《Some heroes become evil so as to remain hero》 Chapter 1: Prologue The story starts in the year 1100 B.C. The mythical world, full of fantasy things like dragons, adventurers and superpowers. In this world, the essence of every living thing is a supernatural power called zi. Zibeingthe core of life, is also the building block of society. It¡¯s true that not all people of society can use this supernatural power ¡°zi¡± but it¡¯s not like it¡¯s rare to watch it being used. The adventurers, famous martial artists, Imperial Army soldiers and many professors of prestigious colleges are not only familiar with zi but are also zi users. Zi, as the superpower name indicates is used mainly to maintain peace. In the past, the sole purpose of zi learning was to use it in war; to capture enemy¡¯s areas and to kill your opponents but that war-time passed and peace took the earth under its wings. Conflicts were still present but it wasn¡¯t like your army needed to be ready every time for countering a sneak attack. Among all the kingdoms, there was a kingdom named the Hassion Kingdom. The Hassion Kingdom was famous for its military power but was one of the peace spreading kingdoms. The condition of people here was satisfactory. There weren¡¯t many beggars. Everyone earned a good amount but one fault was still present in this kingdom as it was present in every other kingdom. And it was; Might is right. The law was the same for everyone but the judges, lawyers and jail superintendents were biased. Helping criminals flee and putting the fault on the poor was a common thing if ever happened.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Thousands of years ago, the ultimate evilknownas Norex once ruled the entire world. It was him and him alone that ruled the entire world. No other king or queen has been able to accomplish that feat. The dark era was called Dark Age. Time flew by and ended his reign but not the evil. Then the need was felt to establish a proper security system that will protect the citizens as well as the royalty. The system comprised of Imperial Army soldiers and the institutions for training students and making them a better human. The institutions were called ¡°Colleges¡±. The capital of Hassion Kingdom is ¡°Imperial City¡± and in the Imperial City lives a young boy. He is different from boys and girls of his age. And why is he different from them, let¡¯s find out? Chapter 2: Guy named Xeron The darkness of the night was at its end. The long-awaited brightness was starting from the East. Faint rays of the emerging Sun were not only lighting the earth but were also reviving the life on it. The sun was purging the darkness and a new life was being given to all creatures for one more day. Despite all the other living things having woken up from their slumber, a young boy nearly 15 years old was still enjoying his sleep under the shade of a large tree of the forest. The reason he was sleeping in the forest was still unknown. The rays soon fell on his eyes and began disturbing his sound sleep. He opened his eyes slowly, stood up and yawned. He was wearing clothes that were the same as that of a countryman. They were neither torn nor old but were just simple. He took the bag lying beside him and put it on his back. ¡°Guess, I should get going. They will be here soon¡± He started walking towards the North end of the forest; the end that lay near a village; far from the city. The village was same as the forest, glowing with the beauty of nature¡­full of greenery and for its few people. There were few children playing around, their mothers talking to each other and some low-quality shops. ¡°Ouch,¡± a painful voice attracted his attention. He followed the voice and found an old lady to be the source of that painful voice. He leapt towards the old lady who was sitting on the ground in pain. Her back was hurting due to the luggage she was carrying on her back. ¡°Are you hurt, grandma?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing young one¡± She tried to hide her misery from him. ¡°Don¡¯t lie. I heard it clearly. You were screaming in pain¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing to get so serious about. It happens often in old age¡± ¡°Let me help you. I will carry your luggage to wherever you are going¡± ¡°There is no need to do this. I can carry it¡±The old lady replied with a smile on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My parents taught me to help others when in need. So where do we go?¡± He had already put the luggage on his back, not waiting for a reply from her. ¡°Guess it¡¯s my defeat. That river¡­ ¡± She pointed with her index finger towards the river flowing not too distant from them,¡± I have to go to the next village so I will take the horse-driven carriage from there¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get going then¡± They reached the river bank in no time. A carriage was passing by which was stopped by the boy. He put the luggage in the carriage. ¡°Thank you very much. Here.. Take this amulet as a gift. It will save you from evil eyes¡± She handed him over the amulet that she just took out of her pocket. ¡°Thank you very much. I will cherish it¡± The carriage was soon nowhere to be seen. The boy turned his head sideways and behind to make sure that no one was near. He opened the amulet by enchanting a spell. A piece of paper with some words written on it was found in it. The words were, ¡°Congrats on your previous mission. It was a 24-hour requiring mission but you accomplished it in just 6 hours. It was nothing surprising from you. As you have still some time left so I have another mission for you. There is a town named Regal on the southeast of this village. There is going to be a drug dealers¡¯ meeting today. We don¡¯t know where they are going to hold the meeting and we don¡¯t even have the time to find it out. The only lead we have is about a shopkeeper in the town that sells drugs secretly. Have your way with him and stop this drug-dealing meeting. Failure is not an option. If you fail, there will be thousands of young ones who will fall prey to the drug addiction for their entire lives. The meeting will be held at 7:00 pm. That¡¯s all we got. Next is up to you. This paper and the amulet will burn on their own as soon as you put it back into the amulet. Good luck¡± He put the paper into the amulet, closed it and threw it away. The amulet soon turned into nothing, burnt by the flames.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Town Regal! Here I come¡± With a smile on his face and seriousness in his eyes, he moves towards his destination, Regal Town. In the sky, the birds flew and on the land, a boy walked. His name was Xeron. The afternoon in the Regal Town was much cooler as compared to other towns as it was on the shore of the Great Ocean. The town was a huge place for the drug dealers to do their business and not to get caught. On the right side of the Main Street in the middle of the town was located the shop that he was tasked to investigate and get any information about the place where it was going to happen. It was a normal medical store with an old man as its owner and the only worker of the shop. No one could suspect an old man to be involved in drugs so it was easy for him to keep his business running in the town. ¡°Welcome to our medical store, young man. How can I help you?¡±The old man politely asked him with a smile on his face. ¡°Good afternoon!¡± Xeron replied. ¡°Same to you. So what brings you here today? Is it chest pain, headache or constipation? Whatever it is, my shop has every kind of medicine¡­from herbs to the tablets¡­.from injections to syrups¡­ So what do you want?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­ I just came to say my hello. The truth is¡­¡­¡­..Night is in need of light" As soon as Xeron uttered those words, old man¡¯s expression changed. His smile turned into a hideous one. The street was empty but old man checked to make sure. ¡°This way¡± the old man pointed to a corner of the shop. Both walked towards that corner. The old man uttered a magic spell which was more like a code to open some kind of lock. As soon as he stopped saying, the wall beside the corner opened up and a door was now present. The old man opened the door and both of them entered it. As soon as they closed the door from the inside, the wall came back and door disappeared from the outside view. Xeron hadn¡¯t thought of him to be storing this much drug supply. The room to which the secret door led was a huge room; larger than the shop itself. No one would believe how such a large room existed in such a small shop but it was all present in front of Xeron. There was no denying it that he wasn¡¯t any low drug dealer. The quantity of the drugs was the proof. ¡°Surprised to see this much? Well everyone is¡­at their first time. So which kind of drug your boss wants. I have all types of them so feel free to say¡± ¡°Then I will be taking all of them¡± ¡°All of them? This is no time to be joking, you know! I have other things to do, so hurry up¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t have to do anything after I finish my questions. That¡¯s a promise¡± The expression on xeron¡¯s face turned into a serious one as if he was about to kill him right on the spot. ¡°I, on behalf of Imperial Army, am confiscating all these drugs. If you want to live then answer my questions¡± The old man¡¯s body drained in sweat. ¡°Don¡¯t try anything funny. Other Imperial soldiers have already arrived. Even if you manage to somehow escape from here, there is no way you will escape from them. So cooperate with me and don¡¯t throw away your life. Live in jail for your sins or die here¡­ The choice is always yours¡± The drug dealing business that he was involved in for all these years was at its end. He had no choice left other than to cooperate. ¡°Before all this, please promise me one thing. You won¡¯t tell my family about me being a drug dealer. They don¡¯t anything about it. I was doing it all for them. I needed money for their education, their clothes, the house. I don¡¯t want them to be called a drug dealer¡¯s children so please take pity on me and don¡¯t tell them anything. I beg you¡± The old man¡¯s eyes broke into tears. It was not a deceptive trick but a real affection and love from a father towards his children. ¡°Okay. It wasn¡¯t my intention from the start either. But lie to me and I will change that intention. Enough talk already. Let¡¯s get to the main point¡± ¡°Where is the meeting going to be held today?¡± ¡°How do you¡­.?¡± ¡°I asked a question. Where is it?¡± The old man lifted his head up and replied, ¡°The Noside Hotel. It will start at 7:00 pm. It will be for a half an hour and then all of the dealers will quickly leave the place. But it won¡¯t be easy to capture them. The security would be very tight. But that¡¯s not all you have to worry about. The main problem is the Teleportation device. If they sense any danger then they will use it and will transport them out of there. So even if you manage to break their defence with your force, it will be too late the moment you reach them. ¡°That¡¯s quite a problem. But I will think of something. Don¡¯t worry about it?¡± ¡°I have some time left before the attack so I will just go and do some shopping¡­.And sorry I lied about you being surrounded by other soldiers. I am the only one on this mission¡­¡­.Sorry again¡± Old man¡¯s eyes widened hearing this. (Just who is he? He¡­at such an age¡­And on top of all this, he is going to attack all of them singly and has no sign of worry at all. Doesn¡¯t he value his life?) That¡¯s what the old man thought because he didn¡¯t know who Xeron was and what he was capable of. Chapter 3: My justice started 9 years ago Right at 6:58 pm, a car stopped in front of Noside Hotel. Two men stepped out of the car. One was holding a briefcase and other was holding a black umbrella. Both were dressed in dark clothes with hats of the same colour giving them the appearance of some kind of butlers. The guards at the main gate of the Noside hotel checked their whole body with the metal detector. Upon receiving the green signal, both went towards the elevator. Some men were already waiting for them at the elevator. They shook hands with them and the four of them entered the elevator together. ¡°Had you any problem reaching here, sir?¡±One of the guards asked the man, one with the umbrella in his hand. ¡°Not at all. Those soldiers were so easy to deceive. By the way, is your boss here?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Boss is waiting for you. As told, the meeting will start exactly at 7:00¡± ¡°Good¡± The elevator stopped at the third floor. The meeting was held in Room no#140 on the third floor. Three rooms other than room#140 were registered under the name of the same person. The room#140 was protected by an invisible magic barrier. Even if someone manages to find their meeting point and even reached that room then he will have to break the barrier. But in that time, they will escape using the Teleportation device. It was a foolproof plan and it should have been as it was a very big deal between two infamous drug dealers. One of the guards, that was accompanying them, knocked at the door. ¡°It¡¯s us¡± ¡°Code please!¡± a voice came from inside the room. "The sun falling from the sky" With this, the door opened as the magic barrier was removed from inside the room. There were 12 bodyguards in the room forming a circle around the boss who was sitting on a sofa. All guards were armed with guns and a Teleportation device was fitted in the ceiling of the room so as to flee immediately if an emergency happens. The device was inactive at that moment because it starts the Teleportation as soon as it is activated so should only be activated when you are ready to flee. The two men sat on the second sofa, the one in front of the boss. ¡°How was your journey?¡±The boss wearing a black jacket over his white shirt and white pants asked them. ¡°Quite easy! As we don¡¯t have time so let¡¯s get to the business¡±Umbrella man replied in a serious tone. ¡°Have you brought the money?¡± ¡°Yes,¡±The man carrying the briefcase gave it to one of the guards. ¡°It¡¯s 20 million dollars. I hope your drugs will be of better quality as usual¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Our drugs are quite notorious for their addiction. We will not disappoint you¡± boss bragged. ¡°Is it enough now? I did what you told me so please let me go¡± The umbrella man started begging to the briefcase man who should have been his subordinate. ¡°What are you saying?¡± Boss was puzzled as were the guards. ¡°Yes, you have. There is no need to continue the act anymore¡± The umbrella man put his hand on his face and enchanted a spell As soon as he finished reciting the spell, his face identity changed. Behind the face of the subordinate of the umbrella, the man was a young boy(Xeron). ¡°Who are you? And what is this?¡±Boss yelled at them both. ¡°I am here for a little talk, Mr.boss. Please cooperate with me¡± ¡°Fiiirrreee!¡± Guards began firing bullets at him. Not even one bullet missed its target. All of them pierced his clothing and made him fall on the floor. ¡°Who was he? And what was he doing with you?¡± Boss asked the umbrella man. ¡°He met me on my way here and killed my subordinate. He forced me to get him inside this room. If I had made a move to tell you then he would have killed me¡± ¡°Anyway¡­ He is dead now. Let¡¯s get back to¡­..¡± ¡°Dead¡­ Who is dead here? I haven¡¯t killed anyone yet. Then how can anyone die?¡± The murderous aura reached to every person in that room as he stood up in a horrific style. ¡°Itttt caaannn¡¯t be! You should be dead. The bullets¡­. How is it?¡± Boss wasn¡¯t the only one who was getting chills all over his body. All of them were shivering in fear upon watching that impossible feat done by him. ¡°So¡­ Shall we start the real businesses meeting?¡± ¡°Forgive me¡­ I will do as you say so please¡­¡­.¡±Seeing the boss apologizing, all of them kneeled; begging for their lives to be spared.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°You are embarrassing me¡± he chuckled while scratching his head,¡± There is no need for you people to kneel. There is something that I want to ask you so if you cooperate then you can get off easily. That¡¯s all¡± ¡°We will tell you anything so please spare our lives¡± the boss replied. ¡°Okay then! Tell me all about it. We are all free tonight, aren¡¯t we?¡± After a few minutes of investigation ¡°Well, that¡¯s all we know¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s more than enough¡± ¡°Your pro..mise!¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten about it guys. You will be free to go but first I have to make a call so wait just a little longer¡± Xeron took out the phone from his pocket, walked away from them and dialled a number. ¡°Hello..hello¡­ I have done my work here. I can come back, can¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Yes, you can¡± the call receiver answered. ¡°What happened to the drug dealers?¡± call receiver asked. ¡°It¡¯s not a good news. I got the info from them but in the end, all of them committed suicide so we cannot put them in jail. Is there a problem?¡± ¡°No, there is not. Do as you please¡± With this, the conversation ended. Xeron turned back and faced all of the bad guys that were clinging to each other as they were afraid whether he will keep his promise or not. ¡°Can we go now?¡± ¡°Why are you all sweating this much. You are free as I promised¡± his face was shining with a smile. ¡°Thank you¡± ¡°Go¡­ You are free¡­ Enjoy yourself to the fullest¡­ For your new lives¡­. I give you permission¡­..Go to hell!¡± Within an instant, no one noticed him moving from his place and cutting their throat with a knife. It was done in a second. The moment they realized the cut, it was too late. ¡°Buuuttt yooouuu saaaiiiddd!¡± ¡°There is no place for you in this world¡± His tone suddenly changed into a serious one as he saw their corpses lying on the floor in front of him. ¡°I am back. Is anyone home?¡±Xeron opened the door with a key, entered his home and questioned to no one particular while taking off his shoes. ¡°Welcome home,nii chan*!¡±A familiar voice; the voice of his little brother responded to his question. [*Nii chan¡ªUsed for brother in japanese] His little brother,Zess was nearly 13 years old. He was wearing a sky blue T-shirt and short pants. ¡°Hello,zess¡± his face was flooded with happiness and smile;completely contradicting with his murderous nature back during his mission. ¡°Nii chan is back¡­nii chan is back¡­..Hurray!¡±The little one was jumping with excitement and joy. ¡°Didn¡¯t you go to your school today?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Sunday,nii chan. School is closed today. Is this a good enough excuse?¡± he made the face like children make when they are angry. ¡°Sorry. I totally forgot what day is it¡± ¡°You should take some rest. You must be tired from your trip¡± ¡°By the way, where are mom and dad?¡±Xeron asked. ¡°You know them,nii chan¡­. Mom has gone to meet some people that shifted to our neighbourhood yesterday. And dad has gone to the forest with his friends for camping¡± ¡°I am then going to my room to take some rest. When mom returns, tell me¡± Xeron turned back and walked up on the stairs leading towards his room. Their house was a two-story building, with Xeron¡¯s and Zess¡¯s separate rooms on the 1st floor while the two living rooms and a kitchen on the ground floor. Upon reaching his room, he lay on his bed. ***[Words in brackets are what he is thinking]*** (It was an easy mission¡­. This time too. I cannot be satisfied with these easy missions anymore. I have to talk to him to send me to the missions where I can eliminate a large number of criminals) (9 years¡­ It has been 9 years since that incident. Time sure passes quickly. The day 9 years ago¡­ The day it all started¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­... The day I chose this path) ***[Bold words below are his thoughts of that incident]*** It was the first time I ever stepped outside the house. That day, mom took my hand and I accompanied her. We went to the buy some ingredients for dinner. Dad was out of the city that day so mom had to go buy them. Everything was normal. We bought the ingredients needed and were heading back. We were in a hurry that day so we took another route; the shorter one with a bank on its way. We were still at a distance from the bank when we heard the noise of firing coming from inside the bank. Without wasting any more time, my mom took me by her hands and we hid in a nearby narrow alley. The moment we went into the alley, the door of the bank opened and a group of five people armed with guns and with their faces hidden by the masks, walked out of the bank. The people who were walking by stopped where they were. They couldn¡¯t move even if they wanted to; because of the fear of death that they saw in front of them. The robbers could have easily got away but they didn¡¯t choose the easy way. They killed all the innocent people just for fun of it. They had already killed half of the bank staff so as to make the other half cooperate. They were not confident of their strength that they killed so many people but of their relationships to the higher-ups and of the fragility of the law. They knew that law made in the name of justice for the poor against the rich was only a fake. It was and will always be for the sake of the rich so that they could cover their wrongdoings. The soldiers came half an hour after the incident was over, handed over the dead to their families. Media kept showing the news and their faces for two days. Higher-ups also guaranteed that those criminals would be caught and would be killed in the capital centre. All of them talked but no one did anything. Neither the criminals were found nor killed. Time passed, people started living their lives again as they were living before that and everyone forgot about those innocent people that were killed that day. Some of them would have been on their way home from their work, some would have been going to meet their relatives. They could have been anyone¡­ Someone¡¯s parent, sibling or someone¡¯s believed one. But no one cared about them. They were forgotten like they were never in this world. Those criminals were the same criminals who were caught in a bank robbery 3 years before that incident. They were caught and locked away but one day, a huge fire engulfed the whole jail and those criminals were pronounced dead in that fire. But it was all fake. It was done so as to release them from there. That day¡­ It all started¡­. The day I decided to take the path of the right¡­ The path of justice¡­. But not the official one¡­. What if I became a government officer and caught the criminals and put them behind the bars¡­ The answer is simple¡­ They will live in that jail for 8-10 years and then they would be set free. They will be free to harm the innocent people again. They will kill a bunch of people again and if ever caught, they will again wait for a few years to keep doing what they were doing before. So I chose this unique path. The path where I won¡¯t be bound to just capture them¡­ I will kill any evil I catch so that they will no longer be any threat to the people. The old drug dealer... I killed him too. There is no place for bad people in society, whether they are young or old. The people will be able to live a more peaceful like when the evil will be suppressed. I don¡¯t want people¡¯s attention or their appreciation. I do this for peace of my mind. As long are evil is outside, there should be someone who will judge them. If the law won¡¯t then I will. Evil for evil and good for good. I am Xeron. Chapter 4: Mike, Reus and Imperial College of Saints ¡°I am back¡± xeron¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by his mom¡¯s voice. Xeron stood up from his bed and ran to greet her. ¡°Mom, how are you?¡± he took her into his arms. ¡°Xeron! When did you return?¡± ¡°Just a few minutes ago, mom¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that you were coming back today? At least you should have called me when you reached your friend¡¯s home¡±. ¡°Sorry, mom. There was some sort of signal problem so I could not contact you. Sorry¡±Xeron apologized. ¡°Do you know how much worried I was! You young boys of today, I don¡¯t understand you people¡± ¡°Mom, he has returned safely so let¡¯s just end it here¡± zess tried to calm her down. ¡°What can I do against both of you. But I am happy to see you safe¡± ¡°Zess told me that you had gone to meet a newly shifted neighbour. Who are they?¡± ¡°They¡­ They transferred to Imperial City today. They are from Alzarec city. Their daughter wanted to study at the ¡°Imperial College of Saints¡± so they transferred with her. Zess: ¡°Yeah, I totally forgot. Mike was here a while ago. He was asking about you. He wanted to talk about something¡±. ¡°I am then going to meet him¡± Xeron rushed towards the main-door and was out in an instant. Mike is Xeron¡¯s childhood friend. Since Xeron was 6 years old, they have been like best friends. Studied in the same school, lived in the same neighbourhood, they are like brothers. Their friendship also tied their families. (¡°At this time of day, he will be sitting in the city park waiting for the sunset. The only person I have ever acknowledged as my friend; not due to his abilities or anything but due to his comedian nature¡±) Xeron was running at his full speed towards the city park. (¡°He never falls no matter what kind of problem he has to face. I might have turned into a serious evil slayer but due to him, I have managed to maintain my funny side. Evil for evil and good for good; that¡¯s what I am¡±). It was evening time. Children with their families were enjoying their free time. A boy of the same age as his; wearing a T-shirt with a scythe pic on it was watching the sky. ¡°Here you are¡­¡­ Mike!¡± ¡°Xeron?¡± Mike turned and embraced Xeron. ¡°When did you come back from your friend¡¯s home?¡±Mike asked. ¡°Nearly 10 minutes ago. I was told that you came to talk about something. What was that you wanted to talk about?¡± ¡°I wanted to talk about the college¡±. ¡°College?¡± Xeron made a surprised face. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you forgot about it? Our school days are gone. Now we have to get enrolled in a college to continue our studies¡­¡­.. Do you understand now?¡± The last words were loud so as to enter his ever forgetting mind. ¡°Sorry! I totally forgot about it¡­¡­...So which college are we going to enrol in? ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to discuss with you. Personally, I recommend ¡°Imperial College of Saints¡±. They enrol only those students with good marks in their previous exams and there is no fee problem so it should be easy for us to get admission. What do you say? ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as we are going to the same college¡±Xeron was fine just with Mike being there for him. He never cared about the popularity of the schools; he just went where Mike went. ¡°So, it¡¯s decided then. I will fill admission forms for both of us. Today is Tuesday. College starts next Monday, so be ready¡± ¡°Fine by me¡± ¡°So how was your trip? Enjoyed it?¡± ¡°Yeah. Very much¡± ¡°So are you free today? Mike asked. ¡°Yes, but why? Mike: You forgot again. Today is the final of Intra-city football tournament. I have got 2 tickets. Wanna tag with me¡± ¡°Sounds interesting. Let¡¯s go¡± Having received Xeron¡¯s agreement Xeron and Mike head to the football stadium. During the second half of the game, someone pats Xeron¡¯s shoulder. Xeron finds a familiar face behind him. It was none other than the Imperial Army Branch 9 head officer, Reus Halvor, the one Xeron was working for. He was disguised as an old man but Xeron saw through his disguise.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°What is your opinion, young ones? I mean who will be the winner today?¡± Reus asked in an old man¡¯s voice. ¡°I think my team; the one with the black shirts will win¡± Mike replied while eating popcorn. " The one who performs better will win of course " Xeron replied normally. Reus: ¡°I see¡± ¡°Which team do you think will win?¡± Mike asked the old man(reus). ¡°I think the weaker one will lose¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same as Xeron said¡± Mike replied. ¡°No, it¡¯s not¡±Reus said,¡°If you are strong then no matter whom you are fighting against, victory will be yours but if you are weak then you will lose regardless of an enemy being strong or weak¡± ¡°I do not understand you but all I understand is that my team will win for sure¡± Reus¡¯s words went over Mike¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s nice to be young, isn¡¯t it?¡± Reus said. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right¡± Mike kept on eating the popcorn. Reus extended his right hand towards Xeron,put a piece of paper in his pocket and whispered in his ear,¡± You have become quite interesting, Xeron. We¡¯ll meet again soon¡±. Xeron turned his head quickly but found no one behind him. In an instant,reus was out of the stadium walking slowly with a smile on his face,¡° Xeron: The evil slayer! He has got a good name¡­..Indeed¡± Monday morning As usual, Xeron woke up early, went on a walk, completed 100-morning pushups, ate his breakfast and left for college at 7:30. As preplanned he was to meet Mike at his home and then to go to college together. Xeron reached his home at 7:32, entered his home, greeted his parents and was told that Mike is late as always. ¡°Just how many times have I told him not to play games late at night but he never listens to me. He is still changing his clothes............I am thankful to you for taking care of him. You are the only one whom I can entrust my son to. Please keep being his friend¡± Mike¡¯s mom bowed her head. ¡°Do not do this. You are making me feel ashamed¡±Right words for the right time.¡± You have always thought of me and loved me as your son and I have always respected you. I will not leave his side no matter what¡± His words somewhat made her feel relieved. ¡°I am here. Sorry for late coming¡± Mike makes his entry in a cheerful mood. ¡°Hopeless as ever. We are already late. Come quickly¡± Mike said goodbye to his mom and walked with Xeron towards college at a fast pace. They reached college within 10 minutes at 7:50. ¡°Where is our classroom? Do you know, mike?¡± Mike nodded indicating that he knew where to go. ¡°I memorized all the college places the last time I came to fill the admission forms. Do not worry. You are in good hands. Just follow me¡± Mike guided him and they reached their classroom. Many new faces that they never had seen before were going to be in their class for the next 2 years. Xeron: There are so many new faces! Mike: All of our previous classmates got admission in different colleges so it would be a start over. I hope to enjoy my time here. Xeron: Yeah. I hope it would be fun. ¡°Hello. Hello. Your class will start at sharp 8:00 a.m. Please take any seat you want to. Your teacher will be here soon¡± a loud voice coming from the speakers fitted in one of the classroom¡¯s wall informed them. Hearing this, all students took the seat of their choice. Mike took the seat, the one behind Xeron¡¯s. Mike: I wonder who our teacher will be? You know that the teachers here are qualified ones. As one would expect of ¡°College of Saints¡±. Xeron: I hope he/she will not be an old one, like our previous teacher. ¡°I hope too¡± Mike chuckled in response. Towards the college gate A man in his twenties carrying a bag in his hand was running towards the main gate as fast as he could. ¡°I am late. I am late¡± he stopped at the main gate to catch his breath. ¡°Class will start soon. I need to hurry¡± he looked at his watch and again started running towards the classroom. He should be running as it was his first day with his new first-year class and he didn¡¯t want to give them a bad impression. He hurried towards the classroom as fast as he could. The door of Class 1-A suddenly opened and a man flooded with sweat and taking rapid breaths entered. ¡°Who is he? " He is sweating from head to toe¡± ¡°Is he our teacher?¡± ¡°Cannot be¡± ¡°But he is carrying a bag¡± all those voices started echoing in the room. The man took his time to recover from running, sat on the chair, puts his bag on the table in front of his chair and started by greeting them. ¡°Hello, students. I will be your room teacher from now on. My name is William. You can call me William sensei¡±. ( ¡°sensei¡± means ¡± teacher¡±) ¡°On the behalf of our whole college, I welcome all of you to Imperial College of Saints. As you all know our college is well known for producing many famous personalities in the country¡­..¡±He took a deep breath and said, Let¡¯s just skip formalities and start the class¡±. William: First of all tell me. What do you know about ¡°zi¡±? Will anyone answer my question? Among all students, a blonde female student of roughly 15 years stood up. ¡°Sensei, Zi is the essence of all living beings. We all are born with zi. Zi becomes strong and massive the more we train. Some of us train themselves to take their zi to higher levels while others prefer living normal lives. That¡¯s all I know¡± ¡°Very well. You know quite well about it. What is your name, young girl?¡± ¡°My name is Esla¡± ¡°Thanks, Esla. Now you can sit down¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ As you all heard right now, zi can be trained and for that training, there are colleges¡­..After graduating, you can become whatever you want to. You can be an adventurer, an imperial officer, a famous martial artist, a member of ¡°The Association¡± or you can open your own college supported by the government. You will be paid well and will have a high reputation...So what I mean to say is that you can fulfil the dream for which you have worked so hard uptil now. So any questions? Anyone?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡±No one said anything. William: Okay then I would like to check your current zi. It is the zi store of your body and is not in activated form. It is for academic records so make a line. Students arranged themselves in a line while William took a white ball out of his pocket, with a lot of ancient language words written on it and asked students to come to him one by one. Chapter 5: Norex: The Black God First of all, a boy wearing glasses approached William. William asked him to put his hand on the white ball and concentrate as hard as he could to muster up hisziand channel it through the white ball. The glow of the ball would determine his currentzilevel. The white ball glowed faintly even at his maximum concentration. ¡°Nice try. It¡¯s only your first day. It is a long race so don¡¯t let it dishearten you. (As expected of someone without any previous experience inzi. A normal living creature I would say.) Next¡­.. Next was Esla. Esla made her way to William sensei and put her hand on the white ball while having a smile on her face showing her confidence in her skills and her hard work until now. " You seem confident¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Confidence is good but don¡¯t let it spoil you. Try to concentrate. Concentrate¡­And it will¡­.¡± William was interrupted and what caused the interruption was the intense glow that filled the whole room. All of then got stunned; even William hadn¡¯t expected her to be that good. Although her zi was dormant the intense glow proved that she hadn¡¯t lived just enjoyed her life until then. ¡°White ball is glowing brightly¡± " Esla made the white ball glow this much¡± ¡°She is so good at this¡± ¡°I am jealous. I want to do like that too¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I will be able to do it¡± all those voices in the praise ofeslamade her happy. ¡°(Even for a starter, she has the incredible amount of inactivezi. So this year has got some promising students. It will be interesting if any other student performs the same feat too)¡± That¡¯s what William thought. William: Bravo. Well doneesla. You did a good job. Can you tell everyone here that how you did it? I know everyone wants to know too. ¡°I just concentrated. That¡¯s all there is to¡±eslabragged thinking of that no one would be able to do that much and that she had a good impression on sensei on the very first day. Esla went back to her seat. After her 9 to 10 students came, tried and tested theirzi. But none of them made it glow to theesla¡¯slevel. Esla: (I don¡¯t expect anyone to be at my level. Well not that I wantthemto be) ¡°So, the next student is¡­..Xeron¡±. Xeron, with his hands in his pockets, approached the white ball and put his hand on the white ball. " Concentrate and you will¡­..¡± William had to stop once again. He couldn¡¯t complete his sentence due to¡­ ¡°Wow. Another time.¡± ¡°Same glow. What a feat?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think anyone else will be able to.¡± Everyone especiallyeslawas taken aback on seeing the same intense glow again. ¡°Way to go Xeron¡± Mike shouted. ¡°Incredible¡­So did you just focus too? William asked out of curiosity. Xeron: Yep. (He did it on the same level as I did. I thought it would be boring but this class seems not to be free of my rivals. Xeron! But it¡¯s okay¡± Esla thought, ¡°If there would not be any challenges on this path then how will I grow stronger. If that¡¯s all he has got then it won¡¯t be a problem but I shouldn¡¯t underestimate him either. The first rule of battle: Never underestimate your opponent)"Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. " Next¡± ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn. I have to do well too. Here I come¡± Mike was trying to encourage himself with those words. He took his time to concentrate but no good. A faint glow was seen. ¡°Very good Mike¡± William tried to cheer him up but it wasn¡¯t needed because he didn¡¯t take it to his heart. Mike returned to his seat and all other students also got theirzichecked but all of them got only faint glow. ¡°Just one student left. Please come and get your zi checked¡±William said. A boy wearing a black shirt with a skeleton head pic and tight jeans made his way to William. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Rei¡­ReiHalmes¡± he replied in a dead tone as if he didn¡¯t want to come to college. He wasn¡¯t excited or enthusiastic even a bit. William: So Rei it¡¯s your turn. The focus is the key to glow so try to ¡­¡­ Same interruption. It was now third time so that William was not surprised at all. The intense glow but something was off. It was steadily increasing in intensity and then it exploded. No one got hurt but everyone was taken aback. ¡°My bad¡­.I tried to hold but¡­.Sorry¡±Having no other words to say, he turned and went back to his seat; leaving whole class including William stunned. William: (He is the real deal and I thought Esla and Xeron were somewhat special but on seeing him they don¡¯t seem close to him). Esla and Xeron diverted their attention to the boy sitting on the very back seat; watching the sky outside the window, beside his seat. The one named Rei ¡°Now all of you, go back to your seats¡± Esla sat on her seat. Her seat was adjacent toxeron¡¯sseat; on the right side of him while Mike sitting behind Xeron and Rei sittingat the very back. The door opened and a servant holding books in his hands entered the classroom. ¡°These will be your books from now on so take good care of them¡± Servant distributed the books among the students and left the room. William: ¡°As you can all see knowledge is an essential part of a skilled warrior so sorry to disappoint you but besides learning practically, you all will be studying these books for a whole year. So try your best to understand them and¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Good luck to all of you. Let¡¯s take the roll call. You all are assigned roll numbers on the basis of the timing of your administration forms¡± ¡°Roll no. 1 is Dale Roll no. 2 is Kaller Roll no. 3 is Falis Roll no. 4 isExcer Roll no. 5 is Esla Roll no. 6 is Lee Roll no. 7 is Kelin Roll no. 8 is Klaus Roll no. 9 isVestin Roll no. 10 isXen Roll no. 11 is Mavis Roll no. 12 is Ash Roll no. 13 is Wally Roll no. 14 is Kora Roll no. 15 is Xeron Roll no. 16 is Mike and now the last but not the least. Roll no. 17 is Rei¡± After finishing the roll no. issuing thing William asked the students to open their history book Chapter 1. He askedeslato start reading. Esla ¡°Long ago; the time when there wasn¡¯t any concept of kingdoms. Whole humanity being very few in number lived together in a single place called Callon. They were kind-hearted and caring people. Life was easy and everything was as perfect as it could be imagined. But as they say, nothing lasts forever. The same thing happened to the peace. One day, a dark force rose. Where did it come from was not known but one thing was sure that it wasn¡¯t good. He began his rampage. Without feeling any pity, without difference between old and young, men or women, he started bloodshed of anyone who went against him. He began at that time what we all know as the ¡°Dark Age¡±. But as every night has a fall so did happen that time. To free the people out of their misery, to put an end to the evil rampage and to give people hope; some people with the enormous amount of power joined the battle against that evil known as Norex. Norex, also known as the Black God was standing at the summit of power. It wasn¡¯t easy for even those mighty warriors to win against him let alone kill him. Having no choice left they were forced to seal him. How did they seal him, where is that seal,no one knows about it. The black era ended. Peace was restored. Life went back to its usual routine but one thing was still worrisome. Norex wasn¡¯t dead. It is said that Norex is still alive inside that seal and will wake up the day the seal gets broken. If that happens then that day will be the last day of humanity¡±. With thateslastopped reading as she was interrupted by William sensei. William asked Mike to continue reading, from whereeslaleft. Mike ¡°This planet in which we live is filled with some mysteries that no human should ever know about. After sealing Norex, warriors took their leave. People started their normal lives again and as generations passed, people started to forget about that incident and began talking about it as if it was a fairy tale but believe me, it would have been better if it was all a fairy tale. As time passed the people started living apart and thus the kingdoms came into existence and so did the wars that have happened so far. To fulfill the greed of money, empire and desire humans fell to such depths that they could be called ¡°Norex¡±. Chapter 6: Xeron vs Esla: I know your secret ¡°That¡¯s it for today. I don¡¯t want to burden you, people¡­¡­¡­¡­ Thanks, esla. Thanks, Mike¡±. ¡°Sensei, is this all about Norex true?¡± Xeron stood up and asked William. " Who knows?¡¯¡¯William didn¡¯t answer the question properly. " Now all of you, leave your bags here and come with me to the training ground. Just knowledge won¡¯t keep you alive in real battles¡±. ¡°It¡¯s finally training time. I am so excited about it. I will not lose to you this time, Xeron¡± It was like Mike was challenging Xeron. ¡°Do your best, Mike¡± Xeron was always there to cheer him up whenever he needed it. All the students reached the training ground. Training ground was a simple ground but with tyres hanging down from trees¡¯ branches by ropes. Each student was given 5 red balls which they were to throw and make them pass through the large gap in the tyres. All of them did it easily. Tyres were taken off and circular wooden pieces with their centre coloured red were fixed on the trees¡¯ stems. Each student was given 5 knives and they were asked to hit the wooden boards as close as the centre as they could. Many of them could not even land their knives anywhere on the boards while few knives touched the board and very few made it close to the centre. Huge applause for esla captured everyone¡¯s attention. 5 out of 5 knives hit the centre. " That was easy¡± esla bragged. ¡°Wow..look over there. Xeron has also done it. 5 out of 5 at the centre¡± a boy¡¯s voice diverted their attention towards Xeron. Esla grinned her teeth. " I don¡¯t see rei here. Do you know where he is?¡± William questioned all of them. ¡°Sensei. I asked him to come to practice but he refused¡± Mike replied. William in a surprise asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°I will go take him. You guys continue your practice¡± After leaving the students on their own, William went to talk to Rei. Finding him on the same level as her even at aiming, esla walked towards xeron. ¡°Wanna compete. To see who is better at aiming?¡± esla challenged him. Xeron and Mike were standing close to each other. ¡°Who? Me?¡± Mike in a surprise asked esla. ¡°Not you. I am asking you, Xeron. You and me. To see who is better?¡± ¡°No thanks. I have no interest in fighting you¡± Xeron completely refused her request. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to then accept in front of a whole class that I am far better than you¡± ¡°What do you want to prove? That you are better than us all?¡± Xeron gave a serious look. ¡°No. That I am better than you. Now make your decision quickly¡± Esla answered. ¡°(What should I do? I don¡¯t think that she will let me go easily. And I don¡¯t want to say it in front of the class that I accept my defeat. Should I accept her challenge? There should not be any problem¡­.. Because you have made one fatal mistake. You shouldn¡¯t have chosen to aim. As an undercover imperial soldier, aiming is the first thing that I mastered. Get ready, esla or whatever you are........for tasting defeat.)¡± Evil thoughts were rampaging his mind. ¡°OK. I will compete but on one condition. If you lose then you will say that I am better than you in front of whole class loud and clear¡± "OK. Then the same condition goes for you too. You should prepare the words that you will be saying soon,xeron¡± Xeron¡¯s condition was accepted without any hesitation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have already prepared words for both of you¡± Mike interrupted their talk. ¡°No one asked you¡± both replied at the same time. ¡°I, your commentator, Mike am glad to announce the match between Xeron and Esla¡± Mike continued his commentary,¡± As you can see we have hung the wooden board with rope and will make them oscillate like a pendulum. What you have to do is to hit it as close as the centre while it is moving. Each one of you has been given 5 knives. The more knives close to the centre, the more the chance of winning. Okay then. Let¡¯s start the Imperial College of Saints¡¯ first year¡¯s first day¡¯s first intraclass competition¡± The bell rang and the wooden circular board started its oscillating motion. Esla and Xeron both took their time to predict its speed. Again 5 out of 5 for both of them; all at the centre.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Mike: ¡°It¡¯s a tie. Let¡¯s proceed to the next level. Both competitors have to close their eyes and then hit the target. Starrrtt¡± Same results again. 5 out of 5. ( This xeron guy, not only had he zi on my level but also has an incredible aiming ability. Just where did he learn that?) ( I didn¡¯t expect her to last that far. She surely has potential. If my pride wasn¡¯t on the stake, I wouldn¡¯t have minded losing but all I can say right now is that I have to win) ¡°Another tie. What one would expect of two of the top three students on our first day. But we have to end it anyway. There is only one thing left to do. Now turn your backs toward the target and hit it with your eyes closed while the target will keep oscillating but we will stop it from time to time so that none of you can keep up with its periodicity. " So let¡¯s see. Will you be able to do this? Let the¡­¡± Esla: Wait. I cannot do it. It¡¯s impossible. How can I hit something that I cannot even perceive? If you don¡¯t stop it from time to time then I can estimate its location based on its speed but in this condition. How will I? ¡°Have you the same thoughts too, competitor Xeron? ¡±Mike asked him. The answer should have been It¡¯s impossible to do it but his answer was, "No, I will do it. Just watch and learn, miss stubborn¡± All the students were shocked at Xeron¡¯s announcement. (¡°It¡¯s impossible. How will he do it? Even I cannot¡±). " So get ready. And start¡­¡± Time passed as xeron kept on concentrating; with his eyes closed and his back towards the oscillating board. The entire class 1-A was gathered behind Xeron so as to see it happen with their own eyes. Mike: ¡°10 seconds have passed and as promised, its periodicity has been changed. Will he still be able to do it? Will xeron¡¯s knife hit the wooden board? To know all the latest news please subscribe to our channel¡¯¡¯ ¡°(It¡¯s not like it is impossible to do such a feat. Imperial soldiers can do this with the help of their zi but my zi is not in an active state so it is impossible for me¡­..But......There are other ways to do it, like........)¡± Xeron had covered his eyes with the cloth himself so he bound the cloth loosely so as to see whenever he wanted to. The wall towards which Xeron was facing, was of glass and gave entire information about what was happening behind it. It wasn¡¯t a fair play but there was no rule that you can¡¯t check in the glass. " It cannot be¡­It can¡¯t be. How can it¡­ How can he¡± esla was left in a shock as all of them watched the knife hit the centre of the board He tricked them all and won the challenge. ¡°What a marvellous feat done by him¡± ¡°I knew from the start that he will win¡± ¡°That esla. I don¡¯t like her. She is so self-centred¡± all those voices only made her angrier. ¡°Now as decided, you will accept your defeat, miss stubborn¡± Esla clenched her teeth. She didn¡¯t want to but had got no other choice. She took a deep breath, ¡°Everyone. I have something to say to you¡± She was putting her all for uttering the words that she thought Xeron would say. ¡°Stop it.¡± Suddenly she got stopped by Xeron,¡° You don¡¯t have to do this for real. I just wanted to show you that there is always someone better than you. I am not merciless¡± the words xeron spoke ended the challenge and penalty, all of it. Everyone returned to their training leaving esla drowned in her thoughts. Training continued for 2 hours and after that everyone returned to the classroom. While in the classroom William was about to start the lesson when someone knocked at the door and came in. ¡°You have been called by the principal, William sensei¡± a servant informed him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter all of sudden?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, sir. I was told to inform you¡± ¡°OK¡­¡­¡­¡­. I will be back soon so behave yourself until then¡± saying that, William left the classroom. On reaching the office, he knocked at the door and on getting permission, entered it. ¡°You called me sir?¡± The principal of the college was an aged person with a long white beard and was wearing a hat. He was sitting on a chair waiting for him. ¡°William. As you know, today is the meeting day of all the principals of well-known colleges at the Western City. A senior teacher must accompany the principal but as the previous first year is preparing for its exams so all senior teachers have gone home so if you don¡¯t mind, will you accompany me today? We will be back in an hour¡± William nodded in agreement. A teleportation device was fitted in the Principal¡¯s room as directed by the government. Principal asked him to hold his hand while he enchanted a spell to activate the device that teleported them to the Western city, where the meeting was held. On students¡¯ side ¡°Did you know Xeron that we first-year students are the only ones that are present today as other classes are busy in preparation of their exams ( Mike) so their teachers are also at leave, meaning that there are only a few staff members in the college¡±. " Where do you even get this kind of information, Mike? Xeron was surprised by his knowledge. ¡°Well, it is a secret¡± ¡°Whatever¡± Both friends were busy in talking when revengeful esla butted in. ¡°Xeron. I have something to ask you. Will you give me some of your time?¡± It was so much difficult for her to ask him but she gathered every bit of courage that she could summon as she wanted to know the answer. ¡°What is it? Ask me here whatever you want to¡± ¡°I cannot. I cannot do it in front of all of them or it will be a huge problem for you. So accompany me for a moment only. I am waiting for you in the training ground. Don¡¯t make me wait because I know your secret¡± Saying that she walked out of the room. ¡°(Just what does she want to ask me about? How can she know my secret? I remember never letting myself get exposed then how can she? Calm down¡­calm down¡­. I guess I should hear her out)¡± ¡°Are you going Xeron?¡±Mike asked. ¡°Mm.Hmm. I will hear her out. Don¡¯t know what she was talking about but¡­ Wait here. I will be back¡± Training ground ¡°So what is my little secret that you wanted to talk about?¡± Esla looked carefully in all directions to ensure that only two of them were there. ¡°Your little secret¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Imperial Soldier¡±. Chapter 7: A harmless stalker Xeron¡¯s eyes widened upon hearing those words. ¡°How can she know?¡¯¡¯. He calmed himself and replied in a normal tone like he didn¡¯t know what did she point about. " Imperial soldier? What do you mean?¡± ¡°The technique you used earlier to beat me down; I mean ¡°zi detection¡±. Where did you learn that?¡± ¡°(So she knew about it. But how? Don¡¯t tell me that she is somehow related to Imperial soldiers and they even told her about it. I cannot admit that I cheated so I have to convince her by some other way)¡± He was as calm as a person who didn¡¯t know anything would have been. It was all result of his training that he had gone through. ¡°Zi detection? What¡¯s that? I just wanted to act cool in front of all of them so I threw my knife expecting that it might hit the target. That¡¯s all there is to. I am sure that you mistook me¡± Lying was the best choice. Because if he had admitted it that he knew some kind of technique that enabled him to win the challenge then she would have asked about that technique. Xeron didn¡¯t want to take any risk so he lied. ¡°So you don¡¯t know anything?¡¯¡¯ Esla gave him a serious look. ¡°No, I don¡¯t¡± Xeron replied calmly. ¡°Ok then. Sorry for wasting your time¡± Esla turned back and started walking away from him, leaving him there alone. ¡°That was close. It¡¯s good that she believed me. Now I have to keep my distance from her¡± Xeron scratched his head while mumbling to himself, ¡°She can be a hell of a burden. I have attracted the worst girl ever¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. If I knew this would happen, I would have just lost¡± He was true that he had attracted huge trouble. Xeron started walking slowly towards the classroom with his usual style; with his hands in his pockets. Both remained unaware of the third person till the very end. It was none other than Rei. Rei was watching them from the start; sitting on a nearby tree branch; hiding in its leaves. He was acting like a ninja but he wasn¡¯t one. ¡°I will find out your little secret soon, Xeron. Just wait and watch¡±The evil smile could be seen easily on her face. In the classroom ¡°So what happened, Xeron? Did you clear her misunderstanding?¡± Xeron sat on his chair before saying anything in reply to Mike¡¯s question. "Yes, I guess so. I hope she leaves me alone now¡± Xeron out of curiosity turned back to see Rei but didn¡¯t find him on his chair. ¡°Looking for rei?¡± Mike asked. ¡®''Mm-Hmm¡± ¡°He went out of the window a few minutes ago¡± Mike¡¯s answer was quite surprising but Xeron didn¡¯t react even a bit.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°He really is an odd guy. Will you believe me if I said that he jumped out of the window?¡±Mike¡¯s face was as surprised as it was when it all happened. "All the students thought that he fell from the window but I know what truly happened. I was watching him from the start. He deliberately jumped out of it. We leapt towards the window as soon as we could but he was nowhere to be found. I hope he is fine¡± ¡°You are very kind, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Xeron complimented him but he didn¡¯t say anything. The college ended at 2:00 pm. Xeron was walking home with Mike, same as the past. ¡°Today was quite fun. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°Well you can say that¡± ¡°Well, you know that I was sure about your victory against esla. I knew that you won¡¯t lose. Thinking of which that esla is still following us. Does she think that we haven¡¯t noticed her yet?¡± They turned their heads to look behind and esla hid behind a wall so as not to let them know that she was following them. But actually, they knew from the start that she was behind them. ¡°With this kind of hiding, even a blind will notice her easily. Should we tell her?¡± ¡°Nah¡­¡­I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to disturb her when she is giving her best to follow us. I think we should keep up the act. Dunno why she is after us?¡±Mike replied to Xeron¡¯s suggestion. ¡°She isn¡¯t after us but only me. Not accepting her defeat, I think¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Well, it¡¯s not like that she will try to enter our house¡­¡­¡­¡­ It will be over once we reach home¡± Within 5 minutes, both reached their homes and thus got rid of Esla. ¡°I am back¡± Xeron closed the front door of the house and began taking out his shoes. ¡°Welcome home¡± his mom was already in the nearby room waiting for his return. ¡°Since when have you been standing here waiting, mom?¡± ¡°Forget about that. Tell me how was your first day?¡± Her smile was a precious one, especially to Xeron. ¡°It was good, mom¡± he also replied with a smiling face. ¡°Lunch is ready. Tonight we are celebrating on your first day of college. There will be your favourite dishes¡± That announcement was enough for making him forget about the stubborn esla. Xeron walked up the stairs and put his bag on the floor of his room. His room was simply decorated. A studying chair with a table attached, a table lamp, a bed and shelf filled with detective stories and mangas. He hurried as he started having hunger pangs. Xeron was always like this; a meal lover. He would eat any kind of food leaving vegetables alone. They were like enemy troops for him. Xeron¡¯s mom was talking to someone on the phone while Xeron enjoyed his lunch. It was ¡°Mechado¡± today; one of his favourite dishes. ¡°Mom sure loves me the most. It¡¯s so tasty. I can even tolerate that esla for the ¡°Mechado*¡±. [* Mechado is a beef dish originating from Spain. It is often served in the Philippines, a former colonial realm of Spain. Soy sauce and calamansi juice are often added to the marinating liquid] ¡°What are you saying? Why would we mind? On the contrary, we would be happy¡± Xeron¡¯s mom said to someone on phone, ¡°Yes, 8:00 pm would be fine. Yeah, take her with you too. We were having my son¡¯s first day at college celebration party but as they say ¡°The more the merrier. Yeah¡­¡­.. I will send you the address. Okay then, we will be looking forward to your arrival¡± With that she put down the phone. ¡°Is someone coming, mom?¡± ¡°Yes. The new neighbours that I had gone greeting when you came back are coming to our house for tonight¡¯s dinner. They want to strengthen the bonds as neighbours so they asked about it. Sorry, Xeron¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. We were to have your celebration party tonight but I couldn¡¯t just refuse their suggestion¡± ¡°Are you angry, Xeron?¡±She made a crying face and would have cried if he hadn¡¯t calmed her down. ¡°There is no way I will ever get angry at you, mom. As you said earlier, ¡°The more the merrier¡±. And I also wanted to meet them. It¡¯s good to have good relations with your neighbours. Am I right?¡± His mom leapt and took him by her arms. ¡°Xeron?? You really are a good boy. I really am proud of you. You really have gotten your mother¡¯s good traits¡± Her grip was so tight that he started to choke, ¡°Mom, I cannot breathe¡± ¡°Sorry, Xeron¡±