It was practically awe-inspiring how easily they had handled everyone. The teen was truly and thoroughly impressed. He couldn''t help but imagine how quickly he couldn''t gotten everything done if they''d just came along with him every day. As they began their trek back home Noth couldn''t help but wonder why they hadn''t all gone with him from the get-go. The way the children''s faces turned resolute once the group neared the mansion was completely unmissable. The children all motioned for Noth to keep quiet and sneak, and without telling them he muttered a wish for the group¡¯s invisibility, just to be safe. The cute infiltration that they were leading him on would have seemed so charming and fun to Noth, if he wasn¡¯t already gravely worried about what big secret everyone had been keeping from him. They waited, and then entered through a back servant¡¯s entrance right after one of the maids opened the door and left through it. Their progress through the mansion was slow since the children were being so cautious, but luckily enough the place they were headed for wasn¡¯t too far away. Since they were already near the servant¡¯s quarters, the head maid¡¯s office wasn¡¯t too terribly far away, and after a handful of minutes they managed to reach the door. Even though the office¡¯s door was fully closed, they could still hear the sound of someone yelling from inside. And when the grave small faces next to him all turned in his direction, Noth slowly reached out to crack open the door, doing his utmost best to not make too much noise and interrupt whoever was inside. Luckily it seemed whoever was shouting was far too focused on their opponent to notice the quiet creak of the door hinges. As Noth and the children crammed their faces against the small opening, the sight of the head maid Mellen standing in front of Elillith came into view. From the angle that they were at the group couldn¡¯t see the expression on the head maid¡¯s face, but they could clearly see the slightly sombre look that was resting on Elillith¡¯s gently downturned face. ¡°-And you even let all three of those useless children tag along with Count Noct today as well! What kind of caretaker are you?! Shouldn¡¯t you be wrangling those worthless things and keeping them out of the way until he¡¯s finished working? It¡¯s already bad enough that you kept letting one of them go along every day and distract him, but did you really think it would be a good idea to just-¡± The woman¡¯s ranting went on and on, and all the while Elillith never moved or said a word back. Noth was confused why the usually unfazed Elillith would just stand there and let herself be forced to listen to all of her blathering. And even more than that, he was confused why Mellen was here berating her for him bringing the kids along. If anything they¡¯d been a massive help to him, and if he¡¯d had all three of them along the whole time he probably would have finished a lot sooner. While Noth¡¯s mind was trying to understand what problem Mellen might have had, Elillith¡¯s lips mumbled out a small sentence, and it seemed that the head maid grew somehow even more irate. ¡°What did you just say, you shameless thing?!¡± A loud smacking sound rang out inside of the office. Elillith¡¯s face was now turned slightly to the right. Mellen¡¯s slap was quickly causing Elillith¡¯s pale skin to light up where she¡¯d been struck. And yet despite the pain she must have felt, the woman was still standing strong, her eyes now turned up towards Mellen with a clear glow of anger. ¡°I said the kids. Ain¡¯t. Worthless.¡± Chapter Fifty Eight It was the first time Noth had heard Elillith speak without her usual lazy sounding drawl. He was so shocked at hearing and seeing the completely out of character response from her, that his hand that had been moving completely stopped, and he didn¡¯t barge into the office like he¡¯d been about to. Of course, Elillith¡¯s reply was not what Mellen had been wanting to hear. ¡°How dare you talk to me like that, you harlot!¡± The older woman shoved Elillith down in a fit of rage. Her actions broke Noth out of his stunned state, and he quickly slammed open the door and marched in, dispelling his invisibility. The kids flooded in behind him shortly after, and ran over to their now sitting loved one. They surrounded her in big, tear-filled hugs, and yet Elillith¡¯s eyes were instead stuck upon Noth¡¯s angrily marching form as he made his way towards the head maid. He was absolutely furious with her. Noth¡¯s eyes were glowing, the previous black and deep depths were now a bright, shining orange. His face was oddly calm, but those eyes¡­ The look in his eyes left no room for misunderstanding. Mellen was at first only shocked that her lord had suddenly caught her in such a compromising position, but when he saw the sheer fury that was being broadcasted upon her, she practically shrunk into herself. What could she possibly say or do to escape from his overpowering gaze? What possible string of words or actions could help to remove his ire? She¡¯d heard what he¡¯d done to the demons, embellished though it could have been. It had to have been based off of something at the very least, and Mellen didn¡¯t want to find out what her lord was capable of in this way. ¡°My lord, what, what did I-?¡± In her fear the head maid called out, her feet slowly staggering backwards. The children and Elillith would have been in her path, but they quickly scrambled out of her way. And yet, despite the fact that they just barely managed to get out of the way, somehow Mellen still managed to trip over Elillith¡¯s foot. Somehow. The woman careened backwards, collapsing onto the floor, and yet her gaze never tore away from Noth¡¯s face as he slowly made his way ever closer. The teen only stopped once he was right in front of her, staring down upon her form with utter contempt. Power leaked from his lips as he issued the head maid an icy command. ¡°Stand.¡± Mellen stood up against her will, her body trembling as she felt herself being controlled by some unknown force. Her nails were digging into her palms enough to cause them to bleed from how hard she was fisting her hands, but she couldn¡¯t even feel it due to the mind numbing fear. The sound of her heart beating a mile a minute was pounding in her ears, and yet somehow she was still able to perfectly hear the chilly question that emanated from the teen in front of her. ¡°What have you been doing to my family?¡± The practically growled question made the head maid yip in fear. She tried to force out any kind of explanation, but the pressure of the rage that was being beamed down upon her was making her throat close up and start to choke. Noth¡¯s hateful gaze peered at her for a while, before quickly sweeping to the side, passing over the faces of his family, and then snapping back to Mellen once more. His voice was softer when he opened his mouth again, but somehow his words seemed to have grown even more intensity to them. ¡°Did you not understand that they were extremely important to me?¡± The woman tried her hardest to choke out some kind of reply to him, but it seemed like her throat had zipped itself shut. The only sounds she could manage to compel herself to make were just small high pitched wheezes and grunts. Noth¡¯s patience was wearing thin. He slightly tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, as if he was judging what he was seeing. ¡°I¡¯m not here for this over dramatic reaction of yours, I¡¯m here for you to ¡± With a sudden flushing feeling, Mellen¡¯s throat was immediately unclenched, and a deluge of words spilled up and out from inside of her with zero resistance. ¡°I was just trying to keep you safe from these freeloaders my Count! I was hoping that if I put them in their place that they might get the hint and leave an important man like you alone! And if they were out of your hair, then you¡¯d have no reason to be distracted and could give all of your focus to protecting the town and ridding the land of demons, unlike the last lord we had! You don¡¯t need to waste time on some shameless hussy and these kids that aren¡¯t even related to you, and I couldn¡¯t stand you being fooled by all of them into letting them stay here! That woman is probably just some whore who keeps getting knocked up by sugar daddy after sugar daddy right? And you¡¯re just too young and na?ve to realize that you¡¯re her next victim! Those types of harlots are a dime a dozen, and it¡¯s my job to lead-¡± Her words were absolutely deplorable to Noth. How could she have leapt to such an unpleasant conclusion about Elillith and the kids? Had he somehow said something wrong? Just the thought that people could be eyeing up his loved ones with such a disgusting thought in their head was absolutely unbearable. Did everyone else in the mansion think the same thing? A nauseating taste seemed to be filling Noth¡¯s mouth at the prospect, and the only way he could figure out how to get rid of it was to ask the question on the tip of his tongue. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°You heard me say they were my family and that¡¯s what you assumed I meant?¡± ¡°Yes well, that or perhaps that you might be keeping the children for later and the woman for now. It isn¡¯t all that uncommon a thing to hear about amongst the powerful, and they are all quite the attractive kids, aren¡¯t they? I¡¯m sure I¡¯m not the only one in the mansion who thought so; I mean, after all, none of the maids or servants ever said a word to you when I ordered them to help with the bullying, right?¡± Noth¡¯s mind wanted to give up and shut down. He couldn¡¯t handle what he was hearing right now at all. He hated these new, horrific things he was hearing come out of Mellen¡¯s mouth. He¡¯d learned from the last time, and he knew better than to keep asking questions, even if his overactive and morbid mind wouldn¡¯t stop churning them out. He knew that if he went down the rabbit hole in front of him that there was no way he¡¯d be leaving it unscarred. No, he¡¯d learned enough, and this would be ending now. He did his best to focus on the anger he was feeling instead of the disgust and confusion, hoping to drown it all out and get done what needed to be done. ¡°How awful. How awful you are. How awful you¡¯ve all been! I don¡¯t need such awful people in my home. I want you gone. I want you all gone! I want you all far, far away from here! ¡± Noth¡¯s eyes flashed bright, there was a pressure on the mansion, and a loud cracking sound resounded throughout the office. Suddenly Noth and his family were the only ones left in the building. ~~~ Noth had collapsed shortly after using his powers, and had to be carefully dragged up to his room by Elillith and the children. He managed to wake up two hours later to the concerned faces of his family, but he hadn¡¯t quite worked up the strength to talk to them about anything yet. Instead he just laid there, staring up at the smiling face of his angel. As he took in the clearly pleased look resting on her face, he ruminated over the feelings that were flooding him. Of course there was the stabbing pain of his overclocked bracelet that was vying for his attention, but there was also something else there¡­ Something he¡¯d been actively ignoring ever since it first appeared. There was an odd, buzzing energy that was resonating somewhere inside of him. In all likelihood, Noth might¡¯ve accidentally broken his bracelet if he hadn¡¯t had that extra bit of energy. He¡¯d first noticed its presence on the day that Serris had killed the demons. It was so different from any of the other energy that he had inside of him, like it came from a completely separate place than the power he channelled from his angel, so he was fairly certain that it hadn¡¯t been there before then. Perhaps he¡¯d been a little bit distracted by the whole demon affair, but there was no way that he wouldn¡¯t have eventually noticed the odd feeling. Didn¡¯t it make sense to assume that this weird, extra power was somehow connected to the demons that Serris slayed? But why had Noth been the one to receive it when his angel had been the one to put in all the work? Perhaps it could be argued that Noth had made a wish and that Serris had just been the one to carry out his will¡­ but it still didn¡¯t quite sit right in the teen¡¯s mind. And why do the demons even give this extra power away upon dying in the first place? Is it some kind of divine reward from the God-dess for defeating the evil beings plaguing her world? But what would a normal person even do with such energy? Noth¡¯s eyes shifted away from Serris¡¯s face. Even if he had the impulse to try and ask what was going on, it was highly unlikely that she¡¯d actually give him a proper answer. Maybe he¡¯d take his chances later, but now certainly wasn¡¯t the time. His gaze turned towards the others in the room. Elillith, Jean, Helt, Ren¡­ They¡¯d all been treated so awful, right in the home that he¡¯d brought them to. They were his responsibility, and he¡¯d failed them for such a long time. Why hadn¡¯t any of them told him what was happening? Did they not believe in him? Noth wanted to open his mouth and ask them all why they just sat there and took what that awful old woman was doing to them, but he was scared that it would come out sounding like he was blaming them. It would be better if he took the time to calm down a bit first and plan out his words more carefully before he tried to confront them on anything. It''d be terrible if he started becoming like his father and acted on his emotions towards his loved ones with no plan. No, he¡¯d never accept himself becoming like that. Instead, Noth decided to play things safe and ask a more mundane set of questions for now. ¡°How long have I been out?¡± Helt sprung at the question. He¡¯d been given a lovely watch as a gift by Noth¡¯s father, and had been diligently keeping track of the time. He leaned over even closer to Noth and put out his arm towards the teen¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s been two hours. See?¡± ¡°Two hours¡­?¡± Noth sat up a bit in his bed. ¡°Nothing happened while I wasn¡¯t around, right?¡± A hint of concern creeped into Noth¡¯s eyes. There hadn¡¯t been any demon attacks while he¡¯d been gone, right? The angry servants hadn¡¯t come back to stir up a fuss about him removing them? In his worry, he looked towards Serris, but all she did was giggle at him as if he was being silly. Seeing the angst growing on Noth¡¯s face, Ren decided to hurry and reassure him. ¡°No no, nothing too major happened while you were asleep!¡± Noth let out the breath he didn''t know he¡¯d been holding, grateful that their luck hadn¡¯t run out while he wasn¡¯t able to protect them. Ren smiled at his growing look of relief, and in her own relaxation she ended up letting something slip that she shouldn¡¯t have. ¡°Yeah there¡¯s nothing to worry about! The only worrying thing that hap-¡± The way the girl suddenly shut up with a squeak and an odd face easily caught Noth¡¯s attention. His eyes swept over the wincing faces of his family. Even Elillith looked a little bothered by the slip. And then of course there was the far too large and almost menacing smile on Serris¡¯s lips. A sigh was threatening to make its way out of the teen''s lips, but he held it in and instead wearily put his hands over his eyes. ¡°...What happened?¡± Chapter Fifty Nine Apparently, while Noth had passed out, some of the servants who had been out running errands or working outside the building had tried to come back. Elillith and the children had personally witnessed someone trying to enter in through the door, only to be suddenly teleported away. Eventually the same person returned, and Jean had to go out as a liaison to find out where they¡¯d gone. Supposedly they¡¯d been sent back to their house, and when they tried a second time to walk through the door, they were teleported away yet again. The most concerning thing, however, was that none of the staff who¡¯d been inside the mansion had tried to come back yet. Surely there must have been servants who were confused why they¡¯d been whisked away and would come back seeking answers, like the person from earlier, and yet not one of them came. Once the townspeople got wind of what had happened in the mansion it was obvious that they were going to gossip amongst themselves. Some people scorned and shunned the servants who were still left, afraid of the lord¡¯s anger. Some were scared that now that their lord has been displeased by one of them, that he may no longer offer his protection to the rest. Some who had been on the brink of starvation before he came were worried that he¡¯d stop offering the free food. And most of all, a large portion were scared that he might just turn his awe-inspiring powers on them due to his anger. It was still unknown what exactly had happened to the servants who¡¯d disappeared, and no one was willing to be the ones to find out firsthand. At the behest of the townsfolk, the remaining servants had thrown themselves to the ground in front of the mansion¡¯s doorway, hoping that the Count would mercifully grant them an audience so that they could beg for the continued protection of their town, even if it would cost them their lives. They knew full well that they were guilty, especially since they¡¯d done nothing against Mellen¡¯s bullying. Hell, some of them had even assisted in it. At the time, a few of them hadn¡¯t even realize how bad a thing it was that they¡¯d been doing, but now it was plainly obvious how stupid it all was to them. They¡¯d risked everyone in town¡¯s lives for petty and meaningless reasons. If their deaths were enough to assuage Count Noct¡¯s anger, then they¡¯d gladly do what needed to be done. A small crowd of anxious townsfolk bold enough to risk showing their faces to the angered lord had gathered to watch what would happen to the sinners. A few of them were relatives of those prostrated on the ground, wringing their hands and praying to the God-dess that the lord wouldn¡¯t be too bloodthirsty and would grant their loved ones mercy. They were even prepared to fling themselves at the Count¡¯s feet and beg, if that was what was needed of them. They¡¯d lived in squalor and danger their whole lives, they weren¡¯t afraid to throw away their shame to save what was important to them. The door eventually opened, and Noth, surrounded by Elillith and the children, stepped out. The teen couldn¡¯t help the upset look in his eyes at the people at his feet. He was trying his best to be diplomatic, especially since they were in front of the innocent townspeople he¡¯d spent the last handful of days meeting and building up an image in front of. However, his anger hadn¡¯t truly managed to dissipate after only a day, so he had to wrestle down the contempt that was rising inside of him from looking at the wrongdoers. In all honesty Noth had expected to feel this way, since he already felt upset just thinking about doing it, so he and the others had formulated a plan for how to deal with this. Unsurprisingly, their agreed upon plan was to let Jean be the one to address the people. The small girl stepped in front of Noth, clearing her throat to gain everyone''s attention. When all eyes were finally focused on her, she put on her best air of authority and activated a small fraction of her [Gift]. ¡°People of Sleekka. Our lord, Count Noct, has gained a terrible wound from the actions of the servants who had been working under them. He will no longer allow anyone inside of the mansion except those he deems to be his family.¡± Jean nervously glanced back at Noth, feeling a bit awkward about saying the last part of her prepared speech. Did he really want to announce to the general public that he thought of them like that? But it wasn¡¯t up to her to second guess what he wanted to tell his people. ¡°The Count wishes it to be known that he doesn¡¯t know the whereabouts of the missing ex-servants that had been inside the mansion at the time of the incident, but he believes that they will one day find their ways back here, should they be so willing. And should they come back to the town, they will of course be allowed to go to their respective homes. However, as previously stated, they will not be allowed to return to work at the mansion, and will have to seek other employment elsewhere. Our lord would like to stress that although he was deeply hurt by what the ex-servants have done, he does not hold a grudge against the people of the town he has sworn to protect. Regardless of this incident, the free food and protection from demon attacks will continue, and of course you all shall keep your homes. However, the lord shall be secluding himself away inside his mansion for a while, in an effort to give his heart the time it needs to repair itself. If something urgent crops up that the lord needs to know about, please feel free to come and tell it to him, but make sure that only urgent news is what reaches his ears. Thank you.¡± And with a simple bow, Noth and his family turned away and went back inside, the door slowly closing upon the relieved and yet still somehow concerned faces of the townsfolk. *** There was a knock at the door. Gilt was scared to open it. What if it was the others, come to hurl their anger at her again? But it was so late, who would come at such a time? Behind the door there was a small, lovely girl smiling at her. Wait, this was the beautiful young girl that the Count brought with him! What was her name¡­ Jean! Right¡­ She was one of the people the head maid had ordered them to bully¡­ Although all they ever really did to her was just ignore her, since everyone said they couldn¡¯t do it. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Maybe she wouldn¡¯t be too mad, then. ¡°...Hello?¡± ¡°Good evening, ma¡¯am.¡± The little beauty performed an official looking bow and then smiled up at Gilt. Her smile looked sweet and lovely at first glance, but it seemed like there was something hiding behind it to the woman. Hearing herself be called ¡®ma¡¯am¡¯ by someone even though she was only 18 was a bit uncomfortable, but nothing would come from Gilt correcting the girl. ¡°You¡¯re Jean, right? ...Can I help you?¡± ¡°Yes, as a matter of fact you can.¡± Her small slender arms crossed authoritatively, and the hidden look in her eyes grew all the more obvious. It was now clear that the young girl was looking down on Gilt. How do you deal with someone almost half your age looking at you like you¡¯re inferior? ¡°You know that Lord Noct has fired all of you since his unfortunate realization yesterday, correct?¡± There was no mistaking it now. Jean hadn¡¯t come here with any sort of kind intentions. And yet Gilt was in no position to do anything back. She already knew she deserved such scorn, and this whole situation had started from being rude to the lord¡¯s guests in the first place. All she could do was bite her lip and nod. Jean¡¯s scornful gaze softened a good bit at that, and had instead simmered down into a piteous one. ¡°Look. I¡¯m not really here to pick a fight with you. Instead, I¡¯m here to cut a deal. You were one of the servants who was handing out the free soup in town, right? Well what if I told you that Count Noct might be willing to let you keep doing that in repentance for your misdeeds?¡± A part of Gilt didn¡¯t really want to accept. Yes, it would be a good idea to show the lord how sorry she was by agreeing to this proposition. And yet, her heart squeezed at the idea of having to be in front of all the resentful others every day. They might even think that she was being shameless for showing up again so readily, and that maybe she didn¡¯t even care that she and the other servants had endangered everyone. But when Gilt¡¯s face contorted negatively, suddenly a wave of compulsion hit. Her mouth refused to make a single noise of disagreement, as her eyes were glued to the gorgeous girl. How lovely she was. Could she possibly say no to such a wonderful person? It pained her just to think about it. Saying no now might ruin any possible chance she had to become closer to Jean! She might never see the girl smile in her direction ever again! ¡°...Yes, I would be overjoyed to help. Please tell me everything you need from me.¡± *** Jean grimaced as she walked away. She pulled her cloak¡¯s hood up to hide her flowing, practically sparkling lavender locks. After she¡¯d walked a few feet, another small cloaked figure joined her. The visible bottom half of his purple face held a wry, pained looking smile as he gazed at his friend. He knew exactly what she was thinking, and it was all too easy for him to sympathize. ¡°I know. You hate doing that to people, but sometimes there¡¯s no helping it. We¡¯re doing it for a good cause, anyways.¡± Helt¡¯s words made her grimace turn into a pout, but the sour expression still hadn¡¯t quite left her face. She started making her way back to the mansion, leading Helt. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aware of that. I¡¯ve lived in poverty, I know how people can get scary when they¡¯re desperate, and I know how much someone to keep the order is needed. But past all that I¡¯m doing this for Noth way more than anything to do with a ¡®good cause¡¯.¡± The boy stared in her direction for a while before sighing and shaking his head. ¡°I really wish you wouldn¡¯t try so hard to be the mature one all the time. Stop trying to always act so responsible and just admit that you like how helpful your [Gift] is being for us on this.¡± With a face redder than a fire, Jean swirled to face Helt. She raised her hand like she might hit him any second, but instead reached out and roughly yanked down his hood before stomping off and muttering under her breath. ¡°GOD-DESS you¡¯re so annoying when you¡¯re reading my thoughts like that.¡± Helt blew a puff of air out of his cheeks as he readjusted his hood. ¡°And you¡¯re annoying when you get all wishy-washy like this. Just use your [Gift] and be happy already.¡± He quickly moved to follow after her. Even though she refused to look his way again. ¡°Oh you say it like it¡¯s sooo easy. Like you¡¯re one to talk when you look like you¡¯re gonna cry any minute from using yours!¡± The boy couldn¡¯t refute her words at all, he could only chuckle with a clear hint of pain. ¡°Thank you for always worrying about me Jean. But I¡¯m also doing this for a good cause.¡± Jean sighed, knowing that he was right. She wasn¡¯t enough of a hypocrite to keep harping on the subject, even though she was well and truly worried for him. The best solution was for them to hurry up and make it home to Noth so that Helt could get better. Besides, at this point Ren was probably worried sick about them, and Elillith¡­ Well who knows what she¡¯d be feeling about any of this, but it would be nice to return to their loved ones quickly anyways! The girl picked up her pace, taking quick peeks back at Helt to make sure he was keeping up with her and hadn¡¯t suddenly collapsed or somesuch. Struggling though he was, Helt still let out a slight giggle at her antics. ¡°Yes yes, I¡¯m coming. We need to hurry anyways; I¡¯m sure Ren¡¯s not really doing the best at keeping brother Noth distracted like we asked. Maybe Elillith is helping¡­ somehow.¡± ¡°Yeah, maybe we should have um¡­ rethought that part of the plan. It¡¯d definitely be a pain if Noth got all mopey over us sneaking out. I don¡¯t even want to find out how he¡¯s gonna blame himself for making us ¡®do his dirty work¡¯.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so dishonest Jean. You say all that, but you know you secretly want him to praise you for this.¡± ¡°DON¡¯T TELL ME MY OWN THOUGHTS YOU-!¡± Jean¡¯s mouth shut hard when she realized she was yelling. They were wearing cloaks to keep their identities a secret. How stupid could she be to draw attention to herself like that? She pulled the cloak tighter around herself and seemed to shrivel inside of it in shame. The laughter of her first friend echoed in her ears. And yet, despite how ashamed she felt, she was secretly glad to be proving such a good distraction from his pain. Chapter Sixty A small ashen haired girl sat next to Noth, her eyes sparkling at him as he read the passage of a story to her. Sometimes, on their slower days, Ren used to ask him to do this for her, especially when Helt wasn¡¯t feeling up to it. The girl had learned how to read over the course of the past year, but she¡¯d never really gotten over her habit of making others read her favourite stories to her, so Noth would happily oblige every once in a while. Her small arms were laced around one of his, and she would bounce in happiness every so often. Her blatant joy made him smile along too. How nice it was to have such younger siblings to take care of. How had the thought that he would dislike such things ever crossed his mind? While Jean was more the reliable type, and Helt more quiet yet affectionate, Ren was by far the most childish of all the 9 year olds. She never seemed to grow up even a little in these past 2 years that he¡¯d been protecting them all. Not even her height had grown much. It seemed she was truly destined to be the little sister type. The only worrisome part was that she seemed to look up to him so much that it sometimes made her upset. Noth knew that although she usually acted quite clingy and like she couldn¡¯t do anything alone, Ren would occasionally sneak off on her own somewhere in their previous house. He¡¯d never been able to figure out where she was, and the possibilities of where she could have gone were not all good ones. During the month she¡¯d been living here he hadn¡¯t seen her go missing yet, but he was worried that it was only a matter of time. Wouldn¡¯t it be better if he knew where she was planning to go ahead of time? Figuring now was as good a time as any to ask, since they were mostly alone (Besides Elillith sewing on the couch across from them), Noth placed the book down on his lap and turned to Ren. ¡°I have a question for you, Ren.¡± The girl wasn¡¯t surprised. She¡¯d often heard Noth ask a lot of questions, even to her and the other children, so she just easily nodded along with her big eager eyes. ¡°Where did you keep disappearing to in our old home?¡± The straight and tactless way that he asked made Ren feel like she was suddenly under interrogation. She could feel herself starting to sweat all of a sudden, and she even hiccoughed from the shock. Elillith, who it seemed hadn¡¯t been paying a shred of attention to them all this time, promptly put aside her sewing, got up, and poured Ren a glass of water. As the tiny girl started to desperately drink, Elillith shot Noth a quick look, as if she was saying to lay off. The teen didn¡¯t really know what it was that he¡¯d said wrong, but he knew if even she was reproaching him for it, then he¡¯d probably actually done something quite discourteous. He tried to open his mouth and worm out some kind of apology, but before he could manage to, Ren spoke first. ¡°I was, um, playing in the greenhouse by myself. I was¡­ making my own secret base?¡± Her words made Noth think back to when he¡¯d made his own secret base with his mother. Ah, how nostalgic. Truth be told, he was actually rather missing his old decrepit greenhouse full of memories. He was also the tiniest bit worried that his father would send in servants to clean the place in his absence and find his graveyard of trophies. ¡­ Maybe he should write a quick letter to the Earl, just to be safe. Or maybe he should teleport over? It might be helpful in finding out where the servants he¡¯d sent away had all gone. As Noth mulled all this over, Ren looked away with a face full of pain. She hated having to lie to someone she cared about. How awful she felt to have done so. Elillith took one look at her face and suddenly picked the girl up. ¡°Th¡¯ girl¡¯s tired, m¡¯lord. ¡®ll take ¡®er.¡± As they walked away, Elillith patting the little girl¡¯s back all the while, Noth could just barely hear Ren quietly mumbling. Now that he was left alone in the room, Noth turned to the angel that had been leaning on his free side all this time. Her eyes were closed as if she had fallen asleep during reading time, and yet Noth knew that it was all pretend; Just a play that she was putting on for him, and him alone. She¡¯d once told him that she missed being able to sleep, and that she was worried that Noth might find her odd for not sharing such a basic characteristic as everything else living. To tell the truth, the teen had never even considered that it might be weird that she couldn¡¯t sleep. If anything, it was just one of the many strange things that made Serris Serris to him. He¡¯d made a casual suggestion to her once that she might feel better if she went through the motions and acted out being asleep, thinking that she wouldn¡¯t take his words all too seriously, and yet she¡¯d jumped on the offer enthusiastically. Now, whenever the mood felt right to her, she would put on an affectation of sleep. When Serris was first trying to get used to her pretend slumber, she¡¯d once let slip that this would be good practice for the day when she could finally sleep again. She¡¯d immediately made a face and tried to pretend like she hadn¡¯t said anything, but Noth had very quickly stored away her accidental words. Seeing how jumpy she¡¯d become when she¡¯d realized she was talking aloud, that meant it was something she wasn¡¯t supposed to let others hear, and the fact that no embarrassed looks ensued meant that she wasn¡¯t trying to hide it for some sort of personal reason. The only assumption Noth could make was that this was somehow related to the second form that he¡¯d previously learned about. ¡­Which meant that he had absolutely no one that he was allowed to double check this thought with, seeing as the God-dess forbade Serris from saying anything, and hadn¡¯t told the prophets a peep about it either. But even with that being the case, Noth desperately wanted to ask the angel anyways, and see what new information he may be able to wrestle free from her. It didn¡¯t matter if he knew he¡¯d find out the truth one day, his patience had worn thin and he wanted to know it now. Eventually, as he stared at her face, Noth¡¯s desire for answers grew to be more than he could handle. ¡°Serris¡­¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The angel immediately opened her eyes and strained them to the max to look his way, staying still all the while. ¡°Well I¡­¡± He was so close to saying it, but Noth just couldn¡¯t manage to finally mutter out the question. Now that she was looking at him, he suddenly struggled with himself over if it was right to put his closest companion through such hurdles just for the sake of his own curiosity, and eventually his concern for how uncomfortable it might make her won out. How many times had this exact same train of thought caused him to fail like this? The teen sighed and looked away, thinking up some other topic to ask her about, and eventually settled on one they¡¯d been discussing frequently over the past 2 days. ¡°...I just wanted to know what happened to the people I sent away.¡± Serris closed her eyes and sighed, keeping them shut for a short while before she eventually sprang up and looked down upon him with an ambiguous gaze. ¡°Insignificant beings¡­? Even if they upset me, that doesn¡¯t make them suddenly stop being my responsibility. I¡¯m their lord, and I¡¯m also the one who did whatever it was that happened to them, so I should care about what¡¯s been done.¡± The angel stared down upon his ruffled brow, bringing a hand up to massage it back into place as her expression slid down into disappointment. <...What a model answer. You¡¯re becoming very lord-like, and yet you¡¯re still just so young.> Another sigh escaped the spirit¡¯s lips as she let her hand fall from his face. And with those words said, Serris turned and fluttered away. ~~~ Noth¡¯s eyelids slowly opened. It was dark. He raised himself up from his sleeping position and looked around. Serris was still nowhere to be found. After the angel had delivered her cryptic words, she¡¯d disappeared off somewhere. Noth felt a little guilty, as if him pushing her to answer his question had somehow driven her away. It wasn''t the first time Serris had gone missing on him, and he could still feel her presence somewhere in the distance through their bond, yet he still felt terribly lonely and guilty. Perhaps it was something residual, like a carryover of the dejected emotions he felt when he found out about his family getting harassed without telling him. Maybe, because it was all so fresh, he wanted to keep everyone he cared about within his arm¡¯s reach. Feeling a desperate need for company, Noth climbed out of bed and hastily left his room. He scrambled through the hallways, almost panting, and opened the first door he found. Helt¡¯s room had been to the left of his, and he hurried into the dark room and knelt down at the side of the bed, his gaze locked onto the boy. Helt was asleep, with a serene look on his face. The drool that dripped from the corner of his mouth was steadily dropping onto the glass of his watch, and as Noth¡¯s eyes followed the flow of it all, he couldn¡¯t help noticing the time. It was only two hours past midnight. Of course Helt would be asleep, everyone would be by now. With a frown forming on his face, the teen slowly stood up. It wouldn¡¯t do for him to wake up the children just because he felt upset over something trivial. What kind of reliable brother would he be to them, then? Before he knew it, Noth began to wander. His feet carried him all through the mansion, while his brain became one big black fog. Eventually, without any recollection as to how, he found his way to the back of the building, facing towards the veritable wall that was the Lang trees. A heartfelt wish absentmindedly leaked from the teen¡¯s lips, and with a flick of his wrist and the glow of his eyes, the section of the thicket he¡¯d been looking at was suddenly pushed back by 100 feet, practically beginning to climb the volcano behind it. And then, with a tightening of that same hand into a firm fist, suddenly his mother¡¯s villa appeared, greenhouse and all. As Noth¡¯s gaze raked over the familiar sight, a dreamy smile slowly grew on his face. Yes, this place would never let him be lonely, not with all the good memories he¡¯d built up in it. It was his one true home; He would always belong there. The inside looked exactly like he remembered it, although the pantry had been cleared out. Everyone¡¯s rooms were clean and ready, as if Noth and the others were expected to come back any day, and yet all the blankets and rugs had been changed. His father must have ordered some servants to come through and keep the villa in good shape while he¡¯d been gone. Even without seeing his father, he could feel the love emanating from the gesture alone. And unexpectedly he¡¯d also managed to teleport along a large amount of the cats that he¡¯d been taking care of previously as well. As he roamed through the halls and rooms they would often come up to brush against him, almost like the villa itself was welcoming him back home. In his overly emotional state he could almost feel tears threatening to well up in his eyes. He roughly wiped at his face and headed towards the greenhouse, knowing that the contents deep inside of it would put him in a more sombre mood. It seemed that the servants had cleaned up the entrance of the greenhouse, and there were even some cute random patches of flowers that Ren had insisted on trying to grow that were flourishing in a few of the planters near the front. Noth ran his hands over a few of the petals, a small smile gracing his features as he thought of the small sweet girl. He could practically see her cute little ashen ponytail bobbing within his view. Automatically his hand reached out to stroke the soft hair. ¡°Um¡­ Noth?¡± The embarrassed voice broke the teen out of his dream-like state. ¡°Wh- Ren? Huh?¡± Noth picked up his hand and stared down at the small girl, repeatedly blinking as if she¡¯d disappear at any second. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Oh well, I heard you wandering around outside my room, so I followed you.¡± The shy look on her face told that she knew she¡¯d done something bad, but the cute expression she was making made it hard to truly want to scold her. Noth couldn¡¯t help but give a wry smile and look away from what she¡¯d done with a soft sigh. ¡°Ah, I was lonely anyways. You can¡¯t sleep either?¡± Ren enthusiastically nodded back. ¡°Then come with me.¡± Noth led her over to the dining room, both of them sitting at the table and chatting away about trivial things into the wee hours of the morning. Chapter Sixty One: -Ren Intermission- Noth fell asleep first. I was getting really sleepy, but I was proud that I stayed up longer than him! He¡¯s been so busy being big and important. I really wish we could have done more for him¡­ All we ended up doing was hurting him when we tried to protect him. I have to figure out a way to help him better in the future! I want to become so amazing that everyone can depend on me! But for now all I can do is hug him while he sleeps and hope he feels better. After a while I went to the back of the greenhouse to find my friend. She also must be feeling lonely. I didn¡¯t visit her for so long! It¡¯d be bad if she¡¯s mad at me for not coming like I¡¯d promised. Noth¡¯s secret area was just as I remembered. The bushes were still so pretty! I never got used to the pig head and statue though. I always tried to stay away from that part so I didn¡¯t have to look at them. It took a while staring at the pretty flower bushes and calling out her name, but eventually my friend came! We hugged and I apologized. She¡¯s gotten so much better at hugging! The bruise she¡¯d left on my back was still there after all this time, so I was secretly happy she¡¯d gotten better. She said she missed our time together, but she knows that I had to move away so she¡¯s not mad. And now since Noth brought the villa over, we can meet with each other again! Yay! My friend was super happy about it, and I am too. She said any time I feel like I miss her or I¡¯m lonely that she¡¯ll come and take care of me no matter what! She even said that she¡¯d always keep me safe, and that I¡¯m super important to her. We¡¯ve become such good friends! I asked her how much longer until I could get her to meet all my other friends, and she said she¡¯s still not ready yet. But she¡¯s getting closer for sure. She said she¡¯s 3 out of 7? And that 4 will come soon? I didn¡¯t get it really, but I¡¯m happy that she¡¯s already halfway there! I told my friend about how things have been going here. She asked me if I hated the head maid for what she did. I don¡¯t really think I do, though? My parents kind of did the same thing, in a way, so maybe it didn¡¯t really matter all that much to me. It hurt that they were disappointed in me, but I didn¡¯t really even know her so I was fine! It would have been way worse if it was one of my friends that was disappointed in me, though. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. She asked me if I really meant it and said she could hurt them for me, my parents too, even. But I don¡¯t wanna hurt anyone! In the end she told me to tell her if I changed my mind. It¡¯s so nice of her to worry about me like that. I feel so warm inside having so many people care about me! I asked what she¡¯s been up to while I¡¯ve been gone, but she told me it wasn¡¯t much. That makes sense, since she¡¯s only ever in the greenhouse! She did tell me that she¡¯s been busy looking for something lately, though. That made less sense! But apparently her search has gotten a lot easier now that she¡¯s here, so that''s great! I offered to help her find whatever it was she was looking for because we¡¯re friends. She said it would be a lot easier if I helped! That¡¯s wonderful! She gave me a petal from one of the pretty bushes''s flowers and told me to eat it. At first I didn¡¯t want to, since Noth might notice that I broke the rules if I touched anything. But when she said to trust her and that she wouldn¡¯t let me get in trouble, I took a little bite. We¡¯re friends! I can¡¯t just say no when a friend needs my help! The petal tasted¡­ squirmy. Almost like it was made out of a bunch of worms. And then it melted in my mouth, like ice cream! Once I swallowed it the bruise on my back started hurting, and when I told her about it she said that it was working. I was happy I was being helpful, but it really hurt a lot! I tried to run over to Noth because of how much it hurt, but I didn¡¯t make it very far before I fell down. And when I got up again, I wasn¡¯t me anymore. I could see and hear but I couldn¡¯t move myself at all! And as my body started moving around, my voice started talking to me. It said that it was my friend, and that she was just getting my help. I told her I didn¡¯t like this, and she said she was sorry, but that this would really really help her out. Since she needed my help so bad I did my best to stop complaining and hoped that whatever she needed to do was fast. We left the villa and suddenly I started running. I ran faster than I¡¯d ever ran before, and I never felt tired or needed to stop. We ran all the way to the edge of Noth¡¯s territory, cutting our way through the leaves and trees. And then all of a sudden we stopped in front of a house. The house looked familiar, like the old ones the town used to have. My friend shouted something in my voice, and¡­ someone came out. The way they looked really matched everything I¡¯d heard about demons so far so¡­ maybe it was a demon? He was really big and burly, unlike the demons everyone else talked about, and his horns were so big! Once it saw me it immediately called out in every direction and then kneeled. I could feel my face move into a smile, but I couldn¡¯t tell what expression I was making at all. I could hear a lot of rustling in the trees around me, but I couldn''t see anything because it was so dark. My friend and the demon talked to each other for a while, and then eventually he looked really shocked. I wish I could have known what they were saying! How frustrating! Suddenly my voice told me to close my eyes for a while, and when I tried it actually worked! I could feel my hands reach out and grab something, and there was a loud crunching noise. I dropped whatever it was I was holding really fast, but for some reason my hands felt really really wet. Actually it wasn''t just my hands, my clothes and random spots on my skin also felt wet! I tried to open my eyes in surprise, but they just stayed shut. At least I was still a good friend who hadn''t accidently peeped when my friend said not to. I could hear a lot of screaming, but my body was already moving away. Eventually we stopped and my eyes were suddenly opened. We were still out of the town, but we weren''t in the green anymore. I was still running, but I would catch little peeks at my hands and clothes sometimes. They were covered in red. So much red. Something awful must have happened. I was so scared of what it could be that I couldn''t even say anything. At some point we stopped running, and my friend said that she was really happy, and that I did a really good job helping her. She even asked me if there was anything I''d like in return, and promised to clean me up. But all I could do was cry and say that I wanted to go home. I was scared, so scared. I didn''t want any more of this. I wanted things to go back to normal. My friend just giggled and said okay, and then everything went dark. Chapter Sixty Two Noth awoke to his old room in the villa, with the bed just as he remembered it feeling. His mind was muddled with sleep and confusion, and as he slowly sat up he could feel the covers strangely being tugged off the bed by something. When he looked down he saw a bundle of ashen hair, messily done up in a little ponytail. As the sleeping girl kneeling at the side of his bed groaned from having been disturbed, Noth¡¯s mind finally reminded him of the hazy events from last night. Yes, now it made sense how he¡¯d ended up back in his old home. And no wonder Ren was here as well, since they¡¯d stayed up so crazy late together talking. ¡­But how did he end up in his bed? He was sure he must have passed out on the dining table. The teen¡¯s eyes scanned over his room, feeling a bit of nostalgia rush through him. How many years of his life had been spent in this room? He even felt nostalgic remembering how it used to look before his angel came as well, even though he felt like the memories should have made him at least a little upset. Perhaps he was growing up and finding a way past his traumas if he was able to think that way. Speaking of his angel, was she still gone? Even though he could clearly sense her existence somewhere through their bond, Serris was still nowhere to be seen. Should he be worried about this? There was a time she was gone even longer than now, but he¡¯d been too out of it to really care too much then. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t too big of an issue if she was off taking time to herself, but it was just so rare, and he couldn¡¯t help how unused to it he was, and how uneasy it made him feel. Noth rubbed his eyes, trying to push what he felt to be too needy of feelings to the back of his mind, and deciding it was time to get himself out of bed. Noth moved as stealthily as he could to not further stirr the sleeping girl clinging to his blanket. His movements were slow, and he felt an odd pressure on his throat as he tried to stay as quiet as possible. His eyes were locked on to her face, constantly checking that he hadn¡¯t somehow messed up and woken Ren. It was so difficult for him not to sigh in relief when he finally made it off of the bed. And yet, now that he was here, what was he going to do about the sleeping child in front of him? He couldn¡¯t just leave her there completely uncovered and in such an uncomfortable position. The easiest solution would be to quickly place her back down on his bed, but just the thought of someone other than him or his angel in his bed seemed weird to him. In the end he decided that the best course of action would be to gently pick her up and take her to her room, lest she wake up as confused as he did. It took an inordinate amount of time, due to how slow he was going in order to not wake her up and how unused to picking up a child he was, but he eventually managed to cradle her in his arms and stand up. When he finally started making his way out of his room his movements were still slow and unsteady, but by the time he made it out of the villa he¡¯d managed to find a more comfortable pace. Despite all the distance they¡¯d covered, the small girl was still snoozing peacefully, looking oh so serene. One of the times that he took a quick peek down to make sure she was still sleeping he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye which made him immediately stop. The way her hands were fisted made it quite hard to see, but there was a small bit of red hidden on one of her palms. Noth stood there awkwardly for a small while trying to figure out how to get a better look at her hand, but both of his hands were already preoccupied holding her up. Eventually he gave up and decided to just try and get a better look once she was laying down, and hastened his way to her room. He passed by the dining room on his way and spotted Elillith and the other two children busy munching away at their breakfast. Elillith raised an eyebrow at him since she was the only one who could easily see the doorway, and Noth just lightly motioned towards Ren with his head before setting off once again. Although it was an ordeal to get Ren in bed and covered without waking her up, the moment Noth lifted her hand to try and see where the red came from, the girl¡¯s tiny ashen eyelashes quivered. She made a little noise as she awoke, and her hand escaped his gentle grasp to come up and rub at her eyes. ¡°Mmm¡­ Noth? Good morning.¡± Her sluggish voice made Noth chuckle, and he patted her messy hair like the dear little sister she was. ¡°Good morning, Ren. Did you sleep alright?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± The smile on Noth¡¯s face from her cute sleepy actions lingered for a short while, but eventually his visage turned to a small look of concern. ¡°And what about your hand? It looks like there might be blood on it somehow?¡± His words seemed to completely freeze Ren for a moment, and she immediately woke up. She quickly curled her hand into a tight fist against her stomach, and her whole body seemed to slouch and furl like it was trying to hide and protect it. ¡°Oh, um, yeah¡­ Af-after you, um, fell asleep, I... I went into the greenhouse and t-tripped and hurt it¡­¡± Noth could tell that she seemed to be acting strange, but in his obliviousness he mistook the clear worry and fear in her eyes for pain. He frowned and came a tiny bit closer, speaking a little softer to the little injured bird in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Ren. I¡¯ll have to make sure the greenhouse gets a proper cleaning so you don¡¯t trip again; I know how much you love spending time in there.¡± Ren flinched at his words, her eyes growing a smidgen more guilty, and yet Noth still attributed it to pain. He once again slowly reached his hand towards her presumed injury. ¡°Does it hurt a lot? I could heal it for you if you¡¯d like.¡± Something seemed to dawn on Ren¡¯s face at that, her eyes growing as wide as saucers. ¡°NO!¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The small girl¡¯s expression crumpled even further, and then she quickly looked down so far that Noth couldn¡¯t even see her face anymore. However, he could make out the small tears that had started running down her face. ¡°No, please don¡¯t touch it! It¡­ it¡¯s dirty, and¡­ and ugly... and it doesn''t really hurt. Please¡­¡± Her pitiful voice felt like it was chipping at Noth¡¯s heart. He had absolutely no idea what to do to console a crying child, and even though he desperately wanted to help her feel better, another part of him was urging him to run away from the situation all together. There was too great of a chance of him screwing up and making things worse anyways. Perhaps it would be better for him to retreat and ask Elillith to help the girl instead. Deeming that the best option, Noth quietly rose, choking out a quick apology to Ren and telling her of his plan. The only response he got was quiet sobbing. But as he grabbed the door to close it behind him, he could hear a small wavering voice call out to him. ¡°Noth, tha-thank you for always being so nice to me.¡± The teen turned around and shot her what he hoped would be a reassuring smile. ¡°Of course, Ren.¡± ~~~ Noth once again found himself wandering around the mansion as if he had nothing to do. He was still put off by the idea of going outside where the townsfolk were, and if he decided to head back to the villa and wander through his nostalgia, he was concerned with where it might lead him emotionally. His mind was wandering far too easily at the moment for him to simply go read something, and after failing to take proper care of Ren and running away earlier he¡¯d lost a good bit of his confidence in social interactions for the day. And so he marched through the halls, hoping it might help him to wander into doing the right thing. He¡¯d done so for about a little over half an hour, just letting his mind roam and ruminate as much as it pleased, until it finally came to a decisive point. And the point was: Noth felt quite off without his angel around. Perhaps it was part of the bond they had, but with her gone from his side for so long he was beginning to feel wrong, like a piece of him had been taken and hidden away somewhere. It was as if he was hearing a song, but the main melody had been stripped from it. Was this just loneliness, or was it something more? Noth really couldn¡¯t be sure. His bond was telling him that his angel was somewhere nearby, likely still within his territory at the very least, but it wasn¡¯t allowing him any more fine tuned information than that. What could she possibly be up to? He could still feel her powers through the bracelet, as well as that strange bit of energy he¡¯d received from the demons¡­ But did that mean that he still had the ability to use them? Figuring it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try and find out, Noth looked around for some inspiration for a quick wish, and his eyes landed on a nearby painting. It was a tasteful depiction of a family gathering around for a feast, possibly the family of the previous lord of this mansion. Maybe it served some kind of historical purpose, but Noth felt no sentimentality for such things. His hand reached out to touch the oil on the canvas, and as he stroked over it he searched through his thoughts for what he¡¯d rather see. Oddly enough, his mind came up with the perfect picture rather quickly. Soon the painting had been replaced with a lovely, almost realistic looking painting of his angel, dancing in the middle of a lush garden while holding hands with a skeleton. Serris looked absolutely angelic and ethereal, as would only be befitting considering what she was, and the skeleton was decorated with blossoming red flowers in its eyes and mouth, hinting at what it was to become. Yes, this was a painting that Noth had once often wished to make, hoping to paint it by hand one day, but lamenting his lack of skill. Finally, it was in his possession. And yet, somehow it sparked a desire to create all the other pieces of art he¡¯d been keeping captive in his imagination until now. Now quickly scrambling through the halls, Noth found another bland painting he didn¡¯t care for, replacing it with a picture from his memory. His angel knelt next to him at a table, her arm draped across it. Her head rested gingerly on her arm, and her face looked up at him with a compelling confidence while also looking somehow as if asking for something. It was a sensual looking piece of art, while also showing off the sheer grace of its subject. Yes, he¡¯d been right, this scene made for an amazingly picturesque feast for the eyes. His mind flew wildly through the things he¡¯d seen in the past, trying to compare anything he¡¯d seen before to the perfection of this image. The only thing that seemed to pop up again and again in the list of possible contenders was the scene of the lovely angel, knelt on the ground, crying like she was about to lose everything. The memory tugged at his heart strings, and made him feel an indescribable emotion. As he fumbled to put the emotion into words, a familiar feeling suddenly washed over him from his bond. Serris was back. The moment the realization dawned over him and he began to feel whole again, the angel¡¯s graceful arms slitheringly slipped around him, loosely hugging around his collar from behind. Her voice immediately brought a smile to Noth¡¯s face. Yes, the piece that was missing had finally returned to him. ¡°I didn¡¯t make up anything, it¡¯s just something I remembered.¡± ¡°I refuse to say anything further on the topic. Besides, you were gone for two whole days, so I think I¡¯m the one who deserves to be harassing you right now.¡± Serris suddenly nuzzled him and squeezed around Noth¡¯s neck super tight, making him choke a little bit. When he started tugging on her arm to signal to let him go, she finally giggled and set him free, placing a kiss on the top of his head before retreating. As Noth rubbed his bruised feeling neck, the angel lightly landed beside him, her gaze locked towards at the painting he¡¯d made. ¡°Important?¡± Her eyes slyly glanced at him, with a teasing expression on her face. Noth just stared at her with an unimpressed face in response, and eventually she broke down into giggles before her smile suddenly grew wider, and somehow a shade more sinister. Chapter Sixty Three What? A hoard of demons, tomorrow? ¡°How, what¡­ I won¡¯t have enough time to fortify the town against a wave of demons by then!¡± Her statement about being ¡®just animalistic savages¡¯ made Noth pull a face, feeling as if she¡¯d just said something bigotted, but he let that go. That wasn¡¯t important right now at all. What was important was figuring out how he was going to deal with this situation. ¡°You really think I¡¯ll be enough? Do I just... sit at the edge of the Lang thicket and wait for them to come, then?¡± Serris turned and hugged Noth¡¯s arm, shining her wicked looking smile directly towards him. Her embrace felt strangely chilling somehow. <-What was it that you said about those people that you teleported away? That they were ''still your responsibility'' even if they made you mad or somesuch? Well I have good news! Your wonderful subjects should be arriving back to town during the next few days! Or at least, they would be if they weren¡¯t going to be ambushed by the demons that are coming to attack you.> Noth¡¯s face hardened as he realized what she was saying. If he wanted the people he¡¯d sent away to return safe and sound, he¡¯d have to proactively deal with the demons that were coming their way first. There was no way he could just wait inside the town and let the ex-servants wander into an approaching hoard of death. ¡°...So it seems the only answer is to intercept them before they make it very far. But will I really make it in time to save the returning townsfolk?¡± ¡°Good point.¡± It was as good a plan as any other he could possibly come up with, so long as the angel led him out at the right times. Was there any reason to doubt that she would help him? She could be mischievous at times, and he knew that she didn¡¯t really like that he¡¯d let the servants who¡¯d disrespected him go with such a light punishment. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time that she¡¯d misled him into something. But then again what if that was the case? What could he do to possibly change anything even if she was plotting something underhanded? In the worst case scenario there was actually very little stopping her from just straight up killing the people she disliked if she truly wanted them dead, as far as he knew. It was a bit upsetting to realize that she could have created this whole incident just to have some fun with their deaths, but at the same time he knew that she¡¯d never done something to cause him pain on purpose, so he¡¯d just have to trust her on this one. However, it wouldn¡¯t hurt just to ask and be sure. ¡°Ease my mind. You¡¯re actually going to help me save them, right?¡± Serris¡¯s smile, which had previously held an unmistakable evil to it, melted down into a much softer and warmer look. Although, of course, it still carried a hint of a tease to it. Noth¡¯s lips quirked up in a wry way, but he could tell that a good bit of his worry over the situation had been alleviated. ¡°That beginning part¡¯s not nearly as reassuring as the rest of it.¡± The angel only hugged his arm a bit tighter and giggled in response. ~~~ An hour later, Noth, accompanied by his family a few paces behind him, had gone to the town square, and used one of his wishes to amplify his voice so that it could reach every one of the townsfolk. His trek to the center of the town had already caught the attention of a sizable crowd, so the teen had to make his announcement with a large amount of uncomfortable gazes boring into him. ¡°Townspeople of Sleekka. This is your Lord, Count Noct Keiran speaking. I¡¯ve come with a warning for you all: A large amount of Demons are headed our way. Do not leave the safety of the town for the next few days until I announce that it¡¯s alright to go out again. Should you decide to ignore my warning, I will not be able to stop what may happen to you. Know that I will be journeying out each day to stop our attackers before they can reach the town. I promise to keep each and every person here safe. We will get through this unscathed. Until you¡¯re all free to forage outside the town again, I will be providing sandwiches in addition to the soup that¡¯s handed out each day, in an attempt to make up for any meat or grains that you may no longer have access to.¡± There was murmuring from the surrounding crowd. A few people who had previously been in their homes had trickled out to join them when the speech had began, so now the crowd was even bigger than it had started out as. Noth glanced back at the kids to make sure that they weren¡¯t unnerved by the sheer amount of people surrounding them, but they looked surprisingly fine. Even the sensitive Ren didn¡¯t seem to be batting an eye over it. The teen cleared his throat, trying to cover up the slight disappointment he was feeling from the fact that he was so much more perturbed by all this than they seemed to be. The wish was still broadcasting his voice, however, so the sound recaptured the surrounding crowd¡¯s attention. Noth panicked for a quick moment over what else to say. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Ah, while I¡¯m outside the town my family will be acting as my representatives. If there¡¯s any news or issues that I need to be informed of then please tell it to any one of them. You should have all had a chance to meet at least one of the four of them during the rebuilding of everyone¡¯s homes, so don¡¯t feel shy to inform them if something important should crop up. And of course, you all should treat them as you would treat me, as they will be representing me in my absence. Any disrespect to them is disrespect to me.¡± As Noth levelled a stern look on the crowd to nail in his point, Elillith and the children stepped forward, so that the crowd could get a better view of them now that they¡¯d been brought up. The townsfolk had all heard gossip about the people who disappeared after mistreating the Count¡¯s precious family, so they readily nodded their heads in assent. Seeing that everyone seemed to be going along with his declaration, Noth ceased his voice amplification and began to walk home with the rest of his group. On the tail of the cold gaze he¡¯d given them, the crowd didn¡¯t make a move to leave until he was out of their sight. It wasn¡¯t until halfway to the mansion that one of the children suddenly broke the silence. ¡°Noth.¡± ¡°Yes, Jean?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s for the best if I go fetch the girl who¡¯s been in charge of the soup and bring her to the mansion. She¡¯ll need to know about the extra food she¡¯ll be serving.¡± "Oh..." To tell the truth, Noth hadn¡¯t even thought about that. He¡¯d completely forgotten that someone might still need to be in charge of serving the food to the masses and putting it away at night. The fact that anyone had been keeping up with it after he¡¯d fired everyone was quite the surprise, but the other surprise that Jean knew who this person was offered up its own explanation. Jean must have been the one to help these little things he¡¯d let slip his mind run keep running smoothly so far. Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to enlist her help with this overall. Noth gave Jean a meaningful look and then nodded. ¡°That sounds fine. I¡¯ll leave you in charge of her.¡± Jean gave a dutiful nod like a loyal servant, and yet her cheeks still blushed with how proud she was about being recognized like this. ~~~ The rest of the afternoon passed by without too much incident, luckily. It seemed that Jean had a tight grip on the ¡®Gilt¡¯ woman who had been serving the soup to the townspeople, so although Noth had been a bit wary and aloof while speaking to her, he was sure that things would be handled correctly. He felt a bit guilty for keeping a distance from her, but he still wasn¡¯t quite ready to trust any of his old servants yet. He also did his best to not allow her to ask questions about where the sandwiches that she would be serving had coming from, past explaining to her that the box she would be serving from would never run out so long as it was replenished once a week, just like the soup. Once he was sure that everything had been properly conveyed, he quickly wished up the crate full of endless sandwiches and sent Gilt back, eager to stop feeling so uncomfortable from her presence. They all had an early dinner inside the mansion, knowing that Noth might have to wake up at any moment to go defend against the oncoming demons. Not a single person brought up anything to do with the danger that was approaching, and they all acted as if nothing could possibly be wrong. And yet somehow there was still an odd sense of doom that radiated throughout the room in the background. Once dinner had been finished and everyone had said their goodnights, they went their separate ways. Noth headed to sleep in his old room, and Helt went along with him to the villa for silence away from his [Gift]; All the others went to their respective rooms in the mansion. Noth was actually quite surprised that the needy Ren who usually followed along everywhere after Helt and Noth would want to sleep in a different building than them. Sure, Jean may have been her friend too, but statistically more of her friends were going over their way than hers, so it was quite an odd decision on her part. And for the record, Elillith didn¡¯t count in the friend category considering, in Ren¡¯s words, that she was more like a mom than a friend. Noth sat on his bed and pet a random cat he¡¯d grabbed out of the hallway for a while to calm himself down. His angel nuzzled her cheek against the top of his head as she loosely hugged his neck. And yet, for some reason, Noth couldn¡¯t get his mind to calm down and stray away from what he¡¯d have to do tomorrow. ¡°Serris?¡± ¡°...What am I even supposed to do against a whole group of demons at once?¡± ¡°Of course it is, but how? I don¡¯t really know how to wish up what you did to them last time, and I feel like if I try to ask you to do it again to all of them that it¡¯ll use up way too much of my power.¡± Serris brought up one of her hands to pet the side of Noth¡¯s head as he thought it over. As usual she didn¡¯t seem to have any inclination to offer up answers to his worries. He ran over all the possible things he could do to try and defeat the demons, but once again he wasn¡¯t sure what all it would take to actually kill one. Would a certain attack be too weak, or would he be overkilling them and wasting his wishes? Would it be worth it to try demands against them and convince them to attack each other, or maybe would the angel¡¯s madness ability work on them? Suddenly a realization crossed Noth¡¯s mind. The teen¡¯s eyes swivelled up towards the angel on his head. ¡°If I can use your angel of madness abilities, does that mean I could also use your calamity abilities as well?¡± Serris¡¯s petting seemed to slow down, and her eyes suddenly narrowed with a steely look as she muttered. Noth pretended like he didn¡¯t hear that last part. ¡°Alright, so then if that¡¯s off the table, what would even work? I wish I was starting off fighting just one of them instead of a whole bunch at once so I could at least test a few theories. Damn this hoard¡¯s timing.¡± Serris put on a thoughtful look and continued petting Noth¡¯s hair, but she refused to let their eyes meet even when he pulled away and tried his best to look her in the eyes. Eventually she broke down laughing from the teen¡¯s desperate attempt to meet her gaze. After wiping a few tears away she put on a taunting, almost threatening face. ¡°...What? You want me to¡­ pray?¡± Chapter Sixty Four It was early in the morning. Noth had planned to wake up before anyone else in town would and head out, so that no one would see him leave and make a big deal out of it. And yet, before he could make it out of the door, he was immediately ambushed by Elillith and the kids. The children all quickly surrounded him with tight hugs; Ren buryied her face against him, Helt looked off in a direction as he frowned, and Jean looked up at him with an intense stare and tears in her eyes, as if she was threatening for him ¡®just try and see what happens if you don¡¯t come back!¡¯. And then there was Elillith, standing a small distance away and watching them with a slightly serious look on her doll-like face. Noth was actually rather confused about how he should react to all this. He¡¯d wanted to leave without any witnesses so he could avoid exactly this type of situation; He was far too awkward and socially inept to know what to do about anything like this. In the end he settled on taking turns patting the children¡¯s heads and murmuring little reassurances to them all. After a little while of clinging to him Jean let out one last big sniff and then pulled back, looking away from Noth as she held her arms behind her back like she was afraid they might reach out for him again at any moment. Helt noticed her departure and also let go, still never looking at Noth¡¯s face, but when he realized that Ren was still refusing to let go, he gently pried her off of the teen and took her away. Elillith slowly came forward once all the children were out of the way. She stared deep into Noth¡¯s eyes like she was looking for something. Eventually Noth decided he had to smile and break the silence. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d think you were worried about me.¡± Her face grew a shade more serious, even as her eyes still refused to budge from his own. ¡°¡¯M not too worried, no. ¡®F I lose you I at least still h¡¯v the kids t¡¯ look after.¡± Noth face dropped into a small pout at her words. He¡¯d known she was an uncaring woman, but he¡¯d thought she at least cared a little about him; After all she¡¯d followed him all the way out here to nowhere. He was debating on what he could possibly say in response to her words, when she suddenly cracked a smile and came in to hug him. ¡°¡®Twas a lie. C¡¯m back safely. W¡¯ll watch things while yer out.¡± ~~~ Everything outside of the town seemed strangely¡­ foggy today. Perhaps it was just because Noth had never seen how his territory usually looked this early in the morning. Or maybe it was because the world was acclimating itself to the ominous feelings in the air. So long as it wasn¡¯t some kind of trick or ability that the incoming demons were using, Noth wouldn¡¯t care why it was; He only wished it wasn¡¯t obscuring his vision so much. He came close to simply wishing it away, but he decided that he shouldn¡¯t waste his wishes on such minor things. Instead he just blindly followed after his angel through the mist, doing his best to keep sight of her even as he watched for hazards in the terrain. Noth didn¡¯t say a word in response, he just nodded, knowing that even without her looking she¡¯d be able to see him. He kept running forward until he suddenly entered a large circular clearing where the fog was completely gone. It seemed that the fog was in fact supernaturally made, and that Serris had led him to a small camp that the demons had set up. He hadn¡¯t realized that he¡¯d all of a sudden be out in the open while loudly running into the demon¡¯s campsite, so of course there was no possibility that he¡¯d somehow snuck up on them. All too quickly, 7 pairs of eyes were locked on to the teen who was skidding to a halt at the edge of the clearing. Their gazes of course held the surprise one would have expected, and of course for the most part they hadn¡¯t looked like they were thinking they¡¯d have any company coming. But strangely enough, once they got a good look at Noth, their hostile glares slowly took on a different, more hazy light. They all seemed to move slowly towards him as if they were being pulled to him by some kind of alluring force. They reached for him as if they were a hoard of zombies, craving his flesh. Something about the looks in their eyes made Noth feel like he¡¯d been stripped bare of anything that could protect him. In his fear and confusion the teen just stood still, as if he were rooted to the spot. He raised up his arms to protect himself and tightly closed his eyes to the grasping hands that approached mere inches away. Oddly enough their touch was... gentle, and not at all the rough and painful experience that his mind had prepared him for. However, something about it seemed terribly¡­ disgusting. Their roaming hands over his body felt wrong, as if they were somehow tainting him with the way they were touching him. He was scared to open his eyes, for fear of what he¡¯d see them doing, and yet the lack of sight was making him feel their touch all the more. He hated it all, and yet he was too paralyzed by his emotions to do anything about it. Serris posessively took hold of Noth, wrapping one arm around him while she bopped away all the various hands stroking him over. The surprise of the sudden protective and clean hug convinced Noth to peek at what was happening. He watched as her small, weak looking arm managed to smack away every hand that tried to get close, sometimes with a force so great that the demon was launched backwards by a few feet. At times he would hear disconcerting sounding cracks, and would catch sight of some of their fingers, wrists, and arms suddenly flying back at odd looking angles. Strangely enough however, no matter how much his angel battered them, the demons would only get up with even more drugged-looking eyes and would start towards him once again, occasionally muttering out the words ¡®beautiful¡¯, ¡®lovely¡¯, and ¡®need¡¯. It took a good while of watching the demons get battered before his senses returned and Noth realized that he should be doing something about them. His eyes never left the now misshapen bodies in front of him as he slowly brought his hands together and began to pray. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Oh merciful God-dess of all, listen to my prayer and pass judgement on the poor souls before me. Remove this evil that plagues us, take away the sin before me, erase the dangers that threaten this sacred world that you protect. I offer you these words in hope and pray to receive your love. With gratitude and devotion I raise this prayer to you, mother and father, creator of us all. God-dess¡¯s blessings abound.¡± About halfway through the prayer the demons began to glow, and as he continued on they only grew brighter and brighter. Despite this, the demons never once stopped what they¡¯d been doing, seeming too drunk off whatever force was affecting them to notice or care. Eventually they grew so bright that it almost hurt to look at them, but Noth only squinted and refused to turn his gaze away. And as the last word of the prayer left his mouth, a loud screech tore out of each of the demon¡¯s mouths as one by one they exploded with light, not leaving a single speck of themselves behind. Noth could feel himself absorbing some small bit of the lights into himself, just like the last time that a demon had been killed in his vicinity. He lifted up his bracelet, trying to see if anything had changed about it from the sudden influx of power, but it only reaffirmed what he¡¯d already felt: The power had gone into him, not into his connection with the bracelet. It was solely his, and his alone. With the mysterious fog now gone he looked across the barren horizon, his mind racing with questions, his gaze settling on the one being that could possibly give him any of the answers. All he could do was sigh in his confusion and frustration, knowing that she was completely unlikely to tell him a single shred of truth on the subject unless he could find some clever way to tease the answers out of her. Serris noticed his heavy gaze upon her, but all she did was giggle, kiss his forehead, take his hand, and lead him back home. ~~~ Noth had come back surprisingly early from his outing. Only 2 hours had passed since he¡¯d left the town, and he was worried that people might give him odd and questioning looks from how little time he¡¯d spent, believing that he hadn¡¯t done his job right or had chickened out or something. In the end, the fear of their disbelief or misunderstandings became too strong, and instead of just strolling home through the town, Noth decided to cut out the middleman and just teleport home. As his angel¡¯s wings and embrace unfurled from around him in the foyer of the mansion, he was greeted by the sight of his loved ones rushing to embrace him. He¡¯d had no idea they¡¯d been holding some sort of vigil for him here this whole time, waiting for him to safely return home. The children all screamed his name in unison as if they¡¯d agreed on it ahead of time, and then leaped onto him, shaking him like a tree in a storm as he tried to stay upright. Even Elillith said his name, although it was in a much more subdued tone, and instead of the hug she¡¯d settled on gently placing a hand on his head, and giving him a relieved look. They all showed such love and happiness towards him that he didn¡¯t know how to respond to it all. He was lucky that the ever observant Helt decided to break the silence and say that he was hungry. It wasn¡¯t until an hour later, after they¡¯d all finished enjoying breakfast together, that Gilt came to their door. Jean excused herself, excitedly citing that she had official business to take care of before she jogged out of the room. Noth was glad to see her so happy over such responsibilities. He¡¯d known how dejected she¡¯d seemed ever since they¡¯d come here and she¡¯d had nothing to learn or help take care of. If only he could find something for the other two to do that would make them as happy as her. Even now, Ren¡¯s face still looked paler than normal, and she¡¯d been fidgeting nervously all breakfast. Helt seemed to have noticed her odd state as well, but whenever Noth would try to catch his eye and gleam some answer from him, Helt would just shake his head as if telling him he didn¡¯t know. The longer the time went on, the greater Noth¡¯s worry became. He¡¯d tried to catch Ren¡¯s attention multiple times and engage her in whatever trivial banter he could think up, but none of it had managed to work. Eventually he decided that the only answer would be to just ask. ¡°Hey, Ren¡­ Is ev-¡± ¡°Noth!¡± Jean suddenly ran back into the room, stopping beside Noth¡¯s spot at the table and performing a perfect maid¡¯s curtsy before eagerly shouting out her announcement. ¡°Two of the servants just came back!¡± ¡°What?¡± Noth shot Serris a glance from where she was sitting on the table next to him. She only gave him a cheshire-like grin back in response. ¡°...What... amazing timing.¡± ¡°Yeah! From what I¡¯m told they¡¯d gotten lost in the fog we had this morning for a while, but then suddenly it cleared and they made a mad dash for the town. They offered to come to you and beg for forgiveness for their actions, but I figured you wouldn¡¯t be up to seeing them right now and sent them back to their homes. W-...Was that okay?¡± The news that they¡¯d wanted to come and see him wasn¡¯t all too pleasant to Noth, and neither was the idea that all the other servants might just want to do the same thing when they made it back, too. He certainly hadn¡¯t managed to get over his grudge against them yet, nor did he think he ever truly would; He''d never been the type to just get over something easily. If anything, it was a blessing in disguise that he¡¯d managed to not have to interact with the servants who¡¯d returned today at all. The nervous way that Jean fidgetted and looked up at him through her eyelids, thinking that she might have overstepped her bounds, was just so silly to him. How could she worry about something like that when she already knew him so well? Noth put his hand on Jean¡¯s head and ruffled her luscious lavender hair, making a mess of it. When he finally removed his hand her hair was in a completely wild and untamed state, and yet somehow it still looked completely beautiful and for some reason intentional. Jean quickly pressed down the top of her head with a look of utter confusion mixed with embarrassment. Noth couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at her reaction and give her a teasing smile. ¡°It¡¯s unlike you to act so skittish. You did amazing, Jean. Keep up the good work.¡± The young beauty broke out into a small blush. When she felt her face heating up she quickly grabbed her tangled hair and covered herself up with it, making a small shrieking sound as she did. Ren and Helt couldn¡¯t help climbing out of their chairs and surrounding their friend, taking the opportunity to mercilessly prod and tease her as only children could. Noth, who¡¯d been watching over the cute children with the smile of a happy older brother, suddenly felt his side grow cold as Serris looped her arm around his own and pressed herself against him. He instinctively reacted to the chilly feeling and glanced in her direction, and immediately felt fear wash over him. His angel¡¯s face may have been smiling, but it had a horrifically evil force behind it, as if he was going to be killed at any moment. ¡°Wh- Huh? How was I-?¡± ¡°What?! What are you suggesting?! She¡¯s like a little sibling to me, they all are! I would never-!¡± The rest of the day proved to be very hard for Noth. Chapter Sixty Five The mental torture of yesterday''s lecture had left Noth feeling completely drained. His angel had treated him like some kind of criminal for hours, and had forbidden him from spending any more time around the children for the rest of the day. No matter how much he tried to defend himself or insist that she was being absurd, she wouldn¡¯t listen, and instead just stood at the door blocking it and giving him a harsh judging glare. She¡¯d flinched a little when he¡¯d claimed that perhaps she was just jealous that he¡¯d been showing so much affection towards Jean at the time, but since that only seemed to increase the harshness of her glare, he gave up on trying to reason with her. He¡¯d ended up falling asleep after a few hours of his confinement, and had actually slept all the way until the next morning when his angel woke him. And yet somehow, despite all the sleep he¡¯d managed to get, he still felt absolutely fatigued as if he hadn¡¯t slept a wink. Just like last time his family had assembled to see him off, although this time it was a little less emotional. Noth could feel some of the townsfolk peeking at him through their windows as he made his way outside of town, and he wondered if he was just too nervous to notice them yesterday. Perhaps he¡¯d not been quite as sneaky as he¡¯d thought. He was far too tired to let himself be bothered by it, though. There wasn¡¯t a hint of fog anywhere this time around. Noth had thoroughly scanned over the landscape in case the fog was just farther off somewhere, but everything seemed just as clear as normal. As if she¡¯d been reading his mind Serris chuckled as he scanned, and leaned in close to whisper into his ear. The way she punctuated her sentence with a big mischievous smile at the end had Noth very concerned. Just how big was the force they¡¯d sent? Would he even be able to deal with that many demons at once? At least he¡¯d get to see them coming this time, but would that even change anything? Would he be able to complete his prayer before they managed to bowl him over? Maybe if he had Serris¡¯s help again he could make it out in one piece, but it would be a mistake to just implicitly expect her to do something. ¡°...Will you protect me like last time?¡± ¡°Wait... moles-?¡± Before Noth could finish his words Serris had jumped on him and wrapped him in her embrace. ¡°What in the God-dess''s name are you talking about?!¡± As Noth tried to wrestle the angel off of him in embarrassment, suddenly a cloud in the distance caught his eye. A large group seemed to be dashing his way, all carrying various forms of weaponry. When Serris felt Noth stop resisting she also looked over and clicked her tongue, begrudgingly letting him go and crossing her arms in annoyance. Noth desperately counted how many demons were coming his way, worry creeping over his features as he realized that there must be at least 20 of them coming to attack him. He pressed his hands together hard as he started to pray, hoping that he might be able to suppress the way his hands had suddenly started shaking by using sheer force. His lips trembled a bit as he tripped over word after word, but he managed to rush through his prayer with less than a minute to spare. Knowing that it had worked for him yesterday, Noth had used the same prayer. The all too fast group of demons suddenly disappeared in bright flashes of light, one after the other, and he felt the bright glowing energy flood into him once again. Noth almost felt dizzy from the large amount of energy he was absorbing combined with the still present feeling of fatigue weighing him down. He closed his eyes, focusing on getting used to the feeling, and trying his best to not become nauseous. But Serris¡¯s warning came too late. Four demons suddenly flanked him. Serris made a grand sweep with her arm, but it only managed to knock back two of them, the other two successfully managing to tackle Noth, and sending him flying down onto the ground. They were so big and heavy that the teen¡¯s only slightly muscled body couldn¡¯t possibly put up any resistance, and yet he did his best to struggle anyways. Serris quickly came to his rescue, yanking the two demons off and sending them flying a few feet away, but the first group she¡¯d swept back was already coming back once more. By the time Noth was able to struggle back to his feet he was launched onto the ground with a tackle once again. Serris had managed to catch one of the two, but this last one had slipped through her defences and was now pinning Noth down, its eyes hazy, and its open mouth drooling on his face. His eyes were locked onto the demon, his hypersensitive vision due to his fear did its best to memorize everything about the face in front of him. It seemed oddly feminine, and yet Noth would be hesitant to classify the demon as a female. Something about its build seemed far too masculine and strong for him to draw a conclusion from that as well. All he knew was that it was looking at him as if it was seeing something irresistible, like it would take a bite out of him at any moment. The feeling of its drool dripping down his face was uncomfortable enough already, and yet somehow the way he was being looked at felt exponentially worse. After a moment that felt like an eternity to Noth, Serris finally fought off the three other demons, launching them far enough away that she now had ample time to rescue the teen. The sudden lack of a body pressing him down felt almost too cold, even in the warm environment they were in, and yet Noth welcomed this all too powerful chill. His head seemed to clear somewhat thanks to this new cooling sensation, and his mind, now freezing over in indignity, could only think one thing. They have to die. The only way to erase what happened is if they all disappear. Noth glared daggers towards the demon who¡¯d sullied him. His eyes grew bright hot with power, the rusty orange colour they were now emanating beginning to bleed out down his face. He pointed a finger shaking with rage at the demon, and his voice seemed to echo through the land and into the heavens. His finger swept across to the other three as well. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Each demon coughed out blood, one after another, their eyes rolling up in their sockets as they collapsed down. Noth panted with exertion as he stared at their bodies, making sure to watch closely in case one of them suddenly got up. His eyes and his bracelet felt hot, as if they would start to burn or bubble any second, but he couldn¡¯t care less. He ran over to the nearest body, cautiously nudging it with his foot a few times. When they didn¡¯t react to that, he tried kicking them. And then he did it again. And again. He kept kicking and kicking, tears welling up as the helplessness he felt from before replayed behind his eyes again and again. Seeing his terribly agitated state, Serris slowly hugged him from behind. The twisted smile that had blossomed on her lips was cleverly concealed amongst his hair. Her words echoed through his mind. The world in Noth¡¯s eyes grew somehow darker. Suddenly everything began to spiral. In only a moment the teen was out like a light. ~~~ Noth awoke in his bed in the old villa. His eyes stung a little, so he brought his hands up to wipe at them, hoping to remove the sleep that had gathered. But when he pulled his hands away, they were strangely covered in flakes of rust. He got up and dashed to the dresser, staring closely at himself in the mirror placed there, and gasped at the sight of the lines of watery rust that seemed to be running down his cheeks. He roughly rubbed at them with his sleeves, trying to remove all of it, but that only made it smear on his face all the more. Eventually he gave up and left for the bathroom in the hopes that it might wash off. When Noth left his room he immediately ran into the children who had all been camped outside his door waiting for him. They each had cats in their hands that they¡¯d been cooing over, petting, and playing with, but when Noth suddenly opened the door, all of the cats scampered away. At first the children pouted that the cats had randomly ran, but when they realized that Noth had come out they immediately brightened up. They called out his name in unison and crowded around in front of him. ¡°We were waiting for you forever!¡± Jean, their ever beauteous leader, was the first one to speak. She was pouting in a way that actually befitted her age, and when she noticed it she immediately blushed a little and looked away. ¡°We missed you so we were waiting for you!¡± Ren quickly explained after Jean, reaching out and grabbing hold of Noth¡¯s shirt as if he might run away or suddenly disappear. ¡°...What¡¯s that on your face?¡± Helt, the level headed one, was the first one to finally ask the obvious question. He reached up and patted at the rust flakes, bringing his hand back down to stare at the odd orange residue afterward. ¡°Is this¡­ rust?¡± At the reminder of the previous half of his day, Noth quickly snatched up the boy¡¯s hand and swept off the rust dust with the hem of his shirt. ¡°Ahhh that¡¯s not important. What is important is that it¡¯s uncomfortable and I need to get it off my face.¡± His words made Jean look back towards him with a serious look, as if some sort of duty was calling to her. ¡°Right. Helt, go get Noth some warm water. Ren, go bring him a towel.¡± When the two children performed a mock salute and then ran off to complete their missions, Jean suddenly began pushing Noth back through his doorway. ¡°And you, Noth, show me your room.¡± Noth let Jean¡¯s small weak arms push him into his room, and once they made it inside he moved out of the way, and let her explore as she pleased. Her eyes swept over the floor, then to his dresser. She walked over to his bed and smacked the pillow once, sending a small puff of orange into the air. ¡°... Yeah, I thought so when I saw how easily it got on Helt¡¯s hand.¡± The teen quirked his mouth uncomfortably seeing how much flaking and dust had come up from the pillow, but he still didn¡¯t bother saying anything. What excuse would even work on Jean right now? That he got everything covered in rust because he was busy killing off the demons that tried to do lewd things to him? If he could manage it he was going to keep that fact with him to his grave. Jean let out a small sigh and peeked at Noth out of the corner of her eye. ¡°It¡¯ll take a lot of cleaning to get all this stuff off. If we still had any of the maids then maybe this wouldn¡¯t take too long, but with just us it¡¯s going to probably be a little while before your room¡¯s ready to use again.¡± Serris let out a low chuckle from where she was crouched on his bed playing with the still floating rust particles. Noth¡¯s face took on a small apologetic twinge at how rude his angel was being to Jean, even if she couldn¡¯t hear it. But Serris did have a point. He decided to parrot her words in a much nicer way. ¡°Or... I could just fix all of this easily myself, you know.¡± The small girl¡¯s head snapped towards him as she sent him a glare. ¡°You, who came home out of nowhere after fighting literal DEMONS and then passed out like you were dead for 3 hours, are now saying for me to trust you to use your powers and fix this. God-dess, Noth! I don¡¯t care how powerful you are, you look like absolute garbage right now! We all know you have to go and do this all over again tomorrow, so why don¡¯t you just give it a rest?!¡± Jean had gesticulated left and right during her rant, and her face, although still as breathtaking as ever, was now absolutely fierce as if she might stab him at any moment. This was the first time Noth had ever been yelled at in this particular manner, so he had no idea what to do but shrink back against the wall and do his best to hold on to it for strength. Somehow this action had only upset Jean more, however, and the small girl let out a shriek of absolute frustration before planting her flustered face into her hands. ¡°Look¡­¡± Her sonorous voice was muffled by her hands, and yet still it conveyed its loveliness clearly. ¡°Just let us try to deal with this first before you go and kill yourself with overwork, ok? Nobody¡¯s [Gift] is limitless, so just go to your room in the mansion and leave this to us while you rest.¡± Though he was still a little scared of her, Noth opened his mouth to try and refute. He knew he had perfectly enough power in his bracelet left right now for him to handle such a simple task. Hell, if he really wanted to he could clean both the villa and the mansion easily. Perhaps with the added energy from all the demons he''d slain he could have wished to clean the whole town. What was the point of getting his loved ones to waste their time like this? But the sound of his angel¡¯s wicked giggle, and the expression on her face like she was going to enjoy what was coming next, quickly shut him up. Perhaps it would be best to just concede this one. ¡°B-¡­ Alright, thank you, Jean.¡± Jean looked up from her hands with a weak smile. She took a step closer and raised her hand towards his shoulder. And then suddenly- ¡°I came as fast as I could, but the water took a little while to heat up!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know what kind of towel to bring, so I brought one of every kind!¡± The two children finally arrived, clambering dangerously close as they tried to enter the room at the same time. Ren couldn¡¯t see past the large pile of towels and crashed into Helt, causing him to spill the basin of water all over the both of them, and soaking both their clothes and the towels. Chapter Sixty Six Elillith was quickly called to take care of the soaked children, and Jean set to work cleaning up the puddle that had formed on the floor with a very displeased look on her face. Noth decided to leave the room before he became the target of her anger again, and finally was able to get to the bathroom and clean himself off. The towel he used looked absolutely appalling afterward, but he stealthily wished it back to cleanliness and tucked it at the bottom of the stack, paranoid that Jean might somehow find out he¡¯d been using his powers. For some reason Serris looked a little put out that Noth was removing the rust, but when he asked her why that was, she simply gave him a vague smile and said it was nothing. Noth had idled his time away in the greenhouse reading for a while, and by the time night fell and he had checked back in on his room, Jean was still hard at work trying to clean everything up. She¡¯d successfully cleaned his pillow and the dresser, but for some reason the rust that had gotten on the floor and his mattress weren¡¯t being very cooperative, and the fact that everything still hadn¡¯t dried at all meant that he would be spending the night inside the mansion. The teen didn¡¯t particularly like the idea of staying in the building he felt to be so tainted, but he also wouldn¡¯t have felt right staying in someone else¡¯s room. It was a shame that Jean would definitely notice if his room was miraculously clean tomorrow. As Noth wandered through the halls of the mansion with his mind full of thoughts of cleaning, he couldn¡¯t help notice that the building was a little dusty from unuse. Even a web or two had sprouted up here and there. Could a building really become this dirty in only a few days? Had the maids been slacking off before he removed them? Perhaps he was just being too strict about how clean the mansion should be, since he¡¯d always seen it in pristine condition. For how many years had he lived in a completely decrepit and dirty home, and yet now for some reason a bit of dust was catching his attention. How silly. It must have been because of how hard Jean was working to clean right now¡­ Or maybe because he was looking for anything to find fault with in this building. After trudging through the halls for a while, Noth finally came upon his room in the mansion. He stood outside the door for a while, frowning to himself as his various memories of the mansion ran rampant through his mind from the thought of having to stay there. Seeing that he had started to re-work himself up over the incident with Mellen, Serris gave him a loving hug and patted his head. The way his angel had murmured the words ¡®for now¡¯ told him that she had something up her sleeve for sure. It would be right to try and stop whatever fiendish scheme she was trying to cook up, but Noth was quite aware how powerless he¡¯d be to do any such thing. And besides¡­ if he was being honest, he didn¡¯t think he really wanted to stop whatever she was planning for Mellen. This was a problem he would be content to just have taken care of for him at this point. The moment Noth let out a big defeated sigh, the door of the next room over suddenly opened. A small head of ashen hair, uncharacteristically not tied up in its cute little ponytail, peeked out from behind the door frame. ¡°Noth?¡± ¡°Ren? Oh, right, you¡¯ve been staying in the mansion for the past few days. But why aren¡¯t you off with Jean and Helt on some big cleaning binge right now?¡± The small ashen girl meekly looked down and bit her lip. ¡°Um, well, I¡¯m not that good at cleaning and I thought I might get in the way and uh, I, um¡­¡± It took Ren a while to fumble over her words, and when it seemed like she was too distressed to continue talking, Noth thought about going over and giving her a brotherly pat. However, before he could make his move, suddenly the words came leaking out of her again. ¡°Well, you know how I um, h-hurt¡­ my hand the last time we were over there. A-and I¡¯m kind of afraid of being in the villa at night now. Plus I haven¡¯t really been sleeping well the past few nights, so Elillith put me to bed early!¡± She hadn¡¯t been sleeping well? The usually unobservant Noth now tried his hardest to scan over Ren¡¯s face. How had he not noticed sooner how fatigued she looked? It was as if her hair colour had somehow bled into her skin, she was so pale. There were even slight black circles forming around her eyes. Noth quickly rushed over and gave the small girl a firm hug. ¡°You¡¯ll tell me if you need anything, right? I¡¯ll do whatever you need.¡± Ren¡¯s eyes thinned happily and then started to water, so she buried her face against him with a big sigh. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, big brother Noth, I¡¯ll be okay. I¡¯m just having a little rough patch, but things¡¯ll be better soon. I just have to be patient.¡± The small girl¡¯s voice was so muffled and soft that Noth couldn¡¯t make out the short sob at the end of her words. ~~~ It was now the third day of demon slaying. Serris had directed Noth to go even farther away from the town this time, and Noth could even make out the lush forested edge of his territory that he¡¯d been told the demons infested, far off into the distance. Part of him was worried that she would say today was the day that they would annihilate the demons, considering they were basically knocking at their door right now. The teen was pretty sure he wasn¡¯t really ready to take on the brunt of the demon force right now, considering the catastrophe that was yesterday¡¯s fight. His skin still crawled when he remembered how the demons touched him and held him down with their filthy intentions. He wasn¡¯t confident that he wouldn¡¯t freak out from seeing just one of them, so how was he going to manage any fight against them, let alone a large scale one? Seeing how shaken he was, Serris placed a small kiss on his cheek and lavished pat after pat upon his head. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. The way she unreliably finished off her words made Noth send a small glare her way. She winced slightly and made an apologetic face back. The teen sighed and dropped his glare; He knew she wasn¡¯t trying to make light of his experience and was only trying to reassure him. However, knowing she hadn¡¯t meant to hurt him didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t still somewhat hurt, so instead his face shifted into a pout. ¡°Yeah, fine¡­ So if they don¡¯t want to hurt me then what do they want, because it seems like they want to do something unacceptable.¡± Serris was at a loss for words on what to tell him. He was a teenager so she figured he¡¯d probably guessed by now what the demons had been feeling towards him, but at the same time she still felt he was too young, and that he should have been a bit more oblivious about it. She certainly didn¡¯t want to be the one to say anything about their unsavoury attentions to him, and yet she¡¯d also once accused him of something in the same vein only a few days ago. The angel felt like she¡¯d somehow dug her own grave. But luckily for her, her saviours had arrived in the distance. Noth was confused quite a bit by the odd swerve away from the topic, but when he heard the sounds of many feet and saw the dust that they were kicking up on the horizon, he knew what was happening. He squinted hard and used a hand to block the morning sun from his eyes, trying to discern what he was seeing. Off in the distance there appeared to be a large horde rushing towards him, consisting of a handful of humanoid figures and a surprising number of beasts. The beasts were far larger and more frightening looking than the figures he presumed to be demons. Noth¡¯s mind raced back to the day he saw his first demon. That demon, too, had brought a demonic monster to accompany it. A beast the size of a small hut. A monster. Though they were now demonic, making them quite a bit bigger and discoloured compared to what he¡¯d heard of, the teen could easily recognize what they¡¯d once looked like from the years of his mother¡¯s stories. Many times she had pulled out fancy encyclopaedias and had shown him various pictures of monsters. He¡¯d actually very much loved learning about them, and had even once asked her if they could have one as a pet one day, but of course she¡¯d turned him down. She¡¯d told him that monsters were scary, nasty things, the stuff of nightmares even. She''d told him that the God-dess had put them into the world to scare people into doing the right things, lest the monsters one day come and get them. She¡¯d told him a small handful of scary stories about them as well, and from then on, Noth had grown to abhor such monsters. Now those same monsters that he had so desperately hated were coming towards him. And what¡¯s worse, they weren¡¯t just monsters, they were something even more horrific. He might have called himself a monster hunter, but now he knew for sure that he must have been an immature child for thinking so. His hand shakily found the hem of Serris¡¯s robe. He was thankful he wasn¡¯t alone right now. So very, very thankful. ¡°Serris, what¡­ What do I even do?¡± Her voice was nonchalant, as if they were talking about the weather. ¡°B-but, what if they get here before I finish? They¡¯re moving so fast¡­ The monsters might rip me apart!¡± She may have still been smiling towards him like normal, but the look in her eyes that seemed to say he was asking stupid questions made him loosen his ever tightening hold on her clothes. Yes, he was getting worked up over nothing. Even if they were monsters, it¡¯s nothing he hadn¡¯t seen before, and in the end they¡¯re still demons to be killed with all the rest. ¡°Right. Then¡­ I wish for a barrier around me that won¡¯t break from their onslaught.¡± A moment later a translucent dome appeared in a small area around Noth, protecting him. The barrier must have been fairly strong, considering how big of a crack had formed on his bracelet. It was a bit reassuring to know that so much power had gone into it, and yet at the same time it was worrying that he¡¯d already used up so much power on defence alone. At least the prayer wouldn¡¯t really cost too much power, so if he fell into a similar situation to last time he should be able to mop things up sufficiently. Besides, he had the reserve of energy he¡¯d been slowly accruing, what with all this demon slaying he¡¯d been doing, to fall back on should he need it. The crowd grew closer and closer, the sheer size of the wave heading towards him making Noth¡¯s teeth clench in fear. Fear or not, however, he needed to make sure they were in good enough range that his prayer couldn¡¯t possibly miss. Who knows what might happen to the barrier if he had to waste time towards chanting out an entire second prayer. When he deemed the horde close enough, he knelt down, clasped his hands, and began. ¡°Oh holy and righteous God-dess, who watches all from above. Look upon these sinners, these wretches inside your beloved kingdom. See that they¡¯ve done wrong, see what crimes these heathens have committed, and pass your judgement down upon them. This child of our holy lord asks that you-¡± Noth¡¯s eyes had been closed while he prayed towards the incoming demons, trying his best to recite the prayer against all that were amongst them, but when they finally hit against the barrier with a deafening clang, his eyes immediately spread open. They hit against the barrier like a wave, surrounding it and even climbing it. The barrier was practically encased in demons, meaning Noth was as well. And what¡¯s worse, he could see the snapping, drooling maws of the monsters that were viciously longing for his flesh. He watched as beads of slobber spattered all over the translucent dome in his direction, and imagined he could feel it dripping onto him. Yes, just like yesterday. In an attempt to not be overcome by his fear, Noth crouched down into a ball, placing his head against his knees so he could no longer see, and did his best to rush out the rest of his prayer. ¡°Smite these wicked, warped, and corrupt I find in front of me! Rain down your judgement upon them and save us from their evil ways! We ask for salvation, and await your eternal gracious mercy. With ardent devotion I raise this prayer to you, mother and father, creator of us all. God-dess¡¯s blessings abound!¡± At first Noth was scared that he¡¯d messed up the prayer somehow when a minute passed without anything obvious happening. But then a loud crackling sound rang out from above, and Noth¡¯s body jerked upright to look at it. Through a small gap between his attackers he could make out a dark grey colour, and as soon as the thought that it might be a cloud entered his mind, it finally happened. Over 30 bolts of lightning simultaneously hit. With pinpoint accuracy, every demon there was thoroughly fried. In an instant, everyone on the dome had been obliterated into a fine ash. And because he¡¯d never closed his eyes, even as the lightning struck so closeby, Noth was now blinded. Chapter Sixty Seven The dome had dissipated from the powerful heaven-sent attack. A light drizzle from the gathered storm clouds was now raining down upon Noth. But despite being able to feel the rain splashing about on his skin, Noth couldn¡¯t see a single thing. He was laid on the ground, having collapsed backwards in shock from the sound, and yet not a single raindrop entered his sight. He could even feel them trying to get into his eyes, and still nothing. And because he couldn¡¯t see what had become of the demons, he feared that the dome must have been destroyed, and that the wet feeling he was feeling was the slobber of monsters, leaking down onto him. He held still like a statue, too frightened out of his mind to even conceive doing anything else. All he could hope was that if he stayed very still they would lose interest in him, and if not, that they would at least kill him swiftly so he wouldn¡¯t have to suffer much pain. He could hear his angel calling out to him, although his hearing sounded quite canned, as if he was hearing her through a wall. He could only surmise that the deafening sound of the lightning striking had actually deafened him. Somehow his blinded eyes could sense the light being cut off by someone leaning over him, or that they were waving something over his face, and yet he still could only vaguely make out her rough outline. She called out his name again, and Noth did his best to choke out some kind of reply. ¡°Are- Is it... safe? Did we win?¡± ¡°Oh. Then¡­ is this rain?¡± Noth brought his hand up to wipe away the wetness from his face. ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t think I can see anymore. I can barely hear you, too.¡± The angel suddenly took hold of his face, slowly taking the time to layer kisses upon his eyes, and loving caresses upon his ears, one after another. After about 7 passes of this, he finally started steadily regaining his sight and hearing. It took about 10 minutes, but he sat up and leaned against Serris, and waited until it seemed like everything was back to the way that it was. Noth breathed a small sigh of relief over the averted crisis. He was feeling a good bit drained from attack after attack on his sanity, and truth be told, everything that happened almost felt like some kind of lie. He stood up and stretched, looking at the now cleared, sparsely cloudy sky. ¡°Well then. I guess now we go home and I pass out again.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What? But we killed the horde that was going to attack the town already. And besides I¡­ I don¡¯t really think I want to go through any more of that today¡­¡± Her words completely baffled Noth. What could she possibly have been referring to way out here near demon territory? Serris took his hand as if she was delicately leading a child, and started escorting him a small way off to the right, still keeping a good distance from the green hell that loomed in the distance. They seemed to walk for at least 20 minutes, and he was quite confused why she was leading him so far away from where they¡¯d started. However, his doubts were cleared up when a slightly greying head of hair suddenly appeared from a nearby outcropping of dead trees. ¡°Oh¡­ Oh lord Noct! ¡­What might you be doing this far out?¡± Her words were a bit hesitant, as if she was worried to see his reaction to her return, but suddenly the look on her face took a complete turn, and she rushed over to take hold of his hands. ¡°Does this mean you¡¯ve come out to eradicate the demons? Those rotten, nasty things won¡¯t stand a single chance against a noble as powerful as yourself! They had the nerve to chase my escort and I through the woods; I had to leave the man behind so he could try and fend the fiends off! I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll show up any moment to continue protecting me, though, so no worries.¡± Noth¡¯s eyes narrowed at Mellen¡¯s words. If the escort wasn¡¯t someone terribly strong, then they were probably already dead. How could she not have realized this? A quick glance towards Serris pretty much confirmed his hunch. The teen wasn''t sure what to say to the woman. Telling her the fate of her escort most likely wouldn¡¯t help anything, and even if he wasn¡¯t already feeling tired, he couldn¡¯t think of anything he could say that wouldn¡¯t end up in another fight. In all actuality, he wasn¡¯t very happy to have seen her again. It was a trial just trying to force neutral words from his mouth. ¡°...Yes, I was here fighting the demons.¡± Noth¡¯s words came out sounding slightly hesitant from how hard he was trying to restrain himself. Mellen¡¯s eyes grew wider and more hopeful upon hearing that he was indeed killing off the demon menace that had plagued the town. And then, for some imperceptible reason, the look in her eyes grew suddenly haughty and rude. ¡°Of course you were. I¡¯m sure you know how much of a big deal removing the corruption infesting this holy country¡¯s lands is. I¡¯d been so worried when you cast me out from the territory along with the others, but I¡¯m glad I made the right choice of notifying the church. Now, with this contribution they might possibly look past the strange incident from before.¡± Her words and gaze held the implication that Mellen somehow thought she held the upper hand, like someone tattling to an employee¡¯s boss. Perhaps this was the only way she could think to cast retribution upon Noth for his rude actions to her. And it carried the added bonus that the church was likely to breath down Noth¡¯s neck on the subject of the demons. ¡°You¡­ You told the church?¡± ¡°Why, yes. As it was news pertaining to the amazing new noble installed at the oh so important and treacherous edge of the country, how could they not have sent someone important to listen? They said they would dispatch someone to oversee the situation by next week.¡± The look on her face as if she now held all the power was infuriating. Noth¡¯s teeth were already grinding because she¡¯d reported him to the church, but her next words were the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. It seemed Mellen truly believed his silence to be him showing weakness, and had then decided to up the ante. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°The bishop I spoke with even had a few interesting stories to tell me about you. Of course, I had a few more to add in as well. Honestly, I¡¯m surprised that someone as powerful and awe-inspiring as my dear lord Noct once used to be as useless and repulsive as that ashen girl. How lucky you must feel to have been given such mercy from the God-dess. I can¡¯t imagine what might have become of you, even if you were an Earl¡¯s son. What a sad little life you must have led. No wonder you fell under that harlot¡¯s spell once someone suddenly cared about you. But don¡¯t worry.¡± Mellen stepped closer to the wide eyed, quietly raging teen, and put on a matronly look. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll take care of all these little mistakes of yours. You¡¯re still a child, but I can raise you into something befitting of your position. You wouldn''t want to upset the church even more, would you?¡± Noth was absolutely disgusted by what he was hearing. How was this woman always so arrogant? How did she think that by learning about his past and gossiping about him to the church that she¡¯d somehow gotten the upper hand over him? She¡¯d even called one of his beloved family members, as well as his past self, useless and repulsive! She knew nothing about what she was talking about! Nothing! In the end, as his rage consumed him, Noth once again retreated back into icy cold anger. He would not put up with this woman anymore. The only things that ever slid out of her mouth were poison to him. Such a disgusting creature served no purpose in his lands. ¡°Mellen. It would be a shame if your escort had to wander through the forest all alone. I¡¯m sure nothing bad would happen if you went in to find him now.¡± Noth¡¯s sudden off-topic words were completely unexpected to the woman. She¡¯d been so sure of herself, but now something about him was scaring her. ¡°What? B-but there¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sure of it. You belong in there. You deserve the same fate. Perhaps the escort didn¡¯t, but you¡­¡± Mellen stumbled backwards, fearing the cold words she was hearing. Had she pushed her luck too far? Had she chosen her words poorly? Maybe her leverage wasn¡¯t quite as good as she¡¯d thought it was. The cold eyes that were staring unblinkingly upon her were freezing her mind, and the only thought that could escape was that she should run. There was a chance that if she made it to the town and hid somewhere, that she could survive until the messenger of the church came. It was possible that they might protect her against the Count and take her back if she promised to give them more information, regardless of if she really had anything more important to tell them. But as Mellen turned and tried to run, Noth¡¯s chilling voice stopped her in her tracks. ¡°No Mellen, that¡¯s the wrong way. ¡± *** Mellen ran and ran, regardless of her will. Her eyes nervously searched through the passing trees, hoping that she would soon find her escort so that she might be set free from this hellish spell. The further into the lush forest she went, the more her fear grew. Her heart may have been beating as if it would break from the exertion, but she knew that even if she hadn¡¯t already been running it would have been beating just as violently from her terror. Any minute now a demon could show up and decide to do something horrific to her. Speak of the devil and the devil will appear. Inevitably she spotted a small group of demons nearby. And yet, she could do nothing about such a discovery. The only things her legs could do was run straight through the foliage in the direction she¡¯d last seen her escort in. She was not allowed to change course. She was not allowed to turn around. She could not move out of the way. She would never regain control of her body again unless she found her escort. And so, Mellen smacked directly into the hard, lanky body of one of the demons. The impact was hard enough that Mellen bounced off and slammed her head on the ground. Her vision spun as she blacked out, unable to handle the way her brain had been rattled. And when her eyes next opened up she found herself tied with vines and being hauled over someone¡¯s shoulder like a fresh catch of game. Her legs were still frantically trying to run, despite the fact that it would be practically impossible in this position. Her muscles ached and burned from overuse, but they just wouldn¡¯t stop. She could even feel that she¡¯d somehow managed to sprain one of her ankles, but her body kept moving, her feet repeatedly knocking uselessly against the hard scaled chest of the demon carrying her. All around her were flames and crude huts. She could see a small crowd gathered around her, following her. They all seemed to be looking at her as if she was something delicious. They would lick their lips and sometimes make mock biting motions nearby her, as if to scare her. For the first time in her life, the older, dignified woman felt like she might pee herself any second from her fear. She almost screamed multiple times when she felt the occasional long nails swiping at her skin and drawing blood, but the way her lungs were burning from overexertion and the position she was being held in wouldn¡¯t let her get enough air. Eventually she was thrown down to the ground. An immediate smell of decay and the sound of flies greeted her, and when she frantically looked around her surroundings, she quickly realized where it was coming from. Only an arms-length from where her head was laying she could see shoes, hovering above the ground. She stood up quickly to get a better look at the horrible scene in front of her, not even noticing that she had suddenly regained control of her legs. When she followed her gaze up the long, tattered, pants covered legs that were coming up from there, she found a body, hanging from a plank jutting out of a nearby hut¡¯s roof. The body¡¯s shirt had been torn to shreds, and it was easy to see the big gaping cavity that used to be the man¡¯s chest and stomach. It was completely torn open, supposedly by claws and nails if the scratch marks were any indication, and all of the internal organs were gone, with only little sloppy scraps of viscera left behind. The corpse¡¯s eyes were wide open with terror, as if it had died experiencing the horror of its insides being consumed instead of from the hanging. And it was obvious to Mellen from the man¡¯s face that this was the escort she¡¯d been searching for. He was tied up in the exact same way as she currently was. His blood even still looked fresh. As she trembled in terror over the fate that was about to befall her, a graceful and lovely demon appeared. For all that the previous demons she¡¯d seen looked bluish purple, this one looked a shade of purplish red. She had magnificent horns, and an ethereal beauty that would captivate any who looked upon her. Her long flowing, almost translucent white hair waved in the breeze as she came towards Mellen, and instead of the language of the demons that she¡¯d been hearing since she¡¯d been captured, the beautiful demon spoke to her in the country¡¯s tongue. The demon¡¯s perfect hand trailed over one of Mellen¡¯s legs, gracefully yet lewdly dragging up the woman¡¯s skirt high enough to show off the length of the appendages. Her perfect hands still held dastardly looking nails, and only a second later Mellen felt a stinging pain as those nails made four long cuts through her thigh. The pain wrenched out a wretched and shrill shriek from the woman¡¯s throat. And with those words the demon suddenly ripped off the leg she¡¯d been touching and threw it into the crowd that surrounded the spectacle. The feast had begun, and Mellen was quickly but painfully torn apart and consumed. Chapter Sixty Eight Noth was stuck quietly raging over his own emotions the entire trip home. He didn¡¯t even allow Serris to teleport him back, and had taken almost 2 hours to trudge back. He¡¯d managed to slightly cool down his thoughts with all the time he¡¯d spent ruminating over them, but he certainly wasn¡¯t in a good mood. For all that he¡¯d felt that he¡¯d grown up over the years, Noth feared that he¡¯d never grow out the way he obsessed over negative things, and his feelings always took far too long for him to let them go. Distracted as he was by the encounter with Mellen, he didn¡¯t bother to reply to the gazes and cheers of the townspeople as he passed them by. He didn¡¯t have the heart to try and interact with them right now, and even if he did, he was worried that they¡¯d quickly realize how reluctant he was feeling to do so. Instead he quickened his pace back to the mansion, in the hopes that he might avoid anyone getting too close. Occasionally he would catch glimpses of some of the ex-employees; A random mixture of those who¡¯d returned or had been fortunate enough to have been outside at the time of the event. They all only reminded him even more of Mellen and her disgusting words and deeds, and he couldn¡¯t bear to look at them. The teen stuck his eyes to the ground and sped up even more in response, almost running as he scrambled to make it back to safety before he did something he would regret. For the first time in what felt like forever, the mansion seemed truly like a warm, welcoming home. And yet, despite the nice reprieve it seemed to be trying to grant Noth, his pace barely slowed. His heart and breathing seemed loud to the teen, and it was so hard for him to focus on anything that he instinctively clenched his teeth, as if it might somehow afford him greater control. Even though he was taking such deep breaths, it didn¡¯t really feel like any air was even actually filling his lungs until he finally made it out of the back of the mansion and into the doors of the villa. With shallow pants, Noth crossed the kitchen and began to ascend the stairs. When he reached the top he found Ren playing with a cat at the side of the hallway. She stood up and called out his name, and absentmindedly he reached out and gently put a hand on the top of her ashen head, and yet he didn¡¯t stop his steady marching for a second. A confused Ren followed after him as he made his way to his room, watching as Noth unceremoniously opened the door and entered without a word. Jean and Helt were kneeling on the floor, aggressively trying to work something out of his carpet, but Noth didn¡¯t even bat an eye as he walked past them and flopped down face first onto his bed. The three children followed after the teen and gathered around the side of his bed where he¡¯d collapsed into, staring at his unmoving form. Ren pouted and climbed up onto the bed, softly nudging Noth and asking if he was alright, while Jean sighed and narrowed her eyes, and Helt frowned ever so slightly. ¡°You know, we were trying really hard to clean the carpet in here, and then there you go stomping those dusty boots.¡± When Noth still didn¡¯t move even after Jean¡¯s mumbled whining, the disgruntled girl sighed even harder. ¡°Yeah, alright, fine. Helt, help me take off his boots.¡± The crystalline boy nodded and quickly got to work, although his frown seemed to grow a shade deeper. When Jean took the boots with an annoyed pout and left the room, Helt climbed up on the opposite side of Noth from Ren, and placed his hand on the teen¡¯s back. His face seemed to take on a slight pained look, and the small ashen girl across from him quickly seemed to notice it. She leaned over Noth¡¯s back and cupped her hands, whispering to Helt as quietly as she could. ¡°Are¡­ Are you trying to read Noth¡¯s mind?¡± Helt gave a curt nod, and the pain seemed to slowly ebb from his features, being replaced by a disappointed look instead. ¡°Yes, but it won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Yeah, of course it wouldn¡¯t. Noth¡¯s crazy strong, you know.¡± Suddenly the bed tipped a bit on the opposite side, causing both of them to look over. Jean had also climbed up with them, and sat herself down on Ren¡¯s side right next to Noth¡¯s head. She crossed her arms and looked down at the teen as if she were looking at something pitiful. ¡°Hey. We won¡¯t know what to do if you don¡¯t tell us what happened. You¡¯re gonna make Ren cry, and Helt¡¯s hurting himself trying to figure out what¡¯s wrong.¡± When Noth¡¯s hands clenched at Jean¡¯s blunt words, the luminescent girl¡¯s eyes seemed to turn just a touch more gentle, along with her words. ¡°Did something happen again? Was it the demons? Or maybe¡­ Did that woman come back?¡± The way Noth tensed told Jean and Helt everything they needed to know. Ren however tilted her head as if she didn¡¯t understand what Jean was saying, only jumping and saying ¡®oh!¡¯ a few seconds later. The small girl leaned forward and hugged herself against Noth¡¯s back. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Was she mean to you, too?¡± Her soft, caring action made Noth¡¯s body shake a little, and Helt quickly joined in on the hug. A moment later, Jean sighed and gave a small wry smile before joining in as well, dog-piling onto Noth. The teen¡¯s quaking seemed to grow, and his eyes grew hot behind their closed lids. The children were all showing such care and worry over him, and he felt ashamed that he¡¯d shown them such a weak side of himself. What kind of big brother figure was he trying to be, when he needed such consoling from the very children he¡¯d been trying to protect? How powerful could he truly be, if just a few rude words from an arrogant old woman could aggravate him this deeply? Noth knew deep down that while yes, he¡¯d been enraged by the pompous way Mellen had tried to manipulate and control him, he was also equally upset that she still seemed to show no remorse for what she¡¯d done to, and said about, his precious family. He had to reign in his nastier impulses for how to deal with her when he¡¯d realized that she still held such awful thoughts about him and the people he cared about. And yet, despite all of that, here he was trying to ignore those very same precious people because his mind couldn¡¯t stop thinking about what she¡¯d said before he¡¯d sent her away. The teen let out a deep sigh, trying to will himself to finally let the topic go and move on with his life. The children didn¡¯t deserve to be treated like this by him just because he¡¯d had a nasty experience. Noth bit his lip and willed himself to get up. When the children felt him moving, they naturally got out of the way, and yet they all seemed to cling on to whatever scrap of his clothes were nearby them at the time, in a seeming show of solidarity. He took in their various concerned faces one at a time and then closed his eyes, once more trying to get his heart and mind under control, and pressing the negative thoughts as deep down as he could. However, once he started talking, he couldn¡¯t look a single one of the children in the eyes, feeling a strange sense of worry over how they might take the news of his actions. ¡°Yes, I¡­ But I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be seeing her again so it¡¯s alright. The demons got her.¡± Deep down Noth knew that he was saying those words as an attempt to finally convince himself let things go, as opposed to reassuring the children. Jean quirked up an eyebrow and scanned him over before seeming to understand something. She gave a slow nod and let out a small huff. ¡°Fine then. How unfortunate for her, but I can¡¯t say I¡¯m very sad about her never bothering us again.¡± Helt nodded along with Jean¡¯s words, his face darkening a tad as he seemed to have reached the same understanding as she had. However Ren¡¯s reaction was rather shocking, as she immediately let go of Noth¡¯s clothes and slightly turned away from everyone with a terrified look on her face. She stared off into the distance and started digging her nails into the flesh of her legs. As Noth watched the girl in worry over what her reaction might mean, his angel spoke up for the first time since the fight with the demons. Serris¡¯s teasing earned her a short glare shot in her direction, but Noth quickly turned to lift up Ren¡¯s hands, stopping them from causing any further harm. ¡°Ren, what¡¯s wrong? Do you feel bad that Mellen is gone?¡± The small ashen girl bit her lip hard, causing it to redden and swell slightly, but as she felt Jean and Helt¡¯s gazes also focused on her, the pressure became too much for her not to say anything. She shut her eyes tight and pulled her hands away from Noth so that she could cover her face as she choked out her confession. ¡°No I-I just, I just feel¡­ I feel guilty.¡± Everyone¡¯s faces grew a tad confused at her words. Jean reached out to rub Ren¡¯s back, and Noth did his best to pat her head in a comforting way. ¡°Why would you feel guilty? You didn¡¯t do anything wrong, Ren.¡± His words only made Ren desperately shake her head, and she didn¡¯t let any more words escape. Helt was confused. Ren might have been a small and sensitive child, but he never knew her to get so broken up over people she didn¡¯t like before. It was especially odd of her to have such a strong reaction over the demise of someone who¡¯d hurt someone she liked, let alone Noth, who she idolized so much. He¡¯d used his [Gift] earlier to try and find out what was wrong with Noth, but even though he¡¯d been in slight pain from how loud Jean and Ren¡¯s thoughts had become, the neutralizer that was Noth had kept him from feeling any further pain afterwards. He reasoned that because Noth was here and so close, that it might be safe to check in with Ren¡¯s thoughts and see what was bothering her so much, even if it would be a bit rude to do so. And so Helt used his [Gift]. He could hear Jean¡¯s thoughts just as normal. And as expected, he couldn¡¯t listen in on a single one of Noth¡¯s thoughts. He could even hear Elillith¡¯s quiet and sparse thoughts as she prepared an early lunch for them in the mansion¡¯s kitchen. But no matter how long he tried, Ren was completely unreadable. It didn¡¯t make sense. Helt had been able to read Ren¡¯s thoughts earlier, so why could he suddenly not hear them now? This had never happened to him before. Noth was slightly in the way between himself and Ren, so Helt slightly moved over to get a better view, thinking that maybe that might have been what was causing it, but even then it didn¡¯t work. The boy was already in pain from how loud the other¡¯s thoughts had become, and with his most recent try he was even starting to hear the edges of the thoughts from the nearest homes, but he grit his teeth and urged his [Gift] to work even harder. All of a sudden his vision went black, and all he could see was a large, menacing smile. A soft voice somehow whispered in his ear, even though the smile never moved. And then, before he knew what was happening, Helt''s consciousness was completely sucked away. Chapter Sixty Nine It was now morning of the fourth day. Serris had informed Noth that if all went as planned today, then this should be the last day of demon slaying. The fact that she¡¯d bothered to put the qualifier ¡®if all goes as planned¡¯ supremely worried him, but all he could do was go along with her as she led him into the green hell of the forest. During the trek Noth¡¯s mind had constantly wandered back to the topic of Helt, who was still unconscious even after half a day of rest. He¡¯d been quite worried for the boy after Helt had inexplicably collapsed yesterday, and no matter what healing wishes he made, nothing worked. Serris assured him that he¡¯d be alright, but Noth was still anxious about his quiet and caring little brother. Part of him wanted to just quickly get this excursion over with so he could rush back home and take care of the poor boy. The air felt different when Noth entered into the dense forest. The trees afforded him more shade and shelter from the heat of the volcanic lands, and the cooling feeling reminded him of the effects of the Lang trees back in the town, even though he couldn¡¯t see any of them growing here. In fact, if anything it felt even cooler here, almost to an eerie extent. It felt like any second Noth¡¯s teeth might begin to chatter. However, the teen shrugged off the wary feeling that had started to grow inside his stomach, and pushed forth. Occasionally a rustling sound could be heard from the bushes around him, and eventually Noth stopped in place and stared hard when a particularly loud crunching noise came from nearby. His heart had started beating loudly, and his nerves were screaming at him that this was an insanely dangerous place to be. His eyes itched from how long he¡¯d been staring, but something inside of him told him that if he blinked then that¡¯s when whatever it was would strike. Serris looked back at him, noticing the sudden distance that had grown between them, and floated her way back over to his side. She giggled, covered his eyes, and then took the terrified teen¡¯s hand, leading him forwards, as one would a child. Noth was glad that his angel was here to help him through such a scary place, but at the same time he felt slightly ashamed that he still needed her to hold his hand, even at this age. He decided to push his terror deep down inside of himself and believe in the might of his all-powerful angel; He didn¡¯t want to be the reason that this mission they were on failed somehow. When Serris could tell that he¡¯d stopped shivering in fear, her hand fell away. Noth could now see that they were coming up to some kind of small, hut-filled village, hidden amongst the trees. He could also see that he was being followed by a small crowd of demons only a few feet away. It took a lot of mental gymnastics for him to convince himself that he was okay with them being that far away, so long as they didn¡¯t take so much as even a step closer. Eventually, when they seemed to reach the end of the small village, Serris brought him to a sturdy looking house. The cabin-like home deeply resembled what the buildings in Noth¡¯s town had looked like before he¡¯d renovated them. It took a few seconds before his mind reminded him that of course they¡¯d looked similar, since those were traditional demon buildings. He¡¯d been taken off guard with the crude mud-based huts that he¡¯d seen so far in the village, but it only made sense that demons would own a demon house, even if it was only one. And from that traditional house, a veritable beauty emerged. Her hair was long and almost see through white. Her skin was just a shade off of magenta, showing how different she was from all the other demons. She looked small to Noth, but her magnificent horns more than made up for her lack in height, causing her to look imposing. And her ethereal beauty almost made her seem to glow. She was scantily dressed, as if to show off her natural beauty. Noth wanted to blush and look away, but something about her seemed to hold his gaze and refused to let him look away, modesty be damned. The demoness walked slowly towards him with a profound grace. Her white eyes seemed to scan over every inch of his body, and as she grew closer he couldn¡¯t help but notice the similarities between her face and the face of his angel. Noth attempted to look to his side and verify the thought he was having, but the sudden touch of the demon¡¯s hand against his chest afforded him no room for other thoughts. The demon moved as if she would press herself against him, but before she could manage to do so, Serris pulled Noth back. Surprisingly, the demon seemed to react to Serris¡¯s catty reply. She pouted her lips in the angel¡¯s direction and wiggled her fingers that had been left floating in the air after Noth¡¯s removal. <...I see. How sad.> The teen was absolutely astonished to see someone actually reacting to something his angel had done. Usually no one, not even the demons he¡¯d encountered so far, had even seen or heard something Serris had said or done unless she manifested herself. Even the times that he¡¯d asked her to deliver a message to Elillith, the woman had only heard a vague voice in her head. He¡¯d never expected this special looking demon would not only know about his bond with the angel, but also be able to see and hear her. What could this have meant? It was obvious that this demon was different from all the rest. Perhaps she was the type of demon that Elillith had warned him about before? Serris noticed the gobsmacked expression on Noth''s face and couldn¡¯t help but make a wry smile. She hugged the teen tight to catch his attention and leaned in to softly whisper into his ear. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Noth¡¯s already widened eyes did their best to look at her from their corners. ¡°What? You want me to miss this, of all things? But it seems really important!¡± ¡°B-but I can just cover my ears! I can stay and not listen!¡± Noth hesitated deeply. His curiosity was practically screaming at him that he needed to stay and witness this, but the pitiable begging from Serris was winning him over. He¡¯d always had a soft spot for her, his closest companion. He couldn¡¯t just ignore her desperate pleas. ¡°...Alright, but you better tell me everything about it later.¡± Serris let out a small happy gasp, peppering his cheek with kisses before pulling away and waving her hand at him. In a flash Noth found himself back in his room in the villa. Every other time he¡¯d teleported somewhere had been in the embrace of his angel¡¯s arms and wings, so the fact that there was no such thing this time really stood out to the teen. ¡°...So she could have just done that instead of hugging me all those times?!¡± *** The demon puffed out her cheeks like a child. The angel performed her signature wicked smile, causing the demon to cross her arms and look away from her slightly. The angel¡¯s smile took a turn for the teasing, and she stepped closer to the demon, leaning towards her as she slightly unfurled her wings and gently flapped them to punctuate her words. <...We both know that isn¡¯t true.> The lack of any real reaction from the demon seemed to deflate the angel a tad. The demon¡¯s words made the angel give a tired giggle, and she began to slowly circle around her. Serris leaned close and shined a cruel smile down onto the demon. The corner of the demon¡¯s mouth twitched, and she looked away quickly. The angel stopped her pacing and crossed her arms. The angel flared her wings and surrounded the demon, moving her face so close that their noses almost touched. She stared into the demon¡¯s eyes with a twisted gaze. Serris¡¯s eyes desperately searched through the demon¡¯s. However, when the demon refused to react to her words, the angel pouted and withdrew. Still, the demon only offered up a sad smile to the angel¡¯s provocative and childish words. Eventually she moved, kneeling down on the floor, and hung her head. Her final words came out muffled and low, and yet they more than filled the space of the room. The angel had tried her best to sound annoyed, but the saddened look on her face belied her true feelings. The cruel wind seemed to quickly escape from her sails. The demon looked back up at Serris, but the angel¡¯s sad face was met with a look that could only be described as loving. Serris grimaced for a moment and looked away, but eventually her gaze returned, solemn and determined. <...I¡¯m doing my best to make that the case.> The angel¡¯s face cracked at the demon¡¯s words, and her jaw seemed to tremble. <... Goodbye, sister.> A sad smile pulled at the demon¡¯s lips, but she quickly looked back down again to hide it. Chapter Seventy Having nothing else to do while he waited for Serris to return, Noth was now in Helt¡¯s room, worriedly watching over the unconscious boy with the others. For good measure Noth had tried a few more times to wish Helt awake, and had even once tried using a demand, but nothing worked. In the end he had to accept that all he could do was wait, just like everyone else. It was frustrating, having the power to fight against waves of demons, and yet having no power at all to help one sleeping little boy. The time waiting next to Helt and hoping for his recovery felt as if it stretched on forever, and yet, after only a few minutes of waiting, a strange and mysterious feeling surrounded him. Noth''s eyes looked down to his suddenly shaking hands in confusion. He looked to the others in the room to see if they were experiencing the same sensation as him, but he seemed to be the only one effected by the odd force that was inexplicably pressing down upon him. After a moment of hesitation and worry Noth opened his mouth to call out and warn everyone that something was wrong, but before he could manage even a pee, a strong wave of energy rushed into his body. Jean and Ren¡¯s heads whipped over to his direction when they heard him loudly gag as if he were choking, while Elillith¡¯s eyes were the only thing that turned. Noth¡¯s hand came up to cover his mouth as he began violently coughing, but he raised his other hand to keep the children who tried to rush over to him back. It was difficult, but he managed to tell them that he wasn¡¯t feeling well in between coughs, and assured them that he would be alright after he got some rest. After Noth staggered out of the room he felt that the hallway was quite a bit cooler than the room filled with people he¡¯d just left. It almost felt like all the heat in his body was slowly being sucked away, or like his body was desperately rejecting it. Noth¡¯s teeth began to chatter, and as he pulled the hand away from his mouth, he saw small splatters of blood decorating his palm. The warm red colour contrasted the cold purpley-blue that his fingers were turning in quite an exquisite way. He looked back towards the room he¡¯d come from with shaky eyes. Was he in danger? Should he alert his family? But what if he was just going to worry them over nothing when they were already so worried over Helt? Would they be okay with two of their family members collapsing at the same time? Noth¡¯s swimming gaze repeatedly looked between his bloodied and cold hand and the door to the room. His pale lips that were slowly turning blue trembled. His worry finally prevailed, and he took a single step back towards the room, but a sudden rush of heat abruptly filled his body and knocked him down to the floor. The searing, smouldering heat burned through his body. It felt as if everyone one of his blood vessels would burst and spew hot lava. He couldn¡¯t help but writhe and claw at his clothes in agony, smearing the specks of blood from his hand across them. He wanted to scream his head off, but not a single sound would escape from his firmly clenched jaw. His wide, now bloodshot eyes desperately looked upwards as if searching for something. Even through the pain, his mind raced with a simple line of thoughts. Where was Serris? Why was she not here? She said she would protect him. She said she would never let him die. How could she let this happen to him? If only Serris were here. He didn¡¯t want to die alone like this. His family was going to be so sad. What were they going to do once he was gone? Could Elillith take care of them? Or would his father take them all in? If only Serris were here to save him. Serris could stop this for sure. Ah, if only¡­ Serris¡­ As his vision dimmed and blackened, he hallucinated that the angel he¡¯d desperately been wishing for had gracefully descended to his side. Her clothes were covered in a spray of blood, and her face was covered in tears. The angel had truly come to save him, just as he¡¯d wished. Surely she would fix all of this for him. ¡­What a nice last dream. ____ Kieran manor was dark. Monster that he was, he didn¡¯t like bright places, and so the maid and the butler kept everything dark for him. They tried their best to take care of him. They didn¡¯t want to upset their master. He was already suffering enough. The monster sat alone in his room. The madness was boiling inside of him again. It demanded that he use ''it''. It demanded that he show how strong he was. It demanded that he killed again. The town was already empty. Everyone had already fled or been killed. A monster had ravaged the town. A murderer. Not even the church could destroy the unstoppable fiend. The monster didn¡¯t want to go out. But the madness couldn¡¯t be stopped with just will alone. If he didn¡¯t want to hurt the maid and butler, he would have to satiate the madness soon. There was a town a few hours away. If he left now he could make it there by night, and it would be the perfect cover. Donned in a robe, the monster made it to the town. His long black hair that escaped the robe blended in with the darkness of the night. He wandered the back alleys of the town, letting the shadows hide him. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He knew no one good would ever come through here. At least if he went fishing here then he could kill off the bad guys first. Yes, first it would be all the bad people. Then it would be the unlucky people. And hopefully by then all the good people would have moved away. If not¡­ Well, this is why he was a monster in the end. ~~~ A fresh victim appeared. He was big and burly, but he was also drunk. He¡¯d drunkenly wandered into the alleys to relieve himself, unsuspecting of the danger. In his inebriated state he would have never looked into the shadows. Appeasing the monster¡¯s madness would be no challenge today. The monster reached out with his large hands. A loud crunch rang out as he bent the drunk¡¯s arms at impossible angles. Screams and the acrid smell of urine filled the air. And yet no one dared to check what was happening in the dark back alleys. No one was brave enough to become the next victim. By the time the screams abruptly stopped, the drunk''s body had been thoroughly mangled. His head, arms, and legs were at horrific angles. A foot and some fingers had gone flying off a few feet away. The darkness of the alley was interrupted by a few splashes of red. The shadows would keep hold of the swiftly cooling body until the morning. But the monster wasn¡¯t satisfied. This had been too easy. This man would not be enough. His madness would not be sated by something so miniscule. How could the world see his power with such an easy kill? The madness demanded more death. He could hear a group of people pass by the alley. They seemed to call out for the drunk who would never return. Perhaps such a large crowd would pose enough of a challenge to quell the madness. If he killed them all at once without letting a single person escape, then maybe that would finally be enough. Noth Kellen¡¯s [Gift] could only be happy with this for so long, however. It would only be a matter of time until it made him kill this town, too. ____ Noth could hear the voices of Jean and Ren. They were talking quietly, but they were close enough that he could make out their words quite easily. His mind reeled with the dream he¡¯d just seen, but his brain refused to work. His eyelids trembled as they tried to open, but his body refused to move. Any attempts to make noise only came out as heavy breaths. He could only lay there and quietly listen. ¡°-hope it¡¯s not because of the demons. Do you think they hurt him somehow?¡± ¡°No, Elillith said he didn¡¯t have any wounds on his body when she checked.¡± ¡°Then¡­ Do you think it¡¯s because he used too much power or something? Like how Helt was overusing his [Gift] before he collapsed?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know that he collapsed because he was using his [Gift], Ren. ¡­Although I hate to admit that that¡¯s probably what did it. Helt always was in a lot of pain from it¡­¡± ¡°Yeah! I wouldn¡¯t know, but don¡¯t people usually get sick or whatever when they overuse their [Gift]? Otherwise some people would be unstoppable, right?¡± ¡°Well, Noth¡¯s [Gift] doesn¡¯t seem to work like most others, but¡­ Yes, the God-dess probably wouldn¡¯t let someone so amazingly strong have no limits or anything. He did say this was supposed to be the last day fighting the demons, but he came home so early¡­ Maybe you¡¯re right. Maybe he did use too much power. He might have done it so he could rush home to Helt¡­ I hope that¡¯s not what happened. ¡­This idiot¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t mean that Jean. You love Noth just like the rest of us.¡± ¡°Hah, yeah¡­ But that¡¯s why he¡¯s an idiot. What an unreliable big brother.¡± ¡°Hehe, but we¡¯d never replace him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s annoying but I can¡¯t say you¡¯re wrong.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ ha¡­ Hey, Jean?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Do¡­ Do you like me?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Do you like me even though I¡¯m like this? Would you replace me?¡± ¡°Huh? What do you even mean, ¡®like this¡¯?! Why would I ever replace you?!¡± ¡°Well, I mean, I don¡¯t have a [Gift], and I¡¯m pretty¡­ useless. You and Helt help out all the time, but I¡­ only make things worse.¡± ¡°...I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d even say that. First of all, you do have a [Gift]! Keep talking like that and the God-dess is gonna smite you! That is if Noth doesn¡¯t wake up and do it first.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°And second, we all love you! You being a late bloomer isn¡¯t going to make us somehow hate you or whatever! You¡¯re our precious youngest sister and it¡¯s going to stay like that. You just have to keep doing your best every day like you have been!¡± ¡°... But I¡¯m 2 months older than you¡­¡± ¡°Yeah? But I¡¯m more mature than you.¡± ¡°I¡­ ok. You¡¯re right. ¡­Thank you Jean.¡± ¡°Mhmm.¡± ¡°...Jean?¡± ¡°What is it this time?¡± ¡°Could¡­ Could you tell me what it¡¯s like to have a [Gift]?¡± ¡°Huh? Well it¡¯s¡­ Uh¡­ Honestly I don¡¯t know what to tell you. It¡¯s just always there, it¡¯d be like if you asked me to tell you what it¡¯s like to see, or hear, or breathe.¡± ¡°Um¡­ Well then could you tell me why Helt still uses his [Gift] even though it hurts him?¡± ¡°Oh. Well yeah, it¡¯s¡­ Ok, this is going to sound like a really unfair comparison, but I guess it¡¯s the same reason I sometimes used mine even though I used to hate it?¡± ¡°Ah yeah, I remember. You still don¡¯t really like to use it much now either, right? Helt said that.¡± ¡°...Yeah. I read about it a lot once we started living with Noth, ¡®cause I wanted to make sure that it wasn¡¯t just me being weird, you know? Apparently everyone is compelled to use their [Gift] even if they don¡¯t like it for some reason. The church believes that it¡¯s because it¡¯s the one true path that¡¯s been set for us by the God-dess, and that we have a natural wish to use our [Gift] because it leads us towards the will of fate. But there are some people who believe that the God-dess made it feel good for us to use our [Gift] so that we wouldn¡¯t go against its will. See, every time you use your [Gift], you feel like you¡¯re doing something right. Even if you¡¯re using it to do bad things, or you hated it for some reason like I did, it still feels really great. I¡¯ve even read a book where they compared the feeling with how people who drink, do drugs, or gamble feel.¡± ¡°But¡­ But it hurts Helt to use it!¡± ¡°Yes, but it also feels good. Eating too many sweets is bad for you, but you still eat a bunch til you feel sick, right?¡± ¡°Eek! Um¡­ Well¡­¡± ¡°See?¡± ¡°Urgh¡­ Yeah. I- I¡¯ve been trying to eat less, though¡­¡± ¡°Heehee, but I wouldn¡¯t mind a chubby Ren for a little sister, you know?¡± ¡°Noooo!¡± Chapter Seventy One As Noth motionlessly listened to the children¡¯s antics, his mind wandered back to the dream he¡¯d seen. He really wanted to believe that it was purely just a dream, but something inside of him wouldn¡¯t stop nagging about it. When he paid attention to it a bit more closely, he could tell that it had the same feel to it as the vague collage of dreams he¡¯d had before he¡¯d decided to confront his father. So then did that mean it was a¡­ dream of his past self? The one that the angel had loved enough to save the current him? The one she¡¯d said had a wild, general-like look? ¡­But why would she have liked such a tortured and broken person? A version of himself that had chosen a [Gift]... If Noth was remembering correctly, Serris had said he¡¯d unknowingly chosen [Monstrous Strength] as his [Gift] so that he could defeat his dad. It made sense. His father was strong; What better way could a child have thought of to defeat someone strong, than to become even stronger than them? And Noth did always have that fascination with monsters¡­ But then why had he become some kind of mass killer? Was it because ¡®Monstrous¡¯ was in the name? But there had been other people in history blessed with Monstrous [Gifts] that hadn¡¯t become mass murderers or done anything truly evil, it was merely a qualifier. The few people who had been given ¡®Heavenly¡¯ qualifiers hadn¡¯t suddenly become angels or only done good things, so that most likely had no effect on their actions. Noth once again thought over the conversation he¡¯d heard from the girls. So people were compelled to use their [Gift] no matter what? There are a number of ways to use [Strength] out there, so why had his previous self settled on taking lives? Not every [Carpenter] only built houses or furniture, some made art or decorations; The possible uses for a [Gift] weren¡¯t so cut and dry. The previous Noth could have used his strength to help build things, or fight monsters, or join the army, or even demolish houses for God-dess¡¯s sake! So why did he go for the very worst option?! Was it because his life had been so awful up until then, that he wanted to take revenge on the world? Was he just predisposed to murder and he¡¯d never realized? Or maybe he¡¯d truly gone insane from killing his father? What made normal people choose the paths that they went down? They felt good using their [Gifts], and it mentally made a big mark on them immediately, so¡­ Was it maybe the case that people usually grew attached to whatever they first used their [Gift] for? Jean liked using her [Gift] to make people comply or do something for her, even though she felt bad doing it, but she could have easily chosen to use her [Gift] to make people flock to her and adore her. She could have used her power to become a massive idol that everyone loved and would naturally do anything for without her ever having to say a single word, but instead she chose a more humble life of subtle occasional manipulation. Was that just because of her personality, or was it because she was stuck on the first thing she¡¯d learned to do? Anytime she¡¯d consciously used her [Gift] to attract attention she looked like she hated it, but if she used it to bend someone to her will for a task they previously didn¡¯t want to do she looked pleased, if only for a moment. Likewise, any of the maids from his father¡¯s manor seemed to enjoy their maidly duties, but if they were made to do work that technically still fell into the scope of their [Gift], like helping nurse someone, they looked less as thrilled. Plenty of maids worked in hospitals and helped do those same kinds of jobs, so what was causing the divide? The more Noth thought about it, the more he believed that he might be right. People gravitated towards whatever set of actions first brought them the sense of pleasure from using their [Gift]. Perhaps it was like repeating an action again to hopefully get the same resulting thrill out of it? Could it be that the pleasure of using your [Gift] for something else was not as good as that first thrill they¡¯d gotten, so they subconsciously decide it¡¯s not worthwhile? Was everyone just going about their lives chasing the high of the first good feeling they felt? ¡­If that was the case, then didn¡¯t that mean that the God-dess was truly drugging everyone to follow its will? Why would a literal god need to go to such measures to be obeyed? Why did it need to set up angels and prophets and the like to mould the world to its whims; Shouldn¡¯t a god be all powerful? Judging from the power of the angels, the God-dess surely must have been obscenely strong. What could possibly have put limitations on such a strong being? What could have possibly forced the God-dess to use the angels as its arms and legs? Why did it let the demons it despised roam free? Why did it despise them in the first place? Didn¡¯t it create every living creature exactly how it wished? Why make them just to hate them? Why send Noth and his angel to kill them? Weren¡¯t such intricate and strong beings made for some kind of purpose? Noth¡¯s curious mind felt the inconsistencies in his perception of the God-dess growing. The mere realization that he could even have such blasphemous thoughts about an all powerful god without any repercussions also seemed wrong. The God-dess he¡¯d learned about from the prophet wasn¡¯t someone so benevolent and forgiving that they would just allow people to question them, and yet the closest thing that Noth had ever heard or seen about the God-dess in a negative light was the theory Jean had spoken of, that the [Gifts] were the God-dess¡¯s way to control the humans. If he with his young mind could spot such oddities in the narrative of the world, then why had no one else ever voiced them? Was it supressed because the theocracy would never allow such slander upon their god? Was it because Noth was special since he had a bond to an angel? Was it because he was living a different life than he was destined to? Or maybe¡­ Maybe it was because he was currently outside of the God-dess¡¯s system? Yes, he was attached to a literal piece of the God-dess, but unlike everyone else in the world besides a few very young children, Noth had never actually been given a [Gift]. Being a [Chosen] like he was told he now was didn¡¯t actually have anything to do with [Gifts] per say, and if anything it had removed the chance of ever actually getting one from the equation. Being a [Chosen] wasn¡¯t what gave him the ability to use Serris¡¯s powers, Serris and the bracelet that connected them were what did it. It wasn¡¯t like he was being persuaded or forced to make use of his wishes and demands by any outside mystical drug-like force; Noth used his powers because they were just what he felt like doing at the time. There was no hit of ecstasy, no good feeling behind it. The closest he¡¯d ever come to feeling like that was when he¡¯d eaten the ¡®God-dess¡¯s Love¡¯ flower, and even that feeling seemed to have been dimmed in comparison to how it would have affected the average person, at least from what Serris had told him. ¡­Could it be that the people blessed with [Choose Your Own Path] were truly the only ones that were free? Was the pope¡¯s decision to defame them more than just a jealousy based move? Was he afraid that such a people would escape from beneath the God-dess¡¯s thumb? The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Was that why the God-dess never told the prophet to correct the pope? And now with the power balance shifted as it is, either the ugly ducklings are killed off by the brainwashed bigoted [Gifted] people, or choose to join their ranks. But then why was the God-dess still allowing people to have that [Gift] in the first place if it didn¡¯t like it so much?! Noth¡¯s mind was positively swimming with these new, possible, all too likely revelations. He didn¡¯t want to believe how scarily true they all sounded. But how could he ever verify them? If he asked Serris she would just clam up under the God-dess¡¯s suppression again. Asking the prophet might just yield the same effect. Was he just going to be stuck with such sinister unverified knowledge? For the first time since he awoke, Noth¡¯s eyes opened. His gaze strained to the angel that sat against the headboard of his bed. Her smile was clearly melancholic, and Noth could almost see tear-streaks running down her face. Her hand came over to lovingly stroke his cheeks and then covered his eyes, stopping his concerned gaze. Serris leaned down and planted a kiss upon Noth¡¯s head. When she came back up, the teen was sleeping soundly once again. ___ People had come many times to stop the monster. Valiant knights under the banner of the church. Assassins sneaking in under the shroud of night. The stronger the assailant, the more the monster¡¯s [Gift] was pleased. It was as if the church was sending him love letters. For a time the monster didn¡¯t even need to leave his den. The intruders showed up almost constantly. Some of them put up such wonderful fights that his madness was appeased for nearly a week. The monster was no longer in agony trying to fight back against the hand that controlled him. For once it felt like his mind could finally think. Eventually the church stopped sending people to their deaths as frequently. The monster was worried that he might have to go back to his previous life of hunting down the weak. But luckily one day someone new appeared. He was younger than most of the others. ¡­And he was also much more annoying. Despite how annoying the boy was, the monster still had fun. They would fight often, and for the first time the monster did not get to kill his prey. Sometimes the boy would bring others along, but by some odd strokes of fate, they too were protected by the boy. The monster was surprised that his [Gift] could be sated by such silly play fighting. And yet somehow all it wanted was to try to kill this one young man. It seemed the boy had come for his bracelet? The boy said that if the monster gave it to him, he would let him go. ¡­By now the monster didn¡¯t even remember the face of his mother. All warmth had long since escaped from the world. But how could he give up the bracelet and lose the one comfort that he¡¯d finally found? The monster guarded the bracelet like a dragon would its treasure from then on. If the boy was going to get it from him, then he¡¯d have to finally beat him. Only when the monster was dead and was no longer able to hurt people¡­ That¡¯s when the boy would get the bracelet. If it was this boy, then one day maybe the raging monster Noth had become could finally be put to rest. ___ Noth opened his eyes again. This time there were no quietly talking children, only a lone woman carefully tidying up the room. She moved slowly, almost lethargically, but it was obvious that she did everything with a practiced hand. Noth tried to sit up, but his body was still too weak. He parted his lips by the tiniest amount, but no noise would escape. Still, somehow Elillith¡¯s gaze still slowly came his way, as if she¡¯d heard his call. She came to his side and placed her hand on his forehead. Her eyes stared past his barely opened eyelids. When she decided that he still had a fever, she nodded and tucked him back in. ¡°Rest, Noth.¡± She so rarely called the teen by his name, and the way that she stated her words so firmly and clearly with conviction was equally bas surprising. Noth couldn¡¯t help but keep looking at her, wondering how his first friend must have been feeling at the moment to have dropped her usual quirks like this. Sadly, her typical expressionless doll face was the only thing that greeted him back. Elillith was still, as ever, hard to get a read on. Suddenly an odd thought came to Noth. ¡­Wasn¡¯t Elillith supposed to be [Unafflicted]? Then how was she using her [Gift]? Everyone was compelled to use it, right? Why had he never once seen her do it? Was she sneaking around using it in secret? Or maybe had she been indulging in it right in front of them all, and he¡¯d never noticed? She did have that poker face of hers¡­ If she¡¯d eaten poison right in front of him, would he have ever known? Or¡­ Or could it be that the reason she was always so low energy and uncaring was because she couldn¡¯t use her [Gift]? Crazy though it was, Noth seriously debated wishing up some poison to let Elillith use her [Gift]. Of course, a moment later he received a gentle thwap on the head, along with some admonishment from his exasperated angel. Soon after, he was once again put back to sleep. Chapter Seventy Two: -Ren Intermission- Helt¡¯s still asleep. So¡¯s big brother Noth. Noth has woken up sometimes! But Noth doesn¡¯t stay awake for very long, or move, or talk¡­ I¡¯m super worried about it. I¡¯m happy that I still have Jean and Elillith here with me at least. Jean talked with me about a lot of things. She even told me things about [Gifts] I never knew before! I wanted to know these things for so long, but I¡¯d been too afraid to ask. What if they felt like I was even weirder for not just knowing this stuff?! Maybe if I was better at reading then I could have looked it up myself, like Jean did, but¡­ But¡­ I¡¯m just so stupid. I learn so slowly. Helt and Jean are so smart, and they learned to read and write so quickly. Most of the time I have to get someone to read to me to try and help me learn it¡­ And it¡¯s still not working! It¡¯s just¡­ If Elillith reads to me, I get so tired¡­ When Jean reads her voice is too pretty, and I end up focusing on that instead of the book! Helt reads too fast and I can¡¯t follow along with the words¡­ And Noth has been so busy all the time¡­ I don¡¯t have the nerve to make him read to me a lot. Plus I get really embarrassed that he knows I still haven¡¯t really learned anything¡­ He must think I¡¯m so dumb. Everyone must think that. I try my hardest, honest! I¡¯m just¡­ not good at it. I¡¯m not good at anything. If I were better, then everyone else wouldn¡¯t have to spend all their time babying me. If I were more capable at controlling myself then maybe Noth wouldn¡¯t have had to clean up the mess me and my friend in the garden made. Now the person I should be the most grateful to is hurt or sick or something. And I think I¡¯m also the reason Helt won¡¯t wake up, too. I¡¯m the worst. I make everything bad happen. If only I had a [Gift]. If I could pick one and be like everyone else, then maybe I could finally be good. Everyone could rely on me. I could do things for my friends, instead of all of them having to do things for me all the time. If anything bad happened, I could fix it instead of sitting there uselessly like always. I want everyone to depend on me. I don¡¯t want to be worthless. ¡­My parents were right. They knew I was worthless even before they learned what my [Gift] was. Maybe they would have finally loved me if I had gotten a really good [Gift]. Then they wouldn¡¯t have adopted my friends and sold us all. And even if we did still get sold, Jean and Helt wouldn¡¯t be the only ones able to protect us! We would have never gotten caught and taken to the scary basement in the first place! ¡­But then we wouldn¡¯t have met Noth and gone to live with him. ¡­Maybe letting us get kidnapped would have been fine, then. I don¡¯t wanna lose big brother Noth from my life. He does so much for us! We love him! The day after I learned more about [Gifts] from Jean, I went into the greenhouse for a while. I had a lot of thinking to do. Jean was busy cleaning some more, so she didn''t try to come with me. I got to go into Noth¡¯s secret part of the greenhouse for the first time in a while! I looked at the pretty red flowers on the pretty red bushes. I knew I wasn¡¯t allowed to touch them, so instead I just looked. Was Noth allowed to have such pretty red bushes because he was so special? I¡¯d never seen such amazing bushes anywhere! They weren¡¯t in any of the picture books about flowers that Helt had shown me. They weren¡¯t anywhere in the town I grew up in. Even when we¡¯d go out into town with Elillith on errands, I never saw them in any of the flower shops! If they were so special, wouldn¡¯t Noth¡¯s dad have had some of his own? This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Were they hidden somewhere too, like Noth¡¯s? Or did these actually belong to Noth¡¯s dad? I think the greenhouse used to belong to him, too, so maybe? I wish I could touch them. I bet they¡¯d smell and feel so nice. I couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and tried to touch the flowers again. I know I was told that I¡¯d get in trouble, but last time my friend made me eat them right? That means that if I just eat the flowers I touch, then Noth won¡¯t know! They melted in my mouth like ice cream when I ate them last time! But wasn¡¯t the taste kind of weird? It¡¯s hard to remember¡­ I want to taste them again! But also I lost control of my body after I ate them¡­ That was so scary and I made trouble for Noth after¡­ Maybe I shouldn¡¯t eat them after all. But still, maybe just a touch will be ok? I wouldn¡¯t get in trouble if I just poked one, right? My friend showed up when I almost poked one and stopped me. She¡¯s finally back! I told her all about how Noth defeated the demons we met. She said that now she was one step closer to helping me one day! She told me that since I helped her, everything went great, but she sounded really sad. I was happy I was finally helpful, but I was really worried how sad she sounded. I asked her if something went wrong, and she said no. She said everything went perfectly, but that maybe she wished it hadn¡¯t. Did I somehow ruin everything again? I thought I finally helped a friend, but maybe she¡¯s just too nice to say I didn¡¯t. I asked her if I maybe screwed everything up, but she said there was no other way it could have gone. She said she didn¡¯t like what she had to do this time, but it was all for the sake of the people she cares about. And she also said that I was one of those people! My friend really cares about me! We both hugged. She¡¯s gotten so good at hugging, she doesn¡¯t even hurt me anymore when she does it. But the mark on my back still keeps getting bigger and darker? Maybe it¡¯s not a bruise? Oh well, at least it doesn¡¯t hurt. I don¡¯t want to go see a doctor, it might be scary or hurt! My friend still sounded a bit sad even after our hug, although she was a tiny bit better. I asked if there was anything I could do to cheer her up. I¡¯ve got to do my best for the people important to me, just like her! She seemed like she was going to say no, but there actually was something! She said she missed sleeping. She said whatever she was right now wouldn¡¯t ever let her sleep. She even hadn¡¯t slept for decades! That¡¯s basically for all my life, but a bunch of times! That must be awful, sleeping is great! She said that the only way she could finally sleep is if she was in my body again. I was really scared of it, since such scary things happened last time¡­ But she¡¯s my friend! I promised to do whatever I could for her! She¡¯s trying so hard to do what she can to help her important people. She¡¯s even doing things she doesn¡¯t like for it! If she¡¯s gonna do things she doesn¡¯t like, then I can too! Besides, she promised to help me get the [Gift] I wanted one day! How can I let one scary thing get in the way of helping her to help me? I¡¯m not a baby. I won¡¯t be the baby everyone treats me like! I agreed to let her use my body to sleep! ¡­But also I made her promise not to do anything else, just in case. I¡¯m doing my best, but I don¡¯t want to do something too scary, after all. I ate the flower again. This one melted like ice cream just like the last time, but it tasted a little different. This one tasted like¡­ a crunchy leaf? It¡¯s still better than the squirmy taste from last time I think. I wonder why the different flowers have different tastes when they¡¯re all red? Maybe one day when I¡¯m big and smart I can look it up in a book like Helt does. The mark on my back hurt again like last time, but I think everything hurt less than before? Maybe I¡¯m just getting used to it? Maybe if I do this with my friend often enough it won¡¯t ever hurt. Then I can help her a lot! I didn¡¯t even collapse this time either, hooray! All of a sudden I just started moving without me doing anything. My throat was humming, but I wasn¡¯t doing it. My hands undid my ponytail and my hair came down. And then when my wrist flicked, something amazing happened! A big wind blew, and a bunch of pretty fallen petals and leaves from all over the greenhouse came together in front of us. It made a cute, soft nest for us! That¡¯s incredible! My friend is so amazingly powerful! She laughed and told me this was nothing with my own voice. I can¡¯t wait ''til I get to see what else she can do one day! Maybe if I let her use my body more often I¡¯ll get to see some more super awesome things happen! My body yawned. I crawled into the little nest and curled up like a cat. My eyes closed, and before I knew it I was drifting off to sleep. I thought sleeping with someone else in my body might feel weird, like moving did. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d also fall asleep, too! But weirdly enough I actually felt the most comfortable that I ever did! I had a really good sleep. I dreamed of every single good thing that I wanted to happen. I dreamed about all the cool [Gifts] I¡¯d seen, and how my life would be with them. I dreamed about having fun with my friends. I dreamed that everyone laughed and clapped and cheered for me. I dreamed that I didn¡¯t have to feel worthless any longer. Everything felt so right. I was right. I didn¡¯t want any of these dreams to end. When I finally woke up I felt disappointed. None of it was real, but it felt like I¡¯d lived through it all first hand. It felt like something got taken away from me. Maybe because my friend had finally left my body? She pet my head and said not to be sad about having a good dream. But how can I not feel sad about it? I told her I had to go back now. Helt and Noth were still asleep, and I missed them. I shouldn¡¯t be leaving them alone for so long while they¡¯re still sick like this. I had to be responsible and take care of my friends! My friend told me that I didn¡¯t have to worry. She said that Helt would wake up today, and that Noth would wake up tomorrow. She even promised me! Wow! My friend is so amazing, she even knows about important stuff like this! Chapter Seventy Three ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to sleep some more? You look awful.¡± ¡°Thanks Jean, but no. I¡¯m kind of tired of sleeping right now.¡± ¡°I mean, if you¡¯re sure... Say something if you need anything though, okay?¡± ¡°Heh, what a kind and caring leader we have.¡± ¡°Sh- Shut up!¡± ¡°Oh brave leader, wherefore might your second subordinate have gone?¡± ¡°What¡­? You mean Ren? Shut up with the leader thing, ok?! She¡¯s just busy helping Elillith make some food!¡± ¡°Huh, that never happens. Usually she just watches since she¡¯s so worried she¡¯ll mess up.¡± ¡°Yeah well, ever since the day you woke up she said she¡¯s going to ¡®try her best from now on¡¯.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. That¡¯s really¡­ great¡­ Hrng.¡± ¡°I knew it! You do look awful! Is it your [Gift] again?¡± ¡°Hfff¡­ Yeah... Ever since I woke up it¡¯s been coming and going. Being close to Noth helps, but since he¡¯s in whatever state he¡¯s in now, he¡¯s not blocking my [Gift] all the time like he used to.¡± ¡°...I hope that¡¯s not some sort of bad sign or something.¡± ¡°... Me too.¡± The sad way the children¡¯s conversation trailed off hurt the still unmoving Noth¡¯s heart. He was very happy to know that Helt had finally woken up, but he was sure that himself still being asleep like this was putting a damper on everyone¡¯s happiness, including his own. Why was he still unable to wake up? Why was he having all these dreams of his previous self? Was this because of the sudden influx of energy he¡¯d gotten from the archdemon being slain? And why was it going into him in the first place, when it was clearly Serris who¡¯d finished her off? Was demonic energy too dirty for an angel¡¯s holy body or something, so it all just sucked into him instead? Was it due to the bracelet link? He could feel that the small extra flickers of energy he¡¯d gained from killing the previous packs of demons was nowhere near the radiating star of energy that he now possessed. Just how strong had that archdemon been? Why had she let him kill off her lackeys so easily if she''d had so much power inside of her? Suddenly Noth¡¯s eyes opened, and his vision was filled with his angel¡¯s smiling face. ¡°...What?¡± Noth¡¯s weak voice came out sounding hoarse from how dry his throat felt. He raised his arm to cover his mouth as he let out a rough sounding cough, and both of the children at his side immediately stood up and crowded him. They shouted his name in unison, and before long Jean came to her senses and offered Noth a cup of water. ¡°Noth, you¡¯re back! We were so worried when we found out you¡¯d passed out too!¡± Jean¡¯s words and hands both trembled, and for a moment Noth was worried that she might spill the cup of water on him before he could take it from her. As he carefully if weakly removed the cup from her hands and began to take a refreshing sip, Helt¡¯s small purple hands shakily gripped onto the hem of Noth¡¯s shirt. ¡°When I woke up and learned that you¡¯d also collapsed, I couldn¡¯t help but feel like it was all my fault. Because I strained my [Gift] too far and passed out, I put too big of a burden on you when you were already so busy. Noth, I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m ashamed of myself. I¡¯ve been using you to hold off the pain of my [Gift] for too long, and I haven¡¯t learned to control this [Curse] of mine at all. I¡¯m a failure of a Krysthid. I¡­ Maybe it¡¯s for the best that the pain isn¡¯t being blocked anymore.¡± The small amethyst boy¡¯s eyes began to leak. His tears that streaked down his cheeks were exceptionally pearlescent, and sparkled as they fell. Noth could imagine a statue dedicated to this picture making quite a lot of money in an auction somewhere. No wonder people often tried to abduct wandering Krysthids. It was a good thing they were usually equipped with amazing [Gifts], otherwise they¡¯d be stolen left and right. Noth raised his hand with great difficulty and wiped away the shining tears. Helt¡¯s words had most likely been from the heart, but they sounded too practiced, and the boy sounded like they¡¯d hurt him to say. And even more suspicious, Helt usually never spoke for so long unless he found what he was saying completely necessary. The boy must have thought out this whole self-admonishing speech, and had promised himself that he¡¯d say it to Noth once he¡¯d finally gotten the chance. Thinking such harmful words to yourself was one thing, but forcing yourself to say them out loud to someone was just a step worse. Helt must have been feeling completely awful about himself right now. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. How could he let his younger brother hurt himself like that? ¡°I see no such failure here. All I see is a young boy who feels bad that he might have let his older brother down. And as that brother, I can promise you, you¡¯re doing just fine, Helt. You¡¯re not a failure, and there¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. All you are is a kid with a very difficult [Gift] who¡¯s trying to live his life as best as he can, and that¡¯s amazing already. Do you think I¡¯d just let my family roam around willy-nilly hurting themselves for no good reason? Of course I wouldn¡¯t just let that happen!¡± ¡°Ah, but¡­ but I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t just rely on you to hold back my [Gift] for me forever! I¡¯m¡­ It¡¯s my [Gift], how can¡­ You¡¯ve already done so much, and¡­¡± For a moment Helt¡¯s tears had stopped, and he looked so relieved. However, the slight smile he¡¯d shown quickly turned turbulent, and the tears started gushing out anew. The small boy¡¯s grip on Noth¡¯s clothes grew just a tad tighter than before. Noth was worried that he¡¯d failed to console Helt even the tiniest bit, but as he fretted over how to successfully pacify the boy, suddenly Jean¡¯s voice cut in. ¡°Ugh, none of this is like you at all! You¡¯re being such a big crybaby.¡± Jean leaned over and hugged Helt tight, their purple hues of hair entangling together as she nuzzled her head against his own. ¡°You act all high and mighty telling me about me and how I feel, but look at you being such a mess over here. Look, Noth obviously doesn¡¯t care about you using him so you aren¡¯t in pain all the time. If Ren or I could do it, we¡¯d also help in a heartbeat too. None of us would think you¡¯re some kind of burden or anything, so stop feeling guilty over nothing! We¡¯re not just being kind, and not even an archdemon was enough to kill off Noth, so you don¡¯t have to be scared about what¡¯ll happen to you if he wasn¡¯t around, alright? It¡¯s perfectly normal to think about those things! Gosh, you never talk about this stuff with us, stop just bottling everything up, you ninny!¡± Even through Jean¡¯s deluge of cold truths, she never stopped hugging and nuzzling Helt. Noth couldn¡¯t help but smile seeing the clash of a rough chiding mixed with such a sweet display of love. This, too, would make a wonderful picture. Or perhaps a beautiful porcelain ornament would suit the scene better. The healthy lavender shine of Jean¡¯s luscious hair mixing with the gleaming tint of amethyst that Helt¡¯s stiff hair had was lovely all on its own. Perhaps the flies who¡¯d bothered Noth were correct, maybe his little siblings were a tad too beautiful. It made Noth feel like he might look a bit too plain standing next to them all. He¡¯d have to diligently protect them from the wrong kind of people¡¯s eyes from now on, lest they be stolen by perverts in the future. Helt sniffled hard a few times, and by the end of Jean¡¯s rant the sad winds seemed to have already left the boy¡¯s sails. Now his face only looked slightly embarrassed, instead of agonized. He kept sending shy glances towards Jean and Noth, and eventually when he was ready to speak again he gently moved away from Jean and bowed his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for acting like this. My feelings got away from me.¡± Jean scoffed at his words and crossed her arms. ¡°And you say I¡¯m the one who always tries to act mature. I¡¯m never letting you do that again!¡± Even with her harsh words, Noth could see the way she stealthily reached under her arm to tug on a corner of Helt¡¯s shirt as she spoke. Helt¡¯s soft smile at her actions confirmed that he¡¯d noticed it as well. ¡°...Thank you, Jean, Noth.¡± ¡°Hmph. That¡¯s a much better try than the last one. Alright, let¡¯s get out of here and¡­ Oh. Hey, Noth.¡± Jean began to get up and leave, but suddenly she turned around and delivered a hand mirror to Noth. ¡°Your hair really likes to do weird stuff, huh? Figured it¡¯s better for you to notice sooner rather than later, in case it meant something important.¡± Helt made a soft gasping sound as if the topic had completely slipped his mind, and then nodded. Throughout their time together, what with the fluctuation of Noth¡¯s powers and the changes in his bond with Serris, Noth¡¯s hair had seemed to randomly grow, shrink, or gain more or less colour in the children¡¯s view. They weren¡¯t too shocked that it had suddenly changed again this time, but they still felt that it was something that warranted reporting. Noth took the mirror and looked into it, examining himself. He¡¯d expected that perhaps his hair was now turning white at the roots, as if the black of his hair was fading away to match Serris¡¯s. It would make sense, considering that he¡¯d just gained such a massive influx of power; Such things usually led to their bond deepening and his powers growing stronger. However, in an odd turn of events, the usual thumb-length of orange that decorated the ends of his hair had now been replaced, instead becoming a deep, unfathomable purple. It almost reminded him of the last hoorah of a setting sun. To be honest, he quite preferred it to the garish rusty red that he¡¯d grown for the last few years. But of course, this sudden change begged the question: Why had his hair, that had previously reflected his bond, suddenly turned a seemingly unrelated colour? The reason was obviously because of the massive amount of energy he¡¯d gotten from the archdemon; That was the only recent event that made sense to think of. However, the archdemon had been more of a magenta hue, whereas this purple was only a few shades off of black. Perhaps you could classify them as both being a shade of purple, but the comparison didn¡¯t quite feel fair. And as far as Noth could remember, nothing else that had happened recently in his life had anything to do with such a deep purple either. The closest had been the blue hues of the demons he¡¯d fought against. Could it be that the colour of his hair was some transitional colour between the blues of the demons and the magenta of the archdemon? If he thought about it hard enough it seemed to make sense, but then... Could it be that he hadn¡¯t managed to absorb all the power of the archdemon? Was that why he was left with such an incomplete purple? And why had her colour overwritten the rust from the angel he was bonded with in the first place? Noth turned his head towards Serris, about to ask her to confirm his theories, when the angel suddenly wrapped her arms around him from the side and leaned in close. She whispered as if the children might somehow be able to overhear her. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Both Jean¡¯s and Helt''s eyes were still glued onto him, seemingly having been waiting for some kind of clue as to why his hair had changed. Chapter Seventy Four Noth couldn¡¯t fault the children for being curious, especially when he himself had quite a notorious curiosity streak. However, he¡¯d never truly mastered the art of wordplay, let alone crafting his words in a way that would pacify children. And, in all reality, even he didn¡¯t know for sure why his hair had changed! In the end he decided that the only option was to tell them a small part of the truth that he¡¯d guessed at, and hoped that it would be enough to satiate them for now. ¡°It¡­seems that my powers have been affected by the death of the archdemon.¡± The two children made sounds of awe, their eyes almost sparkling from the interesting knowledge. They clearly wanted to hear more, but Noth didn¡¯t really have any more information to give. Luckily Helt suddenly spoke up, saving Noth from the awkward situation he could feel building. ¡°So that¡¯s why you aren¡¯t covering up my [Gift] as well anymore?¡± ¡°Huh? I¡¯m not?¡± Noth looked towards his angel once more, the question he wanted to ask clearly painted on his face. ¡°What? But that¡¯s-¡± Noth flinched. He hadn¡¯t even once thought about what Helt had done during the days he¡¯d been gone hunting demons. How foolish of him to have neglected such an obvious thing. His face twisted in regret and concern. Serris chuckled and ran her fingers through his purple ends. Noth frowned a small bit. He couldn¡¯t help but still feel uncomfortable with the whole ordeal, even with her ''encouragement''. ¡°I¡­ suppose that¡¯s right.¡± Serris smiled and patted him on the head. ¡°...Is this another one of your ¡®favours¡¯?¡± Serris¡¯s last words came out sounding as teasing as possible. Noth¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at her disapprovingly, but eventually he sighed and rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m guessing this is something important, then?¡± Noth looked at her with a disbelieving gaze, but eventually he conceded by looking away. The angel giggled and came close, once again choosing to whisper into his ear as if she was sharing a precious secret with him. Noth didn¡¯t want to agree, but he couldn¡¯t think of a single reason to say no besides the fact that they were just young kids. Serris would never accept such an excuse for such talented children, and with Jean there and willing to use her [Gift], no danger would be likely to befall them. In the end the only thing holding Noth back from saying yes was just his aversion to making his loved ones do his dirty work. The teen sighed and bit his lip, but after a moment he looked towards his beloved siblings. ¡°Jean, Helt¡­¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. The children sat up a little straighter, hearing the distress in his voice. Had something gone wrong? They knew he must have been talking to the angel that he says follows him around; That was typically the reason he had for staring off in a random direction suddenly, or talking to seemingly no one out of nowhere. Could it be the angel had just told him that the change in hair colour was bad somehow? ¡°I¡¯m sorry to ask you to do this, but I need a favour. I¡¯m¡­ unable to do it right now, and only you two can. Could you please help me?¡± Jean immediately lit up, looking entirely ready to help with whatever Noth might ask of her. Helt, on the other hand, looked a small bit apprehensive. What could they do that the powerful Noth, someone who had shown such overwhelming ability compared to them, could not? And what¡¯s more, if he was asking it of both of them, then that meant Helt would have to fight against the random waves of head-splitting agony he¡¯d been experiencing just to be of any use. He simply didn¡¯t have the confidence in himself to truly agree. ¡°Of course we¡¯ll help!¡± The excited Jean practically sprang up, grabbing hold of Helt¡¯s hand and pulling him closer. It seemed that, in her eagerness, she wasn¡¯t about to let Helt back out of helping. In fear of seeming disappointing, Helt reluctantly nodded along with Jean¡¯s words. Noth smiled gently at the cute children, although his facade held a slight tinge of melancholy. He was happy that they wanted to help him so much, but he worried that they were so willing to do something for him without knowing what it was first. He wanted to believe that the willingness came from a place of love and respect for their big brother, and not some odd sense of worship or indebtedness. ¡°I see. Thank you, both of you. There¡¯s, um¡­ some bad people who have come here from the church, and are trying to harm me by talking to the people who used to be servants here. Helt, I need your help locating them quickly, and Jean, I need you to¡­ well, convince them to leave and not come back. I¡¯m very sorry to ask this of you both, especially you, Helt. It¡¯s only been a day since you woke up. Since then you¡¯ve already been in so much pain because of your [Gift], and now I¡¯m asking you to use the very thing that¡¯s been hurting you¡­ I just hope that with some practice you can learn to suppress it a bit.¡± The fire of Jean¡¯s eagerness seemed to dim slightly when she heard Noth¡¯s concerns over Helt. She felt a little ashamed of herself for having been so excited without taking his situation into any kind of consideration. It was true that he¡¯d been randomly in pain for the past day, so maybe going even farther away from Noth would only make things worse for him¡­ Jean glanced nervously towards Helt¡¯s now serious expression and slowly released the hand she had been holding, instead fiddling with her hands against her lap. ¡°I¡­ Helt,-¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, Jean.¡± Helt sighed, a slight grimace from pain appearing on his face as he retook her hand. ¡°I know. I can¡¯t help but know how you feel right now, but that¡¯s exactly why I can¡¯t turn this down. He¡¯s right, we¡¯re the only two people who can do this right now, and if I¡¯m ever going to get over this pain, then¡­ It¡¯s better to learn how sooner rather than later.¡± Jean¡¯s concern was obvious, but before she could say anything, Helt leaned towards her and rested his head on her shoulder. ¡°If you¡¯re so worried about me, then why not just stick close to me like you¡¯re going to do anyways? You can even use your [Gift] on me and hypnotize me into not feeling any pain.¡± The young girl¡¯s visage looked so flustered and confused, but she didn¡¯t dare move and possibly cause even more pain to her already hurting friend. ¡°B-but that wouldn¡¯t even work! You know I can¡¯t use my power on you, your [Gift] is too strong! And besides, even if I could, I would never use my powers on my friends!¡± Noth couldn¡¯t help but let out a small chuckle at their antics, and even another louder one when Jean heard and shot him a glare. It was easy to see how close Jean was with Helt, considering she¡¯d never let someone she didn¡¯t extremely care about see her get flustered like this. ¡°Come on Jean, why not do it since he¡¯s specially asking for it?¡± Jean bit her lip and looked away. She seemed completely unwilling, but Noth could see her seriously considering his words. ¡°Look. There¡¯s no harm in giving it a shot, and if it works he¡¯ll be able to shake it off afterwards whenever he wants since he¡¯s strong enough. You don¡¯t have to feel bad over it when you¡¯re doing it to help out your friend.¡± Noth reached out and stroked the luscious lavender hair on the top of Jean¡¯s head. She pouted a bit when she felt like she was being treated like a child, but eventually she nodded and redoubled her hold on Helt¡¯s hand. Helt smiled weakly up at Jean, happy that Noth¡¯s words had swayed her. Perhaps with this she could continue to grow past the notions that forever plagued her, and become even stronger. He was pleased for his friend, and yet¡­ Maybe he was a little jealous that the chains that held her back were purely psychological. He was convinced that his fight with his [Curse] would not be as simple as her own. As Helt sifted through his conflicted feelings, suddenly and surprisingly a person¡¯s thoughts drifted into his mind that he hadn¡¯t encountered all day. Ever since the terrifying event when he tried to peer into Ren¡¯s thoughts and fainted, Helt hadn¡¯t been able to see into Ren¡¯s mind. It was almost as if she was hidden, or maybe muffled. It could be that if he really tried to use his [Gift], then he might have been able to hear her just fine, unlike Noth. However, with how much the intermittent pain of his [Gift] had been torturing him throughout the day, he didn¡¯t have the courage to try and use it again, sure that it would only make things worse. But for some strange reason, without even trying, he was now able to hear her again. Could it have been because she was outside of the door at the moment, secretly watching them through the crack? Helt doubted that it was due to proximity; Ren had hugged him so hard that he felt like he might throw up when he had finally awoken. The only reasonable guess he could come up with was that her thoughts were just particularly loud right now, due to the sheer intensity and focus of them. Helt¡¯s head whipped around and caught sight of the small girl through the crack in the door. Even while looking at her, all Helt could hear was just one, all consuming line of thought. With her small grey eyes focused desperately on Noth, she thought it again and again. It was like her mind had broken, or had gotten stuck. The thought overlapped itself like an echo in her head. Once more she thought it, her eyes wide and unblinking. ¡®You don¡¯t have to feel bad if it¡¯s for a friend.¡¯ Chapter Seventy Five: -Children Intermission- Jean was in charge, just as usual. Helt had been a bit out of it when they¡¯d left Noth¡¯s room, due to what Jean assumed was his debilitating pain from his [Gift]. She took him to his room, hoping that the familiarity of the space and laying down in his own bed might help him calm down before she attempted what she believed would be impossible. Sure, she¡¯d used her [Gift] multiple times to coerce people into the opposite of their beliefs, but that was only possible because those people had a weaker [Gift] than hers. Helt might not have had any tiers or qualifiers in the name of his [Gift], but just the fact that it belonged to a Krysthid, well¡­ That automatically made it a more amazing blessing than what most ordinary humans could ever hope to receive. But that same reason for his powerful [Gift] was what had turned it into such a potent [Curse]. Jean had read many books since coming to live with Noth. She may have been young, but she already knew very well that the only real difference between a blessing and a curse was how it was perceived; One man¡¯s trash was another man¡¯s treasure, and all that. It was one of the many things she needed to learn to realize that her own [Gift] wasn¡¯t the horrible [Curse] that she¡¯d thought it was. In fact, she even read many factual stories about [Gifts] in the past that everyone had once thought of as a [Curse] now being seen as great blessings, and she''d even found out that Ren¡¯s own [Gift] was an instance of this. However, this time she wasn¡¯t facing some sort of theoretical dilemma or interesting view of society; Helt had an actual [Curse] from the God-dess plaguing him. This wasn¡¯t something that could be easily fixed by simply changing how they looked at things. She couldn¡¯t give him some kind of meaningful talk and suddenly cure his problems. The only thing Jean had that could help him was her [Gift], but still she was scared to use it. She would be breaking multiple promises she¡¯d made to herself if she did this. She knew it needed to be done if she wanted to help Noth, and she¡¯d used her [Gift] for his sake before, but¡­ This was Helt, her first ever friend. What if while she was trying so hard to use her [Gift] in this weird new way, she somehow broke his fragile mind? What if she turned him into some mindless love doll? What if his [Gift] actually wasn¡¯t as strong as they all thought, and he couldn¡¯t shake off her control? What if he somehow got stuck like that, and Jean couldn''t remove her power over him?! Noth¡¯s powers were on the fritz, so they would have no safety net to fall back on! Jean would never be able to live with herself if she did something irreversible to Helt. The sickly looking amethyst boy took Jean¡¯s hand, smiling weakly at her as he was barraged with her thoughts. Her insecurities with her [Gift] weren¡¯t anything new to Helt; He¡¯d heard it all before multiple times. ¡°Jean, it¡¯ll be alright. Even if you mess up, Noth¡¯s powers won¡¯t be gone forever. I won¡¯t hate you if you turn me into a brainless idiot; I mean, at least I won¡¯t have to feel any of this pain then. I¡¯m okay with waiting like that until Noth can fix it.¡± Jean almost wanted to tear up when she saw how obviously tortured Helt looked. This was no time for her to be stuck in her head, her friend needed her and he needed her now! ¡°Okay, okay, alright, um¡­ Are you comfortable? Close your eyes- No wait, look at me! Uh, uhm¡­¡± Jean willed her [Gift] to affect Helt as hard as she possibly could. She stared into his beautiful sparkling dark-purple eyes as deeply as she could, despite the fact that she wanted to close her eyes from the pressure she was feeling. Jean could easily perceive the resistance that Helt¡¯s high tiered [Gift] was putting up against her invasion, but she still pressed on. It almost felt like she was smacking her soul against a wall repeatedly, and a part of her wanted to give up and say that she wouldn¡¯t be able to help him... But this was her friend, dammit! She would never just give up on her friends! They were the only family she had, the only people that really mattered to her. They were irreplaceable! As Jean tried and strained with all her might, Helt laid there, twitching sometimes from the small pricks of discomfort that would occasionally poke at him from Jean¡¯s direction. He already knew that Jean had never tried to use her [Gift] against him before, but having the confirmation of knowing that he¡¯d never felt this kind of feeling before was also an interesting revelation. However, that small bit of interest quickly became drowned out by the realization that this really wasn¡¯t working. If they were going to go out and help Noth, then it wouldn¡¯t do for both of them to be in a miserable state. Just as Helt was about to open his mouth and tell Jean to stop, something horrific happened. His vision suddenly went black, and just like before, his sight was filled with the same menacing smile that had previously rendered him comatose. It was almost like the words wrapped around Helt¡¯s very soul, and when they faded away it felt as if some small piece of him had been stolen. And now, with that missing piece taken away, there was suddenly nothing left to stop the full frontal assault of the beautiful girl standing next to him from worming its way into his mind. His heart beat faster than it ever had, and his eyes could see nothing but her. His sights, his sounds, his smells... all were Jean. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. When Jean suddenly stopped feeling the resistance and saw Helt go slack jawed and bug eyed, she somehow knew it had worked. ¡°Helt?¡± She waved her hand in front of his unblinking eyes, but there was no obvious reaction. ¡°Helt? Are you okay? Talk to me.¡± The amethyst boy¡¯s eyes finally blinked, and a wide, almost creepy smile spread on his face. ¡°Jean. Jean, Jean, Jean¡­ I love you, Jean. What can I do for you, Jean?¡± Jean¡¯s face immediately lost every hint of concern, instead falling into an annoyed grimace. ¡°Yeah? Well don¡¯t. I don¡¯t want your love, it¡¯s gross.¡± She crossed her arms and did her best to retract some of her power, willing her [Gift] to go from 100% to only 40%. It was surprisingly easy to stay connected now that she¡¯d finally broken through Helt¡¯s wall, but she was still cautious in case it somehow suddenly kicked her back out. ¡°And how about now? Are you still gross?¡± Helt¡¯s eyelashes fluttered wildly for a moment, and his hand reached up to grab his head as he winced. After a moment he blinked once more, and his eyes hesitantly strayed towards Jean''s direction. ¡°I¡­ Yeah? I think I¡¯m better, but¡­ Ah, but you¡¯re still really really beautiful Jean. You¡¯re a little too dazzling. It¡¯s kind of hard to focus.¡± The luminescent girl crossed her arms. Her previously disgusted face turned instead to a look of only slight displeasure. ¡°You say that like I¡¯m not always beautiful. Hmph, guess this¡¯ll have to be good enough. Since you¡¯re only slightly charmed right now, maybe I can get away with just a teensy bit of altering. Here, look at me.¡± Jean suddenly leaned forward and grabbed Helt¡¯s face. Her eyes were only inches away as she stared deeply into his. ¡°Listen: I¡¯m absolute. There is no pain. There is no [Curse], only a [Gift]. You are Helt. We are friends. Help me.¡± The light in Helt¡¯s eyes seemed to dim, and they began to shake. He repeated after her, word for word, in a droning voice, and once she finally let go and broke eye contact, he sat up and smiled at her as if nothing had ever been wrong. ¡°Jean¡­¡± His gaze towards her was filled with an affection that Jean had always known he''d had towards her as best friends, but had never quite let show. For a moment the girl was worried that she¡¯d overdone it and would have to try again, but suddenly the boy violently shook his head. A strained laugh escaped his lips as Helt climbed out of bed and pressed his hands against his eyes, but soon after he once again looked at her like how he always used to look at everyone. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m fine now. That was really hard to get over for a minute. You¡¯re really strong, Jean, that was terrifying.¡± A smile grew on Jean¡¯s face. She was so happy that she hadn¡¯t turned her friend into a brainless puppet¡­ although his comment on how terrifying it all was secretly stung her heart a little bit. She tried desperately to think of other things so that Helt might not be able to hear that particular thought. ¡°A-and you aren¡¯t feeling any pain right now?¡± Helt stopped to think for a while, but after slowly tilting his head one way and another, he eventually shook it no. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any pain, but it feels like there¡¯s only a tiny thin dam holding it back. If we¡¯re going to go out, we need to hurry.¡± In truth, Helt could already feel the pain trying to seep in through the cracks of this dam, but he didn¡¯t want to worry Jean with such a miniscule thing when she¡¯d already tried so hard. Jean and Helt quickly sprung up, and rushed to the door. As they opened it they were surprised to hear the sound of small feet turning the corner and running down an unseen hall. Jean was bewildered for a moment and started heading in the direction that she heard the steps receding in, but Helt quickly grabbed ahold of her arm and stopped her. ¡°Helt¡­?¡± The small boy simply shook his head and began to drag Jean away towards the exit of the villa. It wasn¡¯t until they were finally outside and headed towards the town that Helt finally let go of her arm, although he didn¡¯t stop walking. Jean stared at him in confusion at first, but was shocked when she noticed that the boy was biting his lip so hard that it began to bleed. ¡°Helt! What¡¯s wrong?! Is the pain coming back?!¡± Jean jumped in front of him and tried to stop him. At first he struggled against her, trying to simply move around her, but when she spread her thin, graceful arms that were much longer than his own, he eventually gave up and slumped in place. Helt¡¯s lips quivered. Now that all the momentum had been sucked out of his sails, he was forced to finally face what he hadn¡¯t wanted to notice. ¡°Jean¡­¡± As his eyes began to grow wet, he could feel the already weak dam that was holding back his [Curse] grow even weaker. It was as if his intense flood of feelings were chipping away at it. His hands came up to cover his eyes, as if somehow blocking the tears would also help to keep the dam strong. He could tell that whatever voice had helped him earlier had been the one stopping him from looking too deeply into his friend. That voice clearly wouldn¡¯t like it if he told others what it was trying to hide, but Helt couldn¡¯t keep his worries bottled up anymore; Now that they had escaped the mansion¡¯s grounds, for some reason the boy suddenly felt like he could tell Jean the truth. At the very least, he believed that whatever evil thing had attacked and helped him wouldn¡¯t be able to overhear them all the way over here, although he had nothing to back that belief up besides blind hope. ¡°Jean, something¡¯s¡­ something¡¯s wrong¡­¡± ¡°What?! Does it hurt really bad? Should I try to do the thing again?¡± ¡°No¡­ No, no, Jean¡­¡± Helt raised his eyes. The beautiful purple was now ringed with red. He didn¡¯t care anymore, he would let the pain come if it meant he could save what he¡¯d promised to keep safe. ¡°Jean¡­ Something¡¯s wrong with Ren.¡± Chapter Seventy Six: -Serris Intermission- Serris sat at Noth¡¯s bedside, stroking the sleeping teen¡¯s hair. She hummed occasionally, and sometimes laced her fingers through the now dark purple ends. A weary smile sat on her face, threatening to fall any moment. Sometimes it would grow bigger, but not for long. Her nonexistent heart was in absolute turmoil. She wanted to break something. Anything. Sometimes she would look at her own long slender fingers and wish she could snap them. Perhaps if she was able to hurt herself then she already would have gone ahead and broken whatever bones she could reach, just to feel the satisfaction of them coming apart under her own hands. It was truly a blessing that she was tied to Noth right now, and wasn¡¯t able to physically hurt humans, or maybe she would have already killed billions. She would have done it just like her beloved Noth used to before everything was reset, as the perfect homage to his memory. Maybe then she¡¯d finally feel okay. Serris knew the way the God-dess had broken and confined her; Give her this stupid and crazy body and then seal it where she can¡¯t really do anything to settle her craziness down. The only way she could ever truly feel any satisfaction was to do exactly what the God-dess tasked her with. What a sick way to keep her in line... And since she had been so willing to tie herself to Noth, now she had no way to rebel if she wanted to keep her beloved boy safe and happy. Ah, she really felt so pitiful. ~~~ It had been an hour since the two purple kids had left to solve the mystery. Serris was busy wallowing in her own regrets, when suddenly she felt herself being called. She sighed and vanished, rapidly reappearing amongst Noth¡¯s graveyard in the greenhouse. ¡°You¡­ You liar! I saw you!¡± <...Huh? What? Yes?> ¡°I¡­ Okay, I didn¡¯t really see you, but I heard you for sure! I know you were there! You did something to Helt! I thought you said you couldn¡¯t leave the greenhouse!¡± It was strange for the little ashen girl to yell at someone like this. As far as Serris knew, the girl always acted like a doormat. How could someone who was always so sweet and mousey get so angry like this? ¡­This was a pain. If she didn¡¯t sort this out now, then all her time carefully getting closer to Ren would have been a waste. And if Serris didn¡¯t deliver with this girl, then the God-dess might just make her choose Noth instead. A bitter taste filled the angel¡¯s untasting mouth. She¡¯d do anything to win this little girl back if it meant protecting Noth¡­ and she hated that it might have meant hurting her. Maybe she was crazy and wanted to bring pain to everyone, but¡­ not Ren. What about the angel¡¯s promise to her fallen sister? What about making sure Ren was happy in the end? Serris would have to grit her teeth and do what she always did. It was time to talk around the issue once again. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Ren hesitated. ¡°Well I¡­ Yeah, he was¡­ But, but what about¡­! What about how you left the greenhouse?!¡± Lies. Serris would lie through her teeth to Ren if that¡¯s what it was going to take. It wasn¡¯t the first time and it wouldn¡¯t be the last. The little girl could only finally know the truth once it was already too late for her. It would all be as the uncaring and cruel God-dess above demanded. What hurt the most was that she was doing such a good job with her lies that the little naive girl was buying it all too easily. She immediately dropped all of her anger and looked absolutely ecstatic that she might have actually helped out her friends. ¡°Is it¡­ Is it really true? This all happened because of me?¡± Ren shyly looked down at her feet and beamed. The jubilant blush on her face made the angel¡¯s heart wrench. She took hold of the girl and hugged her as if she were the most important thing in the world. It amazed Serris that Ren couldn¡¯t feel the way her hands were shaking. She would just have to count her blessings that this sweet little girl was just enough of a fool. Of course she was, she was a love-starved, insecure child. It wasn¡¯t her fault at all that she was being bamboozled and used. Ren clearly didn¡¯t deserve any of this. Serris gently stroked her hand over the mark she was cultivating on Ren¡¯s back. She was almost halfway there. All she had to do was endure until she¡¯d finally collected them all. If she was patient, then one day she would finally get free. And if it meant the sacrifice of one small, innocent, forgettable girl, then so be it. ~~~ After sleeping for a while as Ren, Serris came back to Noth. She was like a magnet; Even if she tried to stay away, she would always come back to him. He was her bond, her other half. He was the anchor that kept her here, for better or for worse. Noth. Noth¡­ He was her everything. She loved him no matter what, always. She would never stop loving him. In fact, the current her was made to love him. No matter how much resentment she might grow over the fact that he was the reason she signed her soul away¡­ No matter how much she loathes this torturous life she¡¯d been forced to undertake for him¡­ Serris¡¯s love for him would outweigh all of it! He would continue to be her lovable Noth, and she would continue to watch all of his struggles. She wasn¡¯t just doing all of this for her freedom, she was also doing it for Noth¡¯s happiness. All she could do was stick by his side, and hopefully when everything was all over... he could forgive her. ...That would be truly great. Serris curled up next to Noth and went back to stroking his hair. It was finally purple instead of the dirty rusty colour that she¡¯d disgustingly infected him with. As thrilled as she might once have been that she¡¯d dyed him in her colours, the constant visual reminder of the God-dess¡¯s shackles still hurt to see. At least he hadn¡¯t been forced to drip blood from his hair tips all the time like she did. Now Noth had a beautiful and regal deep purple hue. It was working. It was finally working. With this old and ancient power in his body, Noth wouldn¡¯t have anything to worry about should the God-dess decide that Serris was no longer any fun, and finally ended this stupid little mission. At least her lovely boy would be safe in the end, even without her... Even when the bracelet was finally taken away. She laced her fingers with his, closed her eyes, and wished for sleep that wouldn¡¯t come. At least she¡¯d gotten to get a little bit of sleep earlier with Ren. Sleeping was so nice... One day, when she finally got free, she would make sure to sleep for a long, long time. Chapter Seventy Seven Once again Noth had awoken. The peaceful scene of his angel sleeping along with him that greeted him was comforting, even if he knew it was all a ruse. He watched her for a while as she kept her eyes closed and stayed very still, her chest slowly growing and deflating repeatedly as she pretended. Perhaps if he didn¡¯t know better he really would have believed that she had managed to sleep. Maybe if he weren¡¯t so close to her that he could feel the lack of any air when she breathed out, he wouldn¡¯t have felt any kind of disparity. His angel had gotten quite good at pretending, but in the end she couldn¡¯t betray her ethereal nature. Something about realizing that such a powerful being was barred from something so basic felt sad somehow. Noth imagined that if someone hypothetically told a priest in the church that ¡®The God-dess could never feel happy, no matter how much it wanted to¡¯, that the priest might feel a bit how Noth felt right now. He was sure of what the response would be from someone who truly loved the God-dess; At first they might deny it, but if they found out that it was true, they would surely feel that the world was unfair, and pity the God-dess. Maybe they¡¯d even want to help, but insignificant mortals could never manage to do anything for something so unreachable. The same was true for Noth. It¡¯s not like he could simply wish for Serris to be able to sleep. No matter how powerful he felt with the powers he¡¯d gained from their bond, in the end Serris was the truly powerful one here. His wishes were nothing compared to what she could really do. How could something so weak and reliant possibly ever hope to overcome something that a literal piece of a god could not? Despite how simple and effortless sleeping may be for everyone else, it would forever be out of Serris¡¯s reach. Despite how simple and effortless sleeping may be, Noth would never be able to help his closest companion do it, no matter how badly she wanted it. It put a bad taste in Noth¡¯s mouth whenever he heard his angel lament over it, because it felt like it truly proved how powerless he was to do anything that really mattered for Serris. She¡¯d always done so much for him from the first day he¡¯d met her, and yet he never gave anything back. ¡°Serris.¡± The teen called out when he could no longer stand the lonely, stuffy feeling that was pervading his chest. His angel opened her eyes wide and looked towards him. Her face held a beautiful yet slightly sad smile, but her body never moved. Noth hadn¡¯t actually had anything to say, he just felt like he didn¡¯t want to see such a sad scene anymore. However, now that he saw the uncharacteristically sad smile on her face, he finally realized that she hadn¡¯t been smiling at him with the same vigor as usual ever since she came back from the fight with the archdemon. Worry began to fill his heart, as did curiosity. He still hadn¡¯t been told about what happened back then. She¡¯d promised to tell him all about it, so wouldn¡¯t it be ok if he asked? But then again she¡¯d looked so sad for a while now, and hadn¡¯t said anything about it to him yet. Would¡­ would it only make her even more sad if he asked? Even if he found out that something had gone wrong, was it worth finding out what it was if all it did was hurt Serris? And what if it was something that he truly couldn¡¯t help her with, or wasn¡¯t allowed to know everything about? Would it be worth making her dredge up painful things if it all just led to disappointment in the end? After much debate Noth decided to tentatively ask questions. He would make sure that Serris was alright, but would not pry. If it seemed like things were going in a bad direction, he would swallow his curiosity and drop everything. ¡°Are¡­ Are you alright?¡± ¡°Is there anything¡­ that I can do to help?¡± For the first time in a long time, Serris¡¯s face looked truly troubled. She seemed to be desperately searching for something she could say, but eventually she just settled on giving him a strained and awkward smile. <...I guess you could hug me? I¡¯m always the one who hugs you first. Maybe you could show me a bit of affection more often like you do with the kids?> ¡°Huh?¡± Now that Noth thought about it, he didn¡¯t really initiate contact with her very often. Usually he only touched her looking for some form of comfort or consolation after something scary happened, although there was the one time that he¡¯d hugged her first because she¡¯d been crying. It was hard for him to remember a time that he had ever given her the kind of sincere physical affection he gave to the children. Why was that? Wasn¡¯t she also very precious to him? Perhaps it was because she was always clinging on to him that he¡¯d never gotten the idea to cling on to her? But the idea of him trying to stick on to her like she always did to him was very repulsive in his mind. It seemed like much too girly of a way of expressing himself for Noth. ¡°Erm, well then¡­¡± He struggled to think of a way to go about hugging her that wouldn¡¯t feel awkward or wrong. As a vague fidgety look of discomfort and confusion spread on Noth¡¯s face, Serris slowly sat up while watching him. She could feel a teasing look growing on her face, but she bit her lip so that it wouldn¡¯t show. She was eating up this wonderful dilemma she was watching him face. Deciding to add a bit of fuel onto the fire, she spread her arms out in a pose eager for the hugging, and tried to look a bit pitiful. ¡°Ghk-!¡± Noth¡¯s face almost looked pale for a moment as he flinched. He really didn¡¯t know how to handle this! Why did he feel so uncomfortable with this when he barely even cared when she was the one doing the hugs? Maybe he was just too used to her constant public displays of affection? When he was younger he definitely didn¡¯t care for it, so him getting used to it must have been the answer. Then would it be possible for him to get used to being the one who acts first? Ah but that¡¯s just too embarrassing! But it¡¯s also unfair for him to act so coldly to her when he¡¯s always so close to the kids! Wasn¡¯t she the closest person to him in the world?! Eventually his head began to hurt, and he gave up trying to think about it. The teen flung his arms out, closed his eyes, and clumsily hugged her. He made sure to turn his head away, thinking that maybe the hug would feel less awkward so long as their faces weren¡¯t near each other. The stiff and awkward hug was absolutely hilarious to the angel. Noth even seemed like he was trying to lean away from her to the maximum that his arms would allow. Maybe if her wings didn¡¯t take up so much space, then his long arms would have given him a lot of room away from her even while they were wrapped around her. Her shoulders began to tremble, and she couldn¡¯t help the tiny bit of sound that escaped. Eventually she couldn¡¯t handle it anymore and burst out laughing, flinging her head back and bringing up a hand to wipe at her tearing up eyes. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Noth¡¯s eyebrows scrunched together when he looked back at her in surprise and saw how much fun she was having teasing him. He tried to stammer out a response in his defence, but he couldn¡¯t seem to think one up. Seeing how wronged he looked, Serris quickly took a few calming breaths and suddenly grabbed his head and hugged it to her chest. All Noth could do was pout and reluctantly hug her back. He was happy to have helped her in some way, but he didn¡¯t really like the feeling of being made fun of. ¡­Maybe if it was only her doing it then it would be okay. Serris stroked his hair and placed her cheek on his head. Her voice was so soft that if he couldn¡¯t feel her jaw slightly moving against him then he wouldn¡¯t have believed he¡¯d heard it. Serris¡¯s words sounded so weak. Noth could feel a bit of pain and loneliness coming from them. If this was really what she needed, then he could get over himself and learn to be more proactive with his affections. He owed her at least that, didn¡¯t he? Noth pulled back enough to look up into her face, giving her a very determined look. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll do my best. ¡­ But there¡¯s just one thing.¡± Serris tilted her head cutely, confused at what he might be talking about. Noth shot her an even more serious look and slightly narrowed his eyes as if in thought. ¡°How will I know if it¡¯s something you can¡¯t answer?¡± Once again the angel burst out laughing. ~~~ Jean knocked on the door of a small dingy hovel. It might have once housed a family, but it was clear from the amount of dilapidation and neglect that people had long since abandoned the place. Her knock was only met with silence, and after a minute without an answer she looked over towards the amethyst boy who was draped against her shoulder with a look almost reaching agony plastered onto his face. He painstakingly nodded his head, and the girl quickly looked back at the door with an annoyed face. ¡°Hey, I know you¡¯re in there! You¡¯re not fooling anyone, you know!¡± There was a slight rustling sound inside the house, but still no response came from behind the door. ¡°Ugh, really? Look! You have 2 minutes to open this door, or I¡¯m getting someone to break it down. If you don¡¯t want your crappy hiding place to come crashing down on you, I suggest you open. This. Door.¡± Helt weakly looked in her direction with a disapproving frown. He¡¯d told her many times that she shouldn¡¯t use such vulgar language. Growing up next to the slums had taught her quite a few words not acceptable for children, and Helt who had grown up under the watchful eye of a semi-strict mother shuddered every time he heard such things fall from her lips. ¡°...Jean.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Jean¡¯s snappy reply came out as an almost hiss, since she was trying to keep her voice down so as not to alert their foes. Helt, taking the hint, rolled his eyes and looked at her pointedly in lieu of answering. Jean¡¯s cheeks puffed up when she realized what he was trying to say, and her voice grew just a tad bit louder in indignation. ¡°How can you even care about that right now when-¡± Suddenly the door opened up. Both of the children immediately stood up straight in wariness, and Jean quickly stepped forward to shield Helt. ¡°Huh? It¡¯s just kids?¡± ¡°I told you that the voice sounded way too young. Just close the door back up and leave ¡®em, we¡¯re too busy for this.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah.¡± The roguish looking man who¡¯d opened the door started to close it back up, but Jean quickly stuffed her arm in the way so that it couldn''t shut. ¡°Hey! You¡¯re being really rude right now!¡± ¡°What?¡± The man quickly opened the door back up enough to glare at the small girl, and for the first time he really looked at her. She was too gorgeous and well dressed to just be some girl from this podunk nowhere town. The only people that could possibly afford such well-made looking attire would either have to be from out of town or¡­ ¡°...Didn¡¯t they say that the lord had some children he brought with him?¡± The woman in the back of the room finally came forward. She looked like one of the townspeople that Jean had met before, during the time when Noth had run around repairing all the houses. However, if Helt was correct, then this person was a fake. She looked at Jean with a calculating smile on her face, and then peeked around the girl at Helt. ¡°Yeah, they did¡­ Three of them in fact, and it seems like two of them came right up to our doorstep. Hey little guys, did you want to come in and talk to us?¡± The obvious change from suspicious to sweet made Jean¡¯s eyes narrow. Did this woman think that she was the kind of idiot who couldn¡¯t see the easily readable change? She rolled her eyes and huffed, taking Helt¡¯s hand and bringing him inside with her. Once they were finally inside with the door firmly closed, Jean sought out a sturdy enough chair and sat Helt down so that he could rest. She leaned in gently and placed her forehead against his as she whispered to him. ¡°Thanks for hanging in there for so long. Get some rest, it¡¯s my turn now.¡± Helt gave her a weak smile and closed his eyes; He wouldn¡¯t miss a single thing without them anyways. Besides, somehow seeing through everyone else¡¯s eyes took a small burden off of him. ¡°Now, then.¡± Jean turned to the two rats who were slowly approaching her with their dubious looks. Her eyes grew just a bit wider as she let her [Gift] attack them both. She was still a bit weakened from her previous attempt at charming Helt, but she was at least plenty strong enough for these nobodies. It barely took any time at all for her to feel the hooks of her charm sinking into them. ¡°I think¡­ Shouldn¡¯t the both of you be kneeling right now?¡± Without a word, both of the spies kneeled down with a loud thud. They didn¡¯t even flinch once from the pain of the impact, only keeping their eyes trained on the beautiful girl in front of them with enraptured looks on their faces. ¡°Perfect.¡± Jean walked leisurely towards them, stopping close enough so that she could meanly tug on the hair of the man who was rude to her. With that little bit of vengeance out of the way, she began to slowly circle around them, crossing her arms as she pondered all the questions she could get them to answer. The more information she could get out of them before she sent them packing, the more she could be of help to Noth. A small smile floated on to her face when she thought of Noth praising her, but she quickly did her best to erase it. Even if no one but Helt would remember it, she didn¡¯t want to show such a childish side in front of others. She cleared her throat and stopped in front of the hynotized rats. ¡°Alrighty then¡­ Let¡¯s see how much you can answer.¡± Chapter Seventy Eight ¡°Mission accomplished!¡± After a careful knock on the door and a swift reply, Jean burst into Noth¡¯s room with Helt in tow, and announced their success. Noth chuckled at the cute display, and lovingly patted both of them on top of their heads. Jean triumphantly explained what she¡¯d learned from the rats to Noth, before assuring him that they would not be returning. Meanwhile, Helt, whose eyes had been closed this entire time, quietly flopped the top half of his body onto Noth¡¯s bed as if he was deeply worn out. Noth looked worriedly at the boy for a small while, but when Helt waved him off he eventually turned back towards Jean and reaffirmed a few points he¡¯d learned. ¡°And you¡¯re sure they didn¡¯t know it was the pope who sent them?¡± ¡°Yeah, they only knew that they got a lot of money to snoop from someone really high up in the church. Apparently they don¡¯t even have any kind of ties to the church at all, they were just part of some kind of small information guild.¡± ¡°Really¡­ And what about the clergyman that they were supposed to report back to?¡± ¡°He¡¯s supposed to be a¡­ b-bishop? Um, I think that¡¯s what they said he was. I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t really¡­ I don¡¯t know much about the church.¡± Noth smiled sympathetically and nodded. He¡¯d never once taken the children to church. In fact, Noth himself hadn¡¯t gone to a church since he was 7, besides the trip he took to see the prophet. Something like him wouldn¡¯t have been greeted warmly inside of a church, so why should he bother to show up? Ren wouldn¡¯t be welcome for the exact same reason, and the church¡¯s stance on Krysthids was very mixed, which meant even if Helt was accepted with open arms one day, he might be prosecuted the next. Funnily enough Jean was the only one who might actually be truly welcomed by the church, and yet just because of the benighted way she grew up, she''d never learned all that much about them. Perhaps if Noth had sent them to church at any time after receiving their [Gifts] then the three children would have cared, but¡­ Well, if Ren and Helt weren¡¯t accepted there, then Jean naturally wouldn¡¯t have gone, just on principle. And then of course there¡¯s Elillith, who also grew up stolen away from society, and couldn¡¯t give a care for most things in life besides the kids she looked after. Yes, perhaps her way of living was the most simple, but Noth couldn¡¯t help but admire his friend¡¯s convictions. Would it be so bad if Jean grew up ignorant of the church and simply stuck to her own problems and worries, instead of paying too much mind to the country¡¯s higher ups? She wasn¡¯t very power hungry anyways. Besides, due to almost all of the people she cared about being shunned and hated by the church, maybe it was better that she shunned the church right back. The only one of them who had to care about that particular issue would be Noth and Noth alone; He wouldn¡¯t be subjecting them to the church¡¯s cruelties. Noth reached out and once again pat Jean¡¯s head, much to her confusion. ¡°That¡¯s alright, you don¡¯t have to worry yourself about it. We¡¯ll find out what the silly clergyman is once he gets here. Do you know how long we have until then?¡± Jean frowned, feeling a bit like she was being treated like a kid again. She huffily looked over towards Helt for help, but when she saw how positively broken and lifeless he still looked after their adventure, she quickly settled down and grew a bit more determined. ¡°...They said he¡¯s coming in about a month and a half, but they also said that the person seemed a bit wishy-washy, so they weren¡¯t sure.¡± ¡°A month and a half, huh?¡± It wasn¡¯t very long, but also wasn¡¯t very short. Noth could only hope that his powers would have returned to him and become stable by then. He didn¡¯t want to be caught by the church¡¯s people without any kind of defence; For all he knew, the pope might have sent this bishop over with orders to murder him. The teen''s eyes worriedly glanced over to the angel leaning calmly against his side. Her head rested on his shoulder like she was truly tired, but when his gaze turned to her she quickly smiled back. Noth nodded and tried to look reassured by her words, but he knew he didn¡¯t look very convincing. He trusted her, of course, but what she¡¯d said didn¡¯t particularly instill confidence that he¡¯d be recovering his abilities anytime soon. Her chilly words and the spooky smile that all of a sudden graced her face were a deadly combo. Noth couldn¡¯t help but straighten up and clench his teeth at the accusation. Before he could will himself to reply, his angel¡¯s position changed. From where she¡¯d been perched against him before, her upper body mysteriously turned to face him. The way her waist was twisted looked quite impossible, and now her eerie smile was placed even closer to his face. From that impossible position her hands reached up, and her fingertips were placed dangerously close to the underside of his eyes. Her breathy, soft voice tickled against his skin as she slowly spoke. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Her fingers seemed to squirm closer and closer up his face, until it felt like she was just about to worm her way past the barrier of his eyelids and make contact with his eyes. Reflexively Noth closed his eyelids, and before he knew what he was doing, he slid away from her on the bed and hopped off of it, opening his eyes and cheerfully calling out to the kids. ¡°Alright, since you did this favour for me, I owe you a request! I can¡¯t fulfil them just yet, but I promise I will whenever my powers come back! Come on, tell me whatever it is, and I¡¯ll do my best!¡± Jean watched the whole display, all from Noth looking away towards who she assumed was his [Gift] angel, and then the ensuing terror that filled his face. She could tell how unnatural this sudden cheery shift was, and through her, the collapsed Helt also knew by extension. However, who were they to try to intervene in whatever had just happened? They¡¯d long learned since their days at the orphanage not to ask questions that they didn¡¯t want to hear the answers to, and if Noth wasn¡¯t directly in trouble then they wouldn¡¯t be adding trouble where it didn¡¯t need to be. Besides, it wasn¡¯t the first time Noth had seemed to be suddenly shocked by something. The best thing they could do would be to gloss over it, at least for now. ¡°Erm, um¡­ I- I only want Helt to get better. I have everything I need already, besides that.¡± Jean¡¯s humble and heartfelt answer put a sincere smile on Noth¡¯s frantic visage. It helped that he could feel that Serris was flopped onto the bed, no longer seeking after his eyes. Deep down he was very relieved that he seemed to have made the right choice. ¡°That¡¯s really kind of you Jean, but I¡¯d try to help Helt anyways. Why not think of something else? It doesn¡¯t have to be something super important if you don¡¯t want it to be.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Jean screwed her face up in thought for a while. Her sincere answer hadn¡¯t gotten quite the response she¡¯d hoped for, and she rather didn¡¯t like how much she was being put on the spot. However, she also had some vague fear that if she didn¡¯t use up her wish now, that the opportunity would go away forever. He was right, the wish didn¡¯t have to be for something terribly important, and with how pressed she was at being suddenly told to think something up, she ended up just blurting out something she¡¯d often thought of. ¡°Well, then I¡¯d love for some help cleaning the mansion and villa, I guess. There¡¯s only five of us in here, and this mansion is just so big that it¡¯s getting really dirty. There¡¯s no way we can keep up with just us. Maybe Elillith and I can clean the villa just fine, but if only we had a few more people to help with the rest, you know?¡± Jean fluttered her eyelashes and looked pointedly at Noth, trying hard to send him the many hints she was placing for him. As she and Helt had been out looking for the rats, she¡¯d heard him mention many times how the townsfolk felt deeply saddened by the incident with the servants. Apparently a lot of the ex-servants felt truly remorseful. Jean was pretty sure she, Helt, and Ren had already gotten over the, what she considered to be, relatively mild bullying that they¡¯d experienced. Yes, it might not have been very long since then, but Noth was the only one who was holding on to it all and refusing to interact with the townspeople. He¡¯d been so excited to be a lord before all of this, and his people needed him. Wasn¡¯t it okay to at least offer an olive branch to the poor townspeople and take the first step to re-invite servants into the mansion? Then he could gradually work his way back to helping out the town again. Noth paused and thought her words over, but it seemed that he didn¡¯t manage to catch the subtle undertones of her true intentions. Serris chuckled softly at the girl¡¯s small misfortune from her position on the bed. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll work on it. And you, Helt?¡± The small boy groaned and slightly turned his face. His body was all but on the border of sleep, trying its best to lower down its responsibilities so that Helt might get a bit of rest from the burden of his [Curse]. He had to wake up a bit as he was now being talked to, but it was just so hard to struggle back from the half consciousness that he¡¯d been in. After a moment he opened his eyes and blinked at Noth, but only a few seconds later he reclosed them, grimacing under the burden of using another sense. He had so many different things to ask for, how could he choose just one with his mind addled like this? His mother had been missing for years, he had no way to find or identify his father, he wanted to help Ren with whatever seemed to be trying to possess her, he wanted to be free of his [Curse]¡­ There were too many options to choose from. He was already getting so much love and support from everyone, and he was currently weak, helpless, and in pain. He was surely a big burden for everyone, both before and even more now. How could he possibly ask the person who gave food, shelter, and warmth to him and all his friends for even more? No¡­ These were his problems. Helt would fix them alone. He had all the power he needed to find his missing people and solve the riddle within Ren inside of his [Gift], he just needed to learn how to wield it without hurting himself. He would learn how to not be so weak and helpless. He¡¯d learn to stop being a burden. He was a Krysthid, and every Krysthid learned to face their [Curse] and live with it. The small boy shook his head with much effort. Determination bubbled in his heart, and yet he did his best to keep it hidden. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I don¡¯t need anything right now but to get better. I¡¯ll save my wish for another time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine with me, but tell me when you think of something, okay?¡± Noth seemed not to notice the change in Helt¡¯s heart, so Helt felt pleased that his resolution was safe. However, he quickly learned that he was wrong. He peeked over at Jean, noting the concern in her mind and on her face. She knew him too well. It was going to be very hard to keep his longest friend from clinging to him in worry now. ¡­Well even if he had resolved to handle everything alone, that didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t like being cared about. It was nice to know that there would always be someone to worry about him. Once again Helt began to drift off, this time with a smile on his face. Chapter Seventy Nine A little over a month had passed. Noth was still randomly getting those horrid dreams of the monster he once was. He¡¯d wake up feeling so afraid and lonely after each and every one. He still wasn¡¯t fully in good health, so he often only stuck to his bed. Sometimes, after the nightmares, he¡¯d wake up to see Elillith tidying up his room and his heart would twist with a myriad of emotions. Even in his miserable life as a monster, Elillith had never abandoned him. In that life he never saw a single scene of him spending all those years to bond with her like he had in this one, and yet she still insisted on staying and taking care of him. Sure, he believed that they were infinitely closer now than they had been in that life, so he wasn¡¯t upset that he¡¯d spent the time on it, but¡­ But he couldn¡¯t understand why she¡¯d stuck around back then. Could it have been that she truly had nowhere to go, as she¡¯d told his monster self? It''s true that she was quite apathetic, did she just not care what kind of monster she served? Did she just believe it was none of her business? Once again, Noth truly lamented how little he knew of his friend¡¯s mind. One night, Noth had a particularly terrible dream. He knew that the boy his past self fought with must have led to the end that his monstrous self so coveted, even if he hadn¡¯t dreamt of it yet. Honestly, even the current Noth thought that it was the only answer to the awful and ruinous life that had plagued him. However, he hadn¡¯t yet seen the final confrontation that had ended his prior life. He vaguely knew that the villa no longer existed in that life. He knew that Elillith and the butler had made a small shrine in front of the greenhouse, and would often place flowers there, as if they were in mourning. He knew, but his past self didn¡¯t really care; The only person he had any mourning left for was himself. Or at least, that¡¯s what he thought. Many people are fine breaking their own things, but get very upset when someone else does it. One day, one of the lucky boy¡¯s followers kicked down the shrine to start a fight. Elillith was there, and it was the first time that the past Noth had ever seen her lose her cool. She snapped at the offender and lunged at them, but of course was beaten back as easily as if she were a stuffed doll. Elillith¡¯s crumpled form next to the shrine that she¡¯d so devotedly loved enraged Noth. Monster that he was, he killed the offender more quickly than the lucky boy could react. It was the first time that the boy had ever lost someone he''d been close to. With righteous tears in his eyes, the lucky boy Kess vowed that today would be their last fight. The final battle began, with the odds ever in Kess¡¯s favour. And so was the end of the monster, Noth. ~~~ Noth always felt sick after seeing these nightmares, but this particular one felt like it would break him. He jumped out of bed. His clothes and face were covered in sweat. His hair felt matted and clung to him uncomfortably. His body felt cold and yet hot. He felt horribly ill. He panted as he raced through the halls. His eyes were wide open, and yet it was like he couldn¡¯t see a thing. He ran from the mansion to the villa, desperately seeking out Elillith. He knew what he¡¯d seen had just been a dream, a recollection of an erased past, and yet he needed something concrete and important from both lives to truly believe it. It felt as if he didn¡¯t manage to convince himself of the truth, that the old monster he once was would come back and consume him once again. The villa was almost enough to be convincing, but his frazzled mind wasn¡¯t paying attention to it at all, instead focusing on only one thing: Elillith. Eventually he made it to Elillith¡¯s room in the villa and flung it open, however only an empty room that seemingly hadn¡¯t been used in a while met him. There was barely anything in the room to even show off that someone had ever lived in it, and only a cold and lonely feeling pervaded the space. Noth choked as a wave of emotion washed over him. Fear grew and ate at him from deep inside. His mind repeatedly reasoned again and again that he had simply missed something, and that he surely must be acting silly right now, but his heart wouldn¡¯t listen to a word of it. His panic verging on hysteria, Noth ejected himself from the room and attempted to run down the hall, desperately looking around in a frantic hope that something might catch his eye that would give him a clue as to what was happening. It wasn¡¯t surprising at all that such a frantic and jumbled person came crashing down onto the floor. The fall was hard, and jarred Noth¡¯s mind. With a feeling as if everything came crashing down along with his body, the teen just laid there and decided to give up, no longer having the strength inside of him to worry. Perhaps letting himself faint like this would be the best thing he could do right now, anyways. He¡¯d been weak for quite some time trying to integrate the two energies that were now twisting and fighting inside of his body. After such an awful panic and running around for the first time in a long while, Noth¡¯s body felt completely exhausted. As he laid there and let his body be, his swimming eyes slowly scanned over the expanse of the carpet in front of them. The creamy carpets with little accents of silver were very familiar to Noth, since he¡¯d seen them in every hall of the villa since he was 10. And yet, now that he was down here looking at them, he realized that he¡¯d never truly taken the time to get to really see them. With almost no strength behind it, Noth¡¯s hand slowly roamed across the carpet, feeling it for the first time. It was actually quite a bit softer than he would have guessed. It always felt soft underneath his feet, but he¡¯d always worn shoes when he¡¯d walked over any of them, so he¡¯d never felt one so directly before. A small smile graced the teen¡¯s lips as he thought about adding one of these carpets next to his bed. He almost never rolled out of bed at night, but if he somehow managed to fall, he would have liked to have one of these carpets to catch him again. Suddenly the hand that had been stroking the carpet caught on to something rough and a little sharp. His fingers had to dig in a little bit to pull out whatever it was from between the soft strings that adorned the carpet, but eventually after a bit of work he managed to pull whatever it was free. He brought the offending object up to where his eyes could see it, and after staring at it for a while in confusion, he finally realized what exactly it was. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Jean had said that his rust had been hard to clean out of the carpets. Noth fiddled with the piece of rust as he looked it over, and eventually it could no longer take it and crumbled. The tiny specks fell from his hand and back into the carpet, getting buried in it more quickly than Noth could react. He tried to dig whatever he could of it back up, but he seemed to just be further mushing it between the carpet¡¯s strings. Yes, Jean was right, it really was hard to get the rust out. No wonder it was still there 2 months later. The kids had put so much work into cleaning the place up, too. Noth¡¯s wandering mind remembered back to the day Jean had asked for her wish. She¡¯d said she needed help cleaning the place up, hadn¡¯t she? Noth assembled whatever strength he had left and sat up, his head slowly scanning left and right as he looked over the long hallway. Perhaps it was a bit nicer than it could have been since at least a few of them had to walk through it every day, but it certainly wasn¡¯t as clean as it should have been. How much worse were the areas that people rarely went to? Probably a fair bit worse, if Noth had to guess. As Noth sat there and thought, a piece of his heart seemed to slowly start burning. At first it was just a slight glow, but eventually he could feel it becoming stronger and stronger. It almost felt as if something was trying to escape up from his chest and out of his mouth. He¡¯d felt this sensation a number of times over the past month and a half of bedrest. Usually so long as he stayed focused on it and tried to keep it stuffed down, then it wouldn¡¯t bother him too much. However, for some reason today it felt like it was particularly flaring. Could it have been because of the disturbance in his heart after today¡¯s nightmare? Noth wasn¡¯t sure. All he could do was clutch at his chest and resist against the flaring heat as best as he could. He tried to keep his mouth shut and not make too much noise, worried that if his mouth opened too wide that the suddenly stronger surge of heat would somehow manage to finally escape. At some point, as Noth struggled as silently as he could, a small meowing sound called out to him. He slightly turned his head in the noise¡¯s direction, and saw the smallest of the villa''s cats coming towards him. The cat quickly scampered over, jumping onto Noth¡¯s leg and pressing a paw on the arm that clutched at his chest. The small furry thing meowed again and again, seeming as if it might be worried for the teen. Noth smiled weakly through the pain and raised his other hand to lightly pet the cat. He wanted to call out the cat¡¯s name and thank it for its concern, but he didn¡¯t know what its name was. The children had all gone through the various cats and given them names, but Noth hadn¡¯t truly been paying attention when they¡¯d quickly told him about them months ago. Now he regretted his lack of care. After a few moments of looking at the cat, and trying to distract himself from the pain by pondering over what its name could be, Noth suddenly noticed something. All this time he¡¯d been petting the cat with the hand that he¡¯d been playing with the rust with, and now its calico fur had been decorated with streaks of the reddish-orange dust. If only he¡¯d been more proactive in helping Jean to clean up the mess he¡¯d made, he wouldn¡¯t have smeared this horrible stuff on this poor cat. If only he still had access to his powers, he could have easily fixed everything already. If only he wasn¡¯t so weak and stupid right now¡­ With a small bit of guilt tingling inside of his heart, Noth opened his mouth before he realized what he was doing. He wanted to say his apologies, but instead something else began to surge forth, tickling its way up his throat and past his tongue. A white, almost blue mist puffed out along with his breath, shining ethereally as he spoke. ¡°Would you change yourself to be of help?¡± The teen¡¯s hand let go of his chest in surprise. He tried to bring his hands up to his mouth to seal the lips that had spoken unbidden, but instead they came forth to cup the cat¡¯s face against his orders. The cat¡¯s eyes stared into his, and a small mewl escaped from its mouth. To Noth¡¯s ears it sounded confused and unwilling, but the power seeping out from him seemed to believe otherwise. ¡°Then breathe in my power and begin anew. Gather your brethren and be reborn.¡± The heat in Noth¡¯s heart felt as if it was bursting as it welled up and then overflowed out. The mist emanating from his mouth grew thicker, and gradually began to be sucked in through the cat¡¯s mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. By the time the mist had stopped seeping out and the heat in Noth¡¯s heart had died down, every last bit of the sparkling magical fog had been taken into the small cat¡¯s body. When the odd phenomenon came to an end and the teen¡¯s hands finally let go, Noth found that the tiny cat had collapsed and was no longer breathing, laying there motionless as if it had met its end. Tears threatened to well up in the confused Noth¡¯s eyes at the tragic scene. He gently nudged the cat and tried calling out, worried that he¡¯d done something unforgivable to the well-meaning creature. His nudges grew stronger and stronger as he was given no response, eventually shaking the cat violently a few times with his fingers before he finally gave up. A single heart-rending tear fell down onto the motionless body. As if that were the signal it was waiting for, the cat suddenly rose. Using its front paws, it curled itself sideways, lifting its small mouth straight up into the air, and then let out a deafening, siren-like meow. When the cry finally ended, the last tiny bit of strength seemingly left the fragile creature, and it once again flopped down as if collapsing. Noth stared down at it wide eyed, his hands fisting back against himself in both confusion and alarm. After a few moments of silence his confusion of what all of this could be finally won over any fear he might be feeling, and he once again reached out to nudge at the cat. However, before his hand could reach, he was shocked once more by a loud, rumbling sound. The sound grew louder and louder, and by the time it sounded like it was right on top of him, Noth finally saw the source of all the noise. A hoard of cats appeared. All of the remaining cats that he¡¯d brought over with the villa were coming. While he sat there like a statue, every single one of the cats dove onto the one who¡¯d called them. They dog-piled on in a way that Noth was sure would suffocate the poor motionless cat on the bottom. However, despite the way they were piled up on top of one another, not a single one squirmed around or fought; They all just laid there calmly and quietly, closing their eyes as if they¡¯d accepted something. Once more, Noth¡¯s hand reached out. ¡°Hey¡­ Get-¡± Before he could speak another word, the pile of cats collapsed with a splashing wet sound, forming a strange black puddle of goo. Chapter Eighty It only makes sense that when the loud ringing cry rang out, and the cats all began to act weird, that the other residents of the mansion and villa noticed something strange was happening. Elillith, Jean, and Helt had all been cleaning the sitting room of the mansion when the sudden noise rang out. Two cats had been in the room, leisuring about and getting the occasional pets. However, after the summoning call, their strange actions were impossible to miss. Jean and Helt looked on in surprise and confusion as the frantic cats suddenly dashed away, and through the open door they could see yet even more cats running by. Understandably, the two curious children ran off to see what all the fuss was about, leaving a completely unfazed and unworried Elillith behind, still cleaning, although now with a raised eyebrow. The children chased after the steadily increasing hoard of cats, following them into the villa and up the stairs. Along the way, a small ashen girl slipped into their ranks, and followed behind them silently. She was so quiet that no one truly noticed her amongst the noise of a hundred pounding paw-steps, not even Helt. The cats were faster than the children, and easily reached their target long before the children finished climbing up the stairs. By the time everyone turned around the corner, all of the cats had already piled on top of each other, and before the children had time to think about what was happening, the cats all suddenly dissolved into a viscous puddle. They could see the form of Noth, sitting on the floor, huddled against the wall, right next to the ominous fluid. Jean and Helt tried to softly call out to the teen, but they only received a quick glance before his eyes swiftly turned back to the puddle. It seemed as if Noth was too afraid to speak or move. Jean almost took a step forward to try and reach Noth and drag him out of there, but suddenly her hand was seized in vice-like grip. When she looked back, she was shocked to find that Ren was behind her, staring at the pile of goo with a look of anticipation on her face. Only she seemed brave enough to speak in this spookily quiet moment. ¡°He¡¯ll be okay. Watch.¡± Both Helt and Jean could feel a chilling sensation as they looked at and listened to their friend. Her face, the way she¡¯d just talked, the obvious excitement in her voice at what should be a horrifying situation¡­ This did not look like their skittish friend Ren. However, in the end they could only decide that the eerie puddle was much more distressing of a problem than whatever was currently pretending to be their friend. If they didn¡¯t want to anger this pretender and have two problems on their hands right now, then it was best that they did as it asked and looked forward. All eyes were on the viscous puddle, and before long it suddenly began to move. It started to bubble, and then somehow, although it should have been flat, it began to wiggle. It shook itself, side to side, until suddenly it moved in a circle. It formed a vortex, twisting its way upwards and upwards, and then all of a sudden lost its form and quickly returned to its original shape. When everything had quieted down, Noth couldn¡¯t help but let his curiosity control him. Ever so slightly, the teen arched his back further and further forwards to peer down into the goo. It bubbled once or twice more, making him a bit jumpy, but after a moment it was once again still. Noth hesitantly moved onto his knees to get a closer view, but he still couldn¡¯t see any difference in the puddle. He clumsily blew at it, seeing if the liquid would move, but oddly there was no reaction. It was as if the puddle were solid, or that maybe his breath wasn¡¯t strong enough to move such a dense mass. His inquisitive nature spurned the teen on, and Noth couldn¡¯t help but reach a hand out to try and touch the strange puddle. The tips of his fingers grazed the oddly cold and hard goo. It almost felt like he was touching a mirror, and Noth¡¯s face twisted up in confusion. He put more of his hand on it and pressed a bit more firmly, and for a second he thought he could feel his hand sinking into the puddle by the smallest bit. However, before the teen could pull his hand back, something seemed to grab hold of it and pull. A brief scream escaped from Noth¡¯s lips, and he desperately pulled his hand back, fighting so hard against whatever was pulling him that he ended up falling back against the wall he¡¯d previously been crouched against. This little scuffle seemed to have awakened the puddle once more. Just as before, it struggled and wiggled, climbing up in a vortex; This time however, the vortex didn¡¯t collapse, but instead grew bigger and more ferocious. Eventually it began to fling out blob after blob of viscous goo around itself, only dissipating after it had flung out as many blobs as cats that had formed it. The hallway was completely silent, except for the bubbling sounds of the blobs. Everyone present held their breath as they looked at the odd, blob-ish abominations that were wiggling on the floor. Noth was almost surrounded by the strange things, and his fear of the unknown was finally enough to win over his rampant curiosity. He rushed to stand up, and contemplated jumping over the nearest blob to try and make a run for the children who¡¯d been watching all of this with him. At the very least he believed that if he could grab them and run out of the villa, then he might be able to put them somewhere safe until he could find his mysteriously missing angel and ask for her help. However, before Noth could make even a single jump, the blobs took action. Blob after blob began to shoot up. The pillars of stretched thin goo looked almost see through, and as they began to take shape they almost looked as if they were made out of thick shadows. Their figures formed, and eventually each of them settled on a sort of dark, misty, humanoid shape. It was like seeing the silhouette of someone in the dark, but not being able to see a thing about them. All Noth could make out was that each of these figures had cute triangular ears and freely flowing tails on their dark bodies. Only those features seemed to hold any colour, or break away from the darkness that surrounded them. Looking in awe at the beings in front of him, Noth could only slowly realize that they¡¯d kept the various colourations from the cats that had been sacrificed to make them. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. In fact, just like the cat he¡¯d initially infected, the shadow in front of him seemed quite small, and had the same calico colouration. The teen was almost certain that this must be what became of that particular cat. The small shadowy figure slightly bowed its head to Noth, and a quiet, meek voice emanated out of its darkness. Noth¡¯s mouth opened, knowing that the shadow was for sure asking him, and not anyone else. However, he didn¡¯t know how to respond. He¡¯d certainly never meant to make whatever this thing was, and he certainly didn¡¯t know how he¡¯d created it. Of course he¡¯d seen the whole process of it happening, but it was all too strange and mysterious to make sense of. All he could think was that he¡¯d used the power he¡¯d gotten from the archdemon to do it, and the thought that he might have infected the cats the same way that the demons would infect monsters was¡­ too much to accept. If that was true, then he absolutely hated what he¡¯d done. Still, if he didn¡¯t know how he did it, then he didn¡¯t know how to reverse it, and so he¡¯d just have to accept the strange monsters that he¡¯d made. The teen had taken too long to answer, and this time all the shadows present joined their voices together to beseech him. The sound of all of their demanding, airy voices as one almost sounded like a howling scream, as if the cats they¡¯d been formed from were yowling. Noth panicked and searched himself desperately for something, anything to tell them to do. After a few moments the shadowy figures seemed as if they were becoming restless, and their bodies once more began to bubble as if they might lose their shapes. Rushing to appease them, Noth spat out the weak desire that had caused this whole mess in the first place. ¡°C-clean! I want you all to clean this villa and the mansion! Please, clean them!¡± At first only the small shadow in front of Noth recited after him, the meek little voice sounding reverent about the word. Soon many of the other shadows began slowly saying it as well, and eventually the entire crowd of them began to chant it, each in their own slow rhythms. When the crowd of shadows eventually stopped chanting, the small figure finally raised its head to look at its master. And with those words every shadow but the small one collapsed, bubbling in place as the small blobs they once were for just a few moments, before eventually reforming cleanly back into their original cat-forms. They each scampered off in a different direction, heading off into separate rooms. Noth and the children didn¡¯t dare stop them, and stayed completely still as only their eyes moved. It wasn¡¯t until every ¡®cat¡¯ had gone off to their respective targets that anyone¡¯s shoulders finally slumped. After looking around and seeing that only the small shadow hadn¡¯t changed, Noth decided to try his luck at understanding any of this by talking to the strange thing. He cleared his throat and did his best to keep his voice even as he spoke. ¡°Are¡­ Are all the, um¡­ ''cats'' going away t-to clean?¡± The shadow bowed its head and once again meekly spoke. ¡°O-oh. And you all¡­ know how to? To clean, I mean.¡± The corner of Noth¡¯s mouth pulled up a small bit. This answer didn¡¯t really tell him anything. Part of him was a bit worried that they didn¡¯t truly know how to clean, and that the mansion and villa might become a complete and total mess. However, these shapeshifting creatures were obviously some kind of magical being, so perhaps they would surprise him. Noth was curious enough to see exactly what they would do, and eventually decided to just leave the things be and solve whatever problems arose later. ¡°Alright, and do you happen to have a name?¡± Noth had asked this question to see if perhaps these newly created beings mysteriously already came equipped with a name. He wouldn¡¯t be too surprised if the God-dess had somehow already bequeathed one upon them. Sadly, his question was stated too vaguely, and the little shadow only tilted its head for a while before bowing it back down and stating its name with a great devotion in its voice. Noth¡¯s brow wrinkled. It took him a moment to understand the miscommunication he¡¯d just had, and after thinking his words over more carefully, he tried again. ¡°No, I meant all of you. Perhaps, did the God-dess give-¡± ¡°Noth should be the one to give them a name. After all, didn¡¯t he make them?¡± All eyes suddenly turned towards the tiny ashen girl at the back of the hall. Jean and Helt¡¯s gazes were particularly alarmed. Rarely in the past year had Ren ever called Noth anything but ¡®Big brother Noth¡¯, especially when she was talking to him; It would be incredibly rare for her to just call him only his name, directly to his face. The words she chose to say were also quite out of character for her, seeming a bit more mature than the way she usually spoke. And the fact that she seemed so sure that Noth had created those shadowy things was the nail in the coffin that truly worried them. By the time the children had gotten here, the cats had already turned into a blob, so how was it that Ren seemed to know anything about what had just happened? She¡¯d also been acting strangely when they¡¯d first arrived earlier, too¡­ Helt and Jean exchanged a look. Once again they were reminded that this pretender was not their friend Ren. Chapter Eighty One Noth, sporting a perplexed face, couldn''t help but clear his throat as he felt like he¡¯d been called out. He was far too preoccupied to realize how odd what Ren had just said was, and instead had his head filled with a myriad of questions about the strange things he¡¯d created. ¡°Ah, yes, I suppose you¡¯re right¡­ I did make them¡­ I think. But I don¡¯t think I should be naming them until I know a bit more about them.¡± The shadowy humanoid cat in front of him didn¡¯t say a peep, it only kept its head down and waited patiently for its creator¡¯s words. Seeing as it didn¡¯t seem to show any kind of rejection, Noth¡¯s mouth could no longer hold back his curiosity, and a deluge of questions began to spill out one after another. Some were cryptically answered, while other answers seemed to be unknown to the small shadow. Jean and Helt watched on in the distance with unsurprised stares; This wasn¡¯t the first or second time that Noth¡¯s inquisitiveness led to such a situation, and by now they¡¯d grown quite used to, if not tired of, such a sight. It would have been far more surprising to them if the teen had just simply accepted the circumstances without a single question at all. Of course, both of the children knew they were simply trying to distract themselves. Neither of them wanted to be the first one to confront the possibly dangerous stranger who¡¯d been standing behind them. Everything was made all the more terrifying by the fact that said stranger looked exactly like their friend. The two children had been repeatedly exchanging eye contact over the past few minutes of ¡®watching¡¯ Noth¡¯s antics, and many unspoken words were exchanged. Jean and Helt were understandably close after having known each other so well for the past few years, but of course their silent conversation was made much easier by the fact that Helt could hear each of Jean¡¯s thoughts. It took a while for them to come to an understanding and decide to confront this imposter at the same time, however when the two of them looked behind them, ¡®Ren¡¯ was gone. *** ¡°You can¡¯t just do that!¡± ¡°...You¡¯re right, but... But you scared my friends! What if they start to think I¡¯m weird? What if they ask me what happened?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking me to lie to my friends!¡± ¡°I know¡­ I know that you¡¯re shy.¡± ¡°What?! They wouldn¡¯t do that, my friends are really nice and understanding!¡± ¡°Um¡­ You¡¯re right, but¡­ But¡­ They only did that to help Noth!¡± ¡°Oh, no, they¡­ They¡¯re very good friends, so maybe if they misunderstood¡­ Oh no¡­¡± ¡°But then I¡¯d just fix it! I wouldn¡¯t let any of my friends hurt each other! I promise I¡¯d protect you, just like you¡¯d protect me!¡± ¡°Thank you! I try my best to be really really good! There¡¯s a lot of mean people out there, so we gotta make sure to be nice, okay?¡± ¡°Of course I promise!¡± <...Thank you, Ren. I¡¯ll be needing you.> The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. *** When all was said and done, the shadows had done an excellent job of cleaning. Occasionally one would pass by someone in the hallway, and it was common to see their shadows stretch across a dirty surface, receding away a moment later to reveal that whatever it was was now completely clean. The amount that these shadows could stretch was actually surprisingly far, and even a whole wall could manage to be cleaned all at once. The sight was both beautiful and terrifying, and the implications were quite worrisome. Were he not the one who had given them this new life, Noth might have had thoughts of destroying such mystical and possibly powerful creatures before they decided to turn on him. However, since he¡¯d forced such lives on them, he would never fault them for the powers that they now wielded, nor the possible horror that they could cause. Instead, he thought it best to keep them close and concealed, hidden away until he was sure of their natures and whether the world could handle such existences. It wasn¡¯t until the day after the whole event that Serris came back to Noth¡¯s side. The excited teen informed her of everything she¡¯d missed, and the always smiling angel simply kept calm and listened as if she was hearing a child repeat a story she¡¯d already heard. As he approached the end of his tale, Noth noticed her patronizing attitude, and his eager and excited expression slowly turned into a pout. ¡°...You don¡¯t find it at all amazing what I¡¯ve done? You don¡¯t look particularly shocked or interested.¡± The angel¡¯s hand came up to stroke the upset teen¡¯s hair in a very loving and pacifying way. Noth couldn¡¯t help but pull back the corner of his mouth, feeling a bit awkward at the childish way he was being treated. Ever since their previous discussion, he¡¯d been working on acting a bit more intimately with Serris and at least lightly reciprocating her affections, so rather than swatting her hand away from his head, Noth firmly took hold of it with both of his hands, instead. A sweet smile grew on Serris¡¯s face, and Noth managed to feel a bit less like he was being condescended to. However, the teen still wasn¡¯t used to performing such physical displays like this, and couldn¡¯t help the little flush that he could feel trying to spread on his face. He cleared his throat to try and cover it all up, and quickly began talking once again, rambling as if to distract himself from the uncomfortable feeling. ¡°Ahem¡­ Yes, it was so strange when it was happening. The energy made me talk when I didn¡¯t want to, and it poured out of my mouth like a haze. I always knew that I was getting this strange energy from the demons, and I didn¡¯t really ever think too much about what that energy could do; I just knew that I could use it to supplement the powers that I get from you. In fact, that little bit of demon energy I¡¯d gotten after the first few demons has kept me from breaking the bracelet quite a few times so far. But now, with all this energy I got from the archdemon, how it¡¯s been blocking me from using your powers and even made me create those shadows¡­ Honestly, I¡¯m worried. I¡¯m amazed, and I think it¡¯s incredible, but I don¡¯t want it to make me use it again. It¡¯s already been over a month, and I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve made very much progress reconciling the two powers. I would rather have only your power back than accidentally use this power and make something dangerous. What if it makes me remake the demons? Or what if those shadows decide to stop being so docile one of these days? I don¡¯t think I should have this big of a responsibility. I can barely handle the ones I already have¡­¡± The longer the teen talked, the more his hands that were holding the angel¡¯s hand hostage pulled in, only stopping once he was practically hugging her hand against him in insecurity. The angel¡¯s eyes stayed trapped on the sight of it, her smile that was once loving and sweet slowly dissolving into something a bit more eerie. Noth¡¯s slowly wandering gaze, distracted by his own pessimistic thoughts, was no longer paying any attention to what her face looked like, or else he might just have been struck dumb by a sense of fear. Serris, too, was quite distracted, although she had been listening closely to him all this time, so she didn¡¯t manage to think about what she was replying with before it left her mouth. ¡°...What?¡± Noth looked up at the words that didn¡¯t quite make sense. There were many things in what Serris had just said that made his mind churn out a couple of questions. For starters, was she saying that this peculiar power he¡¯d gotten from the demons was something even the all powerful God-dess hadn¡¯t been able to use? But didn¡¯t the God-dess make the demons? Didn¡¯t the God-dess make everything? And if the God-dess made everything, then why would it be impossible for them to do what Noth did? Also, it wasn¡¯t like it was the first time, but Serris had been much more disrespectful with her words towards the God-dess than usual just now. Was she really allowed to just get away with that? ¡­No, from looking at the face she was making, Serris certainly wasn¡¯t allowed to get away with it. The angel¡¯s face looked as pale as a sheet. If she could sweat, it looked like she completely would have at that moment. <...I didn¡¯t just say that out loud, did I?> Noth could only awkwardly look away, feeling as if he shouldn¡¯t admit what he¡¯d just heard. All hopes of clarifying any of his questions quickly flew away. The angel¡¯s steel-like grip took hold of his arms, and Noth was abruptly shaken like a rattle. Serris was shaking him so roughly that he couldn¡¯t even breathe properly, let alone reply. After a few seconds she stopped and leapt away from him, almost falling backwards as she did so. Her eyes grew wide, and she slowly craned her neck up towards the ceiling. Noth could see her jaw visibly shaking from terror. And suddenly the screaming angel was sucked away in a brief flash of light. Chapter Eighty Two Noth hadn¡¯t seen his angel in about two weeks. Serris had suddenly disappeared. The teen could only speculate that it was because of the slip of the tongue she¡¯d made about the God-dess, prior. It wasn¡¯t the first time that she¡¯d let him in on some secretive information that he presumably wasn¡¯t supposed to know. However, none of those times had Serris directly told him the truth; He¡¯d always had to feebly grasp for it on his own and hope that she¡¯d hint him into finding the right answers. Now that he saw what happened when she told him the answers with her own mouth¡­ Well, maybe he shouldn¡¯t have faulted her for all those times she teased him with information. At least, he hoped that she¡¯d been taken away for spilling secrets, and not because the almighty god that everyone worshipped was petty enough to be upset by an angel¡¯s insults. The questions he¡¯d never gotten to ask had swum around in his head again and again over the past two weeks, and they only managed to create more and more to swim around in there with them. He knew he must have been brooding, but they were such a cosmically important set of questions and answers that he couldn¡¯t help but feel a heavy burden under them all. He was only a teenager; He didn¡¯t feel like he was the right person to be the one uncovering the ancient, mystical secrets of their mysterious god. At the very least, he felt like he needed his angel there to give him any right to reach into such divine territory. And yet, where was she? Where was his angel? It was like he was a bird who had lost his wings; An integral part of him was missing and was impossible to retrieve. ¡­Was the God-dess ever going to let her return to him? Noth had no confidence handling this suddenly complicated life of his on his own. *** Dellan couldn¡¯t help but twist up his nose at the sad little excuse for a town. Yes, there were plenty of fancy and special looking houses around the place for some reason, but all of them sported some kind of devil-rune rimming along their roofs. The people looked happy, but they almost all wore disgustingly simple clothes. The streets here weren¡¯t even paved! His shoes were purely for show, and Dellan¡¯s delicate feet weren¡¯t used to walking on such unfinished terrain. The roads weren¡¯t wide enough for him to safely ride a coach to the lord¡¯s mansion without possibly accidentally scraping the nearby buildings, or he would have never set foot on such a dirty, unpolished path. The heat from the local volcano kept the town nice and toasty all year long. The townspeople who were born there and had lived there all their lives barely even noticed such a heat, but for Dellan it was like he had been placed inside of an oven. The coach he''d rode in until he reached the town had been temperature treated, and so he''d never even felt the sweltering heat he''d had to get through just to reach the moderately hot town. He had no idea that even this simple amount of heat was practically a miracle; He already felt like he was being cooked alive! He was sweating enough under his ceremonial robes that he almost wished he could just strip them off where he stood. At the very least he was able to get one of the younger escort knights to wipe the sweat from his brow every few minutes, but doing any more than that might just ruin the majestic image he¡¯d worked so hard on over the past few decades. The leader of the holy knights who were escorting him seemed quite capable of seeing past his faux composure, however, and the worried looking man rushed to reassure the practically lobster-red bishop. ¡°We¡¯re almost to the mansion, your holiness. I¡¯m sure that the count wouldn¡¯t let such awful weather run rampant inside of his own home.¡± The bishop¡¯s boiling eyes swept over the pristine face of the guard who was speaking to him. He almost wanted to spit on and ruin the unburdened visage, but instead he closed his eyes and sighed, preaching to himself in his head that he mustn¡¯t show his bad side to the ones who were protecting him from the savages currently surrounding him. He knew from the fact that the spies he¡¯d hired had never returned that this town and its lord were more dangerous than they might have first seemed. He wasn¡¯t going to weaken his own defences from the inside first before he met with his opponent. If he wanted the pope to look favourably upon him in the future, then he¡¯d have to make sure that he got this job done as perfectly as possible. ~~~ A small but gorgeous girl greeted bishop Dellan at the door of the mansion. She curtsied flawlessly in the style that a maid should, although her clothes were a bit too fancy and well made to be just a simple maid. However, even throughout the entire greeting she didn¡¯t offer the esteemed group even a single smile like she should have. Dellan couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit irked over the slightly rude display, despite how pleasing she was to the eye. However, none of the holy knights seemed to give a single care; They all just continued to ogle the beauty in awe. This is why Dellan never liked associating with those with lesser [Gifts]; They were always so vulgar and crass. They could never reach the regality of the elites with higher [Gifts] like him. He would simply have to turn the other cheek and be magnanimous, as only one who was truly one of the God-dess¡¯s chosen could do. While Dellan¡¯s mind swam with his inner delusions, Jean finished sizing up the crowd in front of her and decided to speak. ¡°Lord Noct Kieran will only allow the bishop into the mansion. The rest of you must wait out here until he returns.¡± Of course, Dellan and his escorts didn¡¯t take kindly to such words. ¡°Young [Maid], I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m hearing such an outrageous thing. Bring your master here so that he can tell us those words himself, otherwise I won¡¯t believe them.¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. For a second, a tiny smile lit up Jean¡¯s face, but it was soon replaced a slight displeased frown. She looked the bishop up and down again in an unimpressed manner as if she might just cross her arms at any second, and then responded in an absolutely bored tone. ¡°I won¡¯t be doing that. The lord will be staying inside unbothered until you come in to see him alone.¡± The bishop¡¯s eyes that had already been slightly reddened from overheating seemed to grow ever redder. He had to stop himself from grinding his teeth over the disrespect that this little girl in the middle of nowhere was giving him. Had she grown up being pampered because of her beauty? Had no one taught her her place? Even in the event that she was somehow a high ranking [Maid], in the end it meant nothing against someone with a status like his! Dellan opened his mouth to order his knights to detain the outlandish little tart, but the sound of every blade behind him suddenly being drawn made him quickly clamp it shut. Out of the corner of his eye he could even make out the sweat cloth of the young knight who¡¯d been wiping his brow during this trip dropping down forgotten onto the muddy ground. Each and every one of the knights had the tips of their swords gently placed against the bishop¡¯s back. Not a one of them said any words, they just stared strangely and longingly towards the small girl in front of him, as if looking for her approval. All Dellan could do was gulp in fear. ¡°Right.¡± Jean sneered at the sweaty man like she was looking at someone stupid, and then turned around and started walking away. ¡°Like I said. Come with me and let¡¯s go see the lord already.¡± The bishop walked cautiously at first, as if any of the knights might suddenly decide to attack if he moved too quickly. However, when he saw that the gap between himself and the small girl was getting a bit too wide, he rushed off in her direction as if she were his only lifeline. Jean¡¯s glanced towards the pitiful scene as she turned the corner, and she couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes. Before she disappeared from sight she gave the knights one last order. ¡°Make sure to close the door behind him, guys.¡± Of course her puppets did as they were told. ~~~ Dellan had been led to a large, sitting room, deep inside the mansion. He couldn¡¯t help but frown as he entered the room, noting that it wasn¡¯t the official, office-like meeting place that he¡¯d imagined he¡¯d be taken to. If anything it looked like the bishop had simply caught the young lord in the middle of tea and a book. The count didn¡¯t even bother to stand up and greet him either, and simply stayed sitting in a leisurely position. His eyes looked completely unconcerned about the oh-so-important bishop¡¯s visit, and if anything, the monotone way he spoke to the bishop seemed to convey that he was quite bored with the whole affair. ¡°So you¡¯re bishop Dellan, then.¡± The unenthusiastic words of the lord, almost said like a sigh, brought a crease to the bishop¡¯s brow. He was already slightly on edge from the previous show the maid had put on with his holy knights, but now he had to reign in his frustration and give a proper reply; This child in front of him, although immature and churlish, was someone who was technically of higher status than him. Even though he might have been on the lower tier as a noble, count Noct Kieran was still a noble. Only a cardinal or higher would be able to outrank such a thing so blessed by the God-dess. If it wasn¡¯t for the backing of the pope, Dellan wouldn¡¯t be able to stand tall against someone of such high rank. He felt reassured with this undeserved power; No snot-nosed upstart was going to be able to trample over his pride today! After all, he¡¯d just been given supreme authority as the messenger of the pope! Dellan brushed off his renewed pride and brought back his previously lost air of importance. ¡°Yes. I, bishop Dellan of our holy country of Odessia, have been sent with a decree by our divinity, the pope!¡± The bishop stood proudly with a sense of arrogance, waiting for the young lord in front of him to finally understand how superior he was over him now that he knew the importance of this visit. He expected the inexperienced boy to cower in fear at all the power Dellan must have over him right now! Perhaps he might beg for mercy for his previous rudeness, or kowtow towards him. Yes, Dellan couldn¡¯t wait to see how this upstart¡¯s actions would change! Sadly, however, count Noct¡¯s reaction was lukewarm at best. The teen simply leaned his head on his hand as if he were tired. His eyes scanned over the man in front of him as if trying to understand something, but eventually they simply looked away as if unimpressed. ¡°Right. And the decree is?¡± Dellan couldn¡¯t help the slight frown that returned to his face. Where was the surprise? The kowtowing? Why didn¡¯t the stupid boy react at all? Shouldn¡¯t he have noticed how important Dellan was by now?! This was a decree from the pope, the pope! His face began to scrunch at the lack of respect he was being given. He could only think that this stupid boy hadn¡¯t been educated properly since he grew up being a forsaken child, and that he simply must teach him about how important he was right now! Before the bishop could open his mouth, the small beauty who¡¯d been quietly preparing a cup of tea for him suddenly swung the cup of tea she¡¯d brought over into his stomach. Most of the hot liquid managed to stay inside of the cup, but some of it still splashed onto his ceremonial robes. ¡°You look thirsty, good bishop. Please, take some tea.¡± The monotone delivery as if she were reciting lines was the icing on the cake of humiliation for bishop Dellan. He smacked the teacup away, the weak porcelain breaking against the hard wooden floor when it hit. Jean¡¯s previously slightly pouty face immediately turned to rage when she saw the mess that the bishop had made. Her eyes swept up from the floor to his face, and two pairs of angered eyes stared into each other. As Jean ground her teeth to try and hold back from shouting, the bishop began to raise his hand as if to smack her. ¡°Stop.¡± The voice was low, but somehow it was loud enough to fill the room. Dellan turned his eyes with a hint of fear towards the owner of the commanding voice. Something about it almost felt¡­ off, and it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge. The count hadn¡¯t moved at all, and he was only looking at the ground in front of Dellan, but those eyes¡­ Oh, those oddly glowing eyes¡­ They seemed otherworldly, as though they might suck out his soul if they turned towards him. He could only thank the God-dess that those eyes weren¡¯t looking at him right now. Chapter Eighty Three Noth slowly closed his eyes and let out a short sigh. If he hadn¡¯t been careful and looked away from the bishop in time, then the man would have already been infected by his angel¡¯s madness by now. He had to try his best to calm down and put the power away so that he didn¡¯t accidentally inflict anything on anyone, but it was harder to do than he''d thought it would be. So far, every time that this power had flared its ugly head, his angel had always been the one to cover his eyes and put a stop to it. But now that she was missing¡­ Perhaps he¡¯d just have to keep his eyes closed until the bishop finally left. ¡°Jean, come over here. Bishop Dellan, the decree.¡± He could hear the huffs of the still flustered young Jean, but he could also hear her obediently coming over to the side of the couch he was seated on. After a moment of silence, Noth peeked his eyes open and swept his vision towards the feet of the bishop, wondering what was taking so long, only to see the sweaty man suddenly jump as if he¡¯d seen a ghost. The teen couldn¡¯t help but smirk at how easy the man was to scare. Clearly the foolish bishop was all bark and no bite, and yet he still paraded around as if everyone should respect him. How stupid. ¡°Ah¡­ Ahem¡­ Um¡­¡± The bishop fiddled around through the folds of his robe, desperately searching for the decree that had been demanded of him. The collar of his robes grew more and more obviously caked in his sweat. Even when he finally grabbed hold of the paper with his wet hands, he still couldn¡¯t help the tremble in his voice as he began to read. He didn¡¯t dare let his eyes stray from the paper, as if the pope¡¯s words might protect him from whatever horrors the boy¡¯s eyes might bring. ¡°Th-the p-pope decrees! I-In-In reward¡­ reward for the great achievement of count Noct of Sleekka¡­ Hic¡­ U-um, it says, that, um, the pope will be giving you a m-medal at the next gathering of the nobles. Y-you have to be there.¡± Noth could hear Jean scoff in disgust next to him. Clearly she wasn¡¯t impressed by how the coward couldn¡¯t even manage to finish reading the decree. Perhaps it was actually written quite long, so Dellan seemed to have decided to speed things up, unbefitting of his role as the pope¡¯s messenger. It would be a lie to say that Noth wasn¡¯t pleased to have scared such a man as this. In a way, this man reminded him quite a bit of Jeck, from all those years ago. He could only wonder how many such overambitious men that the pope had working for him. How many ¡®Jecks¡¯ would Noth end up meeting at this silly little ¡®gathering of the nobles¡¯? ¡°...And did it say when this gathering will be?¡± ¡°Yes! Y-yes, lord, yes¡­ It- It will be held 8 months from now, on the last day of the month.¡± Noth didn¡¯t know whether to feel lucky or annoyed. Surely by then he would have a better grasp on the strange powers he¡¯d acquired, and maybe he would be able to use Serris¡¯s powers once more. At the very least he hoped that she would have returned to him by then so that he wouldn¡¯t have to go into the den of snakes alone. However, the thought of having this gathering looming off in the distance for 8 months¡­ It felt like an added lump of stress that he didn¡¯t want hanging over him. The teen drummed his fingers against the arm of the couch in both thought and annoyance. ¡°And that¡¯s all the decree says?¡± Dellan¡¯s hands clenched on the paper, wrinkling it. He was afraid to have to put his shield away now that it was finished, but he also wanted to be freed from this place as soon as possible. ¡°...Yes, that¡¯s all.¡± It was baffling to Noth that the pope had even bothered to send someone to read such a thing off to him. What a waste of manpower; Wouldn¡¯t a simple letter have sufficed? Ah, but if the pope had only sent a letter then it would have been easy for Noth to pretend that he¡¯d never gotten the thing in the first place. So that meant that the sweaty bishop was only sent as a confirmation? Well, if the silly man¡¯s job was all done, then there was no longer any kind of reason to keep such unwanted company around. ¡°Fine, then. You can tell the pope that I¡¯ll be coming.¡± Noth¡¯s eyes began to sweep towards Jean, but he suddenly clapped his hand over them when he remembered how dangerous they currently were. ¡°...Jean, escort him out.¡± Jean¡¯s face lightly scrunched up, partly from the odd action that Noth had just performed, but mostly from the idea of being alone with the hated bishop. ¡°Ghk¡­ Fine.¡± *** If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Dellan chased after the lovely little maid who was walking at a pace much too fast for him. His breath came out in pants, and his back felt thoroughly soaked in sweat. He hated the rude girl, but he could do nothing but call out for her to wait for him as he stumbled through the halls. He desperately wanted to get out, and in such an unfamiliar and large building, he was worried that he might just get lost and be stuck in here for even longer than he already had been. After a few minutes Dellan finally made his way out of the front door. The small maid leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, looking thoroughly put out, and his guards still stood in the exact same place that they¡¯d been left in, although their swords were all now properly sheathed. The gorgeous yet pouty girl shot the bishop one last glare, making sure that he saw full well the contempt she held for him in her eyes, and then turned an impassive look towards the guards. ¡°Take this man out of my sight. Bring him back roughly.¡± The guards all shouted in unison and then turned towards Dellan, taking turns pushing him meanly forward. The bishop yelped and complained, but not a single person there listened to him. It wasn¡¯t until hours later, when they¡¯d made it out of the Sleekka territory and the bishop was covered in bruises that the guards came back to their right minds and realized what they¡¯d been doing. *** Jean stomped back into the room, giving Noth a slightly pouty look before she grabbed a handcloth off of the table and began to pick up all the small shattered pieces of teacup from earlier. ¡°I really hate that man.¡± When the bishop had left, Noth¡¯s eyes had finally decided to cool down. Now he could look over the small form of the girl angrily picking up the pieces of teacup without having to worry, although it was quite worrisome how long the power had kept up before stopping. ¡°I don¡¯t blame you, he¡¯s easy to dislike.¡± Noth got up and picked Jean from the floor, bringing her away from the dangerous shards of porcelain. ¡°Leave that for the shadows to take care of, I don¡¯t want you hurting yourself.¡± Jean wiggled her arms in frustration towards the mess she was being taken away from for a moment, but eventually she only crossed them and let herself be taken away. ¡°But they shouldn¡¯t have to clean it up. I¡¯m the one who made the stupid bishop angry.¡± ¡°Yes, but you shouldn¡¯t have to be the one to clean up after a childish adult, either.¡± Noth placed Jean down on the couch and took her hands, checking them over to make sure she hadn¡¯t cut herself. Jean pouted and let him look her over for a little while, but eventually she withdrew her hands and returned to crossing her arms. ¡°Hmph¡­ I can¡¯t believe he came into someone else¡¯s home and acted like that. Is that supposed to be what a ¡®bishop¡¯ is?¡± Noth sat down next to her and chuckled at the sour Jean, giving her head a tiny pat. ¡°Well¡­ I can¡¯t promise that they¡¯re all like that, but the church is¡­ very important in this country. We¡¯re a theocracy after all, and he was here on official business from the pope who rules over all of us.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean that he gets to just run around and be a jerk, though.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, he really shouldn¡¯t just get to be a jerk, but¡­ I guess that¡¯s just not how people with ¡®power¡¯ think.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s just stupid!¡± ¡°Yes yes, you¡¯re right, it¡¯s stupid.¡± Jean glanced at Noth. When she saw his slowly faltering smile, her face turned awkward. She loosened her crossed arms and gently grabbed the sleeve of Noth¡¯s shirt. ¡°...Do you really have to go to that ¡®gathering of the nobles¡¯ thing?¡± ¡°Well, I am a noble, and the pope decreed that I have to go.¡± ¡°And there¡¯ll be more people like that bishop there?¡± Noth¡¯s gaze turned away, and his hand that had been gently resting on top of Jean¡¯s head slowly slid down onto the couch. His eyes seemed to hold an unhappy glint to them. ¡°There¡¯ll probably be people much worse than him there.¡± The teen knew about the other nobles and aristocrats who had systematically bullied his father with Jeck all those years. He¡¯d learned about how cruel high society could be, and he¡¯d even seen dreams of what horrible lengths the pope was willing to go to to remove a thorn from his side. Noth was fairly sure that no amount of petty and snide word-play would be able to affect him after the childhood that he¡¯d had to endure, but then again he¡¯d never experienced the level of snideness that he¡¯d be encountering at the gathering. The teen knew better than to think he knew everything about something, and he also knew he had no choice but to jump into the den of snakes unprepared. Perhaps there were only two things that could offer him any kind of protection in this situation: His angel and his father. However, his angel was missing, and who knew when she would return. And his father¡­ His father had already been defeated by such things for many many years. At this point it would just feel cruel to force him to experience any more of it. ¡°...I don¡¯t like that. Can¡¯t we go with you, Noth? At the very least we could try and help you against them a little like today.¡± Noth offered the kind girl a brief, sweet smile, but then he quickly turned away, not wanting her to see the weak face he was sure he was about to make. It was one of the rare moments where Jean willingly stopped trying to act mature and was showing her childish side, and yet he wasn¡¯t going to be able to give his beloved sibling what she wanted this time. Noth hated how weak he was, worrying his family like this. ¡°Thank you Jean, but¡­ I think I might have to do this one all alone.¡± Chapter Eighty Four Months flew by without much of a change. Noth had thrown his full efforts into returning to the life of a ¡®good lord¡¯, in an effort to keep his mind off of the various different worries that now plagued him. Without his angel¡¯s powers he hadn¡¯t been able to keep offering free food to the townspeople, but now that the demons were gone, it was much easier for everyone to hunt and grow new foods. Noth led the coordination of hunting teams, and helped to plan out new fields. He¡¯d even helped to plant a few of the new crops, demonstrating a better planting technique that he¡¯d been taught all those years ago in his territory management classes. The townspeople were truly pleased to see that their lord had opened up to them again, even if he still wasn¡¯t willing to let any of them enter into his home. After two months of becoming self-sustainable, the townspeople were finally able to spend time focusing on their various [Gifts] without having to worry about starving like they used to before their new lord came, and the quality of their lives seemed to improve greatly. Even though he tried his best to keep himself busy, and even though he had the gratitude of his subjects, that didn¡¯t mean that Noth was always able to keep himself from thinking of the things he¡¯d tried his best to hold at bay. On occasion, the crashing wave of angst would finally succeed at weighing him down, and would effectively hold him prisoner. When such awful days struck, Noth often found that he liked to retreat to the back of the greenhouse, where he¡¯d kept the various trophies and oddities he¡¯d collected alongside his angel. Reminiscing about his triumphs over monsters, the subduing of his assassins, and how far he¡¯d managed to come, always served as quite the powerful reminder. With them, it was easy to remember that he¡¯d once come from such a weak and powerless place. If he could survive through all of those harrowing trials, then he could be patient enough to survive through these upcoming trials as well. However, such memories were a double-edged sword, also reminding him that he no longer had his angel, who had helped carry him through such horrible times, by his side. And in this way, Noth¡¯s trophy garden would repeatedly both build him up and re-tear him down, each and every time. One day, however, there was a surprising change. Noth had taken his usual trip to wallow in the greenhouse. He strolled slowly through the overgrown pathways and slipped under the foliage, expecting to be greeted by the lovely view of the mysterious and dangerous red bushes. However, in an odd twist of fate, a small ashen girl had suddenly caught his eye instead. She sat hugging her knees only a short distance away from the bushes, poking at a few of the fallen petals that decorated the ground. Noth felt like he was frozen for a moment as he witnessed the unexpected scene, but after blinking a few times he swiftly ran over and pulled the girl away from the murderous plant. Ren screamed in surprise at first, but when she realized that she had been caught in a place she¡¯d sworn never to go to by the very person she¡¯d sworn it to in the first place, she quickly covered her mouth and stared wide eyed at the ground in guilt. Of course Noth scolded the girl, as any good older brother should have, but he didn¡¯t have it in him to be too stern with her. Although he liked to retreat to this hidden trophy garden, that didn¡¯t mean that he was averse to having company. Noth felt an irreplaceable loneliness deep down inside of himself, and since Ren was already here and admitted that she¡¯d been coming here for quite a while now, he decided to let her stay. Noth sat on the ground next to her, and the two leaned against each other as Ren showered him with questions about the various things that surrounded them. Noth told her abridged stories about each of them, and especially warned her not to touch the dangerous bushes. Ren paled when she finally realized how close she¡¯d come to death each time she¡¯d fiddled with the flowers, and the small sense of gratitude that she already had towards the mysterious friend that had always quietly protected her from it grew quite a bit larger. When Noth asked Ren why she liked to come here, she of course fibbed and told him that she just liked having a secret place to go to, which Noth didn¡¯t seem to think twice about, thankfully. As the two of them sat there exchanging stories, a small sense of peace seemed to radiate inside of both of them. Noth could feel an almost same-ness between them, similar to the bond that he and his angel shared, and the effect managed to somewhat cool his bleeding heart that felt as if it had had a chunk torn away from it. Ren, too, felt comforted by Noth¡¯s proximity in a way she hadn¡¯t felt since her friend had suddenly gone missing. It was like the two of them were wrapped in a familiar comfortable blanket that they once thought they¡¯d lost, and it was somewhat hard to convince themselves to part from it. However, neither of them consciously realized such a feeling, and as such, neither of them knew to voice the feeling to the other. This slight magnetic force started a chain reaction of events. Inexplicably, Noth and Ren would repeatedly run into each other, and should there go a day when they didn¡¯t somehow meet one another, the two would become obviously agitated and anxious, until they managed to come together like magnets, once again. Though Helt was busy learning to overcome the pain of his [Curse], and Jean was usually busy fretting over him as of late, the two of them did not miss the sudden and evident changes that had fallen upon their friends. ¡°It¡¯s like those people I used to see in the alleys before I came to the orphanage. You know, the ones who smoked or used weird drugs!¡± The small and beautiful Jean, who could no longer take what she¡¯d been seeing, had pulled Helt into a secluded, unused room in the mansion. The two of them hid in a corner, out of sight of the doorway, and had huddled together as if afraid they might get caught. ¡°So you mean it¡¯s like they have some kind of addiction¡­¡± ¡°Yeah! Ren might have had a huge hero worship thing or whatever going on for Noth for a long time now, but she would never have the nerve to be this clingy to him, right? She would have just stuck to you or me like normal and complained that she was probably just bothering him! Well¡­ probably you. She never really liked to complain to me that much¡­¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Helt chuckled at Jean¡¯s suddenly pouting face. Seeing her so energetic and flipping through emotions how she sometimes did, seemed to make some of his fatigue and pain melt away, even if only slightly. He softly patted the taller girl¡¯s head and shot her a quick, weak grin. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s only like that because she also complains that she¡¯s a burden to you, too.¡± ¡°Wha-?!¡± ¡°-And she knows how harshly you¡¯d scold her if she said anything about it.¡± Jean¡¯s already pouting face seemed to grow just a tad bit poutier and puffier, and as her eyebrows began to knit together as if she were recalling something, Helt slumped against the wall and let out a wry chuckle. ¡°It already happened while I was asleep, huh¡­ See? She thinks she¡¯s a burden. The only reason she¡¯s okay coming up to me and complaining is because she knows I can already hear what she¡¯s thinking anyways. Or¡­ Well¡­ I could, back then¡­ Urgh.¡± As a sudden cold sweat poured over Helt¡¯s face, Jean reached out a handkerchief, as she¡¯d done so many, many times by now, and wiped it away. ¡°Do you think her weird change and them suddenly clinging to each other is connected?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how it couldn¡¯t be. She only got stranger after Noth¡¯s powers changed; I¡¯m worried that he might have somehow used his powers on her by accident or something. I mean, if he can accidentally make a whole new race, then it¡¯s not crazy to think that he could accidentally do this, too, right? What else could possibly have changed her like this?¡± ¡°Um¡­ Well, you might be right, but¡­¡± ¡°But¡­?¡± Between twinges of pain, Helt turned his narrowed eyes towards Jean¡¯s downturned face. Slowly, as he followed along with her train of thoughts, his glistening amethyst face gradually grew more and more offended. ¡°Oh no, you can¡¯t possibly believe that¡¯s true!¡± ¡°Well, but, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard it before just like I have-¡± ¡°You know better than to think that after living with Ren for so long! And with Noth, even!¡± ¡°But if so many people keep saying it for so long then it¡¯s possible it¡¯s true! I mean look, even Noth has his angel, right? Is it so far-fetched to believe it¡¯s so impossible after knowing that? I mean she¡¯s been so strange, and it only got worse after Noth got power from the demons, and-¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way that Ren would be possessed by a demon! You just said so yourself that Noth killed them all off!¡± The ferocity of Helt¡¯s voice seemed to make Jean quiver. Her mouth still hung open and quivered as if she wanted to continue her words, but not a single one of them would come out. After a moment she slowly closed her eyes and raised her shaky hands up to cover them. Sob-like breaths began to puff out from between her lips, until she suddenly roughly bit them as if she finally found her resolve. Her hands lowered down to clasp against her chest, but even though her eyes were once again visible and now held a determined if not pained expression, she wouldn¡¯t let them stray towards Helt¡¯s disapproving gaze. Helt took in her almost desperate visage and couldn¡¯t help but feel worried that he¡¯d maybe been too harsh on his friend. He wanted to reach out and apologize to the friend he knew was only acting like this because of her great concern and worry. He knew how much pressure she usually felt to be the level-headed ¡®leader¡¯ of their little group, and he knew how much she cherished her loved ones. Such a person would have never talked about such hurtful rumours if she didn¡¯t feel that it was absolutely necessary. He knew her better than that¡­ The amethyst boy was so drowned in his own thoughts that he didn¡¯t even have the ability to follow along with the thoughts of the girl in front of him. As Helt hesitated over how to apologize to his friend, Jean¡¯s hand suddenly came over and firmly grasped his own. Her voice seemed to tremble just as much as her hand did. However, the more she spoke, the more conviction her words began to take on. ¡°...Helt¡­ You¡­ Do you remember the first day Noth went off to fight the demons?¡± ¡°What? Why are you-¡± ¡°Noth praised me and the two of you were teasing me, right? And then Noth left?¡± ¡°Yeah? I remember it just fine I think.¡± ¡°Well do you remember what happened later on at dinner, when we saw him again?¡± ¡°I think so¡­ Didn¡¯t he look really tired?¡± ¡°Yes. And Ren had been acting odd all day and said she was really afraid Noth would get hurt. She looked really guilty for some reason¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, she did. Actually, maybe she was already acting weird even back then. Is that why you¡¯re-¡± ¡°No, just¡­ Do you remember what Noth told her after she said that?¡± ¡°I think¡­ Didn¡¯t he say there was no way the demons could hurt him?¡± ¡°...He said they couldn¡¯t hurt him because they liked him way too much. He said they ¡®wanted¡¯ him for some reason.¡± ¡°...What does that have to do with all this?¡± Jean visibly gulped, as if she almost couldn¡¯t stomach what she was going to have to say. Her head lowered, and her shoulders and voice once again shook. ¡°I-if that¡¯s how the demons react to him¡­ Then maybe this thing with Ren¡­¡± Helt¡¯s eyes narrowed, and then quickly grew wide. He wanted to pull his hand out of Jean¡¯s grasp, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. He knew what she was saying should sound absolutely absurd to him, just like it did earlier, but¡­ But now¡­ With how sudden and strange everything was... Now Helt hated that he thought it could be true. Chapter Eighty Five Noth arose drowsily from his slumber, as he often did. His legs untangled themselves from the blanket, and swung over to seat him at the edge of his bed. In his not yet fully awake state his mind raced over one thing to the next, as if it were scanning through the most pressing thoughts that weighed upon him, and eventually it settled on the most particularly important topic it could find; His angel was still missing. Almost 6 months had gone by since Serris¡¯s disappearance. Noth had tried so many different shots in the dark to try communicating with her, or to plead with the God-dess to somehow send her back, but nothing had worked. He''d even written a few letters to the prophet about it a few times in case he might get some sort sort of help from him, but not a single reply had ever come back. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that maybe he was just missing some all important clue that would miraculously bring her back, and it teased at the back of his mind constantly like some sort of word or lyric he just couldn¡¯t seem to remember. Often, when Noth was confronted with some sort of problem that was actually much simpler than he had made it out to be, his mind would reveal a probable answer to him in a realistic dream. He usually found that dreams were in fact quite useful tools for letting his mind rearrange and process through his problems or traumas. Even what could be considered a nightmare could also be seen as a learning experience after the fact, if he really took the time to pay attention. However, ever since he gained the strange new energy from the archdemon, his dreams had all of a sudden become completely unhelpful. Rarely, if ever, did he dream about anything except the sad and pitiful monster that he¡¯d once been forced to be. There didn¡¯t seem to be any moral to the story, or some secret message that he was supposed to extrapolate; The only thing Noth could manage to take away from such memories was that the God-dess¡¯s [Gifts] could be horrifically cruel to the unlucky. And didn¡¯t he already know that? Hadn¡¯t he already given up 2 awful years of his childhood because of that? Why did he need something to reaffirm that fact for him? Was there really something that he was missing? As Noth¡¯s mind once again turned over and over, looking for clues, he suddenly came to the realization that for the first time since his angel had left, his mind had somehow become clearer than it had been in the past few months. True, he still wasn¡¯t actually fully awake, but it felt as if some sort of fog that had been clouding his brain had somehow lifted, and now, with that realization, all sorts of glaring things seemed to be popping into his mind. Like for instance, why had he been so magnetically attracted to Ren lately? Was it because they¡¯d bonded in the garden? But Noth already felt like he had quite a good bond with his family. He¡¯d spent time playing with or reading to Ren on multiple occasions before, but it had never made him neglect time with everyone else like he¡¯d been doing as of late. Looking back, Noth didn¡¯t think he¡¯d really spent much time with Elillith, Jean, or Helt for months now. Was Helt doing alright? Didn¡¯t he at least need a bit of time with Noth each day for him to not be tortured as much by his [Gift]? Sure, Jean was following him around and trying her best to nurse him, but no matter how mature she might have tried to act, that didn¡¯t mean that it was okay to just leave one child to watch over another! Wasn¡¯t this like a guardian neglecting the kids they were supposed to protect? Wasn¡¯t this endangerment?! The more Noth thought over his actions, the more his own oddity and stupidity seemed to be glaring at him. Why had he been acting like that? How neglectful, how creepy! If his angel were here now, wouldn¡¯t she have scolded him again, like she had when he¡¯d seemed too friendly or something with Jean before? If his angel were here¡­ ...Had he been so desperate to spend time with Ren because she reminded him of his angel? Their temperaments were of course completely different, but perhaps the ashen colour of Ren¡¯s hair reminded Noth of the white of Serris¡¯s? Maybe if the ends of Ren¡¯s hair were dipped in a rusty orange, they would¡­ No, it was too far-fetched. How could that ever possibly be the reason for him to have acted so strangely? What, would he just follow around anyone who had vaguely white or orange hair? Was he that much of a simpleton? Who would be next, some grandma from his town? But he was sure he¡¯d only felt such a tug towards Ren. Why hadn¡¯t he noticed any of this even once before?! Noth groaned, flummoxed by it all. The bed next to him shifted slightly, and a melodic voice softly drawled out a question from behind him. Noth¡¯s heavy-lidded eyes quickly shot open as wide as they could. His body moved to look behind him so fast that it felt as if his bed must have moved along with the force of it. Laying in a position as if she¡¯d crumpled like a doll, a beauteous angel stared up at him with a smiling gaze. She looked tired, as if she truly wouldn¡¯t be able to move from the awkward angle she was currently in, and although she certainly seemed to be in control of her face, not a single other bit of her made even the smallest of movements, not even the wing that she was surely crushing in her awkward pose. And yet somehow, despite how uncomfortable and fatigued she looked, she still managed to look like a vision straight out of a painting. ¡°S-Ser-¡± Tears began to well up in the teen¡¯s eyes. His throat felt like it had closed up so tightly that he wouldn¡¯t be able to utter out a single word, and yet, as the first tear fell, he managed to choke out the one word that he needed. ¡°Serris¡­!¡± Noth flung himself down to hug the angel as if he were trying to crush her. His tears mingled with the blood spots from her hair that speckled across the neck of her robes, both muting and discolouring the rosey-deep stains into something more soft. Serris simply laughed, sounding surprised but genuinely joyful. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Noth sat up from his hug with a slight glare and snuffled up his snot in an attempt to clear his throat enough to talk. ¡°Of course I missed you! Do you know how long you were gone?!¡± At first Serris just giggled at his cute chiding, but after a moment her eyes turned to the side and narrowed slightly. Noth couldn¡¯t make out what the expression could have meant at all, but before he could figure any of it out, Serris¡¯s face quickly changed to a look of wry embarrassment. Somehow Noth couldn¡¯t quite bring himself to believe that that was all there was to it. Hadn¡¯t Serris been taken away right after she let something slip that she wasn¡¯t supposed to have? The sense that her disappearance was all his fault, the thing he¡¯d often felt ever since it happened, once again nagged at him. With a complicated look on his face, Noth took Serris¡¯s hand and stared deep into her eyes, searching for any possible clue he could find. ¡°...Didn¡¯t you get taken away because I made you slip up and say something bad? Are you sure the God-dess wasn¡¯t angry with you at all? Is that why you look so exhausted?¡± For a moment Serris¡¯s face twisted into a look like she really didn¡¯t know how to reply, but soon she quickly let out a loud laugh and gave Noth a reassuring smile. Noth¡¯s face crumpled. She was right, what was he going to do about a literal god being angry? What could anyone possibly do? The only ones who even had the ability to speak directly to the God-dess were its angels and its prophets; If the angel right in front of him wasn¡¯t enough to assuage the God-dess¡¯s anger, then what was left? ¡°...Shouldn¡¯t I be the one who gets punished? You were just distracted, I¡¯m the one who asked the question.¡± Perhaps it was too late to throw himself into the line of fire, seeing as how Serris had already been made to endure all of the punishment. However, if it meant that he could take away some of the God-dess¡¯s anger towards his angel, then Noth would be willing to at the very least share in some of it. He was sure he owed that much, if not more, to her. Serris¡¯s face looked touched and concerned for a moment. Although obviously still too weak to move, her arms trembled as if she were trying her hardest to reach out and touch him with the hand he wasn¡¯t already holding. However, soon her face quickly changed to a bitter, regretful look, and her struggling muscles quickly stopped. She sent a brief, hopeless glance up towards the heavens, and then closed her eyes before reopening them with a cheerful look. His angel¡¯s teasing words made Noth pull an awkward face. She knew him too well; It would in fact be far too hard for the curious teen. He¡¯d already been dying to ask a bunch of questions to her already that he knew he wasn¡¯t likely to get an answer for, so how was he going to be able to add yet another one on to the pile without even the option to ask about it? Sure, it would have been futile either way, but at the very least his angel might have been able to spare him a hint or two, were asking allowed. ¡­This promise would be¡­ very vexing. Still, Noth knew what he owed, and he would always pay his debts as best he could, lest he become some kind of despicable reprobate who preyed on the kindness of others. Somehow though, knowing his angel, he was worried just what kind of ¡®favour¡¯ this one could possibly turn out to be. Her previous favours had often turned out to be quite unsavory and dangerous, after all. ¡°I¡­ promise. What do you need me to do?¡± Serris did her best to put on a reassuring smile, but something about it seemed to worry Noth all the more. Perhaps it was because the smile seemed just a bit too big, and loaded with lies. The suspicious frown that had already creeped onto Noth¡¯s face deepened visibly at her words. An eyebrow raised, and his hand that was holding hers unknowingly let go. ¡°...Something?¡± The angel¡¯s familiar giggle tinkled through the air. Even her weak wings that she¡¯d partially pinned down under her weight seemed to struggle a bit as if they wished to spread. The angel¡¯s eyes, twinkling with a malicious air, narrowed happily as they took in the sight of Noth¡¯s untrusting and uncomfortable gaze. Eventually her eyes closed, and with a very tired look, Serris weakly nuzzled her head against the soft sheets it rested on, looking well and truly pleased and serene. Chapter Eighty Six Today was the day. They¡¯d planned the confrontation, and now it would finally be time to attack. As they eyed their prey from around the corner, the two children nodded at each other. It was finally time to make things right. Almost every day, Ren joined Elillith in the kitchen. She still wasn¡¯t very much good at cooking, but she always insisted that she had to at least help with something, and so Ren would make sure to show up and help with every meal. For the past few months, Ren and Noth had been practically attached at the hip. However, he usually wouldn¡¯t go out of his way to join her during her time in the kitchen, since he felt that the room was a bit too cramped and claustrophobic with three people moving around inside of it. Everyone else insisted that the kitchen was actually quite large and spacious, but for some reason Noth simply couldn¡¯t stand it and would brush off their confused protests. This fact meant that Jean and Helt of course ambushed Noth exactly during this time. When the duo confirmed that Noth was finally alone, they covertly dashed to intercept him on his way to the drawing room. Distracted with the return of his angel and her worrying upcoming ¡®favour¡¯, it took Noth a bit longer to notice the approaching children than it should have. As usual he gave them a smile and tried to greet his little siblings, trying his best not to let any of his worries show and somehow cause them to worry as well. Unluckily though, before he could even manage to get either of their names out of his mouth, the children quickly latched on to his hands and swiftly dragged him away. Baffled by their actions, Noth looked back and forth between the two of them, letting them lead him off to wherever it was, calling out to them with his confusion evident in his voice. ¡°Jean? Helt?¡± The children didn¡¯t even bother to respond, only looking back to occasionally shush him when it seemed his calls might have gotten too loud. Not a word of explanation was given to the teen until the children managed to rush him out of the house, and even then they still didn¡¯t stop dragging him away. ¡°We¡¯re leaving the mansion? ¡­Did something happen outside?¡± It was Helt who finally cracked under all of Noth¡¯s questions. He felt a bit as if they¡¯d escaped the watchful eye of whatever had been haunting Ren as of late now that they¡¯d escaped from the mansion, and with that newfound miniscule amount of comfort he¡¯d gained, Helt¡¯s lips soon loosened. ¡°We can¡¯t talk about it until we get somewhere safe. ¡­Sorry Noth, just¡­ Please just trust us and come along, okay?¡± Noth was obviously worried about whatever might have been distressing his little siblings, but after giving Serris who¡¯d been following after them a quick glance and seeing that she only smiled and shook her head, Noth soon decided to just quietly follow along and see what was wrong when they were ready. His angel had finally returned, so nothing too horrendous or possibly fatal should be able to befall him, even if, say, the demons had somehow revived, or the pope had sent another hidden assassin. But maybe he wouldn¡¯t be able to properly guarantee the two children¡¯s safety¡­ Another quick glance was sent back to Serris, but when she gave him a look as if he was simply being far too silly, he gave up and instead focused on where the two children were taking him again. ~~~ In the back of a secluded and dilapidated house near the end of town, the same one that the two children had managed to drive the rats away from previously, Noth, Jean, and Helt all sat huddled underneath a table that was missing one of its legs. Noth found the little hiding spot quite cute, and he couldn¡¯t help the small smile that tried to tease at his lips. Jean, however, shot him a quick glare because of this. ¡°This is really serious, Noth! Don¡¯t you dare smile about this!¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I see, sorry.¡± Noth had to fight his squirming mouth that only wanted to smile all the more from the cute little admonishment, but when he repeated to himself that this could indeed be quite serious and that he also probably wouldn¡¯t get to hear what they had to say until he stopped smiling, he soon managed to get his expression under control. All the while, Helt gave him a small apologetic look for Jean¡¯s high strung words. No matter how close they might feel and how much they might insist to be a family, that didn¡¯t mean that a mere commoner could simply talk to a noble like that; It was only because of Noth¡¯s love for them that Jean could have even possibly gotten away with such blasphemy. Once Jean saw that Noth had a much more fitting expression on his face, she cleared her throat and looked towards Helt. She hated that it was true, but she had to accept that what they were going to say would sound more believable coming from Helt, who had experienced these oddities much more than she had. Helt silently swallowed a lump that felt like it had lodged in his throat, and then nodded at Jean. The small girl reached her hand out to lend strength to her friend, and the two of them turned to look at Noth while they each took one of his hands in their own as well, creating a circle of arms. ¡°Noth¡­¡± The small crystalline boy cleared his throat, feeling that his words would sound too shaky and unbelievable otherwise. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Noth, we¡¯re worried about Ren.¡± ¡°Ren? Why Ren?¡± The teen¡¯s face had scrunched a bit in confusion, but when it still stayed quite serious and focused on them, Helt felt a bit of relief; Their words hadn¡¯t been dismissed right away like they¡¯d been afraid might happen. ¡°You see, ever since you lost your old powers¡­ Maybe even for a while before that, too¡­ Ren¡¯s been acting um¡­ She¡¯s been acting really strange. I- Um¡­¡± Helt nervously squeezed Jean¡¯s hand. He¡¯d planned out this whole speech before with her, but now that he was in the moment and felt so wracked with nervousness, he was forgetting everything they¡¯d agreed upon discussing. Jean shot him a worried look and returned his squeeze, trying to remind him that she was there with him, but when it seemed like that just wasn¡¯t doing enough, the girl leaned in close to him and bumped her shoulder against his own. ¡°Go on¡­ Tell him about your [Gift].¡± Helt shot her a small apologetic wince and then quickly turned back to Noth with a look of determination steadily growing on his face. ¡°Right. Well, the first thing we should talk about is how weirdly my [Gift] is reacting to her. You know I should be able to read everyone¡¯s mind but yours, right Noth?¡± ¡°...Yes? Has that changed while I wasn¡¯t paying attention?¡± ¡°Ah, no, just¡­ Only with Ren. I used to be able to read her mind just fine, but somehow, maybe ever since we came here¡­ Without me noticing, I can¡¯t read her mind now.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t¡­?¡± Noth¡¯s face scrunched up all the more at these sudden words, and his mind pondered over what could have possibly blocked Helt¡¯s superbly strong [Gift]. Not even his father had been immune to Helt¡¯s mind reading ability, and he was considered to have a [Gift] tier that was on the higher side of the nobles who ruled over society. What would have to happen for Ren to suddenly have been able to block something so powerful? ¡­Could it be that she had finally chosen a [Gift], and that it was something so incredibly strong that it was out of Helt¡¯s reach? But then why would she not tell anyone about finally getting what she¡¯d wanted? Oh, but he was forgetting something in the first place. Didn¡¯t he only have protection from the mind reading because of his angel? Right, she¡¯d told him that their bond made it so he wouldn¡¯t be afflicted by other¡¯s [Gifts]. It was part of why he also wasn¡¯t really affected by Jean¡¯s [Gift], either. But Jean¡¯s [Gift] could be stopped by a [Gift] of a higher tier¡­ ¡­Wasn¡¯t that also how Helt¡¯s worked, or- ¡°Ah! Oh, no, wait! I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t tell you the whole thing-¡± Helt suddenly shouted and let go of the hands he was holding, nervously waving his hands in a panic. Once Noth had refocused on the boy and Jean had slightly rolled her eyes at him for forgetting, Helt re-grabbed both of their hands and started talking again. ¡°No, so it¡¯s not that I can¡¯t read her mind, it¡¯s just that I usually can¡¯t. Sometimes if I concentrate on my [Gift] hard enough, or she¡¯s thinking a thought really hard, then I can still hear it. So it¡¯s not really that it¡¯s getting blocked persay, maybe it¡¯s just, um, that it¡¯s getting muted, maybe? It¡¯s not like you, where I completely can¡¯t hear anything, ever.¡± Noth¡¯s eyebrows raised, and his mouth couldn¡¯t find a single word to say in response. His mind truly couldn¡¯t think of what could have caused anything to mute Helt¡¯s [Gift] like that. If it was because of anything that Noth had done, then everyone would have been muted for Helt, not just Ren. And if it was because of her suddenly acquiring a [Gift], then it should have completely been blocked all the time. Could this have something to do with the new demonic power he¡¯d taken in? No, but Helt said this had been going on ever since they¡¯d all moved here¡­ Noth peeked back at his angel. She seemed to be displeased by something, but when she saw that Noth was looking at her, she quickly changed her expression and moved to gently lace her fingers in his hair. ¡°Hold on, don¡¯t just stop there! You still haven¡¯t told him the important stuff yet!¡± Jean¡¯s sudden interjection interrupted Serris, and her hand dropped back to her side without another word. Noth¡¯s gaze lingered on her, curious about what she had been about to say, but he soon turned back to the two flustered children in front of him. ¡°Yes, you''re right, okay, um¡­¡± Helt¡¯s eyes shiftily looked back and forth at the floor as if he were desperately searching for how he was supposed to say the words that were stuck in his head. However, when he could feel the two other¡¯s eyes boring into him, he quickly gave up on finding the best way to say it, and instead decided to just blurt out whatever he could. Hopefully, since Jean was here, she could finish filling up any of the dots he might have failed to connect. ¡°So, um, Ren¡¯s been acting weird, I said that, right? At first I didn¡¯t think it was anything, I mean, people can have moments when they¡¯re feeling a bit odd or different, I know that¡­ But for some reason, um¡­ Well, sometimes she was just a little bit too odd. Like, like, um¡­ I think the first time that really stood out for me was when she was a little freaked out about the demons? She kept insisting that it was all her fault, but no matter how much we asked, she wouldn¡¯t tell us anything. And I also realized that for some reason I just couldn¡¯t read her thoughts at all! I was really worried, since it looked like something was bothering her more than she could handle, so¡­ I tried to use my [Gift] to maybe hear her a little better. I don¡¯t know what happened, but um, there- there was a voice? It wasn¡¯t Ren¡¯s voice though. And then that¡¯s when I passed out.¡± The small amethyst boy had a look on his face as if he was truly uncomfortable revealing the story that he¡¯d just revealed. Jean leaned herself against him closer in her support, but her determined eyes never left Noth¡¯s as she waited for his response. Noth looked back and forth between both of them, feeling the clear waves of wariness and discomfort that the story elicited from both of them. He, too, found the story quite scary, and couldn¡¯t quite shake off the idea that this might indeed have been a serious problem. It definitely merited a deeper look, and Noth was every bit willing to give it one. However¡­ ¡°I believe your story, Helt, but how do you know that voice had anything to do with Ren?¡± Chapter Eighty Seven Jean frowned. She thought over Helt¡¯s words, and scanned for any bit of evidence that she could use to back up her argument, but the only real thing she had to go off of was that Helt couldn¡¯t read Ren¡¯s mind, so he used his [Gift]. Noth was completely correct that the odd voice that had caused Helt to collapse didn¡¯t necessarily have to have anything to do with the Ren; After all, he¡¯d opened his mind to all nearby thoughts. It¡¯s possible that even someone in the nearby town could have been the culprit, let alone the small helpless girl he¡¯d been aiming for. Helt¡¯s mouth squirmed in unease. He¡¯d already felt like he was floundering defending some kind of crazy conspiracy from the start, so now that a hole was being poked in his story, he truly wasn¡¯t sure how to handle any of it. ¡°Well, I, you¡¯re right, but I¡­ I¡¯m sure it said something to me to make me think that, but I-I¡­ I can¡¯t seem to remember what it was¡­¡± Noth¡¯s serious and absorbed expression seemed to be losing a bit of its steam from how easily Helt had backed off after having only one part of his story questioned. Jean, who¡¯d been alternating her worried gaze between the two of them, quickly tightened her hold on Noth¡¯s hand and pulled on it, desperately trying to win back some of his belief. ¡°No! No, no, there¡¯s more evidence! There were other times, just¡­ Just let Helt finish his story already!¡± The teen gave a soft apologetic smile to Jean. He knew that the two of them were already having a hard time telling him about these worries of theirs. What kind of hypocrite would he have become if he urged his loved ones to tell him about their worries, but then smashed their bravery down as soon as they did it? Noth turned to look back to Helt, and gave the boy a reassuring smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Helt. Please, tell me more.¡± Helt¡¯s teeth clenched from the ever increasing pressure he was feeling coming at him from seemingly all directions. Jean and Noth¡¯s gazes felt as if they could pierce through him if he let his tension go even just a little bit, and the possibility of disappointing either of these friends any further than he already might have seemed as if it could crush him if it came true. The boy swallowed repeatedly, trying to get the lump he could feel in his throat down, but eventually he knew he¡¯d just have to figure out how to work past it if he was ever going to escape this awful situation. ¡°W-well¡­ Uhm¡­ Alright, um, I guess the next weird thing was after I woke up? Ren was crying, and she seemed like she felt guilty about me having been asleep, but um¡­ Th-that could have just been Ren being Ren¡­ And she acted like she was really resolved to help us all out in any way she could ever since then too, but that also could have been caused by anything, s-so maybe it¡¯s just me looking into things too hard¡­¡± Helt¡¯s swimming and unfocused gaze slowly sunk as he talked, and the boy felt less and less confident in what he was doing the more that he spoke. The frustrated gaze of Jean next to him grew more and more severe as his mumbles went on, and eventually her rising impatience burst forth. ¡°Ugh, just get to the point already! Noth, ever since you woke up she¡¯s been acting more and more strange! She¡¯s been hanging out with us less, spying on us and running away when she noticed, and she¡¯d even said things that are completely unlike her out of nowhere sometimes! That¡¯s all weird but doesn¡¯t prove anything, I know, but listen to this! Sometimes when Helt catches her spying on us she starts thinking crazy stuff and repeating it, and those are the only thoughts that Helt can hear from her! Isn¡¯t that weird?!¡± Noth¡¯s face twisted a bit at Jean¡¯s sudden flurry-like outburst. He agreed, it was odd that Ren was suddenly acting differently, but he personally hadn¡¯t experienced any of it. He couldn¡¯t help but think that maybe they had noticed the strangeness while he hadn''t because they¡¯d known her longer, or because Noth himself was just very poor in almost all things social¡­ But that train of thought hurt him a little too much to just wholeheartedly accept. There was also the conflicting worry that the children were simply a bit jealous because he¡¯d been spending too much time with Ren as of late, and so they¡¯d looked a bit too much into things and were drawing odd conclusions, but he didn¡¯t want to believe that embarrassing train of thought either. Jean, who¡¯d been watching as Noth¡¯s face scrunch and twitch as he made one discouraging speculation after another in his head, began to misunderstand. It looked as if perhaps Noth hadn¡¯t believed in her words, or that maybe her argument had been too weak. Her already flustered heart quickly grew all the more so, and soon she couldn¡¯t help but blurt out whatever other information she had, even if she wasn¡¯t quite sure what any of it might have meant. ¡°Wait, no, but there¡¯s more! What about- Noth, you remember when you made the shadow things, right? And we were all there? Well Ren was there too! She showed up behind Helt and I and scared us, and then she started saying spooky ominous stuff that wasn¡¯t anything like her! And didn¡¯t she say stuff while you were talking to them? Ren wouldn¡¯t be brave enough to just cut in like that! At the very most she would have clung on to one of us and urged us to do something, so how was she able to just speak up like she wasn¡¯t even worried?!¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°...I do remember that. It was rather strange of her, but I-¡± ¡°A-and! Remember the time that I used my [Gift] to help Helt so we could do that favour for you? Well that voice talked to Helt again, and-¡± Noth¡¯s head suddenly turned to where his angel had pressed herself against his back. Her body was glamorously leaned half-sideways against him as she sat behind him, and her arms were tightly wrapped around his waist like steel girders were restraining him. Her chin was perched gingerly upon his shoulder, and her lips seemed only a short distance away from his ear. It was shocking to realize that she¡¯d managed to tangle herself against him like this without him ever even having noticed it until she called attention to herself. In fact, Noth was so distracted that he barely even registered anything more that the ranting girl in front of him had been yelling. It took a short moment for him to collect his thoughts back and realize that Serris had just ordered him to do something. Without taking his eyes off of the ethereal angel, or even asking a single question, Noth did as she asked, realizing that despite her calm seeming facade, her tone just now was nothing like her usual happy-go-lucky teasing self. ¡°Jean, stop it.¡± ¡°W-what?! Noth, you aren¡¯t listening! She-¡± Finally Noth¡¯s eyes tore away from Serris, looking directly at Jean with a stern stare that absolutely brooked no argument. ¡°No, Jean.¡± For a moment it looked like the overwhelmed girl was about to cry, and after letting out a weak, high pitched whine, she suddenly yanked her hands away and fisted them angrily against her skirt. Helt, whose face had already long looked haggard, seemed as if he would also break out into tears at any moment as he watched the scene unfold between the two. He tried to reach out to the hurt looking Jean in sympathy and comfort, but she only flinched away from him and refused to turn her wettening face towards anyone. Noth¡¯s mouth formed a thin pursed line as he watched the hurt looks on his sibling¡¯s faces. He felt as if he¡¯d done something awful without even thinking of the consequences. His gaze turned towards Serris with a practically simmering looking question, as if he desperately wanted to know what her justification for making him do such a mean thing was. At first the angel just stayed there quietly, staring back at him, but eventually her expression slid into something more begrudgingly resolved. Serris gracefully stood up, her upright form somehow looking so tall and resolute from where Noth sat on the floor. He¡¯d managed to grow taller than her over the past couple of years, but for some reason he felt like even if he stood up now, he would still never be able to reach her. The teen simply stared up at her from his slightly awkward sitting posture. From the way she was looking down at him, it almost felt like if he even moved or spoke in a way that Serris didn¡¯t approve of, that something awful would befall all of them. The angel crossed her arms, her suddenly steely gaze now turning to the two upset and softly weeping children across from her. With each of her words her angelic wings beat, somehow seeming to become longer and larger with every swing until they brushed past his face and reached out towards the kids. Noth¡¯s mind didn¡¯t seem like it could process a single bit of what was happening. For a while he could only blink blankly and let her words echo around inside of his head. However, even though his mind was refusing to process it, his body still subtly began to react. His head slowly turned to look at the kids, and as the still constant beating sound of Serris¡¯s wings continued, he watched as they repeatedly swept out towards the children. His teeth felt like they were on edge, and his throat felt as if it had become stuck. The two soft and weak children sitting across from him seemed to look even more fragile than usual. Noth could tell they were both crying, but they were desperately trying to hold it all back and not show such childish sides of themselves. Somehow, such a display only served to make them seem even more weak. His heart already felt like it would break watching these two children whom he loved like family, and now the closest existence to him in the world, his literal saviour, was telling him to hurt them even more. And the worst thing was that he was sure he had to do it. The reason that Noth even owed Serris a favour right now in the first place was that he¡¯d literally made the one and only god of this world angry at her, enough for her to have gone missing, and presumably have suffered under a godly wrath, for almost half a year. That guilt was on his hands, and if he were ever going to try to rectify that terrible mistake, he was going to have to do as she asked. It was only her first day back, and yet how did things already fall in such a horrible way? But, just because Noth knew that he would have to do what she wanted, it didn¡¯t mean that he knew how, and that was where the real issue truly lied. After all, Noth was no such smooth talker who could simply diffuse such a harsh situation in the first place. Even if she hadn¡¯t ordered it, Noth would be very hard pressed to try and get these two children to listen to his words while they were busy crying. ¡­But what if he didn¡¯t succeed? What if he failed to do what she wanted, and Serris did indeed take matters into her own hands? She was, at her core, an angel made from cruelty¡­ ¡­And hadn¡¯t she just come back from suffering under the God-dess¡¯s wrath? And why did she want such a thing from him in the first place? Everything had turned so awful on what should have been a happy day. Chapter Eighty Eight Noth reached out carefully towards the two weeping children. Perhaps his desperation was still evident in his tone, but he did the best he could to sound level and unbothered; It would do nothing for calming the kids and taking control if he sounded weak or unsure. ¡°Jean, Helt, please¡­ Look at me.¡± Helt¡¯s wet and wary eyes immediately turned towards Noth once he began speaking, but Jean only flinched and seemed to turn herself even further away from him. A slight frown that Noth couldn¡¯t help began to grow on his lips, but he pressed on further, taking Helt¡¯s reaction as at least a first step towards progress. The teen crawled closer on his knees and hugged the poor amethyst boy, patting his back soothingly, and pressing his small crystalline head against his shoulder for comfort. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I upset you both, but can you please calm down a bit and listen to me?¡± Helt immediately clung on to him, his hands fisting against Noth¡¯s clothes, and his face rubbing against Noth¡¯s shoulder. For a moment the child¡¯s trembling seemed to get worse, and Noth worried that Helt might have somehow been able to pick up on how worried and apprehensive he was feeling, but soon after, Helt separated from him slowly and scrubbed his face against his arms. The small boy gave a few hesitant nods even as he scrubbed, and after a long snort of sucking in his snot, he finally revealed his still lightly wriggling but apologetic face. ¡°I-I¡­ I¡¯ll listen.¡± His little voice was slightly rough and wobbly, and he reached out his hand to once again fist at Noth¡¯s clothes like he was afraid he might get left behind any moment, but Helt still did his best to look up at Noth as if he were doing his best to pay attention. Noth gave him a soft, thankful smile and gingerly patted at Helt¡¯s stiff, shiny hair, and then turned his gaze to what seemed to be the much more difficult problem. Jean sat with her head hung low and her back arched down. Her voluminous hair covered her face, forming a luscious curtain that wouldn¡¯t let a single bit of light through. Her hands that had previously been fisting at her skirt had at some point migrated towards the floor, and her nails seemed to be trying their best to dig into the old, degraded wood underneath her. It was almost as if she were some wretched but beautiful creature trying to convince the floor to eat her up and take her away. Noth swallowed and did his best to steel himself against the oncoming trial. ¡°Jean¡­¡± The girl¡¯s shoulders trembled slightly at his words, but she didn¡¯t give him any other reaction but that. Noth¡¯s eyebrows pulled together a bit, and his knees shuffled him just a slight bit closer. ¡°Jean, are you alright?¡± ¡°...What a stupid question.¡± Her words were a tiny, spiritless mumble, but at least she was replying to him. Once again, Noth shuffled a small bit closer to her, with Helt in tow. ¡°But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a stupid question at all. Can you please look at me? I want to fix this.¡± Noth¡¯s heart squeezed, feeling as if he were somehow lying to the people most important to him. ¡®Fixing¡¯ this would probably ultimately mean lying to them in the end if his angel was to be properly appeased. From what he¡¯d heard of the case they¡¯d been making against Ren, they might actually have been on to something, even if some of their arguments seemed to have holes in them. But if Serris was going this far to silence them, it must have meant that they were about to stumble onto something that they really shouldn¡¯t have, right? If not, then why would she be doing all of this? And why did all of this center around Ren, of all people? Even amidst all this doubt and speculation, it didn¡¯t matter. What Noth had to do remained unchanged, regardless of his opinions. Luckily, Noth¡¯s words seemed to shake Jean enough that she managed to at least turn her head in his direction, even if he still couldn¡¯t quite see past her waterfall of hair. This time she didn¡¯t speak a peep in reply, but just her turning towards him alone could be enough for Noth. Once again he came a tad bit closer to Jean, and his hand tentatively came out to pat her head. For a moment it seemed as if she would reach out and slap his hand away, but in the end she simply gave up and let him pet her. The interaction reminded Noth of being accepted by some of the more feisty cats that had roamed around inside of the villa. Eventually, when he felt that perhaps the girl had calmed down enough, Noth slowly swept her hair to the side, revealing her wet and glaring face. Such a hateful look made him want to give up and let time sort out her anger, but Noth had no such luxuries to rely on at the moment, and so he simply gave her what he hoped was a reassuring and not at all awkward smile. The teen prepared his heart for the nonsense he was about to be forced to spout. ¡°Jean, Helt¡­¡± Noth reached out and once again took hold of the two children¡¯s hands, returning to how this whole conversation had started. He was no great actor, and he could only hope that if he kept his body and face in as stiff of positions as he could until they grew tired, then maybe they wouldn¡¯t manage to betray him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I made you upset, but please listen to me¡­ I know you¡¯re worried, and I can understand why, but I don¡¯t think what you¡¯re saying is fair to Ren. People can change. I know she¡¯s a bit more childish and not as independent as you two, but that doesn¡¯t have to mean-¡± Suddenly Jean smacked Noth¡¯s hand away and threw Helt¡¯s. Her already resentful face grew even more infuriated, and as she talked she began to smack at the floor with the hand Noth had been holding. ¡°No! You can¡¯t possibly tell me you believe that!¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Jean-¡± ¡°Jean, please¡­¡± Both Noth and Helt tried to reach out to her to calm her down, but she shook her head like a wild unreasonable beast, not letting a single one of their plaintive calls reach her. ¡°You heard us! She¡¯s been weird and crazy and acting strange! There was a voice! Twice! Just because you¡¯re acting weird too and she¡¯s suddenly your favourite, that doesn¡¯t mean that you can just be blind to the obvious! She¡¯s clearly possessed!¡± Jean¡¯s words shocked Noth. He hadn¡¯t gotten to hear that far into their previous claims yet, and he¡¯d never imagined that that was the direction that their concerns were headed. ¡°Wha-? You think-¡± ¡°Why would you say that?!¡± Suddenly a shrill cry rang out from behind the door of the shack they were in. The door swung open, and a small ashen girl rushed in. Her face looked flushed and agonized, and her eyes were freely streaming down tears. ¡°You¡­ You all left t-to say mean stuff about me? B-behind my back?!¡± Her small, pale hands grabbed at the hem of her skirt as if she were going to rip it apart. Her accusatory and hurt gaze swept over every single one of them there, and especially seemed to bore into Jean. It was obvious that she¡¯d been listening to their words, at least from some point on, and had heard what Jean had had to say about her. Noth¡¯s teeth clenched, realizing how much more dire the situation had just become. The mumblings of his angel just barely caught Noth''s ear, but they were quickly drowned out by the shouts of the children. ¡°Wha- Ren?! How¡­¡± Jean, shocked at Ren¡¯s sudden appearance, was the first to react, possibly due to the angry looks that she was receiving. Helt only sat there in shocked silence, his small hand squeezing on to Noth¡¯s tightly in worry. He, too, was no good in such social situations, and had no clue how to handle such a dramatic scene. More tears leaked out of Ren¡¯s reddening eyes, and her hands soon came up to wipe them as she spoke. ¡°I-I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d say such awful things about me¡­ I thought we were friends¡­ I thought we were becoming a family. And you even brought big brother Noth into this, and spoke a bunch of bad things about me¡­ You must all really really hate me¡­¡± Helt, unable to let the poor crying girl be despite his awkwardness, sprung up and tried to reach out to reassure her. ¡°No, that¡¯s not why we¡­ We did it because we were worried about you!¡± Ren twisted away from his oncoming touch, and shot him the most pitiful look that the boy had ever received in his life. ¡°...And you didn¡¯t try to talk to me about it at all? You just went straight to him about it and left me out? When it was about me?¡± Jean, who¡¯d been watching everything embarrassedly as if she¡¯d been caught committing some kind of crime, suddenly came alive. She sprung up and began to animatedly defend herself as if she was about to be taken to jail. ¡°But you were acting so weird! We were worried what you might do if we talked to you about it! It¡¯s not our fault, we had to talk to Noth!¡± Ren¡¯s pitiful look turned into a hurt glare once Jean came back into her sight, and she stopped trying to wipe away her tears. ¡°...Because you thought I was possessed? Is it because I don¡¯t have a [Gift]? You¡¯re bringing up rumours against me now? I can¡¯t believe you, of all people, would say something like that here in front of us.¡± Jean¡¯s eyes widened, and for a moment she looked truly ashamed. However, that shame quickly gave way to a fiery anger, and she quickly doubled down on her words. ¡°Yeah, I am bringing those rumours up, because you are acting like you¡¯re possessed! If that¡¯s not it, then explain yourself right now! Don¡¯t act like you were never being strange, ¡®cause it won¡¯t work!¡± Helt tried to stop Jean, feeling like Ren was now thoroughly in the right, but the girl just shoved him away and sent him crashing to the ground. Noth rushed over to check that he was alright, but felt utterly useless in the ever ensuing chaos. Ren stared at Jean, shocked, bewildered, and upset that she would even act like that. Her tears abruptly stopped, and her already pale complexion seemed to take on a bluish hue. ¡°Really¡­ You¡¯re the one who¡¯s acting weird right now. How could this happen? I thought we were all so super close to each other, so why are you doing this? ¡­Is¡­ Is it me, after all? Is it really me? Were my parents right? Am I the problem?¡± The ashen girl sunk down to the floor, looking positively defeated. Jean gnashed her teeth, her unresolved anger suddenly feeling as if it had no place to go. Deep down she felt truly ashamed of how she was acting, but she didn¡¯t want to allow herself to look at how horribly everything had failed, and would instead rather be blinded by her rage. Her gaze turned down to the still collapsed Helt that she¡¯d pushed away, seeing how he was now sobbing uselessly on the floor, and the befuddled Noth, who looked utterly and completely lost. She truly felt like some kind of rampaging monster or criminal now, and she couldn¡¯t help hating herself for it. Through all the chaos, an ethereal sigh echoed over it. The angel tilted her head back to look to the heavens, her face filled with wry regret. Noth¡¯s bracelet began to heat up, feeling so hot that it felt as if it might just melt through his arm and fall off. His head immediately turned towards his angel, and he watched as she slowly walked over to the desolate ashen girl, slumped on the floor. Serris¡¯s hands gently pet the girl¡¯s hair, and she beamed down a sad but loving smile upon her. As Noth watched, the angel suddenly faded into smoke, and that smoke was rapidly pulled into Ren¡¯s body. Ren¡¯s eyes closed, and for the first time since she¡¯d come into the shack, she finally looked serene. Her eyes slowly opened, and a shining rusty orange colour was revealed, matching perfectly to Noth¡¯s own. As the two pairs of orange eyes met, ¡®Ren¡¯ gave him a smile, one that he¡¯d never seen from her before. And then the world went black. Chapter Eighty Nine Noth was walking through the gate to the Kieran manor. He was there to¡­ To¡­ He was visiting his father before he had to go to the noble¡¯s banquet. The nation¡¯s army would be sent out in two weeks to deal with a threatening hoard of elite monsters that were approaching the North of the country, and Ruth Kieran, being the commander of said army, would of course be going along with them. Since Noth would have to go into the lion¡¯s den all alone, he was hoping to grab a bit of information about it beforehand. Serris, his angel, was there, and Elillith had come along with him since she wanted to visit the manor she¡¯d once spent so much of her life in. The children didn¡¯t come along because¡­ The children stayed behind to watch over the town while he was away. Noth knew he could trust them to keep the town in order well enough, and they shouldn¡¯t have been in any kind of danger that they wouldn¡¯t be able to handle. Besides, it would be good for them to have some quality time alone together, without any adults getting in the way of their bonding. It seemed that with the stress of all the events lately, they hadn¡¯t gotten much time to just be children together. It was so wonderful how close of friends the three of them were. Now, without Noth hovering around and putting pressures on them, they could truly enjoy their youths together. They especially needed a bonding session after- After¡­ Yes, Noth¡¯s father had always been anxious ever since he¡¯d moved away. The man would often send letters, wanting to know everything about what his son had been doing where he couldn¡¯t see him. This clinginess was something Noth had known his father had always possessed when they¡¯d lived together, but had become much more apparent once the two were apart. Noth wasn¡¯t sure how to handle such a thing, especially from someone who¡¯d been imprinted in his childhood perception as a person who was supposed to be aloof. It was so hard to keep believing that a man who loved his son so much could have ever been such a monster. Perhaps if he still didn¡¯t remember his childhood trauma so vividly, he would have been able to forget all the bad things in his life that Ruth Keiran had caused by now. ¡°Noth!¡± Before Noth¡¯s hazy eyes could manage to turn towards his angel in confusion, his father burst from the manor¡¯s door, running as fast as he could to reach his beloved son. Tight, squeezing hugs were given, and a respectful handshake was even offered to Elillith, before Ruth Kieran quickly redirected all of his attention back to his boy. ¡°My son, you¡¯ve finally returned! You¡¯re growing to look more and more like me every day. I suppose I can¡¯t say you only take after your mother anymore, look how much you¡¯ve matured into a noble young man! And look, your hair¡¯s even changed colour again! You-¡± His father''s words abruptly stopped as he quickly took hold of Noth¡¯s chin, and gently turned the teen¡¯s face side to side a bit as he studied him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your eyes? Are you tired? Has life as a lord been a bit too stressful for you? I understand, I was like that at first too. Come, come inside and rest! We can have our emotional reunion later at supper.¡± Noth let his lifeless feeling body be dragged along by his father. He¡¯d done his best to focus on the man in front of him as he spoke, but for some reason he just couldn¡¯t seem to. It was as if his mind was foggy, or like something had been wedged into it, like a dam made to block a river. He could vaguely make out that the man in front of him was for sure his father, and he could feel that his mind wanted him to be happy over the fact that he was seeing his family again, but for some reason the emotion just¡­ didn¡¯t seem to become real. In a way, he almost felt like a puppet just acting out a play, or maybe a bystander with no ability to alter the play he was watching. He couldn¡¯t help but realize that there was something decidedly wrong about everything. The fog was getting thicker, he could feel it. It was so hard to think¡­ So hard¡­ Perhaps his father was right, he really did need to lay down. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Noth closed his eyes, and entrusted himself to his father¡¯s leading hand. *** ¡°Elillith.¡± ¡°Yes, M¡¯lord.¡± ¡°I know you and Natalia were close.¡± ¡°...Yes, M¡¯lord.¡± ¡°I know you must hate me, maybe even worse than I already hate myself.¡± ¡°... ¡­ Yes, M¡¯lord.¡± ¡°I also know how much you must treasure my son, since you left the place Natalia once was to be with him.¡± ¡°I do, M¡¯lord.¡± ¡°Hah, you didn¡¯t hesitate that time, did you? I¡¯m glad. My son deserves your affection, just as Natalia did. ¡­And will he always be so important to you?¡± ¡°B''lieve so, M¡¯lord.¡± ¡°Good, then what I¡¯m about to ask of you will be very important, even if you hate me. Elillith, there¡¯s a chance that I won¡¯t make it back from this mission. I¡¯m sure you can tell, I¡¯m not as strong as I once was. If anything, I¡¯m just a shell of the man I was in the past. After Natalia died, I¡­ Yes, I¡¯m not strong enough anymore, and worst of all, I¡¯m sure the pope knows it. He doesn¡¯t need a weak man in charge of his armies, and this is a perfect opportunity to rid himself of me. It¡¯s very likely that even if I manage to fend off the monsters, something else might befall me. And¡­ And what¡¯s more¡­ I¡¯m tired, Elillith.¡± ¡°...Wha'' d¡¯you need?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure my son is strong enough to handle himself if something happens, and I¡¯m sure those kids of his give him plenty of the love I failed to properly give him¡­ But even with all of that, he¡¯s still just a child in many ways. The boy needs an adult he can trust in, and I fear that I¡¯ve failed him on that many times over. I¡¯m sure Natalia would be mad at me for how I¡¯ve let him develop so far, so¡­ Please, help him make the right choices instead of us.¡± ¡°...I d¡¯no that ¡®m the best choice f¡¯r that¡­¡± ¡°But-!¡± ¡°But I c¡¯n try.¡± ¡°Thank you, Elillith¡­ Thank you.¡± ¡°I¡¯s not f¡¯r you.¡± ¡°I know. I know it¡¯s not. But still, thank you.¡± *** Dinnertime was loud, filled with the unending inquiries of Noth¡¯s father. The teen¡¯s struggling mind had gotten a small bit better from the rest he¡¯d taken, and although he was still having trouble remembering a good many things, he was now at least aware enough to respond to a few of his father¡¯s waterfall-like questions. In fact, at one point he couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether or not he got his insatiable curiosity from his father. It¡¯s true that if he were away from one of the children for a year, Noth might have had just as many questions to ask of them¡­ Noth didn¡¯t like that train of thought very much, though. The clearer that Noth¡¯s mind got, the more that he couldn¡¯t help but feel disturbed by how little he could remember. All night, even through the distraction of his father¡¯s questions, he could feel something like an odd suppression pressing against his mind. The feeling was akin to hearing a song you vaguely knew through blocked ears, and desperately trying to recall how the words went. He knew he should have known what was missing, but his mind simply refused to let him know exactly what it was. Even as he laid in one of the guest beds at night, hours after the end of dinner, he still couldn¡¯t seem to force out the memory. And that was another thing, his angel was acting strangely. She wasn¡¯t nearly as clingy as she usually was, nor did she say snarky disparaging things about the other people around him. In fact, when was the last time Noth had actually looked directly at her? He hadn¡¯t caught a single glimpse of her all night, even though he could feel her presence nearby. He was sure he¡¯d heard her voice a bunch of times, but¡­ There was another voice calling to him, louder and deeper, a voice he couldn''t possibly turn away from. ~~~ The halls felt strange. They were all so familiar, but yet at the same time, they looked somehow off. It was like he was seeing something that he¡¯d always only seen lit up by the sun now lit up by the moon. Everything felt so uneasy, and the small hairs on Noth¡¯s body felt as if they were all standing up. Even the air seemed to caress him differently than usual. Noth could hear the sounds of his angel talking to him, but for some reason she sounded so very far away as he trudged through the halls. Instead, the only things that the teen could hear clearly were his own heartbeat, and a voice from deep inside of him. -It looks so different now. Everything is brighter, and there¡¯re even servants.- Yes, and his father was here. -And he¡¯s still the lord. We''re the lord of somewhere else now, I see. Everywhere we end up taking over only gets to have a few people, huh?- But those people were the most important to him, in both lives. -One of those people is hiding something from you right now, though. Isn¡¯t that bad?- So Serris was the one who had caused the fogginess in his memories. He¡¯d been worried that that might have been the case, but¡­ -Do you want to know the truth?- ¡­Noth couldn¡¯t help but agree. He was too curious to just let something possibly important be hidden like that, even if it was what Serris wanted. He also couldn¡¯t deny that he was a bit scared that she had the ability to alter his memory in the first place. -Well, even if she betrays you, at least you¡¯ll always have me with you.- Noth couldn¡¯t help but frown at those words, even if they were meant to be comforting. Contrarily, the voice deep down inside of him smiled a contrite little smile. -I know it¡¯s not terribly comforting, but so long as you remember being me it will always be true.- The bracelet on the teen¡¯s arm began to heat, and slowly a purple glow began to creep up from his throat as his eyes closed. -Come talk to me for a while. Let¡¯s remember together.- ~~~ Noth¡¯s eyes opened. The bed behind him was soft. The sun was bright. The angel next to him looked scared. His mind was finally cleared. Chapter Ninety The carriage ride back to Noth¡¯s territory was deafeningly quiet. Although Noth would reply to any of Elillith¡¯s few and far between words with a perfectly normal tone, he wouldn¡¯t even spare much of a glance towards Serris. The most he would offer her was a brief, uncaring gaze, as if he didn''t even see her there, before it would easily slide away from her. Even if she pressed herself directly in front of him so he couldn¡¯t look away, he would just cross his arms and close his eyes, as if he were only tired and resting. No matter how hard she screamed, no matter what she said, no matter how large of a tantrum she attempted for his attention, nothing worked. After the long ride home, Serris wasn¡¯t even upset about it anymore; She just felt like an insignificant ghost. When they made it back to Sleekka, the children immediately ran out to greet them. The villagers all gathered around a short distance away, being polite enough not to interrupt the family reunion while still trying to get a peek at their lord, but their stares still seemed to ruffle Noth, so the children quickly dragged him home so that they could talk. ¡°You¡¯re both finally home!¡± Although Ren had already jumped and hugged at their legs when they¡¯d first arrived, once the group had safely made it into the mansion¡¯s confines, she performed an even more tackling hug once again. Elillith simply gave the girl the same soft pats she¡¯d given her earlier, but for the first time since they¡¯d left Keiran manor, Noth genuinely smiled. He bent down slightly, and talked to her even more softly and delicately than he used to. ¡°Hello, Ren. We¡¯re back.¡± The small ashen girl broke out in a blush, and then timidly let go as she clasped her hands behind her back and looked shyly towards the ground. Helt looked at her with a soft concerned gaze, but despite his worries about Ren, his hand still slowly moved as if it wanted to reach out towards Noth. Jean, however, unshyly voiced her displeasure. ¡°Yeah? And what about us? We¡¯re here too, you know.¡± Noth¡¯s face twitched for a moment, but then an awkward half smile, as if he were trying to remember how to look placating, formed onto his face. He reached out for the other two children and briefly gave them what he hoped weren¡¯t too rough of head pats. ¡°Of course I missed both of you, too. I¡¯m sorry if it looked like I was giving Ren all the attention.¡± His eyes monitored their reactions closely. Jean huffed and crossed her arms, but she couldn¡¯t help the slightly pleased look that crossed her face. Meanwhile, Helt simply blushed softly and gave a tiny smile. Neither of them seemed to have reacted to his words in any particular way, at least not in the way he was looking for. His gaze turned cold for a split moment, but before anyone could notice it he crouched down to Jean and Helt¡¯s level and took ahold of both of their hands with a concerned look. ¡°You know that I care about all three of you equally, right? You¡¯d tell me if it seemed like I was giving one of you more time than the others?¡± Jean quirked her eyebrow at his words and immediately wiggled her hand free. ¡°Why¡¯re you acting so weird all of a sudden? It¡¯s gross. Did something happen? Or was it my words earlier, because I¡¯ll have you know-¡± ¡°Jean would definitely say something if that was happening Noth, don¡¯t worry.¡± Helt¡¯s interruption seemed to infuriate Jean. The girl quickly lunged at him, her hands going right for his shiny crystalline hair. As Noth stared at their antics quietly with a steadily dissolving look, Ren, who had been busy hugging Elillith¡¯s legs, reached out to tug at his clothes. ¡°We all super missed you, big brother Noth.¡± The teen couldn¡¯t help but grin back at her sweet little smile. ~~~ Noth closed the door to the room behind him and put down his bags. He busied himself with unpacking his clothes and laying them out on his bed. His angel pouted, remembering the cute reunion from earlier and feeling vastly unloved. For the umpteenth time since they¡¯d left the Kieran manor, she tried to talk to her bond. ¡°Sit.¡± The voice was so icey and commanding that Serris complied with his order before she even realized it. Never once had Noth spoken to her in such a cold and hostile way, not in all the years they¡¯d been together. Her mouth squirmed, and after a moment she decided that she wanted to get back up, but what she saw quickly stopped her in her tracks. One by one, Noth was touching the clothes on the bed, and one by one they were becoming clean and neat. They even somehow squirmed themselves into a folded shape afterwards, too. Noth¡¯s head slightly turned to glance at her, but he soon focused back on putting his clothing away. ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I know how to use it? It¡¯s all the same thing anyway.¡± Serris¡¯s eyebrows crinkled. There¡¯s no way that Noth should have been able to tell that. If anything, the two energies should have still felt distinctly different from each other to him. He certainly had never been able to use her powers so easily without saying a wish like this. Her eyes followed him closely, and her gaze grew harder and harder the more she looked at him. As she stared, Noth finished putting everything away, and finally he sat down on the bed in front of her with his arms crossed. His impassive yet intense look that bore down on her seemed to be quietly judging her, and when he suddenly spoke, her hands on her thighs turned into fists. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°So, angel. Tell me why you erased everyone¡¯s memories.¡± At first Serris felt confused by the question that seemed to come out of nowhere. She was sure she hadn¡¯t felt him break through the mental block, despite how much he¡¯d been resisting against it, so it didn¡¯t make sense that he could even ask such a thing. But then, as she looked up into his cold and uncaring eyes, she abruptly realized. A loving, beaming, almost too long smile plastered itself across her face, and she leaned forward intimately with her hands on the floor. Noth didn¡¯t bother to reply to her words, but a tiny tinge of disgust did manage to seep into his eyes. The reaction only managed to make Serris¡¯s smile even wider, if not more crooked. Noth¡¯s look of disdain only grew, and his eyes narrowed as his tone took a turn for the venomous. ¡°Yes, you tampered and you tampered and now your little plans have gone awry. Now the energy you were hoping to give to your obedient pet has integrated with me instead.¡± Despite his clearly malicious tone, Serris just continued to smile and nod along, her eyes wide open as if she couldn¡¯t bear to miss even a single second of him. ¡°Even though his existence is a prison for you?¡± Noth¡¯s arms loosened, and the chilling look in his eyes visibly softened. ¡°Yes, you did save him¡­ You saved him from my horrible fate, and for that, I must say that I appreciate you, despite the way you¡¯re trying to use him. The both of us owe you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re fooling no one.¡± The chilliness that had been removed from his demeanour easily came back. Noth¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his voice sounded as if he were denouncing her. ¡°I¡¯m the one holding this energy, so I know what it is you¡¯re trying to do with that god. You¡¯re both trying to fix that thing¡¯s mistakes. At this point, you¡¯re trying to reach that goal just as much as that god is.¡± Serris bit her lip and seemed to shrink under his harsh truths. She peeked up at him guiltily through her eyelashes, not daring to look at him directly in her shame. Noth snorted and rolled his eyes, stopping his gaze away from her as if he couldn¡¯t bear to let her image enter his view right now. A wry smile formed to match his mocking words. ¡°You have no plans to hurt Noth, but you use his loved ones for your deeds. I can maybe forgive what you¡¯ve done to Helt, but you think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing to Ren?¡± The angel¡¯s already pale skin seemed to blanche even further. Her shoulders shook, and her head hung down, covering her face in a curtain of her hair. The teen¡¯s mocking face slowly eased, turning back into his beginning impassive look. His tone still held a bit of steel to it, but Serris could tell that it had softened just the slightest amount, as if he were talking about something fragile. ¡°No¡­ There¡¯s still some things that I can¡¯t tell him just yet. He¡¯s not yet ready, and more importantly he loves those children like his own flesh and blood. I suppose this is the pot calling the kettle black at this point, huh?¡± A self deprecating chuckle escaped his lips, and his cold eyes gently closed. ¡°Even with its ups and downs, this Noth is living a kind of happy life that I couldn¡¯t have possibly ever dreamed of. His family loves him, his people respect him, and for the most part he¡¯s safe. I know that you¡¯re using Ren in order to save this Noth in the long run. None of this could have been possible without you, angel, so I won¡¯t do anything to jeapordize your plan. We both owe you. However, you must know that this Noth won¡¯t be happy with the end of that plan of yours.¡± Serris offered up a weak smile, and then looked back down to the floor as she spoke softly. ¡°That¡¯s going to be quite the tall order.¡± Sighing, Noth got up from the bed and knelt down in front of the dejected angel. ¡°I¡¯ll be here watching. If it¡¯s what Noth wants, then I¡¯m willing to turn a blind eye to all of it. But if you manage to hurt him beyond his forgiving, then I won¡¯t ever let your plan succeed, no matter how much I despise the God-dess.¡± The angel fisted the floor, giving a nod that had absolutely zero strength behind it. She knew his words were reasonable, and that this was the best offer she could have hoped to receive at the moment. Noth stood up and looked down upon her one last time, pity lightly tinging his eyes. ¡°...I¡¯ll be watching.¡± And with that, he gave Noth back. Chapter Ninety One Serris was positively over the moon. She¡¯d met her favourite character in person, her boy was talking to her again, and Ren was still smiling at her and treating her warmly! Sure, she might not have gotten to see the old Noth in all of his raging tortured wild glory, maybe Noth wasn¡¯t treating her exactly as warmly as he used to, and maybe Ren only still loved her because she¡¯d had her memories wiped, but well, who cares? The ends justify the means, right? It didn¡¯t all have to be perfect, it just had to get done, right? Noth, although a bit more wary and vigilant against her, seemed to understand why she¡¯d had to intervene with the children when she did, even if he didn¡¯t agree with her means. The two would fight on occasion whenever Noth would try to pry the truth about Ren out of her lips, but in the end he¡¯d always reluctantly let her go when she pointed out that he wasn¡¯t giving her enough trust. It was a risky tactic and Serris knew it, but she also knew that Noth was used to her keeping secrets enough that he wasn¡¯t willing to pry too hard if it seemed like it might be something that could have gotten her into trouble. Perhaps the incident of her getting sucked away to be punished by the God-dess for almost half a year was heavily influencing Noth enough that he was scared to lose her again from asking too much of her. However, it was evidently not traumatic enough that he wasn¡¯t willing to still try his luck sometimes. Serris really loved that quirky curiosity of his, even while it gently endangered her. She knew that his love for his family wouldn¡¯t let him completely give up on the issue anyway. Yes, he clearly looked guilty when he felt that he was pressing her too dangerously, but she could also see his resolve to ensure Ren¡¯s safety as well. He would eventually back away each time, but it would only be a few days before he would come back, poking at her with his questions from a different angle, as if hoping for a clue or hint to appear that he simply hadn¡¯t noticed before. Thus, their stubborn back and forth fights would continue off and on without yielding very much of anything, luckily for the angel. The month until the noble meeting passed like a flash for the overjoyed angel. All the worries and guilt that had been weighing down on her from the things she¡¯d done and were still yet to do seemed to fade away and be replaced by a lovely manic bliss. Sadly, though, such bliss is always only temporary, a happy distraction from the harsh truths that had been buried behind all the light. And as the time ticked ever closer to the day when she and Noth would be leaving for the meeting, Serris could feel the weight of her responsibilities growing heavier and heavier on her shoulders. She tried her best to fight against the impending bad times with the good memories she¡¯d made, but in the end her true nature would always win. She was an angel that brought calamity, and the brief break she¡¯d gotten to enjoy was finally coming to an end. And yet, despite how much she wanted to feel bad about all the evil Noth was about to face, she couldn¡¯t help the excited tickles of joy she could feel in her heart. She could feel the madness returning again, a constant tingling thrill softly tickling its way up her spine and into her mind. It was finally time to continue her purpose. Her lovely Noth would struggle against his monsters for her once again, and she would eat every single second of it up. It was so hard to wait. *** The lovely angel cooed her words into Noth¡¯s ear as she hung from her arms that were wrapped around his neck. The teen frowned in annoyance, doing his best not to let her get in his way as he finished his preparations. ¡°Why are you still so giddy? It¡¯s been a month.¡± Serris¡¯s almost sparkling smile looked completely unfazed no matter what the teen had murmured over the past few days. Noth grumbled and rolled his eyes, deciding it was best to just ignore the clingy angel. Such a decision didn¡¯t matter much, though, due to the fact that she was still very much in the way of him finishing putting on his topcoat. He tried to gently pull her arms away, but they refused to budge. She¡¯d always been insistent on constant contact with him, so it was no surprise at all that she was being so touchy with him now, but for some reason she¡¯d been extra sticky ever since she¡¯d spoken to the previous ¡®Noth¡¯. Perhaps he was only feeling so overly sensitive about everything she did lately because he was a bit more wary of her than he once was. After all, even if he knew that she¡¯d always been keeping certain things from him, it felt very different to know that she¡¯d actually done something to him and his loved ones without letting him know. He¡¯d learned that she had to keep some things a secret for the sake of not angering the God-dess, but this¡­ This felt like something that could have been said but simply wasn¡¯t, and that fact really, and truly, hurt. And now, seeing her so happy instead of trying to talk to him about any of it or apologize¡­ Noth couldn¡¯t stop the bitter look on his face. Perhaps he was simply being petty, but he wasn¡¯t willing to be the bigger person and easily forgive her this time. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Get off.¡± Serris tittered at his pouty sounding words. One of her hands came up to lovingly stroke at his cheek, while her grip around his neck worryingly tightened. Noth¡¯s frown deepened at her happy-go-lucky response at first, but a few seconds later he hesitantly glanced back her way. ¡°...Your favourite¡­?¡± With eyes that seemed to turn to stars, Serris squealed at the teen¡¯s cute expression. She instantly grabbed hold of his head and began to pepper kisses all over his flustered and annoyed face. As Noth desperately struggled to play goalie to protect his face against the offending lips, a quiet knock reverberated through the door behind him, going unheard due to his frantic efforts. Soon Elillith opened the door, peering into Noth¡¯s room with a completely unresponsive visage. She didn¡¯t bat a single eye at Noth¡¯s strange squirming, only looking away once before coming into the room. ¡°M¡¯lord.¡± Even when she called him from only a short distance away, the teen still didn¡¯t stop the strange dance he was doing. She tried stepping a bit closer and tapping him on the shoulder, but that only made his eyes turn to her, and the odd movements still remained. ¡°Elillith, I-¡± ¡°Y¡¯ll b¡¯ late.¡± ¡°Y-yes, but I¡¯m¡­ kind of¡­ busy. Stop already!¡± Elillith stared for a while longer, her stare towards him growing sharper and sharper as the seconds passed. Eventually, her eyes closed, and she let out a deep sigh before her face suddenly took on an uncharacteristically determined look. She swiftly grabbed hold of Noth¡¯s topcoat in one hand, and one of his arms in the other. With more dexterous movements than one would expect from the slothful woman, she quickly wrestled Noth into his clothes. The teen blinked in shock the entire time as it happened, especially as he watched the coat along with Elillith¡¯s hands simply phase through his angel as if she were made of smoke. It was so rare for Serris to ever let any other person or random objects that she didn¡¯t want interact with her, so it wasn¡¯t often that he experienced such a view. He¡¯d seen plenty of times where the angel had purposefully moved something, or had even let an object smack against her as if she were solid; And most of the time she would simply move out of the way of other people¡¯s hands. It was these unexpected moments when she didn¡¯t bother to react to the world that always made Noth remember that he really was dealing with a spirit. Also, Noth couldn¡¯t help but be jealous how easily Elillith had solved his little topcoat dilemma for him. As Noth stood there stunned, Elillith took the opportunity to gently lead him out of his room, giving him one final encouraging shove once they¡¯d made it to the front door. ~~~ ¡°You must really be out of it if you let Elillith do that to you.¡± ¡°But you hate whenever something turns you into smoke, though.¡± Having said goodbye to his family at the entrance to the mansion, Noth was now busy making his way out of town, so that any possible future spies sent from the pope would know that he had actually been seen leaving, and no one would see him teleporting away. Sure, there was plenty of evidence that he¡¯d somehow teleported a handful of people before, but he didn¡¯t need to let anyone know for sure that he could teleport himself. Meanwhile his trusty angel was flitting around him constantly finding bits of clothing or hair to straighten out while a gleeful smile stayed plastered on her face. Noth tilted his head, wondering what could have happened to cause her to get over something she¡¯d so vehemently hated, and why her answer had sounded so vague. Serris giggled and tucked back in a loch of hair that had fallen out of place when he moved his head like that. The touch tickled Noth¡¯s ear, causing his mouth to squirm a bit. He could feel his cheeks getting a teensy bit warm in embarrassment, and couldn¡¯t help but snap at her to cover his reaction up. "You''re being annoying." Despite the way he¡¯d batted her hand away, the angel¡¯s smile never faltered. If anything, it had somehow managed to grow even bigger, and her eyes arched up as if she were laughing at his cute antics. She brought her face uncomfortably close, and purred her words towards the softly blushing boy. Noth thought such a response was nonsensical; Of course she was only annoying to him, he was the only one who could see her. His incredulity was obvious from his face. Serris couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes and give up at how thick his head was. For a moment she even pondered if maybe she should have tried to raise him to appreciate jokes more. More laughter in his life would have definitely benefited him. The teen scoffed at such a thought. What kind of noble would possibly want to be friends with him, the outcast? But despite his obvious doubts with the idea, Serris''s sparkling eyes wouldn''t leave him be. In the end she left him no choice but to reluctantly agree to try to make a friend if he could find someone fitting. Sadly, the chances of that were looking quite dismal. Chapter Ninety Two Most of the nobles arrived at the gathering in sparkling jewel studded carriages. Many of these carriages boasted beautiful, thoroughbred horses that could have paid for the average commoner¡¯s yearly living costs one hundred times over. A handful chose instead to boast their superiority by showing off what amazing technology they were able to get their hands on, showing up in the most advanced horseless carriages they could find. Yes, their arrival at the gathering was truly a peacocking event, one that would show all the onlookers who¡¯d lined up just how much their station should be envied, as well as trying to one-up all of the colleagues that they could manage. Noth had no need for such silly displays. He arrived at the front door completely on foot, strolling into the venue without giving a single bit of a show. Of course, this choice didn¡¯t go unnoticed by the nobles who¡¯d already arrived. Noth knew there would be whispers and murmurs as soon as he entered, but they were only doubled by the pauper-like way he¡¯d shown up. No matter how nice and noble-like his clothes might have been, or how he carried himself, none of that mattered. Now, the only thing on everyone¡¯s lips was his lacklustre entrance. Noth knew he was pouring more fuel on the already lit fire. However, Noth found it hard to care. If anything, a small perverse bit of him simply wondered how creatively the nobles could attack him over this. Would they simply call him poor and speculate upon that? Or maybe would they be able to come up with something even more scathing? In a way, this was a litmus test for him to see just how badly everything else might possibly go. The better they did insulting him with something so simple here, the worse they could do once they really dug into the meat of things. Although they were certainly keeping their voices down to discuss Noth with each other, they completely weren¡¯t trying to keep them low enough that he couldn¡¯t hear them. In fact, on multiple occasions he could hear someone utter his noble name, as well as other emphasized words that were said louder on purpose to catch his attention. They didn¡¯t even try to hide their eyes that were fixed on him, or the malice that they held. Shockingly, though, not a one of them actually stepped forward to directly confront him, and everyone simply kept to their little pockets of friends, giving Noth a wide berth as he entered further into the hall. Truth be told, Noth was slightly unimpressed. If isolating and gossiping about him was the worst that they could do with the bait he¡¯d tossed out, then this was going to be a disappointingly boring night. It wasn¡¯t like Noth wanted to have hostile people jumping down his throat, but when you walk into the lion¡¯s den, one rather expects to be met by lions instead of clawing cats. He¡¯d been so ready to be confronted that now all of his preparation was looking like it might just have been a waste. The teen sighed and looked around, deciding to make his way to the refreshment table. All types of fancy hors d''oeuvres had been laid out for the nobles, and many of them Noth had never even heard of before, along with ones that he¡¯d always thought about trying but had never really gotten the chance to try. The food hadn¡¯t committed any kind of crimes, and there was no way it could possibly hurt him with his angel¡¯s protection, so why not enjoy what little nice things he could find? It had been ages since hostility had ever been able to affect his stomach, and he had no image to keep up in front of people who were already determined to hate him from the start. Why not try the whole spread and see what he liked? Maybe when he got back home he could recreate them for the children and Elillith, and see what they liked. As Noth decided which hors d''oeuvre he¡¯d start with, his angel¡¯s smile, which had been stiff since they''d arrived, steadily fell. She¡¯d been all smiles and teasing on the way here, but now the good mood she¡¯d tried so hard to hold on to had finally been marred. She¡¯d tried to fool herself into thinking positively about this, but in the end she was reminded how rotten of a situation Noth had been put into. ¡°You¡¯re just realizing that now? I expected this.¡± Serris sighed and frowned harder. Noth gave a small empty smile at her words. How nice it was that he was enough of a threat that the pope was taking him seriously. This was truly a show of how much progress he¡¯d made. Yes, he¡¯d graduated from a thorn in the paw to an actual threat. If only Noth could feel genuinely happy about that fact. Instead, he simply went back to eating. After a while, Serris¡¯s frown slowly dissolved away, eventually being replaced by an inquisitive look. She flitted around and looked at Noth from many different angles with her hand on her chin, and in the end she stopped next to him and tilted her head. It wasn¡¯t until Noth finally looked her way and raised an eyebrow that she finally spoke. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Noth was such a naturally curious person that he would constantly ask questions about any myriad of things. In fact, for many years he¡¯d constantly wished to know about the servants around him in the Kieran manor and the people he¡¯d meet on the streets of the nearby town. Even after he¡¯d become a lord, he still didn¡¯t stop asking her about his townspeople. So the fact that the always ever curious Noth who practically rained questions on her had been perfectly quiet about everything was¡­ odd. The teen continued to look at her impassively for a short while, but eventually his gaze turned back to the food once again, picking out his next succulent bite. ¡°Why should I? Do any of them matter?¡± It took a second for his words to register, but Serris soon burst out laughing, wiping away her nonexistent tears as she did so. Serris scanned the crowd and then let out a giggle. ¡°Ah¡­ I suppose when you say it like that I can¡¯t say you¡¯d be wrong¡­ But you¡¯re missing one important fact: I have no plans to ever care about the lackeys of a monster. My mind has no space in it to wonder about this horde of performing beasts trying to get my attention. I¡¯m only going to focus on one person and one person alone today, and that¡¯s the man who ruined my and my parent¡¯s lives. After all, why care about the stones making the road rocky when there¡¯s a boulder threatening to smash you?¡± His eyes never turned back to her, but Serris could still see the intensity in them. She quivered for a second, and for a quick moment she showed a weak expression. Her heart ached anew for how tough the small boy she¡¯d always looked after had been forced to become, and a tiny piece of her couldn¡¯t help but feel that it was somehow all her fault. But soon that weak visage was replaced inexplicably by a look of pure love. Noth quickly glanced at her with a confused frown, trying to understand what strange leap of logic had run through her head, but he almost immediately gave up trying; He knew he would never be able to follow her strange thought process. All he could do was try to ignore how uncomfortable her gaze was making him. Sadly, the eager hyenas in the room took his glances and mumbles towards his invisible angel to mean that their bullying was having an effect. It seemed it was decidedly time to move on to the next step. Two men came forth. Besides their differing builds, they both seemed to give off the same ¡®superior¡¯ aura, as if everyone else around them were simply beneath them. Their outfits were overly luxurious and cumbersome looking, however they wore them like they were born in them. And their faces¡­ Though they clearly wore different expressions, the end result was the same: Obvious disdain. Serris let out a small gasp of what sounded to be amusement laced with venom. She bent over cutely so that she could make it into Noth¡¯s field of view, and softly spoke as if she were letting him in on some kind of conspiracy. Noth raised his eyebrows slightly and lazily turned his head in the direction that his angel was gesturing. His eyes immediately felt strained as they took in the layers upon gaudy layers of gems that were sewn all over the men¡¯s attire. Perhaps if there were more light in the room, the two of them would have glittered as brightly as two garish stars. Who knows, maybe that¡¯s what they were going for. However, the dark disgust in their faces certainly diminished the effect enough for Noth to only need to squint a little bit. It seemed that the show was finally about to start. How fun. The teen quickly snagged a glass of champagne off of the refreshments table in case he needed to stealthily talk to his angel, and then fully turned himself in the two men¡¯s direction, waiting for them to strike up a conversation. At first, when they stopped in front of him, they looked like either one of them might just burst out yelling indignantly at him at any moment, but instead they soon cooled down a bit and simply looked him over without saying a word, one with a disgusted look, and the other with a scrutinizing glare. After a few minutes of the uncomfortable looks, as well as a few sips to pass the time, Noth eventually gave up, deciding that waiting on them to finally get to the point had turned quite boring, and so he turned back to resume his taste tests without a word. This action clearly seemed to anger the two men further, as one of them could be heard clicking his tongue, while the other quickly marched forward and smacked the picked up appetizer out of Noth¡¯s hand. Chuckles filled the watching crowd. Serris let out a disbelieving gasp, with a flap of her wings accentuating it. Noth¡¯s eyes laid sadly on the wasted bit of food that now lay across the opulent carpeting. The food had done nothing wrong to deserve such treatment. Perhaps Noth had grown up being bullied in such a way, but yes, it had indeed been many years. No one had had the audacity to treat him in such a way in quite a long time. At most he¡¯d expected ¡®civilized¡¯ and ¡®cultured¡¯ people such as nobles to behave better than the thugs that had beaten him as a child. How silly of him to expect such a thing from people who he already knew to be impolite. He wouldn¡¯t find a modicum of manners and respect in such a place. And what¡¯s more, such people accustomed to privilege wouldn¡¯t care about some small scrap of food. Maybe only he, who¡¯d been starved out for years and had been forced to scrape rotten food off the ground, was the only one in this room who would feel upset over the tiny wasted scrap. He should have expected it, but this gathering was really reminding him of his past a bit too much. Of course, it was now, when Noth was having an awful time trying to remove his almost boiling eyes from the small tragedy in front of him, that one of the two men finally felt that it was time to speak. He was clearly emboldened, thinking that the shocked look on Noth¡¯s face meant that he was starting to learn his place. He straightened up his posture and wiped his hand that had touched Noth with a handkerchief as if he were removing a layer of filth. ¡°How dare you not greet us first, you uncultured swine?! Haven¡¯t you learned even a small bit of etiquette?¡± The second man let out a soft snort and leaned towards his accomplice, talking a little more softly as if he were trying to be polite. ¡°Come now, don¡¯t you know the poor boy¡¯s origin? Surely he¡¯s never even heard of the word ¡®etiquette¡¯ before, let alone been taught it.¡± The two smiled wickedly towards each other, and then both of their gazes quickly whipped back towards Noth. ¡°I say we should teach the fool a few manners, then, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, that sounds like a splendid idea.¡± Chapter Ninety Three As the two men put on the little introduction to their show, Noth finally managed to reign himself in from his thoughts enough to notice that his eyes were beginning to burn with his angel¡¯s power. He blinked a few times to try and get it to go away, but nothing seemed to be working. He of course was very displeased with the men who were mocking him, but that didn¡¯t mean he was alright with turning them into monsters, especially in such a crowded venue. Besides, the nagging fact that these two were simply the pets of the real monster that he should be looking out for was making it hard for him to want to make more problems for himself, knowing that any minute the Pope might just arrive. Serris¡¯s soothing hands came up to cover his eyes. To the rest of the onlookers it seemed as if Noth had simply closed his eyes, and a few giggles came out at what they imagined must be the poor boy trying to stop himself from crying. However, when Noth¡¯s eyes had cooled down and the angel finally removed her hands, they could see the clear and strong look on his face, wiping away any hopeful thoughts of his weakness. Noth re-tightened his grip on his drink that he¡¯d been close to spilling, and took a sip out of it to hide his words of thanks to Serris. The angel gave him a silly little smile and then lazily turned her gaze back to the two offending men, prompting Noth to do the same. Of course, the men weren¡¯t pleased that Noth had the wherewithal to simply drink without responding to them. ¡°Honestly, is this boy ignoring us again?!¡± ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be surprised, we already identified him as a fool without manners.¡± Noth did his best to keep his face and emotions neutral, lest he bring back up the power he¡¯d only just managed to have suppressed. He could feel his frowning mouth betraying him, though, despite his best efforts, so instead he hid it behind the convenient champagne glass in between speaking. ¡°You both speak a lot about manners for someone who smacked another noble¡¯s hand.¡± The first man who smacked him grimaced, as if he hadn¡¯t expected such an audacious response, but the second man simply smiled patronizingly, as if he were talking to a stupid child who didn¡¯t know better. ¡°Another noble, you say? Does that mean that you don¡¯t even know who we are?¡± Noth stared at the two men, completely unimpressed by their antics. Eventually he sighed, deciding to just play along if he wanted them to get to the point. He lowered his glass and returned the same patronizing smile to the second man. ¡°No, I can¡¯t say that I do? But you must think you¡¯re both pretty important to be wandering around smacking hands and insulting people in front of everyone.¡± The second man let out a small harrumphing grumble as he squinted his eyes at the young upstart, but the first man quickly pushed his way forward and tried to look as big and important as he could. ¡°How dare you not know of us?! The great Marquises Harold and Tyrell, the highest ranking nobles in Odessia! We¡¯re second only to his majesty the Pope and his holiness the Prophet!¡± Noth looked pityingly at the simple man in front of him. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the man realized that that meant they were in third place, not second, but he felt that the argument would be wasted on such a man. He decided to look away and take a sip instead. ¡°Really? How nice for the both of you.¡± The teen¡¯s lacklustre response of course only served to infuriate Marquise Harold further, and the astonished giggles that he could hear from the onlookers surrounding him were only managing to add salt to his wounds. He flushed and raised his hand as if he were once again going to smack Noth¡¯s hand, but before he could make his move, his fellow Marquise spoke up, stopping him from his foolishness. ¡°Come now, child. Surely you don¡¯t want to treat your superiors this way. We can make allowances for your savage upbringing, but we can¡¯t have you disrespecting us like this.¡± Noth smirked. How long had it been since someone called him ¡®child¡¯, especially now that he was legally adult enough to become a noble? It seemed that these people really didn¡¯t consider him to be a noble like them after all. Maybe that¡¯s why they were so eager to tear into him with only a single word from the Pope? Or maybe they were simply too pompous and power hungry to care? ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my ¡®savage upbringing¡¯ taught me not to be nice to people who greet me with violence. I¡¯m sure you understand.¡± He laughed emptily and took a sip, finishing off the last of his glass. The teen tried to turn to replace his glass with a new one, but before he managed to, Marquise Harold once again reached forward, this time snatching Noth¡¯s empty glass from him. Noth blinked for a second and let out a small chuckle at the man¡¯s childish move, before easily grabbing a new glass of champagne with his now freed hand. He swirled the liquid gently in his new glass and looked towards Marquise Tyrell. ¡°Your friend seems to have some bad habits. You must be so embarrassed being with him.¡± Tyrell sent a disappointed glance towards Harold, who was left dumbly holding on to an empty glass in rage, before clearing his throat and looking back disgruntledly at Noth. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Hmm, quite. But don¡¯t you yourself also feel embarrassed being here, child?¡± Noth took another sip of his drink as if he were stopping a moment to think, but then he lowered his glass and let a teasing, goofy smile cover his face. ¡°Nope. If anything I¡¯d say that I¡¯m bored. I was told I had to come, so I was hoping I¡¯d maybe get to meet some other nobles my age, but only two old men came to talk to me. How disappointing.¡± Serris¡¯s giggles along with the indignant look on both the Marquise¡¯s faces made Noth truly and genuinely want to smile. If anything, this moment made up for coming here to him, just a tiny bit. Not enough to make it all worth it, however. Of course Marquise Harold wasn¡¯t just going to sit still through all of this and let himself be repeatedly ridiculed. He threw the glass down onto the carpet and shouted angrily in Noth¡¯s face, so close that Noth could see little specks of the man¡¯s spit attempting to fly into his drink. ¡°You, a disgusting former forsaken child with uncertain origin, think you can speak to your betters like this?! Do you think just because you allegedly wiped out the demons and are going to get a medal for it that it makes you immune to consequences? Do you think you¡¯ve somehow earned the Pope¡¯s favour, and so you don¡¯t have to worry about what others think?! Or maybe you¡¯re such a fool that you don¡¯t realize that you should be groveling at our feet and begging for us to forgive you right now?! You may have been given the God-dess¡¯s mercy and finally gotten a [Gift], but no matter how fancy and nice it is, it won¡¯t erase the fact that you were still a disgusting have-not for most of your life! An uncultured and miserable being like you will never be a true noble! You-¡± Noth sighed and put down his now contaminated cup as he let the deluge of insults go in one ear and out the other. It was all the expected, uncreative insults that he¡¯d known he would be hearing here, and it felt so particularly uninspired that he couldn¡¯t possibly care about any of it. However, it seemed that the angel next to him was getting exceptionally tired of listening to the Marquise talk. She¡¯d been sitting on the refreshments table for quite some time now with her arms and legs crossed, but she finally got up and flitted around the two men, eventually stopping next to the ranting Marquise Harold with her hand under her chin inquisitively. The teen, surprised by her words, sent her a confused glance. What could the odd angel possibly be asking him to do in a crowded room like this? Serris opened her arms, making a huge sweeping motion towards the two men as well as the rest of the people in the hall. Her face was very serious, although somehow childlike as she spoke. The angel flew up above the ranting Marquise, her arms reaching down so that her hands could grab around his neck. She smiled widely with malice as she looked down at him, and yet somehow she was the picture of beauty in Noth¡¯s eyes. As Serris talked, Marquise Harold suddenly lost momentum and seemed to be huffing for air. Noth couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was just his old age or if it was his angel somehow exerting force on him from where she was grabbing him. If the latter was true, then the bloodthirsty angel might really just kill the man. And as entertaining of a thought as that was¡­ He took the opportunity in the lull of the marquise¡¯s rant to grab a new glass, using it to hide his mouth as he talked to his angel. ¡°I have no plans to kill anyone just because they decided to be rude to me.¡± The angel let go of the Marquise neck and fluttered over to Noth, hugging on to him from the side and smushing her face against his as she wiggled around and pleaded in a high pitched, childish tone. Noth struggled to stay balanced from her pushy clinging. He hoped no one noticed the way his drink was sloshing around against his mouth. He had to wait for an opening when she stopped nudging against him before he was able to speak without a large amount of champagne flooding into his mouth. ¡°Just because these performing dogs are doing their best to be annoying doesn¡¯t mean I want to massacre everyone here. Some of these people might actually be good and are just too scared to go against the pope or these two fools.¡± Serris stopped her movements and pulled herself back a bit from him, but her face was full of pouts. <...Okay¡­ But can we at least kill those two? I promise you won¡¯t feel bad about it. I could tell you a lot of things about them that you wouldn¡¯t like. Please?> Noth wanted to roll his eyes at his hopeless angel. She really wasn¡¯t willing to let this one go, was she? He was about to open his mouth and scold the silly bloodthirsty spirit, but before he could manage to, Marquise Tyrell stepped forward and took his winded colleague¡¯s place. ¡°You know child, it occurs to me that you¡¯ve come alone today. Often the younger nobles will show up with someone from their family to escort them, but¡­ Yes, as I recall, the Earl is off fighting for the glory of the country right now, isn¡¯t he? Did you not have anyone else to bring along?¡± Noth stopped and brought his glass down, staring directly at the man who¡¯d mentioned his father. The teen couldn¡¯t help but ponder why the Marquise had brought this point up. He could only imagine that this man must have been one of the prime leaders in the bullying of his father, considering the only people with a higher rank would be the two men in front of him. Could it be this was some roundabout way to bring up the torment they¡¯d given his father for all those years? Noth wasn¡¯t sure how he¡¯d feel about hearing such a thing; He¡¯d actually genuinely developed a few feelings for his father over the past years, even if it wasn¡¯t on the level of the familial love he¡¯d once had for his mother. But Noth¡¯s suspicions were wrong. Marquise Tyrell''s intentions were far different from anything that he¡¯d expected. ¡°You didn¡¯t bring any of those peasant children you like to keep with you? I¡¯ve heard they¡¯re all quite beautiful. I¡¯m sure many people here were looking forward to seeing just how beautiful they all are.¡± Chapter Ninety Four ¡°...What?¡± Noth couldn¡¯t understand why he was bringing up the children. They were of course too young for him to bring along to such a repulsive place, but even more so than that¡­ How did they find out about them? Honestly he really shouldn¡¯t have been shocked that someone had been keeping tabs on him, but the fact that they even clearly knew that his siblings were all ¡®beautiful¡¯ was a bit too much for Noth. Perhaps it was obvious that such a thing would be easy to find out now, especially since he had openly brought them along with him when he became a lord and had let them run around the place doing whatever. But just when¡­? It was a naive thought, but Noth had truly believed that he¡¯d kept them all relatively out of the public¡¯s eye. Now that he thought back on it, however, he realized just how much he¡¯d actually shoved them into everyone¡¯s faces, instead. His mind was always so busy thinking about everything, and yet somehow he kept managing to get blindsided by things that he really should have noticed. Marquise Tyrell could clearly see just how much his comment had shaken Noth. He practically looked like the cat who ate the canary as he raised his chin triumphantly and kept speaking. ¡°Yes, I dare say it was quite a bit of a hot topic before your arrival today. ¡®The forsaken child that blossomed into a noble overnight likes to keep three little children with him no matter where he goes¡¯. There was much speculation that the woman you brought with them might actually be their mother since she was seen taking care of them, but well¡­ That was until the reports of one of them being a small Krysthid boy came out.¡± Noth¡¯s shoulders trembled slightly at the mention of the boy who must have been Helt, and his eyes grew just a tad bit wider. This wasn¡¯t some kind of bluff or idle gossip, they really knew about the kids. And oddly enough, instead of being simply angry that someone had dared to peep into his private life to this extent, he was completely scared what such news leaking out might have meant for the children. The Marquise was of course eating Noth¡¯s reaction up. His voice audibly raised a pitch in his excitement as he continued on. ¡°I can¡¯t say it¡¯s anything new, hearing about the wealthy taking in a lovely boy or two. And with him being a Krysthid, I¡¯m sure the boy must be quite the sight to behold. No one here could fault you for deciding to keep such a pretty thing around; It¡¯s almost like being an art collector in a way, don¡¯t you think? And if we¡¯re talking about masterpieces, well¡­¡± The man looked back to the other Marquise who had been catching his breath behind him. Harold seemed to have calmed down enough that he was able to catch Tyrell''s signal, and so he slithered forward once more, joining in quickly when he realized they¡¯d found a working means of attack. ¡°Oh, you must be talking about the lavender beauty, yes?¡± ¡°Quite. I heard from a respectable bishop¡¯s escort knights who saw her in person just how amazingly lovely she was. What was it they said? ''She was so absolutely gorgeous that they lost their minds''? Either she has a very nice [Gift], or she¡¯s just incredibly beautiful. Whichever it is, I¡¯m sure it must be quite a pleasure to have such a girl ¡®working¡¯ under you.¡± Noth¡¯s hold on his glass grew dangerously tight. He couldn¡¯t stand what the disgusting man was insinuating about Jean. He was keeping his beloved little sister for what?! The girl was just barely over 10, and the Marquise was painting her in whatever dirty light that he deemed fit! That was Noth''s family, dammit! His glass began to shake from his boiling rage, and a small bit of liquid splashed out. As Noth¡¯s agitation became more and more clear, Marquise Harold jumped back in, hoping to repay the humiliation he¡¯d once received even greater. However, his tongue was not quite as eloquent as his cohort''s, and his mocking came out much more direct and raunchy. ¡°And I hear the girl is even named like a noble, just like they do in the high class brothels! You can¡¯t tell me that she isn¡¯t your lapcat with a name like that, right?¡± Noth¡¯s trembling hand stopped, but his teeth felt like they were about to crack from the force he was exerting on them. For the first time, he lamented that he hadn¡¯t asked Jean to change her name if it meant that everyone would make assumptions about her like this. It was true, in the naming conventions of the country, everyone''s birth names had a combination of their two parent''s names in some way. This was to pay homage to your family and heritage. In a world where it was believed that a [Gift] could be inherited through blood, heritage had its own unique importance. To have a name that didn''t have something to do with your parent''s names, while not being a noble, never meant anything good. Most likely it just meant that you were lying or trying to hide your past, but even if it was truly your name, nothing would change. Everyone would just assume that you were doing something horribly shameful that you wouldn''t want to reflect on your heritage, or that you had been disowned by your family for very bad reasons. A majority of whores and mercenaries had made up names, with the whores going for something more fancy and noble sounding, while the mercenaries would go for something more epic or from folklore. Telling someone one of those types of names immediately let them guess what you were. And Jean''s name, to a vast majority, would make them think that she was selling herself. It wasn''t the most blatant of any of the names by far, but it was still quite unmistakable. Noth had heard of Jean¡¯s past, and he knew what such an association would mean to her. The fact that people were bound to treat her in the way she absolutely hated the most just because of her name was¡­ terrible. However, time stops for no one, no matter how deeply they might be stuck in their regrets, and so the Marquise pair continued on, doing their best to not lose their momentum. They would layer on as many insults to the teen¡¯s honour as they could until he was ready to break, just as they¡¯d been told. Marquise Tyrell began first. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve heard the rumours about the two beautiful children, and as I¡¯ve said, it¡¯s quite understandable why anyone would want to keep them around. But I can¡¯t really say I understand your choice with the last one, you know? There are the occasional collectors of oddities that like to keep around a forsaken child, but¡­¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. When he stealthily glanced at his partner, Marquise Harold jumped in. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve heard that her colouration is quite unique, wouldn¡¯t you say? She¡¯s supposedly completely ashen, from head to toe. There are those out there who find such an uncommon thing to be something of worth, but I myself think keeping such a [Gift]less thing would be more akin to keeping a strange pet. After all, can you even count such a thing as a human being?¡± Marquise Tyrell let out a small faux gasp and cutely covered his mouth, feigning shock. ¡°Oh dear, perhaps you shouldn¡¯t say such things. Have you forgotten that this poor boy was once such a pitiful beast like her?¡± Marquise Harold''s face held no such playful shame to it, instead his broad malicious smile showed every last ounce of his feelings on it. ¡°You have a point. I suppose what they say is true, birds of a feather really do flock together.¡± As the two leaned towards each other and laughed, the surrounding nobles who¡¯d been watching from afar also joined in, tittering at the crude joke, supplying a few of their own, and even adding in whatever made up gossip they could. A hoard of unscrupulous adults full of unsavoury thoughts. Noth could hear it all loudly, as plain as day. He could also feel the power inside of him starting to flare, and his eyes beginning to heat with his fury. His beloved family, who¡¯d never done anything wrong, had been turned into some kind of mockery for these fools'' enjoyment. A part of him thought that he should feel proud holding back for as long as he did, while another part argued that perhaps his angel was right and that he should remove such stains from existence. However, he still strained to fight against his growing anger, thinking that if he gave in that it would only mean the two Marquises, and therefore the Pope, had bested him. And then Marquise Harold cast out the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. ¡°Well, I must say that all this talk has made me quite curious. Wouldn¡¯t you be interested in letting me get a look at one of those pets of yours for a night or two? I do like to appreciate beauty, after all. Perhaps I could also help you to make them even more beautiful.¡± The man leaned in with a ridiculing sneer on his face. ¡°Of course I¡¯d prefer the pretty lapcat of yours, but I wouldn¡¯t even complain if it was that little have-not girl, either. It might just be worth it to figure out what¡¯s so good about her that made you keep something so worthless.¡± Yes, maybe Noth had been too patient with these horrible people. Adults that were willing to say such disgusting things about children, maybe they didn¡¯t deserve to exist, just as Serris thought. The belief that these were just awful people instead of awful monsters was becoming harder and harder to believe. Noth felt an itch to expose the men for who they really were. His eyes were literally hot with the desire to look at them with the full brunt of his angel¡¯s power. Who cares where he was, who cares who saw the spectacle he was about to make? They all deserved whatever carnage was about to ensue anyways. The world didn¡¯t need such filthy people with their filthy thoughts polluting it. He could feel the arms of Serris slithering around him from behind. The whispers of the angel sounded a bit too much like the whispers of a demon. Her words made Noth feel like his head was swimming in lava. He felt too hot, too flustered, to make the right decision. With his emotions running amok, his control over the two conflicting powers inside of him grew loose, and a war seemed to begin raging inside of him over which would win out and manifest. In such a situation of anger and fatigue, he felt like the only option he had was to believe what the voice whispering in his ear was telling him to do. His eyes began to glow with power, and desperately moved to look upon his victims- -Are you sure you want to listen to her right now?- Just before his vision reached his targets, a low but powerful voice resonated deep inside of him, stopping him in his tracks. It was like time stood still as soon as he heard it. -But I don¡¯t think this will make you happy.- Noth¡¯s burning gaze dimmed a bit to the voice of reason inside of him. How ironic that the monster from his unreachable past had become the only thing stopping him. -If you¡¯d like, I can save you from all of this.- Noth closed his eyes and steadied himself. No, he didn¡¯t want to put his problems onto someone who didn¡¯t deserve to deal with them. -But you¡¯re not giving your problems to someone else; You¡¯re me, and I¡¯m you. All I want is for you to be happy this time. If you need to be saved for that to happen, then I¡¯ll save you anytime.- The teen couldn¡¯t help but smile at the sentiment. Unlike having to trust in others, it was much more secure of a feeling knowing you had something inside of you that you could depend on. Noth silently thanked the voice for clearing his head, feeling the swirling of the two holy and demonic powers inside of him no longer threatening to overpower him. Yes, he didn¡¯t come here to get angry. He came here to best the people who thought they could threaten him as they pleased. -...Let me at least help you reach a satisfying end to this situation. I have a few ideas that might be of help to you.- It would be rude to keep rejecting his own sincere help like this when he could certainly use it. Noth nodded and let the voice deep inside of him weigh in. Noth¡¯s sudden smiling nod in this situation had of course caught the eye of Marquise Harold, only less than an arm¡¯s length away. He frowned, thinking that the reaction was wrong, and came a bit closer. ¡°What-?¡± Suddenly the contents of Noth¡¯s drink were dumped into the man¡¯s face. Marquise Harold sputtered and straightened up, frantically wiping at the alcohol that was threatening to enter his eyes. And when he finally managed to fish all the liquid away and open them, the empty glass in Noth¡¯s hand went hurtling past the Marquise¡¯ eyes, narrowly missing both Marquise Harold and Marquise Tyrell, and crashed into a nearby wall. As Harold trembled for a moment in confusion and fear of what just happened, Noth gave him an almost apologetic smile, one that clearly didn¡¯t reach his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my hand slipped. I guess I¡¯m not used to alcohol just yet.¡± Chapter Ninety Five ¡°Did you just-¡± ¡°Like I said, my hand simply slipped.¡± Noth gave a small shrug and stated his words as if he had only dropped a tissue or something insignificant. He looked between where his glass had shattered against the wall and where the table of refreshments were behind him, muttering to himself about whether or not he wanted to get another drink. This action understandably worried Marquise Tyrell, who was unsure if the seemingly unstable boy might go flinging more glasses at them, and so he once more came forward, trying to wrangle back control over the situation through his sheer authority. ¡°If you have such dangerous inclinations when you drink, then I suggest you ought to leave, boy. You¡¯ll just be troubling everyone else here with that kind of behaviour.¡± The teen paused for a moment and then let out a soft chuckle. His face was twisted with a look of ridicule, even though his mouth was slightly smiling. ¡°Well isn¡¯t that the pot calling the kettle black? What, I can get food smacked directly out of my hands, but a bit of champagne spilling and a glass breaking without a single person being touched is too much? I suppose I must not understand since I was raised improperly, right?¡± Noth looked at the Marquise¡¯ mouth squirming and snorted. He leaned forward with a smile that looked like a cat who¡¯d eaten the canary. ¡°Besides, how could I just leave? The Pope wants me here to give me a medal. I¡¯m today¡¯s main character, aren¡¯t I?¡± Noth knew such words were completely bullshit, but he didn¡¯t care. Sure, he was in fact today¡¯s focus, but it was far from truly being a celebratory event. If anything, everyone was only here to judge and ridicule the upstart who they felt had no right being amongst them, and the Pope had only used the medal as a pretext to get him into this boring situation. Perhaps even the medal itself would only serve the purpose of harming him in some way. He knew it, the Marquise pair most certainly knew it, and most of the onlookers probably knew it as well. But would such proud people be willing to say they had to perform in such an elaborate circus just to get the chance to bully him? Would they be pleased to announce that they were just throw-away monkeys for the Pope? Most likely not. However, it seemed that there really was someone shameless enough to reply to Noth¡¯s words. Marquise Harold pulled Tyrell out of the way, moving him to the side as he came front and center before Noth. He gnashed his teeth, completely incensed by the rude boy¡¯s actions, and he finally did what his instincts had been telling him to do for a while now; He once again tried to slap Noth. Instead of getting hit or dodging like he¡¯d done the other times, though, the teen simply caught the wrist that was flying towards him as if he were bored. He looked at the man in front of him with an unimpressed gaze and sighed. Noth¡¯s eyes flicked towards the hand of his angel to the right. If he hadn¡¯t stopped the Marquise¡¯ hand when he did, the lovely angel that was reaching her hand out to meet the Marquise would have most assuredly done something. Noth had handled enough energy over the past few months to recognize the feeling of the energy through his bond beginning to move. Even if he couldn¡¯t tell from just that, the annoyed look on her face along with the fact that she was actually going out of her way to touch him were plenty big enough signs that something was going to happen. And Noth didn¡¯t want to see what plans she had for this vile man. Serris pouted when she realized that Noth had foiled her attempt. She moved a short distance away and crossed her arms, giving him a look as if she really couldn¡¯t understand him. The teen gave her a small, soft smile in return. He knew how frustrated she must be. He could feel through her bond how riled up she always got when he started using her real powers, and the fact that she¡¯d almost succeeded in getting him to do it but failed in the end must have been extremely irritating to her. Could he fault an angel of madness for her nature? No. In such a place full of odious people, it was probably incredibly hard to ignore the calling of her kind; He already knew that when she¡¯d tried to goad him into killing everyone here the first time, and it would only be all the more true now. Perhaps it was time he threw Serris a bone, for both their sakes. It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d forgotten or forgiven what the disgusting people had said. Just because he was now in his right mind and more calm, it didn¡¯t mean that he¡¯d gotten over his anger towards them. ¡°Maybe¡­ Maybe you were right. Maybe I do want to know.¡± Serris perked up at his soft words, realizing they were for her from his eye contact and smile. Her pout lessened, and her arms loosened. ¡°Yes.¡± The Marquise, who¡¯d been struggling to break free from Noth¡¯s hold all this time, twisted his face a bit, wondering what the madman in front of him must be muttering to himself. He didn¡¯t have to wonder for long, though. Soon Noth¡¯s gaze turned nonchalantly back towards him, causing Harold to flinch. ¡°What was it again? This man is Marquise Harold? And that man over there is Marquise Tyrell?¡± Before, Harold¡¯s face had looked panicked from the tight hold on his wrist, but now with the impolite way he was being talked to, his pride quickly took over any fear. He opened up his mouth to reprimand the boy for his rude way of speaking to his superiors, but before he could get a word out, Noth continued talking. ¡°I only managed to become a Count even though I think my [Gift] is pretty good. I wonder how good of [Gifts] the two of you must have, to have reached such high ranks?¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Both of the Marquises'' faces looked understandably flustered by the sudden remark. They¡¯d falsely called him out for poor etiquette multiple times by now, but they never expected the boy to so straightforwardly commit such a major breach. No one would ever say such a thing in polite company, let alone in front of such a large crowd like this. And to have said it so directly¡­ No one would be willing to let such words stand. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re saying right now boy-?!¡± ¡°Do you know what I think they might be?¡± Noth gave a brazen smile to the shouting Tyrell, almost like a carefree child who didn¡¯t know any better about what he was doing. His giggling angel hugged his arm, quickly catching on to the game that Noth was playing, and whispered what he wanted to know into the teen¡¯s ear. As he was fed information, Noth laughed and continued his bold words. ¡°I think you must be something like a [Great Diplomat], right? It¡¯s quite a bit lower tiered than I¡¯d think a Marquise should be, but I suppose anyone who¡¯s doing something diplomatic should be of a higher rank of nobility, huh? Even if it is artificially boosted.¡± ¡°How dare you-¡± ¡°And you,¡± Noth easily turned his head from the outraged Tyrell as if he weren¡¯t the least bit important, and looked at the man whose arm he was still tightly holding. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be funny if you were-¡± The teen stopped his words and blinked, surprised at the [Gift] that he was hearing. His face screwed up into a sneering but amused look, as if he couldn¡¯t believe it. He finally let go of Harold¡¯s arm, instead using both his hands to loosely cover his mouth like he was desperately trying to stop himself from laughing. ¡°Hah, a [Superior Prospector]? Like¡­ Like those old men from the children¡¯s books?¡± Logically, Noth could understand why the Marquise had been given such high nobility. It was actually quite an amazing thing to be such a high tiered [Prospector]. With his [Gift] he¡¯d be able to find exceedingly valuable mines with ease, and should he even pitch in to the mining himself, he would be able to locate ore veins in mines that others might think to have gone dry. If anything, the man would be rich and could make the country rich as well, meaning that he was indispensable to Odessia, enough to receive such a grand noble title. The problem, however, was that Noth knew of a very common fairy tale, one that almost everyone heard quite frequently as they grew up. In the tale the main character, an [Explorer], makes friends with a [Prospector], and the two of them go in search of new, rich lands to please their lords. It was a wonderful adventure story with a plot that appealed to children, especially the silly parts with the [Prospector] friend. He was an old, silly man, with missing teeth, ragged clothes, and crossed eyes. He did silly little dances, said silly things, and blundered and got the pair into trouble often. Even when his [Gift] would alert him to a nearby vein, it wouldn¡¯t tell him exactly where, and sometimes they¡¯d be searching an area for half a day before they¡¯d realize they¡¯d been looking in completely the wrong place, although it would inadvertently lead the two on wonderful adventures in the meanwhile. It was such a popular story that the character tropes were used and referenced in many other types of media as well. Countless [Prospectors] were portrayed in the same way, and some children¡¯s toy stores would make dolls that depicted a silly, ragged looking [Prospector]. It would be hard to stop most people from thinking of such a character when they heard of that [Gift], and it was a rare enough one that not many people would ever meet a [Prospector] who would ever disprove such a stereotype. Even now that the words had come out of his mouth while Marquise Harold only looked more and more flustered, people¡¯s gazes on the man were quickly turning to ridicule. Noth couldn¡¯t help but snort at how easily people¡¯s perceptions of someone changed once they learned about their [Gift]. It was quite a good thing that most people didn¡¯t let their [Gifts] be known unless they had to. Such prejudice was ugly to have to witness or experience. The onlookers easily had their eyes stolen away by the shocking news of Marquise Harold¡¯s [Gift], but before that they¡¯d been busy whispering and gossiping about Tyrell¡¯s [Gift] as well. The idea that someone with an unimpressive sounding [Gift] was currently a Marquise, the highest noble station now that the Pope refused to make any Dukes, was quite insulting to the nobility. Many didn¡¯t want to believe such a thing was true, and wanted to doubt Noth¡¯s words. However, with the confident way Noth looked as he said it, and how immediately the Marquise recognized his words and got angry without even once refuting it, it wasn¡¯t looking so good for the man. This, combined with the fact that there had already been rumours towards such a fact before, since [Diplomats] were so rare in their country and almost never reached a high tier, it was quick for people to pick up and believe. Noth was pleased at how quickly the noble¡¯s sentiment had turned against the two vile Marquises, but he wasn¡¯t quite done enacting his revenge upon them. Just turning the people against them like this wasn¡¯t going to be good enough, he needed something harsher. In a mocking tone, with wide, childlike eyes and a big smile, Noth began to nail their coffins. ¡°Wow, your [Gifts] are amazing. It might have been later than the rest of you, but the God-dess gave me a [Gift], too. Do you know what it is? They let me be a [Heavenly Monster Slayer].¡± There was a sudden explosion of surprised gasps from the crowd at how highly tiered Noth''s [Gift] was. Many people whispered about how such a thing was possible, or how it was absurd that such a person was only a Count. It seemed that most people present hadn¡¯t heard a single bit of gossip about what his [Gift] had really been until now, and the news was all the more glaring when they had such a low tiered Marquise standing right next to him. The teen looked back and forth between the two men, who looked both outraged and terrified at the situation they¡¯d found themselves in. He leaned in and talked a bit softer, so that they could feel how his next words were meant just for them. ¡°And do you know what we [Monster Slayers] do? We hunt down monsters of all shapes and sizes, even fun ones that try to pretend to be people. And to help us do our jobs, we even know¡­ what those silly monsters are afraid of. For instance, some of the more stupid monsters might simply be afraid of bats.¡± While he made eye contact with Marquise Harold, Noth¡¯s eyes flashed orange with his angel¡¯s powers as he entrusted the other self deep inside of him to guide them correctly. At first the man was only standing there with the same flushed and indignant face that he¡¯d been wearing, but it didn¡¯t take long before he suddenly began to moan and shout in fear, twisting around as if something above him had begun attacking him. Before Tyrell could realize that something was wrong and back away, Noth quickly looked over at his second prey. ¡°...And some of the more pompous monsters only fear their own kind turning against them.¡± Marquise Tyrell looked confused at the strange boy¡¯s meaning. He opened his mouth to try to confront Noth and his oddness once again, but before he could even manage to get a single word out, he was assaulted by a cacophony of whispers. They were even louder than when the crowd had been gossiping over him just a moment ago, and no matter what he did, he couldn¡¯t distract his mind away from the noise. Occasionally he would hear a mocking laugh, or he would turn his head to a voice that had oh-so-clearly whispered his name into his ear, only to find nothing there. As the seconds ticked on he grew more and more paranoid, the sounds driving him slowly more and more mad. It wasn¡¯t even a few minutes later before both of the Marquises had run away, each trying to flee from the fears that were assailing them. Chapter Ninety Six Taking advantage of the confusion he¡¯d caused, Noth took the opportunity to abscond to a balcony near the back of the building before anyone could notice and stop him. He knew if he stayed there for too long he¡¯d be assailed by question after question about everything that transpired, and although he loved to be the one asking the questions, there were few that he actually liked to answer. Of course, if the questions were asked by people he cared about, like his little siblings who still didn¡¯t know a lot about the world, then he would have been happy to share what he knew. But when the questions came from adults¡­ everything became much more complicated than it needed to be. The teen leaned on the railing of the balcony and stared down at the street below. It wasn¡¯t even that tall, maybe only a little bit taller than an average adult¡¯s height off of the ground. He debated whether he should just jump down and go explore the city, since he was sure he¡¯d have much more fun doing that than staying at the party. This was his second visit to the central cathedral''s town, and yet he¡¯d never really gotten a good look at it since he¡¯d always rushed to escape from the proximity of the Pope. It was such a tempting idea to run away from the den of hostility that his biggest threat was lurking inside of. Noth by no means wanted to meet with the Pope. He really didn¡¯t know much about the man, especially what he might do if Noth managed to displease him even more. And if he managed to do something wrong enough in such a public place with so many witnesses, it¡¯s possible that the crafty Pope might just find a way to turn the entire country against him. Noth was sure the only reason that the man hadn¡¯t done such a thing yet was because of the fake [Gift] that the God-dess had ¡®given¡¯ to him. In the end, it seems the Pope was just as wary of him as he was of the Pope. Neither of the two really knew what cards the other was hiding, or what lengths they were willing to go, and such a thing was immensely frightening. There was a time when Helt had asked him what was stopping him from just using his powers to get rid of the Pope. The children had praised him many times for how amazingly powerful his [Gift] was, and they never understood why he had to be under the thumb of the church as much as he seemed to. When he¡¯d explained about Ren¡¯s [Gift] and the fact that the Pope had lied about what it was and why, they¡¯d immediately hated the man. It certainly didn¡¯t help the Pope¡¯s case that he¡¯d also sent many assassins and spies to their big brother Noth, either, so he understood why the children were also anxious for such a Pope to be gone. And knowing how strong Noth had become recently, it certainly begged the question of why he was leaving such a danger alone. However, Noth knew the truth. He knew it from his mother¡¯s death, and he knew it now more than ever after his confrontation with the Marquises. The Pope was a dangerous and unscrupulous enough man that he could easily endanger the people who mattered to Noth. Where was his father right now, who should have escorted him to his first noble gathering? The Earl was sent away to fight a meaningless battle on the Pope¡¯s orders. Who did the odious nobles bring up to hurt him? The children whom he loved like his own flesh and blood. Noth could certainly protect himself. But could he protect everyone who mattered to him against a man with an entire nation under him? Sure, Noth could have teleported into range and wished the man dead at any moment, but the repercussions of such an action would be far too devastating right now. The Pope surely knows that Noth is dangerous, or he wouldn¡¯t have cared about him enough to arrange this little event he was currently at. Before, when he was just an irritant, the Pope never went out of his way to get a look at him. But now¡­ Now the Pope was making sure to get a good look at the threat that he so loathed. Would such a man not inform his closest aids about Noth? Would he not leave orders on what to do should he suddenly inexplicably die? No, of course he¡¯d have some kind of plan against such an unknown. How could he possibly have been capable of ruling Odessia, a nation full of all kinds of [Gifts], and not have some sort of failsafe against each of them? Sure, he didn¡¯t know exactly what Noth could do, but that didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t have at least something prepared. And the possibility that that something could be catastrophic for Noth and his family was quite high. Noth could make any amount of proud boasts about his power and what he could pull off, but he knew that he could never 100% protect against the unknown. After all, didn¡¯t he lose Elillith in his past life because he believed in his power too much? He believed that his enemies only wanted him, and turned a blind eye to what they could have done to the other people who surrounded him instead. He didn¡¯t want to have to go through the torment of watching his loved ones slip away right in front of him again. He knew that when you have something to protect, you have to be cautious. This was why Noth was laying as low as he had been. ¡­Well, all of that is what he¡¯d like to believe, and for the most part it was true. However, Noth always tried to ignore the fact that the real reason he hadn¡¯t done anything was because he was scared that it wouldn¡¯t work. Truly, it would be easy to rid himself of the Pope with just one or two quick wishes. His wishes may have had a restriction on their range, but it would be easy to bypass such a thing by teleporting. His angel was truly powerful. Sure, the country may have been thrown out of whack if he did it, and maybe the Pope¡¯s aides would point the finger at him and turn everyone against him. But if the previous Noth could stop everything that the Pope had thrown at him before from the safety of the Keiran manor with just strength alone, then the current Noth could certainly keep Sleekka safe from whoever might come after him too, right? But that¡¯s only if Noth were ignoring two key facts. 1, in his previous life, the Pope didn¡¯t really care about him enough to send the full force of the nation after him, and only sent Kess and his crew, who eventually won. And more importantly 2, no Pope had ever been assassinated before. Most people believe that the Pope¡¯s only [Gift] was the right through the church to rule over the nation. They believed it to be similar to the [King] [Gift], except meant for theocracies. Very few people knew what it really meant to be a [Pope]. The general public simply believed that the successive Popes had just been well guarded all their lives, never leaving the safety of the church, and for the most part it was true. But Noth knew better. Even a [King]¡¯s [Gift] had a use besides verifying their right to rule. Few [Gifts] were so one sided. [Kings] were strong, smart, and charismatic, and all of these were supported by their God-dess given [Gift]. So then what do the [Popes] get? What was it that¡¯s so special about them? Unfortunately for Noth, his greatest enemy had the one thing that his wishes wouldn¡¯t be able to beat. The teen¡¯s eyes shifted to the brooding angel that was sitting on the railing with her arms crossed. His mind wandered to the tapestry of angels he¡¯d been shown, remembering each of their distinctive looks and unique powers. Angels. Indestructible, powerful angels. It didn¡¯t matter their type; Each one, being a piece of the God-dess, contained amazing god-like abilities. Some might have been better at it than others, but all angels had the ability to protect their chosen person to perform their God-dess given duties. Even if Serris was a one of a kind unique angel, that didn¡¯t mean that she had the power to just kill off another of her ilk. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Noth had no idea what type of angel the Pope would be able to summon to protect himself, but he knew that no matter which angel appeared, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use Serris¡¯s powers to harm it. Recently Noth had finally gotten control of the demonic powers that were resting inside of him, thanks to the help of his previous consciousness. He could feel the clashing of the very two distinct energies, fighting for dominance. He¡¯d wondered on many occasions if this new power would be able to give him a chance against the angels, especially with the fact that it had the ability to change a creature into something else, like the shadow cats he''d made. If he could possibly infect and change the angels into some kind of other offshoot, then there was a chance that he might be able to remove the Pope¡¯s protection once and for all. However, a cat and an angel were vastly different levels of existence, and the amount of demonic energy he was actually able to control wasn¡¯t nearly enough just yet to damage an angel. He was able to use some of it with the guidance of his previous self, but¡­ Noth was reminded of the incident with the Marquises just now. The only reason he¡¯d been able to use Serris¡¯s madness in the minor way that he had was because of the way the previous Noth had helped him to control it. He¡¯d even used the demonic power to do it, which didn¡¯t make sense to Noth. Wasn¡¯t his angel¡¯s power based on the God-dess¡¯s divine energy? How could one be substituted to control the other? Serris had been moping ever since it had happened, muttering that ¡®It wasn¡¯t supposed to be used like that¡¯. Noth could easily tell how frustrated the angel was that her full madness hadn¡¯t been used. She usually got so excited when he used her true powers, so the fact that she was upset now must have meant something, although Noth wasn¡¯t able to fully understand what. On the other hand, the previous Noth inside of him felt as if he were smiling like a king on top of a hill. He seemed truly pleased to have shown off his strength in front of so many people. ¡­Perhaps old habits aren¡¯t easy to get over, even if his [Gift] is gone. Maybe its impulses were still implanted on his very soul. It was true that at first Noth felt proud that he¡¯d one-upped the two disgusting men, but after going away and cooling down for a while, he was starting to feel like he¡¯d chosen a very childish and dangerous way of handling the situation. He¡¯d let the goading of his angel, his past self, and the two Marquises''s awful words, get to him, and he¡¯d made a risky display right under the Pope¡¯s nose. He wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d do now if the Pope decided to call him out for it later. If the man was clever enough and found a way to prove what had happened, he could use it to pin quite a few crimes onto Noth. ¡­The teen couldn¡¯t help but think that maybe he really should have just left already and taken his chances. Noth sighed, trying to give up on his impulses to run away. Staying there and wallowing in his worries of possible consequences wasn¡¯t going to help him right now. He straightened up and looked at his angel and her infinitely pouting face. If Noth was going to be facing the Pope soon, then he¡¯d rather have Serris ready to help him, instead of just pouting that she hadn¡¯t gotten her way. ¡°Why¡¯re you so upset? You technically got what you wanted.¡± The angry angel grabbed a hold of Noth¡¯s collar, shaking the teen as she raged. The fact that he barely reacted to her antics and kept an unimpressed look on his face the whole time only made Serris pout all the more. She narrowed her eyes and grumbled out her words as she finally let him go. What, frustrated? Noth couldn¡¯t help but think that he felt frustrated by Serris constantly, though. As she sensed his rude thoughts, Serris scoffed and rolled her eyes. Serris let out a short laugh as her eyes slowly turned back to him, and her tone took a turn for the mocking. <...Maybe that ''lovely'' Jean could help teach you about it.> ¡°WHAT?!¡± Noth finally lost his composed look, his eyes growing wide and his face morphing in disbelief. ¡°God-dess, Serris, not you too! Are you really going to joke about such things after what just happened?! You¡¯re just as bad as those rotten geezers!¡± The angel easily exploded into laughter at the teen¡¯s reaction. She rolled weightlessly through the air and held her sides as she remembered the cute little show he¡¯d put on during the meeting. Noth glared at her and crossed his arms as he waited for the guffawing Serris to stop, and eventually she gracefully floated down and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, nuzzling her hair against his own as she let out the last of her giggles. Noth stiffened up and looked completely taken aback. His eyes hardened, and his words were almost a growl. ¡°How can you be defending them? That¡¯s right, even you¡¯ve tried to say such things to me before, haven¡¯t you¡­ Do you really think I would do such a vile thing?!¡± Serris let him go and put her hand on her cheek as if she were really rethinking the way she¡¯d raised him all this time, leaving the unsurprisingly baffled Noth with a completely bewildered visage. ¡°W-what in the world are you-?¡± ¡°I cannot believe you¡¯d- ¡­She¡¯s almost my mother¡¯s age!¡± The angel¡¯s eyes suddenly took a turn for the teasing, and she coquettishly came forward, running her fingers through his hair as she took hold of his head. Their faces were only a hand¡¯s width away. <...Or maybe if it was me?> Noth was frozen in place for a few seconds as his mind tried to decipher what was happening to him, but soon he stared at her with an obvious mix of disgust and disbelief and pushed the angel away. ¡°Aren¡¯t you even older?!¡± Once again the angel burst with laughter, leaving Noth to keep staring in bewilderment at her with the odd face he¡¯d made. That is, until the balcony door opened up, and an unknown man strolled in. Chapter Ninety Seven Noth froze as a stranger entered the balcony. He hoped that he hadn¡¯t been caught interacting with his angel. He didn¡¯t really care if the other nobles thought he was crazy or anything since they already had such a low opinion of him, but having anyone who might be reporting to the Pope mention that he had been talking to something invisible was a little risky. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t mean to startle you or anything.¡± The young man put on an apologetic smile and took a few slow steps towards Noth. ¡°I heard your voice coming from this direction and I had hoped I might find you here.¡± Noth looked him up and down and straightened up as he assessed this new opponent. This person could have easily been sent to find and harass him for whatever reason, or maybe he had come looking for Noth to tell him it was time for the ceremony. There was even a distant possibility that he¡¯d secretly been sent by the Prophet, who Noth had lost contact with. ¡°...And might I ask why you were looking for me?¡± The young man chuckled as if Noth was being silly, and raised both of his hands to signal that he was harmless. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so stiff, we¡¯re both nobles and we¡¯re around the same age. It¡¯s not like I came to be rude to you like you must think; I just¡­ I came hoping that the two of us could possibly talk.¡± The still completely stiff and distrusting look on Noth¡¯s face didn¡¯t go away. The young man let out a little sighing laugh like he was accepting his defeat, but then he moved to join Noth next to the railing, leaning his back on it in a casual way. He flashed Noth a disarming smile and then looked up into the sky, letting his words float up above them as he talked. ¡°I really liked how you stood up to that pair of dirty old men. Most of us younger nobles really didn¡¯t care for the way they liked to lord over everyone else, so I¡¯m sure you have a bunch of secret supporters right now. I know my sister certainly seemed to be rooting for you from the start, but she always did like an underdog.¡± Noth crossed his arms and joined in on leaning against the railing, but it was obvious from his face wasn¡¯t terribly impressed with what he was hearing. ¡°No one ¡®supported¡¯ me enough to step up and do anything when I needed it though. I don¡¯t need such useless supporters.¡± ¡°Hah, understandable.¡± The young man turned his head to give Noth a quick apologetic smile, and then moved to lean his side on the railing so that he could fully look at Noth. ¡°Well what if it¡¯s not a supporter but a friend? Like I said, I was really impressed. Rilly- Oh sorry, that¡¯s my sister¡¯s nickname. Riln urged me to go and make friends with you. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I had the same idea as her, but she¡¯s especially pushy about it. Oh, and I¡¯m ¡®Mark¡¯ by the way. Noble names and all that. I¡¯ll never get used to it. You¡¯re, um, Noct, right?¡± Noth nodded, letting his walls down just a tad. He knew he couldn¡¯t trust a noble just showing up and talking to him like this, especially not here at the noble¡¯s gathering designed to put him in his place. However, hearing how affectionately the man talked about his sister, how uneasy he was with the new naming just like Noth was, along with his casual and friendly demeanour, they all were chipping away at Noth¡¯s defences. No one had ever been so immediately friendly to Noth in his life, so it was quite the unusual meeting. But if he was truly being honest with himself, the biggest reason that he wanted to give this young man, Mark, a chance was because of his angel¡¯s suggestion of finding a friend his own age here. It made meeting Mark like this seem as if it was fated to happen. He knew that he was being sloppy. He knew that he should have still been vigilant in this den of snakes. But what harm could be done if he just gave Mark a simple chance? ¡°...Yes, it¡¯s Noct now¡­ I also feel awkward with the new names. It¡¯s nice to meet you, Mark.¡± Mark smiled brilliantly, looking ecstatic that Noth seemed to be opening up to him. He leaned a little bit closer to Noth, and spoke just a bit softer, making their conversation feel slightly more intimate than before. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you too, friend. Hey, look over to the doorway. Do you see the person who¡¯s trying to be sneaky about peeking in at us?¡± Noth¡¯s peered over to the entrance of the balcony. He hadn¡¯t noticed before, but there really was someone trying to stealthily look in on them. He narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better view of the person, but the only thing Noth could make out was a long black veil and the hem of a lacy black dress. ¡°That¡¯s Rilly.¡± Mark chuckled and smiled affectionately. ¡°Excuse her for hiding like that. She has to wear a veil to protect herself from the sunlight because of her [Gift], and since she grew up getting teased about it, it made her terribly shy about meeting new people.¡± It wasn¡¯t uncommon that someone¡¯s [Gift] came with some sort of a side effect. Some were more severe, like Helt¡¯s, but some were simply an occupational development that lightly affected one''s life. Many [Maids] developed OCD, many [Seamstresses] developed thick skin on their hands, and many [Gardeners] grew anxious in areas that lacked any plants. There were plenty of cases for such things, so it wasn¡¯t so odd of a topic. However, Noth¡¯s curiosity flared up drastically as he wondered what kind of [Gift] would cause photosensitivity like that. Perhaps a kind of nocturnal [Gift], or one that forced a person to get little to no sun like a [Miner]? Noth desperately wanted to ask, but he knew it would have been extremely rude to ask about the [Gift] of someone he hadn¡¯t even really met. If he were alone he might have immediately turned to Serris to wish for an answer, but now he had Mark, his new friend, next to him, so there was no opportunity. Mark could easily tell from Noth¡¯s face that his curiosity was eating him up. He smiled and looked for a second like he might tease Noth over how obvious he was being, but soon he just smiled and turned towards his sister once more. ¡°You know, this actually has to do with why my sister wanted me to go talk to you so badly. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I just want to be your friend, but my sister has ulterior motives with this. She¡¯s a mineral researcher by trade, you see, and you, my dear new friend-¡± Mark looked at Noth out of the corner of his eyes and poked his shoulder. ¡°-You, have the only volcano in all of Odessia in your land.¡± Noth looked confused for a moment about what Mark could mean, but nodded and looked back and forth between the two siblings. ¡°Your sister wants to see the volcano?¡± ¡°Well not just her, it¡¯s the both of us. She used to read me stories about different amazing places when we were younger. She¡¯s older than me, you see, and our parents weren¡¯t always around. Ever since she became a researcher, we¡¯ve gone to every one of those pretty landscapes we could find, and my sister would learn about the minerals there to her heart¡¯s content. Now there¡¯s only two of them left that we still haven¡¯t been to: The sea and a volcano. Odessia doesn¡¯t have a sea, but you know what it does have?¡± Mark smiled cheesily at Noth, and Noth couldn¡¯t help the way the corner of his mouth rose up. ¡°So you two want my permission to come to Sleekka.¡± ¡°Yup! It¡¯s illegal for one noble to visit another without getting permission first, you know. We wanted to go right after I became old enough to be a noble two years ago, but there wasn¡¯t anyone in Sleekka to get permission from. And also, well, there were a whole bunch of demons roaming about the place!¡± Noth easily nodded, understanding his logic. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind you two coming to look at the volcano, so long as you both promise to stay out of trouble. But there¡¯s no inn in my territory, so unless you¡¯re okay with staying in a house in the town on your own¡­¡± ¡°Why would I do that when I could just visit my new friend¡¯s place?¡± Mark¡¯s cheeky smile somehow smoothly washed away any resentment Noth could have felt over his pushiness. He wasn¡¯t even surprised how easy it was to smile along with the bright and playful young man. ¡°Yes, that would probably be for the best. Just make sure you don¡¯t do anything to distress my siblings, please.¡± Mark¡¯s eyes widened for a split second, but then his smiley, happy-go-lucky look quickly returned. ¡°Oh wow. Rilly¡¯s gonna be so happy. Would a week from now be alright?¡± Noth nodded, and Mark jumped happily away from the railing. ¡°A Baron being invited to the territory of a Count! Boy, I¡¯m sure moving up in the world; What would the other Barons think?¡± The young man gave Noth one last playful wink before rushing off towards the door and gleefully calling for his sister. ¡°Rilly! He said yes! We get to go!¡± The heartwarming scene brought a soft smile to Noth¡¯s face. He was starting to miss his own siblings after seeing how much Mark seemed to care for his sister. Thinking of family reminded him of how his own mother had also been a Baron, just like Mark is. The teen was convinced that for all he disliked the nobles so far, Barons must be alright overall. He wondered what Mark''s [Gift] was. He was sure it would be interesting when his new friend decided to tell him about it. Chapter Ninety Eight Serris gave Noth an endless flood of hugs and nuzzles after his interaction with Mark. She repeatedly told him that he did the right thing, and thanked him profusely for letting the siblings come over. It felt excessive, and made Noth wonder in embarrassment why she felt the need to go to such lengths over such a thing. Only minutes later after Mark had left, sounds of someone walking nearby reverberated out to the balcony. At first Noth thought that it might have been Mark once again, back with his sister that he¡¯d now convinced to say hello, but sadly it was just an unknown man. The smile that had been threatening to come back onto his face quickly fell away as the man in servant¡¯s clothes slightly bowed and spoke with his gaze on the floor. ¡°Count Noct, the Pope is sending for you. It¡¯s time for the ceremony to begin.¡± Noth straightened up and walked past the servant, back into the halls of the building. His face grew more and more stiff with every turn he took, and his beating heart was loud enough to overpower every other sound. It was time. It was finally time. In both of his lives he¡¯d never met the man in the background who¡¯d sent all of this ill-will his way. He¡¯d imagined what the Pope would look like several times; Maybe a sickly looking old man, or perhaps a dignified gentleman who commanded respect with a glance. So many different images of the clergy he¡¯d heard about or met had fluttered through his mind¡¯s eye whenever he thought of the Pope. And now, he¡¯d finally have a face to put with all of the animosity. Unlike the main room where the noble meeting was being held, the ceremony was to be held inside a chapel, so that the God-dess could preside over it and bless whoever was being awarded. Noth was sure it was all just tradition, though, and he highly doubted that the busy and uncaring God-dess actually handed out any ¡®blessings¡¯ in such a place. Odessia being a theocracy named after the holy being didn¡¯t somehow make it more special than anywhere else, and this wasn¡¯t considered some kind of holy land, and there were at least 3 other countries that also had Popes born into them, although they were all decently far away from each other. Even the angel floating next to Noth laughed at the idea that the God-dess would care about some silly medal ceremony. The nobles who had been so busy gossiping and tittering about Noth before were now sitting quietly with respectful looks on their faces, conforming to etiquette. It made Noth want to roll his eyes to see them all pretend that they were good and fair nobles while they sat in this ¡®holy¡¯ space. He was sure more of them did it out of fear of the church than they did out of fear of the God-dess. Or maybe they really thought that the two were the same thing. Yes, Noth had to agree with her words. In a way, this was even more eerie and off putting than them openly showing their hostility. He was certain this must be another one of the Pope¡¯s schemes to unnerve him, but unlike the previous one, he wasn¡¯t really sure how to respond. With his body tense, Noth came to the bottom of the long stairs leading up to the lectern, and knelt down in front of it just as his etiquette lessons from years ago had taught him to do. A short while after, a clattering sound of doors opening filled up the vacant air of the chapel, and finally, for the first time since the gathering had started, the Pope made his appearance. Noth¡¯s eyes locked on to him, taking in every single speck of his visage as he could. Oddly enough, even though he tried his best to not let a single possible clue about the man pass him by, Noth sadly could only make a single judgement about him: The Pope really looked like he was just a kindly, ageing old grandpa. He looked harmless and carefree enough that Noth almost wanted to believe that there must have been some other kind of dastardly villain behind the Pope, forcing him to do all those awful things to Noth. ¡°Ah, we finally meet, young hero.¡± The Pope smiled as if he were meeting his young grandchild that he hadn¡¯t gotten to see in a very long time. Noth had to fight against himself not to show his confusion on his face. Nothing he¡¯d imagined had seemed so friendly and kind. He¡¯d expected his archenemy to look like a cunning mastermind, or a seedy and perverted looking old man, but¡­ He really wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to this. He had to keep reminding himself that this man was the one who repeatedly ripped his life to shreds, lest he be disarmed and fall into the trap of this sinister Pope. Despite Noth¡¯s lack of a reply, the Pope simply kept giving his carefree smile. He looked past Noth, to the crowd of nobles sitting quietly in the pews, and raised his arms elegantly as he addressed them. ¡°My dear nobles, thank you all for coming on this glorious and auspicious day. I hope that you¡¯ve all been well in the time that I haven¡¯t seen you, and I pray that this meeting has helped you all to continue your bonds as nobility, and to strive for even higher and greater heights together.¡± Noth¡¯s eyes narrowed at the Pope¡¯s slowly recited words, and he could hear Serris a short way behind him make an unimpressed gagging sound. Perhaps it could have been passed off as just a typical start to a speech, but having gone through the organized taunting that he¡¯d experienced earlier, Noth couldn¡¯t think of it as anything but the Pope lightly rubbing what he¡¯d done in Noth¡¯s face. ¡°We are gathered here, today, in this most sacred of chapels, to recognize the deeds of Count Noct, who has done a great service not only for his own territory of Sleekka, but also for Odessia as a whole. Young, and new to the ways of a noble though he is, he willingly chose to risk himself to protect us all, and wiped out the demonic threat that had made its home in the volcanic region. Now the vast lands of Sleekka will be open and safe for all residents and visitors, and our country can once more feel at peace!¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The speech sounded so good and proper on paper, but Noth was smart enough to read between the lines of the Pope¡¯s words. The demons might have been an insurmountable problem up until now, but they really only ever interfered with Sleekka, which wasn¡¯t all that important of a territory, so Noth¡¯s contribution to the entirety of Odessia was actually quite mediocre. He was also being referred to as young and, just like the rude duo he¡¯d met earlier had repeatedly said to him, under-educated. And then there was the final snide remark hidden in the speech where he said the land would now be safe for visitors, although everyone knew full well that few would actually want to go to such a hot and humid wasteland like Sleekka. Yes, appearances were quite deceiving. This old man indeed disliked Noth, no matter how shinily he dressed his words up. The crowd politely clapped for the Pope¡¯s speech. Noth was sure that it didn¡¯t matter at all what the Pope had been talking about, let alone Noth''s own demon slaying heroics; They would have all clapped even if the Pope had just told them he was going to burn down every orphanage in the vicinity, just to keep up their appearances. When the clapping was finished, the Pope slowly descended the stairs, stopping one step above Noth, as per tradition. Noth gladly bowed his head, not wanting to have to look at the old sloth in front of him anymore. The first impression that he¡¯d had upon looking at the Pope had already quickly morphed during his condescending speech, and now instead of the kindly old grandpa that he¡¯d seen before, only a slow and drooping sloth with its face stuck in a smile remained. Noth could feel the sloth gently pinning the medal onto his shoulder. He held in a sigh, wishing that this could all be over faster, and finally raised his head when he thought that the Pope was moving away from him. However, unlike what he¡¯d thought, the Pope hadn¡¯t moved quite as far away as he would have liked, and was instead still close and looking down on Noth from within whispering distance away. ¡°There. Wear this lovely medal with pride, young one. Take it back home and show it to your family; I¡¯m sure the Earl would be delighted to see such a thing.¡± It was hard for Noth to keep his face composed with such a taunt said to him by the very man who¡¯d sent his father off to war just weeks prior. He wanted to say something back, something witty and knowing, something that would sting the Pope in a similar way as he felt he¡¯d been stung. If anything, what he really wanted was a clear victory over the old Sloth who¡¯d been harming him his whole life, even if it was just a tiny, verbal one. At times like these, Noth tended to rely on his angel. Noth glanced back at Serris, hoping to prompt her for her help. However, his gaze met with something he rarely ever saw: His angel was biting her lip, looking aggravated as if she were stuck between a rock and a hard spot. It almost seemed as if something were blinding her, or maybe she just had a hard time looking at it. When her semi-closed eyes noticed his worried glancing, Serris shook her head and turned to look away so he couldn¡¯t see her face anymore. Seeing her shoulders lightly shake, Noth quickly forgot any frustration or malice he felt towards the Pope in front of him. Instead, worry blossomed from deep inside of him for his angel. What did she know, what had she seen, that seemed to have shaken her so? He knew he should be fearful of the Pope, but was he really so scary that even Serris, who only ever seemed to fear the God-dess, would also be afraid? Or¡­ Was it perhaps the Pope¡¯s protector behind him that she was fearful of? Noth looked warily back to the Pope in front of him, who had been tilting his head softly, once again looking like a harmless old man as he calmly awaited Noth¡¯s response. What choice did Noth have but gritting his teeth and nodding in agreement? This was the Pope¡¯s home turf, where he held all of the power, and the peons watching behind Noth that the Pope had handed positions of power to were not going to let him get away with a single bit of disrespect here. ¡°...Yes, thank you for the honour, my Pope.¡± *** ¡°Huh¡­ I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d give up so easily. It¡¯s kind of sad to watch, right Rilly?¡± Mark peered in through the back door, lazily resting himself against the doorframe. He thanked his lucky stars that only Counts and above were required to sit in the chapel and attend such boring ceremonies. There should have been a guard here to stop eavesdroppers like them from peeping in, but- ¡°Come, it¡¯s time we make our leave before the rest of them decide the same.¡± ¡°Yes, sister.¡± Mark stood up straight in reflex and bowed his head to his sister Riln. She turned her head for one last long look into the chapel before walking past Mark and heading towards the exit. Mark followed after her obediently, a few steps back, but he could only manage to hold his tongue until they¡¯d made it to the next hallway. ¡°Sister, are you sure you want to leave without meeting him? You were so adamant about getting in contact with him.¡± Riln didn¡¯t stop her march towards the exit, but Mark could tell that her steps had indeed slowed down a tad at his words. She never turned to look back at him, but the smile on her lips was easy to hear, even through her veil. ¡°Yes¡­ It¡¯s a pity, but now¡¯s not the time. We¡¯ll be seeing him in a week, won¡¯t we? Waiting that long for a chance to pick such a brilliant gem like him is well worth it, don¡¯t you think?¡± Mark smiled wryly, having nothing to respond. Soon his sister swirled around, the mass of the black lace that decorated her skirt spinning beautifully after her. She put her hand on his cheek tenderly, and he could make out the shining purple irises of her eyes peering sinisterly at him through her veil. ¡°You¡¯ll help me, won¡¯t you Mark? You¡¯ll help your sister get the pretty new gem just like always, right?¡± And just like always, there was no option for Mark to say no. Chapter Ninety Nine ¡°Noth¡¯s finally bringing a friend over! I¡¯m so excited!¡± Serris and Ren peacefully sat together in the back of the garden, the angel¡¯s long invisible fingers running through the small girl¡¯s hair as she slowly braided it. ¡°Is she being jealous? I thought she was just working really hard to make sure everything would be perfect.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah, she does that sometimes. I really hope she¡¯s not jealous, though.¡± ¡°Um¡­ I don¡¯t think I am. I sure hope I¡¯m not¡­¡± The angel chuckled and gently tugged on the freshly completed braid, bringing it forward for Ren to see. Ren ran her little fingers over the offered braid, feeling the texture as she looked down and tried to hide her softly blushing face. Serris stared down at her lovingly, and patted the shy girl¡¯s head for a while. Trying to cut away the tingly atmosphere, Ren chose to push the conversation forwards. ¡°Still, I¡¯m really happy for Noth. He¡¯s been opening up to the townspeople lately, but not as much as he opens up to us, and¡­ And it must be hard not having anyone his own age to talk to. Helt told me that¡­¡± Serris sighed, wrapping her arms around the small cute girl and resting her head on top of Ren¡¯s fluffy ashen hair. ¡°Huh???¡± Ren turned her head towards the seemingly invisible air, looking surprised and confused at the sudden praise that had been pushed upon her. ¡°I-I¡¯m not that good at all! I still think bad thoughts all the time, really!¡± ¡°Uuuu~...¡± Ren looked back down to the ground, her hands coming up to cover her flushing face. ¡°I¡¯m not that good, really I¡¯m not. But, but¡­ Thank you.¡± Serris nuzzled her face against the cute girl, squeezing her in their hug just a tad bit tighter for a moment, before she reluctantly pulled away. She came around to the front of the small bashful girl, gently removing the hands that covered her blushing face and holding them into her own in a semi-firm grip. ¡°Huh? Um, maybe. What do I need to do?¡± <...Someone bad is about to come to visit us, a very bad and evil woman. And if she sees you, she¡¯s going to steal you away.> ¡°What?! Oh no, we have to tell Noth! We can¡¯t let them come!¡± Ren tried to spring up so she could run and find Noth, but Serris¡¯s firm grip on the girl made it impossible for her to go. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°But¡­ Are you sure we can¡¯t tell Noth? If it¡¯s him, he can keep us safe.¡± Ren¡¯s eyes widened, and she desperately looked up to where she guessed that her invisible friend¡¯s eyes would be. ¡°...Noth¡¯s new friend isn¡¯t the evil woman, are they?¡± The small girl looked like all the tension had drained from her as she drooped in relief; She¡¯d been absolutely terrified of how she could break the news to Noth about the new friend he¡¯d been looking forward to meeting. But soon her flagging body re-stiffened, and her gaze went back up to search for her friend¡¯s. ¡°...Then how will I know who the evil lady is?¡± ¡°And Helt will be okay¡­?¡± ¡°Are you sure? I¡­ I don¡¯t want Helt getting hurt in my place.¡± Serris hugged Ren once more, and pressed her forehead against the small girl¡¯s. Ren couldn''t see Serris, but the pained look on the angel¡¯s face would have been enough to make Ren cry just from seeing it if she could. Ren looked like she wasn¡¯t fully convinced, and her eyes searched the ground as if she were looking for the right solution. Serris hugged her a bit tighter, and her voice shook as she pleaded with the small ashen girl. The sincerity in her begging voice made Ren give up and make her choice. If her friend was sure that this was what she needed to do, then she would try to do it for her as best that she could. Her heart couldn¡¯t just ignore the pleas of a friend who¡¯d been so kind to her and kept her company through these past years. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re sure that Helt won¡¯t get hurt, then¡­ I¡¯ll do it.¡± <...Thank you, Ren. Thank you. And¡­> Serris had to stop herself before she choked out the words ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡¯. *** From the moment Noth had received the letter stating that Mark and his sister Rilly were going to arrive the next day, he¡¯d been nothing but flustered, excited, and vigilant. He searched through the mansion, double-checking the shadow cat¡¯s cleaning work. He¡¯d never particularly cared how dirty or weathered anything might look, but for some reason his eyes were drawn to every nook and cranny in worry that he might find something that would stand out to their special guests. He¡¯d talked with the first shadow cat multiple times, reassuring that the cats knew to hide their true selves for the duration of the visit, and in the end it was decided they would just stay as cats in the villa, where Mark and Rilly would be kept away from, so no accidents would occur. On the afternoon when the siblings were set to arrive, Noth, Ren, Helt, Jean, and Elillith all gathered in front of the mansion to await their guests. They watched as the carriage slowly made its way through the town, and talked amongst themselves in giddiness and anticipation. Jean might have been trying her best to look pleasant and dignified, like a high ranking maid, but the unhappy glint in her eye gave away her irritation. Helt seemed unbothered by the situation for the most part, but occasionally he would ask questions to Noth for clarification, or would send Jean a slightly exasperated glance. Ren was holding on to a fistful of his sleeve and refused to leave his side, half hiding herself behind him as if she were shy. And Elillith was¡­ Well, she was just Elillith, as always. In a way, Elillith¡¯s perpetual nonchalance no matter the situation was a beacon of stability for Noth. When the carriage finally reached the mansion and the coachman came down to open the door, a nervous silence pervaded the area. However, that silence was easily broken the moment that the ever cheerful Mark sprung out and stretched his legs while reaching up and looking at the sky. ¡°Ah finally! We were cooped up inside that thing for forever! I was starting to think we¡¯d never get to leave!¡± When he brought his head back down, he shot Noth a big beaming smile, and he goofily waved his hands like a child towards his friend. ¡°It¡¯s been a week, Noct!¡± Noth let a small smile grow on his face at the young man¡¯s antics, and he waved back, although much more slowly and reserved. ¡°It has, Mark. Welcome to my territory. I hope Sleekka isn¡¯t as hard on the eyes as you might have expected.¡± ¡°Oh no; Actually while we were driving through town, Rilly and I were talking about how pretty and new all of the houses and everything looked- Oh right, Rilly!¡± Mark looked back towards the carriage, and put his hand out towards the door in a fancy, refined motion. A hand clad in a long, black glove that shined like silk and caught everyone''s eye gracefully took hold of the offered hand, and soon a woman clad in black lacy silk from head to toe made her way down from the carriage. She looked gorgeous, like some kind of doll that only a noble or rich merchant could have ever possessed, and the large black slightly translucent veil that she wore over her head came down to her elbows, mysteriously shrouding her in a way that kept the viewer guessing. Noth knew he wasn¡¯t the only one marvelling over her beautiful visage. Mark cheerfully broke through the awe-filled silence, used to such situations. ¡°This is my sister, Rilly! Oh, um, but I guess you can just call her Riln.¡±