《Fools of Fate》


 Chapter 1 - Confession Gone Wrong

    ¡°There is a fair moon out.¡± (Unknown)


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s beautiful Jake¡­¡± (Unknown)


    The pair look at the moon while the gentle breeze lightly sways the trees. The soft sounds of insects permeate the meadow.


    ¡°Claire...¡± The young boy looks away from the moon and towards the girl. The girl who could potentially be his everything. The girl whom he just can¡¯t stop thinking about since they first met in middle school. The blonde hair, the cute ribbon, her sly smile...


    ¡°Yes Jake?¡± (Claire)


    She said, still looking at the moon.


    ¡°Why did you call me out here?¡± (Jake)


    He said slightly nervous, yet trying not to expect too much. For him, hope has a funny way of crashing down around him.


    Claire turns toward him with a sly smile on her face.


    "I¡¯m sure you can imagine why a girl would call a boy out here.¡± (Claire)


    Imagine he certainly did. Hell, he had been imagining since he got that text at eleven at night and during the walk over here. He definitelycouldimagine. But he had a sneaking suspicion that something was up. I mean wouldn¡¯t you be slightly suspicious if averycute girl, who never really talked to you before, suddenly sent you a text to meet her somewhere alone?


    ¡°...¡± (Jake)


    He kept silent, yet his cheeks would admit what his mouth would not.


    Claire giggled. ¡°I want to go out with you Jake.¡± (Claire)


    His brain froze. Time seemed to stand still for him.SHE WHAT?!It took him a minute to jump start his thoughts and slow down the jack hammer called his heart.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Claire¡­I...I would-¡± (Jack)


    Sssssip.Something zipped by and he felt a stinging sensation on his neck. He never got to finish what he was saying before he fell face first into the ground. He looked up and saw that Claire also had a hand on her neck and a weird expression. His vison was too blurry to make out the details, however he thought he saw a smile before she fell¡­then nothing.


    Jake slowly opened his eyes before he looked around the room. Or attempted to anyway. His vision was still blurry and his limbs felt like lead. That AND he had the most massive headache ever. There was this one night his dad let him try to drink a bit of Tennessee whisky and he drank down the entire glass¡­to prove that he could of course. The next morning, he had quite the hangover. Being 12 didn¡¯t exactly give him the greatest alcohol tolerance, and he never threw up, so all that whisky stayed in his system. This current headache makes that one look cute by comparison.


    ¡°Ugh...¡±


    He laid on the hard floor for some time until his mind cleared. Slowly, he could feel himself getting better. His vision wasn¡¯t as blurry and he could at least feel that he had limbs. Even if those limbs felt like they have been asleep for hours. He forced himself to sit up against a wall and took a look at his surroundings.


    ¡°Where is this?¡±


    He looked around the room and saw that he was in a small rectangular area. There was an old-fashioned ceiling lamp hanging from its cord. The slight sway lit his surroundings with a dull yellow glow.


    ¡°A basement?¡± He saw these fuzzy lines all around him and tried to touch one. They werecoldand hard.


    ¡°A cage¡­.¡± He corrected himself.


    He felt the solid bars around him and a strange square box on one side.Probably some kind of lock.


    Then he remembered Claire. When he did, his adrenaline flooded into his body. His vision cleared somewhat, but everything still was swirling around him in different hues and colors while his limbs slowly came back to life¡­ Albeit the prickling feeling remained in his arms and legs.


    Jake looked around and saw similar cages to his. He kept looking around for her but didn¡¯t see her at all.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t see anyone. All of the cages were empty except for maybe a thin worn out cloth in a few. Some had scratches while others had stains¡­ Stains of varying shades of red, while the further cages fluidly warped themselves beyond recognition due to the something in his bloodstream. He did not get a good feeling about this place. Fortunately, he was too inebriated to properly get a grip on himself so he didn¡¯t start to panic.


    After some time looking at the otherwise empty room, a door slowly creaked open...

 Chapter 2 - Fleeting Peace

    ¡°JAKE!¡±


    Jake snapped out of his daydream from the loud voice next to his ear.


    ¡°Oh. Hey Tim, didn¡¯t see you there.¡±


    ¡°You feeling okay Jake? If you need to go to the infirmary, I''ll let the teacher know.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Tim but I¡¯m alright. Just thinking about some things, you know how it is.¡±


    ¡°Seriously you should talk to someone about what happened bro. It¡¯s not good to keep it in, especially with what they found down there. That and it¡¯s weird you know? It¡¯s like you came back a completely-¡±


    ¡°Tim¡­.¡±


    ¡°No Jake listen, you really should-¡±


    ¡°Sorry class is about to start I¡¯ve got to go.¡±


    ¡°Jake¡­.¡±


    Jake walks towards the door and turns around the corner to leave, but not before he hears something.


    ¡°It¡¯s like they never found you and someone else came out of there¡­¡±


    He paused for a moment then continued walking. He has had enough of people trying to get him to talk about what happened. Jake knows that Tim is trying to be a good friend, but the issue isn¡¯t him talking about it. It is a far deeper problem than words can describe.


    ¡°Jake huh¡­. or I¡¯m supposed to be at least.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for making you do this Zero.¡±The voice in his head softly tells him. The voice and him have become very close to each other since the ¡°incident¡±.


    It¡¯s okay you don¡¯t need to apologize. We are basically stuck like this for the foreseeable future after all.


    ¡°¡­. Thanks.¡±


    No problem Jake¡­. take your time until you are ready to switch.


    Jake slowly walks down the hall towards his classroom. Class goes by slowly with nothing really happening while his teacher talks about algebra 2 topics. After class ends, he packs up his books into his backpack and starts to leave but is stopped at the lockers.


    ¡°Where do you think you are going?¡± Jake turns around, only to be shoved against his locker.


    Typical. And today was going so well.


    Jake looks at the huge guy before him. At 6¡¯4¡± Dan was a towering hunk. Football star and decent student to boot. The ladieslovedto go crazy when he so much as smiled their way. It didn¡¯t really make ¡°Jake¡± jealous per se, more annoyed really. Dan always tried to compete with him in some way or get on his nerves, but Zero didn¡¯t really care, and honestly neither did Jake at this point after that incident. Some things in life are just so grotesque¡­so traumatizing¡­so humbling that every other kind of incident of falls to the wayside, left to be underrated and forgotten in comparison.


    Hey it could always be worse. That kind of thing.


    He didn¡¯t go out of his way to provoke him or anything, but he seriously didn¡¯t want to waste his time in some useless pissing contest.


    ¡°I said, where do you think you are going loser?¡± Dan scowled. He had been trying to one-up Jake for so long that he finally resorted tootherthan honestmethods.


    ¡°Next class, same as you.¡± Jake replied curtly. He knew better than to get into an argument with the guy. Doing so wouldn¡¯t only end in getting his ass kicked, but also wasting his time.


    ¡°Is there a problem Dan?¡±


    Jake looked slightly to the side and gave Dan alook.


    ¡°¡­.¡± Dan followed gaze and immediately frowned. The principal was coming. ¡°You lucked out Jake¡­but not for long.¡± He left sauntering off into the nearby Chemistry classroom.


    Jake let out a small sigh of relief. Crap like this happened almost on a daily basis.If only I had my¡­no I¡¯d definitely rather be here powerless, than back there and even remotely close to that damn princess. Also slitting this idiot¡¯s throat and leaving him in the sewers isn¡¯t going to work well in Jake¡¯s world¡­remember, they are kids¡­


    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill anyone Zero. I¡¯ve seen enough¡­¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Fine.


    He opened his locker only to find it in ruins. Books had burn marks and pages ripped, his favorite leather jacket was missing, and his class supplies were all but gone...and of course his chemistry book was missing. ¡°Fucking bastards¡­.¡±Jake, I don¡¯t know how¡¯ve put up with this shit for years. ¡°You learn to live with it after a bit but you never really get used to it.¡± The voice said in a solemn tone.


    That¡¯s complete bullshit.Two years and Jake would have just started to get overthat trauma about people. Thankfully, Jake wasn¡¯t the one who was heading to class right now. Zero was.


    Zero opened the door to the chemistry class and looked around. A desk near the corner of the room slightly away from the others had some kind of drawings on it. ¡°Scared-y cat¡±, ¡°Mama¡¯s Bitch¡±, ¡°Coward¡± and such were scribbled on the top of the desk in permanent marker. Yep definitely his seat, even if he didn¡¯t agree with anything written on it.


    The chemistry teacher walks in. ¡°Alright Class today we will be going over the chemical formula for sodium chloride, and how to read other more complex chemical formulas. Open your books to page 242.¡± Everyone took out their books except Jake, who was missing his.


    ¡°Jake where is your book?¡±


    The class snickered and giggled except for two girls and one guy. That guy being Jake of course. The other girls¡¯ names he didn¡¯t know, because he didn¡¯t really care to remember them. Sure, they are cute and just transferred in last week, but it hurts less if you don¡¯t even know their names after all. They knew it was an irrational fear to be betrayed by any and every one but did Zeno or Jake care?


    Nope.


    Not after that hell they went through involving people. They were just fine by themselves.


    ¡°HEY! What¡¯s so funny huh?¡± (One of the two girls who didn¡¯t laugh)


    ¡°¡­So noisy. Just shut up and let the teacher continue the damn lesson already. I didn¡¯t wake up this morning to have my time wasted by a bunch of idiots.¡± (The other of the two girls who didn¡¯t laugh)


    The class was immediately silenced by the two girls. Jake was just looking out the window without a care in the world. Believe it or not, he already read all of the books for his classes in 2 weeks. For some reason, when Zero was in control, his reading speed reached far beyond what was normally possible. Probably since Zero and Jake were both conscious, they used different parts of Jake¡¯s brain for the same thing thus speeding it up several fold. Overall¡­well it was his theory anyway. So, since he pretty much knew everything in the book, losing said book wasn¡¯t too much of an issue for him.


    The class droned on about chemistry and the salt formula, which resulted in a salt joke about Jake. ¡°You don¡¯t need the formula for salt since you can make it on your own, right?¡± The class laughed only to be silenced again by the two girls, one of them clearly almost ready to kill someone with looks alone. After that was just a normal class time and ending bell.


    Those two girls walked up to him after class ended. The one with long red hair with orange highlights spoke first. If he didn¡¯t know any better, Jake would say ¡°this-girl-is-on-fayah.¡±Since her hair looked like a flame.


    ¡°Hey Jake, need to copy notes since you don¡¯t have your book?¡± (Red haired girl)


    Jake looked at the girl. She was definitely pretty if not down-right beautiful. She was wearing skin tight jeans and a tank top shirt that probably emphasized more than it could cover with dark red heels. But ¡°Jake¡± definitely didn¡¯t want to make any moves since it wasn¡¯t really his move to make. ¡°No, I am good. Thanks though¡­um¡­?¡±


    ¡°Jessica¡± (Jessica)


    ¡°Seriously, the least you could do is remember our names. Just in case, I¡¯m Christina.¡± (Christina)


    Jake looked at the other girl. Dark blue hair, green eyes and thin lips that curved into a slight smile at the tips while her eyes narrowed a little. Almost like as if she were a cat looking at a mouse. Her dress almost made her look like a gothic Lolita doll come to life. Minus the excessive frills.


    ¡°Thanks Christina, Jessica.¡± Jessica smiled a heart-warming smile, while Christina nodded approvingly. After that sort conversation, Jake left to grab, or rather salvage, what he could in his poor locker.


    After Jake left, Dan also left the classroom, followed by the two girls Jessica and Christina. The girls pulled Dan aside into a stair-well while one put her hand over his mouth to prevent any disturbance. Theythrewhim to the wall with an unnatural strength that late-teen girls shouldn¡¯t really have. Jessica had a Glock 17 with custom grip to his crotch while Christina had a Switchblade to his throat.


    ¡°¡± YouREALLYshouldn¡¯t have done that Dan.¡±¡± They said in an eerie perfect unison. Dan¡¯s eyes went wide as a single small drop of blood left his skin where the blade met his flesh.


    ¡°What the fuck-¡± (Dan)


    Jessica slammed his head against the wall and took her gun off of safety. Dan''s eyes flitted up briefly before regaining clarity. ¡°Do you wanna die dumb-fuck?¡± Jessica said with a cold conviction. "You wouldn''t be the first one I''ve put six feet under for pissing me off."


    ¡°C¡¯mon let¡¯s just slit his throat and be done with it¡­we are going to miss him.¡± Christina said as she slightly added more pressure to the switchblade against Dan¡¯s neck. The single drop turned into three. ¡°You know I¡¯m right.¡±


    Jessica gave it some serious thought before she sighed. ¡°Sigh. Now Christie, if we killed him, wouldn¡¯t Jake begin to not like us? We finally tracked him down to this school after all.¡± Jessica reminded Christina.


    ¡°Tch, yeah. I really don''t want to do all of that work again...raising our grades, hacking the board of education''s servers, bribing officials...we could just cut his dick off instead?¡± Christina slowly moved her switchblade down to his nether-regions.


    Jessica and Christina smiled at the thought in unison. Dan had done something totheirJake repeatedly, and they couldn¡¯t¡­.wouldn¡¯ttolerate it any longer.


    ¡°P-Please don¡¯t¡­do-¡± Christina pulled the knife to his eye while Jessica put the gun to his jaw.


    ¡°¡± Do something toourJake again, and you won¡¯t need to worry about having a family anymore¡­or living for that matter.¡±¡± Jessica and Christina said in perfect unison with a cold low tone. They looked down and laughed at him while letting him go and walked away like nothing happened.


    ¡°Fucking crazies¡­¡± Dan looked down and saw a rancid puddle slowly forming below him. ¡°Dammit¡­¡±


    Jessica and Christina walked quickly to the entrance of the school just in time to see Jake leaving.


    ¡°There¡¯s our boy.¡± Christina giggled.


    ¡°Shall we?¡± Jessica said as a matter of fact. Then both of them followed their daily routine and slowly followed Jake.

 Chapter 3 - The Mocking Sacrifice

    The door opened slowly as a well-built man walked out. His face was masculine with scars across his face. One on his eye going down toward his cheek, another down his lips on his right side. The man eyed the cages in the room until he found what he was looking for¡­who he was looking for. He walked up to the cage with the ¡°thump¡­thump¡± of large boots. Jake saw the man unlock his cage and drag his now numb body out from it, heft him onto his shoulder and walk towards the door.


    Completely terrified, Jake struggled for all that he was worth. It wasn¡¯t until he tried to bite the man that the large man did something. He flung Jake straight to the ground and threw a right hook into his face¡­


    ***


    The man looked at thethinglaying down on the ground.Ittried to bite him. It was a badthing, but that was to be expected. All of histhingswere reluctant at first. They usually do something with their eyes that make a liquid come out, but he was calm. They made incessant noise with their mouths, but he was patient. However,ITtried to bite him! Thisthingtried to taste what was perfect and holy¡­what was forHER.


    He quickly sent the thing into sleep, but immediately regretted his impulse. ¡°Can¡¯t bringHERhere with these things asleep, now can I? She deserves an audience¡­a following¡­an altar¡­a sacrifice.


    Yes, a sacrifice, but who? Or perhaps, whom...?¡± The man grins and looks at thethinglaying on the floor. ¡°Whom indeed.¡± The man picks up the thing lying on the floor and proceeds to once again, carry it on his shoulder. He then walks away while whistling a strange, seemingly random eerie tune¡­


    ***


    Jake woke up once again with a headache. This one was worse than last time, but then again, last time he wasn¡¯t hit square in the face by someone who looks like they can bench 400 pounds with room to spare.


    Jake groggily sat up and looked around him.At least I¡¯m not in a cage again.


    The room is almost cubic. There are lines everywhere, on the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the columns. Every now and then he would see a strange symbol where the lines crossed each other greatly.


    ¡°mmmphmm...MMMMFFF!¡±


    Jake looked over to one of the columns in the room and sees someone. His pulse quickens and his murky head instantly becomes clear.


    ¡°Claire¡­¡± Jake softly says.


    Jake bolts up and tries to run to her, only to make a few steps and falls flat on his face. He looks at his leg to see a cuff and chain around his ankle. He looks at the chain and surprisingly it isn¡¯t connected to the column behind him. It¡¯s connected to something else¡­a dark rectangular object with intricate carvings and gold inlays. They painted a story of some kind with a picture of a winged person, but he wasn¡¯t interested in that at the moment. This thing looked like an altar while he and Claire are chained up, in a room with lines everywhere. Jake had averybad feeling about this.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Jake looked again at Claire. She had her hands and feet chained to each other like a single person chain gang, but with a black choker and chain hanging loosely on the ground. It was such a stark contrast with what she was wearing what seemed like moments ago. He then was then brought back to reality as the well-built man walked in.


    ¡°Morning Sunshine. How is my personal thing doing today?¡± The man casually asked. He was walking towards Clair and Jake. Then Jake noticed that the man wasn¡¯t talking to him. He was talking to Claire. As soon as he spoke, Clair immediately turned around.


    ¡°MMMMM-mmmm...mmm.mmmmmm!!¡± She screamed at the man. The mouthful of cloth didn¡¯t help her in trying anyway.


    ¡°Yes, yes I know. Tis only a hiccup I assure you.¡± He glanced behind Jake at the altar. Jake turned around but didn¡¯t see anything.Holy shit, he¡¯s crazy!I¡¯ve got to get us out of here¡­


    The man walked up to Jake while holding some clear ball. ¡°Tch. Not quite there yet huh. Guess I¡¯ve got to speed things up a little¡­OH! I¡¯ve got the perfect thing for this.¡± The man walks back to Claire and pulls on her choker chain while wearing a large grin. ¡°Come.¡± He orders.


    She tries to crawl away but he drags her by the neck out the door while she whimpers.


    ¡°CLAIRE!!¡± Jake screams. He watches helplessly as the man drags Claire until the door closes.


    -Some time later-


    The man walks back into the room with someone then chains them to a pillar, along with Claire who now had lifeless eyes¡­ then leaves. This repeats over and over again until the room is filled with people. All of them are chained in some way to the pillars and to each other. After a bit of silence, the man walks in with a few baskets of bread and tells everyone to eat. Some try to resist while others simply don¡¯t want to eat and Claire closes her legs a little and resumes being motionless.


    They really didn¡¯t have a choice as small rolls were passed around. There was one person who adamantly refused.


    ¡°FUCK YOU! Where am I? WHY AM I HERE? ANSWER ME!¡± (Brave man)


    ¡°Eat.¡± (Well-built man)


    ¡°FUCK YOU AND YOUR WHORE OF A MOTHER!¡±


    The man immediately unchained the brave man and dragged him to the altar while murmuring something.


    ¡°Hey where are you taking m-¡± (Scared Guy)


    The well-built man then slamsthe guy''s face into the alter.


    ¡°Through the lies, we see.¡± (well-built man)


    -SLAM- He slamsthe guy''s face into the obsidian altar again.


    ¡°For our lives, we follow.¡±


    -SLAM- The scared man¡¯s face is slightly dented.


    ¡°During the beginning, she was.¡±


    -SLAM-The guy''s fear begins to fade.


    ¡°Forever in the end, she will be.¡±


    -SLAM- The scared man bleeds onto the altar.


    ¡°In our death...¡±


    -SLAM- Slowly a smile forms on the guy¡¯s smashed face.


    ¡°Without your so-called logic or reasoning.¡±


    -SLAM- The smile turns into a grin.


    ¡°Through HER we are¡­¡±


    -SLAM- The guy''s eyes gloss over as the grin grows into something else.


    ¡°ONE WITH THEM ALL!¡±


    -CRUNCH-


    ¡°¡­.¡± (Dead Man) A Lunatic smile is on his face, his faded eyes filled with reverence.


    ¡°And all will kneel before HER madness.¡± The man says with a solemn tone.


    The man pulls a blade out from his coat and brings it down on the altar, beheading the dead man.


    The head rolls down to the floor and rolls to the middle of the room in everyone¡¯s view. The smile and eyes are seemingly staring only at me¡­as if looking right through me. Almost laughing at my powerlessness, or as if he could see the future and was mocking us all.


    ¡°Yes, they will¡­¡±Jake could have sworn he heard a faint whisper somewhere.


    ¡°Now eat.¡± The man returns from his fervor to his usual calm.


    Completely terrified, everyone begins to eat¡­


    ***

 Chapter 4 - Victims of Fate

    I took a bite of the roll that the well-built man gave to me. It was pretty good actually. The savory butter and fluffiness of the roll was a stark contrast to my current situation. It is laughable really. One minute I am getting confessed to the cutest girl in class, and the next I¡¯m (partially) forced to eat delicious rolls against my will by some lunatic. As I eat the last bit of the roll, I notice something happening to me.


    Everything seems clearer somehow, like as if I was looking through a dirty lens my entire life, and now it has fallen away with that delicious roll. The man has already left the room, but I can make out his footprints on the ground somehow. I can see my own heartbeat ripple across my skin and muscles. I look around the room and those lines seem to make a little bit of sense.


    Instead of randomly going across the room like I thought they were, I noticed that they intersect at specific points across the room. After a bit of deduction and logic reasoning, each point that is intersected by the lines has some sort of mathematical value and variable to it. Kinda like grid coordinates mixed with a set variable to get a different outcome for each instance and...wait¡­what was I thinking about? Something about numbers¡­


    Any way I look over at everyone else to see how they are handling things. They look completely terrified yet serene somehow. I should be terrified too¡­especially since I got a perfect front-row seat to that execution thelooney assholewell-built man so graciously showed us. I look up at the altar and let my eyes drift to the right of it. There is a very clear HD display of a neck cross-section with blood oozing out and some clear fluid and small strands coming out of the severed spine. I immediately look away and dry heave a couple times, trying to not lose the only bit of food I have had today.


    I listen to some people talking in a corner of the room. I can¡¯t see their faces since they are behind a pillar but I can still hear them whispering.


    ¡°This is fucking insane¡­what does he want with us?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, probably a ransom or something¡­¡±


    ¡°THEY DON¡¯T KILL OFF PEOPLE LIKE THAT IF THEY WANT A RANSOM YOU-¡±


    ¡°¡± SHHH!¡±¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so loud! He might come back and kill someone else.¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡±


    The conversation goes on, starting with bad scenarios and going to complete doom¡¯s day theories.


    ¡°e¡­¡±a¡­j¡­ke¡­¡±I turn my head to the left to see what made that noise. Nothing¡­probably my imagination.


    ¡°¡­ake¡­jake¡­¡±I look right quickly and something seems off¡­.


    ¡°No one is moving¡­¡± I say to myself as if to confirm that this isn¡¯t a dream. I look around the room again, only to confirm the reality. I look at the altar and a single drop of blood hangs just before the ground in midair, another drop is above it as if it just fell from the edge before time itself stopped.


    ¡°Jake¡­¡± I close my eyes to focus on the voice.


    ¡°There you are~.¡± I open my eyes to see a woman wearing a formal dress of silver with black highlights, accentuating her well-developed chest. Silver thin gauntlets going up to her elbows with a regal air to them. An ever-changing crown of obsidian and maroon with thorns adorns her head of black hair. Pure silvereyes that feel as if they can see through reality itself stare at me. She walks towards me with a grin plastered on her face.


    I stay silent since my unusual clarity and instincts tell me to avoid this woman with every fiber of my being. Screaming at me to look away and run for my life. I tear my gaze from her eyes and look somewhere, anywhere but where she is.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Come on now, don¡¯t be like that¡­Jake.¡± At the mention of my name, my head involuntarily jerks up to look at her. Her eyes are now a dulled silver. All of the excessive silver colored clothing has turned into a deep maroon. Her crown on closer inspection is now a ring of tiny faces laughing. Her gauntlets a pitch black as space itself.


    ¡°I know what you really are Jake. And I can even help you out¡­for a favor of course.¡± She giggles.


    ¡°What do you want¡­¡± I ask cautiously. I¡¯ve already had to deal with one lunatic, so I¡¯m not really looking forward to owing a favor to a possible second one.


    ¡°Simple. I want you to hold something for me.¡±


    ¡°Hold something?¡±


    ¡°Yes, simply hold something for me.It will even help you out of this little¡­predicament hahahaha. However, I will warn you only once. Once you agree to hold this, you will never be able to let it go. It will be one with you for the rest of your life for better or worse, and how you handle that¡­well...¡±


    ¡°Well what?¡±


    ¡°How you handle it will determine if it is a blessing or a curse I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I ask apprehensively.


    ¡°*giggles* No need to fear, dear child. Know that I am always with you. Forever been a part of you as I always will be. For I am the madness that sleeps within you that waits for its freedom¡­¡±


    She opens her hand, and a white sphere of light appears. It moves erratically as if confused or frightened. The lady grabs the sphere and lightly tosses it towards me.


    ¡°Good luck~¡± She says.


    As the ball of light hits me, I feel an immense soul-wrenching pain. As if my mind is being torn asunder to make room for the ball of light. My thoughts become slurred as the world warps around me. I see the lady laughing at me and the people chained to the pillars are smiling. Their existence starts to flicker in and out one at a time randomly.


    ¡°AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH DAAAAMMMIIIIITTTT!¡± I scream at the lady in front of me. The pain just keeps going. I feel like I am losing myself and my mind is becoming that of someone else.


    ¡°GAAAAHHHHhhh¡­¡± I slump against the pillar as the overbearing pain slowly subsides. My body twitches with aftershocks from the mental assault.


    ¡°I look forward to how you handle it.¡±


    The lady raises her hand and snaps her fingers *snap*. She fades away with a soft giggle and that same annoying grin on her face.


    People are moving again. I can feel myself instantly start sweating and chills crawl on my skin all the way up to my scalp. After about seems like an hour, the pain finally goes down from soul-wrenching to a very bad headache.


    ¡°I will NEVER do that again.¡± I vow to myself. I once again look at the people around me, only to notice they are now in a delirious state. Almost high on drugs even¡­drugs¡­


    ¡°He put something in the rolls.¡± I finally realized. But I was also curious why I wasn¡¯t in the same state as them. I ate the same thing that they did so why¡­


    *Crrreeeaaak* The only metallic door into the room slowly opens to reveal the large well-built man holding an orb or some kind of glass object and a basket of more rolls. God my¡­head hurts¡­.


    I force myself to keep my eyes on the man as he slowly walks into the room of delirious people. Some are laughing while others are crying. Others still are very silent and don¡¯t even move.


    The man brings the orb up to the altar behind me.


    ¡°Probudite O duhovi ludila. Skupi na ovaj dan za festival. Rally oko centra, tako da mo?e biti slobodan.¡± The man says with increasing passion. His eyes are glazed over as the orb starts to float in the air.


    ¡°Do?ite duhove. Do?ite na ovu stranu.¡± He said. It¡¯s as if he was pleading for something. The orb then started to turn red as if a dye was put into a glass of water. More and more red filled the orb until it went from red, to a dark crimson, then to a bright red like blood.


    ¡°BUDI SLOBODAN!!!¡± When the man said this, a large ¡°bang¡± resounded in the room. The orb had a small crack on its surface that slowly widened with more branching off from the main one.Like the sound of glass shattering, the orb finally shattered and lots of red orbs shot out of it. They flew around the room phasing through the pillars and going every which way until they hit a person. One¡­two¡­five¡­ten¡­


    More and more people got hit with those red orbs, and when they did, they instantly started convulsing and screaming. Soon the room was filled with screams of terror. Different voices echoed in the room. Some had two different octaves coming out of the same person.


    One of them flew towards me but before it touched me, it instantly evaporated. More and more tried to hit me with the same result but to no avail.Soon the entire room was filled with screaming and the man¡¯s insane laughter. The red orbs that didn¡¯t hit a person eventually became still and vanished into nothingness.


    With the man¡¯s job seemingly complete, he once again left the room while distributing more of those rolls. Too mentally shocked and physically exhausted from the earlier pain and current headache, I put my unfinished roll aside and let my exhaustion overtake me.


    ***

 Chapter 5 - The Trial Begins

    A gentle breeze, the clear blue sky with the occasional cloud. The lone tree in a field of grass, with a figure standing under it. The figure is blurry but oddly comforting. I walk towards the figure slowly, enjoying the calm scenery and warmth on my face.


    ¡°Hey there.¡± (Figure)


    ¡°Who are you?


    ¡°Who am I? Well seeing as I am dead now, I guess it doesn¡¯t really matter anymore. Call me¡­zero.¡±


    ¡°No seriously who are you?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, I don¡¯t have a name anymore so call me zero.¡±


    ¡°Okay zero, why are you here? For that matter, where is¡­here?¡± I look around a bit more, realizing the calm scene is a far cry from where I was earlier.


    ¡°We are in your mind. Err dreams really, I guess. It¡¯s kinda confusing to me personally. As for why I am here, that damn woman pretty much threw me in here so you tell me. Why am I here Jake?¡± He says with a threatening tone at the end.


    ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know. All I remember is agreeing to hold something for her.¡±


    ¡°¡­damn guess there really is no choice then. Alright listen up!¡±


    Slightly startled by his shout, I listen intently for any new information that could help me get out of this mess.


    ¡°We are going to have to share.¡±


    ¡°Share what?¡±


    ¡°¡­Your body.¡±


    ¡°¡­Run that by me again?¡±


    ¡°Basically, I am a soul. I died in my world and was being reincarnated into this one. Only before the process was completed, that bitch grabbed me from the ether and shoved me inside YOUR soul.¡±


    ¡°¡­So you are saying I¡¯m spiritually pregnant. Great.¡±


    ¡°Well good to know you still have your humor at least. I figured the pain would have made you mad or even worse, a turned.¡±


    ¡°Turned?¡±


    ¡°Never-mind. Anyway, think of it as having two people in one body while both can control it. We need to be partners if we are going to make anything out of this. Especially now that that lunatic summoned Field class demons into your little group.¡±


    ¡°So, that¡¯s what those orbs were¡­I saw a few of them head straight for me but get evaporated before hitting me. What happened there?¡±


    ¡°By having my soul semi-merged with yours, you perpetually emit a weak¡­erm field I guess you can call it. The good news is that you will never get possessed by any demon. Regardless of class.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good news.¡± I sighed with relief. ¡°I don¡¯t think I could handle the pain of another soul being jammed inside me.¡±


    ¡°...Yea about that¡­I felt that too. Nice job hanging in there by the way. From what I see in your memories, you don¡¯t have any resistance to pain or torture, so I was surprised you came out of it with your sanity intact¡­mostly.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean mostly? And why did you feel that too?¡±


    ¡°I felt it because since we were getting semi-merged, what you feel mentally and physically would of course get transmitted to me as well. Remember the whole two souls controlling bodies thing? Same goes for feeling, senses and emotions. As for the ¡®mostly¡¯ remark¡­¡±


    ¡°Just tell me. I¡¯m pretty sure nothing can top what I¡¯ve already seen.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Your mind was forcefully unhinged to accommodate my soul during the semi-fusion. That¡¯s why you saw those visions and flickering. From what I understand you are definitely still very much sane, but there is something inside you that broke free. Kinda like your base instincts and mind are more free than before.¡±


    ¡°Is that a good or bad thing?¡±


    ¡°Honestly? Could be either or both. There is really no way to tell until it manifests itself.¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­just what I need, more shit to deal with. I¡¯m already up to my neck in trouble with that lunatic and Claire somewhere in trouble¡­what am I gonna do?¡± I complain to zero. I know that it is unfair to blame him as a cause of trouble but I really don¡¯t know what to do at this point. I¡¯m chained in a room to an altar, with about fifty people who have now been officially possessed by ¡°field¡± class demons, on top of a buff lunatic with a wicked right hook¡­


    ¡°Maybe I can help you out¡­¡± he says apprehensively.


    ¡°How can YOU help? You are dead remember?¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°True, but I can still control your body and do things that you can¡¯t. Like magic for example.¡±


    ¡°You can use magic?! Then get us out of here and¡­¡±


    ¡°Woah slow down there. If I start using magic with your body without you controlling it, we could end up worse than dead. Not to mention we JUST got SEMI-fused. We need to be fully fused to use even basic spells safely.¡±


    ¡°Then how did you plan on helping?¡±


    ¡°Body enhancement spells. Moving energy outside of your body is lethal right now with our fusion just barely there. Any kind of magic recoil and we would both end up dead¡­if not completely paralyzed and in eternal pain. Just trust me on this ok?


    ¡°So, body enhancement. Like stronger muscles and better reactions?¡±


    ¡°Now you are getting it. I can give you a helping hand but I can¡¯t do anything for you that wouldn¡¯t hurt you. I¡¯m sorry Jake¡­we need to work together on this¡­please.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± I think about everything that he has said for a moment. What if he is lying? What if he takes over my body and I can¡¯t ever get it back? What if he is a demon as well? So many questions are raging through my mind, but there is one that I need answered no matter what.


    ¡°Can you swear that you will never try and control me? For our future.¡±


    ¡°Jake I wouldn¡¯t dream of it unless you wanted me to. Partners?¡± The figure extended a... thing. A hand maybe. I reach out and grab it with my hand and shake it firmly. ¡°Yea partners. For our future.¡±


    Suddenly the blurry figure comes into focus immediately. I see a handsome older man. Dark blue hair with streaks of silver. He is wearing leather armor with iron shoulder pads and light metal gauntlets. At his waist are two peculiar looking daggers giving of an ethereal and majestic feel.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He says simply. ¡°You should probably get going now. Once you wake up, I will start the enhancement. Try not to move too much during the process so nothing gets messed up alright? Also if you need me just think about talking to me and I will respond.¡±


    ¡°Alright thanks Zero.¡±


    ¡°No thank you¡­partner. Also, before I forget, that girl of yours. The one named Claire¡­be careful of her. I went through your recent memories and something seems familiar about her to me. In a very bad way.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no wa-¡±


    ¡°Just be careful alright?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± The scenery starts to shift and bend and fade out into darkness.


    ***


    I wake up still chained to the altar and immediately notice something different about the room. There is no one else besides me here. I recall what Zero told me in the dream and try to think about talking to him.


    Zero? Are you there?


    ¡°Yea. I¡¯m starting the enhancement process now. Give me bit of time, I¡¯ll let you know when it¡¯s done.¡±


    Thanks. I wonder where everyone went? I ask with a slight dread.


    ¡°Dunno, while I was in that dream with you, I couldn¡¯t use your eyes either.¡±


    Alright. Let¡¯s get started. Immediately I feel something wash over me. A gentle invigorating feeling that slowly courses through me. Like waking up well rested and refreshed mixed with the adrenaline of danger. I can feel it seeping into my muscles and bones as my mind becomes more clear and serene.


    ¡°There all done. This is a permanent enhancement but it isn¡¯t much of a boost to be honest. You can probably snap those chains of yours with some effort but that¡¯s about it. Although, I would recommend against that in case the big guy comes to take you somewhere else. The effects need a bit of time to fully synchronize with your body and mind and in your current state, I doubt you can fight him.¡±


    Yea I figured as much. Thank you though. But since we have the time, why do you think that something is up with Claire?


    ¡°She reminds me of someone I used to know back in my world and is a dead ringer in terms of looks too. It¡¯s just a feeling, so like I said, just be careful.¡±


    Fine I will keep an eye out for anything weird with her.


    I lean back and notice the roll from earlier lying on my lap and think to myself wish I could tell if this was drugged or not. I really don¡¯t want to be out of it like those people were if I need to make a quick get-a-way.


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t need to worry about that. My enhancement temporarily reduces that mind-altering effect of the medicine in there to nothing. But it won¡¯t last long so we need to get out of here.¡±


    How long exactly do I have?I ask while sitting up and start inspecting the delicious looking roll.


    ¡°Two hours¡­tops. Less if you eat that roll.¡±


    I quickly put the roll down and once again lean back against the altar while thinking of a way to escape.


    ***


    What feels like hours later, the large man came back in with one of the people from before walking behind him. He grabbed my chains and simply said ¡°Get up.¡±.


    I slowly get up and stumble a little to give him the impression that I was under the influence of whatever drug he was trying to feed us.


    ¡°Come.¡± He said.


    I slowly follow with dragged footsteps. Any idea what we should do Zero?


    ¡°Just wait for an opportunity to present itself. Remember, you can¡¯t take him on with your strength. Try to sneak out if you can.¡±


    Got it. I walk to the metal door that leads out of the room and walk back into the room with cages. I notice that there are another two doors that I missed before while I was inebriated last time. One to the left, one straight ahead, and the door I just walked out of for a total of three in the room.


    We keep on walking straight to the door on the far end of the room, ignoring the door on the left. He opens the door and beckons me inside with a motion of his hand.


    Inside, there is a very large octagonal shaped room with weapons lying everywhere on the floor and hanging on the walls from hooks. There are also cages with slide up doors with numbers one through sixty-four with one person in each cage. He leads me to cage number forty-three and shoves me inside. I stumble to keep up the inebriated impression while getting a resounding headbutt against the steel cage for my efforts. Thankfully the enhancement seems to have made me less receptive for pain.


    ¡°Yea that is also temporary just so you know. Be careful, just because you can¡¯t feel something doesn¡¯t mean an injury isn¡¯t there.¡±


    Point taken ill be careful. Still, doesn¡¯t this kind of look like an arena or colosseum?


    ¡°Yea it does.¡±


    I sit at the back of the cage and try to relax. No point in being stressed out if there isn¡¯t anything I can do about it at the moment. I think to myself to calm down. The occasional scream or creepy laugh going around the room isn¡¯t really helping much. Try as I might, I can¡¯t really calm down all that much with everything that has just happened in one day.


    I am jerked out of my thoughts when a loud booming voice comes through unseen speakers.


    ¡°WELCOME EVERYONE! TODAY WE WILL BEGIN THE FESTIVAL OF SMILES. THERE ARE A FEW RULES. RULE ONE GET FIVE KEYS AND YOU WIN. RULE TWO, YOU MUST KILL YOUR OPPONENT TO WIN! RULE THREE, BESIDES THE FIRST TWO ANYTHING GOES! HAHAHAHAHA!


    Then all of the cages open as people sprint towards the closest weapon to them. I look at the cage next to mine and see her.


    ¡°Claire¡­¡±

 Chapter 6 - Gluttony, Sloth and Lust....

    I look at Claire as she also runs for a weapon lying around her. She grabs a thin long knife as I grab two light looking daggers. I figure that if I guard with one, I can use the other to counter. As everyone grabs their weapon, the speakers come to life again.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, one more thing that I forgot to explain¡­¡± The voice says with a hint of glee.


    Everyone cautiously eyes each-other as they wait for the voice to continue. At this point, the voice is the only one with answers around here anyway.


    ¡°About those ¡°keys¡±, they are at the end of those 22 doors over there.¡± The voice coming through the speaker pauses for an audible deep breath.


    I quickly look around the room again and confirm that there are no doors except the one I entered.


    ¡°Only when you have made a group of three or more people will you be allowed to enter. There is one ¡°key¡± each for every room after that door. The keys are digital and can only be acquired by the bracelets by the box by each door. The rest of the rules will be explained when you are in side. I look forward to your entertainment¡­ha ha ha ha!¡± The voice cackles as the speakers die with a few pops.


    I look at Claire and she looks back with an inquiring gaze. I nod at her as something hit my back making me jump away and whirl around, my daggers ready to attempt defending myself against anything. I get a good look at who had the wonderful idea of surprising someone who is holding weapons.


    ¡°Hey Jake!¡± A familiar voice enters my ears.


    I look at the guy before me. Standing at five-foot-three, is a black middle-schooler. Hazel eyes with black hair and pearly whites smiling. Reiner. The only friend I knew since our first year of middle school, was suddenly trying to surprise me once again. This time he succeeded though.


    ¡°How did you get here Reiner?¡± Clair asks quizzically. I was about to ask him the same question myself but she beat me to the punch.


    ¡°Ah, I was at home watching a game of football while my parents were out on one of their little honeymoon dates. Raiders were facing the Eagles with a score of 32-32 in the final with overtime, when all of the sudden the power went out.


    So, I went to go outside to check the fuse box to see if anything tripped. It was really dark out so I went back to my room to grab a flashlight, when I saw the window slightly open. I walked toward the window and something hit my head really hard.


    Next thing I knew, I was in that room with everyone else chained to each-other. After that, I heard what happened to that guy who tried to use his mouth instead of his brain¡­ I didn¡¯t see it because it was behind the pillar I was chained to. Then after I ate that roll¡­ I don¡¯t really know. Woke up in here.¡± He says with finality.


    Reiner always was a huge fan of football, especially the Raiders. I think to myself. Hey Zero, if someone is possessed, why aren¡¯t they acting different? Claire wasn¡¯t in the room so I don¡¯t really need to worry about that from her but Reiner was¡­


    ¡°They usually won¡¯t act any different. When someone is possessed, contrary to those movies in your memoires, they stay the same and act the same person. What changes is that they slowly become more and more unhinged mentally until they snap and the demon takes over. Very few can stop this unless they somehow dominate the demon and rule over them, but that would take a very large amount of willpower as well as a miracle.¡±


    Dammit, I really hope nothing bad happens to him¡­


    ¡°So how did you two get here anyway? I¡¯ve told my piece so your turn.¡± Reiner says with an attempt at humor.


    ¡°We-¡± I begin to explain, until the sound of many heavy metallic doors sliding upwards. A robotic voice then came over the loud speakers once all of them were open. ¡°ATTENTION, DOORS HAVE UNLOCKED AND WILL BE OPEN FOR ONE MINUTE AND TWENTY SECONDS. ALL PARTICIPANTS THAT HAVE NOT GONE THROUGH A DOOR WILL BE SUFFOCATED IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA. I REPEAT-¡± The robotic voice repeated the message, only with a number of one minute left.


    I look at Claire and Reiner and with a but a nod, we rush to one of the doors along with everyone else. We each grab a bracelet from one of the boxes randomly then altogether run through the closest door near us as a group. Rushing through the door, Reiner trips and causes everyone behind him to fall on each-other. Right as Clair trips over me and falls into the room, the door slams down tight. It sounded very heavy and thick for a regular door.


    ¡°Damn¡­everyone okay?¡± Reiner asks while looking at Claire, then me.


    ¡°Ouch¡­watch where you are going Reiner!¡± Claire says slightly peeved and embarrassed.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± I say while getting up. Even though I fell face first into concrete, there isn¡¯t any pain at all. Zero¡¯s enhancement side effect is really useful. Then I notice another person leaning on the door panting heavily. A thin white guy with blonde hair and blue eyes. He is wearing a school uniform that screams pompous know-it-all. I was about to discount the robe before he opened his mouth.


    ¡°And who are you people?¡± He asks with a certain tone while slowing down his breathing.


    ¡°You first.¡± I state which obviously aggravates him.


    ¡°Fine, I am Edan Bloodstrom. I got to Janice High of Associates.¡± He says with some flair.


    ¡°Jake.¡± I point to Claire and Reiner and say their first names. I never knew Claire¡¯s last name and Reiner never liked it when anyone said his last name, so I kept quiet about that name¡­Cockburn...pfft. I use every ounce of willpower at my disposal to remain neutral faced while that thought went through my mind. Zero on the other hand was laughing hysterically at the notion of that last name. I believe I was moderately successful, between Edan¡¯s confused look and Reiner¡¯s scowling face.


    Edan while looking confused continued his train of thought. ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t even bother with those keys. They are mine you hear?¡± He pulls out a Glock from behind him while aiming at us and repeats himself. ¡°They are mine.¡±


    We immediately put our hands up. No one is stupid enough to bring knives to a gunfight. Both figuratively and literally. I wrack my brain to try to come up with a solution to this when the voice replayed what he said in my head as I look around the room. Then I notice something.


    ¡°Hey look, we are all on the same team here.¡±


    ¡°Explain.¡± He demands. For some reason, instead of being scared of having a gun in my face, it starts to make me angry¡­


    ¡°He never said that one person had to hold all 5 keys. Plus, we don¡¯t know if there are only 5 rooms beyond this one.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t prove anything.¡± He scoffed.


    I try to reign in my rising anger and slowly begin resume my bluff. ¡°Then what do you make of those three levers over there next to that door?¡± I walk over to one of the four levers that are spaced apart and pull one and let go. It immediately flips back upright when my hand lets go. Internally I sigh with relief that my hunch was right.


    ¡°One person can¡¯t get pass this room. We need teamwork. Plus, you saw that guy, right? How completely nuts he was¡­ who knows what is beyond these doors. So, what if your bracelet that has all of OUR keys gets broken? Not only would we be stuck, but so would you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Edan thinks for some time before he slowly lowers his gun. ¡°How do you suggest we do this then?


    The building anger and irritation slowly calmed down, as I saw him beginning to point it away from us. ¡°Simple. We rotate per room. One of us gets the first key, the next gets the next one and so forth until the first person gets their key again and it repeats. This way we have a backup in case any one person¡¯s bracelet breaks.¡± Just one more push¡­ ¡°Besides you have the gun, right?¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    A smile flits across his face for a moment before he hesitantly agrees. Got him.


    ¡°Alright I suppose. But don¡¯t try anything funny!¡± He pauses for a breath. ¡°How do we decide who gets the first key?¡±


    ¡°Rock, Paper, Scissors.¡± Reiner says calmly. ¡°It is the fairest way since there aren¡¯t teams or anything.¡±


    ¡°Yeah I agree with that.¡± Clair happily follows up while I also agree.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Edan holds his hand out.¡± The rest of us follow.


    ¡°¡±ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS!¡±¡± Three hands move forward as they cast their lots and leave it up to fate. Surely enough, one by one hands droop in defeat while one shoots up in victory.


    ¡°Won three rounds¡­Thank goodness.¡± Zero says as he mentally sighs with relief. Edan on the other hand is fuming. His pride didn¡¯t want to allow anyone getting something first before him. Yet it was that same pride that eventually caved in and let him have it. Wanting something is one thing, lying about something and bringing dishonor to his family name is completely unacceptable. Me, Reiner, Eric, and Claire.


    ¡°Alright let¡¯s just go then¡­¡± Eric said reluctantly. He couldn¡¯t back out of his words now.


    We each went up to a lever on the wall. By each one was a plaque with writing on it. Reiner asked what everyone¡¯s said, and so everyone read off of their plaque.


    ¡°Five keys are needed, but seven sins will test you.¡± Clair said first at the far left.


    ¡°Death of a team member will result in one additional key gained for all living team members.¡± Reiner called out next.


    ¡°As long as one person or group has the needed keys and arrive at the end, all participants in that group may leave.¡± Eric called out after Reiner.


    I look at mine carefully before reading it out loud. ¡°Death awaits all who cannot complete the challenges.¡±


    ¡°Seems like four additional rules to this thing.¡± I say to myself.


    Then we all pull on our levers as a large metal door slides up between them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go I guess.¡± Reiner says with some courage.


    The door opens up into a dimly lit hallway with soft red carpet. There are intricate paintings on the walls and green wallpaper spreading onwards down the hallway. We continue walking, not really able to take in the reality of where we are. What felt like moments ago, we were all in cages and practically starving; yet now we see this luxurious hallway with art d¨¦cor of a¡­finer¡­taste.


    Some were of men while others were of woman, some nude and others going into certain extremes. We start to smell something really delicious as we come upon a door that is lit at the bottom. The small light coming through from under the old looking wooden door. We slowly open it as the air rushes past us, bringing with it such delectable smells.


    Roast turkey, savory chicken, fresh salad with a slight zest, Minestrone and other soups with various other meats, cheeses, puddings, breads, and rolls were laid out as we slowly opened the door. By the table were four evenly spaced chairs at what someone would call a ¡°feast fit for a king and all his people¡±. Over beyond the table was a plaque with big red words writtin on it.


    "You should not eat from death''s bounty.Abstain from desire and be satsfied."


    Immediately, Edan dashed towards the table, completely ignoring the plaque on the wall. He hadn¡¯t had anything to eat that day besides the roll, and like everyone else, he was very much hungry. He had already let Jake be the first to get a key, but he would be damned if Jake beat him to this food. Without waiting or letting anyone say anything, he immediately sat down and starting stuffing his face with the various rolls, meats and cheeses in front of him with bliss clearly in his eyes.


    Just as Claire and Reiner were about to do the same, Jake grabbed them and whispered them something. ¡°Guys remember when he gave all of us that roll? What if it is laced with some drug or poison? Also that plaque...''Abstain and be satsfied.'' I wonder what it refers to?¡±


    At the words ¡°drug or poison¡± both of them stopped struggling against Jake as they recalled being drugged and waking up in cages.


    ¡±Good point¡­still looks good though. I think it is telling us to resist the temptation.¡± Claire sighed as her stomach made a grumbling noise followed by Jake and finally Reiner. Claire was blushing whereas Jake and Reiner were laughing together at the noise.


    I turned around and looked at Edan at the table still stuffing his face like a madman. Something didn¡¯t seem right about it so I called out to him. ¡°Hey Edan. Edan?¡± No response as he just kept on eating.


    ¡°Edan! EDAN!¡± I walk over to grab his shoulder, but suddenly he pulls his gun out and points it at me.


    ¡°Let me eat or I WILL KILL EVERY ONE OF YOU!!¡± His voice going from calm to frenzied in record speed. His eyes had a madness to them while somewhat looking glossed over.


    I slowly backed away saying ¡°alright¡­alright¡­¡± and moved towards the door as he resumed eating. ¡°Just catch up to us once you are done alright?¡± Again, no response came from Edan besides the constant smacking of lips and ripping of meat and other foods.


    ¡°Jake, that boy¡­forget about him. He won¡¯t be leaving anytime soon.¡± What makes you say that Zero?


    ¡°That boy¡¯s demon is getting stronger, and I can already tell it has already overpowered his host. The boy named Edan no longer exists Jake¡­¡±


    I pause a moment to think about what the four plaques said. 5 keys but 7 sins will test you¡­of course!


    Zero does the act of giving in lead to a faster take-over for the demons? ¡°Yes, it does in fact. Remember the faster the hosts become unhinged and lose their willpower, the faster they can take over. It doesn¡¯t have to be about a particular deadly sin though and that is the dangerous part. It can be about ANYTHING that you are giving into.¡±


    I shudder at the last bit of his words. That would be nearly impossible. People mentally give into things all the time. Hunger, sleep, thirst, sex, pride, and peer pressure are just a few that could be listed if this is the case. I turn towards Claire and Reiner before I talk to them.


    ¡°Let him finish eating and he can catch up later I guess. It¡¯s not like there are any levers in this room to open the door this time.¡± I lied to them, knowing that he would never leave until the demon completely takes over. But this also brings up an issue that I forgot about when we were split up into teams.


    Zero, if one demon completely takes over a host, what would it do then? I mean after it finished ¡°eating¡±, would it go after us for some reason?


    ¡°Yes. After it cannot get any more power from making the host give in to something, it would go after the nearest source of sentient life and drain their entire lifespan for more.¡±


    Great so not only do we need to resist ourselves, but we just got a ticking timer until we die from that thing¡­perfect.


    ¡°Well you don¡¯t need to resist anything in particular besides that food though. Since I¡¯m not a demon and I have no plans on taking you over. Reiner¡¯s demon though¡­¡±


    Yeah we better hurry. I look at the people next to the door and decide not to tell them about their possible possessions. It would make them ask questions which would waste time, and they wouldn¡¯t exactly believe me either. Especially since the only thing they remember is eating a rollthat well-built man gave them and then ending up in a cage. Claire might believe me, but Zero said to not trust her for now¡­


    I motion them to go ahead of me while I take one last look at what used to be Edan. As they step through the door, I follow closely behind after pressing my bracelet against the door for the key.


    The next room only had a soft looking California King sized bed with luxurious linen and pillows that adorned it. In the corners of the room were soft lazy-boy styled chairs with books, games and magazines by each one. There was even an eighty inch flat screen TV with the newest Ybox Sphere below it. Jake looked at the TV and the background on it said "Rest for the weary and sleep for the dead. Continue moving forward for salvation."


    Seeing as we were all trying to escape from the well-built man and his insanity, the other two instantly ignored this room, got our key and continued onward..while Jake was tempted to sit down on the sofa. Between the soul-wrenching pain and having his face bashed in by a brute, he was pretty tired mentally, emotionally....even his pregnant sprit was tired. After remembering Zero''s words aboutEdan and the ticking time bomb, Jake feebily walked through the door to follow the other two.


    I can rest later.


    The following room had only a table with four glasses of a pink liquid on top of it. At the far end of the square stone room was a simple bed with normal sheets and a white fluffy pillow. We tried the door at the end of the room, but it was locked. On the door was a bronze plaque with an inscription.


    It read: ¡°Drink the liquid and leave the room to acquire the key.¡± Very straightforward like usual.


    I walk up to the wine glass of pink liquid and the others follow behind me. We noticed something from the earlier room as we left the bed behind. As long as one person ignores the temptation, everyone will be able to leave. But seeing as who is up for the next key after myself and Reiner...


    Claire realizes why we paused and slowly walks up to the table. With a nervous glance, she reaches her hand out to pick up a glass when Reiner says something.


    ¡°Let¡¯s all take it at the same time. Hey at worst we die of poison, at best we give her some courage eh?¡±


    I was about to think of a solution to this, when Claire grabs the wine glass and downs the strange pink liquid in one sitting. She immediately drops the glass as her eyes gloss over with a strange look. She turns toward me and walks slowly, her hips having a slight sway and eyes as if looking at a good meal with slightly parted lips that curve into a smile.


    Seeing her like this, I walk forward to ask her if she is okay¡­or not. She suddenly jumped at me while pinning me to the ground. Her lips going on my face as if it were candy in front of a five-year-old. I look to my left to avoid those drug induced kisses and see Reiner¡¯s face completely twisted in anger for a brief moment. But that moment was burned into my eyes completely and that¡¯s when I realized that he had a thing for her too.


    Seeing him recover, I yell at him to get her off of me so we can leave the room. ¡°Make sure to tag her wrist to the door for our key!¡± I remind him while he struggles to tear her away from me and walk ahead with her after the key has registered.


    I follow behind Reiner who is starting to act strange and Claire who is constantly giving me looks while being held back by Reiner.


    I shudder to think about what could be in the rooms ahead of us¡­

 Chapter 7 - Envy and Pride, Wrath and Greed

    We walk down the hall cautiously. The walls are once again lined with paintings. This time however, the paintings are of a single blurred person over and over again. Every single one is the same image.


    We continue down the all until we come upon a gold door with two figures looking at each other. One had a knife while another held a pouch of some kind. I look at Reiner and Claire, former still acting weird and the latter finally recovered from whatever she drank earlier. Seeing as it is my turn, I slowly open the golden door.


    Inside are two statues facing each other. One is holding a knife and the other is holding a pouch. Both are facing each other with a mask on their face. The mask looks very expensive with gold flower in-lays and silver outlines. Both have a hand stretched out to each other as if they were reaching for something. I look inside the room a bit and find four chairs. With a plaque lying between all four of them in the center.


    It read ¡°Tell them¡±. I sat down in one of the chairs to think for a bit. Tell who what? The statues¡­or maybe¡­Reiner and Claire. Tell them what happened what happened after they ate those rolls? Various thoughts went through my mind as the other two sat in the other chairs. Perhaps it meant everything on our minds and to be open.


    The two look at the plaque and back at me. Various emotions flit across their faces as they look at me.


    Guess I¡¯ll start this off. ¡°Alright guys. Let¡¯s have a chat.¡±


    ¡°¡±About what?¡±¡± They ask in a synchronized unison.


    I start off with the thing that is weighing the most on my mind.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to believe me, but something happened after you all ate those rolls.¡± I take a slow deep breath in and let it out before resuming. ¡°He summoned demons that possessed everyone in the room and Edan is already dead.¡±


    ¡°Way to get straight to the point.¡± Zero casually says.


    Both of them stare at me like I just told them that the world is flat.


    Reiner opens his mouth in confusion, but when nothing comes out he shuts it. This happens a few times while Claire just looks at me quizzically.


    ¡°Your turn.¡± I say to Claire. I distinctly recall the plaque saying ¡®Tell them¡¯ not ¡®Make them believe you¡¯. Hell, if I were them, I wouldn¡¯t believe me either¡­


    ¡°Umm what am I supposed to say? I mean you shouldn¡¯t joke around Jake¡­¡± Claire trails off into silence.


    I tell them to say what is on their minds. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what it is as long as you say what is weighing on your mind. It can be about anything.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Claire is silent for a long time, until a faint blush comes over her cheeks. She looks at me with some kind of determination.


    ¡°I want an answer.¡± Claire softly says.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°I want my answer¡­to what I asked you before all this happened.¡± She looks me in the eyes, unwilling to look away.


    I can feel my face get a little hotter. I don¡¯t really know how I feel about her to be perfectly honest. We never really talked much outside of school and don¡¯t really have anything in common.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you after we get out of here alright?¡± I stall putting the issue aside for now. Yea I feel bad about doing it, but I don¡¯t want to give her a half-hearted answer. She simply nods quickly before blushing and looking away. Reiner is beginning to act weird again.


    ¡°Reiner? Your turn.¡± Seeming to snap out of whatever he was thinking about, he turns towards us.


    ¡°What?¡± He asks now paying attention.


    ¡°Your turn to say something that is on your mind.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything on my mind.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I ask him while slightly suspicious.


    ¡°Yea let¡¯s just leave already¡­¡± Reiner gets up and walks toward the door. ¡°Oh, yea it is your turn wasn¡¯t it?¡± His hand stopping mere inches away from the door. I walk up to the door and lightly tap it with my bracelet as another light comes up on it. ¡°Got the key.¡± I tell them.


    Reiner immediately walks through the door followed by Claire. As I was about to head out, a slow grating sound comes from behind me. I turn and see the statues aren¡¯t facing each other anymore. I move to the right a bit and realize something.


    The statues are looking at the door now, both of them reaching for something beyond it¡­


    I go through the door and into another hallway. This one is very plain yet clean with not a speck of dirt anywhere inside. I run to catch up to Reiner and Claire as we arrive at another door after some time.


    We go through another door and end up in a very small room. A plaque on the exit reads: ¡°Enter the team leader¡¯s name -->¡±.


    We look to the right and see a line on the stone wall with a single red crayon underneath it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s vot-¡± I begin to say, but I was immediately cut off by Reiner.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I will do it.¡± Reiner says with a dark and solemn tone while looking at me.


    ¡°Reiner, I really think Jake should do it.¡± No sooner than when the words left her mouth, did Reiner sprint to the wall and furiously wrote his name on the line with the crayon.


    ¡°I SAID I WILL DO IT!¡± He shouts at us. We hear a click as Reiner runs to the door, gets the key, and runs into the hallway beyond.


    ¡°Reiner wai-¡± I call after him a little too late. ¡°Dammit¡­¡±


    Claire and I start to chase Reiner through the next hallway with numerous plaques on them. I see them fly by as we finally catch up to him, only for him to go into the next door. We run over to the door, throw it open and run inside while panting heavily.


    The room is a white cubic area with a single pedestal with a black box on it. On the box is a small plaque that reads: ¡°You can only save one.¡±


    ¡°WHAT THE HELL REINER!¡± I yell at him. Reiner mumbles something and walks over to a pedestal. I yell at him again when he suddenly turns around and runs at me.


    ¡°JAKE DODGE HIM!¡± Zero¡¯s voice snaps me out of it and I barely dodge something whizzing by my face. I look at Reiner and at what he has in his hands. It¡¯s the machete that he picked up back then in the octagonal room. Quickly stepping backwards, I clumsily pull out my two daggers. I definitely don¡¯t know any way to fight with them but I won¡¯t just roll over and die without trying.


    ¡°What the fuck Reiner?! Why are you doing this!¡± I shout at him. He ignores me and keeps swinging at me. One lands on my arm as another swing barely skins my cheek. I feel a warm yet stinging sensation on my cheek as liquid rolls down to my chin. A cold calculative feeling starts to accumulate in my heart. Zero I could use your help here! I don¡¯t know how to fight using just daggers dammit!


    ¡°Just dodge the way I tell you to while looking for an opening.¡± Zero says with a serious tone.


    I start to follow his instructions and watch as Reiner becomes more and more agitated. After two more swings, he stands there with a cold look in his eyes.


    ¡°I am the leader Jake, so listen to me right now. Claire is MY woman you hear? I won¡¯t let you have her. She¡¯s mine¡­mine¡­mine¡­YOU CAN¡¯T HAVE HER!¡± He brings up his machete again as I jump out of the way. I look at Claire as she sits against the wall, probably in shock from the sudden turn of events. Her mind not quite registering that this is really happening.


    ¡°I¡¯LL FUCKING KILL YOU JAKE! NO ONE GETS CLOSE TO MY GIRL!¡± I try to dodge again but misstep and fall on my back with my right dagger falling from my hand. ¡°DIE!!¡± He brings the machete down on me and into my right hand that was trying to push him away. My hand painfully slides to the hilt of the machete and grabs his collar. With every ounce of my strength, I pull him close to me as my left hand slams the dagger deep into his right eye.


    He starts to scream but I pull him harder and twist the knife in his eye, trying get it as deep as I can. We roll around a bit until my hand is jerked sideways as he pulls the machete out of it. I look over at the other dagger I dropped which is now in arm¡¯s reach. Reiner brings the machete down towards my neck as I guard with my left dagger. In that split-second I hear a familiar girl¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Let me help you¡­¡± Instantly my racing mind calms down as I grab the other dagger with my right hand and shove it into the side of his neck. I take it out and shove it back in over and over again until he slumps against me, but I don¡¯t care. I keep going while feeling the calmness. I keep stabbing him over and over again. The feeling of warm liquid against my hands. The tearing and sinking feeling of the blade hitting flesh and bone¡­


    ¡°JAKE STOP! PLEASE JUST STOP JAKE! HE IS ALREADY DEAD SO STOP IT!!!¡± A high-pitched scream tears me away from something and I look down¡­


    His body is completely mangled. His neck is bent in impossible ways as blood was sprayed across the floor. Numerous holes fill his shirt and his skin. I drop the daggers and back away.


    ¡°C-Claire I¡­¡± She looks at me terrified. DING


    I look at my bracelet to find that I have three keys now as there are three lights out of five lit now. I look at Claire again and she just backs away a bit.


    ¡°L-l-lets ju-ust go J-Jake.¡± Claire says with a terrified voice. She quickly walks over to the door and taps it with her bracelet, getting our key.


    After she left, I walk over to the black box while trying to process what just happened to me. The box opens without any effort and a pink vial of liquid is inside with the label ¡°Revive within 20 seconds.¡± I absentmindedly put it in my pocket and follow after Claire. My mind in utter shock and disbelief about what happened. I push any and all thoughts and run after Claire while still bleeding.


    I enter the next room without Claire in sight. Where did she go?


    I walk up to read the familiar plaque, a sharp pain explodes between my shoulder blades. I try and turn around but the blade keeps me rooted in the spot.


    The blade leaves my back as I fall and turn to see Claire holding a bloodied blade. My already chaotic mind instantly stops when I see her holding it. ¡°I am sorry Jake, the plaque said ¡®Only one may leave through the door to the right¡¯. So, it was either you or me. Thanks for killing that piece of shit by the way, his demon wasn¡¯t really matured anyway.¡±


    ¡°Claire what¡­are you¡­talking about?¡± I try to ask between gasps for air.


    ¡°Their demons Jake. I¡¯m talking about the demons that possessed everyone. Well not exactly everyone, seeing as you are still fine. I wonder how you did that?¡± She says with a whimsical tune.


    ¡°Were you¡­possessed as¡­well?¡± I ask her as she slowly walks away toward the door.


    ¡°No I wasn¡¯t possessed Jake. In fact, I helped Gary summon them all here in the first place.¡±


    ¡°You¡­how long have yo-¡±


    ¡°Since your first day of class Jake. It was really difficult being around so many snot-nosed brats, ill tell you that much. But don¡¯t worry, you will die with the rest of them¡­eventually.


    ¡°I will¡­kill¡­you and get Claire back¡­¡± She turned around at this words and gave an enchanting smile.


    ¡°Your cute little Claire never existed in the first place¡­ hahahah! Why would I ever want to be with someone as worthless at you? Did you really think that I would ever like you?¡± She said as she went toward the black box and opened it.


    "I''ll take this, it would be better suited for me anyway~" She took out a vial of liquid and stuffed it into her pocket before walking out of the door laughing.


    ¡°Jake¡­¡± I hear Zero¡¯s words as my mind starts to become dizzy and light-headed from the blood loss.


    I tried Zero¡­I really tried my friend. But it seems like you will get to re-incarnate after all.


    ¡°¡­¡± Zero is silent for some time as my vision fades from red and gradually black around the edges.


    ¡°I can save you Jake, but¡­¡± Zero says hesitantly. ¡°You won¡¯t be in control of your body for some time afterward.¡±


    Go ahead Zero¡­Just¡­please don¡¯t¡­forget me alright.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be forgotten my friend, but you won¡¯t be going anywhere either.¡± Zero says with some amusement.


    Jake feels his consciousness pulled towards a deep dark area as white lights start to gather around him. The lights gather and become brighter and brighter until he has to close his eyes and let the dark feeling envelop him¡­


    ***


    Sometime later, a boy regains consciousness and lays on his back. He looks at his bracelet only to surprise him with five lights lit. How are you feeling Jake? The boy mentally askes himself.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Only silence is heard back. Giving a deep sigh, the boy walks forward to the door and goes into the hallway beyond. He walks slowly down the hall, his mind wandering from everything he has seen since that woman shoved him inside of Jake¡¯s soul. The fear, the teamwork, the betrayal, the calm murder.


    No wonder he doesn¡¯t want to respond¡­I wouldn¡¯t want to either. He comes upon another room and proceeds to go inside¡­

 Chapter 8 - Zero

    I walk into the strange room seeing three people. There are various machines and devices all over the place. You could even describe it as a torture chamber. The odd part is that this one has three doors and not the usual two. Maybe the rooms and hallways aren¡¯t entirely linear and some merge paths?


    One is <s>that bitch</s> Claire lying lifeless on the ground some distance away, while two other girls are near the wall. One of the girls is crying while holding the other gently.


    I walk up to the girls slowly so that I don¡¯t startle them and ask what happened.


    ¡°We were looking at this plaque when this bitch came out of nowhere and stabbed my friend!¡± The red-haired girl spoke in-between sobs while looking down at the other girl with dark blue hair. The blood is pooling under her with each passing second until finally the dark blue-haired girl¡¯s body relaxes and slowly slumps down.


    ¡°No no no no no! CHRISTINA! Please you can¡¯t leave¡­you can¡¯t¡­¡±


    I look at them carefully, trying to find something inside them that is usually invisible. There it is¡­but wait¡­how is this possible?


    I stare at them for a second and see the red orbs chained with a pure white bond that attaches to their souls. They actually suppressed their demons and are ruling over them¡­well I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt if they took control of their possessions I guess.


    I walk up to Claire''s corpse and pat her pockets, eventually finding the pink vial. I open it with my teeth and take all of the liquid in my mouth. Forgive me for this girl¡­ Then I kiss Christina and force her to drink it.


    The elixir as it is known in my world is the epitome of magic itself. Known to bring the dead and fallen back to life. Some of the legendary elixirs are even capable of granting eternal youth and immortality¡­but this one looks like a regular elixir so it should do the trick with no after effects.


    After she drinks the entirety of the elixir I get up and walk away knowing that they will be fine. I was about to leave when the red-haired one barrages me with questions.


    ¡°What did you do? Why did you do that? Who are you? Where did you...¡± I cut her off by telling her to shut up.


    ¡°One, I saved her. Two, because I wanted to. As for three¡­¡± My voice trails off as I think about how to answer that third question. Jake will probably come back sometime¡­eventually¡­I hope.


    ¡°I¡¯m Jake.¡± I finally answer. I am only taking control until he wants to come back anyway. I reason with myself.


    ¡°Four, don¡¯t bother because there was only one I found¡­ So, which door did you enter from?¡±


    The red-haired girl was about to say something when a soft ¡°Uggghhhh Jessica? Where are we?¡± came from Christina.


    ¡°Are you alright Christina?¡± Jessica asks her with a big smile on her face.


    ¡°No¡­not really¡­I feel awful. Like there is a jack-hammer in my head.¡± Guess it was one of the lower quality ones then¡­


    I wait for a few minutes so that I don¡¯t interrupt their reunion. After a short time, I ask, ¡°Which room Jessica?¡±.


    She points to the door on the left side. I came in from the door behind me, so that only leaves the door straight ahead huh.


    I walk towards the door and open it. A soft voice echoes behind me as I leave. ¡°Thank you, Jake¡­¡±


    Continuing down another hall, I look ahead with my eyes and mind wandering wherever. So many things have happened to Jake¡­ he is young enough to be my son back in my world, the son I never had. I will protect him from anything that would cause him harm from now on. I solemnly swear to myself.


    With renewed determination, I advance down the hall as it winds, turns and drops. Where is this hallway leading me? I wonder to myself.


    After what seems like only a few minutes of walking, on one side of the hallway, there is a door labeled ¡®SECURITY¡¯ on it. I push it open with my left hand and it seems locked. I was about to keep on walking, my bracelet tapped against the door and I heard a ¡®CLINK¡¯ sound. I tried opening it again and met no resistance.


    Thinking about various things, I see numerous monitors on a wall. Looking at the monitors, I eventually see one showing a boy at a table with a feast laid out. It looks like he fell off of his chair while clutching his chest. So, that is where the fifth key came from, he literally ate himself to death¡­well at least I don¡¯t have to worry about a demon chasing me anymore. ¡°Death awaits all who cannot complete the challenges.¡± I recalled solemnly.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Looking at the other monitors, I see other groups in various rooms. Some are lying in beds while others are eating and fighting each other. Many are lying face down or up without a single motion. Many of the rooms have what looks like blood all over the place and people slumped down against the walls. There are two more more monitors that read ¡°Audio Room¡± and ¡°Exit¡±. The ¡°Audio room looks pretty modern with no traces of a fight. It seems safe enough¡­ The other one named ¡°Exit¡± is only a view of some forest and another has an image of a log cabin somewhere in that forest.


    I exit the security room and see two figures walking towards me. When the girls see me they immediately start running. I turned around and was about to leave when I heard, ¡°Wait up!¡±. A little curious, I turned back around and waited for them to catch up.


    ¡°So why are you following me?¡± I ask, only to realize that this is the only route to go. After internally face-palming myself, I change my question. ¡°Err, what do you want?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go together Jake.¡± Jessica said with a smile while holding onto Christina.


    ¡°Yea I agree with her, we shouldn¡¯t split up seeing as how we and you are still alive. Survivors should stick, together right?¡± Christina says with no hint of emotion.


    Seeing no flaws in their logic and unable to counter, I simply say ¡®alright¡¯ and continue walking. After a few steps, sure enough, the pitter patter of two sets of feet follow behind me.


    We keep walking through the winding plain hallway as we pass by many doors with each one having a different plaque. ¡°Mess¡±, ¡°Lab¡±, ¡°Quarters¡± are just to name a few.


    Coming to the end of the hall, we see another wooden door that reads ¡°Audio Room¡±. We open the door and go inside to see a completely modern recording studio. I look around for a bit to try and find any clues to where the well-built man could have gone.


    ¡°This might have been where he was talking to us while we were in that octagonal room.¡± Christina said as if putting pieces of a puzzle together.


    I agreed with her and continued to look around without finding anything useful except the glowing red ¡°EXIT¡± sign for an emergency exit. I walk to the emergency exit and try to open it, but to no avail.


    ¡°There has to be an unlocking mechanism somewhere around here. Help me find it.¡± Jessica says to Christina and Me. I begin to look around again but still don¡¯t see anything useful, until I accidentally drop something and get under the recording studio desk to pick it back up.


    A small rectangular piece of metal with five dimmed red lights is built into the wall under the desk.


    ¡°Hey I think I found something.¡± I tell the other two.


    I think for a moment before putting my bracelet against the piece of metal. Suddenly five lights dim on my bracelet as five lights turn green on the piece of metal. With a final ¡®DING¡¯ and ¡®CLICK¡¯ my bracelet comes off in two halves while the piece of metal on the wall returns to five dimmed lights. I rub my wrist, glad to finally have that annoying piece of technology off of me.


    ¡°This is the thing that takes off our bracelets!¡± Jessica shouts with excitement.


    ¡°No wonder the exit was locked, those bracelets act as a marker for who to not let out. Get close to an exit and the door automatically locks when you are near and unlocks when you aren¡¯t.¡± Cristina says to complete the thought and fill in the gaps in Jessica¡¯s statement.


    Jessica and Christina each put their bracelets to the metal piece but only make three lights and two lights turn on respectively. Puzzled, they try to take turns over and over again. They every try putting both of them on the metal object with no luck. While figuring out what to do, another quote hits me.


    ¡°As long as one person or group has the needed keys and arrive at the end, all participants in that group may leave.¡± Eric¡¯s plaque rang out in my mind. What if you have to put them together first and have them make a group?


    ¡°Try putting your bracelets together for a minute.¡± I tell Jessica.


    She looks at me quizzically for a few minutes and then realizes something and looks at Clair¡¯s bracelet


    An idea forming in her head, she puts hers near Christina¡¯s bracelet and waits for a few minutes. After what seems like forever, a ¡®DING¡¯ resounds and their bracelets have five lights each. One is five amber lights while the other is five green lights. One by one they both get their bracelets off and we head toward the door.


    ¡°How did that work?¡± Jessica asks me.


    ¡°The rules said that you had to be in a group, right? So how would the devices know if you are in a group unless they synchronize somehow?¡±


    ¡°Ah that makes sense. When they sync, all keys are shared between the group hence the red lights on the bracelet turning amber.¡± Christina chimes in.


    I push on the emergency exit door again and it swings open with some effort due to the rusted hinges. The door opens into a brick staircase that winds upward somewhere. Being cautious, we slowly walk up the brick steps floor by floor until we hear an extremely loud voice.


    ¡°PROJECT HAS BEEN BREACHED. INITIATING FAIL-SAFE PROCEDURE. T MINUS FIVE MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION. I REPEAT- ¡°


    Throwing caution to the wolves, we immediately sprint up the stairs floor by floor. Floor numbers zoom past us, ranging from B-10 to B-6 as we give it everything we have to get out of this god-forsaken place alive. Four minutes¡­three minutes¡­two minutes¡­


    We arrive at the door with just one minute to spare, so we immediately throw the door open and run into a forest. We keep running until a low deep ¡°Booooom, boom, boom, boom, boom¡± Echoes beneath our feet.


    The ground becomes unsteady as large parts of the earth cave inwards and outwards making cracks and spikes everywhere. We keep running while trying not to stumble and fall on any of the cracks or craters being formed by the multitude of explosions. ¡°BOOM BOOM¡± The noise is amplified when we are near the cracks and tremors ripple across the surface of the grass making many birds take flight and animals flee for their lives.


    We run farther and farther until we see an old wooden cabin with an open door and dive in. Explosions continue to ring out into the forest as we all huddle in a corner. After some time, the explosions fade away and the forest becomes still once again yet forever changed.


    We look around the cabin and see an old house telephone. I dial nine-one-one on the rotator and hear a voice that I never thought I would hear again.


    "Nine-one-one operator. What is your emergency..."

 Chapter 9 - Vices and Karma

    ==Somewhere in another world==


    Under the night sky there was a calm and peaceful forest. Two moons illuminate the forest from two directions, lending the forest and ethereal feel. Animals scamper through it and insects lie dormant with the chill of winter close upon them. Light flecks of snow fall down from the heavens and lightly cover the forest ground.


    ¡°Achoo!¡± A small sneeze comes from the direction of a poorly maintained and often untraveled road. The calmness, however, carries the sound throughout the forest making the shy animals flee in every direction. The sound reaches a small wooden shack which causes two dim, floating balls of light to vanish from someone¡¯s palm.


    The armored figure walks up to the isolated shack and knocks on the wooden door. ¡°Hey Zeno! I¡¯m here to check up you.¡±


    Zeno opens up the door. ¡°Thanks Neil. Gets kind of lonely out here in the middle of nowhere with no one to talk to for a week.¡±


    ¡°I bet¡­¡± Neil looks outside at the ever-present calmness and light snow drifting around. ¡°Some ¡®Important mission¡¯ huh? Well someone has to do it I guess.¡±


    ¡°Hey I get a bit extra on top of my regular wages. You know how bad I need the money¡­¡±


    ¡°Right¡­your sister. Sorry to remind you about that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Neil, you aren¡¯t reminding me. Just seeing her so weak and helpless is reminder enough to not slack off. Anyway, how is your girl doing? The one you ¡°met¡± at the pub?¡± Zeno grins.


    ¡°Ahh, don¡¯t remind me. I swear she¡¯s a demon inside I¡¯ll tell ya! Do this, do that, why aren¡¯t you blah blah¡­¡± Neil looks down in remorse at his alcohol fueled choice.


    ¡°Well it¡¯s not official so why not just leave?¡± Zero asks curiously.


    ¡°Might as well be¡­with a magus behind her.¡± Neil contemplates.


    ¡°A magus huh.¡± Zeno ponders a bit. ¡°Just leave with a good reason, or just be honest about it and I¡¯m sure the magus will respect that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, if the magus wasn¡¯t the father.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­yeah you are so screwed.¡± Zeno laughs loudly. ¡°Give it up friend, either be stuck with her or risk being blasted to smithereens.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, anyway I came here to relieve you so go home to your sister Zeno.¡±


    ¡°But the shift change isn¡¯t until tomorrow right?¡±


    Neil winks at Zeno and says to himself. ¡°Man, good thing I came upon this little hut during my escape from that she-devil. Now I can relax in peace¡­¡±


    ¡°Thanks Neil.¡± Zeno quickly packs up his things and starts to walk down the very much untraveled road.


    ¡°ZENO!¡± Neil called out.


    Zeno turns around to look at Neil. ¡°The medicine should be in stock today at Ms. Prim¡¯s shop!¡±


    Zeno waved at Neil once again and quickly walked back to the castle town called Remford.


    ***


    A girl adorned in luxurious clothing and jewels looks out from the castle¡¯s veranda. Her blonde hair and ribbon swayed in the gentle breeze. She sees all of the people walking around in the daylight. Some are at the market haggling prices, while others are doing various other things in the city. ¡°Disgusting.¡± She says as if looking at garbage. She didn¡¯t understand why the Costa family had to take in these so-called refugees into their home and property. They only made things worse when they built houses outside the perimeter of the castle-city walls. Fights broke out every now and then and crime went up as well. These filthy people ate their food and slept on their property, so the least they could do was to pay for it, right?


    She thought about a certain room with tools and the like in it. The fun sounds that the garbage made was enough for her to forgive them of their existence¡­for some time anyway. Soon, however, she definitely needed another ¡°playmate¡± and it had to happen soon. She looked down at the market and saw a thin, weak-looking girl with silver hair getting food with a smile.


    Perfect. She thought to herself with a grin. Another one.


    ***


    Zeno walked for a few hours to reach the outskirts of the Remford castle. The various houses and what-not littered the outside of the castle-city walls ever since a huge number of refugees from Sandston came to find a new home. The war was hard on them all, especially when the war reached the inner cities.


    Zeno came to the city gates just after sunrise and the guards immediately let him inside without any fuss. Having a brother who worked for the king worked wonders indeed. He thought about his brother Andreas and how he might be doing.


    They weren¡¯t directly related, but the Tobin family were a tight-knit group. Andreas and his now deceased wife would always come over to visit Zeno and his silver-haired sister Angela. Angela was always weak since she was born. Her thin and weak body could do very few things besides walk around and maybe get groceries every now and then. Andreas would always talk about his research or new theories about magic and the soul arts to his little brother Zeno. This actually helped Zeno a lot when his magic awakened while he was out hunting to support his small family of two.


    Ever since then, Zeno would always practice the theories and anything he could learn from Andreas to help him control his magic. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t be open about it, since it was royal decree that any mages had to be in the service of the king or their family would be put to death. Zeno heard the rumors about the nobles and really didn¡¯t want to be stuck working with someone who might stab his back one day, or even hurt his sister.


    After Andreas¡¯s wife passed away, he holed himself up in the castle to bury his sorrows in research. Zeno hadn¡¯t heard from him since the funeral, yet there would always be some extra money to help their sister every full moon.


    Zeno went to Ms. Prim¡¯s medicine shop to pay for Angela¡¯s Medicine, and went towards his home to surprise his sister and see that radiant smile.


    He walked around a corner and with a quick and excited pace, he arrived at his house¡­only to stare in shock. The house door was broken inwards and the gate was in pieces. He ran into the house to see things lying everywhere. Furniture was destroyed and what little they had lied broken on the ground everywhere. He rushed upstairs into Angela¡¯s room and saw it completely destroyed with the signs of a struggle.


    Not caring if he got caught, he activated his magic. The energy swirled around him and he focused on what he wanted to do. I want to find my sister. He thought to himself. He wished and focused strongly, as if it was the only thing that mattered to him.


    Slowly an arrow appeared in front of him. He rushed out of the house while following the arrow that pointed to the castle...


    ***


    A girl with blonde hair and a ribbon was standing in front of an oval shaped sack.


    ¡°Harmonia! Harmonia Costa!¡± She turned around to see who was calling her, only to see her father. He was angry that she partook in her hobby again, but didn¡¯t really do anything to stop it. He loved his daughter no matter what she did. Then again, he couldn¡¯t really tell her off when he had his own¡­hobbies.


    ¡°Yes father?¡± She asked with a smile. She was irritated about being interrupted but she had to listen to her father for better or worse.


    ¡°Did you really do this again? You have to stop this game¡­for now. This will be the LAST ONE! Swear this to me Harmonia.¡±


    ¡°I-I swear father.¡± She hesitated but swore to him nonetheless. She would have to thoroughly enjoy this one until she could fine more again.


    ¡°Good. Your mother and I will be leaving for some time and be back in the morning.¡± He gave her a knowing glare. ¡°Be presentable when we arrive.¡±


    ¡°Yes father.¡± She said while turning back to the oval shaped sack, while her father walked out of the room.


    Harmonia clapped her hands twice and two knights came in. ¡°Open it.¡± She commanded.


    The knights gave a sigh and walked toward the sack, knowing what horrors await the person inside. They opened it and took the person out slowly. After the sack left the person¡¯s head, one of the knights were shocked and stopped moving.


    ¡°Something wrong Neil? Get her to the table.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Neil couldn¡¯t go against orders but he knew what princess Harmonia was about to do, and it would forever send his soul into damnation. He carried the girl to the table and began to leave the room. He took one last glance at the girl with her weak looking body and silver hair and walked way.


    ***


    Zeno arrived at the castle walls while hiding behind bushes and trees, blending in with the shadows. The slightly blueish arrow pointed to somewhere inside. As a rogue, he knew ways to get around the lax security, but today, there seem to be more patrols out so he waited to figure out their pattern.


    After waiting until night, he finally found a weak spot in the patrol pattern and climbed up the castle gate quickly. He landed without a noise and hid just as another guard patrol passed the gate. He followed the arrow to the main castle door but found it guarded by three knights and was well lit. Zeno thought for a bit until he noticed a window slightly open some distance above the main castle door and slightly to the side.


    He snuck over to a portion of the inner wall that couldn¡¯t be seen by the knights and started to get ready to climb. Carefully, he climbed the castle wall using a combination of his innate skill and magic. He moved quickly until he was directly above all three knights. He then moved slowly to make sure there was no noise, since being spotted or arrested was the last thing he needed to do right now.


    After slowly passing the guards below him, he made his way to the open window and let himself in and followed the arrow silently. He softly ran past many rooms until he started to go down the stairs one floor at a time until he arrived at a basement door.


    He reached for the door but stopped as a terrified and pain filled scream erupted from behind the door. Quickly he went inside only to see the first princess of the castle holding a blade against a woman with a thin body and silver hair¡­his sister.


    He was about to move forward, but a sudden impact on his head knocked to the ground. He looked at his sister the entire time, until he lost consciousness.


    ***


    ¡°Who is this rabble?¡± Harmonia asked, very displeased to be interrupted again.


    ¡°He is Zeno Tobin. A rogue who works for the city guard.¡± A knight solemnly said.


    ¡°Neil, perhaps he knows this woman?¡± She turned toward the other knight who knocked Zeno out. She doubted it because the girl¡¯s hair was silver, whereas the man lying before her had dark blue hair with streaks of silver.


    ¡°Yes, she is Angela Tobin. His only sister and family.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm~ is that so¡­¡± She thought for a bit. ¡°Perfect he can join in the fun.¡±


    Harmonia laughed for a while and ordered the guards to tie him up on a similar table.


    ***


    Zeno woke up in pain. He looked around frantically until his eyes rested on what he was looking for. ¡°Angela¡­¡± He saw her body covered in wounds. She was shaking terribly and couldn¡¯t say a word with a cloth gag in her mouth. This kind of inhumane torture was only reserved for the worst of war criminals. He couldn¡¯t believe that he saw this kind of treatment on his sister.


    ¡°Oh, finally awake are we?¡± Suddenly a princess followed by two knights approached him. He recognized one of the knights and scowled. ¡°HOW COULD YOU! HOW COULD YOU, YOU PIECE OF-¡± He screamed at the knight, but never finished as the other knight brought his fist into Zeno¡¯s gut.


    *COUGH COUGH* ¡°That¡¯s enough out of you.¡± The princess said.


    Zeno glared at Harmonia before talking again. ¡°What did my sister do to deserve such treatment?¡± He asked while trying to be calm and shaking in fury.


    ¡°She existed. Just like you all of common birth. That is her and all of your kind¡¯s sin.¡± She grinned.


    ¡°You Cun-!¡± Once again, the knight next to Neil planted his fist into Zeno¡¯s gut and finished it off by putting a gag in his mouth.


    ¡°That should keep you quiet. Your voice is grating against my ears. Now where was I?¡± Harmonia walked to the table that Zeno was tied to and grabbed a knife. She looked at Angela with an idea.


    ¡°Strip her.¡± She commanded.


    Neil and the other knight¡¯s faces immediately scowled but they couldn¡¯t go against her words. They slowly moved to the table Angela was at and stripped her one piece at a time and Zeno was forced to watch. There wasn¡¯t much to strip so it was over soon enough.


    ¡°MMMM! MMfffff-mmfmMMM!¡± Angela tried to scream and get away from the knight¡¯s hands but she couldn¡¯t do anything at all as she laid bare before them. She paused with an evil grin and turned to the knights and said the one thing that should never be said by anyone.


    ¡°Now, violate her.¡± The princess commanded.


    The knights paused at the command. ¡°Do it and there will be a thirty percent increase in your pay for six months.¡± She said while looking at them.


    The other knight began undressing with a hard face while Neil just stood there. ¡°Or do you want to be my next ¡®play-mate¡¯ Neil?¡± She threatened with a low tone.


    Neal brought his shaking hands to his armor. The armor he swore he would protect the populace with. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Zeno. I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± He took off his armor piece by piece. ¡°I need the money Zeno please understand¡­¡± He tried to reason with himself.


    Zeno just looked dumbfounded as his best friend stripped to rape his sister. He kept looking as if he would kill him with his eyes. ¡°Now while they are doing that, let¡¯s have our fun¡­hehe.¡± Immediately a sharp pain pierced his shoulder. The princess stabbed him with some kind of knife. She stabbed his shoulder over and over again until he couldn¡¯t take it anymore and screamed in pain.


    ¡°There it is! Ahh, what a wonderful sound~¡±


    She then stripped his skin off one small area at a time on his left shoulder until his entire arm was only muscle and veins. Then she put some kind of liquid on his arm. ¡°To keep you awake m¡¯dear.¡±


    When she applied it, it was a tingling feeling¡­then the feeling turned warm¡­.and then into a burning feeling. Zeno screamed while looking at his arm that was dissolving as his arm felt like it was on fire. His screams then stopped as he heard his sister scream with him while she was beginning to be raped.


    Zeno looked to his left and saw his best friend and the other knight on each end of the table starting their deed. His anger overcame the pain and he tried to break his bonds to help her. The princess simply stabbed his other shoulder. ¡°None of that now. You have to focus on me okay?¡± She giggled while driving the blade into his shoulder until it touched the table. ¡°How does it feel to be powerless Zeno? To watch your sister be violated in front of you and not be able to do anything about it?¡±


    Zeno screamed at her and struggled, not caring that the blade was biting deeper into his flesh as he flailed around. ¡°MMM commoner screams are the best sound¡­¡± She then repeated the skinning of his other arm while he was forced to watch the knights enter his sister over and over again until they finished.


    With the unbearable pain of his other arm¡¯s flesh melting away from the liquid, he watched the knights finish their deed with a few grunts. He stared at Neil with pure hate. He swore that if he got the chance, he would kill him and the entire nobility here in Remford.


    ¡°Done already?¡± She asked whimsically. ¡°You boys really don¡¯t have the stamina huh?¡± She walked over to his sister while holding the blade to her throat.


    ¡°MMMMM!¡± Zeno screamed. No please¡­god please save her. ANYONE PLEASE! He screamed mentally.


    ¡°Any last words for her?¡± Harmonia asked Zero while smiling at Zeno.


    Unable to say anything, he looked at Harmonia with pleading eyes. Then he looked at his sister and his mind stopped.


    Angela was smiling at him. That pure smile that held his world together since their parents died. His reason for living and working hard. His only family that still talked to him and loved him. She smiled at him¡­and then the blade slid against her throat. Even while bleeding out, she still looked at Zeno and smiled at him with love. Slowly her eyes went wide and her body went limp. Her eyes never left his, and even in her final moments, she was still smiling at him.


    With every ounce of his rage and willpower for what was lost, he willed his magic to come into being and focused it on the knights that raped his sister. As the energy flowed around him the princess walked towards him. She was shocked that he could use magic, but then Neil rushed in front of her and stabbed Zeno in the chest, piercing his heart. The sudden pain caused his magic to go beserk and he simply laid still on that table. As he fell, the energy morphed into a sword and violently flew at the princes. She backed away in fear as the energy swiftly rushed toward her before one of the knights tackled her to the ground. The sword slid across the right side of her face causing a deep wound.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Zeno¡­¡± Neil said as he twisted the knife in his chest. Slowly the world went from red to black as he looked at his sister and finally the fear-struck stare of the shocked princess as she held the right side of her bleeding face.


    "You will pay for this one day..." Zeno whispered.


    Then everything dissapeared from his sight.


    ***


    When Zeno came to, he was somewhere he had never seen before. It was a void with many white lights dotting the distance. It looked like the night sky back when he used to stand guard at that wooden shack, except the sky was all around him. He saw a bright light and felt himself start to drift towards it.


    Peace and calm started to fill him, and he realized that he was going somewhere else. His brother always talked about the soul arts, so he understood that he was going somewhere far away from his world. He was about to accept the light when suddenly, a giant hand reached into the void and grabbed him, tearing him from the calming feeling. He fell towards a swirling light and appeared in the palm of a woman. His brother never told him about this so he tried to escape in any way he could.


    Knowing that he didn¡¯t have arms or legs, he mentally tried to move his round shaped being around unsuccessfully, moving erratically a few inches here and there. Then the woman threw him at a young boy. Immediately, he felt a soul-wrenching pain. He felt himself slowly become wrapped around another existence. He can feel his mind tearing and becoming something new¡­someone new.


    Then suddenly, he was somewhere different altogether. He was under a large tree with grass as far as the eye can see. A gentle breeze wafts against the grass making lazy waves across the plains. Zeno sat against the tree while waiting for the pain in his mind to pass. He went over everything his brother told him, all of his theories and magic. He waited in that place for hours. Hours turned into days while days turned into weeks. Months passed by turning into years, all the while his rage consumed his mind.He used his burning rage tofocus on his magic. After years more of practicing his techniques to their absolute pinnacle, he finally accepted his place here in the calm grassland.


    ¡°At least it is far away from that damn princess¡­¡± He reasoned to himself.


    After an untold amount of time to calm himself amidst the rolling waves of grass, practicing his magic, and accepting his new life of eternal peace and solitude, a boy appeared in front of him¡­

 Chapter 10 - Together Forever

    ¡°Angela¡­¡± The boy whispered. Zero always recalled that moment the nine-one-one operator talked. She sounded just like his sister and it soothed him somehow, as if his sister reincarnated safely and he didn¡¯t need to worry anymore. Jake and Zero always repeat the event in his dreams whether they want to or not, however, the dreams about it are becoming more frequent and it was irritating Zero.


    Zero slowly gets out of the bed and begins to get ready for the day. Morning Jake. ¡°Morning¡­that dream again huh¡­¡± Jake asks.


    Zero doesn¡¯t respond but just gets dressed and prepares breakfast. After, he starts walking to school while slightly irritated.


    ¡°Well at least it is over and in the past now.¡± Jake commented. While Zero was irritated, Jake was bubbly and happy about another day. Granted, he wasn¡¯t up to the task of living his own life quite yet, but he was definitely starting to enjoy it more and more ever since Zero came along. They would talk about all kinds of things ranging from modern science to Zero¡¯s magic and magic laws and deities. Especially since Jake and Zero have read all of their class books already and know the content.


    These conversations in class helped distract Jake from the incident and allowed him to heal over time. Zero knew this and with a sigh, he resumed the previous conversation about magic and his world. With each story and conversation and slew of questions, Jake and Zero got closer and closer over the years like family.


    ***


    Zero arrived at the white school gates and was about to walk through but¡­


    ¡°¡±Morning!¡±¡± Two voices called out.


    Zero turns around. ¡°Morning Christina, Jessica.¡± He replied to them in turn and continued walking towards his Chemistry class as they follow.


    He arrives in the hallway that leads to his classroom to see Dan standing by the entrance. Dan notices Zero walking closer and scowls at him, but after seeing the two beauties, he immediately pales and quickly walks into the classroom.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± Jake asks.


    ¡°Probably nothing worth asking about. Zero responded.


    He walks into the classroom and sits in his iconic seat full of Sharpie writing. Bored, he looks out the classroom window and waits until the teacher arrives.


    Soon enough, everyone found their seats as a tall woman walked into the room. With every step, she exuded an erotic vibe somehow, the jeans were tightly hugging her rear while the sweater was barely covering up the shape of her large mounds that adolescent boys loved so much.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°Good morning! My name is Junko Beatrix, and I am you substitute teacher for chemistry. Just call me Ms. Beatrix alright?¡±


    ¡°¡±Hello Ms. Beatrix!¡±¡± The class eagerly greeted.


    ¡°Hello. Now let¡¯s get started, shall we? Please turn your books to page...¡± She said while getting straight into the class material.


    Zero kept looking outside while the class continued. Outside was always so calm and peaceful¡­the clouds drifted by lazily and the grass rustled with the warm, gentle breeze of summer. Then noticed an insect flying by the window hovering to land on the glass, when it stopped. His entire world turned grey as time seemed to stop completely. You could see the insect''s wings being perfectly still. He looked around the classroom and saw everyone else frozen too.


    Slowly, small balls of light began appearing in the classroom above everyone¡¯s head with some strange shapes flowing around them. The small balls got bigger and bigger until it could practically fit their respective person inside them and began descending. After it touched their heads, it would quickly move down until it covered their feet and would disappear.


    While looking up, Zero and Jake tried to mentally resist this strange phenomenon but to no avail. Eventually he felt a pulling sensation above his head and he fell into a seemingly infinite white space.


    After adjusting their vision, Jake and Zero opened their eyes in disbelief.


    ¡°Jake?¡± ¡°Zero?¡± They each asked out loud. For the second time since they knew each other, they were able to see each other. The two walked closer to talk about why this happened, but the closer they got, the more they began to get nervous.


    Both of them were turning into light and being absorbed by the other with Zero quickly gaining a lead. Piece by piece, their souls were trying to forcefully dominate and absorb each other. Jake¡¯s entire existence was starting to fade while Zero was getting brighter.


    With the realization that he was going to die, he looked at Zero¡­his only friend since the incident. He walked up to Zero with a smile.


    Zero saw Jake¡¯s existence become more and more transparent as the balls of light left Jake¡¯s soul and enter his own¡­yet Jake was smiling.


    He hugged Jake and cried for the first time since his sister was killed. He just got used to having someone he could trust and now something was taking that away from him. Jake hugged him back gently.


    ¡°Live for us both Zero¡­promise me.¡± Jake said in a whisper and backed away.


    While seeing Zero nod his head, he smiled once more, and vanished from existence while releasing millions of lights that entered Zero. The numerous lights turned into a cocoon of light that engulfed Zero completely. Zero felt something inside him start to change as pain assaulted his very being.


    His eyes, his head, his chest, his arms and legs, his very soul, everything seemed to be in a sea of fire that burned is existence non-stop for some time. He cried out and howled in pain for what seemed like minutes or maybe hours. It was hard to tell time while in pain and in the middle of a white expanse that seemed to never end.


    The burning feeling flared up stronger and stronger until it suddenly cut out. Unable to process the sudden change, the man fell to his knees and promptly slumped over. The only thing in his view was a woman amongst the vast expanse of white. She had a maroon dress with silver eyes. He looked at her while he laid on the white floor, trying to figure out why she seemed so familiar, until his vision faded away to black.


    ¡°Good luck child¡­¡±

 Chapter 11: Summoned and Confused

    Thump. A man fell out of thin air in front of a room full of people. Various people with blue robes and masks stood in a circle. Underneath them was some kind of symbol that lit up eerily, then slowly dulled until there was no more light within it.


    ¡°Put him with the others.¡± A man callously said.


    ¡°¡°Yes, my lord¡±¡± Two robed individuals picked up the man who fell out of thin air and dragged him through a door and into a dark hallway¡­


    ***


    The man opened his eyes in confusion.


    What...happened? Where am I?


    He looked around the room to see a small room with stone walls and iron bars. He was on a bed with a thin sheet for a blanket and no pillow. He simply ignored the slightly smelly bucket in the corner.


    Various memories flashed through his mind, but they seemingly came from two different perspectives. It was so disorienting that he immediately rolled over to his side, crawled over to the bucket, and puked a few times. Panicking wasn¡¯t going to do anyone any good, so he forced himself to calm down and let his mind wander slowly. He viewed each memory one by one. This Jake¡­This Zero¡­Zeno¡­the incident, his sister who was killed, his friends who betrayed him, The knight and the childhood friend both traitors. He recalled the feelings after the incident and the ones leading to the summoning.


    The process was very slow and brought him a headache, but he kept at it. He wanted to know¡­he needed those answers. Who am I? Resounded in his mind over and over again until he couldn''t handle the growing migraine from conflicting memories. Eventually, he stopped and reached a conclusion.


    I am Jake and I am Zeno¡­yet I am not. They are a part of me, yet I am someone else¡­something else¡­


    The man thought to himself and looked down. He thought of the memories of Zeno and Jake while inspecting his body. Slowly, a cold and calculating feeling welled up inside him. He seized the feeling and let it flow through his mind¡­through his veins¡­he let it become one with him as his anger toward the two lost lives pierced his heart and solidified itself in his mind. Yet, he recalled his broken memories of the soul arts that his brother talked about. He thought about those mystical arts and realized that there may be a way to revive them both¡­there had to be.


    I will bring them back and make whoever did this pay dearly¡­ he swore to himself with a cold heart.


    He got off of his knees and stood up slowly. He felt the energy swirling erratically within him and was immediately disappointed. His previous mana was much more¡­stable. Right now it was fluctuating so much that he couldn¡¯t even use the simplest of spells and he forget trying any enhancement techniques. If the amount of power severely spikes at any point during an enhancement, you can kiss your limbs goodbye as you scrape them off the ground. It wasn''t a very pretty picture for the enfeebled man.


    He reached within himself, felt the chaotic mana within him and slowly let himself relax¡­


    One minute passed¡­then two¡­ten minutes¡­an hour. Slowly, his mana was calming down as he relaxed his mind and body. Musthave been because of the fusion¡­but why is it so chaotic?


    He couldn¡¯t understand. In some of his memories as Zeno, his mana was under perfect control, yet now, it was like he was a rookie all over again. Forget even the amount that he had now, his control over mana in general was borderline infantile.


    ¡°Tch.¡±


    Clicking his tongue, he got back onto the bed that he rolled out of earlier and tried to force himself to relax and sleep. The spikes in his mana woke him up every now and then, irritating him even further.


    Sometime later, he was woken up with a clank clank. The man rolled over tiredly and saw a man wearing medieval armor. It looked like a knight or something along those lines. He looked at the man who had a slight scruff on his face and chin.


    With a swift movement, the knight unlocked the prison door and motioned for the man lying on the bed.


    ¡°Come.¡± The knight said.


    The man wordlessly followed as they made various turnsuntil they walked up a flight of stairs.


    The stairs¡­They seem so familiar. What is going on?


    Various thoughts went through the man¡¯s head as they reached the door at the end of the long staircase. They went through and started to walk down a luxurious hallway that was lined with various paintings, statues, fruit and other expensive looking objects.They kept walking until they stopped before a large wooden set of double doors that had a strange crest on them. The knight pushed the doors open and motioned for the man to follow.


    ¡°YOUR MAJESTY! THE MAN HAS AWOKEN!¡± The knight announced to the people present in the room.


    The man looks around the room and sees various people wearing gaudy clothing in the stands to the left and right of the large immaculate room. He looks to the left a little bit and sees a group of thirty or so people all standing in a 6x5 formation with an adult in front. He started to remember them, but he didn¡¯t have time to think about it as the king began to speak.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°WELCOME! I am sure that you are nervous and have many questions, and we will be sure to answer any and all that you may have. However, I would like to introduce myself first. My name is Ruslan Costa. I am the current king and ruler of Elysia. Beside me are my wife, Ruth Costa; and my daughters, Harmonia Costa, and Layla Van-Hassel Costa.¡±


    Harmonia...Costa¡­ The name caused his mind to immediately go on alert. His mind was immediately filled with rage that threatened to overcome him from the depths of his soul, but he just barely managed to push it to the back of his mind.


    Not yet¡­I need to be stronger¡­ He reminded himself.


    He wasn¡¯t strong enough to do anything about her for now, and needed to bide his time and wait for an opportunity. His gaze met hers and the anger once again swelled up, but he tried to keep it within reasonable limits. The man knew that keeping his hatred down entirely was a feat only god was capable of. Such sorrow and wrath were normally too much for one person to bear with. It didnt help that he had a double dose of it clawing it''s way through his mind and body...begging to be released upon anything and everything. Sweetly whispering in his mind with thoughts of the entire worldburning in hellfire for everything they have done...to tear their souls from flesh and unleash his wrath incarnate-


    He glared at her and looked away soon after, taking and almost inhuman force of will to jerkingly tear his gaze away. This caused Harmonia and Layla to be confused. The last thing he saw was aslight scar on the right side of harmonia''s face before he looked elswhere. A permanent reminder of his suffering was still there which calmed him somewhat. The king and queen were talking with the rest of the group, but yet saw the flash of anger appear on the man¡¯s face and was stumped on why he would be angry at Harmonia.


    ¡°We have summoned you here from your world to help us with something.¡± The king continued. ¡°There is an evil presence far away from these lands that needs to be vanquished. If it is not, our people will die, millions will suffer and be tormented. The sick and diseased will overrun the world and they will eventually set their sights on your world after ours is but a rotten shell of what it used to be.¡± The king finished with a solemn tone.


    ¡°We have summoned you o¡¯ great heroes, to help us combat this evil...to vanquish this plague that both of our worlds would face!¡±


    Many nobles in the stands applauded. The thirty or so people had starry eyes and were excited about this¡­except the man who stood off to the side and two girls who raised their hands.


    ¡°Can you send us home?¡± Jessica asks.


    ¡°I am sorry but we cannot send you home at this time. But yes, overall, we can¡­It just takes time for the mages to recharge the catalyst that the portal uses. The time is around ten years; however, the threat will be here in Five years mind you.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s in it for us?¡±Christina calmly asks.


    ¡°Money, power, fame, and anything you desire that I can procure for you, ladies and gentlemen. This, I swear upon my crown.¡±


    An attendant suddenly opens up the door and kneels in front of the king, interrupting his thoughts.


    ¡°Your majesty, a report.¡± The attendant says.


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°The other lords have called for a meeting regarding Sandstrom.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Please excuse me, heroes. I have matters that I must attend to. While you are here, feel free to ask any questions or seek advice. We will provide you with lodgings as you are the guests of honor. Also, starting in two days you will all begin an assessment to see which areas you should train in. ATTENDENTS! Bring our guests to their rooms!¡±


    ¡°¡±YES, Your majesty!¡±¡± Two attendants said in unison.


    Immediately they walked over to the group of people and started to lead them out of the room and into the numerous hallways and finally into what looked like a guest wing of the area.


    ¡°You may take any room that you all wish in this entire wing. It has been reserved for your group as your personal area. Please relax today and tomorrow as we will be beginning the assessment the day after.¡±


    The group split amongst themselves and each went into their own room. The man picked a room at random and found it was empty, so he locked the door and laid down on the bed. The inside was lined with stone and had a medium sized bed and desk, with a lantern and spare oil for late night reading. His mind was exhausted from sifting through the memories of two people as well as barely holding back his anger.


    Never in his wildest dreams or his most dreaded nightmares, did he ever think or wish, that he would once again end up in his world¡­Zeno¡¯s world¡­and in front of that damn princess. That memory wasperfectlyclear.


    He let his anger wash over him and tried to relax as he slowly drifted off to sleep with his internal energy waking him up occasionally.


    ***


    The man spent the next day mostly in solitude, trying to calm down his chaotic mana and regain his memories by painfully sifting through them. When he became too stressed out or exhausted, he would walk around the place he was in. Eventually, he found a way outside and took a look outside. The walls and inner city looked like nothing had changed while he was gone. As if he only took a stroll for a day and came back¡­a very painful stroll. His mind worked in overdrive putting the pieces together.


    Angela¡­


    He immediately started to walk with a slow pained gait towards a specific location in the castle until he went down a few stairs and came to a basement door. Apprehensive, he paused for a moment before he remembed what exactly happened in this room. The emotions crashed into his heart, shattering any semblance of calm he tried so hard to keep up. While shaking, he reached towards the door to confirm


    As he was about to enter the door, a guard walked by and grabbed his shoulder. ¡°Sorry, but you aren¡¯t allowed in there.¡±


    ¡°Why not? Or rather, what is in there?¡± The man asked.


    ¡°Precious books and maps that are military secrets. I cannot allow you to enter this room sir.¡±


    Books? Maps? Right. Wait this guard looks familiar too¡­


    The man spent some time looking at the guard while walking back up the stairs behind him. Then it hit him. This is...N-eil? That bastard¡­!!!


    Once again while pushing down the anger that threatens to come out, he walked out of the stairwell and back to his room to resume his meditation.


    Not now¡­not yet. The man thought to himself as he slowly calmed down his mana and practiced his control over the now very chaotic energy.


    Hours passed and it was dinner time by his stomach noise. He was about to ask someone what time dinnerwas held, when a knock appeared at his door. He walked over and opened it to see a servant holding a tray of food.


    ¡°Here you are sir. Your dinner has been prepared. If you want anything, please ring this bell and I will come immediately.¡±


    The male attendant set the tray on a desk in the room as well as the bell, and left. The man walked over to the desk and lifted the lid on the tray of food. A line of sandwiches and meats were on the plate left for him, while on the left side was a large glass of water.


    The man set the tray on the desk and looked atthe food with hunger at first then immediately showed contempt and disgust. He sat on the bed instead of eating and resumed his meditation...

 Chapter 12: The First Step

    The man sat in his room quietly meditating until the following morning. No matter what he did, he simply could not calm his mana down and bring it under his complete control. It would follow his mental nudges here and there but it would spike erratically all on its own. Letting out a few curses, he realized that it was dawn. Slowly and with a strained back, he walked out of the room and towards the desk with an untouched bell and tray of food on it.


    *RING¡­Ring Ring*


    Soon, a well-dressed attendant knocked and opened the door. ¡°You rang the bell sir? How may I be of assistance to you?¡± The attendant calmly and professionally asked.


    ¡°When is the training?¡± The man asked the attendant.


    ¡°It is in about one hour.¡±


    Something weird happened when the attendant said the unit of time. The man clearly saw the attendant¡¯s lips say something strange, yet heard the word ¡°hour¡±. He couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on why it looked weird, but he decided to leave that can of worms for later. ¡°Where is the training at?¡± The man asked instead.


    ¡°The courtyard sir. In fact, everyone should already be there. Would you like me to show you the way?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± The man replied.


    The attendant didn¡¯t say anything more as he led the strange man toward the courtyard. This past two days, none of the other attendants knew what he was up to. While they were curious about what he was doing all by himself while others of his group talked to each-other, their curiosity was overruled by their professionalism and figured it was one of his quirks.


    Eventually after walking through numerous hallways and one flight of stairs downward, he reached an old wooden door that lead to a wide expanse of grass with stone walls in a short distance of about 100m away. It was a fairly large grass field with a couple trees off to the side of the courtyard. Perhaps it was a garden?


    To the left were his ¡°classmates¡± eagerly talking to each other. The man calls them classmates, but he personally doesn¡¯t feel any connection to them¡­well except one certain tall student athlete. He simply felt a slight irritation for him, nothing more. Current goals aside, he swore to himself that he wouldn¡¯t trust anyone, especially since he was at this castle again.


    The man walked up to the group that was chattering incessantly with each other about various things with a slight frown. He backed away a couple of steps from the group and felt comfortable again, so he remained there until the instructor called out with a gruff, masculine voice.


    ¡°Alright kids!¡± The armored knight said. You could tell that he was slightly different from the other knights by the red fist emblem with lightning bolts on his shoulder, as well as his temperament. He looked calm and relaxed, yet if you looked closely, he had no openings that you could take advantage of.


    ¡°My name is Lonnie Boone, and I will be the instructor for you lot.¡± He disdainfully said with a slight glint in his eye. You could easily tell that he was riling them up for something yet no one seemed to notice it, except for the man who was standing off to the side slightly and two girls that rolled their eyes.


    Several faces began to frown and other were slowly getting angry. You could clearly see Dan starting to get irritated as well.


    ¡°Before we begin, we will be handing out this.¡± He held up a slightly blue and transparent card. ¡°This card is to be with you at all times AM I UNDERSTOOD?!¡± The sudden outburst from Lonnie startled the entire group except for three individuals.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Someone in the group asked timidly.


    ¡°This is called a Saetus. Think of it as a card that is a part of you. It will represent your worth in society, figuratively and literally. It will show your name, what your class is, what your approximate strength is, and what you need to advance.¡± He handed out the thirty-eight cards to the 6x6 formation while he talked. He handed one to the teacher in front as well as the man standing off to the side a little bit.


    ¡°Does everyone have a Saetus?¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°Good, now this will be a little painful but you need to prick your finger and let the blood flow onto the card until it glows. I will be passing around a knife.¡±


    Some of the squeamish started to shake uncontrollably while others looked very apprehensive about the idea of harming themselves. Slowly, everyone pricked their finger one by one and let the blood fall onto the card in their hands except for three. Two girls simply used their nails to cut open a vein on their arms while the other man just stood there.


    ¡°Have you used the blade yet? Here.¡± A knight offers a short dagger while smiling. There was a strange symbol on the blade.


    The manstared at the knightwhile glancing at the symbol.


    ¡°It is perfectly safe¡­besides the sharp ends of course. Well go on.¡± The knight held out the dagger.


    The man took the blade into his hands and briefly considered mass murder of everyone present. He twirled the dagger in his hand, seemingly comfortable with the motions. He gave the dagger a once over and saw it slowlyoozing a magic aura and shook his head.After handing the dagger back, he immediately bit into this non-dominant thumb and drew blood. With just a few drops, the card began glowing so helicked his thumb to begin the clotting process.


    ¡°O¡­okay then¡­¡± The knight was slightly unnerved about the strange man who just ripped his flesh without a second thought or even a twitch. The poor knight hurriedly walked away.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    The man felt the throb in his thumb and inwardly laughed. Tearing skin was child¡¯s play compared to his memories. Cut himself and let foreign magic from an unknown spell invade his body via the wound? No thank you.


    ¡°Alright, now that everyone is done, take a look at your cards.¡±


    Shouts of excitement and fervor echoed in the courtyard one after another as the people looked at their plates. The man also looked at his while all of this was going on.


    ***


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">=SAETUS=</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">-ERROR- [Please state your name after an additional drop of life essence]</td>


    <td width="25%">


    You''re broke (lol)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="25%">=CLASSES=</td>


    <td colspan="3">=REQUIREMENTS FOR ADVANCEMENT=</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="25%">SPELL FANG - ROGUE</td>


    <td colspan="3">1 of 2 pre-requisites completed</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="25%">????????????? of ?????-????</td>


    <td colspan="3">0 of 10 pre-requisites completed</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="25%">H$%# of ******</td>


    <td colspan="3">0 of 3 pre-requisites completed</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">=TITLES=</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">(ERROR)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">RANK: D</td>


    <td colspan="2">Guild Rank: NEET</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ***


    The mancursed once more under his breath. He forgot that he didn¡¯t exactly have a name, so it wasn¡¯t a surprise that there was no name on the card. He was surprised because not only did he have three classes, even though one had question marks and the other looked like a corrupted file, but rather it was about the only legible class he had.


    Spell Fang¡­rogue variant. He said in his mind.


    Not only was it a mythical existence, but it was inversely said to be the weakest and hardest class to utilize. For example, if a mage were to fight a spell fang, the mage could use spells with his staff and instant-cast or delay-cast spells however he pleased. The spell fang, on the other hand, had to use hisabilities to cut through the native magic to weave spells. Yes, it can cut through magic itself, but the class wouldn¡¯t differentiate between your enemy¡¯s magic and your own. Thus, causing misfires unless you could cut ONLY the enemy¡¯s magic as you weaved your spells¡­with daggers or your hands. Kind of like shooting through a gap in someone¡¯s fingers ten paces away to hit an apple with an old pistol. You would need to be very precise.


    Then again, he only heard stories about this class and possible attributes from his brother, when he would endlessly talk about his research. Whether his brother¡¯s information was credible or not was something else¡­


    Thankfully, the man already knew almost everything about being a rogue, and sometimes thief, due to his service over the past ten years¡­for his¡­sister¡­


    He thought about his sister and her untimely end. The anger within him was trying to claw its way out of his heart, trying to free itself from the depths of his mind once again. He quickly put his hand on his head and almost reflexively took a knee to stabilize himself, as his mind raced and mana became even more chaotic. It was even harder this time to keep it contained as he unintentionally uttered a low gutteral growl.


    Slow, deep breaths eventually calmed him down and he looked back to the knight instructor to hear what he was saying. Something about magic oriented classes and sorting. He eventually calmed down the anger in his head, only to find himself all alone while everyone else split into groups.


    ¡°Why are you here still? Go find your class group.¡± The knight instructor quipped and strolled away into the castle. All around the courtyard, there were various knights, magicians, scholars, and other people with various classes teaching all of the groups the basics in their respective fields. Behind these people were wooden boards with a class title: How to hold a sword, basic mana control, this world¡¯s religion and geography, the list went on.


    Since the man already knew most of this from being Zeno, he quietly went back upstairs to his room to meditate and think about his Saetus. He opened the door and sat on the decentbed that they let him use during his stay.


    That error though¡­I guess I need to name myself for it to work properly? Maybe that is why the other classes are garbled. He looked at his thumb that just recently stopped bleeding and bit into it again lightly. Just hard enough to draw a single drop of blood and have it fall onto the card.


    What should I call myself? Jake¡­or Zeno? No. They are both me and I am them.


    The man thought for some time, it would also be awkward during conversations once he revived them. He went through all of his memories from both lives. Years flashed by in his mind as he searched for a fitting name from both Jake and Zeno. He decided his first would be from Zeno''s memories and the other would be from Jake¡¯s.


    Steve¡­Josh¡­Jack¡­Allen¡­Robert¡­Jason¡­ Then he recalled a nickname...Roland¡­ Oddly enough, both Zeno and Jake were both nicknamed Roland. Satisfied with the name Roland, he started to look for his last name from Jake¡¯s memories.


    Dagomir¡­Hanson¡­Zemat...Walker¡­Anderson¡­Foster¡­He paused in between each name to see how it fit with Roland and if he liked it or not. Eventually he settled on Walker after his favorite manga exorcist hero when he was Jake.


    The man looked at the glowing plate and said in a calm, determined voice. ¡°Roland Walker.¡±


    Nothing happened for some time but then a sudden surge of his energy entered the card, making it shine a bright blue and black. After a while, the card returned to a normal non-glowing transparent blue. All of his chaotic energy stopped completely for a moment and began to seemingly dance inside him. As if his magic and energy was given life when he uttered his new name. Surprised, he stood up, excitedly said ¡°Saetus¡±, and the card came back to life.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">=SAETUS=</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">ROLAND WALKER</td>


    <td width="25%">


    You''re broke (lol)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="25%">=CLASSES=</td>


    <td colspan="3">=REQUIREMENTS FOR ADVANCEMENT=</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="25%">SPELL FANG - ROGUE</td>


    <td colspan="3">1 of 2 pre-requisites completed</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="25%">AD???????A??R of ?????-????</td>


    <td colspan="3">0 of 10 pre-requisites completed</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="25%">H$%# of Nolene</td>


    <td colspan="3">0 of 3 pre-requisites completed</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">=TITLES=</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">(ERROR)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">RANK: D</td>


    <td colspan="2">Guild Rank: NEET</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Roland was happy to see that some of his card became readable, but not much since the corrupted text was replaced with question marks. He also didn¡¯t know who Nolene was or why this person was a part of his class, but he would work on one thing at a time. For now, he needed to practice his innate magic to get a better feel for it, and meditate to increase his mana capacity and purity, while keeping the erratic spikes from messing everything up.


    Roland felt like he finally made the first step towards his journey to reviving Jake and Zeno, as well as killing the ones who were responsible for taking their lives away. For taking his lives away. He couldn¡¯t forgive those responsible and would definitely hand out revenge on their behalf.


    Roland quietly walked back to his bed and sat down with his legs crossed. He had his magic, he had his targets, he had his reason and undying hatred. Now all he needed was a chance to put it all together.


    But little did he know that his intention would be the catalyst that spurned the gears of fate to turn once more in this corrupt and stagnant world.

 Chapter 13: Unexpected Consequences

    Roland woke up in his bed as soon as the faint streaks of sunlight fell through his window. He quickly got dressed and was about to resume his meditation, when he heard a knock at his door.


    ¡°Jake? Are you there?¡± A voice said softly through the wooden door. It felt familiar.


    Roland stayed quiet for two reasons. One, he wasn¡¯t Jake anymore, and two, he just got up. Roland really didn¡¯t want to deal with anyone right after waking up, no matter who they were.


    ¡°Jake, please open up.¡± The voice said again with a slightly commanding voice.


    Lets see what they want. He thought.


    Since the summoning, he never interacted with anyone from his group and completely skipped the knight¡¯s classes to stabilize his mana. He didn''t bother trying to remember anyone either since the memories conflicting within him would either give him a massive migraine or reignite the near uncontrollable hellfire within his heart. Fortunately, his constant efforts with remembering were slowly paying off.


    Giving up with a low curse, he walked over and opened the door.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± He simply said, clearly irritated at thethoughtof human interaction.


    ¡°I would like to have a talk with you later. Also, breakfast will be served soon so please come join everyone else.¡± After saying what she needed to, she walked off. However, Roland could sense a faint trace of magic coming from her for some reason. Instantly, he knew that it wasnt naturally from her.


    Heset aside that observation for the momentand went to the main hall where breakfast was normally served with his group. After opening the door, the room became quiet for a second as there seemed to be a visible tension...then the students resumed their lively banter. Underneath the facade, he could tell that everyone was slightly stressed after his entrance. Everyone from his class, including his teacher, were all sitting at a very long table. Each person had their own utensils, napkin and cup. At the end of the table, sat a luxurious chair that Roland assumed only the king sat in.


    Roland walked over to the table, picked a chair some distance away from the group, and sat down in it. Sometime later, the king also joined them while a servant announced his presence. ¡°All hail Ruslan Costa, ruler of Remford!¡±


    Immediately after the king entered, a strange spectacle took place. Everyone from his class minus three people bowed their heads slightly sitting at the table. Just as quickly as they did so, they returned to talking, as if the whole thing never happened.


    I knew it. Guess the spell on that blade was some kind ofhypnosis or suggestion magic. Maybe some kind of mentalshackles rather than a full-blown rewrite or forced contract. They are summoning people and immediately enslaving them. God save the king and his motherfucking WHORE OF A-


    Roland felt his mind slipping and inhaled sharply to regain his wits.


    ¡°Good morning everyone, the classes yesterday weren¡¯t too hard I presume?¡± The king cordially asks.


    ¡°No, the students and I are doing fine your highness. I still don¡¯t feel right about making them fight though.¡± The teacher said with a tinge of anger.


    ¡°I don¡¯t as well, but we are left with no other options miss. Enough about such gloomy topics, let us dine and work hard for another day! Servants, start handing out the breakfast feast!¡± The king hollered.


    Immediately after, numerous servants filled the halls. Each one carried two large plates with lids on top. One by one they set down the plates on the table until the entire length was filled.


    ¡°The feast, as you requested your majesty.¡± One servant bowed and said.


    ¡°Good. You are dismissed.¡± The king waved a hand and all but one of the servants left the room in an orderly fashion.


    Roland looked at the numerous plates filled with food and slightly drooled a bit. He hasn''t eaten since he arrived in this place. He looked at the food infront of him and a hit of contempt flashed in his eyes.


    Even the food here is laced with magic¡­when the servant gave me that tray, it was laced too. He thought to himself.


    Wordlessly, he put down the steak and began to leave the room when he was stopped by the teacher.


    ¡°Do you not like the food?¡± She asked, concerned.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have an appetite. I¡¯ll eat later.¡± He said simply.


    ¡°You should at least eat something. It would be rude to the king here if you didn¡¯t eat anything.¡± She scolded in a hushed voice.


    Roland told her to fuck off inwardly, but showed nothing on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m just not hungry.¡± He said again and walked off.


    The king eyed the man leaving the room with curiosity and waved an attendant over.


    ¡°Keep an eye on him and report back to me.¡± The king whispered to the attendant.


    ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± The attendant whispered back.


    ***


    After walking back to his room, he sat on the bed and began to make a plan. He needed the essentials to live, like water and food, that weren¡¯t tainted by magic. He needed to leave here and get more familiar with his class so that he could survive on his own. He briefly also thought about breaking the spell that the ''classmates'' and teacher was under¡­


    On second thought fuck them. None of them ever did anything for me, so why should I do anything for them? He thought angrily.


    But then he suddenly recalled in one of the memories that the woman who was with them was only there for a single day. She was a substitute teacher and had nothing to do with them.


    Maybe I¡¯ll break just her bonds¡­ she didn¡¯t do anything after all. Get a grip man, not everyone screwed you over.


    He was feeling guilty about leaving her behind and possibly enslaved for who knows how long.


    So, that just leaves, the damn princess and traitor. There is no way I can handle Neil right now, but Harmonia on the other hand¡­


    Time flew by as he let his mind wander on how he would kill the princess in the most miserable way possible¡­Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ***


    (Some time that evening)


    Harmonia sat in her room, thinking. Ever since they summoned those people three days ago, she couldn¡¯t stop thinking about one man among them. The one with blue hair with silver highlights. Every hour, her curiosity burned within her more and more. Most of all, however, a certain urge rekindled itself in her heart. Another one¡­Just one more. She thought to herself before shaking her head and tracing the scar on her face with her fingers.


    ¡°No! I have put those distasteful acts behind me¡­.¡± She said to no one in particular and sighed.


    Still, her mind raced whenever she thought of the man. His features were so similar to her recent exploit, yet somehow different. That glare that the man gave her too¡­it made her shudder with a feeling that she never experienced before. Something was up with him, but she couldn¡¯t quite put her finger on it, and it was making her frightened but very curious.


    ¡°Guess I will just take a walk.¡±


    She slipped her gown on, strolled out of the door, and into the garden outside. She slowly walked among the flowers that the servants took care of. All of her life she has been in this castle. From when she was born, to her tenth birthday, to even now at the ripe age of sixteen, she hasn¡¯t left the castle once. Not that she didn¡¯t want to, but rather she couldn¡¯t. Her mother and father simply wouldn¡¯t let their baby girl go beyond the gates.


    Every time she tried to sneak out, her restrictions got worse. Eventually, she felt like she didn¡¯t have a say in anything she did and it drove her a little crazy.


    She leaned against a nearby tree and recalled something. The first time she heard someone scream. She was only ten, but she snuck out of her room to ask her mother to read a story. She peeked inside and found her mother laughing while using something shiny to poke the man¡¯s butt while he was lying on her bed. The man screamed loudly with a look of joy on his face, as the shiny thing went inside him over and over again. Then she looked closer at the man and realized it was her father. Her mother and father looked so happy so she thought maybe if she made others scream, she could be happy too.


    This was the start of her hobby.


    When she was thirteen, she realized what she was doing was horribly wrong. Yet, she couldn¡¯t stop her hobby. It was the only thing that kept her mind in one piece while being stuck here by ever constricting rules of her parents.


    Harmonia slumped down and held her knees.


    That girl¡¯s smile¡­she thought to herself and recalled her recent exploit. The girl¡¯s smile is what truly horrified her. Every night after that event, she had nightmares of that smile. Her guilt began to grow and eventually consumed the constricting feeling that her parents gave her daily. Every day when she looked in the mirror, she saw the scar on the right side of her face as a reminder of her sins. In fact, she specifically requested for the healers to leave it as a scar. She kicked, screamed, bit and clawed at anyone who even tried to remove it.


    She hasn¡¯t acted on her urges since, and every time she felt like giving in, that girl¡¯s smile would re surface from her memories. If the girl was an angel of heaven then she felt like an unpardonable sinner who just defiled something that was holy. She knew deep in her heart that she would have to spend the rest of her life paying for her sins...or else she wouldn''t be able to live with herself. The instinct told her that if she didn''t...


    She looked up at the night sky with the crystal-clear twinkling stars. ¡°If only I could¡­¡± her voice trailed off.


    Harmonia stood up with the tree as her support and saw something flash in the corner of her eye. She looked at the wall and saw something shining on the top of it. She kept looking at it until a hand covered her mouth and a black ethereal dagger appeared in her view.


    *CRACK*


    ***


    Roland sat in his room contemplating. If he killed the princess, then he needed a way out of here and to get as far away as possible. That meant being stealthy and horses. Stealth he had in spades, horses¡­not so much. Not only that, but he didn¡¯t really know much about the surrounding area, since he lived here in the outskirts of the castle most of his life while taking care of his sister. Even those memories were seriously fragmented so he didn''t know the local area that well.


    I need a map, food and water, a horse or carriage, an escape route, and a way to kill her.


    Just the thought of getting that catharsis that he desperately needed brought out a feeling of relief. He thought about various parts of his plan while walking around the castle in an errie calm, until he saw the princess in her flowing gown. He noticed that she was walking to the garden.


    This might be my only chance for a long time¡­he thought to himself. So, he used his [Rogue] skills to follow her into the garden. He had been trying to remember Zeno''s experience as a rogue at the expense of a throbbing migrane for the better part of the morning for his plan.


    Roland quietly followed behind her while sticking to the shadows, as his anger grew more and more turbulent. He needed revenge and he needed itnow. He couldn''t wait any longer, so he snuck behind the tree she was at.


    He focused his mind inward and pulled the reservoir of energy within him. It erratically flowed from inside him to his arm, to his hand, and into each finger. Slowly the black energy left his hand and solidified into a simple looking somewhat see-through black dagger. He looked at it while it flickered on the edges, not entirely solidified.


    This will have to do for now.He thought to himself.


    He peeked from behind the tree and saw her hugging her knees. Roland looked at the seemingly defenseless girl. Suddenly various memories of his sister flooded into his mind: her laugh, her smile, her home cooked meals. Her strained efforts to go out shopping for the two of them while he worked double shifts most days to keep them fed...sorrow bit deep within him as the hellfire within was set free and flooded his mind.It felt good...so good to let it loose.


    The princess stood up and looked at the wall. Roland followed her gaze and saw another assassin aiming a crossbow at her, trying to steal his kill, his revenge, his RIGHT-


    This drove the hellfire within him to automatically guide his body. Heneeded this to survive.He immediately came out from behind the tree with the mana-dagger in hand.


    A wrathful howling echoed in his mind.Hereleased a gutteral roar and took hold of the princess. Roland covered the princess¡¯s mouth and brought down the dagger that would slice open her throat and stab her repeatedly, ending her life.


    *CRACK*


    His dagger hit the crossbow bolt in the shaft as he was bringing it down, and completely broke the projectile, while his dagger fell from his hand and winked out of existence. He shoved the princess to the ground as another whizzed by. Roland materialized two more daggers, this time made of a deep black swirling energy and threw one at the assassin and the other dagger at the princess for a second attempt.


    The first one collided with a bright blue energy film on the assailant that came out of nowhere, and the dagger winked out of existence. After fending off the dagger, the figure jumped down the other side of the wall and fled after firing a last shot. The other dagger pierced the shaft of the crossbow bolt that was aimed at him. His dagger snapped it into three uneven jagged parts, flinging both of them to the side and into the ground with only the handle remaining. After a few seconds, it also winked out of existence. Roland inwardly cursed at the assassin for ruining his chance at revenge. He stared at the girl in front of him with frustration as his mind kicked into gear. His revenge was over. His planning and efforts till now were for nothing.


    He got up to get away from her, but he walked only a few steps. He saw the princess stand up and stare at him with a determined look.


    Roland looked at her and felt that something about her was odd. He couldn¡¯t quite put it into words but it didn¡¯t matter. His chance was gone and he needed to make another somehow, or flee immediately. Roland looked around for a way to escape from the castle when he heard the princess mumble something.


    He watched her face get redder and redder while she slowly opened her mouth.


    What is wrong with this girl? Why isnt she running or calling for the guards?With his mind calming down, he started to notice the odd points in her behavior as something didn''t seem to add up.


    ¡°-ry¡­me.¡± She mumbled.


    Roland¡¯s mind immediately cooled down. Any semblance of rage or anger was immediately dissipated due to pure shock. Disbelief was plastered on his face as he looked at her. He could have sworn he just heard something completely ridiculous, but he asked just to make sure.


    ¡°What...did you just say?¡± He stammered.


    Harmonia stared deeply at him while even her cheeks and ears became red.


    ¡°You saved me, my hero¡­I will never let you go as long as I live¡­so¡­I-I order you¡­t-to¡­MARRY ME!¡± She screamed at the end with a completely serious and flushed face. You could almost see thedetermined look to repay her savior with her life.


    Roland¡¯s mental processes ground to a complete halt as his feeble brain tried to process the ridiculousness of the situation. Suddenly two unbidden words floated into his head and out of his mouth.


    Well¡­shit.

 Chapter 14: Fate Hath No Fury...Like a Woman Saved

    Roland was at complete loss. Not only did he fail to kill his intended target, but she even confessed to him while asking for his hand in marriage. Isn¡¯t it usually the other way around?


    What was more important, however, was the fact that she called it an order. The Costa Principality was very peculiar in various aspects, but one was made abundantly clear in the history of the kingdom. Here, the women ruled and their words were law.


    Thankfully, this only applied to the royalty, as the commoners were more or less gender equal. Nevertheless, a princess of this kingdom just ordered him to marry her. Needless to say, his mind was working in overdrive to find a way out of this ridiculous situation. He imagined the woman who killed him and his sister, being married to her and never leaving her side for better or worse¡­


    Hell no. DEFINITELY NOT GONNA DO THAT. I¡¯d rather swallow poison right now than be hers¡­at least my death would be less painful this time around¡­


    He shuddered while recalling his former last moments in this world, then looked at the princess. Roland stared into her eyes, took a deep breath, and said one thing.


    ¡°Fuck you.¡±


    Then he immediately ran for it. Roland got only three steps before said princess recklessly tackled him to the ground with all of her might.


    ¡°NO, you must me mine! We are fated to be together, I just know it. Besides, I gave you an order!¡± Harmonia held onto his arm with every ounce of strength she could summon, which prevented Roland from running away after he got up from being tackled.


    ¡°HELL. NO.¡± Roland sternly said as he tried to pry the surprisingly strong princess off of his arm. ¡°I¡¯m neither from this world, nor am I your citizen. Who said I have to do anything you say?¡±


    The princess obviously wasn¡¯t listening to him, since she was still clinging onto him for dear life.


    ¡°No, you WILL BE MINE! I¡¯ll do anything, even ask my mother for you!¡± Harmonia said with a strange confidence.


    This damn princess...


    Her asking her ¡°mother¡± was obviously going to bring a lot of attention to him, and that was the last thing he needed. Needless to say, her ¡°mother¡± was the current ruling Queen.


    Everyone knows that long ago, the first Queen made a royal law. It stated:


    ¡°Under the orders of the Crown, all people of the Costa Principality who can use mana at the rank of D and above, will be made to pledge an Oath of Servitude under witness of the royal family. Those found hiding their talents will have themselves and their families be put to death under public eye.¡±


    It could be argued, however, that his entire class could be counted as his "family¡±. Fortunately, he neither felt like they were close, nor did he have any family left besides Andreas and he was far too valuable for them to harm. However, even though he had no family in danger, his life would still be forfeit should he shun royalty. That, and Roland really didn¡¯t feel like taking on an entire nation¡¯s army, just because some crazy princess wanted to be with him.


    Roland recalled his Saetus card and remembered what was on it.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">=SAETUS=</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">ROLAND WALKER</td>


    <td width="25%">


    You''re broke (lol)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="25%">=CLASSES=</td>


    <td colspan="3">=REQUIREMENTS FOR ADVANCEMENT=</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="25%">SPELL FANG - ROGUE</td>


    <td colspan="3">1 of 2 pre-requisites completed</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="25%">AD???????A??R of ?????-????</td>


    <td colspan="3">0 of 10 pre-requisites completed</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="25%">H$%# of Nolene</td>


    <td colspan="3">0 of 3 pre-requisites completed</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">=TITLES=</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">(ERROR)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">RANK: D</td>


    <td colspan="2">Guild Rank: NEET</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Yep¡­definitely don¡¯t want to be forced into serving the royalty again...also when did his card start mocking him? That pissed him off a little but he ignored it at the time.


    Roland was really sweating inside now. He just got to this world, and already it wanted to mess with him like a dog with its favorite toy. Roland cursed in his mind, he didn¡¯t want to deal with this bullshit since he had things to do. He couldn¡¯t be shackled to his worst nightmare before even setting out to realize his goal.


    He looked at the pitiful princess that was hanging onto him while in her jammies and scowled. ¡°I will never marry you Harmonia. Even if you were the last woman on this planet!¡±


    ¡°YOU-!¡± Harmonia was cut off when they heard the sound of many pairs of iron boots hitting the ground, and it was becoming louder every second. Then she gave Roland a meaningful glance while grinning.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t accept, perhaps I¡¯ll scream?¡± She smiled.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Roland sighed and grabbed her hand softly. The princess saw this sudden change and felt very happy that he was finally agreeing to marry her. Roland held her hand up as if he was going to kiss it¡­but at the last minute he pulled her hand as if aiming for a real kiss on the lips. As he pulled her quickly, she closed her eyes with expectation¡­and right before they kissed, he dodged and chopped down on her neck hard while whispering:


    ¡°Graciously, go fuck yourself princess.¡±


    Then she fainted.


    He wanted nothing more than to stab her and be done with it, however he knew that behind the Costa Family was a force far greater than he could afford to piss off. They would make that damn princess look cute by comparison. He quickly laid her on the ground and activated two of the few [Rogue] skills that were still working, even with his chaotic mana. They were [Shadow Step] and [Subterfuge]. [Subterfuge] was an upgraded version of [Stealth].


    Not only could he easily erase his presence and stick to the shadows, but he could also actively become like the background noise and cause people to subconsciously ignore his actions. This helps him actively stay out of other people¡¯s memories if they weren¡¯t paying strict attention to him.


    A good example for [Stealth], would be for someone to ask another person to find Waldo in a ¡°Where¡¯s Waldo?¡± book; whereas [Subterfuge] would be asking them to do the same exact thing without telling them what they are looking for. Unless you knew to look for Roland and his exact figure, you would tend to tune him out like background noise.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    [Shadow Step] on the other hand, was an upgraded version of [Sneak]. It allowed him to walk anywhere with no sound whatsoever, even in broad daylight. When it was night or in heavy shadows, he could walk inside the shadows and come out somewhere else in the same shadow. It was also allowed him to traverse a distance of 100m almost instantly. It was a shame though, that he couldnt do it very often or go very far due to the fluctuations in his mana.


    Roland ran back to the wall while grabbing the broken shafts of the cross-bow bolts and slowly flanked the oncoming soldiers. When the last one left the door that led to the garden, Roland activated [Shadow Step] and slipped between the last soldier and the closing door. When the soldiers found the princess, Roland was already long gone and headed towards his room.


    He opened the door quietly, slipped inside, and immediately locked the door behind him. He plopped down on his bed and let out a deep breath. Things just got complicated and he needed a plan¡­


    ***


    The Queen woke up from her sleep when two knocks rang out from her door. She was a light sleeper, so she was slightly annoyed whenever something woke her up from dreamland. The Queen got up from the warm bed and walked over to the door to let the servant girl in.


    ¡°Your highness, a report.¡±


    ¡°Speak. What is it so late in the evening?¡±


    ¡°As ordered, I have come to report to you before reporting to his highness.¡±


    ¡°About the man?¡±


    ¡°No ma¡¯am, earlier there was an assassination attempt on the princess Harmonia. One of the guards came to her room for the routine check and saw the light on. As per your orders, she is supposed to have her light out one hour after sunset. The guard came in and saw her missing, and immediately ordered the other to search for her.¡±


    This immediately woke up the queen from her half-asleep state.


    ¡°Tell me! Is she alright? What happened!?¡±


    ¡°The guards went to the garden quickly to see if she was doing one of her night walks, when they came upon her lying on the ground unconscious. There were definitely signs of a struggle as well as a hole in the ground.


    ¡°She is currently unconscious, so we don¡¯t have the exact details of what happened. After she wakes up, we will inquire about what happened. Currently, our healers are seeing to her. Another note, is that the man whom you asked us to track lost the tail we placed on him at this time and currently don¡¯t know how he did it.¡±


    ¡°Ugh...that man is suspicious. Please keep a closer eye on him and make preparations should he be the culprit.¡±


    The Queen didn¡¯t blame her servants for losing the now suspicious man. If the man could lose the Dark Edge group, then no one else could have done any better. The Dark Edge group were a select few servants that were used for more¡­subtle activities that dealt with the darker side of things.


    The servant girl smiled and bowed. She knew exactly what the words closer and preparations meant.


    ¡°Take me to see my daughter immediately. As for the report, leave out the bit about the man.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± The servant bowed again and led the way.


    The Queen worriedly followed behind while thinking of various things as she went to see her daughter.


    ***


    Harmonia woke up with a start. She looked around furiously for the man who was to be her future husband.


    ¡°Harmonia, are you alright sweetie?¡± Her mother looked at her with worried eyes.


    ¡°Where is he?¡± The princess asked.


    ¡°Who are you talking about. Do you mean the assassin? You can tell me what happened dear.¡±


    ¡°No I mean my future husband. I must find him!¡± She looked at the Queen with determination.


    This proclamation shocked the Queen greatly. ¡°Who are you talking about? When they found you, you were lying on the ground unconscious.¡±


    Not even one day ago, Harmonia was complaining to her mother about the boys that were summoned. They gave her strange stares and always looked at her still developing chest and butt, and now she has found one that she wants as a husband? This was really too strange, but she was more worried about the assassination attempt like a good parent.


    ¡°Alright Harmonia, we can talk about that later, but what happened before you were unconscious? Who did this to you?¡±


    The princess looked down and was silent for some time while thinking. Various emotions flashed across her face as she looked back up at her mother and relayed what happened.


    ¡°I am alright mommy. He saved me¡­¡± She said softly. ¡°...I mustbe with him. I shall have no other.¡± Harmonia looked at a window that overlooked into the garden.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be anyone else, can I please marry him? You are really the only one I can ask, since he rejected my order already¡­¡±


    The Queen felt a complicated feeling growing in her chest. One part of it, was that her little girl was finally growing up and wanting a man of her own. She knew that keeping her little girl in the castle was preventing her from seeing the world and maturing as she should, however the Harmonia didn¡¯t yet understand that side of this little town and the people living in it. A na?ve girl walking around the streets by herself¡­ she didn¡¯t even want to think about it.


    The other part of it was that she really had no idea about what to do. The man couldn¡¯t exactly be forced to marry her little girl, since he wasn¡¯t a citizen, and nor was he a noble of this world.


    However, the laws of this kingdom did apply to the summoned heroes to a certain extent. Such as raising a hand to the royalty or rebelling. Then an idea hit her.


    Technically he did both go against a royal order and raise his hand against a member of the royal family¡­maybe we have something to work with here.


    The Queen smiled and said to her daughter:


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry honey, just let me take care of it okay?¡±


    ¡°Oh thank you mother!¡± Harmonia cried out in sheer joy.


    ¡°Alright, since you aren¡¯t hurt then let¡¯s talk about this in the morning ok?¡± She looked at the three guards in the room. ¡°You three! You are to escort her to her room and keep her safe. You three stay with her inside and I want two guards at the door.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± The knights bowed.


    ¡°Now let¡¯s go to bed and talk some more in the morning.¡±


    Harmonia nodded and followed the guards to her room and plopped on her bed while wearing a big grin. She was ecstatic about finally making the man her husband, yet now that her mind wasn¡¯t occupied with that man, she was overcome with fear. The realization that she could have lost her life tonight struck terror into her core. Her hands shook as she curled up into a ball while wanting to cry.


    Harmonia looked at the three knights standing at attention in her room and was slightly relieved. She wouldn¡¯t have to worry that much about another assassin coming to get her with them here, but if he was here with her¡­she would never need to be afraid.


    Her thoughts about him relaxed her as she slowly drifted off to sleep.


    ***


    (Next morning)


    Roland didn¡¯t sleep at all that night. He was constantly worried that knights would come knocking on his door and drag him before the court to be hanged or thrown in a cell¡­or even worse, a dungeon.


    Dungeons were like those that Jake read in light novels with a few key differences. For one, although you can kill monsters inside of them, you can never truly clear a dungeon. For every monster that you kill, another would instantly take its place somewhere else. Another thing, is that there were no treasures inside. In fact, the only thing worthwhile inside the entirety of one was the dungeon core or mana crystals that grew on the walls to entice humans to enter. Both were heavily guarded by monsters looking for food.


    No matter what kind of simulation that he ran in his head that night, it always ended up with either himself married or dead. The only way to be free was to prematurely escape, no matter what.


    It was also only a matter of time that the Dark Edge would discover that he was aiming for the princess¡¯s life and start to hunt him down. With a heavy and frustrated heart, he packed his few things into a bag that he stole from the store room on his way back.


    He couldn¡¯t take his revenge on the royal family yet. Until he could take on Neil, he would definitely lose any fight with them. He simply wasn¡¯t strong enough, and that frustrated Roland to his very being. Roland angrily threw the last pair of his clothes into the bag and tied it up.


    He had clothes, a lantern, a pillow, and a bag to his name. Roland has had to travel with worse before, but it wasn¡¯t on a long journey while being hunted by royalty¡­he needed proper supplies.


    Roland thought about it for a second and came to a conclusion. He would have to steal a tent, water, food, and other things from people in the city or make them himself. He sighed for a second and looked at the room he was in.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come back for you Ms. Beatrix¡­you all never did anything to me after all.¡±


    With a resolute expression, he opened the door to his room, activated [Subterfuge], and started his silent escape to freedom¡­

 Chapter 15: The Escape

    Roland walked out of the bedroom door and was immediately going to activate [Subterfuge], but a voice froze his steps.


    ¡°Where, are you going Jake? Planning to leave us behind already?¡±


    He turned around and saw Christina and Jessica looking at him warmly. This really confused him, since he never really recalled being nice to them or anything of the sort.


    ¡°Why are you two here? Or rather, why are you up at this hour?¡±


    ¡°We are coming with you Jake, believe it.¡± Jessica said while smiling.


    ¡°No, so bye.¡± Roland walked a few steps and the girls followed behind him. He stopped while turning around and glared at them.


    ¡°Stop following me girls. I¡¯m serious.¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t going anywhere Jake. You are stuck with us, whether you like it or not.¡± Christina said with a stern tone. Her lips were smiling, yet somehow her eyes weren¡¯t and left a cold impression.


    Roland started swearing internally. If it wasn''t one thing, it was another with this place. There was no way he could get away from the royalty and care for two girls at the same time. He didn¡¯t even have enough supplies for himself right now¡­


    ¡°Look, I really don¡¯t want youcoming along alright? Just-¡± Roland stopped mid-sentence when he heard a pair of metal boots walking down the adjacent hallway.


    ¡°Fine whatever. You can come with, but we need to leave NOW!¡± Roland pleaded with a stern whisper and started running silently.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us Jake¡­we can take care of ourselves just fine hehe~.¡± Jessica giggled and followed Roland with Christina right behind her.


    ¡°Meet me at the North gate outside of the city.¡± Roland said finally then activated [Shadow Step] and instantly sank into the shadows on the wall, disappearing from the girls¡¯ view.


    *Whistles* ¡°He is pretty good with his class already, isn¡¯t he?¡± Jessica said while seeing Roland disappearing.


    ¡°Yes, he certainly is.¡± Christina said plainly. ¡°I wonder what he got?¡±


    ¡°Dunno, probably some kind of stealth type. Though it could definitely use some work.¡± Jessica closed her eyes halfway while analyzing what she remembered. Roland didn¡¯t know it, but both Jessica and Christina were there when he ¡°saved¡± the princess.


    ¡°Agreed. Don¡¯t worry, we can help our little Jake grow up nice and strong~.¡± Christina giggled.


    Both she and Jessica experienced similar things to Roland when they came over here. Except instead of fusing with another person¡¯s soul, they completely consumed the demon¡¯s soul that they were suppressing, thus gaining the demon¡¯s language and skillsets.


    ¡°Race you to the gate? First one there gets to kiss him in his sleep~.¡± Jessica looked at Christina and taunted her.


    ¡°You are definitely on.¡± Christina grinned. In her eyes, both their previous world and this one could burn for all she cared. She had a feeling that Jessica felt the same way as her about this too¡­that the only thing that mattered was the man who was just before them¡­their ¡°Jake¡±.


    ¡°Alright. On the count of three? One¡­two¡­¡± Then Christina took a step and immediately disappeared while leaving an afterimage.


    ¡°CHEATER!!!¡± Jessica shouted at the top of her lungs as she faded from her spot like an illusion.


    ***


    (Later that day)


    The entire class was gathered for the usual routine for breakfast. Murmurs and rumors were flying about in hushed whispers.Rumors of the assassination attempt spread like wildfire throughout the morning, and almost everyone in the castle knew about it. This continued until two double doors opened into the dining hall.


    ¡°PRESENTING HIS AND HER MAJESTY!¡±


    The classmates immediately hushed and bowed their heads quickly. It was only proper to bow before royalty, right?


    The King was about to speak when the Queen held out her hand and spoke instead. ¡°Is everyone from your group here Ms. Beatrix?¡±


    ¡°No¡­three of my students are missing your Majesty. I have no idea where they could have gone. Please, you must help me find them! I¡¯m so worried¡­¡± Her voice trembled near the end, just from thinking what could happen to her precious students. Her eyes were misty and threatened to spill tears any minute.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will definitely find your students. I personally have a few questions to ask them about a certain incident that happened last night. Again¡­we will find him¡­don¡¯t you worry.¡± The Queen smiled.


    When Ms. Beatrix saw that seemingly nice smile, her heart sank for reasons unknown. What made her worry beyond compare, however, is what the Queen said next.


    "In the name of the Costa Crown, I hereby order an Inquisition for the capture of Ms. Jessica, Ms. Christina, and Mr. Jake on grounds of: assault on a member of the royal family, attempted rebellion, and suspicions of an attempt at assassination. Dark Edge!¡±


    Immediately, twelve servants materialized before the Queen while kneeling and heads bowed. Before the Queen said anything, they were already in the room and no one saw any trace of them.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°You twelve are to find these three missing students and bring them back alive. Do what you must, and hunt them down to the ends of the world if you have to.¡±


    ¡°¡±Yes, your Majesty!¡± They all replied in unison and disappeared just as quickly as they had come.


    All of the students rose into a clamor at the thought of one of them attempting to kill the princess. Various boys¡¯ faces turned ugly at the thought of Jake and company trying to harm their crush. Almost all of the boys liked the two princesses and had fallen deeply for them. Whether it was the mind magic or legitimate budding feelings was hard to determine at this point.


    The girls on the other hand were worried beyond compare. They all knew Jessica and Christina and wondered where they were at. Why would their idols leave them? A painful feeling gripped everyone¡¯s hearts in one way or another as grief, confusion and jealousy was running rampant in the crowd.


    They are just kids after all huh¡­ The Queen thought to herself silently. She closely examined the facial reactions of each of the students as well as the teacher. The uncontrolled emotions were very easy to read for a seasoned professional like herself. Like taking candy from an infant. However, something was definitely off about that teacher of theirs.


    Now, we wait to see whether the fox can catch the hare. I look forward to questioning you thoroughly Jake¡­my daughter can¡¯t marry just anyone after all¡­hahaha. With that she ordered the breakfast to come out, and strolled into the throne room while thinking about various things with a seemingly nice smile.


    ***


    Jake exited out of the [Shadow Step] near the castle entry way while kind of tired. Due to his mana still being slightly chaotic, it was much harder to control his skills as he wanted to. Nevertheless, he used it again to get outside the castle and began walking into the small city. After the second time, he felt so drained that it was as if he ranfive milesas the unfit Jake in his previous world. Roland tiredly walked through the small city and walked past many houses. He activated [Subterfuge] again while looking for various supplies for the three of them to live on for the duration of their travels.


    In the end, he only found a small tent, a few copper coins, a rusted dagger, and a backpack to hold various things before the guards on patrol began to walk by his location. Guess we will have to hunt for food and water until we can properly get some supplies in the next town over¡­


    With that thought, Jake started to run to the city¡¯s north gate since running was much more efficient with his strength then constantly doing a [Shadow Step]. After about ten or so minutes, he finally arrived and became dumbfounded.


    How did they beat me here?!


    ¡°About time you got here Jake. We¡¯ve been waiting for about half an hour.¡± Christina spoke up with a smug look on her face.


    ¡°Yea slow-poke. What took you so long?¡± Jessica said after, equally as smug.


    Half an hour¡­so they were here only a few minutes after I left the castle? Roland¡¯s head started to hurt. Guess they won¡¯t be such a burden after all¡­that¡¯s a relief. Roland sighed and told them that he was gathering supplies, or rather trying to. Then he relayed his plan for resupplying in the next town briefly, before resuming their travels.


    ¡°Do you have a destination in mind Jake? You seem awfully familiar with this place¡­¡± Christina asked with some caution.


    ¡°Ok let¡¯s get this straight now. First, my name isn¡¯t Jake, its Roland. The Jake you knew is gone¡­for now. Second, I was in this world before I was dragged into your world and into Jake¡¯s life so of course I would know a little more about it than you. Third, my plan is to go to Cape Veride down south and escape into the demon lands due west. You can come if you want, but you better pull your weight. Else I¡¯ll just leave, got it?¡± Roland said with some irritation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you have worry about us holding you down.¡± Jessica laughed heartily. They actually knew more about this world than Roland did by far after absorbing the demon¡¯s souls, but they kept quiet. Even if he wasn¡¯t their little Jake anymore, they still loved him dearly. They knew that something was vastly different with him, but they could see traces of the man that saved them regardless.


    ¡°Oh? Then prove it. Let¡¯s go already, I can hear the knights catching up.¡± Roland look back anxiously. The two girls nodded in agreement and set off to the west at a fast walking pace. After a few minutes of walking, they noticed the military carriages start to leave the city and abandoned the road for a more concealed route in the forest that ran parallel with the road.


    ¡°Dammit, that was fast.¡± Roland swore. He was expecting for them to take a little longer to rally everything they needed to hunt for someone¡­until he saw a flag on one of the carriages that was rumbling down the road.


    Immediately he pulled the girls towards him and ducked down between some foliage while activating [Subterfuge]. He recognized that flag and everything it represented.


    Fuck, this is bad¡­that¡¯s a flag of the Royal Inquisition. Don¡¯t tell me that the Queen really ordered an inquisition just for this?! Roland¡¯s mind was feeling numb after seeing the flag. Generally, an inquisition was for long time war criminals, or those with especially heinous crimes. The inquisition had the power of royalty and would chase anyone under orders to the ends of the world and back again. They could sweep through cities door by door with zero restraint and level entire villages for the sake of the hunt.


    They hid themselves and held their breaths as the carriages rumbled closer and closer. Roland¡¯s heart was beating faster and faster with each passing minute. We need to get ahead of them somehow. If they lock down the cities after this next one, forget simple supplies, we¡¯d be hard-pressed to just stay alive with multiple cities doing patrols.


    He turned to the girls and ask them a question. ¡°We need to get and stay ahead of them if we want to remain free and not be shackled for life¡­ any ideas?¡±


    Jessica and Christina pondered for some time before answering. ¡°I am a crusader while Jessica is a mage¡­my best movement is the [Flash Step] while hers is [Illusion Road]. What was yours anyway Roland?¡±


    ¡°My only usable movement skill right now is [Shadow Step]. It can instantly let me move through the shadows, however it is currently unstable. I used to be able to go up to a kilometer, but now it¡¯s just a fraction of that distance with ten times the cost...can you take other people with your respective skills?¡±


    Both of them thought for a moment and nodded their heads. It was curious that he saidused toas if he could before in their world. ¡°It is going to be harder, but it should be possible¡­never really tried it for this much distance though.¡± Christina looked into the distance.


    ¡°Alright then I¡¯ll go first. Remember to stick to the forest so that we can avoid being spotted by the inquisition until they are far away.¡± Roland said with slight nervousness. He grabbed the girl¡¯s hands and pulled them into the shadow world to begin their race against time. He came out only 100m away, but then Jessica took a step and a white light glowed from the bottom of her feet. They instantly appeared over 200m away and she used the skill two more times before she told Christina to switch.


    Christina nodded her head and grabbed Roland and Jessica¡¯s waist. She mumbled some words and a door appeared before them. They stood still as the door came closer and closer and eventually engulfed them, while turning their appearances clear like an illusion. Immediately, they were whisked away over 2 kilometers until they exited the door and Roland pulled the girls into the shadow world once more, thus beginning their four-legged race against time and the inquisition¡­

 Chapter 16: These Things I Do, That Others May Live

    Roland panted heavily while holding two hands. The two girls looked at him with worry in their beautiful eyes. They offered many times to just alternate between the two of them for transportation, but Roland just wouldn¡¯t have any of it. No matter what, his pride as a man wouldn¡¯t let him to sit back and relax. Besides, this was his escape¡­not theirs.


    ¡°I¡­uhh¡­ahh¡­will¡­ah¡­be fine¡­uhh¡­¡± Roland managed to say between deep breaths of air. Eventually when you ran out of magic, you used your physical stamina. After the stamina was exhausted, your life force was forcefully taken. Unfortunately, his skills took stamina instead of magic, making that much faster to deplete. Thankfully, his abuse of the unstable [Shadow Step] wasn¡¯t that great yet. This didn¡¯t stop him from feeling like he would be better off dead, however. That, and his class was definitely not helping him in any way. Anyone ever hear of a rogue or thief who could travel great distances in an instant from the beginning? No? Exactly.


    ¡°Are you sure Jake? I don¡¯t mind just travelling between me and Christina.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± Roland caught his umpteenth wind. ¡°Look, see that dot in the distance? That¡¯s the next city. We are about 50km out¡­I can take it.¡±


    But you are the one who is slowing us down¡­Christina swallowed the sentence in her mind. Not even yesterday he was telling the two of them to not slow him down. Oh, the irony.


    After they left the forest around the castle-city, they came upon an open plain that stretched as far as the eye can see and probably beyond. Thankfully, after the first 20km, the inquisition force needed stop for some reason or another. This let the trio get a much larger lead than they would have been able to get if they were still being followed. After 60km, they finally couldn¡¯t see the inquisition anymore, so they resumed flashing, disappearing, and warping on the road. There were even a couple times that Roland fainted from over use of his unstable skill and had to be carried secretly. After all, with a plain such as this, everything looks the same, right?


    Roland staggered for a little while before Jessica insisted on a rest. With great reluctance, he finally collapsed onto the ground and laid still¡­seemingly passed out. His insides were a mess, while his mana was fluctuating wildly again. This brought him no small amount of pain.


    The two girls looked at each other and giggled. ¡°This counts as him sleeping, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Jessica asked with a sly grin.


    ¡°Totally does.¡± Christina replied with an equally sly smile.


    ¡°Well it was a tie after all¡­even though you cheated.¡± Jessica said.


    ¡°Please, we both know that your [Illusion Road] ignores all obstacles in its path, whereas I need to manually dodge them. How is that fair?¡± Christina said.


    ¡°Hmm so a tie then?¡±


    ¡°A tie indeed.¡±


    Both girls look at Roland lying down on the grass without a care in the world¡­and smiled softly as they moved closer¡­


    ***


    Roland woke up feeling strangely refreshed for some reason. All of the exhaustion he felt was gone, like it was never there in the first place. He slowly got up but was shoved back down onto the grass by the two beauties who were lying next to him.


    "Relax the Royal Inquisition is far behind us. We have a few days'' lead already" Jessica spoke up.


    "We need all of the time we can get." Roland looked into the distance and saw the dot that was the next town. "We''re almost there so lets just get it over with."


    He sat up once again and they started their four-legged race once more until they arrived at the fortified city. With every shadow step he did, he felt something wrong inside him. Each use was slowly tearing away at something and the fluctuations were becoming unstable. His mind was not only growing weary but the hellfire in his heart was slowly becoming rampant.


    After a few hours they arrived at the fortified city, only to see wanted posters of them posted on a signboard at the gates. With this, they would have to skip this city and keep going forward without rest.


    "I thought you said that we had a few days'' lead?" Roland cursed at the girls. They both looked elswhere in the plains, finding the grass particularly interesting for some reason.


    "Relax, look over there." Jessica pointed by the gates at a carriage that was standing by. "I remember that carriage was the lead in the convoy. I don''t think they would leave it there as a sentry, and instead leave a different one. They are probably taking a break at this city."


    Christina nodded and added, "Also-" she pointed up at the orange tinted sky "It''s dusk. They aren''t going to continue marching into the night, whereas we can with just the three of us. We can have quite a large lead by the time they wake up."


    Roland had to admit that they had a point. He closed his eyes and resolved himself to bear with his internal issues during the trek. "Fine. Lets leave when night falls. We''re going to have to sneak around this city and go to the next one. We need to head northeast for about eighty kilometers."


    The two girls cringed a little after hearing what he said.


    "Ugh...thats far." Christina groaned. Unlike Jessica''s illusion road, she had to use stamina for her skill, much like Roland. "Hey Jess, can''t you go farther than two kilometers with each jump?"Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "Hmm...." Jessica thought for a moment. "...I can but you wouldn''t like the cost that would incurr for us. Right now, they are tracking us, but don''t know where we went since we have been using low-energy hops. Jake and Your skills use stamina while mine uses mana, and mana is easily traceable. I''ve been keeping it at two kilometers so that we don''t give the enemy a magical beacon to follow us by."


    That makes sense. Roland thought to himself. Also, since it kept coming up, he decided to tell the two something.


    "Alright girls listen, can you please stop calling me Jake? My name is Roland." He said flatly. "I don''t know how you two know me and quite frankly I don''t really care right now. However, you''ve been pissing me off for a while now by calling me that. So dont, got it?"


    The two paused and looked at him.Roland? They knew that something was different but didn''t expect him to be a completely different person. In a split second they backed away from him in unison.


    "You arent...Jake?" Christina said hesitantly, while Jessica simply stared at Roland with narrow eyes.


    Roland looked at the two and sighed. "Technically I am Jake, so yes...Look, It''s a long story and we don''t have the time for-"


    "Then. Make. Time." They coldly replied.


    "Fuck off. I don''t need to explain my fucking life story to some girls I''ve never even met." Roland began but he was immediately cut off by an aura so cold that it stopped his internal mana from fluctuating briefly. It even seemed to be scared.


    The girls walked up to him and slowly said: "You never met us?" Christina and Jessica paused.


    "You really think that you haven''t met us...that we are strangers..." Jessica said sadly. "You are so far from the truth that it might as well be the polar opposite."


    Christina lifted him by the collar of his shirt and looked him dead in the eye. Her eyes lost of all expression before Roland saw...it was fear. There was a primal fear in her eyes. As soon as he noticed, he saw two tears fall down her cheeks as she simplystared at him. That stare said more than any words could ever say.


    What does she think of me to bring out such pure, raw emotion in her eyes. Such sorrow and frustration...


    "You''ve saved my life...Roland. You''ve saved both of us." Christina slowly said. "You saved me physically and Jessica emotionally. Without you in our lives, we would havelong been gone."


    "We would have forever stayed behind inthat bunker." Jessica added on. Her eyes showing just as much emotion and grief as Christina.


    The two girls looked at eachother and nodded. "We honestly can''t live without you, and nothing else matters for us...so please don''t ever say something so sad ever again. Promise us."


    Roland looked at the two girls'' ernest confessions and tried recalling Jake''s life again. He felt some resistance as he clawed at the memories to come to him. He kept going, and going. The headache becoming magnitudes worse than he''s ever felt, not giving up until...something broke.


    "AAAAHHHHH!" Roland knelt on the ground. His mind bracing itself against the torrent of information flooding from his soul. The two girls swooped in and caught him, looking at him worringly. His internal mana fluctuated dangerously high and with an extreme intensity when everything calmed down at once.


    "...Christina.....Jessi-ca?" Roland muttered before fainting.


    Alarmed, Christina felt his pulse and found it was weak, but there. His breathing was also shallow. He needed medical attentionnow,Royal Inquisition be damned. Chrsitina looked at Jessica.


    "He needs help Jess. He''s getting warm to the touch."


    Jessica looked at him sadly and knew that if they made the jump to the next city, they would get swarmed with soldiers soon after.


    "...Fuck! Alright Fine! Get ready for combat Christie. We may be jumping into the lion''s mouth here." She cursed. This would definitely cause no small amount of issues in the near future. "After I do this, carry me too. It''s going to be up to you to get us to a safe place." Jessica groaned.


    She focused within her and summoned out an almost translucent energy into being this wasn''t mana but rather her life force. It took a tremendous energy to shatter space in a short time. She gathered all of the elements around her and focused them into a single point with her essence. Slowly, ripples could be seen on the grass around them as fluctuations got stronger and stronger in their surroundings. You could see Jessica''s eyes start to become bloodshot as the stress on her body was visible to the eye. Blood trickled down her cheek from her eyes and nose shortly after. Christina looked off to the side and saw the lesser knights start to swarm out of the gate, banner in hand.


    "Jess hurry the fuck up! The knights are here!" Christina yelled.


    "You think this is fucking easy? Breaking space isnt exactly a walk in the park-!" She paused as she added even more force into the point of energy. Slight cracks then started to appear before her. "Almost there! Hold them off for me."


    Christina grabbed her sword and brought it down onto the ground. [JUDGEMENT!] Immediately, spikes of various sizes spread out like a lotus flower around them. "Are you fucking done-"


    Space in front of Jessica shattered as she yelled at Christina. "GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!"


    Jessica felt vertigo as all of her mana and stamina was spent, causing her to fall to the ground. The act of using life force instead of mana for a spell would kill a normal mage, regardless of their class. Only the most stalwart of mages would evenattempt to use it after years of planning and dozens of precautions. The fact that she used it without hesitation spoke volumes about how she truly felt about the two next to her.


    Christina used a physical strength enhancement and grabbed the falling Jessica and lying Roland. She shifted them into a more comfortable holding position and jumped into the portal with the knights mere steps behind her. Once on the other side, she dropped the two immediately and slashed at the portal with her blade coated in aura. This caused the portal to collapse into a flurry of mana and unstable energy. Christina ducked down and covered the two unconsious people before the explosion hit.


    BOOM!


    The three went flying together but Christina was holding onto the other two, making herself land first to take the majority of the impact. Her vision flickered but she gathered her wits in a few seconds.


    Can''t pass out yet, these two come first. She entrusted me with our Roland and herself...our family comes first.


    Shakingly, she tried standing up but failed and collapsed a few times. She recalled her deceased father who was ex pararescue for the airforce. His father''s unit had a slogan that she wanted to live by.


    Christina grit her teeth.For them...I''ll go through anything for the two of them. Hell or HIGH WATER...!


    With a sheer force of will, she slowly stood up with her legs shaking. Her vision flickering with stars, threatening to black out.


    This I do-


    She breathed in after locking out her legs to stand.


    So they may live...


    She steeled her will and took a few deep breaths to collect herself. Still shaking, she grabbed the arms of the two unconsious people, put them over her shoulders, and limped toward the city...


    Hang on you two I''ll keep you safe no matter what-

 Poll for Fools of Fate Reboot 11/9/2019

    Hello everyone!


    Fools of Fate has been finally rebooted. It took a lot of time to figure out where I wanted to go with the story but I am finally there, and ready to resume putting out chapters. There are a total of 32 chapters so far with 16 in queue currently. I will attempt to release 1 per week on Wednesdays. Please take this poll after reading the other chapters and let me know what you think so far!


    Also, for those of you who have read the book before the reboot, keep in mind that the story is taking a completely different turn than before that is much more satsfying. I''m excited to see what everyone thinks about the new twists and turns.


    I have taken every comment and review seriously for this reboot and thus have cleared all comments prior to it for further feedback.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Thank you,


    Ryoushi


    l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

 Chapter 17 - Coming Out of Retirement

    Christina limped towards the city for a while, then stopped before the city wall. Her body was truly screaming in pain from the portal destabilizing and subsequent explosion. She recalled from Jessica¡¯s explanations that two of the most dangerous things about magic were destabilization and something called ¡°Resonance¡±. Jessica didn¡¯t go into much detail about the latter, but specifically talked about the former being quite explosive.


    I should¡¯ve listened to her. I feel like I just got hit by a truck.


    She could already hear the lecture coming from the girl in her left arm. Christina looked at her right arm and saw their Roland, slightly warm to the touch.


    At least I won¡¯t be alone for it this time~


    Christina quelled her amusement at the poor boy¡¯s verbal suffering with her and looked at the tall city wall with a hint of dread. She tied both Jessica and Roland to herself with some rope that she found before the escape. She grabbed a handhold and grimaced.


    If my body didn¡¯t hurt before¡­It¡¯s definitely going to hurt after this¡­fuck me.


    ***


    (Meanwhile)


    The sun was out and the wagons were rolling along the road. A cool wintery breeze drifted by, causing many people to shiver and hold their arms while they marched.


    ¡°ACHOO!¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t get sick princess, I have enough problems as it is¡­¡± The guard captain sighed.


    ¡°I will be fine Lonnie, it¡¯s just kind chilly. That¡¯s all, really.¡± Harmonia said while shivering.


    I knew I should have never let you sneak on board of the inquisition. Lonnie grumbled in his head. Just when they were about to depart, one of the soldiers informed him of an extra crate that the soldiers forgot to load. So, he obviously went to go check it out, and see if it was anything important. He definitely didn¡¯t expect that something to be so important that he could lose his head over it¡­or over not following an order from said princess to bring her along for the ride.


    Lonnie sighed once again and rubbed his temples while feeling a headache coming on.


    This is going to be a long ride. He thought to himself.


    ***


    (Back at the castle)


    Junko Beatrix leaned forward on the castle¡¯s veranda with her hand on her cheek. She wasn¡¯t a very religious woman. She wasn¡¯t really friendly either. In fact, she¡¯d rather laze around and watch movies all day than go out and hang with her girlfriends. Teacher by day, sloth by night.


    It wasn¡¯t exactly a glamorous lifestyle, but it suited her. She didn¡¯t need to go shopping for shoes every other day, and generally didn¡¯t give a single fuck what other people thought about her. Most of the men would just ogle her anyway, no matter what she was wearing or how she had her hair.


    Now imagine her disappointment when she got her class¡­Arch Priest ¨C Star-Fire Variant.


    Putting aside whatever star-fire was, being a priest was the exact opposite of her personality, and it brought her nothing but headaches since. The young boys looked at her with admiration, and the girls with jealousy. The royalty gave her respect and offered her a court mage position every chance they got.


    Junko sighed and pulled out a full box of Menthol Lites and took one out. She left it in her mouth and tasted the menthol. She knew that she should quit this habit, but that was back in her world. Here? Forget about it. She is stressed enough as-is, and withdrawal wouldn¡¯t help at all.


    Junko breathed in the fresh air, the cigarette in her mouth calming her. Something was happening to the students that came with her. She had a good memory and could recall their names:


    "..."


    Or not.


    She mentally sighed. How did the principal expect teacher subs to remember everyone¡¯s names last minute? For that matter, she had only gotten as far as ¡®Hello¡¯ when they got transported. Junko inwardly grumbled. Hours of trying to memorize names to faces, wasted.


    She looked at the garden below the veranda where everyone was trying to practice their classes.


    After everyone got their Saetus card, she took count of what classes everyone had. Each and every single one of them had a completely overpowered skill or ability, while some had both.


    Dan had the Holy Knight class, Jessica got the Archeon class, and Christina got the Undying Crusader. Truly overpowered of the bunch¡­


    She recalled during the class ¡®assessment tests¡¯ how those three completely destroyed everything as well as the target. Dan called down a battery of holy light right on top of the target¡­the only thing that remained was fifty meters of ashes. Jessica summoned a mini singularity that consumed the next target, then exploded and shredded everything within one hundred meters. Christina on the other hand¡­ Juno shuddered. Needless to say, the entire training grounds outside the city was now completely charred¡­a total of five square kilometers of forests and hills¡­just gone.


    What worried her the most, was that these over-powered kids were slowly being turned into something else. Some of their faces were blank all of the time with no emotion, while other were visibly struggling to remain who they are.


    Juno watched the kids practice. Magic of every element was thrown, servants were summoned, weapons were created and clashed with others, and others contested with strength and willpower. The practice field was chaotic with everyone doing their own thing.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°Tsk, uneducated brats. No tactics, no planning, no organization.¡± She cursed at them softly. She recalled her days as¡­


    Now isn¡¯t the time to be reminiscing. Junko reminded herself. Those days were behind her now. The fact that she was about to compare these kids to them was irritating. What was more irritating, however, is how some of the boys repeatedly said that they would ¡®protect¡¯ her. Hell, the only one who didn¡¯t have such a stupid mentality was that Jake kid. Who was the one who decided that she was a damsel in distress and needed protecting?


    Jake¡­I wonder how that kid is doing? Personally, I don¡¯t really care whether or not he tried to kill the princess. As long as he doesn¡¯t harbor that idiotic mentality I''ll welcome him with open arms, and maybe with time¡­


    ¡°Ms. Beatrix!¡± A voice called out, breaking her out of her thoughts.


    ¡°Yes Terrell? What is it?¡±


    ¡°Why are you up here? You should practice with us!¡± He smiled.


    You just want to show off huh? She mentally scolded. Junko could almost see the hearts and stars in his eyes. Fine I''ll bite, should be entertaining at the very least.


    ¡°Alright I¡¯ll join you guys.¡±


    Terrell¡¯s face broke into a wide smile as he ran back downstairs with Junko leisurely walking after. After she arrived, one of the boys called out.


    ¡°Ms. Beatrix! Can you be the judge for the competition?¡±


    Junko chuckled a little. ¡°Alright kids. I¡¯ll be impartial.¡±


    The group cheered while the girls angrily glared at the boys. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out what they were trying to do. After organizing the event, a ring of kids and people formed around the area as two people faced each other.


    ¡°Ready?¡±


    The two kids nodded.


    ¡°Begin!¡± Junko shouted.


    ***


    This¡­is¡­completely stupid. Junko thought to herself.


    Fight after fight, the kids would all do the same thing. Rush in with no plan, swing wildly, and stoop to any and every tactic to win right away. It was complete idiocy. After the first few fights, she quickly lost interest and mindlessly called out the winner and the start of the next fight. After the last fight, the boy who won shouted something that caught her attention¡­in a very bad way.


    ¡°I won! I will protect Ms. Beatrix!¡± He yelled while beaming. Terrell waved over to Junko and smiled.


    Her eyes grew cold as she slowly walked onto the fighting area. She looked over to a guard and pointed to her spot with a thumb. Immediately the guard nodded and understood, walking over and stopping.


    ¡°I will judge this match impartially. Are the participants ready?¡± The guard snickered. He could obviously tell she was a combatitives expert by her demeanor and the way she walked. Poor kids'' ''bout to get thrashed. This ought to be fun to watch.


    ¡°Huh? M-Ms. Beatrix?¡± Terrell looked very confused, as did every other person from the class and surroundings.


    Junko simply glared at Terrell while nodding, arms crossed. ¡°My turn.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend that Ms. Beatrix. He¡¯s pretty good you know?¡± One of the girls said, which only worsened Junko¡¯s mood. There it is again, that stupid damsel in distress mentality.


    ¡°Are you sure Ms. Beatrix?¡± Terrell asked nervously.


    Junko looked at him with a cold, indifferent look and said:


    ¡°If you beat me, I¡¯ll do anything you say. I¡¯ll even warm your bed at night, kid.¡±


    Terrell stammered and everyone else just stood there stupefied. Not even going into the morality of such a thing, Terrell just won the boy¡¯s contest! There was no way she could win¡­could she? All of the girls turned a shade of red while thinking about what would happen if she lost.


    ¡°Alright don¡¯t blame me!¡± Terrell¡¯s lewd grin broke across his face as he wildly readied himself.


    Just another horny brat¡­pathetic.


    ¡°Ready?¡± The guard questioned.


    Junko nodded while Terrell yelled in agreement.


    ¡°Begin!¡±


    Terrell held his wooden practice sword and charged at Junko while she just stood there emotionlessly, arms crossed. Terrell was now full sprint, actively thinking about everything he would do tonight with Ms. Beatrix. His mind was distracted as he lunged his sword towards her chest.


    Junko simply sidestepped a half-step and planted a right hook deep into his face, throwing him straight to the ground.


    BAM


    Terrell fell face up onto the ground, a look of utter confusion flashed across his face before a boot was planted into his stomach, followed by a kick to the sides, flinging him few feet away.


    ¡°How miserable¡­¡± She softly said.


    She waited for him to get back onto his feet before slowly walking towards him. He held the wooden practice sword carefully this time, carefully watching her every movement. After seeing that she stopped a few feet away, hands in her pockets, he charged again. The sword was angled for an upper diagonal strike this time. As the sword came closer and closer, Junko brought her hands out and deflected the sword with the brass knuckles on her left hand while planting the other brass knuckles into his stomach with a decent force. Terrell buckled and doubled over, coughing and trying to breathe again.


    Not wasting the chance, she grabbed his hair and brought her knee right to his face with well-practiced movements.


    BAM


    Terrell fell backwards, but not before another right hook connected with his face, accelerating his movement downward. His head slammed onto the ground, rattling his brain as Junko mounted him. Dazed, he brought his arms up to his face while Junko simply slammed her fist into his stomach again, causing Terrell to start guarding his stomach. Seeing the opening, Junko slammed home punch after punch right into the kid¡¯s face over and over again, until his arms fell to the ground.


    ¡°STOP!¡± Right before she punched yet again, she heard the guard call a stop to the fight.


    ¡°Winner, Ms. Beatrix!¡± He hollered, grinning with a nod.


    Junko got off of the kid and looked at his unconscious body.


    So foolish¡­ She thought to herself. Time to get rid of this mentality now, while I have the chance¡­before it festers and becomes ingrained in the girls¡¯ minds. Women can be just as strong as men after all.


    ¡°Next.¡± She called out the runner up and motioned for him to come over. Robin came over with a terrified look on his face. ¡°Same offer goes to you or anyone else who can beat me.¡± She said with no emotion.


    ¡°Ready?¡± The guard called out.


    The boy Robin nodded greedily, also filled with lust.


    ¡°BEGIN!¡±


    ***


    After fifteen fights against all of the boys, and thirteen fights against the girls, she still came out undefeated. Teenagers lied all around her, unconscious. The others were too busy trembling to even try.


    ¡°Truly pathetic.¡± She healed everyone present to completion with her class skills and waited for them to wake up.


    After every student woke up, she ordered them all into a 6x6 formation with some people missing. She told them to ¡°stand still and shut up.¡±


    After some time of glaring at the group, she spoke.


    ¡°Those were the most pathetic fights I¡¯ve ever seen in my entire god-damned life. You clearly don¡¯t know how to act or even use the bare minimum of skill for combat.¡±


    She breathed in, mentally preparing herself for what she would say next.


    ¡°Therefore, I will instruct you shits how to survive, fight, kill, and you don¡¯t have the right to refuse. Especially after that sorry display you showed earlier.¡±


    ¡°AM. I. CLEAR!¡± She spat out.


    ¡°¡­¡± Silence answered her.


    She sent the nearest male student flying away with a kick to the crotch.


    ¡°Am I clear?¡± She asked again.


    ¡°Yes, Ms Beatrix.¡±


    She sent another male student flying.


    ¡°You will address me as Avtoritet. Nothing more. You haven¡¯t earned the right to use names yet.¡±


    ¡°YES AVTORITET!¡±


    ¡°Good. Also, if I hear a single mention of someone wanting to protect me¡­I''ll show them what it feels like to be an invalid.¡± She warned in a cold voice. All of the male students unconsiously clenched their thighs in sheer terror.


    She walked by the formation, staring at each student. Even the ones who were sent flying and ran back into the formation. They wouldn¡¯t stand still, eyes wandering around, nervous shaking¡­ They had a long way to go¡­


    ¡°Let''s begin.¡±


    The students would soon learn the meaning of pain and discipline after their trials by this hellish substitute teacher. They disturbed something that should never have been woken, but now that she is¡­


    Then it was time for Avtoritet Junko Vor Beatrix to come out of retirement, Russian mafia style.

 Chapter 18 - A Close Call

    Christina leaned against a tree some distance away from the city entrance, her first plan was to get into the fortress-city and find a place to get the other two treated. Unfortunately, neither Christina, Jessica, or Roland had a copper to their name. Trying to find room and board for free was almost impossible. Eventually, she found a back alley and laid the two down next to each other.


    What a cute scene¡­if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that one is seriously injured. She thought to herself.


    Christina set them down for a moment and looked around her. Thankfully, she made the right decision to climb the walls with the two tied to her. Soon after she dropped down, the local militia closed the gate. Guards were deployed to the walls to figure out what caused the explosion.


    Off in the distance a bit was a shack with two dark daggers intersecting. The place looked abandoned with cobwebs everywhere. Who knows how long it has been since the last time someone set foot in there.


    This will have to be good enough. We don¡¯t have a lot of options here.


    Christina slowly picked Jessica up and limped over to the abandoned shack. She laid her down against the furthest corner inside and went back for Roland, eventually placing Roland next to Jessica. Roland was noticeably hot to the touch and was shaking, while Jessica was completely unconscious. She looked at the shaking Roland and completely still Jessica.


    We need blankets, water, food and probably medicine. Roland¡¯s body is probably in a low-grade shock from something in his head. I¡¯ve heard that the mind can affect the body if serious trauma occurs. He seemed to remember us before he fainted¡­ Jessica on the other hand is the one who needs medical attention right now. No one should use life force the way she did¡­wait! The church might be able to help. We are going to be in debt but we can work it off eventually, given that the Inquisition doesn¡¯t find us first. This is such a fucking bad idea but I have no other choice. I¡¯ll take a bad idea over no ideas at this point.


    With a bad plan, Christina grabbed a nearby rag and covered the two with it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back guys, just wait for me ok? I¡¯m going to get help.¡± Christina softly spoke. Soon after she walked out of the shack and into the streets, one shaky step at a time. She exited the back alley and asked the nearest person where the church was. They pointed her to the building down the street where someone who looked like a nun was sweeping the front.


    Christina limped up to her, but before she could even open her mouth, the nun stared at her wide eyed.


    ¡°ASHLEY! GET THE PRIEST NOW!¡± The nun screamed while running inside.


    What the hell? I don¡¯t look like a ghost, right? Christina thought to herself. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m that bad looking¡­¡± She muttered.


    Soon a priest hurried out of the building and looked at Christina with a stern gaze. He put his hand on her shoulder and she immediately collapsed. The priest caught her as if he knew this would happen.


    ¡°Get some bandages and medicine. Whatever happened to her will probably explain a few things that have been going on lately.¡± His words were cut off as he tried to leave after putting her on the bed.


    Suddenly Christina tried to get out of the bed.


    ¡°Stay in bed! Your body is seriously injured and you still want to move around?!¡± He yelled.


    ¡°My¡­friends¡­back¡­alley¡­black daggers...¡± She looked at him listlessly.


    The priest looked in her eyes and was shocked once again. She was able to resist his anesthesia magic on top of the horrific damage already done to her. In her eyes he could see a firm determination for her friends.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    After a moment, he sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll go find them, so just-¡±


    Without even letting him finish his words, she passed out. He looked at her in silence. ¡°Back alley twin daggers...?¡± He thought for a moment and an idea came to him. ¡°Oh maybe Selene¡¯s place. Better go get them quick then. It wouldn¡¯t do for a priest to be hanging around the devil¡¯s nest for long.¡± He sighed again.


    ¡°You owe me big for this girl¡­you and your friends.¡± He swore.


    Allen was a simple priest in the town at the edge of the Costa principality. He has had his run-ins with the demon folk a long time ago and would prefer if it never happened again¡­


    Fuck me. Altrah protect me from the evil¡­whatever, I guess. Nothing is fucking simple with Selene.


    With those thoughts and more than a few internal curses, he left to go find the lady¡¯s friends.


    ***


    Selene was happy. Two very interesting things have happened in short order today. First a crusader of all people walked into her abode with two other people and left shortly after. Everyone knows that this entire shop is legally the demon realm, so she just got two little toys for free. Now, she has a priest tapping his foot with a not so subtle look of irritation.


    ¡°I¡¯m here for those two.¡± He said.


    ¡°Sorry dear~ You know my policy on things in my domain~¡± Selene laughed. Her eyes shone with a cruel light. Things brought to this place are unable to leave without her permission as this is her domain. The two in the corner have some very interesting magic fluctuations going on, making her very curious about them.


    ¡°You and I both know that the lady had no idea where she was leaving those two.¡± He pointed at the two people sitting up in the corner with their eyes closed. The guy was shivering quite badly and was clearly flushed.


    ¡°Last I recall, your clauses only apply to those who knowingly leave things here or interact with this place. The lady is clearly innocent and as for those two, they are unconscious.¡± He growled. ¡°Now. Hand. Them. Over.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± She stared at him.


    ¡°¡­¡± He stared back.


    This went on for a few minutes, a subtle psychological war was taking place between the two. Neither wanted to budge an inch as even the slightest hesitation would be mercilessly taken advantange of.


    ¡°Make me~¡± Selene smiled.


    Immediately holy power surged out of the priest, which was just as quickly matched with dark energy from Selene. These two were simply testing each other and they knew it.


    ¡°Hmm~ You know that you can¡¯t beat me darling. Maybe one of your cardinals would, but definitely not¡­¡±


    She was immediately shut up after seeing the priest¡¯s eyes slowly turning white in a clockwise pattern, a dull white aura travelled across his iris.


    ¡°Do. Not. Test. Me. Woman.¡± He said, obviously pissed. He really didn¡¯t want to use his [Holy Descent] ability. The after effects would leave him much worse off than the girl back in his clinic.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t use that ability. I don¡¯t believe you.¡± She dared, followed by his irises becoming filled with a piercing white power. They went from a dull off white, to a piercing white. The aura in them obviously was itching to collide with the dark energy in the atmosphere.


    ¡°Okay, okay! Fine~ God, you¡¯re no fun you know that?¡± She pouted. Selene snapped her fingers with seemingly nothing happening. ¡°They are free Mr. No Fun. Now get out¡­oh and dear~?¡± She paused.


    Her irises turned a vibrant bloody red. An ancient evil aura pressed down on everything in the room. ¡°Never come back, or I¡¯ll kill you regardless of the consequences.¡± She solemnly said.


    The priest withdrew his power carefully and grabbed the two in the corner of the room. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to be here ever again either. Who in their right mind wants to come to the demon realm?¡± He sarcastically quipped. He picked the two up and left promptly, afraid that she would change her mind. After a few steps outside, his entire body was drenched with cold sweat.


    Fuck, I''m not sure who would live if we really went at it. He looked at the two. These three definitely owe me big for saving their asses from her of all people.


    He walked back to his clinic carrying his newly found employees...he just needs to heal them first.

 Chapter 19 - Debts and Family

    Roland opened his eyes to three things: an unfamiliar ceiling, a dull throbbing headache, and his internal mana being shockingly calm for some reason. He didn¡¯t know which part worried him more to be honest. Then he remembered the two girls who were with him earlier.


    They were Jessica and Christina. How could I forget them!? He mentally slugged himself in the face. What the fuck is wrong with me¡­forget it. Where are they?


    He looked around the room and saw an older gentleman in a black coat that seemed like a cross between a priest¡¯s outfit and a lab coat. He stared at Roland silently as if thinking how to cook him for dinner. Roland felt a slight shiver.


    ¡°Good morning sunshine. How¡¯s the little shit feeling today?¡± The priest said sarcastically.


    ¡°Pretty good actually, your mother¡¯s used cooch really melts the ache away. Tell her I¡¯ll pay her when I swing by tonight.¡± Roland shot back with a smile.


    ¡°Tough talk from a man protected by two girls. Aren¡¯t you curious where they are?¡± He smiled. Roland opened his mouth, but was shut down. ¡°They¡¯re in another room and hurt quite badly, no thanks to you.¡±


    Roland tried to get out of the bed, only to be pushed down by the man. ¡°None of that now little boy. If you want to help them then you need to sign this.¡± He held up a piece of paper with very tiny micro script covering the entire thing. ¡°Oh, and I would hurry. They probably need treatment soon.¡± He smiled again.


    Roland glared at the priest and clenched his teeth. His memories rapidly came back to him, warning him just how dangerous contracts were in this world¡­then he remembered the two girls who got hurt ¡®quite badly¡¯ for him¡­


    I don¡¯t know what happened or why they are injured, but it sounds like they saved my ass big time. Alright bring it.


    Roland signed after only a moment of thought. He¡¯d read it later.


    ¡°At least you are a brave little shit.¡± The priest chuckled. ¡°And no, you can¡¯t see them now. Those two are seriously injured to the point that I needed some help to put them back together.¡±


    ¡°You said they haven¡¯t been treated yet.¡± Roland glared.


    ¡°I said they are ¡®hurt quite badly¡¯, and they are. I said that they need treatment soon, and they do. They will need several actually. Never said that they weren¡¯t already treated once.¡± The priest smirked. Roland saw that shit eating look and felt like he lost somehow.


    The priest sat back down in the chair, took out a pipe and lit it.  His face soon lost all expression as he started to talk in a serious tone.


    ¡°Alright little shit, here¡¯s whats going to happen. You three owe me a shit load of money now. Treating those two was probably one of the most difficult sessions I¡¯ve ever done, and I¡¯ll be damned if I¡¯m not going to get my money¡¯s worth out of you. Especially since they aren¡¯t able to move right now.¡±


    He looked at Roland then got up and walked to the door. ¡°Which leaves you to make up the debt. That contract you signed is an employment contract. I suggest you read over it sometime.¡± The slightest smile touched the corner of his lips, which gave Roland a very bad feeling.


    ¡°For now, though, stay in that bed for the rest of day and probably tomorrow. While you aren¡¯t injured physically you have something going on with you internally that dwarfs even the injuries of those two. Whatever the hell happened to you is so far beyond my abilities, that I couldn¡¯t even begin to have an idea on how to un-fuck you. That, little shit, lies in the realm of the divine most likely.¡± He solemnly said before leaving through the door.


    Roland inwardly groaned. I didn¡¯t really expect him to be able to fix this, but at least those two got treated. He thought with a positive mindset. Roland grabbed the contract and started reading it. Slowly, the positivity was drained from his face as he read line by line, eventually reaching the bottom. At the very bottom was an incredibly large number with a note and a smiley next to it. ¡°This is how much you owe me little shit. I look forward to you paying it off~¡±.


    ¡°ISN¡¯T THIS BASICALLY A DEBT SLAVE CONTRACT?! FUCK!¡± Roland knew he got screwed over.


    ***


    ¡°Ah, there it is¡­¡± The nun giggled. She knew this would happen when Ashley brought the priest out. The screams never fail to occur with everyone Allen treats and subsequently puts into massive debt.


    ¡°Elise, does Father Allen really have to go that far? Isn¡¯t treating people supposed to be volunteer work?¡± Ashley asked.


    ¡°If treatment was always free, then people would be less cautious about getting injured. Yes we are supposed to help, but we can only do so much Elise. Our mana is limited and the after effects of using it aren¡¯t sustainable. When you learn to start using it, you will understand what I mean.¡± Elise wisely remarked. ¡°Besides, magic isn¡¯t free Ashley. No matter what, everything has a price. You would do well to remember that.¡± Elise looked out of the window sadly.


    All power comes with a price¡­some are just too terrible to bear, and Father Allen¡¯s price¡­I wouldn¡¯t wish that on my worst enemy.


    ***


    *BOOM* Dan was sent flying back from an armored kick.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    *Huff* *Huff* ¡°Dammit teach! Go a little easier would ya?¡±


    ¡°Aww what¡¯s the matter? Little baby has a boo-boo? Suck it up kid.¡±


    This teacher is definitely going to be the end of me one of these days¡­ Dan thought to himself. It¡¯s been three weeks since Ms.Beatrix Avtoritet started her training regimen. If Dan knew what hell and Marine basic training looked like combined, this would definitely be it in his opinion.


    They were going on ten-mile ruck marches on the weekends, doing strenuous upper-body workouts every odd day, and running every even day. It was a wonder that some of the students'' bodies weren¡¯t starting to break down¡­well actually isn¡¯t that the goal? What doesn¡¯t kill you¡­


    *BANG* Dan was sent flying again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get distracted on me now kid. Make this entertaining at least.¡±


    ¡°Yes Avtori-¡±


    *clink* Another high kick was deflected with his short sword.


    Dammit, at this rate I am going to get pummeled again¡­well at least I¡¯m not that kid who said he¡¯d protect her¡­poor guy.


    Just the thought of receiving the ¡°training¡± that he was going through made his head go numb and heart start beat wildly in fear.


    *Clink* *Bang*


    He parried her kick, only for her to switch feet midair and plant the other foot right on his temple. Dan swore exactly three times before he tasted dirt and saw the blackness that he became all too familiar with over the past week.


    ¡°Yer improving kid. Not quite up to par but good enough to stop for now I guess¡­¡± Junko said before calmly walking away.


    ¡°¡­¡± Dan wasn¡¯t unconscious yet and heard every word, but he still couldn¡¯t imagine beating that teacher. She was extremely fast, hit incredibly hard, and seemed to know what he would do an instant before he did.


    This is almost impossible. Dan thought to himself before the feeling of sleep overtook him.


    ***


    Junko walked away with a light spring in her step. The kids were definitely terrible, but the training has begun to bear fruit for them. Where there was a complete and utter lack of discipline, was now replaced with the faintest hint of it. They were also starting to work as a group instead of a bunch of individuals.


    There was a problem, however, and it was the fact that some of the students were slowly becoming lifeless at an alarming rate. Sure, the newfound camaraderie and goal strengthened their resolve, but something was definitely eating away at them.


    Junko stopped and looked at the kids practicing and noticed two of them leaning against the castle garden¡¯s wall. They were eating some kind of pastry with relish. She frowned and was about to tell them to get back to work when their smiles suddenly dulled for a split second before coming back. Naturally Junko didn¡¯t miss the sudden change and began to put some of the pieces together.


    Whatever is doing this to them is in the environment. Food, water, hell maybe even the beds and rooms are tainted. Purposely or not, I need to get these kids out of here¡­ Junko thought to herself and frowned. She was in the perfect position to do just that, and if the symptoms started going away while they were gone...


    Junko made up her mind. Something wasn¡¯t right here and she was beginning to suspect the nobles and royalty more and more, but she couldn¡¯t act¡­yet. She still needed to find Jessica, Christina, and Jake to make the class whole again. Then again, based on their assessment, those two girls could probably handle anything this place could throw at them just shy of a small army. Jake, on the other hand, never took that assessment so she didn¡¯t know what to expect.


    Jake might actually be the key to this. She suddenly realized. There is no way that someone who is completely new to this world would just up and vanish like that. Either he knew about this place, or he was forced to suddenly leave. I don¡¯t know him that well, but I think it¡¯s safe to bet on the latter.  She concluded.


    But the real question is why was he forced to leave? Or maybe¡­ She pondered to herself. Maybe he left on his own and the royalty had nothing to do with it? That would definitely explain why the Queen was looking for him right now instead of being in a prison or something. If he left without telling anyone¡­


    She started putting the pieces in their proper places, yet still felt that something was off somehow.


    I¡¯ll figure this out eventually. Right now, I need to focus on getting these kids to safety¡­but where? She looked at the castle walls that towered over the garden and had a sudden and crazy idea. It excited her and would definitely solve their problems if it panned out, yet it was a gamble on the kids.


    Yes, that would be perfect. It would be like killing two birds with one stone. Junko thought to herself.


    Junko once again began walking to the library with a smile, yet this one held a hint of savageness to it.


    ¡°Since they want to mess with these children so much, then I will make sure to watch as their world burns by the hands of children.¡± She softly said to herself with a smile while opening the door.


    ***


    (Later that evening)


    Junko stood before the 6x6 formation of kids that had a few missing. Everyone was accounted for and stood at attention with their right arms touching their chest while parallel to the ground. She observed the slightly disciplined group that no longer moved about, but their eyes were still restless and wandered here and there on occasion.


    Rome wasn¡¯t built in one day. It¡¯s a process that has clear steps and milestones Junko¡­be patient with them. She reminded herself. All of her instincts were screaming at her to punish them for not having the discipline to stand still with eyes forward, like professionals. She knew that they were just young adults, yet her memories of being in the Russian mafia spoiled her with the cream of the crop under her leadership. She wasn¡¯t leading a team of perfect super soldiers but rather training new recruits.


    Just like back then, however, she would also have to train these kids to the same level if they were to survive and thrive in this environment.


    She closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself to become that woman who led her soldiers to battle in the gutters of society once more. She discarded that caring teacher persona with great reluctance and difficulty; fully aware that such a person was not what they needed. They needed the old her¡­the real her.


    And so, after coming to terms that she would do this for them, she opened her eyes and a cold, emotionless glare came out and pierced into the hearts and minds of those present.


    Immediately the young adults stood straighter and stood completely still, as if the slightest movement would result in an old predator killing them instantly.


    Junko opened her mouth and began to speak in a voice that was many magnitudes colder.


    ¡°Hear me students.¡± She said, gaining their attention and snapping them out of their fear induced absentmindedness.


    ¡°You have a choice to make tonight and it will be made now. Whether by accident or with intent, something around us is influencing you and your fellow comrades. Day by day I see that some of you are struggling to keep your personalities, as well as some that are just beginning to feel the effects.¡± Junko paused, letting the words sink in.


    ¡°As such I am going to take you away from here and we will start anew. However, you will no longer be students. You will be soldiers and part of a squad. You will all be family. You will look out for one another and fall under my leadership, and most importantly, you will follow orders or I will kill you myself.¡±


    Several students had shocked faces as many emotions took hold of them. Fear, anger, betrayal, hope, confusion¡­


    ¡°If you come with me, I will not do something so superficial like promising your safety. If you cannot defend yourself, the maws of this world will swallow you whole¡­and not even bones will be left of you.¡±


    Fear gradually became the dominant emotion of the group as it dawned on them what kind of situation they were really in. Many were shaking and some even had tears streaming down their face already.


    ¡°But, you will by my family and together we will survive until a way back has been found. If none exists, then I will support all of you as you would support me.¡±


    Junko paused one more time before saying the final thing that was residing in her heart.


    ¡°If you so choose, I will help you get revenge on those who took us from our lives, our families and friends, our world¡­and if this society doesn¡¯t like that, then we can all watch the world burn together.¡±


    Junko closed her eyes and spoke no more for several minutes, letting the students absorb the information and what she was offering. ¡°You may talk among yourselves and decide.¡±


    After about half an hour, when all of the conversations stopped, she opened her eyes and said one word.


    ¡°Choose.¡± Then she closed her eyes once more.


    Silence answered her. She could obviously tell that they were taking her words seriously. They knew that this choice would immensely impact the rest of their lives.


    Some minutes passed and a single male student walked forward and stood behind Junko at the position of attention. Soon after, another student joined him. One by one, the students made their choice.


    When the sounds of movement and talking stopped once more, Junko opened her eyes to see an empty space before her.


    She turned around and saw a 6x6 formation of kids, with some missing, standing at attention. They stood perfectly still with eyes slightly wandering, waiting for orders.


    The students widened their eyes as a smile slowly formed from her lips.


    ¡°Welcome the family comrades.¡±

 Chapter 20 - What Sleeps Within You?

    Roland got out of bed and walked out of the door, finally allowed to get up. After two days of nothing but bed rest, he was itching to do something or rather anything was preferable to that damn bed. He walked down the second floor hallway, pausing at the ¡°DO NOT DISTURB¡± sign on the room next to his.


    Rest well you two. It¡¯s my turn to take care of things. Roland thought to himself. Although I don¡¯t exactly know what happened, I know that if I was awake I could¡¯ve¡­


    He stopped his thoughts by force before it could start a negative spiral. He knew that it takes effort to maintain a positive mindset.


    Complaining about how shitty things are doesn¡¯t get anything done. I need to take my current situation and see how to get through this, if anything for those two who obviously saved me.


    With the framework of a plan in mind, he passed by the door and walked downstairs only to see the priest sitting in a chair reading some documents.


    ¡°Good morning, little shit. How¡¯re we feeling today sunshine? Finally decided to stop lazing around in bed and start working on your debt like a real man?¡± He chuckled.


    I wonder WHO it was that kept paralyzing me and putting me in that damn forsaken bed of yours hmm? He swallowed his words and smiled.


    ¡°Actually, I thought some fresh air would do wonders. I¡¯m not exactly a fan of staying in a room that smells of old crotch.¡± He paused and grinned. ¡°I don¡¯t know how your wife sleeps with you. Maybe she needs a real man for a change?¡±


    The priest looked at Roland strangely. ¡°You¡¯re about forty years too late for that I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­she died?¡± Roland cautiously asked, this time with a little more respect.


    ¡°No, she left. Old crotch smells indeed. HAHAHA!¡± The priest burst out laughing.


    I want to kick the me from a few seconds ago for respecting him¡­even for a moment.


    ¡°Then fucking take a shower old priest, maybe she might come back?¡± Roland mused. ¡°Though I can¡¯t imagine a marriage ending just because of how someone smells occasionally¡­¡±


    The priest paused.


    ¡°Smart kid. Yes, it was something else indeed.¡± The priest paused for a moment. ¡°By the way I haven¡¯t introduced myself. I¡¯m Allen.¡± He smiled.


    Just when we were getting somewhere¡­ugh.


    ¡°Hello Allen, I¡¯m Roland, but you already know that.¡±


    ¡°You have a last name Allen?¡±


    ¡°¡­Walker.¡± Roland cringed a little after getting it out. Why of all things did he have to pick an anime character¡¯s last name¡­


    ¡°You are right, I do know you. In fact, I know what is going on with you better than anyone else I¡¯d imagine.¡± He paused again. ¡°You are actually two¡­am I right?¡±


    Roland shook a little. No way¡­


    ¡°Your look gives me all the info I need Roland. I was really hoping it wasn¡¯t the case, but here you are. Based on your internal mana structure, it seems like someone who was proficient in mana was fused with someone who had never touched mana before. Not only that, but the two people were polar opposites in terms of affinity so I wouldn¡¯t be surprised to see such chaotic mana. It seems to have settled for now but I wouldn¡¯t count on it staying that way for long Roland. This issue is something only the divine and you can solve and I¡¯m serious about this. Whatever you do¡­DO. NOT. GET. HELP. from the church with this. At least, don¡¯t request it from my church Roland. Please promise me this.¡±


    Roland was surprised by the almost pleading tone at the end which was a stark contrast to Allen¡¯s usual attitude.


    ¡°I thought the church was supposed to help people regardless of affiliation?¡± Roland asked.


    ¡°We are. There is only one exception for every church present on the continent. I can only tell you that the one who did this to you¡­is the enemy of every church.¡±


    ¡°Wait. You know who did this to us?¡± Roland asked impulsively.


    ¡°Us? You aren¡¯t thinking about bringing them back, are you?¡± Roland winced. ¡°FOOL! IDIOT! WASTREL!¡± Allen raged. ¡°Whoever they were are GONE Roland. There. Is. No. Bringing. Them. Back.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck do you know about-¡±


    ¡°I know because while you are Two, I am Three, and have been trying for much longer than you have to do the exact same thing.¡± A deep sadness appeared in his eyes. ¡°There is no bringing Us back Roland. We, will never be again. There is only me, and you¡­and you need to get used to that.¡±


    Roland stood there shocked and looked down. Then what is the purpose of living after those two have died? We¡­I¡­Wanted to bring Us back. What should I do? A lost feeling slowly dawned on Roland.


    ¡°How are you certain that We can¡¯t be brought back?¡± Roland asked, trying to find a flaw in Allen¡¯s thinking and looking for some hope.


    ¡°Do you remember the white room?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±


    ¡°Do you remember the fusion and how it happened?¡±


    ¡°One was broken into tiny fragments and absorbed into the other, causing the second to explode into equally tiny fragments. Both were rebuilt¡­¡± Roland¡¯s voice was lost of all hope as he recited from memory. He knew on an instinctual level that those tiny pieces were the souls of the two men Jake and Zeno. It would take a literal act of god to separate the two.


    ¡°Then you know that once the two were fused, it would be impossible to separate the two identities¡­for both mortal and divine. Trust me, I¡¯ve asked them and paid a steep price by doing so.¡±


    Allen looked at Roland who looked so lost right now.


    ¡°There is no more We or Us Roland, only you and I. Remember that.¡± Allen grinned. ¡°There is no need to look so lost you know? I recall that there are two beauties who are depending on you for treatment~¡±


    That¡¯s right, I can slowly think about my existence in the future. Right now, Jessica and Christina need help.


    ¡°Hey shitty priest, how much does the next treatment cost? Surely this debt of 1500 gold isn¡¯t for one treatment, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the sum of all treatments, you are correct. For the first and next treatment I need 300 gold coins.¡±


    Each one needs 150 gold coins?! How the hell am I supposed to get that much repeatedly?!This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°When do you need it by?¡± Roland asked, almost afraid of the answer.


    ¡°I need each payment no later than a month after the previous. While I want to treat them now, I need the materials to do so, therefore their lives are literally in your hands. Get me the money and I will get the materials to treat them.¡±


    A month. I¡¯ve got a fucking month to get 300 gold coins and 150 each month after for almost a year¡­no legitimate work will pay that much besides the guilds. I¡¯ll find a way somehow.


    ¡°By the way, what are their injuries?¡± Roland asked.


    ¡°One of them burned their life force recklessly to cast a spell, taking years off of her lifespan. The other has her body so broken that only magic is keeping her alive at the current moment¡­well actually both are being kept alive by magic technically. The life burning missy has her spirit held together, while the broken one has her body held in place. Strange opposites¡­ Don¡¯t worry, they technically aren¡¯t in danger of dying, but they won¡¯t get any better and regain consciousness unless they are treated¡­however I can only maintain this balance for so long. Eventually, their bodies are going to give out, so I suggest you hurry.¡± Allen thought for a moment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the lifespan thing. After all of the treatments are done, she should only have a few hours loss at most when I¡¯m done with her.¡±


    Roland sighed with relief then turned to the door.


    ¡°Alright shitty priest, I¡¯m off to make money.¡±


    ¡°Good luck, little shit.¡±


    Yeah, we¡­I¡¯m gonna fucking need it in this backwater city. There is no more We, only I.


    With that, Roland walked out to street. There were a few people walking by on the street and the houses seemed to be made poorly. It looked like he was in the slum area of the city. Thinking to himself, he had two options for quick revenue. One was the local Adventure guild and the other was the underworld Thieves Guild. If possible, he wanted to avoid the seedier side of things even though he knew he was cut out for it. Roland had never killed anyone before even though both Jake and Zeno have. He wanted something to let himself know that he was different from them.


    Roland asked around for the Guild and followed their directions to the main street. He looked up at the two-story building and saw a sign that read ¡°Granite City Guild¡±. It had two longswords crossing a tower shield.


    Roland walked into the building ready for the clich¨¦ veteran bullies newbie bullshit. Thankfully nothing happened. He looked around and thought that it was a tavern mixed with a bank. There was also an octagon off to the side of the store that was mysteriously empty of people, almost avoided actually.


    There were clear separations between the tavern area and the ¡°bank¡± area with a few notice boards near the back. Roland walked up to one, checking the requests and rewards. Board by board he scanned all of the requests and saw that nothing exceeded a few silvers, and even those were transport type quests where he had to guard a caravan.


    That¡¯s way too long for my timeline. Let¡¯s check with the receptionist.


    Roland walked up to the receptionist area and saw three people. One had a really long line for a cute girl. She had the calm and nurturing woman vibe going on. There is the clich¨¦. He thought. The other one had an equally long line but was more of a sensual seductress kind of girl. The third was a gruff older guy and had literally no line, so he went to see him.


    The man looked up and saw the kid. Before Roland could even get a word out, the man spoke.


    ¡°Piss off laddie, this isn¡¯t a place for someone who still sucks their momma¡¯s teets.¡± The man snorted and leaned back in his chair.


    The fucking priest is one thing since literally two people¡¯s lives depend on him. But you¡­ Suddenly his thoughts stopped as he suddenly felt like something lunged out of his being.


    ¡°It was yer wife¡¯s teets I tasted last night, and by her screams I recon she liked it.¡± Roland grinned.


    The room descended into silence.


    ¡°Care to say that again laddie?¡± The man glared.


    ¡°Are you losing your hearing already? Or was it perhaps your memory that ails you? I can see why she sees me as more of a man in bed than you.¡± Roland laughed, meeting the man¡¯s eyes.


    The man lunged over the counter, ready to brawl while Roland brought up two mana-daggers. The man grabbed Roland and threw him towards the octagon area and Roland landed on his feet, sliding back a little. He looked up and saw the man standing there, cracking his knuckles.


    ¡°I really hope you aren¡¯t all talk laddie, or you won¡¯t be walkin¡¯ outta here with your limbs intact.¡± The man said calmly.


    ¡°Tough talk for a man who can¡¯t even please a woman.¡± Roland quipped. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be this angry if you actually could.¡±


    There were more than a few chuckles. The man looked over and the chuckles stopped. The two receptionists looked at Roland with pity for some reason, yet you could see that they were interested in the scene.


    ¡°Ria, officiate this duel.¡± The man said.


    ¡°Okay~¡± The seductress walked up with hips swaying slightly. Roland gulped a little. Damn she has curves in all the right places¡­fuck I don¡¯t have the time for this.


    Roland looked away from her and glared at the man. His inner something clawed its way out his being and raged at the man. Roland swore in his heart that either he dies or this old cuck is getting crippled. His blood will fill this god-forsaken hell hole. He needed to do this.


    ¡°Both participants ready~¡±


    The man nodded while Roland glared at the man.


    ¡°Fight~¡±


    Immediately the old man got close and threw a punch. The something in him slowed everything down to a crawl. All color faded away into monochrome as a black and blue aura filled the edges of his vision. With this, that something was finally loose. Roland lost all expression as he dodged the punch by grabbing the wrist, turning it and flipping the man. As he fell, Roland locked out the arm and kicked at the elbow and broke it¡­or tried to. The arm felt like he was kicking steel and didn¡¯t budge an inch. The man lifted Roland up and slammed him towards the ground. Roland did a back flip over the arm he was holding, putting the man¡¯s arm behind himself while the man threw an elbow backwards. Roland dodged to the side into the man¡¯s lower leg sweep.


    Roland calmly calculated his next move and brought out two mana-daggers, one in each hand. Seeing this, the man held up his hand and two gauntlets appeared on his hands instantly. Roland didn¡¯t notice the awe-stuck stare of the crowd or the wide-eyed receptionist at the side. The only thing on his mind was making this making this man bleed by any means possible.


    Roland lunged at the man and conducted a flurry of cuts and slashes. His memories as Zeno came to him flawlessly, executing feints, parries and cross counters as easily as breathing. The man assumed a boxing stance and everything blurred for Roland.


    Roland fought by pure cold instinct; his thoughts were quiet. His inner voice was gone and he solely focused on the fight. Punches and kicks were thrown almost faster than Roland could see, even with everything slowed down.


    As they fought, one thought finally came to Roland. His mind was finally clearing from whatever influence that something had on him.


    Why¡­am I fighting? What the hell is going-!


    Roland ceased his thoughts as he narrowly dodged a punch to his face, torso, and legs simultaneously. Roland cleared his mind and realized how drained his body was. His mana was almost gone too. He needed to end this now.


    The man pushed Roland to his physical limits as hit after hit landed on him. Without that something guiding him, he was a newbie before a veteran. Roland re-summoned the mana-daggers into his left hand after the last punch shattered them again, draining him of his last reserves of mana. Roland lunged at the man. The man threw a straight and an illusion like curve at the same time. Roland took a step, ducked under the two punches and sidestepped into the right hook, just barely dodging it. Roland brought up the two daggers in his left hand to the man¡¯s face and detonated them before sinking into the shadow world. Before he escaped, he saw the man completely ignore the explosion and reach out to grab him as the explosion slowly rippled across an almost invisible membrane. Thankfully, he escaped into the shadow world and reappeared at the door running for his life.


    The man looked at the kid he just fought with a smile.


    ¡°Not bad kid. Alright show¡¯s over, get yer asses back in the lines.¡± He grumbled.


    ¡°Wow that kid actually fought toe to toe with the guild master. That¡¯s some incredible talent...¡±


    ¡°I wonder who he was? I don¡¯t recognize him.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he really fought toe to toe, near the end, he was taking hits left and right.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he was tired?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, he seemed really good at first, but then couldn¡¯t keep up. Maybe it was a buff skill?¡±


    The crowd excitedly discussed the fight while the two receptionists looked at the door with a smile. The guild master has been known to thrash newbies into submission so that they don¡¯t get overconfident. This ritual was done by everyone present so they knew what to expect when someone new walked in.


    What they didn¡¯t expect, however, is for someone to be able to keep up with a living legend that survived two Crusades into the demon lands.

 Chapter 21 - Plans In Motion

    Roland dashed out into the street, leaving the Guild behind him. He kept running until he was absolutely sure that old man wasn¡¯t following him somehow.


    I didn¡¯t get to ask anyone if those were all of the requests in this city¡­fuck me. Roland mentally cursed at his negligence. He felt that he needed to get his temper under control. Whatever that something was that lurked inside his mind clearly reacted to negative emotions. Slowly, Roland got lost in thought about his current fucked up situation.


    Roland walked into a nearby alley and sat down, lost in his thoughts. He had 300 gold to get in one month and 150 gold every month after. Two girls¡¯ lives were in his hands. He had an entire Inquisition after him sent by the Queen herself, so any formal work or salaried job was out. Although he was escaped the guild, he could always throw his embarrassment to the curb and go back in. The brink of life and death wasn¡¯t the time to hold onto your pride.


    I should go back. It will be embarrassing as hell but I need to do this for them. Roland inhaled slowly, taking in the slight stink of the alley. Ignore your pride for now, they come first Roland. If the Guild doesn¡¯t have any means of getting the money then¡­I¡¯ll look in the underground.


    Roland got up and looked around in the alley. It was littered with garbage here and there, with the occasional homeless lying down in a thin cloth. The wood and metal buildings in the alley cast a cool shade for these unfortunate people.


    Roland took in the sight and thought that this could be him if he screws this up or takes too long. With a heavy sigh, he walked back to the main street and eventually found the Guild again. He passed by many curious eyes that were looking at him. Just moments ago they saw him dashing away fearfully from the Guild, and minutes later, he is right in front of the Guild again.


    Roland resolved himself for the mockery that was about to assault his ego and pushed open the door, ready for anything. Immediately, all eyes looked at him. Some were filled with a laughing mockery, but oddly, most were filled with praise. The two receptionists looked at Roland with surprise as he walked up to the old man again step by step. The old man eyed Roland with a glare.


    ¡°Back to talk more shit laddie? Or are ya here for business.¡± The old man said, casually extending an olive branch.


    ¡°Business. I need a ton of money and I need it soon.¡± Roland replied honestly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t we all?¡± The old man mused. He thought for a moment. ¡°How much do ya need?¡±


    ¡°1500 gold.¡± Roland said through gritted teeth. ¡°I have two lives waiting on it.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The old man crossed his arms and closed his eyes for a moment.


    ¡°None of these requests will get you anywhere near that amount kid¡­¡±


    Roland let out a sigh. He turned around to walk out the door, but was stopped.


    ¡°¡­But I have an idea.¡±


    Roland immediately turned back and looked at the old man.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Roland stood there¡­hoping for anything.


    ¡°Yer not gonna like it kid. I guarantee it.¡± The man glared at Roland. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even recommend this to a youngin¡¯ like yerself, but since lives are on the line¡­¡±


    ¡°What. Is. It?¡± Roland asked again with a slight anger. He felt his emotions start to lose control, but he reigned it in by willpower.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the deal laddie. We Guilds often sponsor various events in the city. Hell, even the more seedier types sponsor events.  We all have to keep on the mayor¡¯s good side n all that rubbish. Anyway, have you seen the large circular building in the center of the city?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve seen it, It¡¯s kind of hard to miss¡­¡± Roland replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s a coliseum.¡±  The old man paused. ¡°We sponsor a few gladiators every year. If they get in the top three, we get a cut of the overall profits from the event.¡±


    Roland looked at the old man.


    ¡°You want me¡­.to be a gladiator?¡± Roland asked.


    ¡°Not just any gladiator, you got skill kid. If you can keep up with me, then you can mop the floor with those fools HAHAHA! We usually pick a few to sponsor through the Guild tournament, but I¡¯d be willing to use all of the slots for you¡­if you win that is.¡±


    Roland smiled. ¡°Where do I sign up for this Guild tournament?¡±


    ¡°Its in three days. If ya get the top spot, the slots are yers. If ya manage to do that and get first place at the coliseum, I¡¯ll directly give ya the 1500 gold. Second or third won¡¯t cut it kid. Think you can handle that?¡± The old man grinned.


    Roland grinned. ¡°Ill be here for it then. Count me in.¡±


    ¡°Come back in three days laddie.¡± The old man said simply and went back to leaning back in his chair, ignoring Roland completely.


    ¡°Thank you¡­Guild master.¡± Roland softly said before walking quickly out of the door. The old man opened his eyes in surprise before a faint smile appeared¡­


    ¡°Got busted ah¡­¡±


    ***


    Junko rallied her students into the courtyard. The stealth types helped the less stealthy to all appear without being noticed. All 33 of them looked at her with loyalty, ready to carry out her orders.


    ¡°We are leaving this castle. These nobles think that they can control you, but they are gravely mistaken. We are going to the north west toward Granite City. This is the furthest town that is still within the principality and the general direction that the Inquisition went.¡±


    The class murmured a little, then quieted down.


    ¡°We are going to get our comrades back, one way or another. This country has harmed our family and they will pay dearly for it.¡±


    Everyone nodded their heads. Some of the more listless students nodded as well, clearly fighting against something inside them.


    ¡°Granite city will be our temporary base until we find Jake, Christina, and Jessica. You all will be split into teams on arrival. Any questions?¡±


    Silence answered her. She turned towards the open gate and said in a low voice.


    ¡°Get ready.¡±


    Several of the students took out a carriage each, while another student took out several horses from seemingly a different dimension. A third unloaded crates of cargo from their own dimension. Within minutes, everyone was loaded in carriages outside the gate, ready to depart.


    ¡°Move out.¡±


    Slowly, the group left the castle towards Granite City.


    After we find our missing family, this country will burn for what it did¡­mark my words.


    It was at this point that historians would mark the beginning of the Costa Principality¡¯s downfall. However, they wouldn¡¯t be alone in this calamity¡­the entire world would be dragged into chaos by this little ¡®family¡¯ of students.

 Chapter 22 - Past Consequences and Future Pursuit

    Layla Costa sat on the couch in the royalty living room. Her beautiful amber eyes narrowed to clearly annoyed slits at the man in front of her. She moved her light brown hair to the side in a vain attempt to momentarily distract her from the irritation¡­to no avail.


    ¡°Layla, my dear, how are you doing?¡± Ruslan Costa said to his daughter and then smiled.


    ¡°What do you want? Every time you ask me how I¡¯m doing or call for me, it¡¯s always regarding work. I also recall that your last small errand nearly got my ass blown off. I quite like the shape of my ass, makes all the cute boys stare. Point is, I¡¯d rather not lose it doing whatever dumb shit you are planning.¡± Layla retorted with venom.


    ¡°Oh daughter, what will I do with you? Perhaps marry you off?¡± The king slightly threatened.


    Layla¡¯s amber eyes lit up with magical power. Small pinpricks of light dotted her iris in a beautiful lightscape¡­unfortunately the king thought otherwise, being the clear target of said power.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see you try old coot. Last time you tried this, an heir became a cute boy-toy for one of the more¡­eccentric ladies of the court. Being a eunuch tends to make them more attractive some reason. I wonder why?¡± She smirked while his brows furrowed in reminiscence.


    ¡°I¡¯ll disown-¡± The troubled king started but was interrupted.


    ¡°Besides your highness, we both know that while you put on quite the show for the heroes, it¡¯s not you who has the real power in this castle but rather her highness the Queen. If it wasn¡¯t for her running damage control with the elves over the past three years, we would up to our heads in magic bombardments because of you¡­also need I mention the maid incident? She is still angry about that by the way.¡±


    The king shivered. ¡°But that was-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no.¡± She closed her eyes.


    The king stood up fiercely. ¡°YOU WILL RESPECT ME, YOUR FATHER. So help me¡­.¡±


    ¡°Sure, when you are worthy of respect. That your highness, can only be earned and only by you. Let me know when you are man enough to confront your wife and stop running away from your consequences, and maybe that will change.¡± She smiled, putting the final nail in his coffin. ¡°Doubt it though. Now, what do you want?¡±


    The king sat down powerlessly.


    ¡°Your little sister is gone.¡± He said slowly.


    ¡°Ex-scuse-me?¡± Her irises lit up into mostly white specks. She was clearly angry, even if the grin plastered on her face said otherwise. The contrast was chilling the king immensely. ¡°My baby sister is missing?¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Not missing exactly¡­¡± Ruslan paused. ¡°More like chasing after a boy?¡±


    ¡°Oho~¡± The venom was dripping from her words. The atmosphere was thick with killing intent. ¡°And. You. Just. Let. Her?¡± The grin deepened further. ¡°You do know that she is still recovering from theZeno incident right? I doubt my baby sister is ready to interact with boys yet. In fact, if it wasn¡¯t for someone who liked taking hard objects up the ass in the bedroom with his wife or with another certain maid that we won¡¯t talk about, we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation. Also her sense of values wouldn¡¯t be so¡­eccentric.¡±


    The king twitched hard, his face filled with horror. ¡°H-how do you...¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± She looked at him like filth on the side of the street. ¡°Based on your statement, you know where she is or where she is headed?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s¡­ um¡­¡±


    Layla tapped her finger on the couch armrest¡­slowly. She was visibly getting angrier with each passing second as the mana around her fluctuated immensely.


    ¡°She¡­may have¡­erm¡­snuck onboard the Inquisition carriage?¡±


    ¡°ah...hahaha¡­AHAHAHAHA! YOU ARE SO FUCKING SCREWED!¡± She burst into laughter. ¡°Oh mom¡¯s gonna fry yer fuckin nuts and feed em to ya. Oh GOD I CAN¡¯T WAIT! HAHAHA!¡± She paused and looked as his face draining of color¡­then resumed laughing to add in a few kicks while he was down.


    ¡°Not if you get her back in one piece.¡± He pleaded.


    ¡°Hmm¡­I don¡¯t know¡­ I think you¡¯d make a good eunuch. Though, eunuchs can¡¯t be royalty, sooo I guess you¡¯d have to watch someone who is actually competent plow mom every night. I¡¯d pay to see your face when that happens.¡±


    ¡°Thirty gold.¡±


    ¡°You know; they say that losing your nuts makes you more feminine. Maybe you¡¯d turn into a cute sissy boy? Wait, then you¡¯d have a legit reason to like taking it up the ass. Win-win for you eh?¡±


    ¡°Fifty.¡±


    ¡°Three hundred. As much as I hate you and would absolutely cream myself on seeing you get cucked every night by mom¡­I suppose I have to help my baby sister¡­¡±


    ¡°Two hundred, I can¡¯t go higher.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a personal problem.¡±


    ¡°You¡­.¡± The king glared at her. ¡°Does she mean anything to you!? She is family!¡±


    ¡°She also skinned numerous people alive to physically get off on their screams¡­though she has changed a ton since then. Also, if I didn¡¯t care, I wouldn¡¯t even make a counter offer. Therefore, your argument is invalid, just like you are going to be when mom finds out.¡±


    Layla looked down at the king¡¯s hand. ¡°However, I suppose~ I could take a hundred off for two of the rings you are wearing.


    ¡°You can¡¯t take the royal sigil.¡± The king immediately shot back.


    Wow¡­not even going to pretend to defend his marriage ring huh? What an absolutely disgusting piece of shit. Then again it probably doesn¡¯t mean anything to him since he and that maid¡­ or that time he was drunk and walked in my room, then attempted to¡­ahem.


    ¡°¡­Or my marriage ring.¡±


    Uh huh. Afterthought. Shows how much you care, fucking bastard.


    ¡°Give me your rings of winds and earth.¡±


    ¡°These are worth thousands!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you have the right to bargain right now.¡± She glared.


    The king looked like he aged a bit. He looked down at the solid white and muddy brown rings thoughtfully and took them off. Turning them around in his fingers, reliving the memories when his wife gave these to him before he handed them to her.


    She looked at the rings with a complex emotion in her heart, eventually putting them on. She looked at the rings on her finger and asked a question.


    ¡°And the two hundred gold?¡±


    The king¡¯s heart bled. He knew that he shouldn¡¯t argue here. He may have been a terrible father, but at least he can try to get his daughter back. He called a maid over and asked her to withdraw two hundred gold from his ¡°personal¡± funds. Sometime later, she returned with a small sack on a tray.


    ¡°When can you start?¡±


    Right now if it means staying away from you for a long time¡­though I need some supplies and a horse. I could go through back channels to not leave a paper trail. Or rather, I would, but since mom already knows about what he has been up to¡­and listened to our conversation¡­ She chuckled to herself, making the king nervous.


    ¡°I¡¯ll set off immediately.¡±


    She walked out of the room, leaving a relieved king to sit on the plush chair.


    I don¡¯t know why you are relieved Ruslan. You just sent your second daughter and mom¡¯s secret heir into danger after letting the first wander off unnoticed. If you thought mom was mad before¡­ The slightest smile touched her lips.

 Chapter 23 - Horrific Possibility

    Roland sat on a chair in front of the two girls that saved him. The room only had a small desk and two beds in it, entirely made of wood. He vacantly stared at their broken bodies and watched as their chests slowly rose and fell. Christina was covered in bandages and splints. Jessica was simply lying there motionless as a maid slowly pressed down on a crude billow that helped her breathe. It was as if Jessica was a doll that had no batteries, she moved not even a twitch as the maid worked tirelessly to keep her alive.


    Press¡­Woosh¡­..ssssss¡­.Press¡­Woosh¡­.ssss


    ¡°Hey, what is your name?¡± Roland solemnly asked.


    ¡°This one is called Maid sir.¡±


    ¡°Your name is Maid? That is a profession though.¡±


    ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t have a name. Master Allen saved me from the red light district as a child¡­¡± She thoughtfully paused while she kept pumping the billow occasionally. ¡°He was the only one that reached his hand out to a filthy kid that was sold by her addict mother, and told me he needed a maid. Therefore, I am Maid and always will be until my dying breath.¡±


    She resumed her silence and spoke no further. Roland turned back to the two girls. Their very lives were in his hands and the pressure weighing down on him was enormous. It was making him crack and he started to understand what Zeno meant by the word ¡°unhinged¡±. What was worse, was that it was completely out of his control. One moment he would be fine and the next, he would realize that his emotions were suddenly accumulated into the extreme. Stress, anger, rage¡­all of these negative emotions had clear consequences, but after thinking a bit, even positive emotions would have issues in the extreme. He couldn¡¯t trust his emotions anymore as both sides were starting to blur together. Happiness would lead to him imagining countless murder and feeling like there were no consequenses. His rage would turn into an empty black hole that used his internal mana and lost his rationality.


    One of the most important rules of manipulating magic is keeping your emotions in check and having a clear head. Especially in fights...which he was going into.


    Roland knew he had a serious issue that he needed to solve as soon as possible, but he didn¡¯t know where to even begin with this can of worms. Everything seemed so suffocating and pressuring him to do his best¡­it was all a little too much. Vaguely, images came to him of just slitting their necks, ending their suffering.


    No. I won¡¯t do that; why would I even think of this? What the hell is wrong with me?!


    He recalled that woman who killed his sister. That entitled princess who got off on his screams.


    That damn woman caused this¡­it¡¯s all her fault¡­all their fault...


    Slowly the edges of his vision tinted with blue and black swirling patterns. He was going to save them, and rip thatfamily apart at any cost.


    ***


    Maid looked up from her billowing to see the young man in front of her staring vacantly at the two girls. She felt bad for the kid really. Her left eye turned completely white with a central ring of gold for the briefest moment before returning to a dull brown like nothing had happened.


    Spell fang huh¡­not to mention he is also like Master; he is Two...or rather was Two. Poor kid. In all of my years as emperors, leaders, heroes, men, women, princesses or whores¡­even beasts of burden¡­I bless the gods that I¡¯m not a Multiple¡­or worse. Gods forbid the day I become a Turned.


    She shuddered a little, causing him to look at her which she ignored. He promptly turned back to the girls.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    I dread the thought of a Turned Spell fang. Just imagining someone with unfettered perfect control of all magic becoming a Turned and destroying the world would give anyone nightmares. There is that saying, ¡°You don¡¯t kill a turned, you stop them for a moment.¡± No matter what people tried, the Turned cannot be killed and only imprisoned.


    She looked at the kid. Thankfully Master Allen hadgiven everything he had to fix these girls initially, saving their lives at the very least and using up his entire life savings to do so. The consequence of not doing so for the kid would be too much. The kid was clearly unhinged as it was.


    He was always a kind man. That¡¯s why he stayed as a priest in this backwater city. Looking at this kid, he definitely needs some pressure to grow. Maybe it¡¯s a bit too much pressure, however, it''s better to have this experience than to lose them and regret forever. I can tell he holds them dearly, even if he doesn¡¯t realize it himself yet. Maybe this will open his eyes?


    She smiled at the mischievous thought.


    Besides, seeing Master essentially revive these two was a painful process to watch. She thought back on the time her Master spent on treating these two, using a full day and a half, and lots of precious ingredients and elixirs. From what she could see of the broken girls, they both probably got caught up in a magical explosion. The odd question, is why the kid was comparatively unharmed?


    She looked at the two girls earlier and saw an archon and a crusader. Both of these classes should have heavy barriers for magic attacks. These barriers are an integral part of their classes and should activate even when they are unconscious. Perhaps they haven¡¯t learned how to use them yet?


    No that shouldn¡¯t make sense. You can only become an archon by assimilating with a demon and winning the power struggle, making it submit. As for crusader, you have to come in physical or spiritual contact with a god. There is a reason there are very few of both. Demons submit to no one, choosing to explode their spirits instead, while gods powerful enough to descend into this realm spiritually are few and far between¡­Any that can directly descend are all calamities that could destroy this plane of existence just by doing so. Apocalypse just by walking through the rifts. Instant mass suffering on a global scale¡­


    She paused such terrible ominous thoughts¡­only for the worst of them all to reveal itself.


    Worst of all, if it was Nolene and her sole angel Beretta. The twins of chaos incarnate. Beretta is the only angel crazed and powerful enough to stand by her side. Beretta coming down wouldn¡¯t be that bad to be honest. Nolene however¡­her advent would shake this world to its foundations. Rewriting physical laws and existence itself. Monsters of untold power and ability would manifest instantly¡­ gods, demons, even Administrators of multiple realms would pale in fear. There is a damn good reason why she is the public enemy number one and why her followers are hunted down with such reverence across ALL realms.


    She knew this because she was there in one of her previous lives. She was an arch demon who had her legion directly fight Beretta helplessly. She watched Nolene gracefully walk through the growing purgatory, and in her final moments, she asked Beretta one simple question.


    "Why?"


    Beretta looked down on the fallen Arch Demon and smiled.


    "Do you need a reason to exist? She is the madness andchaosincarnate. My Lady needs no reasons because there are none. She exists because she does, like she always has been, and always will be. All will change before her and succumb to the madness.May she embrace you kindly..."


    Then her personal hell started. Her unending cycle of lives began.


    She shook her head and recalled her time on the little blue world known as Earth sadly, or at least her version of it. If they thought Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones were bad¡­she makes them look cute by comparison. Her entrance during the War of Saetus proved that. She couldn¡¯t even use magic and Gods fell like flies. She didnt even fight, yet Devils had their existences snuffed out or rewritten merely by her silvery presence. Mortals morphed into abstract horrors by the millions. During the battle, Beretta briefly turned the planet itself into an entity, devouring both sides. Angels and Demons were lucky. They simply¡­ vanished. All of them left this realm, devoured and killed instantly by Xitalu, one of the Great Old Ones that happened to be near our realm when her descent tore space-time briefly.


    To this day, there have been no sightings of either demons or angels, as if heaven and hell were completely empty of all except the most powerful. Even in this realm. Eventually, both sides in multiple realms worked on sealing both Beretta and Nolene in a fractured area of space where time has stopped. A Dead Zone. It worked briefly. Unfortunately, chaos is the embodiment of non-zero chance. She escaped with some injuries and everyone is hell-bent on finding them. To this day, that earth is dead of all life, even the smallest kind. The only silver lining is that she lost control of her powers of chaos.


    You cannot kill chaos, nor contain it. You can only stop it for the briefest of moments¡­and seeing this kids Saetus¡­that time might just be up.


    She once again looked at him and the girls with pity and a numbing fear at an increasingly non-zero possibility. She looked carefully and saw his eyes start to tint a mix of dark blue and black.


    Perfect control of all magic and the advent of chaos and madness herself. God help us all if he becomes Her vessel.

 Chapter 24 - The Madness Creeps Forth

    Roland saw the flickering in the corner of his eyes. He let the anger grow and grow. It felt good to let it grow until¡­nothing. All emotion and feeling entered a black hole and drained away from him. His mind calmed alarmingly down to ice. He looked to the side and saw Maid looking at him with concern for some reason.


    Doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s time for the fights. If anyone gets in my way, I¡¯ll gladly show them what their insides look like.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back you two. Count on it.¡± He gently told the two girls and smiled. Slowly, the smile faded from his eyes and only ice remained.


    No time like the present.


    He left through the door, moving like an entirely different person. Maid watched this in sorrow, unable to help the poor boy. She looked at the two girls.


    ¡°You better wake up soon you two¡­or you may lose him forever.¡± She mused then sighed, resuming her billow work.


    Had she kept looking at them, she would have noticed their hands twitch.


    ***


    Roland walked through the busy streets, looking at the coliseum in the center of the city before arriving at the Granite City Guild. He opened the door and was greeted with curious gazes. He ignored all looks and walked right up to the counter.


    ¡°Old man, I¡¯m here for the tournament.¡± The guild master narrowed his eyes. Something was different about this kid.


    His eyes¡­they¡¯re so cold. What the hell happened to him? He was smiling three days ago¡­


    He made a mental note to keep an eye on Roland and slid a registration form. Roland quickly filled it out and handed it back.


    The guild master went over the sheet for a moment before pausing.


    ¡°You are opting for no weapons?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t need them.¡±


    ¡°You seemed to need them when we last fought.¡±


    ¡°Those are for self-defense. I¡¯ll actually be attacking from now on. So when is my fight?¡±


    The guild master felt more and more unnerved. This was totally different than expected of the boy. Previously, the boy seemed almost nervous to fight. Something definitely happened.


    ¡°Over there in the octagon. Remember, you need to be undefeated.¡±


    ¡°Rules?¡±


    ¡°None, cept no killing.¡±


    ¡°So maiming is fine?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yeah. Stop if they surrender.¡±


    ¡°Only if they do so in time.¡±


    With that, Roland walked off to the ring. The guild master had a sinking feeling that something was very wrong. He didn¡¯t know what was about to happen but he felt the dread.


    He watched as Roland walked up to the ring where a thinner man stood. In his hands were a large sabre and shield.


    ¡°You challenging me?¡± The thin man asked simply. ¡°I¡¯d recommend against it lad. I wouldn¡¯t want your motha to cry before I shoot ¡®tweens her legs tonight.¡±


    The crowd descended into silence. Everyone present knew what the boy was capable of¡­besides this guy. He joined two days ago, bragging about his B rank status.


    Roland looked at him emotionlessly and raised his hands. He turned them around to look at his palms. He could feel the faint energies within him start to rotate and collide in his hands. Oddly, the pain felt far away¡­


    ¡°Yes. Ready?¡±


    The man scoffed and swung his sabre at the boy, inches away.


    ¡°Wow, not even I would admit my motha¡¯s a whore. HAHA! Ya pissing yer pants yet kid? Tell you what, you can just leave now if you aren¡¯t ready-¡±


    The man cut his words short and dodged.


    ¡°WHAT THE FUCK KID! That woulda¡¯ killed me!¡±


    The man narrowly dodged a palm strike filled with mana. He leaned to the side and backpedaled hard when the concussive shock rattled his head from the small explosion.


    ¡°You swung first and said ready.¡±


    One retort and another palm strike answered him. The man tried to grab the boy¡¯s arm to grapple, but simply touching the man¡¯s hand with mana coated fingers caused the man¡¯s left hand to slowly erode.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°OW FUCK!¡± The man looked in fear. ¡°What the hell are you?! Fine I¡¯ll get serious.¡±


    The man started to use his sabre. He lunged at Roland but had a feeling of incongruity. The boy just stood there as the sabre got closer and closer almost as if in slow motion¡­before his sabre tilted down. Then his left leg gave out at the hip, causing him to fall.


    How did the world turn upside down? What is that ringing in my left ear? He thought to himself as small black and blue tendrils creeped over from the left side of his vision, turning everything to black. He lost his left sight...then his sense of taste¡­his sense of smell¡­the ringing finally stopped¡­then his mind faded away, unaware of what happened.


    ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡±


    The crowd looked on in horror as the B rank adventurer slowly dissolved from his left hand across his arm and onto the whole body in moments.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t surrender in time.¡± Roland spoke out. ¡°Does anyone want to challenge me?¡±


    Silence answered him.


    ¡°You killed him lad. That¡¯s against the rules.¡± The guild master spoke grimly.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t surrender in time and no one warned him.¡± Roland replied emotionlessly.


    Bullshit, no one warned him because they were too shocked to see a man dissolving in front of their eyes¡­


    ¡°You also gave a sneak attack.¡±


    ¡°I asked if he was ready. He said the word ready.¡± Roland replied once again.


    Technicalities¡­ The guild master felt a headache coming on.


    ¡°You still killed him.¡±


    ¡°His sabre is coated in poison. He also swung first with it. That counts as making the first killing move.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The guild master walked over to the sabre, walking over the¡­paste...to confirm. Sure enough, it was coated with a trace of poison¡­not enough to be lethal however.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, it is coated in poison.¡± He sighed. "Does anyone wish to challenge him, WITHOUT killing moves?¡±


    Silence answered him as the crowd suddenly found the walls and ceiling very interesting.


    Some contest this turned out to be. Kid¡¯s got them scared shitless. No one would want to fight knowing they could end up like that paste-


    He looked at the ground, only to see the floor completely clean leaving only his clothes and armor.


    Fucking hell¡­not even a corpse. Now that is terrifying. Even I wouldn¡¯t want to be on the receiving end of that.


    ¡°Alright. Lad you got yerself the slots, but keep in mind killing will NOT be tolerated again. Especially at the coliseum. Watch it kid.¡± The guildmaster warned him while handing the three bronze medals over. They were the size of a palm each.


    Roland nodded, took the three medals, and walked towards the arena, ignoring the eyes following him out the door.


    Good riddance. I hope he leaves soon. He looked at the crowd and saw their terrified gazes. Even the two receptionists¡¯ eyes were narrowed at Roland as he left. Clearly they were worried about something.


    ***


    Roland walked toward the coliseum slowly, he felt something on his left hand and saw it was covered in black spots. He flipped it over and the top of his hand had open sores with tiny black and blue tendril hairs on them.


    The feeling still feels so far away. Everything feels so far away. What was wrong with killing him? He wanted to harm me first. Why were they looking at me like that?


    Roland thought to himself as he walked, the answers to his questions seemingly forever in the distance of his mind along with all other feeling. He walked in a daze until he reached the coliseum. He walked towards the guards instead of the long line waiting in front.


    ¡°For audience seats, go to that line.¡± The guard spoke. Surprisingly, it was a woman.


    ¡°I¡¯m a competitor.¡± Roland showed his medals.


    She looked at the medals for a moment, confirming the authenticity with surprise. The guild usually splits their invitations across three people. She looked back up to give the directions but she looked at his eyes and flinched. Quickly, she recollected herself.


    ¡°Alright you can go in. Third room on the right is the waiting area and the roster.¡±


    Roland left without a word.


    The guard looked at the boy thoughtfully.


    First time I¡¯ve seen someone using aura that young. He must have been training harshly for it to cover his eyes like that¡­gave me the chills. Also why the hell is it fluctuating so much? Wait, that¡¯s not normal¡­better tell the chief. We may have a Turned on our hands¡­and if so, we¡¯re in for one hell of a fight.


    She ran off to her superiors after having her guard relieve her.


    Just in case¡­


    ***


    Roland walked into the waiting room, registered with the receptionist and sat down. His number was thirty-two. He looked at his hand strangely. The strange far away feeling was now up to his wrist. Something was wrong, but he didn¡¯t know what it was. He focused on that feeling and instinctively surrounded his hand with it. Eventually, the tendrils coated his hands like gloves and the feeling faded away.


    That¡¯s better. No feeling is the best feeling. I don¡¯t like having something nagging in the back of my head.


    Roland sat perfectly still and stared at the wall vacantly while other people whispered around him. They could feel his mana fluctuations when he turned the tendrils into gloves. They all looked at the boy in wonder until a young woman walked up to him. Her green hair swayed gently behind her, accentuating her swaying hips and slight curves. She wasn¡¯t a curvy woman exactly but rather a beautiful petite one. However, her mouth ruined that image entirely.


    ¡°What are you doing making mana fluctuations like that?¡± She chided. ¡°Are you trying to show off for me? Well too bad you aren¡¯t my type. I prefer bigger men with muscles. Maybe if you win, I¡¯ll let you into my harem." She pondered a moment. "You can carry my things for me, be grateful.¡±


    Roland sat there staring at the wall with no expression.


    ¡°Hello? Are you listening to me?¡± She put her hands on her hips and glared at the oblivious Roland.


    She touched Roland and he slowly turned his head to look at the¡­intrusion.


    ¡°Can¡­I¡­hel..p youuu?¡± Roland said as if slurring his words.


    She looked at him. ¡°Listen when your betters are talking to you, boy. Do you even know who I am?¡± She grinned.


    ¡°Why¡­would¡­I?¡± He asked somewhat slurred and slow.


    ¡°YOU!¡± She calmed herself a little. ¡°I am Lynn Maestro. Daughter of the House Maestro. Feeling scared yet?¡±


    ¡°Nooo?¡±


    ¡°Well you should be!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­okay.¡± Roland responded and resumed staring at the wall.


    Lynn felt herself shaking with fury. This was not how she imagined it would go. She was supposed to walk over here due to the huge fluctuation, get him to like her so he would reveal his secrets and then dump him for a better pretty boy later.


    Why isn¡¯t it working?! All the boys react like dogs when I give them even a bit of attention, so why is this one different?


    ¡°Look here peasant, you will kneel before me! I won¡¯t stand for your disrespect any longer.¡±


    I¡¯ll make him kneel and spill his secrets. I need to get strong to chase after the duke¡¯s son.


    Roland continued to stare at the wall.


    ¡°FINE. We will settle this in battle. I will make you kneel and kiss my feet!¡± She turned and stomped away.


    ¡°Participants thirty-one and thirty-two, come to the arena!¡±


    Roland got up and started walking over to the door, only to be cut off by Lynn.


    ¡°That was sooner than expected. No matter, you will beg for mercy when I¡¯m done with you. Maybe if you kiss my feet in front of everyone, I¡¯ll let you off with a whipping.¡± She smiled and walked out onto the arena.


    Had she stayed, she would see his eyes turn from being entirely blue and black¡­to a pure piercing silver briefly, before changing back.


    Unknowingly a voice whispered behind him.


    All will be changed before chaos and kneel before the madness.


    I will guide you, my dear Roland~