《The Game of Spirit》 The Calm before Storm - 1 (Prologue) 21stDecember 2016. The ticking of the clock. The only sound she could hear. People often said that when your eyes can''t see, your ear make up for it. That''s what the girl was thinking in the middle of a room beside a summoning circle. There were a few lamp in the room, but all of them were turned off, making the circle the only source of light in the room. She closed her eyes and remember what her father told her, over and over again. "Always start the summoning near midnight, that is the most optimal time.The time when barrier between worlds is the weakest." "Use other sources of magic, the more magic you use, the higher the chances of attracting strong spirit. " "And finally and most important, never lose your concentration during the summoning ritual." Shealready prepared everything perfectly. It was almost midnight. She had prepared 10 magical jewel, each containing more magic than even a first class mage could contain within their body. She had placed it around the circle. The distance between each other was measured so that they were placed at the same distance as the other. Her heart beating fast and sweat rolled down her forehead. ''There is no way i could mess this up'' she tought. She took a deep breath and started theincantation of summoning ritual. It began, the circle in front of her and the jewel around it started glowing red. They illuminated the dark room, revealing rows of desk and bookshelf, a sign that the ritual was underway. With her beautiful voice she spoke foreign words, words that only a select few in this world could recognize the meaning. She executed the ritual without even a single mistake, but she overlooked one simple mistake--- the clock. The hour arm pointed at twelve causing the bell inside to rang. The sound was not that loud, but the sudden sound is enough to make her heart skipped a beat and broke her focus. She starts panicking. She almost finished her incantation and she doesn''t want to mess this up. She doesn¡¯t want to mess one of the most important moment in her life. The moment that she has been preparing for over 10 years. But she can¡¯t regain her focus because she was panicking, and she panicked because she can''t regain her focus. A deadly cycle, which she knew all too well, yet she ignored it before, thinking that she couldn¡¯t possibly made that mistake. She started to stutter, making the ritual unstable and making the glow from the circle to became strange. She wanted to finish the ritual, she has to, she can''t afford to abort it midway like that. She had only two choices, using all her magic to stabilize the ritual, making the summoned spirit weaker, or using all of her magic to complete the unstable ritual, allowing her to summon a strong spirit at the risk of failing. She shifted all of her magic to complete the ritual and to summon her spirit, abandoning all effort on stabilizing. She thought that the reward was greater than the risk. The room was filled with blinding red light, the ritual was completed. She narrowed her eyes. Soon the light started to dissipate and she could see again. As she began to regain her vision she saw something standing in the middle of the room. Her heart beat faster, and she smiled. She knew that even though she messed up the last part of the ritual, she was perfect with the rest of it. Despair filled her heart when she realized that the figure she saw was nothing but the product of her own imagination, of her own excitement. She stared blankly at the empty circle for a few moment. She shook her head,] and slapped her own cheek. Her father once told her that if she messed up the incantation, the spirit she summoned could be summoned to another place near. Her finger started to light up as she draw symbols in the air. In that instant a hologram showing the detail of her house, like a security camera popped up in front of her. She couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. There must be something wrong with her surveillance magic. She gritted her teeth. There was no one, no one but her inside the house. Her legs trembled, her whole body was shaking. She slumped down, her leg lost all of its strength. She screamed and cried, letting all of her frustation out. There was no way she could do the ritual again. She had used all the magic she saved for years on the jewel, all for this failed ritual. Suddenly she saw a glimmer of hope. From between her finger that covered her face, she saw a faint red light coming from somewhere. She moved her hand from her wet face and noticed the gem in her necklace, a memento of her family,was faintly glowing red. She only noticed it now, but the gem contained some amount of magic. Of course it can''t be compared to the jewel she used, but it was a glimmer of hope she needed, a reminder that there was still a second chance, even if she has to wait for another ten years. Regained her composure, she stood up. She picked up one of the jewel that was placed around the summoning circle. The jewel that previously was glowing because the abundant magic inside, now doesn''t hold even a drop of magic. She walked up the stair and out of the basement past the kitchen and to the living room. She sat on the sofa and leaned back. She looked up to the photo of her father that was hanging above the TV. "Father....... i failed you." She held the gem in her necklace. "Thank you for giving me another chance." She closed her eyes and tighten her grip on the gem and the jewel. She couldn¡¯t help it, she didn¡¯t want to, but tears started leaking from her eyes. Itwas not the fact that she failed to summon a spirit that made her cry. It was the fact that she let her father down by failing it. She was the only child , she was supposed to succeed her father and make him proud. But now, now that she failed her first summoning ritual. What will her father said were he still alive. She cursed her own foolishness. She cursed her own confidence. She curse----- her train of thought stopped. The sound of a flushed toilet behind her caught her attention. There wasn¡¯t supposed to be anyone within her house beside her. "WHO''S THERE" She shouted after she got up. She started preparing her spell. The moment the intruder step outside her bathroom, she could blast theirhead in an instant with her spell. The door started to creak. It opened slowly. "Man, toilet in this age sure is convenient." From the bathroom emerge a man in a black breastplatebeneath a white trench coat. His appearance wasbizarre. His skin was white, really white, but not pale. It was beautiful, a skin that would make many women jealous. His hair was the exact opposite of his skin, as if not letting a single light bounce of it. But the most striking of all was his eyes. His pupil waswhite and his sclera black. His appearance distracted her for a second. But she had learned her lesson, a simple mistake at an important time could be fatal. "Who are you?" She asked. She stared at him with her hand still pointed like a gun. The man ignored her. Instead of answering, he walked to a nearby desk, picked up a jar, opened it and start eating the cookies inside. She was pissed, that man ignored her like she wasn¡¯t even there. He was somehow able to hide his presence completely that she doesn¡¯t notice him until she heard the sound of the toilet being flushed. She almost wanted to just blow his head up. But she know that man was not a normal person. The man still ignored her as he was still eating cookies. The girl couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. She released a magicbullet from her fingertips. A sound like a gunshot echoes through the house, followed by the sound of a breaking jar. The man finally looked at her direction. "Who are you?" She repeated her question. "Huh? Aren''tyou supposed to be the one that summoned me girl? How do you not know me?" He asked back and took a bite ofthe cookie in his hand. She was dumbfounded. She never considered it to be a possibility. Not only that man didn¡¯t have the auraof a hero, he felt..demonic. He also doesn''t match the description of any spirit she knew. "Girl, are you thinking what kind of spirit am i?" He asked. "Eh?" She was surprised. He chuckled."I can read your expression like a book you know. Well, sorry to inform you, but i''m not a heroic guardian spirit." He continued while smirking. "So i failed huh?" She sighed. "Failure? You hurt my pride you know girl." The man replied. "Oh! Is that so? If you are my guardian spirit then tell me your name, if i know who you are then i would know your true worth." She stared at him and stompped her feet. Seeing the girl lose her temper the man teased her even more. He made a gesture saying he didn¡¯t want to tell her. "As i expected from some lowly spirit." She start chanting something. "If you doesn¡¯t want to tell me then i''ll force you!" Her chant was almost finished, but something stopped her. Her voice won¡¯t come out. She placed her hand on her neck to check if something was wrong, but there was none. She could breath and move her mouth just fine, but no sound came out. "Did your parents teach you manner girl? You should give your name first before asking someone elses." She realized then, it was him that made her couldn''t speak. The man snapped his finger and then, she could speak again. "Tell me your name."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Fine! I''m Rose, Rose Acturus ." She was reluctant at first but she answered. Hearing her answer he smiled. "Well Rose, I''m Aldwin, your spirit." Said that man while holding his hand out asking for a handshake. Rose was taken aback, but she shook his hand anyway. "Aldwin, tell me. Why did you canceled my magic? it was just a scanning magic. I''m your master so i should know all about you right?" She asked. Aldwin laughed. "Master? You? You want to be my master girl?" "Okay-okay not master, but since i have summoned you, at least we can be partner." She answered. "Well then Rose, tell me your three measurement, tell me the man you like, your greatest fear and your most traumatic moment." He replied with a smile on his face. "Wha..why wouldi tell you that? We don¡¯t know each other yet." Rose answered. Aldwin smile became even broader. "Exactly! since we''re a partner, not a master and a servant, or a master and slave, we should withhold our personal information until we know each other better. How about it?" "Fine." Rose folded her arm. Even though he was correct, spirit usually don''t argue against their summoner. When they were told to do something, they were supposed to carry it out. Of course, spirit might refuse when given an extreme order, but rarely spirit reject such a simple order. She looked at the clock. It almost 1 AM and she was exhausted after the summoning ritual. "Aldwin, this is my house. I''m going to sleep now, you''re free to familiarize yourself with this house, but don''t mess it up." Without delaying anymore she walked to her room and laid on the bed. She took a pillow and hugged it tight. Honestly, she was disappointed, the guardian spirit she summon wasn¡¯t the one she wanted, but at least she was not a complete failure, and it look like Aldwin wasa strong spirit. If not for his personality she might like him. The alarm beeped. It was just a moment ago that she closed her eyes and yet it was already 6 AM. She pulled herself out of the bed, walked to the bathroom downstair, washed her face, and looked at the mirror. Her hair was a mess, and so does her face. Her eyes was a little red and a little bit dry. "Gosh, I hate morning." She has to get up early today because she has to go to class. While preparing her morning coffee, she saw Aldwin watching the TV. He seemed to enjoy watching the morning cartoon. He looked like he doesn''t even care what shewas even doing, he didn''t even took a glance at her. After her morning coffee, she took a cold shower as her last attempt to wake herself up. She never liked it, but it always have been effective. After she was ready, she passed Aldwin in the living room and opened the door leading outside. She stopped and glared at him. "Aldwin! Wasn¡¯t there something you supposed to ask me?" She folded her arm and asked. "What? What am i supposed to ask?" Aldwin asked back. His raised his eyebrow showing no concern whatsoever. She got near Aldwin to scolded him. "Wasn¡¯t a guardian spirit supposed to protect their summoner? Don''t you want to know where i''m going, how can you protect your partner if you doesn¡¯t even know where she went?" "Why do i wa-" Aldwin smiled."OH! So you say that you NEED my protection?" "FORGET I ASK! You''re going to be an embarrassment anyway."Rose slammed the door. Her day went smoothly. Almost everything was usual and went as Rose expected. But, there was something different that day. Rein, a guy in her class have a very very bad day. She occasioanlywatched him from afar, not because she liked him or anything, but out of jealousy. In one glance there was nothing from Rein that could make Rose jealous. Rein is just an average looking guy with an average intelligence from an average family who is on good term with everyone but doesn''t have anyone that he''s really close to. But from Rose perspective there is one thing that made Rein stood out from the rest. He always able to enjoy everything, no matter how bad his day is, he always smiled. Not a fake smile, but a genuine smile. Afact that was very clear that day. Rein came to class late, with his face full of bruises, soaked from his own sweat, and jacket that was covered with dirt. Rose couldn''t imagine what could make someone sweat that much in winter. the professor was angry at him for being late. When he passed her, he looked to be in great pain, and there was a strange scar on his neck.After the class, she saw him with a condition even worse than before, there was a trace of blood in his nose, probably after being beaten up. Rose came home in the afternoon. When she came home, Aldwin has just got out from the shower, and he only wore a towel that covered his private part. Rose just noticed it right now but Aldwin has a very nice muscle tone, not too bulky, and not too ripped, just enough to fit in with Rose preference. That, and combined with his pure white skin that was glistening after the shower, enough to made Rose blushed. "Wh-why didn¡¯t you wear anything? There''s a girl in here." She looked away. "Okay." Aldwin answered quick. Rose was surprised, she expected him to show off or tease her after seeing her blushing. Suddenly the coat and breastplatehe wore yesterday appeared from thin air. "Rose, did you expect me to show my body off? Ckckck, that is not a good expectation you have for someone you just met." "N-No! Of course not why would i?" Rose replied. She looked at Aldwins direction, his usual smug face is nowhere to be found. Instead, she saw a serious eyes. "Can we talk now? I wanted to talk about something." Said Aldwin with a serious tone. "I have to go somewhere first, we speak later. Stay here! Don''t go anywhere okay?" Said Rose. She walked to the nearby desk and pulled out something from her bag. ¡°Rose, it¡¯s important.¡± Aldwin said. ¡°My business is also important, much more important than yours¡± Without waiting for Aldwin reply , she left the house. She catched a Taxi to a field just outside the city border. It was an open grassy field, but now it was covered with thin snow. She waited a few minutes there until she saw it, a convoy of military jeeps and a trailer truck. Leading the convoy was the man she had been waiting for, Arthur. The convoy stopped near her and Arthur came out from the car. The setting sun was still on the horizon, letting out a streak of yellowish orange light. Its ray shined off of Arthur golden eye and hair as he walked to rose. His posture was full of confidence. "Rose! good to see you here. I''m glad you choose to support us this time." Arthur said so with a smile on his face. He looked directly at Rose eyes. "Of course Arthur, my family has always been supporting the Heroic Faction for a long time. I don''t intend to change that." Rose replied with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside! it¡¯s too cold outside here at winter. we discuss about the game there. ¡± They walked to the jeep, he opened and held the door open for her. Arthur haven''t changed much since she last saw him, when they were still a kid . Hewas still charming as always and she still liked him. Arthur has became the leader of the Heroic Faction, and since ancient times the head of Acturus family and the leader of the Heroic faction have always been on good terms. "Do you know anything about this century Game of Spirit? Like when it''s going to start or the rule?" Rose asked. "We don''t know much, which is strange because it''s almost the time for the game to happen. But what i know is that this century game is going to be a total war. All faction, the Hero, Warrior, Hunter, Devil, Church, Mage ,and even the Assassin faction are going to show up, which the last time this happened was 2000 years ago. And even stranger it seems that the United Nation are joining this game, instead of being neutral. Not to mention that in the last 20 years, the amount of person who summon B, A, and A+ ranked spirit increase by 10 fold, which mean a lot of strong individual are going to come to this city." Arthur explained ¡°That¡¯s going to be a problem.¡± Rose replied. She placed her hand on her chin. ¡°But, for all faction to participate, What is the prize this time?¡± ¡°The Source. The god power.¡± Arthur answered. ¡°The source? That¡¯s¡­. Impossible. ¡± Rose narrowed her eyes and covered her mouth. ¡°So that¡¯s why every faction participate, Are you sure Arthur?¡± ¡°If our informant is correct then it is.¡± Arthur replied. ¡°But even if our informant was wrong, we still have to use our full power. Since all faction participate, sooner or later, an open battle would occur. If that happened, we have to make sure to protect the civilian before they become a victim.¡± The jeep stopped. They have arrived at their destination, a giant warehouse on the dockside area of the city. The area around the warehouse was already abandoned, which was perfect for their base of operation. Everyone in the convoy started moving and unloading their equipment from the truck to the area around the warehouse. Heavily armed guard start guarding the perimeter. When Rose get inside the warehouse she was greeted with an extraordinary sight. Dozen of guardian spirit with their respective master filled the place. She could sense it, there were even some legendary spirit among them. Of course she couldn¡¯t know which is which because spirit true appearance is usually different from their legend and myth. Before Rose could ask about them, the warehouse main sliding door was opened by someone, causing the whole structure to shook. A man, a guardian spirit entered. 3 meter in height, wearing a chest armor and chainmail underneath. He wore a crown, plate mail,shoulder guard, bracelet, belt, and boots that all made of bronze and each carved with an image of war. He gripped a huge cleaver axe in his hand. A huge bronze shield, almost as big as his own body was hanging from his back. Rose couldn''t see his face for some reason as it was covered with shadow, but she could see his glowing red eyes even from far away. "That is my spirit. Gorm, the king of Sacred kingdom. No one know about him because he came from time before the great disaster, but nonetheless even a spirit that no one know exist can still be summoned." Arthur explained. He patted Gorm leg and pointed his finger to the middle of the room. When Gorm passed, everyone moved out of the way. He emmited an intimidating presence. He walked to the middle of the room and stood there, keeping watch of everyone. After making sure that Gorm stood in his place, Arthur turned his face to rose and asked."Speaking of which, how''s your summoning? What heroic spirit are youable to summon?" "Well, i think i failed in a way" Said Rose. She scratched the side of her head. Suddenly a voice she knew came from her back. "Failed my Ass!" Everyone looked at the source of the sound. Aldwin has been standing in that room all along and no one realized his presence at all. All the guardian spirit drew their weapon and pointed it at Aldwin, but he doesn''t move. He knew that Arthur would intervene and stopped them. Rose explained how Aldwin is his spirit and partner and she still doesn''t know anything about him. His eyes made everyone there uneasy. The colour of his eyes matched the description of demonkin, not to mention his demonic aura. Suddenly a middle aged man walked to her with a smile in his face. ¡°Look at that! the head of the Acturus family now not only failed to summon a heroic spirit, but instead summoned a demonic spirit!¡± He caught everyone attention."Hey Arthur, you aprove of this? Having a demon inside our rank. The next thing we knew she might as well curse us all!" ¡°Hey old man! It¡¯s not nice to say such thing to a girl, you know.¡± Aldwin walked slowly to that man, challenging him. ¡°As expected of a demon, acting all high and mighty, even when you can¡¯t do shit, just like your master!¡± The man was clearly provoking Aldwin. Suddenly a giant bronze axe slammed between them, separating those two. It was swung by Gorm, Arthur spirit. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Shouted Arthur. ¡°Have you lost your mind Herman? I don¡¯t care what your grudge against Acturus family is, but Rose is our allies, no matter what spirit she may have! And Rose, please control your spirit better. Also you better leave now, it''s getting late. Tomorrow morning come with me to the mage association office, there¡¯s something i wanna show you.¡± ¡°Then i take my leave Arthur. Come on Aldwin!¡± Said Rose, then she walked away. She clenched her fist as she walked way. Aldwin turned to face Rose. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s your lucky day today¡­. demon!¡± Said Herman as they walked away.
Hello everyone! This is my first fiction here. Any suggestion andcriticism is very much welcomed. Since english is not my native language and i don''t have any proofreader, i''m sorry if there are any mistake in my grammar or spelling. If you could point them out in the comment i will gladly fix them. Thank you, hope you enjoyed my story. The Calm Before Storm - 2 (Prologue) When they got home, Rose faced Aldwin with a fiery look in her eye. "Why did you have to follow me? Everything was going so well until you decided to show yourself!" Rose raised her voice and clenched her fist. "You said this morning right, a guardian spirit should know where his summoner went." Hearing that, Rose get even angrier, to the point that she almost slapped him, but her hand stopped before they reached him. "You wanted to speak right? I don''t have time tomorrow so you better speak, now!" ¡°Who is that man? Why did he acted like that?¡± Aldwin asked. ¡°Get to the point! that¡¯s not what you wanted to talk about.¡± Rose replied. ¡°Rose¡­ you said you wanted to talk¡± Aldwin looked directly at Rose eyes. ¡°Fine!¡± Rose sighed. ¡°that man is Herman. He used to be a close friend of my dad, but for some reason they became an enemy, and he hated our family since then. Now, what did you wanted to talk about?¡± "Why did you call yourself a failure, You also call me an embarrassment, why did you do that?" Aldwin asked, there was no hint of playfullness in his eyes. "It''s none of your business i can call myself anything." Said Rose Irritated. ¡°Rose..¡± ¡°I won¡¯t tell you that! Don¡¯t you get it that I¡¯m mad at you right now! So don¡¯t ask me too many question!¡± Rose shouted. "Well, so be it then. I though that you might want to know more about me, your spirit, but i won¡¯t tell you anything if you don¡¯t want to tell me that." Said Aldwin while walking away. "Wa-WAIT!" Rose shouted while pulling Aldwin hand. "I tell you okay, listen to me." "Okay, I''m listening." Said Aldwin calmly. The situation was reversed, Rose should be the one that in control, yet Aldwin offered her something she can''t ignore. "My family, Acturus is an ancient family, since ancient time we have been supporting the Heroic Faction for every game of spirit that happened in the past. We also pride ourself with summoning the greatest and most powerful guardian spirit., and not just any guardian spirit, we were always able to summon famous heroes from the past. My great grandfather was the summoner of king Arthur during the first world war." Rose told Aldwin the rest of her family history. It was obvious to him that she held a great pride over her family history and legacy. "That''s why i call myself a failure, because i failed to summon the spirit of a hero, and instead, summoned you, a demonic spirit." "Rose, you know how guardian spirit summoning system works right?" Aldwin asked while looking directly at Rose eyes, but she avoided his gaze. "Of course i know, the summoning work like a job interview but is reversed. The summoner offer their magic in ritual to show the spirit how capable they are. The larger the amount of magic offered the more likely for you to get a higher ranked spirit. But it''s not all about how much magic you offered, your personality also plays a role, a serial killer wouldn''t attract a heroic spirit and vice versa. You could also use a certain artifact for summoning a specific spirit, but such artifact are extremely rare." Rose explained. "Then why did you still blame yourself? it''s not like you could choose which spirit you summon right, all you can do was to increase the odd. You shouldn''t be too hard on yourself." Aldwin said that and pat Rose on the head. "But if you still want a heroic spirit then i can at least act like one." Rose blushed, her face became bright red. how could he said something like that. If he said something like that, she couldn¡¯t get angry at him. "It''s fine, you shouldn''t change yourself because of my selfish desire." Rose looked away. "Well, don''t regret it later." Aldwin gave a warning. "Also, do you have any particular hero you wanted to summon? You must have your favorite right?" "If possible, Reinhard" Rose said with a small voice. "Reinhard? Never heard of that hero before." Aldwin replied. "Of course not, his existence had only been discovered recently along with the discovery of the lost civilization and the great disaster." Rose explained. "We knew recently that there are something called great disaster 12.000 and 76.000 years ago, and probably also many times in the past. It reset all human civilization to neolithic age, but before a great disaster happened, there exist a great civilization. Recently we discovered about Reinhard and his companion that fight against the great disaster 76.000 years ago. It is said their battle was so great the resulting energy caused the Toba catastrophe, which is long believed to be caused by volcanic eruption." "He must be a great hero then." Said Aldwin. ¡°Of course he is!¡± Rose replied. ¡°Now that i told you this it¡¯s time for you to tell me about yourself.¡± Rose demanded. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just use the scanning spell you used yesterday?¡± Aldwin asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t you said that i mustn¡¯t use it?¡± She asked back. She was actually excited, but she held her emotion back, because she knew that Aldwin would tease her if she shown it. ¡°Whatever, it¡¯s not like you could know everything about me from a B-ranked spell.¡± Aldwin answered. Rose began drawing something in the air with her hand. Her fingertips lighted up, leaving a trace of red light in the air as it moved. She created a symbol of some sort that scanned Aldwin body. After she finished scanning him, she casted another spell that make a hologram of a book popped up. The hologram showed her information about spirit that she had known.
Name: Aldwin Master: Rose Acturus
Class: ? Subclass: ?
Original location: ? Spirit Rank A+
PARAMETER
Health(HP) 900 Mana(MP) 700
Strength D Magical Power C
Agility D Luck A
Endurance C Signature Power ?
Physical Resistance C Magical Resistance D
"Wait, you''re an A+ ranked spirit?" Rose asked, her eyes widen in amazement. She never thought that Aldwin was an A+ ranked spirit, maybe a B+ or A. but not A+. ¡°Well what do you think would happened if you use such a huge amount of magic during the summoning ritual Rose? With that amount of magic you¡¯re almost guaranteed to summon an A+ ranked spirit.¡± Said Aldwin. "Wait how could you be ranked A+ with this mediocre stat? Your parameter are mostly D and your HP and Mp aren''t that special either, also why are there still a lot of unknown information about you? " Rose asked. "My skill of course." Aldwin answered with a smirk on his face.
Individualism: A
Able to act independently and act againts its master wishes. Unable to be binded by binding spell that is below A rank.
Presence Obscurity(Passive): A
Most actionmake no sound. Movement is obscured. Harder to see from medium distance or farther.
Information Obscurity: A
Reduce the effectiveness of scanning spell and scanning skill below rank A. Increase the possibility of giving false information when scanned with scanning spell below rank A.
???(Unknown skill)
"Information obscurity rank A, so that''s why my B rank scanning magic couldn''t get much information from you... and there''re even chances that some of it were false information." ¡°Well Rose, it¡¯s already late tonight. You should rest now, tomorrow you have to go with that Arthur kid right.¡± Aldwin told her. She looked at the clock and noticed it. She left the living room and headed to her bedroom. She looked at the photos of her father. She changed her clothes and laid on the bed. She hugged the pillow tight. ¡°What would you say father? My spirit, he¡¯s without a doubt a demonic spirit. But he¡¯s strong. And i¡¯m going to make you proud. So watch me father.¡± The next morning Rose woke up exhausted and with a pain on her stomach. She was never a morning person, but that day was different, even opening her eyes took a lot of effort. She pushed herself up to a sitting position. She opened her clothes and saw a scar near her belly button, a fresh scar that made a key shape. She had seen it before somewhere, yet she couldn''t remember where. She doesn''t know what caused it, but since it is not that painful, she ignored it. When she came out from her room, Aldwin was watching the morning cartoon like yesterday. He doesn''t wear his usual apparel, but used a casual T-shirt she gave him yesterday. She took a shower and prepared herself to go to the magic association office. "Aldwin, you''re going to follow me?" Rose asked as she opened the front door. "Not interested." She left without thinking about his answer any longer. She took the subway to the office. Her house wan''t that far from her destination, but she just doesn''t have that much energy today.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. When she arrived she was surprised to see how much bigger the building have become since she last saw it. What more amazing is the number of people there, the parking spot were full and people were queuing in the front office. Since magic was revealed to public 20 years ago, she doesn''t expect people to accepted it that fast. Normal people who can''t summon their own guardian spirit in their house were facilitated by the magic association to summon it here for a low fee. Of course most were only able to summon a low ranked spirit since the amount of magic provided there was small, but most people don''t mind it. Most people use their guardian spirit as pet, guard, or as an assistant for their job, since most spirit below B- rank was an animal. Arthur has already waited for her there, in the front door. He used an elegant shirt that made him stood upfrom the rest. They went inside together and they were welcomed by a man in suit. Damien, the head of this city Mage Association. He welcomed them with the usual full of bullshit heartwarming words, but Arthur cutted to the point, he wanted to see the summoning hall today. He had a feeling that something amazing would happen today. They took the lift to the top floor and walked to the observation room above the summoning hall, where they could see all the participant for today summoning. Among hundreds participant, Rose saw someone she knew, Rein. That year was Rein third try in summoning a guardian spirit. Last year and the year before, he failed to summon any spirit. The Association allowed you to try once every year, but most people who failed usually don''t even bother to try again, but he doesn''t give up, even as other people mocked him for being a failure, he still believed that he could do it. As expected, this year he failed again, Rose almost feel bad for him, but he probably would try again next year. After that it''s another person turn. Rose also knew him, that person always hang out with Rein whenever she saw Rein outside on weekend, they were best friend for sure. This was his first try to summon a spirit. Rose saw him as another person who would summon a C or D rank spirit, but Arthur expected something great, even if Arthur was a complete stranger to him. Arthur was right. After he finished his summoning ritual, the whole room was filled with light and the building was shaking. After the light dissipated not one, not two, but three beautiful woman stood before him. Everyone was shocked. Even Rose hang her mouth open in amazement. She couldn''t believe her eyes, not only that he was able to summon three spirit which was usually impossible, all three spirit were a heroic spirit she knew. Well, knew is an understatement, she admired them, and wanted to summon them, The 3 companion of the hero Reinhard. "Well, well. Looks like my intuition is not wrong." Arthur was elated. One look at his face and Rose knew, he would invite him to the Heroic faction. Rose looked down to the summoning hall again. It was amazing, the one in the middle was a knight with a golden plated armor and a golden hair was Fear. To the left is a mage with long purple hair, Uriza. To the right is an assassin with a short grey hair, Eliel.They were incredibly beautiful, that made even Rose envious. When she realized it, Arthur had walked away. Suddenly he stopped at the door and turned his body to face Rose. "Go to the warehouse before sunset, tonight should be the night the game start." Rose nodded. She wanted to follow him, but what happened in the summoning hall was something she didn''t want to miss. Rose looked back to the hall. Even though Reinhard himself wasn''t the one summoned, it was still a sight to behold, but she noticed something, the man that summoned them was on the ground, unconscious. Suddenly a familiar voice came from her right. "Oh! So that is the companion of the guardian spirit you wanted to summon. Not so bad i guess." Aldwin said . Rose doesn''t realize his presence again because of his skill. Of course now she realized it because he was speaking. She was startled by him, but tried to act like she was not. "W-why did you come here? Didn''t you say you''re not going to come?" Rose pouted. Aldwin was following her all along. "I said i''m not interested, not that i''m not going to come." Aldwin made a half smile. "Also why did you say they are ''not so bad''? each one of them is as strong as you, an A+ ranked spirit." rose complained. "Because unlike me, they got an amateur summoner. They can''t use their full power. Right now they probably as strong as a B+ or an A- ranked spirit. I could probably defeat all three of them right now." Said Aldwin. "PRO-BAB-LY" Rose was mad. Of course she wanted her spirit to be stronger than any other spirit, but she doesn''t want him to think he was able to defeat them easily, they were the spirit she admired after all. Looking at her all mad like that made Aldwin laughed. She arrived at the warehouse with Aldwin right on time. The base looked more completed than yesterday, they were watchtower and reinforced perimeter now. She walked into the warehouse, everyone was already prepared to go whenever they wanted, but before it, Arthur told her to watch the news. The news was mostly the same for the last few days, there was a killer on the loose that had been mutilating its victim, and the body count increased as the day passed. That day there were some extra announcement, any activity should cease before 9 PM tonight, and no one was allowed to go out after that. "That''s the signal?" Rose asked. "All the faction are going to meet at the town square tonight at 11,then the supervisor are going to tell us the rule." Arthur answered. When the clock showed 10 PM, they drove to the town square. They only sent a few member as the meeting tonight was supposed to be a secret from public. It was still 10.30 PM, yet they were the last to arrive. All other faction, the UN representative and even some independent participant have gathered there. Even if this was called a meeting, it was more appropriate to call this a mexican standoff. Everyone was keeping their distance, the air was tense, and everyone was silent. Everyone was hiding their guardian spirit. Of course, no one wanted their spirit to be known to their enemy before the fight even began. Rose told Aldwin to stand guard not too far from there, where he could watch the meeting without being noticed. Suddenly a shadowy figure popped up in the middle of the square. He spoke in a grandiose manner. "LADIEESS AAND GENTLEMEN" The shadowy figure started to take form into a man in a tuxedo that was wearing a mask. "WELCOME! To this century Game of Spirit! The Rules are simple, there are 7 person in this city that in the past few day have received a scar on their body that looked like a key. You may have seen it, or you may even have it yourself. To win this game you simply must collect all 7 keys and bring them to this square. There are 2 ways to transfer the key. The first one is to kill the bearer, the key would instantly transferred to the one who dealt the finishing blow, if it''s a spirit that dealt the finishing blow then it would transfer to the master of said spirit. The second way is for the owner of the key to give it to someone, However both parties must be consent to the transfer for it to happen. It does not matter if you bring 7 person each with one key, or if you bring one person with 7 keys inside their body. Any method is of fighting is permissible as long as you don''t fight openly in public, anyone whose fight is known to public shall receive a penalty. Finally and most importantly THE PRIZE. The prize this century is most grandeur indeed. It is the SOURCES, some call it the God power, some call it the devil heart. It does not matter what people call it, what sure is the source will grant the winner an unlimited source of magic. Anything is possible with the source, any magic is possible even the forbidden, and any wish can be granted. Now, before we start, any question?" After hearing about the prize everyone was excited. The sources was said to be the most powerful artifact this world possess. However it never taken form before and only exist in theory. "What if the key bearer died of natural causes? what is the area limit and time limit? Also what if the key bearer get outside the area limit ?" Arthur asked with loud and clear voices. "Good question. If the bearer died of natural causes, took their own life, or went outside the boundaries area, a random person inside the barrier will be chosen as the new bearer. For the limit, there is no time limit and for the area limit is a circle with 50 KM radius with the point i''m standing on as the center. So the forest, the sea, and the mountain surrounding this city is a possible battleground." Rose couldn¡¯t see behind his mask but she felt that the person speaking was smiling broadly. "NOW THE GAME BEGIN!" Suddenly, a footsteps was heard from somewhere else. Everyone immediately looked at the source of the sound. Rose was shocked, she couldn''t believe what her eyes were seeing. Someone she knew that is not part of any faction, an innocent bystander appeared. He looked as if he doesn''t know what he was getting himself into. Moreover there was a key mark on his neck. "REIN! RUN!" Rose scream. Rein was still dazed and doesn''t know what to do. When he realized what was happening and started to run, a spirit from the hunter faction and the devil faction were already chasing him. "Rose, you seems to know him. Call your spirit and protect him at all cost! We will hold anyone who would sent another spirit." Arthur commanded her. Rose called Aldwin using her telepathy. If Aldwin was following her order to stay hidden he should be close, but if he doesn''t, he should be even closer. She ordered him to fight the spirit from devil faction, while she chased the one from hunter faction. The one from the Devil faction wore a black robe. its speed was inhuman, as he almost catched Rein who is far from him in matter of second. A hail of arrow rained down upon him, he stopped and jump backward. He looked up and saw Aldwin on top of the skyscraper, jumping down. Aldwin landed 10 meter in front of him. "A B ranked spirit huh? I thought i was going to catch some big fish but whatever, a nameless mercenary is good enough for warm up." Aldwin complained. The spirit opened his cloak and show his face. He wore a white turban, and his clothing showed that he was a spirit from middle east. "This mercenary name is Saad, and he''s going to kill you." He stared at Aldwin while Aldwin looked down on him with a smirk. Aldwin sprinted, covering 10 meter in an instant. Saad drew his twin sword to block the attack. Aldwin strength was not that impressive, as he repelled the attack without much effort. After being pushed back Aldwin made a whirlwind attack. Saad dodged back a little, he had seen Aldwin sword and he knew its exact length, there was no need for him to dodge too far...He was wrong. He stepped back. Sharp pain assaulted him, his cloak was bloodied from the wound in his chest. Aldwin now held a spear, his sword nowhere to be seen. Aldwin Smirked, he advanced and thrusted his spear multiple time. Saad parried it all. He felt something amiss, his enemy is strange. The spear advantage over sword is in its length, so why did his enemy closed that distance, abandoning his advantage over him. He abandoned all thought, there was no need to overthink during a fight. If his enemy wanted to die, so be it. Aldwin thrusted his spear at close range. Saad sidestepped it and slashed at Aldwin face. Aldwin dodged it and smiled. Shiver ran down his spine, the spear that was thrusted beside his head was no longer a spear, but a greatsword. Aldwin swung his greatsword at Saad face. "So that''s it, your power is weapon transformation. That¡¯s why your fighting style is unusual." Saad said while wiping the blood that was dripping from his forehead. "Well you''re fast, your agility must be B or A as your head should be rolling on the ground right now." Aldwin complimented him. Aldwin transformed his greatsword into a twin short sword, similar to that of Saad. This time Saad took the initiative. He sent a barrage of slashes at Aldwin. Aldwin counter it with his own barrage. Aldwin was not as fast as Saad, but his attack is much more precise and controlled. Every attack was aimed to kill, if Saad failed to parry just one of Aldwin attack it would be over for him. Saad jumped back, sweat began to cam out from his skin. ¡°Impossible, your strength shouldn¡¯t be this high.¡± Said Saad. ¡°Do you think just by receiving my attack once, you would know how strong i am?¡± Aldwin asked. He transformed his twin sword into a pitch black sword. He swung it so fast that Saad couldn¡¯t see it. All Saad knew was his twin sword was destroyed by his attack. With no way of defeating Aldwin, he ran away, but Aldwin won''t let his prey get away. He transformed his sword into a bow and shoot Saad from far away. Aldwin arrow pierced the back of his head and came out between his eyes, sending a torrent of blood into the ground. Rose spirit catalogue updated, but she doesn''t have time to checked it.
True Sight: B
Ableto see great detail from far away. Able to see even in almost complete darkness. Able to see throughthrough illusion and disguise below B rank
???(Unknown skill)
While Aldwin was fighting with Saad, Rose chased the spirit from hunter faction. She was surprised at how Rein could ran fast enough that a spirit didn¡¯t caught him instantly. It would be possible if he enchanced his feet using magic, but used none. She noticed from the spirit way of running that it was a woman . She followed them through the main street,a park and finally they ran to an alley. When she got close, the spirit from hunter faction suddenly ran away. When she looked at the alley, Aldwin was standing there beside Rein dying body, he was the one who drove away the hunter spirit. She checked Rein body. Rein has no hope of surviving, even if the attack didn''t pierce his heart, it severed the main arteries. "Should we kill him? If he''s about to die anyway at least we should be the one to get the key." Aldwin asked with a cold voices. He hovered his sword above Rein neck. "No! We are only tasked to protect him." Rose answered quick while she walk away. She knew that what Aldwin said was right, but she doesn''t want to end him here. She may not know him well, but she knew him enough to know that he won¡¯t give up even at times like this, killing him right now would betray his way of life. ¡°At times like this you shouldn¡¯t show hesitation Rose, but if that is your order then i have no choices.¡± Aldwin raised his sword and it turned into a black smoke. Rose looked at Rein one more time over her shoulder. She couldn''t believe he was still smiling after all that. That was not a smile that he used to look tough, it was a genuine smile. Even after all that tragedies, he still enjoyed it all. Rose left the alley with Aldwin following her from behind. Rose noticed that something was amiss after she got out. A foul stench, and a bad feeling was oozing from the alley before. She ran back , but when she looked at the alley, not even a single drop of blood was left. As if something ate the body and licked all the blood off the street and off the wall. The air in the alley was cold and stagnant. Rose was frozen in place and Aldwin came to inspect the alley. "All that left is this foul stench huh? So i was not wrong after all." He said after inspecting. "What do you mean?" Rose asked. "I doubt it at first, but that kid was surrounded by a dark magic, a curse, and a strong one that is." Aldwin answered. "There''s nothing we can do now, his presence has disappeared completely. We should just report to Arthur¡­ also i believe his bodies wasn¡¯t taken by some enemies. He is still alive Rose, if it matter to you." They ran back and reported what happened to Arthur. ¡°Rose, for now we retreat. Tomorrow you search for that man. Our prime objective now is to gain as much information about other faction and key holder, we must keep the bloodshed to minimum. If you find that man, bring him to the warehouse. Understood?¡± Rose nodded. Rose and Aldwin walked back to their home since the subway wasn''t operatioal after the announcement in the evening. The night was dead silent, and the moon was shining bright over their head. As she walked, she felt that something was following them, something that lurked in the shadow of night. She turned her her face, but she saw nothing. ¡°Something wrong Rose?¡± Aldwin asked her. ¡°Nothing, nothing, maybe i¡¯m just still tense from what happened before.¡± She answered. She continue walking, and as she walked the feeling returned. When they arrived at their home, Rose increased the house magical defence and improved the surrounding surveillance. Noticing that Rose was in a bad mood, Aldwin made her a tea. ¡°Oh, so you can be nice after all?¡± Rose asked. Aldwin took back the tea he gave her. Rose stood up and stared directly at Aldwin eyes. ¡°Fine, you won.¡± said Aldwin while giving the tea back to Rose. ¡°You like that kid that much, for you to be grieving like this?¡± ¡°it¡¯s not that i like him.. It¡¯s just¡­. seeing him right now make me feel bad, from what i see he only wanted a peaceful life, now he is dragged into this hell. ¡± Rose sipped her tea. ¡°Well rest well for tonight. Tomorrow we¡¯re gonna find him, if you really don¡¯t want him to fight, just convince him to give the key to you and keep him under the heroic faction protection.¡± Said Aldwin. ¡°Yeah you¡¯re right.¡± Rose agreed. ¡°Oh yeah Rose, do you have any computer i can use? I also need the internet.¡± Aldwin asked. ¡°There¡¯s one on the second floor. Do you know how to use it?¡± Rose replied. ¡°Well, we spirit kind of get the general idea of the current age when we were summoned, so yeah i know.¡± Aldwin answered. "Use it all you want, but don''t forget to stand guard. There''s a possibility of someone spying on us." "Yeah, Yeah." Rose leaned back on the sofa and looked at her hand. Her hand was shaking, she had prepared for this day all her life, but the tense air in the square and the sight of a dying body is still too much for her. She closed her eyes. The soft feeling of an expensive sofa made her a little bit better.She placed her hand on her stomach and remembered, she hasn¡¯t told anyone that she was a key holder.''Well i''ll tell Arthur tomorrow or something'' she thought. She wanted to get up, but exhaustion assaulted her. Her body was exhausted, and her mind too. She tried to get up again but her body won¡¯t move. Her muscle was as stiff as stone, and her eyelid was heavy¡­.She fell asleep. Chain of Misfortune - 1 22nd December 2016 He saw it again, a strange dream. A dream he had never experienced before. It was strange, dream were supposed to be at least a mash up of something you have experienced before. Yet this dream, he never seen anything like it before in his life, it was vivid, and felt too real to be a dream. He was sitting there in the middle of a dark room, there were many torches on the stone wall and a huge chandelier hanging from above, but not even a single one was lit. He was sitting upon a throne, his body shivered. A throne made of stone that was partially covered with red fabric. On the throne there were many carving, carving of men, monster, dragon, war. It was symbol of some sort, trying to tell him something. He doesn¡¯t understand any of it, but it felt familiar. The throne was raised above the normal floor, there were sets of stair before someone can reach the throne. Of course, a throne was a symbol of power, putting it on the same ground level as the floor would be a great insult. There was no one else in the room, the room was devoid of any living creature other than him, not even an ant or bug was there. Suddenly a scream, a scream came from outside the room, A scream of agony, of hopelessness, of regret, someone was dying. He doesn¡¯t understand what they were screaming, but he know, he knew they were calling for him, calling for his help. Yet his body was stiff, as stiff as a rock, unable to move even an inch. The scream stopped. His chest was hot, something burning inside, like a raging fire, like a molten magma. He wanted to scream but his lips won¡¯t even move. He wanted to cry, but there were none left to shed. The sound of stone floor shaking, of splashing blood as bodies were stomped. They were getting closer, and closer, until they stopped right outside a huge reinforced double door that separated him from them. The sound of something big that was made of metal being dragged on the stone floor echoes through the dark room. The door was bangged, multiple sound of metal clashing against the door reverberate through the floor to his ears. The door cracked, and the crack started to get bigger and bigger by the second. Wood were flung out from the door as it broken down. The bolt that hold the door in place gave up and bent under such intense force. The door shattered. He was expecting to see an army, or a group of people, but all he saw was a blinding light. The doorway became white, soon followed by the floor, the wall, the ceiling, until everything turned white, including his body. Rein woke up in his room, His breath ragged. Sweat soaked his clothes and his bed. The air was freezing, but his chest was burning like never before.He placed his hand on his chest. His heart felt like it was going to explode, it beat at the rate of 5 times every two second. Something was not right. He inhale slowly, and exhale slowly. He repeated it for a few minute until his heartbeat became normal again. He woke up from his now soaked bed. He looked around his room, everything looked normal. He opened the window. He noticed that a little bit of ice started to form on the edge of the window. The sun hasn¡¯t rose up yet, the star and the moon still filled the sky. He never thought about it before, but the night sky is beautiful. He smiled as he looked at the city . His house was located above a hill that overlooked the city, east of the downtown area. No other house around has their windows lit, but in the downtown, most building was still emitting light even at this hour. He looked at the clock, the short arm pointed just a little bit to the right of the number twelve. Suddenly he felt the ground shook. ¡®Earthquake?¡¯ he thought. But the shockwave was only brief and not too strong. He even doubt if it was real or just his imagination. After he let the cold air cooled his chest down, He closed the window slowly. he walked to the closet, opened it, and took a new blanket to replace the soaked one in his bed. He laid on his bed again, looking at the ceiling. It was still uncomfortable, as his pillow was also soaked, so he threw it to the floor. He pulled the new blanket, and soon enough his eyelid felt heavy. Rein opened his eyes, the sun was already shining bright. The night was over in an instant, he swear that he only closed his eyes for five minutes at most. He felt a stung on his neck as he raised his body from the bed. There was a scar there, a fresh scar. Strangely, it doesn¡¯t hurt even if he touched it. He looked at the clock. "I''M LATE!" He shouted as he jumped up from his bed. He ran downstair to the bathroom just to wash his face, he doesn¡¯t even bother to take a shower first. After that he changed his clothes,grabbed his bag, ate a piece of bread and head to the garage. He opened the garage and rode off on his old bike. It was a red bike his father bought for him, he rarely used it now since he usually took the subway to college, but it was already too late to take the subway. The bike was smaller than he remembered, no it was he that has grown since he last used that bike. He pushed the pedals with all his might, only slowing down a little bit at a turn and intersection. He could still made it if he goes all out, but when he passed an intersection in the shopping district, a honking sound was heard from his right ears, a car was coming full speed at him. He doesn¡¯t have enough time to stop his bike or change it¡¯s course. The car crashed at him with full force. His body was thrown into the air, but by some miracle, he land on his two feet without any significant injuries. His bike was broken though, but he doesn''t have any time left to spare. He dragged his broken bike to the side of the road, he apologized hastily to the car owner, then he ran full speed. He mustn¡¯t skip the class because there''s an important test today. His lung scream for air as it started to hurt, but he doesn''t even take a second to rest. Even in the winter, his body was covered in sweat as he finally reached his class. The distance between his home and his college wasn¡¯t that far, but it would take quite some time if he walked.In the end he is still late, he entered the class after the professor was already inside. The professor was angry at him, Luckily he wasn''t that late, and the professor knew that he wouldn¡¯t be late unless something big happened, so the professor still allowed him to take the test. He sat on his usual desk, in the back of the class with no one beside him. He liked it there for some reason, plus the added bonus that he doesn¡¯t have to talk to other people make him like that spot even more. As he walked to his desk, he smiled at everyone he passed. He was prepared for this test. He has studied hard for the past few days. After only a few minute of answering, his neck started to hurt again. At first the pain is tolerable, but after a few minutes passed it became excruciating. He griped his neck all the time as he held back the pain. He couldn''t focus on the test anymore, and his vision became blurry. Soon his mind became hazy, the world turned upside down, all the colour in the world was inversed, and he fainted. The bell rang indicating the class was over. Rein was still unconscious on his desk. No one bothered to wake him up, either because they didn¡¯t see him in the back of the class or they just didn¡¯t care. When he woke up the sky was already tinted with orange and he was alone in the class, the class was already dark. He realized the test was over and he probably failed, since he only finished half of it. there''s no point in regretting it now, He thought. He placed his hand on the scar in his neck. Thankfully the pain in his neck is gone now, replaced by an upset empty stomach. He stood up and went to the cafeteria. On his way he was stopped by Jack, a guy that was also in his class. Rein saw Jack with a girl behind him, probably his girlfriend. ¡°Rein, do you think you can get away after embarrassing me in front of the class yesterday?¡± He asked. Rein doesn¡¯t even remembered what happened, his dream has been making his recent memory hazy. Jack looked around. After making sure that no one was around, he punched Rein, kick him and beat him up. Rein didn''t just stand there, he tried to fight back in self defense but it''s useless, Jack is much stronger than him and his body is much bigger, and jack girlfriend make sure that he can''t ran away by blocking his way of escape. Not satisfied with just beating up Rein, Jack also took all his money. And spat on him, his girlfriend just giggled as he did that to Rein. Rein just sat in the hall, waiting for the pain to subside. His body was aching all over because he was full of bruises . To make matter worse, his neck started to hurt again. He knew that there were many people that saw Jack beat him up, but others usually don¡¯t dare to go against Jack. He closed his eyes to rest and wait till his pain was gone. ¡°Rein! Rein! Wake up!¡± Someone shook his shoulder to woke him up after a while. When he opened his eyes, there was a face of a girl in front of him, with her amber eyes staring at him, showing concern. The face of a girl he knew well. He thought that Her face was unusually cute that day. Her wavy brown hair that reached her neck waved when she tilted her head in confusion. ¡°Friede?¡± He asked with a hoarse voice.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°What happened to you Rein? Why are you full of bruise?¡± She open her palm and offered her hand. He grabbed her hand and pulled his beaten up bodies. ¡°It¡¯s Nothing, you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± ¡°Of course i have to worry about it. If you get hurt, it¡¯s either me or sister that have to take care of you.¡± She pouted. ¡°Sister¡­¡­... AH! It¡¯s Iris birthday, i forget about it.¡± Rein eyes were wide open, he remembered that he has another plan for that day. ¡°Damn it! How can i forget. ¡± Without talking to Friede anymore He ran from the hall and looked at the watch at his hand. He panicked, he¡¯s already late half an hour from the promised time. Friede tried to stopped him by grabbing his arm. ¡°Rein wait!¡± But she was too late, Rein was already running when she tried to grab his arm.She gritted her teeth, clenched her fist beside her body and punched it at nearby wall. Rein doesn''t have many that he could call friend. He know a lot of people, but most of them were just his acquaintance. Friede, Iris, and Albert, the only three person right now that he could call friend, and that¡¯s because all four of them were friends since they were little. That day was Iris birthday. Rein promised Iris they are going to celebrate her birthday together. He quickly ran to the place they supposed to meet. Ignoring his body that told him to rest and recover with every step he made. On the front entrance of their college, he saw Rose. A beautiful girl with a crimson straight hair down to her waist.She was standing beside the gate, as if waiting for something or someone. Her eyes darted from one side of road to the other, stopping a few second before moving to the other. When he passed her, her crystal blue eyes met his by chances. His heart skipped a beat. They were in the same class, but he rarely saw her outside the class like this. Rein admired Rose since he knew her. He has known Rose since the first day of college, at that time every guy was talking about her, hell, everyone was talking about her. She enrolled there with full scholarship.In highschool her score was mostly perfect, and not to mention that her family has contributed greatly to this college.That day, every guy took their chances to talk to her, yet he doesn''t have the courage to atleast say hi or greet her, because Rose was definitely outside his league. In class Rose often wear a casual clothes and on winter, a sweater, both that really doesn''t show her status. An expensive looking red gem always hang on her necklace. She aces in everything in class, liked by most people, she always complete her assignment perfectly and always a long time before the deadline. She''s always nice to everyone and often helped other who asked for her help. He heard rumour that she live in a big mansion near there, because she came from an influental family that has contributed greatly to the development of this city. Her families has lived in this city from ancient times, they might even be older than the city itself. He also heard that her parents died when she was still little. Maybe it''s because she lived alone since she was still a kid, she became independent ,know how hard life is and doesn''t act like other rich kid, who used their family fame and fortune to act all high and mighty. He ran past the gate and headed to a park near the city square. After running for a few minutes straight he finally arrived at the park where Iris was already waiting. She was standing in the middle of the park, playing with children around her. She stood there wearing a grey sweater, with a on her neck. Her long brown hair flutter as she jumped around. A small bird, her guardian spirit was circling her head. When he got close, Iris noticed him. "You''re late!" Iris crossed her arm as she saw Rein running to her."What happened to your face?" Rein throat was dry, and his breathing ragged, he ran all the way from his college to this place without stopping, which was not a small distance. Not to mention all the bruises he got from Jack, and all the ice on the road that made it harder for him to run . He stopped in front of her and put his hand on both of his knees. "Sorry Iris! I-i slept after class. When i woke up it''s already this late, and when ¨C and when i ran, i tripped, i fell,and well.... look at my face now." He stopped and catched his breath. "Well you should be more careful next time. Making a girl wait is bad, but it would be worse if you hurt yourself." Iris said in a soft voice. She took out her handkerchief and wiped Rein face. If only his heart haven''t been beating like crazy, it would have after this. Yes, this is the girl Rein had crush on since they were kid. He remembered, when they were little she always visited anyone of her neighbour who got sick. She would told them a story that will make them smile no matter how bad their condition day is. The sight of her face was enough to make him forget all the pain and the bad thing that has been happening. "Thank you Iris. We should go now, we don''t have that much time left, the sky was already red." He smiled. "Well, that it for today everyone. Lets play again tomorrow!" She said to the kids that was playing with her. "Iris, is that man your boyfriend?" One of the kid asked. Her face became red. "I-it''s nothing like that. H-he''s my childhood friend, and i even considered him to be my little brother." "Then why are your face so Red?" Another kid asked. "It''s not red!" She answered. "Yes it is!" Another kid answered. The kid laughed together. They continue to tease her after that. They walked together through the downtown since their destination was just 2 block away. She walked while covering her red face, while Rein just smiled looking at her. "i''m sorry Rein! The kids took some of our time, now we only have time for dinner." She apologized. Rein laughed. "What''s so funny?" "You make me remembered about your mother. When she was still alive, she used to say that she would make me your groom, and your face would lit up like that." He answered. "Look! We''re already arrived." "Eh? You''re taking me to THE HELL? Thank you Rein!" She jumped up and down shile pumping her arm. It''s a chineese restaurant in the middle of the city, named The Hell. The theme of the restaurant is unique, as it used a hell and devil theme. The building is painted red and there''s a big sign outside showing the restaurant name in chinese. The place is famous for its super spicy menu. There wasn''t a single food there that wasn''t considered to be super spicy. Because of that this place is always crowded by spicy food lover and challange seeker. Rein wasn''t a lover of spicy food, but for Iris who was both love spicy food and a chalange seeker, this place was like a heaven to her. She always wanted to come here but never got the chance to get in because it was always full booked. Rein has booked a table for two just for this occasion. After they sat, a waiter dressed in devil cotume came. Like everyone who came here, the waiter offered them a challange, if anyone is able to finish the Mega Hell Chicken Noodle within 10 minute without asking for a drink, all food and drink they ordered today will be free. So far only few was able to finish the challange. "No thank you! Just one usual hell chicken noodle for me please." Rein ordered. Rein felt something grabbed his hand. He looked at Iris, her eyes was burning with determination. Looking at her send shiver down his spine. "I want the challange! Mega Hell Chicken Noodle for both of us please!" She ordered. "Wait! If you wanted to take the challange don''t drag me with you." Rein complained. "Don''t listen to him! Mega Hell Chicken Noodle for both of us please!" She repeated. In the end no matter how much Rein complained it was useless. The waiter bring two bowl of a burning hot chicken noodle. The noodle was red like a lava, so red it looked unhealthy. Not to mention it was boiling hot. He looked at Iris, she rubbed her hand together and licked her lips. ''Well, might as well try this.'' He thought. He picked up the spoon on the table, still wrapped in a tissue. He unwrapped it and took a spoonful of a burning red soup from the pot in front of him. He could feel the spiciness even just by looking at it. He pulled it closer to his open mouth, and finally put it in. He felt like he ate a burning coal, his tongue was burned. He gave up and asked for a drink after just 5 spoonful of it, while Iris ate it at full speed without stopping even for a second. Her face was burning red and sweat rained down her head. Rein swear he saw steam coming from her ear. "FINISHED!" She shouted and lifted her bowl. The waiters who watched it clapped his hand. "Drink please!" The waiter gave her a glass of water, she gulped it down in one drink. "Congratulation, you''re the first one who is able to finish our challange. However, since your boyfriend here doesn''t finish the challange, he still have to pay for his food." After that they walked back to the park. Even if it¡¯s only for a short time, Rein was really happy, it felt like they were having a date. The park was already dark with only a few street light illuminating it. The snow was falling and the ground was covered by it. She walked in front of her. He prepared all of his heart for that moment, he was ready to confess to her. His chest was hot and his heart beating fast. He opened his mouth, but no voice came out. His hand was shaking. Doubt clouded his heart. Before, he was so sure that they both liked each other, there was no way she would reject him. But now.... when the time finally came, he doesn''t have the courage to do it. He was afraid. what if she reject him? would she hate him? Would he lose the most precious person in his life?. The more he thought about it, the more doubt filled his heart. Suddenly Iris voice broke his train of thought. "Rein, do you remember when we were kid, you,me, Friede, and Albert all played together in this park?" Iris said with a small voice while walking around the park. The sound of snow being dragged around by her feet filled the park. "Yeah. Everyday, after school. Your mother would took us here, and we played until sunset." Rein answered. ¡°That was before you got to the orphanage right?¡± Rein nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Rein, i was unable to be there when you need me the most.¡± ¡°It was not your fault Iris, my uncle was the one who took me far away. I was really happy when we were able to meet again after all that year, and to actually able to move here again is probably one of my happiest moment.¡± Rein answered. He noticed that Iris was acting strange. Iris turned her body to face Rein.She took three steps to get closer to him, with her hand behind her back. Their eyes met. His heart skipped a beat and he froze in place.She closed her eyes and leaned closer. Her cheek bright red. His body temperature skyrocketed. his heartbeat was so loud she could hear it. Rein knew what she meant. He took all the courage he could muster. He closed his eyes and leaned closer to her. Their lips met, they kissed. Her lips felt really hot and it felt too good for him, at least... that what he wanted to happen. Her lips was frozen cold as if he was kissing an ice. Something was really wrong with Iris. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I love you Rein¡± Her body suddenly fell into his arm. She was like a block of ice, there was no trace of heat coming from her body at all. Her face that only a few second ago burning red, now became pale white. His eyes widden as he looked at her pale face.His breathing was rapid and shallow. His mind hazy, he couldn''t think what he should do, he shouted for help but there was no one there. "Iris! Iris!" Chain of Misfortune - 2 Rein waited outside the room. He walked around, back and forth. He sat, placing his hand in the side of his head, then stood up. The door creaked open.The doctor came out. The doctor told him that they couldn''t identify the cause, and that even with their best, her condition was still unstable. He sat on the nearby chair, his body slumped. He put his hand together and closed his eyes. For the first time in his life, he prayed with all his heart, prayed to the god he never believed in before. For that was the only thing he could do right now. Suddenly someone grabbed him by the shoulder. "You okay Rein?" Someone asked him. He opened his eyes and looked,It was Friede, She sat right next to him. ¡°Sorry i''m late, i have to tell father first.¡± "Friede?" Rein face was like an ice, and his eyes were blank. "Where''s Albert?" "He''s probably still on his way, since his house is far away from here." Friede answered. "How''s sister?" "She was unstable at best, the doctor already did all they could, but they still couldn''t identify the problem." He answered . Suddenly a man in white suit approached Rein with two other man following him behind. He stood in front of Rein. Rein looked up and that man looked down on him. That man raised his hand that was covered with white gloves. His hand flew to Rein face. The sound was so loud everyone could hear it. Then it came again from opposite direction, then again, again, and again. He took it all, without even trying to dodge or block it. His pale face became red because of that. "Cursed Child!" He spatted on his face. "How many time have i told you? Never get close to my daughter again! Now look what you have done to her!" He shouted, he doesn''t care if other people heard him,No, he wanted other people to heard him, loud and clear. That man raised his arm again. This time Friede stood between them with her arm stretched out. "DAD! STOP!" Rein grabbed her shoulder. "It''s fine Friede, it was my fault after all."Rein stood up and bowed to the man before him. "I''m sorry sir, for all the problem that i caused...To you, and your family" He walked to the exit. Friede wanted to stop him, but her father grabbed her. She struggled, but that only made his grip on her arm even tighter. "Don''t you dare get close to one of my daughter again!" He shouted at Rein. Cursed child. That''s what people who knew about Rein past called him. When he was 5 years old both his parent died in a car accident. After the accident he was taken by his grandparents who lived not too far from his original house, who soon after, died when a burglar broke into their house. After that, no relative of him wanted to adopt him, so he went to orphanage. After two month he was adopted by a family of 5, who all died when their house collapsed for no apparent reason. He came back to the orphanage, only for everyone there to died because of an infectious disease, with him being the only who survived. No orphanage wanted to accept him, his uncle adopt him. Yet his uncle always avoided him, because he was afraid of the curse. Rein was left home alone all the time with his uncle only providing him with money. But even after his uncle effort, he died in a plane crash. After his uncle died, he was abandoned, any relative of him doesn''t even care about him anymore and no orphanage wanted to accept him. He wandered the neighbour, but no one opened their door at him, until he collapsed in front of a small church, where an old priest, Constantine, took him and adopted him. Constantine adopted him and took care of him like he was his own child. He doesn''t care if the kid he took was a cursed child, He doesn''t care what the neighbour said to him, he loved the child anyway. Rein was happy, he finally have someone who he could call a father, a family. It was also at that time that he met again with his childhood friend after separated for many years. Deep inside he was afraid that his father and his friend would die because of his curse. But Constantine was somehow always able to avoided death, many strange accident happened to him, yet he was always able to survive. For 8 years, he took care of Rein, until the he died of heart attack while sitting in his own church. That was the true reason why Rein doesn''t want to get close to anyone, anyone he got close to died. The one who has been able to avoid the curse so far was 4 of his childhood friends . But Iris luck has ran out that day, or maybe it was because they kissed. He finally arrived home with his body full of wound. He doesn''t remember how he came home, as he was spacing out all the time. His body was like an ice, pale and cold, but he doesn''t care anymore at that time. The hospital is located pretty far from his home and he has to walked all the way since his bike broke and he doesn''t have any money to take the subway or bus. The church In front of his house was still bright. Technically, he owned that church building since he inherited it from his father . But the church was handled by a friend of his father who''s also a priest. His father always tried to teach him about christianity, but he never were a believer of god. He walked around the small church to reached his house behind it. He looked at it,It''s a two story house with two bathroom and three bedroom. He never understood why his bather bought that house, since his father always sleep in the church and never in the house. After his father passed away he lived there alone. "Rein, did something happened? You''re usually full of energy no matter what happened." Father Marcus, the priest who handled the church approached him. "Nothing Father, it just... i have a bad day today." He answered without any energy. "Well, don''t grieve to much about it son. Your father in heaven wouldn''t want to see his son looking sad like that. " Rein smiled a little, the mention of his father made him happy. After his short exchange with father Marcus he trekked inside his house. He took a key from his pocket and opened the front door. Usually he cleaned his house first, took a bath, and studied before he went to sleep. But he just doesn''t have the energy to do so. He sat on the couch in the living room and opened his phone. There were messages from Albert and Friede. He opened Albert message first. "Dude, Sorry i came late. Friede told me everything. Don''t think too much about what that old fart told you, he always hated you from the beginning.You''re not the cause of Iris condition. And she definitely won''t forgive you if you blame yourself for her condition." He smiled a little. Then he opened Friede message. "Rein, please just forget what happened today. Tomorrow is an important day for you right? You''re able to try summoning your guardian spirit tomorrow. If you failed again this year i bet sister would wake up and slap you in the face. Also don''t worry about anything, i''m staying in the hospital for now, if anything happen i call you immediately." Albert and Friede message eased him up a bit. Friede was right, he promised Iris he would succeed the summoning this year. He should focus all his energy for tomorrow. He woke up, and headed to his bedroom on the second floor. He saw the same dream again. The dream that felt too real. Again, he was in the same room as before. The door was already broken and he could move this time. The room wasn''t that dark anymore since light was coming from the doorway. He stood up from his throne and looked at his body. Black armor covered his body. It doesn''t fell cold or anything, the armor fitted him fine and he felt comfortable. He walked to the doorway, but after only a few step he noticed something was wrong. The air was very thick and the room smelled foul. He stepped on something, something thick. He took a step back. If he could scream, he would right now, after seeing what he stepped on. The room was a pool of blood, and there were many corpses scattered around the room. He walked to the nearest corpse, he walked in a slow and careful pace, to not make the blood splashed to his body. The corpse has its back side up, he picked it up and turned it around. His eyes widened in horror. He pushed the corpse away as his body tumbled backward. Blood splashed to all of his body. His body trembled. He was screaming with all his might inside his heart. The corpse he pushed crawled slowly to him. His tried to back away, but something held him. Multiple corpses held his body from behind, grabbing all of his limb making him unable to move. "You killed us! You killed us all!" They screamed as they held his body. He looked back, his breathing became chaotic. He knew all those corpse that held him, it was everyone that died because of his curse. His parents, his grandparents, his friends at orphanage, his adoptive family, his uncle. They scratched his body, trying to rip his body apart. The corpse in front of him turned his head to its direction, it was Iris. Her face was pale and her hair white. She smiled, and scream at hs face. "YOU KILLED ME REIN! YOU KILLED ME! KILLED ME! ME!" His body jumped out from his bed. He couldn''t breath, his mind was filled with the horror of his nightmare. Tears burst from his eye. He looked around like a madman, searching for everyone he saw in his dream, searching for Iris. "IRIS! IRIS!" He shouted. Suddenly his bedroom door slammed open. A man in black shirt, Albert aproached him. "Rein! What''s wrong?" He panicked. Rein sense returned to him. He realized what he just saw was just a dream. He took a deep breath and exhale it slowly. He wiped his tears and opened the blanket that covered him. "Albert?" Rein asked while holding his head on the side of the bed. "I-i''m sorry, i got a nightmare. For the last few days i always had a nightmare, but today it''s just....." "Relax okay! I bring your breakfast here." He replied. "Wait Albert!" His head was aching like crazy, but he forced himself to wake up. He followed Albert to the kitchen. "It''s still be a while until breakfast is ready. Just wait in the living room, watch the TV or something!" He told Rein while he cooked breakfast. Rein walked to the living room and sat on the couch to relieve his headache. After a while Albert came and brought him the breakfast. "Friede can''t come today since she''s watching over Iris at the hospital, so she told me to come here and help you. Guess she was right." Said Albert while giving Rein a bowl of soup. "Mind telling me what happened yesterday, before.. you know, what happened to Iris." Rein told Albert all that happened yesterday while he ate his breakfast. Like always Albert was an excellent cook, even a simple soup could become super delicious if he made it, and it fixed his mood. "So you two kissed yesterday? I''m surprised that didn''t happen like, 5 years ago. I mean, everyone can see you both liked each other, i think even both of you realized it already." Albert commented on his story.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Well, confessing your love is hard you know, even more if it was your bestfriend. The fear of being rejected is just too great." Rein replied. "Well let''s just forget what happened yesterday for today, go take a shower or something. Today is our summoning day isn''t it, if you failed again Iris would be mad when she woke up." Albert stood up and collected the empty bowl. "Yeah, yeah you''re right." rein replied. After Rein took a shower and changed his clothes, they went to the Magic Association office to try summon their guardian spirit. Before they left they got inside to the church in front of his house first, since Albert is a christian. When they entered the church Rein looked at one of the window. It was a coloured window with an image in it. He remembered about the story his father told him. About the great hero Reinhard who protect the world from a great disaster. It was a story he loved. "Say Albert, isn''t summoning a guardian spirit used to be forbidden by the church?" Rein asked. "Wasn''t it considered blasphemy or something. As you can summon other people soul if you get a B or better ranked guardian spirit." "Yes, they used to. But two years ago the pope himself told in public that as long as the guardian spirit is not used for evil deed it was alright." After he finished his pray they went out from the church. "Morning Rein, Morning Albert." An old and soft voices greeted them. It was Kelvin, an old man who lived across the street. He has been his neighbour since he was adopted here. He lived in a small house with a woman, and nobody was sure what their relationship was as no one dared to ask. Maybe she was his daughter, maybe his guardian spirit. He looked to be in his 80s or early 90s. Anywhere Rein saw him he always wore a fedora with his white hair that reached his neck coming out from the side. Every morning he always sit on his wheelchair outside and greeted anyone that passed by. Albert and Rein replied his greeting. A women came from inside the house and brought him a coffe. The women is strange, her skin and hair is pale white. Her stare was always blank, she never showed any emotion, and she never spoke to anyone other than Kelvin. "Thank you Doll." She bowed her head and went inside again. Abert and Rein continued walking. It was always strange seeing Kelvin interacting with that woman, but he always nice to everyone. They took the subway to the office, it was a huge building in the middle of the town. When they arrived, the hall was already crowded with people. They filled their form and pay the fee to summon their spirit. Even though the hall itself was really large, only 10 person could summon their spirit at a time so the rest have to wait in the waiting room for their turn to summon guardian spirit. The waiting room was cozy, with many chair and a lot of food shop. They both sat on one of the chair while waiting for their turn. "Well Albert since this is your first time, do you know what to do?" Rein asked. "Hey, i know okay, even if i don''t i could just searched it on the internet." Albert answered. "When our name is called, we go inside and start the ritual. After we summon the spirit, we have to make contract with them, or else they would just vanished in a few hour or a few day." "Albert do you have any thing you wanted to summon in particular?" "Not really. I mean of course if i can i wanted to summon a great hero so that i can protect those who are important to me." Albert answered. "But wouldn''t it be hard if you summon a person, since you also have to feed them and everything." "It''s not like they would just slack off in the house either. I would order them to work of course." Albert answered. Rein name was called. He went into the summoning room. The room was nothing special, it was a white room with a summoning circle in the middle and a TV in front of it. Rein stood near the summoning circle and faced the screen. Rein read the word that popped up on the screen because he doesn''t remember the incantation. While reading he tried to remember why he was doing that, not for himself, but for Iris. He tried so hard to focus, but the scar on his neck started to hurt again. The more he tried to focus, the more it hurt. After a while the summoning ritual was finished. Just like last year and the year before, he failed again. He was disappointed and a bit sad, because he couldn''t fulfill his promise,but he won''t give up, next year he would try again, and he would succeed. After his failure, other people laughed at him. He doesn''t really mind, it was always the same, anyone that failed the summoning always became a laughing stock, that was the reason most doesn''t bother to try again after they failed. Albert however, couldn''t stand it, seeing his best friend being laughed at. He yelled at them and almost started a fight. Other people dismissed him, thinking that he would end up being a failure just like Rein. Oh, how wrong they were. When Albert name was called he immediately went to the summoning room. He walked with fury in his leg. He doesn''t need a guide as he remembered the incantation. He read it so fast, not even him could understood what he was saying, but when it was finished a bright light filled the entire hall. Everyone was shocked, except Rein, he knew Albert would summon a great spirit. Three beautiful women stood before Albert. And not just any women, they''re the companion of the great hero Reinhard from the legend. They are very beautiful that everyone there, men or women stared at them with their mouth open. Their presence is like that of an angel that descended from the heaven. When the three of them opened their eyes they shed a tear of happiness. They hugged Albert from all side and they speak in unison. "Reinhard!" They shouted as they hugged him. Albert face was bright red as he was hugged. He never hugged or being hugged by women other than his mother before. Then the one in the middle, Fear,suddenly held his cheek and kissed him. Albert fainted, all of this was too much for him too handle. Since child Albert doesn''t have that many female friend. He couldn''t get near a girl without his face lit up like a lamp. Everyone was even more shocked than before, even Rein doesn''t expect that. "Hey Fear, look what have you done to him. If i were the one to kiss him first this wouldn''t have happened."Uriza complained. "No! It should be me first!" Said Eliel. They argued with each other who should kissed him first. A medical team came they moved Albert to the infirmary. Fear, Uriza, and Eliel followed them. Rein also followed them,but after only one step he felt an incredible killing intent. A sword of light was held at his throat, a fireball at his face, and a knife is pointed to his heart. "Don''t move Cursed one! I don''t know what matter you have with Reinhard, we will let you go now, but if you take another step, not even your ashes will remain." Fear, the one who held the sword warned him. ''they''re a strong spirit after all, it would be strange if they didn''t noticed it'' He thought. He took a step back, he wanted to see how Albert, but it was wiser to just wait elsewhere. Even as he walked away he could still felt the hostility coming from them. After 15 minutes, Albert woke up in the infirmary bed. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the three spirit he had summoned. When he saw them his face became bright red again, he could fainted anytime. "I''m fear, This is Uriza, And this is Eliel. I''m sorry for kissing you suddenly, but when we see your face, you were exactly like Reinhard when he was younger, so i couldn''t help it." fear Apologized. "I-it''s alright. It was my first kiss, but if it was with someone like you i don''t think i''ll mind." He replied. "It''s your first kiss?"She covered her face and bowed her head. "I"M SORRY! AHH! IT''S EMBARRASSING!" "Well, i''m Albert. Sorry for looking like Reinhard. So it is true then, all of you were his companion." Albert introduced himself. "You''re not just look like him you know, your smell, and your aura also exactly matched him. It''s like you''re his reincarnation." Uriza explained. "Not only his companion, we''re his wives." Said Eliel suddenly. "Eh?" Albert was surprised. "H-how?" "Reinhard was a true womanizer in his life, when we found out about each other we were so angry, but after a while, somehow we were able to just accept it." Fear answered. "Well, then his personality couldn''t be more different than me then. Even if i were his reincarnation it seems i can''t get well with women like he does." "Don''t worry, you''re exactly like him when he was younger, he also can''t get well with women, his face become all red just like you." Eliel Explained. She looked happy with her mouth smiled wide. "Also we haven''t make a proper contract yet since you fainted before we can make one." "Oh yeah, the contra--- Wait, where is Rein?" "Rein?" They asked. "You know, a guy my age, black short hair,bruises all his face." He answered. "Oh you mean the Cursed one, we''re already sent him away since he seemed to be following you." Fear answered. He gritted his teeth. Cursed one, who the heck were they when they called his friend like that. He couldn''t accept it. He got out of the bed and ran. He has to apologize to Rein, it was his spirit that called him like that. He searched for him everywhere, he asked every people he came across. Fear, Uriza, and Eliel followed him, their face filled with concern. He got out of the building and saw him, sitting on a bench ouside, waiting for him while eating a burger. "Ah! you have woke up Albert? " Rein asked with a smile in his face. "I''m sorry!" Albert apologized. "My spirit called you a cursed one." Rein laughed. "How long have you known me Albert? I think it would be even stranger if such a great spirit like them doesn''t even realize my curse." He answered. "You''re not cursed Rein! You must not call yourself like that. If you do, i won''t forgive you!" Albert Looked at Rein with a fierce stare. "Okay-okay." Rein gave up, if Albert was like that no matter what he said Abert wouldn''t chaged his mind. Fear, Uriza, and Eliel catched up. "Fear, Uriza, Eliel, apologize to him! If you don''t apologize i won''t make a contract wth any you." Albert ordered them. All three of them kneeled before Rein. "We are sorry, we forget our place, and dishonored our master." "he-hey it''s okay, stand up! you''re all making me embaressed." Said Rein. Fear then hugged Albert from behind. Albert was surprised and his face turned red again. "Well Albert, you''re exactly like Reinhard. You''re kind to anyone." Fear smiled. Suddenly a speaker on the street turned on. There was an announcement, everyone shoud cease any activity at 6 PM and no one was allowed to go outside after 9 PM. "Well Rein, want to come to my house? Since we have breakfast in your house it should be appropriate that we have lunch on my house right." Albert asked. Rein nodded. Albert house was not that far away from the magic association office, but it was on the opposite direction of Rein house. They took a subway from there to near his house. It was awkward along the way, as everyone was staring at them because of Fear, Uriza, and Eliel following them from behind. Albert house was a japanese styled house that was located on a hill. It''s a large house even if it only one story high. They entered the outer wall and walked through the front garden before they reached the front door. The front garden was tidy, Albert took great care of it.From the front door they walked a long hallway before reaching the living room. In the hallway there were 2 unused guest room. Albert told them to wait on the dining room while he prepared the lunch. The lunch was even more awkward than when they walked here. If it was normal condition, even with only Rein and Albert the house would became noisy, but today it was dead silent. Everyone just sat there without saying anything. Fear, Uriza, And Eliel was not comfortable with Rein around, they ate without making any sound. Because they were silent, Albert and Rein felt too awkward to say anything. After the lunch, Albert wanted to speak with Rein alone in his room. At first Fear didn''t allowed it, Fearing of what Rein might do. Albert was persistent, he convinced her that they were friend, and Rein wouldn''t hurt him. "Rein, can you please sleep here tonight?" Albert was pleading. "Sorry i couldn''t tonight." Rein answered quick. He actually could, but he just feel uncomfortable near his spirit. "Why?" "You know why! I couldn''t handle it man. Even thinking that i''m going to spend the night alone with three girl that i''ve just met make my heart beat like crazy." Albert replied. His face started to become red. Albert face was pretty funny. Albert was also like this when the first time Iris and Friede were coming to stay over. "Don''t worry i think you''ll get used to it pretty fast. Anyway it''s not so bad, you''re not going to sleep on the same room as the three of them right? Just tell them to use the guest room or something." Rein know this will not end good. If Albert had already made his mind to make him stay, he couldn''t get away. He need to think of a way to get out from this house. "Like hell i can get used to it!" Albert replied, he knew that Rein was only making excuses so that he could get away from there. "You know what Albert, remember that girl from high school, Samantha or something?" Albert nodded. "You want to get close to that girl right, but you can''t because you''re afraid your face would look ridiculous. Now think that today is like a training for you, so that you can approach girls" "Yeah, but training doesn''t have to go to the extreme." Albert folded his hand. Rein had ran out of idea. "Wait, wasn''t that Fear calling for you?" "Didn''t hear anything. Don''t try to run away, you bastard" "No! I''m serious, anyway if i try to run away i would have to go to the living room first, you would see me." Albert opened the door and walked to the living room to see Fear. His spirit was still sitting there quietly like before, waiting for his return. He looked back and realized that Rein was deceiving him. He ran back to his room, only to see an empty room with its window opened. It was a small window, Rein shouldn''t be able to passed through it, but somehow he managed. "REIN YOU BASTARD!" He shouted. Rein was still climbing the outer wall when he heard Albert shouting his name. He smiled and chuckled when he heard it. He jumped down the outer wall and sprinted as soon as he touched the ground. Chain of Misfortune - 3 Rein stopped running. When he looked back he couldn''t see Albert house anymore. He opened his phone and asked Friede if her father was in the hospital. He planned to go there, but were afraid of their father. He waited for a while, but she didn''t answer. He tried to call her but there was no signal, which was strange since he was still in the middle of the city. He noticed it now, there were no car passing the street and there was no one walking, even if the sun was still shining. The house around there also looked empty, the whole area was devoid of human. Uneasiness filled his heart, someone was watching him, followed him, stalked him. He moved his feet, slow at first, but increased his pace with each passing step. Maybe it was a baseless fear, a paranoia, but his instinct told him that something was wrong and he should run. He ran and he ran, without noticing where he went, what turn he had taken, what building he had passed. He just ran anywhere he could, but no matter how far he ran, no matter how fast, the sense of danger didn''t vanish, it was getting stronger in fact. After running for a long time he stopped, his lung couldn''t take it anymore, he almost vomited. Chill crept to his skin, he looked back, no one was there, but the dreaded feeling was getting stronger. He frantically turned his head around, searching for the source of this feeling. He noticed a park in the corner of his vision. A small park, with a swing and slide in it. There was no logical sense behind it, if he went to the park he met a dead end, unable to run anymore, but in his heart he felt that that park was his only salvation. He felt something crawled on his back, pulling his jacket. His eyes widen in terror. Dead bodies crawled the street, chasing him, some even already reached him and grabbed his jacket.He ran to that park. Five step before he reached it, one of the dead grabbed at his feet, sending his body to the ground. With his body on the ground they swarmed him. They crawled all around him, he could felt their skin melting as he touched it. The stench of rotting flesh stuffed his nose and his throat, making him unable to breath. He screamed all of his lung as they dragged his feet. He fight back but it''s useless, their sheer number overwhelmed him. ''This is a dream right, this must be a dream, it can''t be real'' "Mister, Want a lollipop?" The dead bodies exploded into a black smoke. The stench and feeling of melting skin all but gone. A little girl, 10 years old at most, was staring at him with a blank expression. Her arm extended froward, handing him a lollipop. He was hesitant, but slowly took the lollipop and put it in his mouth. "T-thank you." He said. The girl doesn¡¯t react, her face was stiff without any expression, her voice was neutral and her crimson eyes felt like it was able to pierce his soul. "You shouldn''t cry mister." "O-oh yeah!" He wiped tear from his eyes. It was embarrassing, but it was better than the fear he just experienced. "W-what did you do to them?" "Them? What do you mean mister? You were running and lashing your hand at the air. I thought you were a mad man." She asked. Rein took a deep breath. Was It was just a hallucination? he wasn''t convinced. The girl knew more than she let out. "I-is that so? I''m sorry if i scared you. By the way, my name is Rein, Rein Constantine. You can call me Rein." He offered his hand, asking for a handshake. The girl ignored it. "I''m Elizabeth." "So, what were you doing here all alone?" He put one hand on his knee, trying to get up. "LIZIIIIIII!" Someone shouted. They both looked to the sound. A man was running with a grocery bag in his hand while shouting her name. From his looks, he was around the same age as Rein, with the similar height and build, maybe a little bit younger. He buttoned his shirt until the neck, the glasses he wore was covered in dirt and his black hair was covering part of his face making him looked geeky. "Lizi, how many time must i tell you? Don''t go anywhere without me. I have been searching for you everywhere." His chest heaved rapidly with heavy panting. "You''re slow Luci." there was a slight emotion in her voice now. ''Luci? That''s a strange name for a guy.'' Rein thought. "Ummm, who are you?" His brow raised as he looked Rein. "I''m Rein. I met Elizabeth by chance while i was running around." Luci narrowed his eyes. "By chance? Impossible!" His voice cold. His chest that was heaving now stopped like he wasn¡¯t tired at all in the first place. Elizabeth tugged his shirt. He let out a long sigh."Fine! Lizy seems to take interest in you. So i let you go this time." "Uhhhh, What?" Rein was confused. Luci tapped his own neck at the same spot as Rein scar. The scar on his neck was bleeding and starting to ache.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Suddenly a booming sound, something black flew to his head with blinding speed. Rein could only see it for a fraction of a second before he blacked out. When he woke up, the moon was already shining above his head. His neck does not hurt anymore, but his head was ringing like it had been hit by something. He checked his phone and noticed that it was already 10 PM, well past the time limit the announcement mentioned. He placed his hand on a steel bar near him, trying to stand up. He looked at his surrounding, he was in a park, but it was different than the one from before. ¡®Ah! Elizabeth and Luci.¡¯ He remembered. Elizabeth and Luci was nowhere to be found. No one was there, even the road was empty. No building in the downtown had their light turned on, making the only light source to be the moon and the streetlamp. He looked around to find a place he could recognize so that he could find a way back home. The shortest way to his house from the park was through the city square so he walked there. The closer he got to the square, the colder and thicker the air became. Even using his jacket he could felt the cold air even without any wind. He heard sound coming from the square. ''Huh? Why are there still sound, there wasn''t supposed to be any activity tonight'' he thought. His instinct told him that something wasn''t right and he should get away. But his head was far too clouded to think straight. He saw a lot of people in the square. All of them turned toward his direction. He still doesn''t get what was happening. "REIN! RUN!" He heard someone told him to run. Instinctively, he ran. He still doesn''t get it, why he had to run, and why he himself was running. As he ran, two person wearing a cloak started chasing him. Only then he realized what he''s getting into as he felt a murderous intent from the two. He''s running with all his might through the main street, but it was futile. He noticed that an arrow was heading to his head. He ducked with all his might. He used too much energy that he end up rolling instead of ducking. When he stood up the person that was chasing him was standing there drawing the bow. He looked at his side and noticed that he was in the park that he woke up. He doesn''t realize how far he ran. He ran through the park, making a zigzag movement to avoid the arrow. "Foolish." He heard it. It was without a doubt a girl voice. He screamed. Blood was gushing out from his knee that was pierced by arrow. The cloaked girl who chased him walked slowly while drawing her bow. He forced his injured leg to move. He ignore the numbing pain in his leg and ran in fear for his life, but he ran into a dead end. He saw it, dark alley in the corner of his eye. He ran there, thinking that was the only way out. The alley was darker than the first time he looked, there was no light at all there. He could barely see the wall, or any obstacle for that matter. ¡®The alley¡­ felt off somehow.¡¯ Something caught his attention. There in the middle of the alley, blocking his way, stood a woman in a pitch black dress. The dress was even darker than the alley itself making him able to see her. "Get out of my way!" He screamed. the woman didn''t move. ''Whatever, if she stand in my way i just pushed her aside'' he though. He speed up his pace. He ducked trying to avoid the woman. His head throbbed, he fell backward. Blood flowed from his head into his eyes, hurting and blinding his eye. ''What was that?'' he thought. It felt like he ran straight to a concrete wall, but there was no wall there. The woman before stood before his body and smiled. "Such a shame, for a handsome boy like you to die in the first night." A zapping sound, like the sound of laser in popular movie echoed the small alley. Rein coughed blood. There was a hole in his chest, but he doesn''t feel any pain. It was pleasant actually, all his pain and worries now gone. Any strength he has left after running all gone now. The woman that shot him was displeased though, he should have died instantly, but somehow he doesn''t. A miracle happened and the shot missed a few milimeter, severing his arteries instead of outright killing him. He tried to stand up, but he couldn''t muster any strength at all. He heard the sound of metal clashing against stone. --------- Aldwin jumped down from one of the rooftop, slashing his sword at the cloaked girl as he touched the ground. The loud sound of metal could be heard from far away. The girl jumped back, evading it. Realized she doesn¡¯t have a chance in such small alley she ran away. Aldwin turned his face to the woman in dress, she smiled. ¡°Who are you?¡± Aldwin asked. His voice cold and serious. ¡°Just a woman. I was strolling in the night when this boy suddenly attacked me. In my self defense i shot him in the heart, too bad since i like his face.¡± She answered with a smirk. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for your jest woman.¡± ¡°I take my leave then¡­. Handsome.¡± She bowed courteously. She waved her dress and melt into the darkness of night. She was gone, teleported, even Aldwin with his skill couldn¡¯t see her anymore. ¡°Assassin¡­ and a troublesome one no less.¡± ---------- the sound of someone yelling, then a running sound. Then there''s a sound of someone speaking, but his mind was too hazy to understand what they were saying. Heat left him and numbness assaulted him, starting from fingertips and slowly moving to his chest. His muscle became stiff, and his flesh harden. Maybe this is the end for him, the end of the cursed child. ''Heh! Not too bad of an ending i guess'' he chuckled at his own thought. He closed his eyes and he smiled. It was ironic, for the first time in his life he wanted to live, but the world spat on his eyes and killed him. He smiled at the realization of it. The reason he wanted to live.. he thought about it for what felt like an eternity. He searched in every corner of his mind, what made him wanted to live. ''Iris!'' Yes, he can''t give up now, Iris was still in coma and he promised her, he''ll be there when she woke up. He opened his eyes again, trying to stay conscious with every ounce of strength he had left. A black ''thing'' appeared before him, floating above his cold, dying body. His eyes that was blinded somehow able to see it. It was a black ball with multiple tentacle coming from it, in the center there were a pair of red eye staring at him. "Do you still want to live boy?" Strange, that.. thing spoke directly into his mind. He had a bad feeling that answering was not going to end well, like making a deal with the devil¡­. or something even worse. Inside his heart he chuckled, It doesn''t matter to him be it devil or god, be it monster or human, for the first time in his life he wanted to keep living. With the pool of blood that was his mouth, he answered. "Yes!" He answered promptly. Even with all his power he could only whisper. "Goooood." It replied with a delighted voices. It started to expand. The tentacle started to cover his limb. It felt like he was covered in mud. The black thing slowly crept up his body, until he couldn''t see anything, covered by that¡­. thing¡­... Deal With The Devil - 1 Sun rays was shining through the window and right on her face. Rose yawned as she woke up. ¡°Why didn¡¯t the alarm turned on?¡± She complained as she rubbed her eyes. She looked at her her surrounding, it wasn¡¯t her room, it was the living room. She thought it was strange, no matter how exhausted she was, she has never slept on the living room like this before. Then she remembered what happened last night, the meeting, the start of the game, and Rein. She massage her head. ¡°Oh yeah, yesterday that happened.¡± When she stood up the blanket that covered her body fell to the floor. She noticed that there was a breakfast ready on the table in front of her, and a hot coffee. She smiled. ¡°So he can act like a gentleman after all.¡± Rose said as she sipped the coffee. The breakfast was good, it was a simple breakfast, but she liked it. After finishing her breakfast, Rose searched for Aldwin. The coffee he served was still hot, so he must have made it recently. She searched him everywhere on the first floor, then the basement, the second floor, the third floor, and the attic, but she couldn¡¯t find him inside the house at all. Then, she remembered that last night Aldwin asked her about suing the computer. She walked to the library in the second floor to search for him. She already searched for him there, but she only took a glance when she was in the library, possibly missing a clue about his whereabout. The library was not that large, but it was filled with tall bookcase that reached the ceiling. The library were full of book, but she doesn¡¯t have any interest there, for she already read most of the book, and the rest that she doesn¡¯t read were her father¡¯s philosophy book that doesn¡¯t hold any interest for her. Between the rows of bookcase there was an old computer that haven¡¯t been used since she got her own laptop. On the computer table, there were a few books about the history of the game of Spirit that she owned. She sighed as she picked it up and placed it back in their respective bookcase. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you at least put it back after reading it.¡± She turned on the computer, and looked at what Aldwin searched for last night. At first glance all he searched was some useless stuff, but after digging deeper, He actually searched about what happened in the world recently, world war 1, and disaster that happened in the 19th and 18th century. Two thing stood out, the battle of somme, and the great lisbon earthquake. ¡°The battle of somme, and the great lisbon earthquake¡­.. Why was he searching for this?¡± She asked herself. Shiver ran down her spine as something touched her neck. She slowly turned her face. It was Aldwin. ¡°Where were you? I was searching you all over the house.¡± Rose asked. ¡°I went to the local supermarket since the food stock almost run out.¡± He answered. He lift his right hand that was still holding the grocery bag. Rose looked at him with a puzzled face. ¡°Thanks, but are people not staring at you? You know, your eyes.¡± Aldwin chuckled. ¡°Well people will assume it¡¯s a contact lens.¡± ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go to the living room to plan our movement today.¡± Said Rose while turning off the computer. ¡°So what is our plan for today?¡± Aldwin asked after he placed the grocery in the kitchen. He sat on the sofa opposite of Rose. ¡°Well first, we have to find the address of Rein house, then we bring him to the warehouse. After that¡­ well¡­. we see what happened next.¡± Rose answered. ¡°And how do you plan to find his address in a city this big?¡± ¡°By asking friend, we¡¯re in the same class in college. Someone in class ought to know his house.¡± Rose answered. ¡°Also i wanted to ask you something¡­.. Why did you searched that last night?¡± ¡°Searched what?¡± Aldwin raised his eyebrow. ¡°Don¡¯t act like you don¡¯t know. Battle of Somme, Great lisbon earthquake.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± He asked with a big smirk on his face. ¡°I thought someone like you, a head of a mage family would have known.¡± ¡°AAhh!Why can¡¯t you just answer me, instead of acting like that!¡± Aldwin sighed. ¡° Didn¡¯t your father or someone told you about the previous game of spirit?¡± Rose remember now, battle of somme and the great lisbon earthquake was also a game of spirit. ¡°From the look of your face you remembered it now.¡± ¡°But that still doesn¡¯t answer why were you searching for them¡± Rose asked again. ¡°I just wanted to know how big is the scale of the game of spirit in this age, since the game tend to get worse each time. And from the look of it, it¡¯s pretty bad.¡± Aldwin answered. ¡°Just think about it, what would happened if a battle the size of battle of somme happened in this city, or a disaster as big as lisbon earthquake. how many million of innocent people would die.¡± ¡°That wouldn¡¯t happen, we the heroic faction are trying our best to reduce the number of possible victim.¡± Rose answered full of confidence. Aldwin chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t believe the heroic faction could do that Rose. One faction wanted to protect the civilian while the other 6 doesn¡¯t care. what do you think would happen?¡± He asked. ¡°Think about it, the heroic faction participated in both last century and 18th century game of spirit, and ten of thousand of people still died.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s not gonna happen this time¡± Rose replied. ¡°And how is that?¡± He asked. ¡°Because the heroic faction is strong, plus¡­ we got you.¡± Rose answered. Aldwin eyes opened wide, he doesn¡¯t expect such answer. His surprised face slowly turned into a wide grin. ¡°Well, i¡¯m flattered. But even i can¡¯t do everything by myself. Do you realize Rose what kind of enemy we¡¯re facing?¡± He asked. ¡°No, since at the meeting all the spirit were hiding.¡± Rose said. Aldwin burst in laugh. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± ¡°You were scared weren¡¯t you?¡± Aldwin asked. ¡°N-no i¡¯m not. How can i call myself a mage of Acturus family if i can¡¯t handle the pressure from such event.¡± Rose answered. Her face was red. ¡°Well you¡¯re hopeless. You always pride yourself as a high class mage, but you¡¯re scared by just that.¡± He answered. Rose was really embarrassed. ¡°Well you just lack any real experience i guess. The point is when i watched the meeting from far,even i can sense numerous A+ ranked spirit, some even felt like an A++ spirit.¡± ¡°A++ spirit? But that¡¯s¡­. they¡¯re extremely rare, they are almost impossible to be summoned normally and have to be summoned by using a catalyst. I can even count all the A++ spirit i know with my finger.¡± Rose placed her hand on her mouth as she think. She just realized how bad the situation was. ¡°But that is all the more reason we should searched for that kid right?¡± Aldwin asked. Rose looked at him for a second. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± She answered.Rose called her friends. Asking anyone who might know about Rein house. After an hour bouncing around asking, she knew that Rein house wasn¡¯t that far from hers. After knowing that, she prepared for the day and after that ,walked there with Aldwin. She was surprised to see that it was a church. At first she was unsure, since Rein doesn¡¯t look to be someone religious, or someone who believe in god at all. But it was the only address she got, and she doesn¡¯t have anymore clue. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Without option, she opened the church door. The inside was even smaller than what it looked from outside, and from outside it already look small. The church was empty, aside for the priest on the altar. ¡°Good morning!¡± She greeted with a smile. The priest answered her greeting. ¡°Excuse me, Is this Rein house? I¡¯m Rose, his friend from college.¡± ¡°Well, well Rein never told me about having a beautiful lady as a friend.¡± He answered with a smile. ¡°His house is technically behind this church. Why don¡¯t we have a tea first while we wait for him?¡± Rose agreed, but she told Aldwin to wait outside to stood watch. The priest opened a small door leading to a small room with a table and 4 chair surrounding it. She sat on one of the chair as the priest prepared a tea. There, the priest introduced himself as father Marcus. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Rose, but yesterday Rein was acting really strange. He rarely come back late at night, but yesterday he came back at midnight with his face was full of bruises and wound. He walked half conscious and he doesn¡¯t even respond when i called him. He is still sleeping right now, but he should wake up pretty soon.¡± He told her while serving a tea. His face showed concern and sadness. ¡°It¡¯s okay father. I can wait him here.¡± Rose answered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to ask this, but since Rein never talk about himself and his family. Are you his father?¡± ¡°No, not really. I¡¯m his guardian. I¡¯m his father friend, but since his passing three years ago, i...try my best to act like his father, but he never actually accepted me as his family. he is a very pitiful child you know, he is afraid to get close to anyone, he is afraid to have a family. ¡± Father Marcus explained. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, if i may ask, what happened to him in the past?¡± Rose asked. The way father Marcus described Rein made her curious. ¡°Well, of course he doesn¡¯t tell you. Even he doesn¡¯t tell me.¡± Father Marcus sat in front of her and placed both of his hand together. ¡°Since child Rein has... experienced multiple accident that result in the death of his family. After that every time he got a new family, a tragedies happened, which resulted in the death of people around him. In every single one of this tragedies, he is the only survivor, and he blamed himself for all of that. My friend, his last father, was the only one who was able to raise him properly, he¡¯s able to take care of him for eight year, before he passed away. Rein was really attached to him, he is probably the only real parent he ever known. ¡± Father Marcus explained with a heavy voice . Rose remembered about what Aldwin told her, about a curse that enveloped him. ¡°I-i¡¯m sorry, i shouldn¡¯t ask.¡± She apologized. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± A loud sound of an explosion and shock wave was coming from behind the church. The shockwave was strong enough to shook the whole church. ¡°What was that?¡± They both immediately stood up and ran outside to see what caused it. An explosion happened in front of Rein house. And in the center of it, Rein and a woman with black hair, and in front of them, the three companion of Reinhard. *** Earlier that day¡­. His body heavy. He couldn¡¯t move his arm, his leg, or anything for that matter. He couldn¡¯t see or feel anything, all of his 5 sense wasn¡¯t working. It felt like he was hovering in an empty dark space that was devoid of anything but him. "Is this death?" He asked himself. No sound came from his mouth for he couldn''t even move his lips. It felt too real to be a dream, but recently his dream also felt far too real. His finger twitched.His arm moved slightly. Sense of feeling started coming back to him, and he could finally moved a little bit.He tried to move his arm more, but his arm was bound. Bound by something smooth like a cotton, but strong as a steel cable.No matter how hard he struggled to escape, he couldn¡¯t. His vision started to came back. He opened his eyes. But all he could see is pure darkness. Even if he open his eyes there''s no light for him to see¡­.No, he was wrong. It''s not that there''s no light, his eyes, his whole body was covered by something, by something pitch black, by the same thing that bound his arm. This black thing does not move, it simply held his body still. But something changed. As if knowing that he was conscious and got his senses back, the thing started to move.It squirmed on his skin at first, then pierced his body like a needle from his fingertips. Intense pain struck him. It slithered under his skin like a worm, slowly moving from his limb to his chest and up to his brain. With every centimeter of it moving inside his body the pain became more and more excruciating. Fear crept up his spine, the fear of the something moving beneath his skin, like a scene from a horror movie he saw as a child. The fear of knowing that the thing that covered his whole body could easily rip him apart anytime. This was definitely not a dream. if it was, he would have woken up. When the thing touched his nerve, his nerves fired up, sending electrical signal from every part of his body to his spine and up to his brain. His nerve screamed every possible feeling a human could felt, touch, pain, cold, hot. He felt emotion like never before. Pain, Agony, Fear, Sadness, Anger, Hatred, Happiness, Pleasure, Ecstasy, Love, all of it crashed down on him like never before. When the black thing finally reached his brain, His brain was fried. After all of that feeling, his nerve finally died.Now he couldn¡¯t feel anything again, yet he knew that the black thing is still moving inside his body. Slowly transforming him into something else. It entered every organ in his body and starting to replace anything it touched. It replaced his nerve, his blood, his organ, it replaced everything, until there was nothing inside but the black thing. The black thing finally let him go. After transforming him, it let him go, the bound was undone and the thing that covered him fade away. He could finally see again¡­.. Yet what await him after his release was not a peaceful sight, but a terror unlike any other. A giant, floating eyeball stared at him, and him alone. He shouldn¡¯t be able to feel anything anymore, but he felt fear and dread. Not a natural fear that is born from self preservation instinct. No, it was much,much more, it was a primal fear born from nothing. It exist only to exist. He heard many voices, men, women, children, elderly, ghost,monster, angel,devil,god, anything, and everything at the same time. coming from inside his brain, not telepathy, not magic, the sound came from the thing inside his body, that has already replaced everything inside. ¡°Finally, you are mine now.¡± They sounded delighted. Rein jumped out from his bed. His chestheavy and his heart almost exploded, it was beating so fast, even faster than from a few day before. He couldn¡¯t believe that wasn¡¯t a dream. The pain and everything felt too real for him. He placed his hand on his chest and noticed something. Blood soaked Bandage wrapped him completely from his waist up to his chest. As the real world sensation started to flow back to him, his head started to hurt, like it was hammered all night, and he became nauseous. Every time he moved he felt a shock running from his back to his head that made his headache and nausea even worse. ¡°What happened last night?¡± He asked himself. His mind was too hazy to remember anything that happened. He heard sound from the kitchen, the sound of cooking utensil, and the sound of fire from the stove. It¡¯s probably Albert or Friede he thought, making breakfast for him. He Tried to get up, but when he stood up, fatigue washed over him, sending his body back to the bed. After many tries he was able to stand up. With each step he took, darkness overtook part of his vision, and his headache became even worse. He stood still for a rest after only 5 step, and he took a rest again after every 5 step. After many minute struggling to keep himself from falling, he arrived at the kitchen. The kitchen and the dining room was dark, the light wasn¡¯t lit and the curtain was still closed, but He saw something unexpected. There was a black haired woman in the kitchen, cooking something. She was absorbed by what she was doing and doesn¡¯t noticed his arrival. The soft yellow sunray coming from the small gap in the curtain illuminated her from the rest of the dark room, as if the sun itself trying to highlight her. Her long black hair that reached her knee was tinted with blue at the end. It swayed as she moves around, busy with what she was doing. Rein stood there staring at her for a few minutes, doesn¡¯t know what to do. After a while she turned the stove off. Finally, she noticed his presence and turned her head slowly. He doesn¡¯t recognize her. ¡°Master?¡± She asked with Her soft soothing voice. Deal With The Devil - 2 Rein was amazed. She was incredibly beautiful and eye catching. He didn''t even know how to react, Her shiny black hair that reached her knee, her mature appearance, her white revealing clothes, her voluptuous body ,all just felt too otherworldly for him. He shook his head.¡°Master? What do you mean? Who are you?¡± Rein asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I¡¯m your guardian spirit and you¡¯re my summoner, so you are my master.¡± She answered with a big smile. ¡°Wait-wait a minute, how can you be my guardian spirit? I-i failed the summoning yesterday didn¡¯t i?¡± He asked back.. ¡°No, you have never failed the summoning, i was originally summoned during you''re first summoning ritual 2 years ago.¡± She answered as she walked near him. ¡°Wait...let slow down. My head not right, right now.¡± He sat down on the chair in dining room . His headache became even worse now and his breathing heavier. He held his head, if she had been summoned two years ago, why doesn¡¯t she showed herself sooner. ¡°Do you want some?¡± She asked while handing him a cup of tea. Rein looked at her and accepted it. Steam was still coming out from the tea when he took the cup. He placed it on his mouth and slowly drank it.The tea somehow taste good, which is strange because there¡¯s only one type of tea in the house, and it doesn¡¯t taste this good . The tea soothed his mind.¡°Thank you.. Uh.. who are you again?¡± ¡°Oh yeah! i haven¡¯t introduced myself. I¡¯m Emeralis, and i¡¯m your spirit.¡± She introduced herself with a happy tone. She sat on the chair facing him. ¡°I¡¯m Rein. Emeralis, can you tell me what is happening? If i summoned you why didn¡¯t you show up earlier? Also what happened last night? And the wound in my chest, I can¡¯t really think right now, my mind is clouded. ¡± ¡°Well that is understandable after what happened last night. I was summoned two years ago, but because of your curse, i was unable to materialize in this world. I¡¯m only able to watch you from time to time. Until yesterday that is, when you were killed and the curse somehow saved your life.¡± She explained. Lightning struck his head. His head burning. The memory he regained came with such a great pain that he almost collapsed. Emeralis hugged him and cast a magic that reduced his pain. He calmed down for a second, then he realized that she was hugging him tight. He pushed her away, but when he pushed her, the intense headache came back again. She hugged him again, and his headache was gone. ¡°Please calm down Rein. You have just recovered from an impossible injury. Let me like this for now, it should calmed you down¡± She said while stroking his hair. Rein face lit like a lamp, but he doesn¡¯t have a choices, and it actually felt pretty good for him. ¡°So i died last night huh? Because of that lady in black. Wait- how am i still alive? she shot my chest right in my heart.¡± He asked. ¡°Because of your curse, i don¡¯t know how it healed your wound, but when i materialized last night, you¡¯re already collapsed on the floor with your chest wound closed. I only bandaged you so that the wound won¡¯t open again.¡± He answered. He still doesn¡¯t understand what was happening, but something she said felt off. ¡°How did you know my curse is the one that save me? and even if it save me, why the heck a curse that make my life miserable suddenly helped me?¡± He asked. His voice raised. ¡°Calm down. I know cause i¡¯m a mage spirit. Your curse became incredibly weak after you were healed last night, that¡¯s why i¡¯m able to materialized. So i got into the conclusion that your curse is the one that saved you last night. Also there is some-¡­ no, nothing.¡±She answered. She sound troubled. ¡°What is it?Tell me.¡± Emeralis took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. ¡°I-i don¡¯t know how to say this but, after inspecting your body last night you.. ¡± She pulled herself, her eyes pointed somewhere else.. ¡°Your curse, i don¡¯t know what someone have in mind by doing so.. Okay let just get to the point, you¡¯re not born with a curse, someone cursed you when you were still a child.¡± ¡°What?¡± He asked in disbelieve. ¡°I-i don¡¯t know what someone might get for putting a curse to a little child.¡± She answered. ¡°You mean that all that¡¯s accident was caused by someone?¡± He asked. ¡°Yeah, mor-¡± Before she could finish her sentence, the doorbell rang. ¡°Let me open it, just stay here and finish your tea.¡± Rein still couldn¡¯t put it into his mind, He couldn¡¯t believe what she just said. He squeezed his knee. He was angry like never before, his family, all that people important to him died because someone put that curse on him. A loud sound of explosion came from the front door. The sound distracted him from his thought, without thinking he rushed there. Emeralis was standing in the middle of the lawn, her hair floating like many arm a. A blue aura of magic covered her whole body. The front door was blown without a trace along with the wall around it. ¡°What is happening here?¡± He asked in panic. When he looked, Fear, Uriza, and Eliel were standing in front of Emeralis with weapon in their arm. Albert was trying his best to stop them, but it was a wasted effort. Fear apologized and pushed him aside. ¡°I knew it! I knew i should have killed you yesterday.¡± Fear declared. Her eyes showed determination to kill. Fear charged at Rein. Emeralis knew what she was going to do and tried to intercept her, but Fear was a warrior and Emeralis was a mage, her speed is far superior than Emeralis. In a blink of an eye she was in front of Rein. A sword of light formed in Fear hand. He doesn¡¯t have time to react, he doesn¡¯t even have time to feel anything. The light closed in on his chest. He closed his eye. A sound of sword clashing. When Rein looked at his chest, a black sword was blocking Fear attack. If fear sword was a light that illuminate all, the sword that blocked it was a black hole that absorbed all light. Fear took a step back. He looked at the owner of the sword, a man wearing a white trench was standing beside him. Under his coat he could see a black breastplate, a complete opposite of his coat. His eyes was bizzare, its colour inverted. ¡°Calm down Ladies, I¡¯m here to talk to this man.¡± Said Aldwin. ¡°Move aside! if you¡¯re going to stand in the way then i also have to struck you down.¡± Fear threaten Aldwin. Uriza and Eliel stood beside Fear. Aldwin laugh. ¡°Oh! You want to try?¡± Aldwin replied. ¡°What is happening here?¡± Rose and father Marcus asked when they arrived. ¡°Rose?¡± Rein eyes widen in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re late Rose!¡± Aldwin complained, his hand on his hips. She looked at the situation. ¡°Why don¡¯t we settle this inside the church and talk it out? Instead of slashing at each other throat.¡± She asked. Rein told Emeralis to stand down, and Albert also do the same to his spirits. ¡°You too Aldwin¡± They lowered their weapon, but the hostility could still be felt on everyone skin. The situation was really awkward. Rose sat at the end of the table, while Albert and Rein in the middle, opposite to each other. Each spirit stood behind their respective master. Rose asked Father Marcus to stay outside. ¡°So can you tell me about what is happening here?¡± Rose asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­. I just wake up and suddenly, an explosion happened.¡± Rein answered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Rein, for what they have done. I was just here to visit you because you left suddenly yesterday. They have promised they wouldn¡¯t do anything out of the ordinary, but when they saw her, well shit happened.¡± Albert answered, pointing at Emeralis. ¡°Uriza, You¡¯re the one who attacked first, why?¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Uriza clenched her fist and looked away. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± ¡°Uriza, Please!¡± Albert begged, looking directly at her eyes. Seeing Albert like that, she sighed. ¡°Emeralis¡­ she was my sworn enemy in life, and the one who killed me. We killed each other actually, so of course i would react like that.¡± She answered. Albert, Rein, Rose, and Aldwin were shocked. ¡°I-i¡¯m sorry Uriza.¡± Albert stood up and apologized. ¡°Wait what?¡± Rose asked. ¡°That¡¯s strange, spirit don¡¯t usually met someone they knew when they was summoned, much less their sworn enemy.¡± ¡°Is that true?¡± Rein asked Emeralis. ¡°Well, half true. If not for her final suicide attack, i would have survived that.¡± Emeralis answered. Hearing that, Uriza couldn¡¯t hold her anger back. ¡°IF NOT FOR YOUR COWARDLY TACTIC I WOULD HAVE KILLED YOU!¡± Uriza screamed as she punched the table. Uriza almost fired a fireball, but Albert stopped her by standing in front of her. ¡°Please Uriza, calm down!.¡± He said. Uriza took a deep breath. ¡°Yeah, you should listen to your master like a good bitch you are.¡± Emeralis mocked her. ¡°Emeralis!¡± Rein scolded her. ¡°Oh, shut up!¡± Aldwin shouted. ¡°Set aside your petty grudge for another time, the game of spirit is happening right now!¡± ¡°Game of Spirit?¡± All of them were surprised. ¡°Damn it! for us to be summoned at such time.¡± Uriza complained. ¡°Really? shouldn¡¯t you realize by now that spirit as strong as yourself can only be summoned around the time the game start? Not to mention spirit as strong as you should be able to feel the change in the air.¡± Rose asked. ¡°We know that, it¡¯s just¡­..¡± Uriza answered. ¡°Wait-wait! what the fuck is going on here, what is this game of spirit?¡± Albert asked. ¡°Yeah what are you talking about?¡± Rein also asked. ¡°If you wanted to know more, why don¡¯t we go somewhere else? Someone who know more about it will tell you in detail.¡± Rose asked. Albert and Rein looked at each other, they were hesitant, but from the way they speak, it is something important. They both nodded.. ¡°Then it settled then.¡± Rose stood from his chair and started walking outside. Rein raised his arm ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just wake up,at least let me take a shower and have a breakfast first.¡± Rein answered. ¡°Just don¡¯t take too long.¡± She replied. Even if their spirit was uneasy about this, Albert and Rein agreed to go with Rose. After Rein took a shower and had a breakfast he returned to the church. A military truck already parked in front of the church to take them. Unlike yesterday, the warehouse had become more like a military compound. Barbed fences covered the perimeter, guard stood watch on the watchtower and the roof, soldiers were jogging and training all around. When they got inside, Arthur had already waiting for them inside his command center, surrounded by desk and monitor. ¡°Welcome! Rein, Albert, and.. spirits¡± Arthur greeted them. ¡°I¡¯m Arthur, the leader of the heroic faction. Please, take a seat.¡± They sat on the chair that had been prepared for them. ¡°Nice to meet you Arthur, you seems to know our name.¡± Rein replied. ¡°Well let¡¯s cut to the point. You came here wanted to know more about the game of spirit right?¡± He asked. They both nodded. Arthur explained to them about the Game of Spirit and its rule. Of course, Albert and Rein had difficulties understanding and accepting what Arthur had just explained. ¡°How the Heck can someone call this a game, when people are staking their life on this?¡± Albert asked. ¡°Because most people didn¡¯t gamble their life, most just use their spirit to fight and escape if their spirit are defeated.¡± Arthur answered. ¡°But spirit are human too!¡± Albert yelled. ¡°Not many share your sentiment you know. Some spirit even prefer to be treated as nothing but a tool, a means to an end.¡± ¡±For people and spirit to fight each other like this. such a game must have a very extraordinary reward then?¡± Rein asked. ¡°Indeed, the reward are usually a legendary artifact.¡± Arthur answered. ¡°So people killed each other just for some fucking artifact?¡± Albert asked. ¡°¡®just¡¯ is not the right word. Each of these artifact have enough power to change the world, or empower a man to change it, even if it was just a lesser artifact. The best example for this would be the last century game of spirit that happened during the world war I, the battle of somme. The detail wasn''tclear, but the winner was a german soldier. He won a lesser artifact, The golden swastika, which said to be able to grant its wearer a great charisma, leadership and charm, enough to take over a country by word alone. But after the war, he was seriously injured, so he gave it to his friend, Adolf Hitler. And look what happened if the wrong person get hold of an artifact.¡± Arthur explained. ¡°You said about faction-faction, what are those?¡± Rein asked. ¡°You could say that faction are an ancient organization, created in ancient times even before the great disaster. There are 7 faction: Hero, Warrior, Hunter, Holy, Evil, Mage, Secret. Though recently the holy faction renamed to church faction, the evil became devil faction, and the secret became assassin faction. Each faction has their own goal in mind. We the heroic faction seeks to maintain peace and reduce the amount victim when a conflict was unavoidable, for conflict is within human nature and completely erasing them was impossible.¡± Arthur answered. ¡°Then what about this century reward, what would you do if you win it?¡± Reinasked. ¡°We WILL win it, for this time game spirit, the stake are too high. The winner of this century game will be rewarded with The Source, a virtually unlimited magic generator. Since it was unlimited, anything should be possible, even granting immortality, world domination, or any wish at all. And when we win it¡­¡­¡­ I¡¯m going to personally destroy it myself.¡± ¡°WHAT?¡± Albert asked. His voice loud. ¡°If it was unlimited magic, shouldn¡¯t you use it for creating world peace? You said it yourself, the heroic faction main objective was to maintain world peace. Why did you want to destroy it?¡± ¡°Then how? How do we create world peace? What the artifact do was provide you with unlimited supply of magic, if you wanted to make your wish come true you have to do it yourself. The second problem is because power corrupt. Let¡¯s say i use the source to create world peace, but what if i become angry? What if i become crazy? Who could stop me then? ¡± He answered. ¡°The best we could do is destroy that thing, so it doesn¡¯t fall on the wrong hand.¡± ¡°Wait a minute, you explained as if this game was held by someone.¡± Rein said. ¡°Not someone, but Gaia, the spirit of earth itself, she was the one who gave the winner the artifact. Even if we, the factions, didn¡¯t participate, a random person that happened to be in the area would be given the prize, but since no one wanted a random person to win a powerful artifact, so we participated. But there are usually something called supervisor, when a game of spirit happened, the area surrounding it will have its magical density in air,water, and ground a significant increase. People with power who lived there usually wanted to collect all of that magic, so they act as supervisor, watching and regulating the game while they were collecting the magic,but they can¡¯t be trusted completely because they might betray us in the end and take the prize for themselves.¡± ¡°Now that you know about all of this. I was hoping that we could worked together and form an alliance to win this game. What do you say?¡± Arthur asked. He extended his hand. Albert and Rein was still thinking. ¡°Albert, we may not be able to save everyone, but if you help us, we will be able to save more live than without you.¡± After thinking for a while, Albert agrees. He won¡¯t let innocent people die on his watch, he had enough. ¡°What about you Rein?¡± Arthur asked. Rein closed his eyes, thinking. ¡°No,¡± He answered quick. Deal With The Devil - 3 Rein closed his eyes and remembered about Iris. She was still in coma, her condition was getting worse everyday, and the doctor couldn¡¯t do anything, even with the combination of magic and modern medicine. ¡°No!¡± He answered quick. ¡°What? Rein?¡± Albert was surprised. ¡°Well it¡¯s normal. After what happened last night it¡¯s normal for you to be scared. But don¡¯t worry, if you don¡¯t want to participate, we will put you under our protection.¡± Arthur replied. He retracted his hand. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that, not because i¡¯m afraid. I want to participate, but I have a wish for myself. A friend of mine and Albert is sick, her condition is getting worse everyday, and the doctor couldn¡¯t do anything. If what are you saying is true, then the source surely can save her, If you wanted to destroy that artifact then we can¡¯t become an allies.¡± ¡°Well good answer anyway, i appreciate your honesty.¡± Arthur replied. His face became serious with no more friendly smile in sight. ¡°If you still wanted to participate, but doesn¡¯t want to cooperate with us, that mean you¡¯re an enemy.¡± Albert stood up and faced Arthur.¡°Wait Arthur. Can¡¯t we use it before destroying it? We destroy it to prevent someone dangerous to use it right, but helping someone is okay right?¡± Albert asked. ¡°Do you listen to my previous argument? Helping someone sick is a noble request of course, but i¡¯m afraid that if we let someone taste its power even for once, they will not part with it. The stake is too high, i can¡¯t allow it!¡± Arthur answered. Albert sat again, his body slumped. After a minute of silence Arthur spoke.¡°You know what, we don¡¯t have to be enemy. It¡¯s a waste to lose someone like you and your spirit. We could cooperate for a time until we eliminate the more crazy and ruthless participant. How about it? We cooperate for a time?¡± Arthur renew his offer. He extended his hand again. Rein looked at Arthur, he doesn¡¯t really have a choices here. If they become enemy then right now he is in the middle of an enemy base. "Well okay. I myself doesn''t really know what to do. Having an experienced ally would be a great help." He shook Arthur hand. Smile returned to Arthur face. "It''s decided then." Arthur smiled. ¡°Now i want to give both of you something, as a token of our cooperation.¡± Arthur took a box from under the table and placed it on the table. Inside, there were 3 phone-like item inside. ¡°This is a scanner. It work like a D-ranked scanning magic, unreliable, but better than nothing. To use it, you just point it at someone, it¡¯s effective up to 50 meter. You can use it on either animal, human, spirit, demon, or any living thing. Let me show it to you.¡± Arthur pointed the scannerat Emeralis.
Name: Emeralis Master: Rein Constantine
Class: Mage Subclass: Necromancer, Elementalist, Arcanist.
Original location: ? Spirit Rank A+(A)
Parameter
Health 500 Mana 1800
Strength D Magical power A
Agility C Luck C
Endurance E Special Power B
Physical Resistance E Magical Resistance B
¡°And, you get the result! This item is very important to measure your enemy battle power. However i must warn you since the scanner could only scan the parameter, don¡¯t be too focused on parameter rank, because there are other factor like skill, knowledge, and servant compability that take place in battle. Anything you want to ask?¡± ¡°This item is convenient, but i still don¡¯t understand what does the rank mean. If a normal person is scanned what would it look like? Also what is the range of the rank?¡± Rein asked. ¡°The range is from F- up to A++. An average adult would have all of their perimeter E with 300-400 health and 100-200 mana. though i can¡¯t really say how much stronger they becomewhen it became D, but i can say that having a C stat is almost impossible for a normal human.¡± ¡°Also what is this signature power?¡± Albert asked. ¡°Signature power is¡­ like the name suggest a signature power that only that spirit posses, it can be in the form of an item, magic, or skill. Only an A- ranked spirit or higher have these power, we usually call them legendary spirit. The best example would be King Arthur, he would have Excalibur or caliburn, Prydwen,Rhongomiant, and few other. The signature power itself act like an identity for the spirit, just by mentioning Excalibur, other would have know it¡¯s king Arthur.¡± After explaining a few more thing to Rein and Albert, they finally stopped asking question. Rose wanted to say something to Arthur in private, she told the other to wait outside. "Is this really okay Arthur? Having an amateur joining the fight like this. Wouldn''t it be better if they just give us the key." Rose asked with a solemn face. "My first plan was to put them under our protection. The thing is Rose, something happened last night." Arthur answered. He turned on a monitor in his table. The monitor showed a surveillance camera footage of a subway station. In there, a man with a key mark in his hand was sitting on the floor, he almost cry. Another man, with a white hair and black jacket that was facing away from the camera, was holding a gun at his head, demanding him to transfer the key. The man slowly nodded in fear, but during the transfer, the man on the ground suddenly screamed in pain, and when the transfer was complete,he fell on the ground, his body lifeless. "The supervisor didn¡¯t tell us everything, the key was connected to the owner soul. If the key was transferred so will the soul of the key bearer." Arthur said. "Of course, it was dangerous to let an amateur fight, so that why i wanted to ask you a favor, two actually." ¡°Okay, what is it?¡± Rose raised her eyebrows in surprise, it was rare for Arthur to ask others for a favor. ¡°Teach Rein to become a proper mage, be his mentor.¡± "W-why me?" Rose asked. "You''re the one who know him. It''s better to be teached by someone you already know." Arthur Answered. "At first i wanted to teach both Albert and Rein, but their spirit hated each other. That¡¯s why i asked you to teach Rein." Arthurstood from his chair and patted on rose shoulder while staring directly into her eyes with a big charming smile. ¡°This is the task that i can only entrust to you Rose, you¡¯re the best mage i know when it come to teaching. I can still remember when you first taught me magic. I will be greatly indebted to you Rose, and to your family.¡± Rose cheek flushed. She averted her gaze and folded her arm. ¡°I-if you say it like that i can¡¯t refuse it, b-but I do it for the heroic faction, n-not for you.¡± Arthur chuckled. ¡°W-what''s so funny?¡± She asked. ¡°Nothing, you just look cute like that.¡± Something broke inside her mind. His answer and his smile made all of her gear into an overdrive. ''Quickly think of something Rose! Change the subject!'' She thought herself.¡°T-t-the other favor! W-what about the other favor you wanted to ask?¡± Arthur returned to his usual serious demeanor.¡°The news recently, has mostly been about a serial killer who mutilated its victim, i believe it was done by a spirit, most likely from the devil faction. I wanted to ask if you can look to that issue, since all of our member have their hand full on other issue¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. She calmed herself down.¡°Well okay, i guess i can look to it starting tonight,but i need some information first.¡± ¡°Okay, but before that, call the other inside. I want to tell them something .¡± Rose called the other back inside the command center, but before Arthur could talk again. Someone barged into the command center. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS ARTHUR?" Herman yelled, his face was stiff and his movement rough. "I was out on a mission, and when I came back, I came back to THIS! Not only you let Acturus who summoned a demon to join us, you also let this random kid who also summoned another demonic spirit to become our allies? Not to mention we only cooperate!" "Herman! I''m the leader here! This is my decision, and it''s final! We need all the help we can get!" Arthur answered. "I cant accept this! You''re trampling what your father have worked for many years."Herman yelled back. Arthur slammed his fist on the table. ¡°DO NOT TALK ABOUT MY FATHER!¡± Arthur yelled, his face red with anger. Everyone was surprised. It was rare to see Arthur lose his composure, even for Herman and Rose who knew him since Arthur was still a child. ¡°What did you do on that day huh? NOTHING! Don''t talk to me about my father, when even you left him on that day!¡± Arthur sat on his chair and covered his face with his hand. ¡°Fuck this shit!.....You know that i''m not the only one who is against your decision right? Many of our member don''t want demon walking around our rank!¡± Arthur didn''t answer, he stay silent. Seeing his inaction, Herman stormed out from the room. ¡°Who the hell was that? Acting like that?¡± Emeralis asked, she looked annoyed. ¡°Herman, Arthur lieutenant. He have a problem with demonic spirit.¡± Rose answered, her shoulder slumped. Rose was sitting with both of her leg together and her head faced down. ¡°Arthur... I think, I should leave for now.¡± She spoke with a small voice. Arthur opened his face. ¡°I''m sorry Rose, even as the leader, I coul¡±dn''t help you. That what Arthur was going to say, but Aldwin intervene. ¡°For fuck sake! you make me feel terrible for once with your lover drama. You know what, I take responsibility. But rather than that call Herman here! I have something to say to him.¡± Aldwin looked annoyed. ¡°Let me show him something, let me have a duel with his spirit. When I win then everyone should just get over it.¡± ¡°And if you lose?¡± Arthur asked. ¡°I won''t, not to some heroic spirit.¡± He answered quick. ¡°What do you think Rose? The decision is in your hand.¡± Arthur asked. Rose looked at Aldwin and Arthur. ¡°Don''t lose Aldwin! If you lose I won''t forgive you!¡± She answered. Aldwin smiled. After that was decided, Arthur called Herman and told him about it, of course, he accepted the challenge without a second thought. Everyone there was also notified of their duel. The location of the duel was an open area not too far from there. The location was perfect for a duel, it was an abandoned open area with short building surrounding it, the spectator could watch the duel from the top of the building. The location was quite remote that even if someone searched there, they wouldn''t find the warehouse. Herman called his spirit who was sleeping in the barrack. His spirit was a middle aged man with a goatee. The red cape he wore over a roman armor was fluttered by the wind.. The spirit took out a spear, one and a half his own height with a long blade and a cross stabilizer, it looked to be a well made, but other than that there was nothing special about it. "Dammit Herman, I don''t want to fight an ally." Said that man. His face showed no determination at all. He yawned. "Be serious old man." Aldwin drew his spear, a long black spear with its handle covered with a white fabric. "I''m serious alright, it just my face is always like this. It''s just who i am." He scratched his head. "You''re also a spear user huh?" The air was unusually calm even as both emitted a strong aura. They walked closer at each other. Both knew that their opponent was dangerous. Albert, Arthur, Rose, Rein, and their spirits watched from one of the rooftops. ¡°That is his spirit? He doesn''t look that strong¡± Albert asked. ¡°Don''t judge a book by it''s cover, just look! his spirit is one of the strongest in the heroic faction.¡± Arthur answered. Aldwin and his opponent circled the arena while pointing their spear at each other. Herman spirit swung his spear , and blocked by Aldwin who also swung his spear, they both move in slow motion. Their spear clashed, creating a distinct sound. They stared each other for a short time. Smile appeared in both of their face. Then the calmness before was gone. The sound of spear clashing like a machinegun. A storm of death, a fight between two raging beast, that was the only way Rein could describe the scene he saw. Both moved too fast for his eyes to catch. Each time their spear met, a spark flew and and the sound of clashing metal was heard. Aldwin slashed leaved a black afterimage, while his opponent leaved a green one. And when their spear clashed it created a gale strong enough to be felt by those who watched, even if they were standing 20 meter from the fight. After a few moment that felt like eternity, they both jumped back. There were a few scratches on both of their face and hand, but other than that neither one of their assault was a success, each of their slash and thrust was either blocked, dodged, or parried by the other. Their were both evenly matched. They both smiled. "What are you doing? Get serious!" Herman shouted. "Don''t lose Aldwin! I won''t forgive you if you lose!" Rose shouted. Everyone there also started shouting the one they rooting for, some shouting Herman, the other shouting Rose, which is a bit strange in Rein ears, as they weren''t the one who fight. "Well, fun time over." Said Herman spirit while smiling. He assumed a low stance and held his spear in a thrusting motion, one hand near the end of the handle and another on the middle. He emitted a strong aura and killing intent, the sheer magic that overflowed outside turned the air around him to a green hue. Aldwin walked at him slowly. "Using your power already.....Hector of Troy?" Aldwin asked. His opponent was surprised. He pulled his spear and returned to normal standing position and smiled. "Well, I''m surprised that you''re able to know who i am before i even release my signature power." Hector replied. "What more surprising is that you are able to match me in spear fighting when your main weapon isn''t not spear." "Heh! compliment won''t get you anywhere." Aldwin replied with a smirk. "That was Hector? Hector of Troy?" Rose asked. Her eyes opened wide, Hector was one of the strongest spirit she knew, an A+ ranked spirit. She was amazed to see such a legendary hero before her own eyes. She prepared a powerful scanning spell and pointed it at Hector.
Name: Hector Master: Arno Gothard Herman
Class: Warrior, Mounter Subclass: Spearman, charioteer
Original location: Troy, Turkey Spirit Rank A+
Parameter
Health 1360/1400 Mana 400
Strength A Magical power E
Agility A Luck C
Endurance C Special Power A
Physical Resistance C Magical Resistance C
Skill
Spear Mastery: B
The ability to use Spear, Lance, and Javelin with great proficiency. Hector was a great warrior who have proven his skill in using spear in both the battlefield and training ground.
Riding: B
Ability to use all kind of non magical transportation with above average skill, and the ability to use a low level magical transportation.
Battle instinct: C
Natural instinct of someone who has faced countless battle. The ability to sense and feel the flow of battle
Signature power
Spear of Troy
Rank: A Type:Weapon
The legendary Spear of Troy used by Hector in the Trojan War. When activated, emita green aura surrounding Hector. Tremendously increase the attack power of Hector to the point that a single swing create an explosion strong enough to blow a chariot or a group of fully armed soldier.
¡°This is the perfect example of how skill can overcome the difference in power. His parameter is really high, much higher than Aldwin, but both of them fight evenly, meaning that Aldwin should have spear mastery: A or higher. ¡± Said Arthur. "Ready your own special power then, do you think you can survive this without your special power?" Hector asked. He returned to his previous stance, and once again green aura came from his body. Aldwin spread his arm arm wide. His spear transformed into a black fog that swirled around him like a cyclone. The black fog moved to Aldwin hand and formed a great shield that looked to be carved out of stone. "PIERCE! SPEAR OF TROY!" Hector thrusted his spear. The green aura swirled around the head of the spear, creating an image of a giant spear. When Hector spear and Aldwin shield me, the immense amount of magical energy both used collided, causing an explosion. The light from the explosion was so bright it blinded all those who saw it. The sound was heard from hundred of meter away. And the explosion created a huge crater, 10 meter in diameter. The Spear of Troy was stopped. It pierced Aldwin shield, but lost all of its power before touching Aldwin. "Well that was surprising, not only you¡¯re able to match me using a spear, you''re able to stopped my Spear of Troy in its track. Something not many can say." Hector praised Aldwin. "Yet, I still don¡¯t have a slightest idea who you are, someone as strong as you must be famous right?." "I''m Aldwin. You complimented me, But you stopped only after one attack, why?" Aldwin asked. The spear of troy wasn¡¯t a power that consume a lot of mana, Hector could use it multiple time if he wanted to. Hector chuckled and jumped out the crater. "It''s my lost then Aldwin, it was fun fighting you. From now on, we shall fight together as an ally." Hector said as he walked away. Deal With The Devil - 4 "Why didn¡¯t you get serious? And to give up? That¡¯s really unlike you.." Herman asked as Hector approached him. "Cause my enemy is also not serious." Hector answered with a tired smile on his face. ¡°And what make you think like that?¡± Herman asked, his face annoyed. ¡°First, From the way he fight, i know that his main weapon isn¡¯t even a spear. From the way he handle his spear, I think he¡¯s actually a swordsman. Think about it, if a swordsman fight with spear and he¡¯s that good, what if he use his sword, not to mention that when he first appear no one could sense his presence, that is the signature skill of assassin class, and that black fog of him, he might as well be a mage. Tell me Herman do you know a spirit, demon or hero, who is that versatile?¡± ¡°A few. King Arthur, Hercules, maybe more, i can¡¯t remember, why does it matter?¡± Hector sat on the rooftops next to Herman. ¡°Don¡¯t you get what i¡¯m trying to say?¡± "Gah! Whatever, guess it¡¯s my loss then." Herman said. Hector laughed. Aldwin jumped out from the crater and walked to Rose. Her face show it all. "What? You worried I might lose?" He asked with a smirk. ¡°You¡¯re bad partner you know Rose, having no faith in your spirit like that.¡± "Of course i''m worried! That was Hector of Troy, one of the most famous legendary hero." Rose replied. "But I won right?" He asked with a prideful smile. Rein and Albert watched the crater, they just realized now how strong a legendary spirit, and how dangerous this game really was. By using a spear alone, they created such a huge explosion and a crater. "Well don''t dwell here any longer, let''s go back to the base people!." Arthur ordered. After Aldwin won the fight, and Rose won the bet, people became more accepting of Rose and Aldwin. Of course there are some that still don¡¯t want them there, but they could only show their displeasure. When night came, Arthur accompanied them when they got home. They took a jeep to the city square and from there they parted and walked to their respective home. Before they parted, Rose called Rein. ¡°Rein, if you wanted to survive in this game you have to be a proper mage first. Right now you can barely support your spirit, so starting from tomorrow you¡¯ll be my apprentice, i hope that you have no problem with that?¡± Rose asked. ¡°No. Arthur already told me earlier, and you look really capable.¡± Rein answered. ¡°I¡¯ll be in your care then.¡± ¡°Good¡± Rose replied as she walked away. ¡°Uh.. Rose!¡± Rein called. She turned her head to him. ¡°Isn¡¯t your home this way? The same as mine?¡± ¡°I got something to take care of first. Take a good rest tonight Rein, you¡¯re going to need it tomorrow¡­ and merry christmas Rein¡± ¡®Oh yeah, christmas!¡¯ he thought. After what happened recently, he had completely forgotten about christmas and new year. The night was the complete opposite of the day before. A lot People walked from one end of the street to the other without looking at their surrounding, only focused on their own phone. Car, motorcycle, taxi still filled the street. The skyscraper that filled the business district were all lit up. Rein couldn¡¯t believe that place was empty the day before, and he died because he went there. ¡°Emeralis, let¡¯s go home.¡± He said to Emeralis that was looking at the skyscraper .Her mouth and eyes were wide open like a child. ¡°You look happy¡­ you have been quiet and gloomy since morning.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe human could make something like that without magic.¡± She looked at Rein.¡±We spirit get the general knowledge of this age when we were summoned, but looking it in person¡­.. I don¡¯t even have a word to describe it. Also i was quiet and gloomy because we¡¯re with Uriza the whole day, not to mention that girl spirit was keeping his creepy eyes on me.¡± Emeralis replied. ¡®You mean Rose spirit? A-Al-Aldowin or something like that, you afraid of him?¡° Rein asked. ¡°Not afraid, how do i say it? he¡¯s just.. Unsettling. Something inside me just can¡¯t help but feel restless near him ¡± Emeralis answered. The walked home slowly while enjoying the winter night. The snowflake that was falling decorated the night like a thousand lamp in the air. He could see his own white breath every time he exhaled, but his jacket keep his body warm. He looked at Emeralis that was walking behind him, still looking around. He noticed that she wore a clothes that revealed her stomach, and a mini skirt. ¡°Are you not cold? Wearing clothes like that.¡± He asked. ¡°No, with my magic i can ke¡­.¡± She stopped midway and smiled. She hugged Rein from behind. Rein jumped at the sudden sensation, her chest pressing against the back of his neck. His face became red.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°W-what are you doing?¡± He flustered. He only noticed it now, Emeralis was actually really tall, about a head taller than him. ¡°It¡¯s COLD!¡± She hugged him tighter. ¡°He-Hey! People are looking at us.¡± Rein complained. Emeralis chuckled. ¡°Your face is really funny Master! You never have a girlfriend before do you?¡± She asked, teasing him. ¡°Girlfriend?¡± He stopped walking. He looked down, and remembered about Iris condition. Emeralis noticed his change of mood. ¡°I-i¡¯m sorry Master, i-¡± ¡°No! Thank you Emeralis, we will save Iris together, and after that i¡¯ll confess to her.¡± Rein replied.. Emeralis smiled and hugged him again. ¡°AHHH! How can you say you¡¯re going to confess to another girl master, when this girl here is hugging you really tight?¡± She teased him. ¡°Also, call me Elis from now on.¡± Rein face became even more red. ¡°E-elis, please let me go.¡± ¡°NO WAY!¡± She hugged him even tighter. When they finally arrived home, the church was already dark. they walked around the church, and realized something. Their house front door was blown away in the morning. The debris and pieces of wall was still scattered around the lawn. After what happened today he had completely forgot about the condition of his own house. ¡°Lets just get inside first, we can take care of this tomorrow.¡± Said Rein. ¡°Actually Master.¡± Elis replied. She took a piece of the wall and started chanting something. The next instant, the debris that was scattered started hovering and flew together to create a wall. The wall moved to its original position, and not long after that, the wall has returned to its original condition, albeit with some crack and no door. ¡°It¡¯s not perfect, but it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± ¡°Wow!¡± Rein didn¡¯t know what to say. He have heard that some mage can repair a broken vase or something along that line, but he never heard a mage repaired a blown out wall before, and without much effort no less. The amount of magic and concentration needed to pick every pieces up, move them, and put them together must be immense. They walked inside and sat in the living room. Rein was still uncomfortable with the fact that Elis was going to live with him in his house. Now he understood why Albert was acting that way yesterday. ¡°So how are we supposed to make this contract? I know how to make one with an animal spirit, but for a humanoid one...¡± He asked. ¡°First we have to decide what kind of relationship we are going to make. For an animal it was obvious it always either an owner-pet relation or a friend relation. For human, or a sentient creature like elemental, the possibility become endless. We have to be careful though, since it''s really hard to change it once it''s made. So what do you want us to become, master?¡± ¡°Uhhh-¡± He was unsure. ¡°Lover? Slave and master? Object and Owner? Or are you going to see me as a pet?¡± She leaned her face and licked her lips, teasing him . ¡°W-what are you thinking? Anyway what kind of person would treat their spirit like that?¡± ¡°Haha Just kidding! But think about it, you have a woman you can order as you wish, whose existence dependant on you, wouldn''t you use her to your heart content? Fulfilling your fantasy?¡± ¡°Well if you put it that way¡­. maybe there are some that might do that, not me. Also aren''t spirit able to reject if ordered like that?¡± ¡°Yes, but If the master is an expert mage, they can bind spirit to their will, forcing them to do as the master wishes.¡± Elis placed her face on the side of Rein head and whispered. ¡°But I won''t refuse if you wanted to do anything naughty to me. ¡± Rein stood up, walked to the other side of the table and sat on another chair. He hid his face, unable to stand the teasing. Elis chuckled. ¡°Okay let''s be serious here. I give you some suggestion. Why don''t I become your servant?¡± She asked. ¡°In what sense?¡± ¡°In the sense that I become your kind of your maid.¡± ¡°If you put it that way... okay. I don''t have any other idea anyway.¡± He answered. ¡°Your hand please.¡± She took his hand and kissed it. A dragon tattoo emerged from the back of his right hand. It caused slight pain, but nothing more. ¡°Now the contract is done. Remember that my power depend on you acknowledging me as your servant. If our feeling aren''t mutual it could have a significant impact on my power.¡± She smiled. ¡°Understood.. Master?¡± ¡°Umm.. what do you mean?¡± She sighed. ¡°Master! Didn¡¯t you listen Arthur explanation before why my current power is reduced?¡± He shook his head. ¡°There are a few thing that could affect a spirit power, but two of the most important is the master and the relationship. If the master is not a proper mage and unable to supply their spirit with mana, the spirit would unconsciously reduced their power so that they don¡¯t burn all of their mana and end up vanishing. Both you and Albert suffered from the first one. The second is the relation between the master and servant. For example, you have to see me as your servant and i have to see you as my master, if one of us didn¡¯t do our role as our contract say, the contract will become weaker and so does the spirit.¡± She explained. Suddenly a bell ring inside the house. ¡°What was that?¡± She asked. ¡°Oh, father Marcus is calling me. My father put a bell inside the house that is connected to the church, so he can call me from the church, since he rarely ever come here. Wait here okay?¡± Rein asked. She nodded. The church light was all turned off, but there were a few candle that was lit inside, making it feel gloomy. Father Marcus wasn¡¯t in the chapel. Rein looked at all the side room, but Father Marcus was nowhere to be found. Rein sat on one of the chair inside, waiting for father Marcus. He thought it himself, what business Father Marcus could have as he rarely ever call him . -------- As Rein entered the church, someone walked from the lawn and entered his house. Elis heard a footstep and looked at it¡¯s source. It was too fast to be her master. She prepared a spell in case of an enemy. The figure entered the room where Elis was waiting, it was Father Marcus. ¡°Father Marcus? Didn¡¯t you call Rein to the Church?¡± ¡°I do, but first i have to tell you something¡­ Emeralis isn¡¯t it?¡± He answered. ¡°Yes¡± Father Marcus walked near Elis. ¡°I¡¯m grateful of you for taking care of Rein, he looked really happy to have a spirit¡­ but that won¡¯t be needed anymore.¡± Elis released the spell, knowing full well what he meant, but her spell dissipated. Pain assaulted her like being struck by a lightning in her back. she was paralyzed, unable to move anything but her eyeball. She grunted. Father Marcus started chanting something and chain emerged from the ground, chaining her already paralyzed body. Father Marcus continued his chanting, this time he created a wall of light around Elis. Wide grin appeared in his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my rude behaviour to you, but i don¡¯t want you to disturb my work. Three binding miracle should be able to hold you long enough.¡± Father Marcus turned his back. ¡±Wait here and be a good girl please, i need to eliminate the keybearer that is waiting for me in the church.¡± First Night of the Game - 1 The church door creaked open. Rein stood up. ¡°Father Marcus, where were you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Rein, i have something to take care first. Come to the altar please, i have something to give to you.¡± father Marcus closed the door and locked it. ¡°What is it?¡± Rein asked. They both moved next to the altar. Father Marcus took out a cross like sword. ¡°This is the sword that your father gave to me before he moved here 15 years ago.¡± He wiped the sword. ¡°It¡¯s an excellent blade, made from a high quality material, and enchanted with a high miracle.¡± Blood was dripping from Rein mouth. The bloodied cross came out from his back, but his shock and confusion at who did that to him eclipsed the pain he felt. With a trembling mouth he asked. "W-W-Why?" "I¡¯m sorry Rein, this is a task the god gave to me." Father Marcus replied with a satisfied smile. Contrary to what he said he showed no sign of remorse or sorry in his face. He pulled the cross and wipe it with a fabric before raising it above his head. "This is a mission the god gave me, and i intend to finish it." Rein dodged it. He tried to run away to the front door, but the door won''t budge no matter how hard he pushed or kicked it. He looked around, the window was too high for him to climb, and going for the side door mean that he have to pass Father Marcus, who was walking slowly to him a mad grin on his face and a sword in hand. "Don''t think you can get away, the hammer of judgement will fall on you tonight." "MOVE! Or i¡¯ll hit you with this." Rein shouted. He picked up a wooden chair. Father Marcus wasn''t deterred by his threat. Rein gritted his teeth, he doesn''t want to hurt him, but he won''t let father Marcus just kill him like that. He bashed father Marcus with the chair. Before it could touch father Marcus, he raised one hand to stop it. The chair was stopped by just one hand, and with another small movement, broken into small pieces. Rein eyes widen in shock. "Oh my! Attacking an executor is a grave sin you know, one punishable by death!" Rein body was blown back by a kick. His body flew 5 meter until it hit the wall and fell to the ground. ''How can a human move like that?'' He thought. It felt like his ribs were broken, and no matter how hard he tried to get up, his arm won''t move. "I used to wonder why Constantine would ever be bothered to take a child like you.....but now i know, he seen it before, he knew that you will become a keybearer." Rein clenched his fist and slammed it on the ground. "My father is not like you!" He screamed. "Of course, if he were in my place right now, he would have killed you on the first attack. I couldn''t help it, god has made me like this, torturing sinner in his name make me really happy." Father Marcus raised his sword again. Father marcus body was blown to the altar, destroying it. Smoke filled the room as the church trembled from a loud explosion. The wooden front door turned into a barrage of shrapnel, skewering any caught in its path. The shattered window showered the interior of the church like a snow, sparkling in the moonlight. "Oh dear,Oh dear! Marcus, Marcus! you should have waited a bit longer." An old man in a wheelchair strolled through the blasted doorway, behind him, a doll like woman pushed his wheelchair. Marcus stood up, with only a few scratches on his now serious face .He took out three dagger that look like a small cross and threw them at the old man. Calvin took out a rifle and shoot the all the daggers midair. Sweat began to form on Marcus head, and his chest heaving rapidly. The woman behind Calvin walked forward, but he stopped her."You take care of the boy." The woman nodded and walked to treat Rein wound. Calvin took something big that was covered with black shroud beside his wheelchair and placed it on his laps. He opened the black covering, It''s a minigun. He pulled the trigger. With a thunderous roar, the minigun shot hundreds of round at Marcus, demolishing any cover he took. Chair, table, pillar, anything he hides behind became full of hole. He escaped to the side door. Like a rabbit that escaped lion clutches and ran to a wolves den, Marcus found himself escaping the hail of bullet only to face Elis outside. She had escaped his binding. Numerous magic circle appeared in the air. ¡°Instant Cast?!¡± Marcus asked in disbelief. Each magic circle shot a destructive magic bolt that could blow the ground. Marcus took one of his cross and planted it on the ground, creating a magical barrier. It shook and it cracked, but it was able to withstood Elis attack. Elis growled. She raised one of her hand and started chanting something with an ancient language. A giant fireball appeared in the sky and hovered 20 meter above the ground, like a mini sun. The light from it illuminate the surrounding house, making it look like it was daytime.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The Fireball shot down like a meteor. Father Marcus raised his cross and moved the magic barrier above his head. He held the cross tightly, pouring all of his mana to maintain the barrier, but even with all his might, it shattered in matter of second. The barrier didn¡¯t stop the fireball, but it gave him enough time to get away,but even then his feet was caught by Elis hair, sending his body to the ground. He swung his sword trying to cut the hair, but the hair was tough as steel. The hair coiled around his leg like a snake. *Crack* His leg broken, but he didn¡¯t scream nor does he look to be in pain. The hair slowly worked its way to all of his body. "CRUSH!" With a simple command, Marcus body bursted into blood. When she retracted her hair, what left was nothing but a lump of flesh,organ, and a pool of blood. "Elis?" She turned to the source of the sound. Rein was carried by a woman. "Let him go!" Elis yelled. Magic circle formed in the air again. From it, a small fireball shot out, but the fireball dissipated mid air. "Stop! They''re friendly." Rein shouted. Elis stopped her magic. "Put me down please, i can stand on my own." Elis ran to him and checked his body. "Master! Are you alright?" "I''m fine Elis, i got a few wound, but she already healed it." Elis was relieved. turned to the woman and the old man in wheelchair beside them. Elis was still on guard, and her eyes showed hostility. "Who are you?" "I''m Calvin, an old man, and a neighbour." Calvin took his hat off and bowed. "And this is doll." The woman beside him also bowed. "It''s fine Elis, they are the one who helped me." Rein calmed her down. She sighed."If you say so master." She kneeled. "I''m terribly sorry master! I let something like this happen, i will accept any punishment." Rein face felt hot looking at Elis like that. He raised her head up. "I-It''s fine Elis, what happened here is also partially my fault." A wide grin formed in Elis face. She jumped and hugged Rein, pressing her chest at his face. "GUH! Your embarrassed face is sooo cute master! I just want to cuddle you like this!." "H-hey s-stop it Elis!" Rein turned his head and saw Calvin and Doll was looking at something at the ground. "What is that?" He asked. Elis face turned solemn. "It would be better if you don¡¯t know Master.." Despite Elis warning, Rein walked near it. He fell on his back when he realized what that blob was, his mouth wide open. His chest weaving rapidly. Elis look away in shame."I-I''m sorry master. I shouldn''t have done that. I could just incapacitated him, but i''m so angry" ¡°Don¡¯t be too shocked Rein.¡± Calvin said. Rein looked at him. ¡°If you want to stay in the game then something like this would happen eventually. You should thanks your spirit for not letting him get away.¡± He took a deep breath. After watching Aldwin fight he knew that something like this would happen, but seeing it first hand still shocked him. "It''s fine Elis." His breathing slowly returned to normal. "You did it to protect me right? It''s okay Elis."Hearing his answer returned smile to her face."but please don''t do it again, a bullet to the head is much better." "Prepare the grave Doll!" Calvin turned to face Rein. "Let me handle this. I know you have a lot of question, but get a rest for tonight, i explained it to you in the morning." He try to stand up, his body still shaking. Elis hold his body, helping him stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go back Elis!¡± He walked back to his house with Elis following. Inside the house Elis asked Rein to take off his jacket and shirt to check his wound. She checked the wound on his back. ¡°Master, canyou tell me who they are?¡± ¡°You mean Calvin and Doll?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know much either. When i moved here they are already lived across the street. For Calvin, I knowthat he¡¯s my fatheracquaintance, they have known each other for a long time. Fatheralways told me to stay away from Calvin, even though he¡¯s nice to everyone. For Doll.. i don¡¯t know. I think no one know but Calvin. She always follows him anywhere, obey his every order, and never speak to anyone but him.¡± Rein looked over his shoulder. ¡°How about my wound?¡± ¡°Is it still hurt?¡± ¡°Not really, it hurt a little as long as i don¡¯t move to much or touch it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s healing well, far too well.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The wound is closed almost perfectly, not to mention she fixed a few of your bones.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that normal? I once saw a spirit who got a big hole in his stomach and it healed in a few minute.¡± ¡°Healing yourself and other is a different matter Master. Healing yourself is easy, you know your own body, your own body is compatible with your mana. That can¡¯t be said for healing other, that¡¯s why it¡¯s strange that your wound heal so well. I can completely heal myself even when i get a severe injury, but healing other to this extent.....¡± ¡°That mean we have to thank them even more then.¡± He answered quick. Hearing his answer made her smile.¡°You should get some rest master.¡± ¡°Yeah we should. you can use the room next to mine Elis¡± He put on his shirt again and stood up. ¡°Master, after what happened earlier, i think we should sleep together.¡± He was surprised by her suggestion. ¡°W-What? N-No way!¡± ¡°What if someone attack you during your sleep. I¡¯m a mage, not a warrior, if someone attack you, i¡¯m not fast enough to run to your side and help you.¡± ¡°We think of a way, but sleeping together is NOT an option, now way! Out of question!¡± He insisted. It was not like he don¡¯t want to sleep with Elis, he bet any straight man would want to sleep with her, but if she was sleeping next to him, there is now way he would be able to get any sleep. He thought a way to convince Elis. ¡°I know, what if you make some kind of sensor so that if anyone get close to this house you will know about it, you can make that right?¡± ¡°I can make that, but like i said before, even if i know someone is coming, i might not be able to act in time if the enemy is too fast.¡± ¡°Uhhh.... What if you make some kind of shield around my room so that no one can get in?¡± ¡°That will eat a lot of my mana to maintain for a night, it just not feasible.¡± ¡°Damn It!... Wait, i just use fatherbedroom, it have no large window so if enemy attack, they have to get inside first. How about that?¡± ¡°That.. might... just.. work.. But-¡± ¡°No but! Let just go with that plan for tonight, okay?¡± He showed Elis her room first before he went to his fatherbedroom. He laid on the bed and exhaustion slowly catching up to him. Lot of thing happened that day. Elis, his spiritshowed up that morning, Thefront door was destroyed and repaired, The Game of Spirit, cooperatingwith the Heroic faction, watching two legendary spirit fight, attacked by Father Marcus and almost get killed, helped by Calvin, and now he''s sleeping in his father bedroom. He smiled. He was surprised by himself, to think that even after what happened today he could still smile. First Night of the Game - 2 Wind blew through the tunnel and out to the surface, hitting her nose, carrying the stench of rotting flesh and blood. She shuddered at the thought what could cause such foul smell. "This must be the place. Not only the trace of magic, even the smell are similar." The smell and the trace of magic were familiar to her, after all, she had gone to the previous crime scene to collect some information about the serial killer. "You sure about this Rose? You can just send me there alone." Aldwin asked. He pulled the chain in front of him that kept the gate closed. She took a deep breath. "I have to. This is my duty as the head of Acturus family, and as the member of heroic faction to solve this problem." "If you say so." Black smoke swirled in his hand and formed a sword in his right hand. He slashed the chain, creating a small spark. "But stay behind me." Rose looked at the sign above the entrance for the final time before she entered. The sign was covered with dust and rust, making it impossible to read. She looked back to the entrance. Aldwin had opened the gate and waiting for her inside.A ball of light was hovering above his opened palm. She walked past the gate with a slow and steady pace, but just as she passed the gate, the air changed. The calm and cold winter night air were gone, replaced by a humid, thick and ominous air. She grimaced for a second before resuming her composed and cold mask. She snapped her finger, creating a ball of light that hovered above her head. Aldwin descended the stair first. The sound of his foot stomping the wet stair and the sound of water dripping from broken pipe echoed on the small stairway. The stairways were dark, there were lamp placed around every 3 meter on the wall, but they were all broken after years of abandonment. The lower she went, the thicker the air and the worse the smell became. When she arrived at the subway station the smell was so bad that she almost vomited, but the sound of something moving in the dark brought her back. Her eyes darted from one end of the room to the other, stopping every now and then to confirm what she saw before resuming. Rat, bug, and other filthy creature filled the place, but that wasn''t what she was looking for. The sound of many small footstep was coming from around her, slowly moving closer and closer, surrounding her. They lunged at her. Dogs, five in number, all came from different direction. ¡°Baze!¡± She waved her hand around. Creating a ball of fire for each dog. When they touched the ball, it burned their body to crisp, leaving nothing but charred corpse. "Mutilating human, Stitched their bodies to a dog, and resurrecting them. Our enemy is a mage classed spirit, a necromancer." Aldwin said. Rose looked at his direction. Aldwin was holding a dog by the neck in his left hand, inspecting it. The dog was still moving and struggling to get out from his hand. He sliced the dog throat open with his sword and tossed it. Around him, there were many more dogs without a head. "What do you mean?" She asked. "Look at them closely! they look like a dog, but actually it''s a human body part that was stitched together to look like a dog." He answered. Rose walked to one of the dog body near Aldwin. Her eyes widen. She covered her mouth and held the vomit in her throat. Tears flowed down her cheek, unable to accept what she just saw. What Aldwin said was true. The dog was an abomination made of human flesh. Their eye, their teeth, their skin, everything was made of human body part stitched together to form a dog. "W-Who could have done such a thing?" Her voice trembled. "Someone, obsessed with dogs, and have no heed to ethic and moral code, and is not afraid of the supervisor." He answered. His voice showed that he doesn''t care about what they have done."They must have a lot of time and spare mana in their hand. Creating something like this is very ineffective, and inefficient, not to mention that the result isn¡¯t that great." Aldwin turned his head to Rose, he felt something strange. All of his five senses doesn¡¯t pick up anything, but his instinct told him that something was coming, heading toward Rose. He Ran to Rose side ,created a spear out of thin air, and spun it around. The sound of multiple metal clashing echoed the underground station. Aldwin deflected multiple dagger, stopping them using his spear. She pointed her finger at the direction of the dagger. "Aldwin! Eliminate them!" Aldwin nodded and charged at their enemy in the darkness with a spear in his hand. Not long after, she already couldn''t see him because of the dark. Growl and footsteps was heard from around her. The sound of dogs running from the tunnel, of them moving through the ventilation. She looked around. Dogs started popping out again the moment Aldwin left.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he tell me about this?¡± She complained. ''10? 20? 30?'' The number of dog was too many for her to count, and they surrounded her from all direction, making her unable to flee. They suddenly stopped moving. A maniac laughter of a woman was heard through the station. Because of the way it echoed, the sound appeared to came from every direction, making Rose unable to track its original location even with magic. "Stupid girl, you shouldn''t have send you spirit away. Now he''s going to walk into a trap and die, but before that, i''m going to show him your cold body, ripped to shred by my precious children, and i''m going to see the despair in his eyes before killing him." She said. Rose smiled. "Don''t underestimate him, he''s strong." "Bluff all you want girl. A heroic spirit like him won''t last a minute inside here, much less a girl like you. My children, shred her to pieces!" ¡°Heroic huh?¡± The dogs started to move again. The one near her lunged at her, while the one that was still far from her ran to her. Rose placed both of her hand in her chest and started an incantation. He body glowing red. She stretched her arm as far as she could. Pillars of flame erupted from the ground. The flame slithered like a snake, incinerating any that touched it. Wall of flame covered her all around, burning any dog that came too close to her. She waved her hand liked before, and numerous ball of fire shot from her hand, blowing any dog that came to contact with it. Before long, all that left was sea of ashes. Rose stood in the middle of all of that without even a single scratch, not even one dog could came close to her, much less touched her. Rose was panting, her chest was moving up and down rapidly, but she tried her best to conceal it from her enemy. She just used multiple B ranked spell at once, it took a lot of her mana. "HOW DARE YOU TURN MY CHILDREN TO ASHES" Her enemy scream. "Your children are so weak, even a thousand of them won¡¯t change the result." Rose answered. "SHUT UP! You! You! You arrogant girl! Let''s see then how you fare with something like this." Fire appeared in front of her, hovering in the air. It started to move, making a pentagram and circle in the middle of the room. "No!" Rose shouted. She casted a spell to stop it, but by the time she realize the spell, it was too late. Bright light filled the room. She covered her eyes with one of her arm while the other prepared a spell for anything that came out from the pentagram. As soon as the light dissipate, she threw a fireball from her arm at her enemy, without waiting to see what it was. Only after she lowered her arm she noticed her own error. The fireball bounced of her enemy cracked pitch black skin without leaving a single trace. Stood before her was a giant double headed dog as tall as Aldwin. Its skin was black like a charcoal with many cracks, revealing a red burning flesh underneath. The innerside of its mouth and its eyes was also red, covered with fire. "He-Hellhound." She took a step back.. "MY CHILDREN! BURN HER WITH THE FIRE SHE SO PROUD OF". The hellhound roared at her command. ------ Aldwin was running along the dark corridor without his ball of light. A tunnel as dark as that was like a well lit room for him because of his skill, but his enemy was still too far away for him to see. He spun his spear around to deflect any incoming dagger that was thrown at him. He was chasing his enemy at full speed, but it doesn''t feel like he made the gap any closer. He stopped his feet to think. A dagger was thrown from the front, he deflected it.A second one came from his right, then the third one from his right, and the fourth one from his back. "Damn!" He noticed it too late.There was no enemy that could be chased to begin with. All the dagger that was thrown was created and thrown at him using magic. The caster was far away and nowhere to be seen. He turned and started running back at his full speed, not even slowing down at corner and turns.He ran, he ran, and he ran for a full minute, but the scenery didn''t change, it was the same dark corridor no matter how far he ran. He couldn''t find his way back to Rose. He stopped when he stepped on something, something that made a distinct metal sound. He crouched down to see what he stepped on, he stepped on the dagger that he deflected before, from the time that he realized all of this was just a trick. ''Did I run in circle? Impossible!'' He thought. He looked at the wall, it felt like he had passed this wall a few time over when he ran before. He scratched the wall with his spear.He ran again, this time he ran straight. He didn''t turn left or right, but after only a few second, he stepped on the same dagger and saw the same wall again with the exact same mark he made before. He laughed as he realized. "How could i be tricked by such a simple illusion?"He gripped his spear with both hand. The spear transformed into a box, a small black box that he could grip with only one hand. He opened and raised it above his head. His vision started to distort, the world turned upside down, and crack appeared in the air, until finally the whole illusion world shattered and crashed down on him. A sabre was held at his throat. Holding it was a man not too different from him. The enemy in front of him was around as tall as him, with a white hair that was a contrast with the dark surrounding. His eyes were also the same as him, white pupil and black sclera. "You? You''re a demon too?" The man asked with his eyes wide open in disbelief, he gritted his teeth. Aldwin stayed calm unlike his enemy, he doesn''t find his enemy appearance to be something surprising. "Traitor!" Aldwin noticed an opening when his enemy was surprised. He parried the sabre in his neck with his spear, pushing it away from him.They both took a step back. His enemy raised his sabre and assumed a stance, he expected an attack from Aldwin. Instead, Aldwin ran away from there the instant he pushed his sabre back, not even bothering to look at what his enemy was doing. Aldwin ran back, sensing that Rose was in danger and needed him, but his enemy won''t just let him ran away without a fight. Multiple dagger were thrown at him. Aldwin dodged, turned his body, transformed his spear into a bow, fired several arrow in retaliation, and continue running without slowing his pace. He heard a beeping sound from a wall somewhere in front of him. His instinct told him to stop. ''STOP!'' his instinct screamed at him. First Night of the Game - 3 Aldwin stopped his feet, but the dust on the floor made him glide for half a meter. He leaned his body back and spread his feet wide to balance his sudden stop. The beeping sound became more frequent. Just one meter in front of him, the wall exploded, collapsing the corridor and blocking his way back to his partner. His ears were ringing from the explosion. The dust and debris from explosion filled the air, blocking his vision and making the air harder to breath. He turned his body back, and deflected a few dagger thrown at him. He transformed his bow into a sword in his right hand and charged at his enemy the demon. His enemy blocked it with his sabre. His enemy strength wasn¡¯t all that impressive as he was able to push him back with ease. "Spear, Bow, Sword, and Magic, not to mention you''re able to hide your presence. What kind of spirit are you?" His enemy asked. Aldwin stayed silent. Both used only one hand in their fight. Sword and sabre clashed at each other multiple times in a second, producing a spark that illuminated the dark tunnel, revealing a multiple corpses laying around. The sound of their fight reverberated through hundred of meter of underground tunnel. Rose would have heard it, if she wasn''t occupied with her own fight with the hellhound. Their fight was an elegant dance, they pushed each other back and forth, they spun around each other and around the pillar. Aldwin had the upper hand in that fight, but his enemy knew the area far too well and used it to his advantage. The demon maneuvered around a pillar and slashed from the other side, making it harder for Aldwin to hit him. Not one of Aldwin attack have been a good hit, it only scratched his enemy at best. Sweat started to form in both of their face. Not wanting to drag this fight any longer, Aldwin formed a spear in his left hand and using it in tandem with the sword, creating an unusual pattern and style of fighting. It became harder and harder for the demon to keep Aldwin at bay now that Aldwin used two weapon to attack him. With the spear, Aldwin attack became much faster and his range increased. The demon jumped back and wiped the blood from his cheek. The wound he got from Aldwin keep getting bigger and bigger, he couldn''t keep him at bay anymore. The demon hide behind a pillar for a breather, thinking that Aldwin couldn¡¯t possibly attack him if he hide there. He rolled forward at the right time, Aldwin spear pierced the pillar. If he was late even for a second, Aldwin spear would have pierced his chest from behind the pillar. ¡°Do you think a concrete pillar is going to stop me? You surely have never face a high ranked spirit before.¡± Aldwin asked and pulled his spear. Their sword clashed again, but this time Aldwin destroyed his sabre. Chill run down his spine and he was sweating like a waterfall. He looked back at Aldwin, his sword and spear now gone, replaced by a huge bow and a glowing arrow. Aldwin had drew the bow to the fullest. Without thinking, he ran and hid behind the thickest pillar he could find. ''Damn you Angela! You never told me he was a demon, my magic is useless against another of our kind. Damn you! Da-''mn. His body was thrown to the wall as the pillar behind him exploded. Blood spurted out from a hole in his stomach like a fountain. Aldwins arrow demolished a half a meter thick concrete wall before piercing his stomach and the wall in front of him. He pushed his body from the wall,trying to stand up and ran away, but Aldwin was already standing in front of him, kicking his face and sent his body across the room. "You''re strong for a master, but still nothing when compared to a spirit." Aldwin said. He readied his bow again. "ANGELA!" The demon shouted. A black portal opened behind him,a hand and a chain came from the portal, dragging his body back to the portal. Aldwin shot an arrow, but the hand covered the man, and took the arrow for itself. It exploded, sacrificing itself to save the man. Before Aldwin could attack again, the portal was closed and the man gone. Aldwin heard a roar. A roar came from somewhere, dust and filth fell from the shaking ceiling, making the air that was bad even worse. "Rose!" Aldwin waved his hand above his head. From it, emerged numerous hovering black ball, each with two white glowing eye. The black ball surrounded his body in an arc. .Aldwin snapped his finger, sending the black ball flying through the tunnel, searching for a way to the source of the sound. A way to return to Rose. -------- Block of ice shattered, sending sharp fragment to the wall and floor before melting and evaporating into thin air. The beast roared, covering the sound of shattering ice. The air turned red as the the beast roared. Wood, paper, insect, corpse, all caught on fire, creating a thick black smoke that filled the station. Rose was hiding behind a wall. She coughed and gasped, her mouth wide open desperate for oxygen. Her head throbbed, vision blurred and distorted, the world spinning. She digged her nail in her palm, trying her best to remain conscious of what happening.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. She heard heavy breathing from her right, the beast has found her. It spewed fire from its mouth like a storm of fire. She hastily make a symbol in the air, creating another wall of ice, but because she was almost out of mana and because of a hasty incantation, the wall she created was thin. The ice melt and cracked the moment it touched the fire, but it gave her enough time to prepare another spell. She threw a small ball at the ceiling. The moment it touched the ceiling, it expanded, creating hail of ice that showered the beast. The beast roared, some of the hail was able to pierce its body while other just melt. ''Damn! Even a B+ ranked spell isn''t effective'' She ran around the corner. Her head turned from one side to the other, searching for another place to hide, but she couldn''t find one. Left with no choice, she stood still, starting an incantation. Her eyes closed and her hand together, emitting a warm white light. The beast chased her, but when it was about to attack, she turned her body and threw small ball of ice like a pitcher throw a baseball ball. In mid air, the ball expanded and cracked, changing its shape into a giant 4 meter long ice lance. The ice penetrated the beast skin, severing one of its head off. She missed. She was aiming at the beast body, expecting the ice to pierce its heart and kill it instantly, but her vision was blurred by the smoke and her headache, making it harder for her to aim. The beast roared and charged at her. She crouched and covered her head, she had no mana left to cast a high level defensive spell that could stop its charge, and even if she tried to run it would be useless. Her body thrown into the wall, causing the wall to crack. Strangely, she didn¡¯t feel any pain, nor did she suffered any wound. She was thrown to the side of the charging beast instead of thrown at the same direction. She opened her eyes, a white sleeved arm was hugging her from behind. She turned her head, Aldwin was behind her, absorbing the impact from the wall. She understood it at that moment. Before she was crushed by the charging beast, Aldwin hugged her and thrown themselves at the wall on the side to avoid the beast. The beast turned back, noticing that it failed to kill its enemy. It charged again at the wall, aiming for Rose, but Aldwin moved her. The beast slammed against the wall, destroying it, and causing the whole structure to shook like it was about to collapse. The beast itself was unharmed by its reckless action. Aldwin let go of Rose. He placed his hand together, forming a greatsword as dark as the night. Aldwin ran to the beast and the beast also charged at him. Rose couldn''t see what happened through the smoke, but she heard something big fell to the ground. She ran through the smoke to see Aldwin. Beside him the beast was laying on the ground, limbless. "Close your eye!" Aldwin told her as he raised his greatsword above his head. Rose was confused. "Why?" "You don''t want to see this." Aldwin cleaved the beast head, sending torrent of blood everywhere. Rose covered her eyes at the last moment, before seeing the huge splatter of blood. Aldwin covered her, making sure that none of the blood touched her. She slowly opened her eyes. The beast body disintegrated, leaving nothing but ashes on the ground. Aldwin raised his hand, creating gust of wind that blew all the smoke and ashes out from the underground station. "HOW DARE YOU!" The woman from before screamed. Her voice once again came from all direction. "Aldwin, can you pinpoint her location?" Rose asked. Aldwins looked around and closed his eyes. "There, behind that!" Aldwin pointed his sword at one of the pillar that was still intact. "All of your hound is dead, we know your location,you have no chance to win, surrender now!" Rose shouted. "You arrogant BITCH!" A woman came out from behind the pillar. Her hair was black with some of it already grey. Her clothes was in tatters, like a black rag, with many hole and scar. Black Tattoo covered some of her exposed pale skin. Dirt and dust from the smoke covered her already dirty body and clothes. ¡®A witch?¡¯ Rose thought. A fire lit in Rose heart when she saw a knife and trace of dried blood in the woman hand. She bared her teeth. "How.. HOW COULD YOU!" Rose yelled as she threw a fireball from her hand. The woman raised her hand and created a magic shield to protect herself. Rose created another fireball, but Aldwin grabbed her hand. "Calm down Rose." The woman eyed them both. Her eyes widen when she saw Aldwin. "Why... Why.... someone like you... why did you chose a master like her? Why did you answer her summoning?" She digged her nail into her cheek, causing it to bleed. She fell on her knee."WHY? I have sacrificed so much, WHY DID YOU CHOOSE HER S YOUR MASTER?. Rose puzzled at her bizzare behavior, looked at Aldwin. "You know her?" "No" His voice filled with disdain. The woman who was crouching down raised her head in shock when he heard Aldwin answer. Her whole body trembled. "Yes, yes, of course....I.... I... prove it to you! I prove my undying loyalty to you... ." Her voice was wavering. "Come here girl." She signaled someone to come from behind the pillar. A girl, 12 years old at most, walked from behind the pillar. She walked without any energy, her stare was blank, hypnotized. "ALDWIN! Stop her!" Rose shouted, understanding what the woman was going to do. Aldwin shot her with his bow, but a force field destroy the arrow. He transformed his bow into a sword and slashed the force field causing it to crack, but he was too late. The girl already laid on the floor. "Behold! My tribute." The woman brought down her knife on the girl chest. The girl eyes returned to normal, and she started to scream. Rose whole body trembled at the horror before her. She stared at the little girl convulsing body as the woman butchered her with a blunt knife. She heard the girl scream, begging for them to help. She wanted to look away and avert her gaze, but her body froze, and her eyes locked. With mouth wide open she threw her dinner up. Aldwin ran back to to Rose. He held her body from falling, and placed her head on his chest, blocking her view from what was happening. Her head was burning like crazy. The girl body stopped moving, and silent returned. The woman was bathed in the girl blood with a satisfied smile on her face. She stood up. "If¡­. if lucia know about you she will be elated." The woman spoke as she washed her face with her victim blood. Aldwin stared at her ."Yes, of course you won''t be satisfied from just this, but this.. this is nothing more than our first sacrifice for you. We will prepare MORE! BIGGER! GRANDER! We won''t stop until you''re truly sated. For this, this is our proof of loyalty to you!" The woman made a deep bow before teleporting out from there. Aldwin looked at Rose, she had fainted. Aldwin removed his trench coat and put it on the ground. He laid Rose down on his coat. Her breath was loud and her chest heaved heavily. Her face was bright red and her forehead was burning. Her sweater was drenched with blood and vomit. He need to take care of her. Aldwin looked around. The station was destroyed, and police siren could be heard from outside. They need to get out from there fast, before police could see them. False Peace - 1 Rose woke up. Her head throbbed like being hit by a hammer. Her vision blurred when she opened her eyes. She was covered in blanket and there was a small towel in her forehead. She picked the towel and sat up. She was in her room. The lamp was turned off and the curtain closed, making the room darker. "What happened last night?" She held her head. Images of what happened last night before she fainted flashed in her head. She recalled the detail of what happened last night in the subway station. "Did he carried me here?" The towel felt cold and wet, leaving a small puddle of water when she moved it to the other hand. She grabbed her forehead, it was hot, slightly hotter than her normal temperature. She placed the towel on the table beside her bed. In the table there were also a bowl filled with water, another towel, and a thermometer beside her usual item that she placed there. The door creaked open. Aldwin entered with a trays in his hand. On it, a bowl, a cup and a jug. He place it on the table beside the bed then leaned on the wall. "How are you feeling?" His face and voice showed indifferent, but behind it, Rose could pick up a trace of anxiousness and relieve. "Better, thanks to your compress. More importantly, what happened last night after i¡­.fainted?" "Nothing much, the woman ran away, and police came to check the situation. I was able to get out from there before the police noticed us" "You let her get away?! After what she have done!" "What can I do? She teleported out, and you fainted . My first priority is of course take you to out from there." He answered. "Or are you suggesting that i left you to die next time something like that happened?" She looked down. "No....." She remained silent for a minute after that. "Aldwin.... who are you?" "What do you mean?" "That woman last night, she recognized you, revered you, to the point of... killing a little girl for sacrifice." "I told before didn''t I? I''m a demonic spirit, and not just any demonic spirit i¡¯m a high ranked one. She is Angele de la Barthe, a witch, famous for sacrificing children to summon a demon. In her life she tried to summon a high demon, but never succeed. That''s why she became hysteric when she saw someone like you summoned a high demonic spirit. I personally don''t have any direct connection to her if that''s what you''re asking." "Demonic spirit.... i always said thing like demonic spirit, heroic spirit, but tell me Aldwin, what classify a spirit to be considered a demon?" "Wha.. you asking that now? After all that ''i don''t want a demonic spirit, i want a heroic one'' you said on the first day." He smirked. "Really Rose?" "Just answer me already!" She raised her voice. "Alright, alright. A demonic spirit is someone whose in life considered by many to be evil. The thing is, someone doesn''t have to be evil to be a demonic spirit, they just need to be seen as evil by the masses." Rose looked at him when she heard his answer."Don''t tell me you..." "Nope! I''m the more genuine kind of demonic spirit you know. Just to say, i have done something much much worse than what that witch had done." "Then what is your goal? A demonic spirit as strong as you, chose me as your summoner, and after yesterday you know that you won¡¯t get the source, not to mention that you have been relatively kind to me. What are you hoping to accomplish Aldwin?" Her stare was dead serious. Looking at her like that Aldwin sighed. "Relatively kind? You tongue is as sharp as ever." He started walking to the door. "Don''t avoid my question!" She yelled. Her finger dug into the blanket. Aldwin stopped and turned his head. "Why does it matter really? it''s already too late to do anything right now. I already told you when i asked if you wanted to change who i am. You answered no, don''t regret it¡­¡­. Eat your breakfast and think it over again. It¡¯s still not too late if you wanted a new spirit." He turned the light on and left the room. She pondered his word. ''i have done something much much worse than what that witch had done'' She rest her head on the bed. She had never doubted her decision of accepting Aldwin as her spirit, but after last night, she herself was unsure She had prepared everything in the last few years in case the game of spirit happened when she was in charge of her family, but preparing and actually experiencing it herself was like day and night. She remembered about what her father once told her. ''While lower ranked spirit answer the call of a summoner mostly because they wanted a second life, a higher ranked one like a legendary spirit are much more complicated. After all, they were a powerful individual in life, who had a lot of pride, some were even a king or an emperor. For them to answer the call and serve someone much weaker than them, mean that they must have a strong reason, a goal they wanted to accomplish.'' "What could a demonic spirit as strong as Him wanted?" She sighed. No matter how much she thought about it, she would never get her answer. She looked at the table beside her bed, and all the thing on it. She grabbed the bowl and began stuffing her mouth with soup while her mind was still lost in thought. Aldwin was walking around the first floor, looking at all the picture that was hanging on the wall. "Acturus... This family is always the troublesome bunch, no matter what age they appear." The door on the second floor slowly opened and Rose came out from it. She walked near him. "Regretting your choices?" he asked. Her face was already her usual cold and composed. A facade, but a convincing one. "No. It''s just as you said, it doesn''t matter who you really are, or what is your goal is. It doesn''t matter what you had done in life. As long as you didn''t act outside the boundaries, it''s all fine to me. And to add to that, having someone who can think like your enemy is an advantage i can''t just throw away." "''An advantage i can''t just throw away'' after getting all emotional like that now you try to act all cool and rational?" He asked with a smirk. "S-Shut up! It''s also your fault, you tell me that you have done something worse than that woman last night even though that was completely unnecessary information." Her composed face was broken easily by him. ¡°But you owe me an explanation. I¡¯m gonna scoop up all your secret one day.¡± "Oh? I owe you an explanation? Now can i ask you, why didn''t you tell me that you''re a keybearer?" "It''s because... Wait! How did you know?" She looked at the clothes she was wearing. Her face lit like a torch, it was different from what she wore the day before. She covered her chest. "Y-You pervert! W-What did you do to me last night?!" "What did i do? With a body that lacked any appeal like that you think i would do something to you? HAH! Dream on!" He answered with a wide grin. ¡°But i do have to admit that you have a nice pair of legs though.¡± "Y-Y-You bastard!" -------- He couldn¡¯t believe it, it was the ceiling of his room that he saw. He expected to see the dark room again, but this time, he woke up in his father¡¯s room. Unlike in his usual dream where he sat on a cold, hard chair, now he sat on a soft and comfortable bed. He pinched his own cheek, hoping that it wasn''t a dream. "It''s not a dream... i didn''t have any dream last night." Smile streaked across his face. For the past week, he always had a nightmare, so that day was a pleasant surprise for him. He observed the room. The dresser next to the bed, the table beside it, and a rack full of bible. it really was his father¡¯s room, he had no doubt about that. Distracted by the happiness he felt, he only noticed that His left hand felt warm. He jumped out of the bed, Elis was sleeping beside him. "E-Elis! W-What are you doing here?" He asked with a loud voice. She woke up because his loud voice and wiped her eyes. "Master, why are you making a fuss in the morning?" "A fuss? I told you to sleep in the other room right? Why are you sleeping here?" She sat on the bed. "I did slept on the other room, but in the night you were really loud so i woke up. I thought that you were releasing yourself or something, but when i checked, your body were convulsing. I cast a spell to calm you down, but then i got sleepy and slept here." She answered with a smile. "O-oh, Thank you then Elis." He calmed down. "You''re welcome." She answered with a broad smile. They both walked out from the room and went to the dining room for breakfast. At first Rein wanted to make the breakfast, but Elis argued that it was her duty as his servant, and to fulfill their contract she should be the one making breakfast. After some convincing, Rein gave up and let Elis make the breakfast. While he waited, he watched the news on TV. There was an explosion in the old abandoned subway station near the city square, the exact cause was still unknown, and an investigation was still underway. "An explosion huh? Could it be a result of the game too?" He asked himself. After that, the news returned to the same as everyday, the serial killer was still not found. Luckily there was no new victim this morning. Elis came out from the kitchen with two omelettes in her hand.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "You know Master, you should buy more ingredients. If it''s like this, i can only make omelette for breakfast." He took a bite, it was good, not as good as when Albert made it, but definitely much better compared to his own cooking. He was thankful of himself for letting Elis made the breakfast. But his happiness was cut short, after looking the news, he remembered about what happened last night. His appetite was gone the instant he remembered it. Elis noticed that her master was in trouble. ¡°Master is something bothering you?¡± She asked with a soothing voice. ¡°I.It¡¯s about what happened last night.¡± He answered. Elis took both of his hand. Her voice was serious. Her eyes no longer show any playful attitude.¡± Please realize that something like last night will happen again, and not just once. I know this is hard since it¡¯s so sudden r, but If you master, can¡¯t get past of what happened last night, you have no chances of surviving, much less winning the game and saving your friend. Also¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right Elis, I¡¯m sorry.¡± He smiled and resumed his breakfast. After the breakfast was done and Elis washed the dishes, she asked her master. "So what is our plan for today master?" "I don''t know. Today is christmas, normally i would go with Albert, Iris, and Friede somewhere, but this year that isn''t possible. Rose told me to wait here yesterday, later she''s going to come and teach me something. Also there is something that i must ask Calvin about last night." He answered. After breakfast and taking shower, he was ready to go out. Elis already waiting for him near the front door. "Let''s go master." she walked through the doorless wall but Rein stopped her. "Wait Elis, Wear this." He gave a jacket to Elis. "Since it¡¯s winter if you don''t wear a jacket, you''re going to be the center of attention." She wear it. It was the biggest jacket Rein have, but it still look uncomfortable for Elis. He unconsciously looked at her chest, it was protruding from behind the jacket. "Thank you master. It''s.. a bit tight though." "P-Please bear with it for now Elis, we buy you a clothes your size later." He answered and looked away before Elis noticed he was staring at her chest. Even when he was still inside, he could feel the cold air blowing through the doorway. The lawn had turned white overnight. Not a single patch of grass could be seen anymore. It was always like that every winter. There was something different however, something that caught his attention. Beside his father grave, there was another grave. He walked to that grave and placed his hand on top of a piece of wood that was engraved with a name, Marcus. ¡°I don¡¯t know what make you do that last night, but i have forgive you. Thank you for this past few years.¡± thinking back about the past few years, Father Marcus had taken care of him in his father place. Compared to his other previous adoptive parent, father Marcus was a good person, even after what happened the previous night. Elis touched his shoulder. ¡°Master, you shouldn¡¯t feel sorry for him. He¡¯s an enemy.¡± ¡°I know Elis, but he have been caring and nice for the past few years ¡± he answered. She could see that he was holding back tears in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say this master, but that sentiment is going to get you killed. Just because someone is nice to you, doesn¡¯t mean that they actually care for you. Someone could be nice to you because they¡¯re after something that you own, just like Marcus.¡± ¡°Elis, please. Don¡¯t speak ill of the dead.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not speaking ill of the dead master, i¡¯m the telling you the truth of the situation, father Marcus has been nice to you because he was ordered to!¡± ¡°ELIS!¡± He yelled. She was taken aback by his loud voice ¡°Please, no more!¡± She fell silent, she wanted to argue back but she understood that that was not the right time. ¡°Lets just¡­ go inside.¡± After that they tried to enter the church, but the side door was locked shut. They have to walk around and get inside from the front door. Rein was surprised, Rose was already there in front of the church. She stood in front of the destroyed church door, she stared at it and her hand holding her chin like she was thinking. She looked troubled. ¡°Morning Rose!¡± He greeted. She didn¡¯t answer, she didn¡¯t even react. ¡°Rose?¡± He waved his hand in front of her, but she still didn¡¯t react. ¡°Roseeee!¡± ¡°It¡¯s useless kid!¡± He turned to the voice. Aldwin was leaning on the wall. ¡°When she¡¯s deep in thought like that you can only wait for her to snap back.¡± ¡°Ah, Morning Aldowin!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Aldwin.¡± Suddenly, she snapped back to reality. ¡°R-Rein? How long have you been standing there?¡± ¡°I just came here.¡± He answered. She turned to the doorway again. ¡°Rein! who did this?¡± Her voice serious. ¡°It¡¯s Calvin, he should be inside. He¡¯s a friend, he helped me when i was attacked last night. I¡¯m okay if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking.¡± ¡°No that¡¯s not it, the thing is¡­ Gah! Forget it! it¡¯s useless to talk such thing to an amateur.¡± She was annoyed and started walking inside. Rein followed her, he didn¡¯t understand what was the matter. She suddenly stopped and turned to Rein. ¡°WHAT? You were attacked last night?¡± She appear to be shocked to hear that. ¡°Of course, why else would the door be destroyed?¡± He asked. ¡°Ye-yeah, of course i know that.¡± She turned back. Inside, Calvin was sitting in his wheelchair in front of the destroyed altar. The debris inside had been mostly removed, and the window had already been repaired. Hearing the sound of footsteps, calvin turned to them. ¡°Morning Rein, and Merry Christmas! Oh! Look who¡¯s there, is she your girlfriend Rein?¡± ¡°Haha, good morning Calvin. no she-¡± before Rein could finish his answer Rose walked in front of him and started speaking. ¡°Who are you? What did you do to this church?!¡± ¡°Oh my! A mage, and feisty one.¡± Calvin sound intrigued. ¡°E-easy Rose why are you so mad?¡± Rein asked. She glanced at Rein ¡°This is why an amateur is so hard to deal. You don¡¯t know anything.¡± She sighed. ¡°Rein, have you ever heard of mage territory?¡± Rein searched his memory. ¡°Mage territory? I think i read it somewhere before before.¡± ¡°Well since i¡¯m going to tell you later anyway, might as well do it now.¡± She complained. ¡°A mage territory is like the name suggest, a territory made by mage by inscribing rune within a closed space. For those who made it, it serve many purpose. It can be used as a detection field, a warning sign, a fortification, and many other. Basically, the creator of the territory will have an advantage when they fight inside it, while the enemy that get inside will have disadvantage. This church is a mage territory, and not just any territory, it¡¯s an A ranked territory, a castle.¡± ¡°Sooo?¡± Rein asked, he still doesn¡¯t understand a thing. She sighed. ¡°When the territory is activated, this church practically become a magic castle. That¡¯s why i¡¯m mad. That wooden door should be impossible to destroy once the territory is activated, even a legendary spirit would have a hard time entering this church when it was activated.¡± She looked at Calvin again. ¡°I ask you again, Who are you? And what have you done to destroy the door?¡± ¡°Wait Rose, if Calvin used an explosive last night it should be able to destroy it right.¡± ¡°So it appeared to you that he used an explosive?¡± She asked. ¡°Yes, when i was inside here last night the door was blown because of a bomb.¡± ¡°Then tell me Rein, why is it that there was no damage other than the door and the window?¡± He turned to look back at the doorway. She was right, the grass and the pavement outside the door was still intact without any sign of damage. ¡°I¡¯m a hunter. An ooold blood hunter, Rose... Acturus.¡± Calvin replied.. The moment he said ¡®Hunter¡¯ Rose body shivered. The feeling of danger appeared in the back of her mind. She jumped back and cast a spell. Ice spike formed within her palm and she threw it at Calvin face, but before the spike hit him, he caught it midair. ¡°Aldwin!¡± Rose shouted, but Aldwin didn¡¯t move. ¡°Aldwin?¡± She looked to him. ¡°Rose, judging from that man speed when he caught the spike, he could kill you with a pistol in his belt before i could intervene. The fact that he didn¡¯t do that mean that he wanted to talk.¡± He explained. Calvin smiled. ¡°That man is right. Don¡¯t be too hasty young Acturus. I¡¯m already retired from the hunter faction, and i¡¯m here only for personal reason, i have no business with the game or the heroic faction whatsoever. Actually, i have a letter for your boss, Arthur.¡± He gave a letter to Rose. ¡°Here.¡± ¡°What make you think i will send it?¡± ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s up to you if you wanted to give it or not, burn it, rip it apart, whatever, but accept it first.¡± She was hesitant at first, but in the end she took the letter from his hand. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Wait, where is the priest that live here?¡± She asked. ¡°Dead.¡± calvin answered quick. ¡°Don¡¯t feel sorry for him, he¡¯s a crusader anyway.¡± ¡°Crusader?¡± Rein asked. ¡°Church faction elite soldier, they worked directly under the Archbishop¡± Rose answered. Rein wanted to ask more but something stopped him before he could ask. ¡°REEIIIIINN!¡± Someone shouted from outside. ¡°Friede?¡± Rein instantly ran to the sound. ¡°Friede, what happened?¡± He ran outside. Friede was shouting from the front of the church, there appeare to be nothing wrong with her. ¡°That is what i should be asking you. What happened here Rein?¡± She was angry. ¡°What happened Master?¡± Elis asked. Rose was following behind her. ¡°Rein, who is she?¡± Friede asked Rein about Elis. ¡°Oh yeah, i never had the chance to tell you. Friede, this is Elis, my spirit. Elis, this is Friede, my friend.¡± Friede was surprised. Rein told her that he failed his summoning this year. They shook hand awkwardly. After that she looked behind Elis. ¡°Rose?¡± Friede asked. ¡°Friede?¡± Rose asked back. ¡°¡±¡±You know each other?¡±¡±¡± Friede, Rein, and Rose asked together. They all laughed seeing they all reacted exactly the same way. The tense air from before now gone. Calvin watched them from inside while Aldwin watched his movement. ¡°You know you don¡¯t have to watch me like that¡­ ¡®First Seat¡¯.¡± calvin said with a smile on his face. ¡°I know, but it¡¯s her order. She will complain nonstop if i don¡¯t do it¡­. ¡®Ultimate hunter¡¯.¡± Aldwin replied. ¡°Hehehe.. women like her are hard to deal with, but she¡¯s good women.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you know about me and the order, but i¡¯m not the first seat anymore, i have died¡­ and even before i died i gave up the position.¡± ¡°You will always be the first seat forever, and you know it, they will take no replacement. I¡¯m more surprised to know that a spirit like you heard about me.¡± ¡°I was summoned a few time before this. In one such occasion, I heard about you and the feat you have done.¡± ¡±Hehehehe to think that i will met someone like you this early in the game....Well, it¡¯s going to be more entertaining than i originally thought. Now, what are you waiting for? She will spend an entire that chatting if you don¡¯t remind her what she came here for.¡± ¡°Okay okay. Rein, in high school Rose was my classmate, our father were also a friend.¡± Friede faced Rose. ¡°And Rose, Rein is a friend of mine since we were child. Now, the question is, how can you two know each other? I know that you¡¯re classmate, but he¡¯s not the make friend type of person you know.¡± ¡°Well, If not for this assignment we have, i wouldn¡¯t even notice his existence.¡± Rose answered. ¡°Rose!¡± Aldwin called her from behind. ¡°Aren¡¯t you in the middle of something before?¡± ¡°Friede, that¡¯s is my spirit, Aldwin. And Rein, i have a matter that need to be solved first, I¡¯ll teach you tomorrow, for today you¡¯re free to do anything you want .Now, if you excuse me, i have something that need to be done first.¡± Rose walked back inside the church. Aldwin glanced at Friede for a second before following Rose again. ¡°Rein, do you have any plan for today?¡± Friede asked. ¡°Not really. I do plan to buy Elis some pair of clothes, but other than that, no.¡± ¡°We should go right now then.¡± Friede pulled Rein arm. ¡°Wait, why the rush?¡± ¡°Just go with me!¡± She dragged Rein. Rein gave up and decided to just follow Friede with Elis following them from behind. Friede took them to the nearest subway station to go somewhere. Once inside the train, Rein asked her about what is this all about. Friede took out a note from her small backpack and gave it to Rein, it was a date plan. ¡°Sister planned a date for you two a week before she fainted. Rather than wasting her money and effort, i decide to substitute for her.¡± ¡°Eh? Why didn¡¯t you tell me before?¡± Rein was surprised. Friede poked his forehead. ¡°I won¡¯t take no for an answer!¡±Rein blushed. She punched his arm.¡± Don¡¯t get any funny idea! I have replaced all the romantic and useless bits with a better plan okay! Not to mention that Elis is going to be there with us.¡± She paused for a few second. ¡°Consider today as my late gift for your birthday¡± Rein smiled. ¡°Okay¡­¡­ but you¡¯re the one that pay for everything ok?¡± False Peace - 2 The cold hard stone wall pressed against Rein¡¯s back. He opened his palm to the sky and felt the slowly falling snowflake. It wasn¡¯t that cold, and the snow melt in his hand He looked around, The street, the shop, and building around him Children were running around with their gift still in their hand while their parent following them from behind. Couples were holding hand while walking down the street. People playing with their spirit. And then there he is, leaning on the wall, waiting alone while his spirit and his friend were buying clothes in the shop behind him. He turned his head to the shop door, but they haven¡¯t came out yet. It had been about half an hour since he waited outside. He never had any problem walking into a woman shop, but Elis keep teasing him inside, asking his opinion every time she saw a sexy clothing, embarrassing him. The shop door opened. Finally, Elis and Friede came out from the shop with three bags in Elis hand. Elis had changed her clothes inside but she still wore the jacket Rein gave her over it. ¡°Done?¡± He sound annoyed. This is the third shop they visited. He thought that because Friede was a bit tomboyish, her shopping tendency would be different from other girl, but apparently he was wrong. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting master.¡± Elis bowed her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. As long as we don¡¯t go looking for more that is.¡±he glanced at Friede.¡± Well, now where is our next destination?¡± ¡°We should go for a lunch now, we took more time than i expected.¡± Friede answered. ¡°And whose fault is that?¡± ¡°Oh, Come on Rein! That was only an hour, if you go with sister that time would be like, doubled.¡± Suddenly Elis ran to Friede and whispered something in her ear. Friede face lit up. Elis does the same thing to Rein. ¡°Master, i shall take my leave now. Enjoy your date, and win her heart okay?¡± Elis whispered. ¡°W-wait Elis, it¡¯s not like that!¡± He tried to grab Elis hand, but she ran. ¡°Don¡¯t worry master! I just watch from far away after i put this on the house.¡± She yelled as she ran and raised the bag in her hand. ¡°Damn, what did she whispered to you?¡± Rein asked. ¡°Nothing, nothing.¡± Her face flushed. ¡°L-let¡¯s just go get a lunch.¡± They walked to a small park near there. On the park there was a small but crowded hot dog stand. They bought the hot dog and ate on one of the park bench. There were many children who played on that park. Playing around with the snow, throwing it around their friend face, and making snowman. They reminded him of the time before the curse began to manifest, where he could play around making friend without any fear of anything happening to them because of him. ¡®Friends¡­.¡¯ He thought. His gazed turned the woman beside him for a second, the woman who stuffed her mouth with a hot dog like a child. The woman who see snow with an amazement in her eyes like a child who saw their first winter. Seeing her and the child playing around made him remember about the first time they met. On a park like this, exactly 17 years ago on christmas. He was playing around with his friends on a park near the village. On the park, there was a girl crying, no one wanted to play with her, her parents was nowhere to be seen. His friend told him to not go near her. ¡®Freak!¡¯ That was what his friend told him about her, but he doesn¡¯t see the problem. Ignoring the advice of his friend he approached the girl. He asked the girl why was she crying, but the girl didn¡¯t hear him because of her own cry. He forcefully remove the girl hand from her face. The girl eyes were swollen because of crying too much. He asked again. The girl answered that no one cared for her. The boy doesn¡¯t understand the girl plight, but he does not like to look at someone crying. He asked the girl to play with him. Her eyes brighten and her mouth turned into the widest smile he ever saw. ¡°Rein!¡± Friede tapped his shoulder. ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°Eat your hot dogs before it get cold!¡± ¡°O-oh yeah.¡± He continue eating. ¡°Is this yours or Iris idea?¡± ¡°Mine.¡± ¡°You really think it through do you?Great plan.¡± He quipped. ¡°If you want to complain, use your own money!¡± ¡°No thank you.¡± After they finished their lunch, they went to the cinema. Because the cinema was Iris plan, she bought the ticket for couple, where couple would sit together in small sofa while watching the film. At least for them, the ticket Iris bought was for an action movie they like and not some cheesy romance movie Iris usually watch. ¡°Rein, your hand!¡± Friede complained when they were watching. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Look where it¡¯s touching!¡± It was placed on Friede tight. ¡°I-i¡¯m sorry, It¡¯s not on purpose.¡± ¡°Yeah of Course! Not on purpose, just like that time when you fell and touched sister ass.¡± ¡°Hey! That¡¯s also not on purpose. What kind of person do you think i am?¡± ¡°A desperate pervert! I know that you were ogling on Elis breast!¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s inevitable, i bet every man who look at her also stare at her breast, even YOU stare at it sometime.¡± ¡°No i¡¯m not!¡± ¡°Yes you do! I bet you¡¯re jealous huh?¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Guh! A desperate and honest pervert.¡± Rein laughed at her remark, and they continue watching the movie like before. ¡°How do you think about it?¡± friede asked after they got out. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that it¡¯s good. Well it¡¯s just a spinoff from the main series but i personally think it¡¯s better than the last year episode seven.¡± ¡°Hehe, i can¡¯t wait for next year.¡± ¡°Now, where do we go next?¡± Friede grabbed Rein and started running. ¡°Cmon, let¡¯s go to the arcade.¡± Rein was being dragged by Friede all around that day, but he didn¡¯t mind, it was fun. Being dragged by Friede and following her from behind, Rein noticed something that he had never noticed before, not in all the year he had known her. From behind, Friede was almost identical to Iris. The way they run, the way they grabbed his hand and dragged him around when excited, the way their hair bounced left and right when they run and how it fluttered against the winter wind. With the only difference that separated the two being their height and hair length. ¡°Rein! Rein! Rein!¡± Friede shook his shoulder. He snapped back to reality. ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°You were staring blankly at my face. We¡¯re already here.¡±He didn¡¯t realize that they were already in the arcade. He was lost in thought before. ¡°So, what do you want to play first?¡± He looked around. The arcade was spacious and there was a lot of option to choose from, shooting, racing, a lot of these game can be played by two player. The arcade was quite empty, but that wasn¡¯t surprising or anything for him, this was christmas after all. People spend time with their families, and those who decided to play games prefer playing in their own house in winter rather than going to arcade. ¡°Uhh.. let¡¯s just play th-¡± Before he could answer, Friede already went to one of the game. ¡°C¡¯mon Let¡¯s play this.¡± ¡°Why did you even bother asking me?¡± ¡°You take too long!¡± ¡°Fine!¡± He walked near her and they played the game together. After that they played a few more games together. It was a great fun. After the past few day had been nothing but shitstorm. He had prepared his will to fight, but his mental was still in shock of what happened. Something like this, a break, a peace, a slice of normal average life, that what he needed the most. ¡°We spent more than than i imagine.¡± Friede said as she looked her phone. They spent more than two hour inside. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time, let¡¯s go to the restaurant.¡± ¡°Hey don¡¯t drag me! You¡¯re the one who got all competitive and insist on having a rematch.¡± ¡°You¡¯re also at fault for not stopping me!¡± ¡°Wha- What the heck is that logic?¡± ¡°JUST LET¡¯S GO!¡± She pulled him. The restaurant she meant was a fancy restaurant not too far from there. Even from the outside he could see that the restaurant was expensive. He almost feel bad making Friede pay for all of that, if not for the fact that she lived in one of the most expensive apartment in the city and,her monthly allowance money from her father was more than what he could hope to save in a year. ¡°Is this Iris plan or yours?¡± ¡°Sister. She already booked it¡± The waiter took them to a special location in the restaurant. It was a balcony for two person, overlooking one of the two main river that ran through the city. The table was covered with white table cloth and decorated with some flower. ¡°Fancy.¡± Said Rein. ¡°Seemed like sister planned this really well.¡± They both ordered a beef steak for dinner. While waiting, Rein stood and leaned on the railing to see the river. The view was extraordinary, The sky was clear, with the river sparkling tha last ray of sunlight. ¡®Did Iris planned this? To see this sunset?¡¯ He thought. Suddenly he heard a voice. A voice of someone that shouldn¡¯t be there. His heart raced. It was a beautiful voice, the voice of someone he love. ¡°Rein.¡± ¡°I-iris?¡± He slowly turned his head toward the voice. Hope filled him. Maybe it was their plan all along, maybe Iris already woke up and they planned to surprise him. Maybe¡­. But what he saw wasn¡¯t someone he expected. It was Friede that was calling him. His hope was thrown under the bus and with some sickening twist , Iris and Friede voice sounded the same to his ears. ¡°Rein¡­ why are you crying?¡± Friede face was filled with concern. He wiped his tears. ¡°Nothing¡­. How¡¯s Iris condition by the way? I haven¡¯t asked you¡± ¡°She is okay i guess, she isn¡¯t getting any worse or better. Albert is looking after her for tonight.¡± ¡°Any chance i could pay a visit to the hospital after this?¡± Rein asked with a small voice. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Father ordered one of his bodyguard to keep you out all the time.¡± ¡°Damn.¡± Then the steak came and they ate their dinner. However, the mood had already gone sour. Rein looked down all the time, his stare blank, and no smile could be seen on his face. Looking at Rein, friede became dispirited and also didn¡¯t say anything. Their dinner was filled with silence. After they finished dinner and Friede paid the bill, she asked Rein. ¡°What happened? You¡¯re dreamy today.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡­. something happened. I can¡¯t describe it.¡± He felt bad making her sad and thought a way to cheer her. ¡°Thank you friede. For today, and for everything.¡± She turned her head to look the river. She sighed.¡°You know, i do all this to cheer you up, but i guess it¡¯s not enough huh?¡± Rein looked at her. Even looking her from the side remind him of Iris. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault you know. Today is really fun, and i really enjoy it, I really do.¡± ¡°So why are you like that?¡± He didn¡¯t answer. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, i remember some problem. But i really do enjoy today you know, it felt like when i go out with Iris.¡± He looked at Friede again, but now something was different about her. Even if she was looking away and her face covered by her hair, he could see that she was trembling. She stood up and looked at him. Tears were rolling down her cheek and she bared her teeth. Her arm flew to his cheek, making it red and hot. She ran outside. He doesn¡¯t know how to react, he doesn¡¯t understand what happened to her. ¡°FRIEDE!¡± He ran following her. He grab her, but she brushed his hand off.¡±LET ME GO!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He grabbed her shoulder. ¡°LET GO!¡± She tried to remove his hand from her shoulder. ¡°I WON¡¯T! Not until you tell me what¡¯s wrong.¡± She punched him, but it did nothing.¡°I thought.. I thought that you¡¯re different, different from father, mother, or anyone else for that matter!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand! what are you talking about?¡± ¡°OF COURSE YOU DON¡¯T! NOBODY EVER UNDERSTAND ME!¡± She stopped screaming. Her tears were like waterfall. ¡°Tell me Rein¡­ the one who spend this day with you. Is it Friede? Or Iris little sister?¡± ¡°Wa-What are you talking about?¡± ¡°What am I to you Rein?! Am i just a tool to get close to Iris for you?¡± Rein couldn¡¯t believe what she said. ¡°N-No! I¡¯ve never think think of you like that!¡± He was so shocked that he loosen his grip. So shocked that he failed to realize that Friede ran away. By the time he realize that, she had run pretty far from him. He ran again, trying to catch her. ¡°Friede!¡± He shouted. ¡®Why? Why? Why are you thinking like that? You¡¯re my friend. You¡¯re someone precious to me...You¡¯re my family.¡¯ Rein body suddenly gave up. His leg became limp and he fell to the ground. It felt like a burning iron pierced his heart, his heart was beating so fast it almost exploded. Something like an old wound opened up in his chest The realization dawned too late on him. Fear gripped his heart as he realized his fatal error. He remembered what Elis told him, his curse act on someone he considered a family, and he had just considered Friede as a family. ¡°FUUUUCK!¡±He cursed himself, but there was no sound coming from his mouth. With all that left of his strength, he raised his face to look where Friede went. She was running to an alley next to a construction site. On the construction site there was a crane.A steel beam was hanging by a steel cable on thecrane. He knew what would happen, that the worst would happen. He wanted to look away, but the curse acted on him again, making him unable to look away from the horro that was about to unfold. He heard a loud snapping sound.The steel cable snapped, sending a steel beam falling on Friede without her noticing. ¡°Frie¡­.de¡­.¡± His voice finally came out. False Peace - 3 ¡°Frie...de¡­.¡± His hand reached out, in a vain attempt to save his precious friend. A steel beam fell directly above her head without her knowing. From the speed it was falling, it was impossible for her to move out of the way. A miracle happened. Like the ray of hope that is the sun, a man showed up and gave Rein a bit of hope. Out of nowhere he appeared next to Friede, but she was oblivious to his presence. He raised his arm and held the falling beam with one hand, saving Friede from her doom, and saving Rein from watching another one of his best friend died because of him. His neck length black hair blown by the wind from catching the beam. On his forehead there was a mark of the sun. Like the mark on his head, he radiated a radiance similar that ofthe sun, clearly showing that he was not a normal human. ¡°Master! Master!¡± Elis was running to Rein. She noticed something was wrong with her master and ran to his side as fast as she could. Strength return to Rein¡¯s body. Blood spewed from his mouth as he coughed. He muster all of his renewed power to stand up and follow Friede. He kicked the ground as hard as he could until his feet felt it was going to be ripped apart. In his mind at that time there was only Friede. He ignored Elis who came to help him, and ignored the onewho had saved Friede, he just wanted to know where Friede was.The man from before still stood in the alley, slowly putting the steel the beam down, but Friede was nowhere to be seen. Rein ran past him, ignoring himwhile looking for any sign where Friede went. ¡°You should be careful kid if you want to protect her. That girl is a target of many participant right now..¡± The man spoke to Rein as he passed him. Hearing what hesaid, Rein finally taken notice and asked him. ¡°What do you mean?!¡± ¡°If you want to protect that girl, do it with everything you have.¡± He answered and walked away. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°An enemy, but i don¡¯t like fighting unless my master ordered me to, and i don¡¯t wantunnecessary victim.¡± ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Elis suddenly came from behind and the man suddenly gone. He paused for a few second before answering her. ¡°Elis, help me search for Friede. We must find her at once!¡± ¡°Yes master!¡± ¡®Friede, where are you? GOD DAMN IT!¡¯ He screamed inside. They started looking around the block. There was no way she could have ran that far, but after searching for more than an hour, he began to lose hope again. They had split up to double their search, and Elis even used her magic to track her, but Friede was nowhere to be found. The sun already set, and the thick cloud prevented any moonlight or star to illuminate the city. Making it much harder for them to search. ¡°I¡¯m sorry master. I¡¯m unable to find her.¡± Elis bowed her head as low as she could. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Elis, it¡¯s still not too late. We still could find her.¡± His face was the complete opposite of what he just said. He couldn¡¯t hide his worry and fear. Then he remembered something, something that would help in their search if he remembered it earlier. He held his head. ¡®Why the fuck didn¡¯t i do it before?¡¯ He questioned himself. He knew Rose number, he could ask her and Aldwin for help. He called and told her everything that happened since they left his house and he told her what he said before Friede ran away. Rose ordered him to stay in place. Not long after his call, Rose and Aldwin showed up. Something was wrong with Rose, she bared her teeth and her stare at him sharp. Her foot shifted in quick pace. Her hand shot to his cheek, making it red and hot. ¡°Huh?¡± He look puzzled. ¡°Whose fault do you think that she ran away?!¡± She asked. Her voice could be heard by Aldwin who stood some distance from her. ¡°Apologize!¡± ¡°Wa-Wa-what did i do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your fault for not knowing your fault! Apologize!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Apologize! Now!¡± He wanted to talk back, but he remembered that he once had the same kind of conversation with Friede that went like this in the past. He knew that it was impossible to talk back when woman were like this. He took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Now please you tell me what i did wrong?¡± ¡°How long have you known Friede?¡± She questioned. Her stare could stab him. ¡°Why are you asking me this? We should go look for her!¡± He answered. ¡°You dumbass! We need to solve the root of the problem first! Now answer me!¡± ¡°16 or 17 years i think, we met each other when we were four.¡± Rose buried her head on her palm. ¡°Geez! She must be an actress or you must be a complete idiot!¡± She folded her arm. ¡°Aldwin, start looking for her! I¡¯m gonna talk some sense into his thick skull first.¡± ¡°At least his is not as thick as yours.¡± Aldwin smirked. ¡°Oh shut up! just do as i told you, i don¡¯t have time for your joke.¡± ¡°Fine-fine.¡± Aldwin crouched down and placed his hand on the ground. From his sleeve, black smoke poured out and seeped into the ground. ¡°Now Rein, do you have any idea that Friede have an inferiority complex?¡± Rose asked. ¡°Inferiority complex? Friede?No! She¡¯s always look confident and cheerful when i see her. What make you think like that?¡± ¡°Because she told me you numbskull!¡±She sighed and assumed a more relaxed standing position. ¡±Do you know that since she was a child her sister always outshined her in every possible way. At first she accepted it, she knew that her sister was a genius, but after some time, people around her began comparing her to her sister. And starting from there everything in her life went downhill. She was never appreciated no matter how good she done thing, everyone started ignoring her, even her father and mother. The worse part is, her sister does not even notice her condition. From that point she started to hate her family..¡± ¡°Sh-She never told me anything like that!¡± Disbelief surfaced in Rein face. If what she said is true, then why does Friede looked so friendly and in good term with Iris. ¡°Of course she doesn¡¯t want you to pity her¡­ after all, you¡¯re the light of her life you know.¡± Rose turned her head somewhere else, breaking her fierce eye contact and softening her voices.¡± She told me that despite all of that, you¡¯re the only one person who truly appreciate her, who doesn¡¯t compare her to anyone, but then... you fell in love with her sister. After that you changed, every time you met her, all you asked about is her sister. Despite all of that, she still love you and decided to support you and her sister so that you could be happy.¡± She faced Rein again.¡±Now do you know what you did wrong?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± He answered slowly. Even as he said he still couldn¡¯t wrap his head around the information she told him. The face of the crying girl he met 17 years ago in a park popped in his head. ¡®Friede..is that.. Your true feeling?¡¯ He questioned in his head. ¡°You should think of a way to apologize when we found her later. Aldwin, how is the search going?¡± Rose look over her shoulder. Aldwin shook his head. ¡°Nothing, she is nowhere to be found within a 1 KM radius, above or underground.¡± ¡°That mean she¡¯s no longer in downtown area. Rein, have you checked her apartment?¡± ¡°No, not yet¡± He answered quick. In all of his panic he forgot to check the most obvious place to check. ¡°You and Elis check there! If she¡¯s not there then check the surrounding area.¡± She walked away. ¡°Where are you going Rose?¡± ¡°Searching for her in my own way. If you¡¯re not able to find her there just wait in front of her apartment, i¡¯ll come there in two hours.¡± They walked separate ways, but she stopped for a second. ¡°Rein, be careful! It¡¯s already night, other participant will come to hunt you down.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Elis is with me.¡± He answered. ¡°And.. thank you for telling me all of that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not telling this for someone as stupid as you, i¡¯m telling this so that you don¡¯t hurt her anymore.¡± She replied with a cold remark. ¡°Any idea where to search her Rose?¡± Aldwin asked. ¡°I have an idea.¡± She answered. ---- Her feet didn¡¯t stop for a second. Her brown hair jumped left and right as she ran. She doesn¡¯t bother to look where she went, what turn she took, what alley she passed, what corridor she went through. Her muscle began to sore, but she didn¡¯t want to stop, she wanted to run away. Run away from reality, run away from this cruel world, run away from him¡­ he who betrayed her. Her feet finally stopped moving. She realized her own thought. She crouched down and hit her head. ¡°STUPID! STUPID! STUPID FRIEDE!¡± She covered her face and cried waterfall. ¡°Why..Why are you like this Friede? It¡­ it¡¯s not his fault.. It was my fault for not telling him.¡± She looked at her own hand. ¡°I..I.. slapped him.¡± She regretted what she had done in her anger. She slapped and pushed away someoneshe loved, someonewho truly care about her. ¡°It was my fault! i.. i .. don¡¯t deserve him.¡± ¡°Oh yes you do!¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The sudden voice startled her and brought her back to reality. She only realized it at that time, she doesn¡¯t even know where she were, she doesn¡¯t recognize the place. The place look to bean old subway station, it was dark, dirty, and humid. From the darkness, a figure appeared. It was a man with a white hair. His eye colour was inverted, black sclera and white pupil. Behind, a woman with a ragged clothes that was covered with dirt. Surrounding her was a pack of strange looking dog, with stitches all over their body. ¡°Who are you?!¡± She shouted. Her whole body shivered when she saw the strange eyed man. ¡°Girl, do you want that boy? Come with me let me help you.¡± He asked. Without thinking, Friede ran away. She knew hewas dangerous, and not to mention the strange dog that was trying to surround her. ¡°Ck! Stupid girl.¡± ¡°You failed. MASTER.¡± The woman behind him spoke. She emphasize the master part and spoke with resentment in her voice. ¡°Why are we wasting our time on her? We should look for that man from yesterday. Even mistress Lucia and mistress Analise ordered you to do the same.¡± Heturned to face her and grabbed her hair.¡°I AM your master. Not Lucia! not Analise! ME! Do you understand?¡± She nodded in pain. He let go of her hair. ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit about a demon who chose to side with hero faction. No matter who he is in his life, no matter how important Lucia and Analise think he is. Now catch that girl. Don¡¯t hurt her too much, we need her to be the bait for other.¡± The woman nodded and took a step back. ¡°Catch her my children!¡± She extended her arm to where Friede was running. ---- The metal door opened. The number 15 appeared on the screen beside it. Rein and Elis walked through the door and to a bright hallway. The floor was covered with fancy and comfortable carpet. Expensive painting and and decoration filled the wall. On that level, there were only four room. They rang the bell of one of the room. ¡°Friede, you there?¡± There was no answer. ¡°If you¡¯re there i¡¯m coming in.¡± He took the key card out from his jacket pocket.. He had returned to his house before coming there to take the key card to Friede apartment room. Friede gave the key card to him in the past so that he could visit anytime without having to ask her first. Inside the room, all the light was turned off. The room itself wasn¡¯t that dark. The huge window on the side of the room let the light from the city in, but there was no presence of human in there, at least, not that he and Elis aware of. From the look of the light switch, there were no light that was turned on, not on the bathroom, or any room. ¡°Friede! You here?!¡± He yelled. There was no answer. He moved from the front door to the living room. There was something that caught his eyes in the darkness, a flickering light, moving near the TV. ¡°MASTER!¡± Elis hugged him from behind. A huge purple magic circle appeared in the air in front of them, covering the entire room height and width. The light flickered in fast succession and the sound of muffled gunshot echoed throughout the room. The flickering light from the gun was enough to reveal a man dressed in black standing in front of the TV with a gun in his hand. Countless of bullet fell to the ground after being stopped by the magic circle. ¡°Stay still master!¡± From around her, numerous black ball shot to her enemu. The black ball laid waste to any furniture caught in its path. The window shattered as the man sent his body off the building. His left hand threw a grappling hook to the top of the building, keeping him from falling off the fifteenth floor. His right hand threw a small black box into the room. Elis lifted Rein. Rein almost protest being lifted, before his protest turned into a scream as Elis threw them both out of the window. ¡°AAAAAAAAA¡± He screamed, but his scream was drowned by a shock wave coming from behind them. A bright light filled the night. A great fire streaked across the dark sky, consuming not just Friede¡¯s room, but the whole floor above and below it as well. From Elis back sprouted a bat wing, slowing their fall into a glide. ¡°AAA!AAA!AA! Yo-Yo-You can fly Elis?¡± Rein voice stuttered because of his fear. ¡°Hang on tight Master! In normal situation i could fly, but right now i have to carry you and make a shield for us.¡± behind her, a magic barrier was still bombarded by bullet. The man from before was hanging by a grappling hook on the side of building. The machine gun in his right hand still raining bullet on Elis and Rein. After gliding in the air for a few second that felt like hours, they land on the roof of the building opposite to the apartment. ¡°Elis, can you shot him from here?¡± ¡°No, not without blowing blowing the whole floor he¡¯s in. My spell aren¡¯t that accurate in long distance.¡± Rein felt something creeping in the back of his mind. A familiar cold feeling that he experienced a few times before, an unpleasant feeling that he wished he could forget, Death. ¡°ELIS!¡± He pushed Elis down. The coldness of steel grazed his back. ¡°Master!¡± There was another man behind them. Hewore a white cloak that stood out in the night. In his right hand, a blood stained dagger, and in his left hand was another similar dagger. He brought the left dager down. Elis raised her arm, creating an ice wall. The dagger penetrated the ice, but it was not long enough to touch them. Elis spun her hand, the ice wall moved according to her command. Ice spike formed on the surface of the wall. The man jumped back, his left dagger still stuck on the ice.Elis clenched her fist and the ice wall shattered into countless ice spike that followed her enemy. Fireballs and magic bolt hovered and shot through the air.The man in white moved and jumped around acrobatically, dodging every attack Elis threw at him and deflecting with his dagger any that he couldn¡¯t dodge. ¡°Assassin , that¡¯s why i didn¡¯t notice your presence.¡± She stood up. ¡°Assassin?¡± Rein asked. He took out the scanner.The assassin noticed and threw a throwing dagger at him, but Elis hair slithered and covered her master from the dagger.
Name: Rashid Ad-din Sinan Master: ?
Class: Assassin Subclass: -
Original location: Persia Spirit Rank A+
Parameter
Health(HP) 600 Mana(MP) 400
Strength D- Magical power E
Agility A- Luck C
Endurance D- Special Power B
Physical Resistance E+ Magical Resistance E+
¡°Rashid Ad-Din sinan? Who¡¯s that?¡± Rein asked himself. The scanner told him his name, but without the proper knowledge, that information meant nothing. Elis hair moved like a steel whip. Crackling in the air like a thunder along with her numerous spell. Again, rashid dodged them without much effort, although he himself was only able to dodge and unable to launch a counterattack. Suddenly, the magic shield behind Elis shattered like a glass, exposing Rein to the man on the apartment. She turned her head to look at the top of the apartment, there was now two person up there, a man and a woman. but that moment of her facing away from Rashid was a fatal error. Rashid wouldn¡¯t let that opportunity passed his hand. He dodged the incoming attack and dashed to Rein. He disappeared and in the next instant appeared beside to Rein with dagger in his hand. The dagger that reflected the little light the night had was directedto his eyes. Before Elis could cast another spell to protect her master, a bullet pierced her body from her left side, going through her arm and her stomach before going out from the other side of her body. ---------- Rose walkedon the road with Aldwin following her from behind. Her two hour times was almost up and she haven¡¯t even reached the place she wanted to. The streetlight was spaced far away from each other, and the cloud blocked the moon and the star, making the area darker than any other part of the city.On her left was a cliff overlooking the city and on her right was a dark dense forest. The view was breathtaking. Even with the cloud blocking the sea of star in the sky, all the light sparkling from the city was another sea of sky when looked from her position.She wiped her crimson hair off her face and the breeze fluttered it. Aldwin let out a long sigh. ¡°How long are we gonna walk?¡± He asked with a slumped shoulder. ¡°Stop complaining! It¡¯s fine once in a while to enjoy a walk like this.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one who say that we have to hurry? It would be faster if i carry you like before.¡± ¡°Like hell anyone would want to be carried over the shoulder like that! It look as ifyou¡¯re kidnapping me or something.¡± She folded her arm. ¡°What is up there anyway? We have walked up this road for almost half an hour now.¡± ¡°A playground, one that Friede have a lot of fond memories of. I think that park could be one of the place she would run away to.¡± ¡°A playground? This far from the city?¡± ¡°There was a village on top of this mountain, but after the city undergone a rapid development in the past twenty years, most of the inhabitant moved to the city. There are also an old church and temple around here.¡± ¡°How much more until the park you spoke of?¡± ¡°Another 200 meters or so.¡± ¡°Hang on tight Rose!¡± Aldwin ran to Rose, picked her up, and carried her over his shoulder. She was surprised by hs sudden action. ¡°Let me go!¡± She struggled and punched him from her awkward position. ¡°Just shut up! This is much faster.¡± After just a few second, they arrived at their destination and Aldwin let her down. ¡°Look at how much faster we arrive if you just stay put.¡± She punched him in the stomach to no effect. She realized something strange, even when she punched him when he was wearing his armour, her hand doesn¡¯t hurt. ¡°You¡¯re not wearing your breastplate?¡± She asked. ¡°Breastplate?... oh you mean this?¡± He slightly opened his buttonless white trench coat, revealing a black breastplate underneath. ¡°It look like a breastplate, but it¡¯s not. It was made with some kind of magical fabric. It does not offer much in physical protection, but it¡¯s flexible.¡± ¡°Now that i think about it, what kind of warrior use a trench coat? I mean, what kind of ancient civilization produced something similar to trench coat. Don¡¯t you have any other armor that give you more protection or something?¡± ¡°Roseee...¡± ¡°What?¡± She was confused, Aldwin gaze wasn¡¯t aimed at her but something behind her. Aldwin placed his hand on top of Rose head and turned it to face the park. Broken streetlight turning on and off rapidly. The mountain Wind blew a wind chime hanging on the roof of an old shack next to the park, then it went through a broken hollowed pipe, creating an eerie humming sound. The rusting metal creaked each time the chain of one of the swing moved. On one particular swing was a little girl wearing a gown with an expressionless face. A lollipop stuffed her mouth while her blank crimson eyes was staring at them, as if she could see right through their soul.Behind her was a man around Rose age, pushing the swing she was on. His black hair covered some of his face and glasses. The black shirt he wore was unbuttoned, revealing a black tank top underneath. ¡°Lizi, how long are we going to play here? It¡¯s well past your bedtime.¡± ¡°Luci¡­ don¡¯t you see that we have a guest here?¡± Aldwin stepped up in front of Rose with half of his body covering her view of the park. A twin dagger formed in Aldwin hands. ¡°Look Luci.. they¡¯re enemy. You said that enemy have to be killed right?¡± The girl asked with a monotone voice. ¡°You must not say that! people will think that you¡¯re a bad girl, buuuut if you promise to sleep early tomorrow..¡± ¡°I swear.¡± She raised her pinky finger. He replied and entwined his pinky finger with hers. The man made a pinky swear with her and patted her head. ¡°Just say the word.¡± Wide grin appeared on the man face. He removed his shirt and pulled the hair that covered his face backward. ¡°Eliminate them¡­.. Lucifer.¡± Strongest Adversary - 1 The steel approached him. Reflecting what little moonlight able to pierce the cloud to his eyes, blinding him. Time slowed down as the blade got closer and closer to him. Everything in this world, every particle in the air, every motion was slowing down. His mind cleared, he knew what to do. He just have to move a little bit to the right to save him from the certain doom, and after that he jumped to the right more, grabbed Elis and pulled both of them to safety. Yet, it was only his mind that cleared. His nerve was too slow to do anything to the blade that approached him. All that thinking and all that planning in his head was for naught, nothing but his brain last attempt to save itself. He shut his eyes tight. Waiting and hoping that his death would be a quick and painless death, but it never came. The sound of metal clashing made him open his eyes. The dagger was stopped by a sword with a long handle, no, it stopped by a spear. A familiar spear with a cross stabilizer, the spear of Troy. ¡°Hector?¡± Rein was surprised. ¡°Heya kid, Let me handle this one. Help your spirit there and take care of those on top of those building.¡± He pushed Rashid back and took a stance. ¡°Go!¡± Rein psuhed his body up and caught Elis body. He dragged Elis to take cover behind a wall on the rooftops. ¡®Damn! She¡¯s heavy!¡¯ he thought. He heard a gunshot, but the source was from a building behind the rooftops they¡¯re in, not from the apartment roof. The shot itself seemed to be directed at the apartment roof.The bullet directed right to the woman standing in the top of the apartment. Before the bullet could even get near her, it disintegrated.Rein couldn¡¯t see that well, but he knew who it was that helped them. There was only one logical conclusion to who it was if Hector was there, Herman. ¡°Elis, patch yourself up and deal with those on the roof!¡± She held the wound and it shone with purple light. The wound gradually getting smaller. ¡°I¡¯m sorry master i-¡± ¡°Just focus on you wound Elis. Sorry can come later.¡± ¡°Yes... master.¡± Not long after that, when Elis almost completely healed , she stood up. The clothes she wore transformed into her usual apparel. ¡°TIi¡¯ll be going master.¡± ¡°Be careful Elis.¡± He said. She nodded with a smile on her face. Bat wing sprouted from her back and she took off, but it was more appropriate to say that she was hovering up rather than flying. Magic bullet rained down on her, but without the need to protect her master, it was easy for her to block the enemy attack.She flew to the top of the apartment and was greeted by a woman in an expensive looking black gown. The man in black from before was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Where is that man?¡± She asked. ¡°Oh my! A servant that doesn¡¯t understand manner. We should introduce ourselves first when we first met.¡± The woman answered with a sly smile on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for your joke woman!¡± Elis replied. The smile widen on the woman face. The sky behind Elis suddenly darken, wall of shadow wrapped the entire apartment. Noticing the trap, Elis fired several magic bolt at her only for her to counter it with the exact same attack. ¡®Mage territory?¡¯ Elis thought. ¡°Then allow me teach you some manner servant! I am Semiramis, The great queen of Assyria!¡± ---- Throwing dagger littered around his feet. He stopped the spinning spear in his hand and held it upright. Even at disadvantaged position, his enemy didn¡¯t lose composure. No matter how good Rashid was, he was still an Assassin after all, not suited for frontal combat. He knew that he had no chance if he faced the great hero of Troy in a fair battle. Rashid assessed Hector, from his movement to his combat style, trying to look for any flaw Hector might have that he could exploit. Unbeknown to him, Hector was the one who exploited his weakness. ¡°That¡¯s seven already. Don¡¯t tell me you have more of those dagger, it¡¯s useless i tell you.¡± Hector said. ¡°Hector of Troy¡­ it would be better if you don¡¯t underestimate me.¡± Rashid replied. Hector was surprised that his enemy replied to what he said. So far, no matter what he said, his enemy didn¡¯t seems to listen or have any will to answer. He smiled, something he said must have flipped his enemy switch or something, forcing him to reply. ¡°Old man of the mountain, Rashid Ad-din Sinan. My partner told me who you are. He said that you¡¯re one of the best among Hashasin. Maybe even surpassing the legendary Hasan-I-Sabbah, but if your skill is only like this¡­ i¡¯m disappointed.¡± Hector observed his enemy without missing anything. Rashid finger twitched slightly. ¡®Look like a prideful person to me. I can exploit this.¡¯ He thought. Hector spun his spear around in his right hand then passed it to his left. He spun it in front of his body, in his back, on top of his head, trying to show off. ¡°You think you can get pass this spear of mine?¡± He provoked. ¡°I bet you can¡¯t even see it!¡± He was trying his best to move his spear faster and faster, but he failed on one of his try. The spear spun too fast for him to catch with his right hand and fell to the ground. Rashid noticed the opportunity and seized it. He dashed right at Hector, aiming his dagger right at his heart. Hector grinned, he never thought that his ruse would work so well. He raised his feet and kicked the falling spear upward to his hand. Using his superior speed, He grabbed the spear and slashed at his dashing enemy.Rashid realized his mistake, but he was too slow to back away. Blood gushed out from his stomach, soaking his white cloak. He jumped back a few time, creating a huge gap between himself and his enemy. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that would go so well.¡± Hector said with a smile on his face. ¡°You will this, Hector of Troy!¡± Rashid crossed both of his arm in front of his chest. His palm facing to the sky. ¡°Al-Layl Al-Abadiya.¡± He whispered. The ground turned dark, and shadow burst forth from it. Hector turned his head to look at Rein. Once Hector found him, he kicked the ground to get near him with his full speed, disappearing and appearing next to him. Rein was surprised by Hector, he was too fast for his eyes to caught. ¡°RAISE YOUR ARM!¡± He yelled. Rein raised his arm in reflex. Hector suddenly kicked him, sending his body off the edge of the roof. Just after Hector kicked Rein out of the way, wall of darkness bursted upward, creating a huge dome. Numbness assault his senses, and his vision blurred. ¡®Poison?¡¯ He thought, but after a while, the numbness was gone. ¡®No, it''s something else.¡¯ His vision still blurred, like the whole area was covered by thick black mist. In front of him stood a pitch black wall. He tried to push it, nothing happen. He slashed, stabbed, kicked, and punched, but the wall stood still undisturbed. ¡°A powerful territory, or something else entirely.¡± Rashid was nowhere to be seen, and his vision worsen by the second. The place was dark and filled with black mist that hindered his eyesight, but it wasn¡¯t just that. It started from just blurred vision, but it was getting darker and darker until he couldn¡¯t see at all. He walked while holding his spear with both hand, readying it any moment Rashid might attack. Inside there was complete silence with his footsteps and breathing the only sound he could hear. The wall completely blocked any sound from the outside coming in, and possibly any sound coming out. He noticed something, the more he walked, the fainter his footsteps and breathing became. He slashed the air with his spear, creating a whistling sound in the air, but what he heard was only a faint sound. He shouted. Again, he only heard a faint sound. ¡®So it''s not my breath, I¡¯m losing my hearing.¡¯ Justa minute after that, his hearing became useless, he couldn¡¯t hear anymore. Two of his senses had been taken away from him. His gut told him that someone was closing in on him. He slashed at that direction, but he didn¡¯t feel flesh or blood in his blade. He only slashed a thin air. He missed, and he was injured. He felt pain on his lower abdomen and it was bleeding. ¡®Knife wound¡­ the fact that he didn¡¯t not kill me mean that my slash was on point, and hindered his attack¡­. Still, fighting like this is a pain in the ass.¡¯ He complained in his mind.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Rein grabbed the edge of the roof at the last moment, saving himself from falling five stories onto his demise down below. He used all of his muscle strength to pull himself up. ¡®Damn it! I didn¡¯t do all those pull up for nothing!¡¯ He thought. He struggled to get up and his muscle began aching. Pulling his body up was one thing, but actually getting to the roof again was another matter. He made it. ¡°Hector! What the heck?!¡± Hector did not answer, nor does Rein need his question to be answered after what he saw when he got back up on the roof. A huge black dome covered the roof, leaving only a few space open. Hector and Rashid nowhere to be seen. He touched and pushed the black wall, but was pushed back by some force. ¡°HECTOR!¡± Someone called. Herman jumped from one roof to another while calling Hector. On one hand he carried a sniper rifle,and on the other was some kind of binocular. He wore a black military that blend well with the night. ¡°God dammit! I told you to not be reckless!¡± He punched the black dome. He turned to face Rein. ¡°You! Where is your spirit?¡± ¡°Uh.. Elis she¡¯s up there.¡± Rein pointed to the apartment rooftops. He turned to look to the apartment roof where Elis was fighting. The apartment roof was covered by the same pitch black dome. ¡°I was to careless.¡± He spoke to himself. ¡°Shit!¡± He placed the binocular on his belt and took out a scanner.
SKILL
Hiding: A+
Rashid is a true master at hiding. Evenin broad daylight and using a white cloak, it is almost impossible to find him unless he revealed himself.
Presence Obscurity: A+
Rashid presence is completely undetectable until he''s about to attack. His action is also silent.
SIGNATUREPOWER
AL-LAYL AL-ABADIA
Rank: B+ Type: Territory
Al-layl Al-abadia, everlasting night. Rashid create a territory, anyone who caught inside, be it friend or foe other than Rashid himself will gradually lose all of their senses. Starting with their sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Anyone caught inside for too long will start to become delusional and lose their mind.
----- Elis held her hand together. Her white skin covered by blood coming out from all gthe wound in her body. Her breathing rough and ragged. Beside her, multiple dead bodies laid on the floor. Those poor soul were the inhabitant of the apartment who checked what was happening on the rooftops, only to found themselve blown to pieces by Semiramis and Elis magic the moment they stepped to the roof. ¡°I¡¯m disappointed. I was expecting much more from an A+ ranked mage, not to mention you can instant cast your spell, but i guess you¡¯re nothing.¡± Semiramis commented on her condition. ¡°I wonder why?¡± From their parameter and their skill, Elis supposed to have the upper hand even when her power was reduced, but the territory Semiramis made wasn¡¯t a normal territory. It increased her power multiple fold and decreased Elis power. Inside her own territory even a simple fireball from Semiramis was enough to match with Elis high ranked fireball. ¡°Tell me, o great queen of Assyria. The territory you created, it¡¯s not a normal territory right?¡± Elis asked. ¡°Keen observation. A normal territory is unbefitting a great queen like me. This is an isolated space rather than a territory. No matter what you do here there is no hope of contacting the outside world, someone from outside can¡¯t help you.¡± Wide grin appeared on Elis face. Instead of despairing, she found a new hope in her answer. ¡°HAHAHAHA! Good! Good! I was hesitant to use my signature and show my ugly form to master, after all.. I still want to taste that young body of his. If that is the case then there is no problem.¡± Elis spoke to herself. Her smile widen to an impossible size, showing a row of shark-like teeth. Elis raised her arm, her body hovered to the air. Her hair enveloped her whole body to form something like a cocoon. Semiramis was confused and intrigued. She waited for Elis to finish what ever she was doing, for no matter what she does, there was no way Elis could hope to defeat Semiramis in her own territory. Elis cocoon bursted in blood. What came out of it was not what Semiramis had in mind, nor does she ever imagined that she would saw something like that. Something out of imagination, something out of horror story. The beautiful woman was no more. Instead, a floating black goat heads came out. The goat had six eyes on each of its three head. Four horn protruded from the main head while two from each of the lesser head. A pentagram of blood covered the main head forehead. The goat head was huge, the length of one of its horn alone was as long as a fully grown man. Upon closer inspection of the head, there were countless small eyes and mouth scattered all around its skin. The head themselve was made of a huge amount of hair like substance. ¡°What are you?¡± Semiramis asked, her eyes wide open in shock. A hole opened in the goat forehead, right in the middle of the pentagram. The hole released a huge amount of blood and from it emerged a familiar face of the woman Elis ¡°Let me pay you your due respect o great queen of Assyria by telling you our name.¡± Multiple snake-like tentacle sprouted from the side of the goat head. On the end of each of those tentacle was a face, all of them looked the same as the one in the forehead. All of those face stared at Semiramis. ¡°We have many name.¡± One of the face said. ¡°Many have been lost in time and forgotten.¡± Another one continued. ¡°Many have been claimed by others.¡± ¡°Many have changed.¡± ¡°Few remained.¡± All the face turned silent and main goat face opened its mouth. A deep and ominous voice came out. ¡°We are The Black Goat of in the wood with a Thousand Young!¡± Semiramis opened her palm and in an instant scanned the thing in front of her.
Name: Shub-Niggur (Emeralis) Master: Rein Constantine
Class: Mage Subclass: Necromancer, Elementalist, Arcanist.
Original location: ? Spirit Rank A++(A+)
Parameter
Health ? Mana ?
Strength D Magical power A+
Agility B Luck B
Endurance C Signature power A+
Physical Resistance C Magical Resistance A
SKILL
Instant cast: B
Able to cast B ranked magic or lower without incantation, but Mana cost is doubled.
Quick Cast : A
Able to cast A ranked magic or lower at incredible speed
Mind of Madness: B
Inherent ability of anEldritch horror. Anyone who get near the presence of Shub-Niggur will slowly lose their sanity and anyone who gaze upon her true form will lose it at an even faster rate.
Signature power
Release True Form
Rank: - Type: Limiter Removal
Transform Elisinto hertrue form of Shub-Niggur, the black goat. Increase all parameter by a certain degree. Add a certain skill and unlock hiddenSignature power. No matter how powerful one scanning spell or skill is, it is impossible to discern Shub-Niggurtrue nature unless she revealed it herself.
Necronomicon
Rank: A+ Type:Grimoire
The grimoire of Shub-Niggur in the form of book. Made of human flesh and hair. An ancient language detailing every spellshe knew was written in blood inside this book. Could be given to others so that they can use her spell, but it is useless now, for no one other than her in modern age could read what is inside anymore.
¡°Shub-Niggur...To think that an Eldritch horror would answer the call of a human... Interesting.¡± Semiramis replied. Her face filled with intrigue and curiosity. Strongest Adversary - 2 Hector spun around his spear. He could felt his enemy general position, but his instinct were not good enough to know exactly where rashid was. His whole body numbed. He had lost all of his sense, save for his touch and his pain senses. Even then, he started to lose his feeling of touch and pain. He began to doubt that he even holding his spear, with the only indication being that he couldn¡¯t tighten his grip anymore. ¡®So that is his signature, a territory that steal his victim senses.¡® He thought. Rashid watched Hector movement. For him, the area was bright as day. His territory had no effect on him. ¡°Impressive.¡± He said. He had tried attacking a few times before, but each time Hector was able to feel his movement and slashed him at the right time. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you fare with something like this.¡± He took out the last two dagger he had left and threw both of it at Hector face. Hector felt the attack, but he didn¡¯t know that it was a ranged attack. He slashed at the direction the dagger was coming, thinking that Rashid attacked. His slash altered the dagger flight path. He deflected one of the dagger out of his way while the other one stabbed his arm, but he didn¡¯t flinch. He couldn¡¯t feel pain anymore. ¡°To think that he could deflect the dagger.¡± Rashid said. ¡°Look like i have no choices but to attack like before.¡± Rashid took out a curved sword and charged at Hector. Hector stood still and didn¡¯t move. ¡°Spear of Troy!¡± Hector stabbed the ground with his spear, creating a huge explosion and a powerful gale, strong enough to push Rashid back. Hector slashed at the ground again and again. Pushing Rashid back each time without giving him chance to counter him. Rashid was pushed back until the edge of his territory. His back hit the wall while his chest was pressed by the wind pressure. The black dome shattered and collapsed around them. Hector five senses returned to him. The cold breeze of winter night swept his skin, giving him a tingling feeling and a shiver. Relief and happiness washed over him. His eyes focused again on the man who ran away. Rashid ran away from the roof after knowing that he had no chance against him. Hector raised his spear high and assumed a throwing stance. The spear whistled as it pierced the air at incredible speed. It covered the length of two building in an instant and caught up with Rashid. ¡°Al-Layl.¡± Just before the tip of the spear hit his back, Rashid body disappeared into the darkness of the night. The spear, lost its target, dissipate into a cloud of green mist before forming again in the hand of Hector. ¡°....¡± Hector observed the area around him. Rashid could be anywhere, and with Rashid skill of presence obstruction, he might be preparing for a surprise attack. The black wall surrounding the apartment rooftops also dissipated revealing Semiramis and Elis, who had returned to her human form, to those watching from below. Both Elis and Semiramis stared at each other, both breathing rapidly. From the shadow behind Semiramis, Rashid re-emerged and placed his hand on Semiramis¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We have to retreat for now.¡± Rashid whispered to her ear. Semiramis took a glance over her shoulder. ¡°Hmm, i¡¯m having fun here¡­. But if you say so.¡± She answered. Her gaze returned to Elis. ¡°I hope our next encounter will be as entertaining as this one¡­ Emeralis.¡± ¡°Al-Layl.¡± Rashid whispered. Both Rashid and Semiramis body melded into the shadow of the night. After making sure that both of them were truly gone, Elis body trembled. She held her knee in order to stood up, but even her knee gave up and she crouched to the ground. She let out a small laugh. ¡±To think that i would struggle against a human.¡± Her hand wiped the floor that was darkened because of their spell. Firefighter and ambulance siren could be heard through the black smoke that soared from below. ---- Rose held her arm close to her chest, gripping tight the gem in her necklace. She shut her lips together. her eyes focused on two that was fighting. A loud sound like a gong reverberated through the mountain every few second. The sound shook the trees and rustled the leaf, reinforcing her worry. The playground from before was completely decimated. The seesaw, the swing, the slide, all became nothing more than broken metal scattered on the ground. On the decimated ground two men fought. One wore white one wore black. One had bruises all over his body and the other barely had any scratches. One wielded a twin dagger and the other fight bare handed. Rose couldn¡¯t believe what she saw. Her spirit that so far had exceeded her expectation, that had proven himself to be a powerful spirit, who were able to went toe to toe with the legendary hero of troy, was being pushed back and forced on defensive. She knew her spirit wasn¡¯t the strongest, but this fight was completely one sided. Aldwin jumped back to catch his breath, but Lucifer wouldn¡¯t let him. He appeared in front of Aldwin with a large booming sound. His movement destroyed the ground beneath his feet, sending chunk rock and dirt up in the air. He assumed a martial arts stance, one that neither Aldwin nor Rose had seen before. The air swirled around him, following his every move. As if controlling the air around him, the wind reinforced his movement and acting like an armor, making him faster, stronger, and masking his movement without hindering him a slightest bit. He stomped the ground and let out a straight punch with his right hand, aiming for Aldwin¡¯s head. A loud gong-like sound erupted in the air where Lucifer punch landed. Aldwin moved his head out of the way and the punch missed, but the air around Lucifer¡¯s hand raged violently, hitting Aldwin¡¯s head like a punch and scratching his skin. Aldwin countered with his dagger and sent a series of chained attack at Lucifer, but none connect. Lucifer hand redirected all of Aldwin attack with a swift and serene movement, Like a water flowing down a river.Lucifer hand glowed red like a lamp as it moved. A jab hit Aldwin lower chest. It was a quick jab, so fast that Aldwin was unable to see it. The jab didn¡¯t hurt him too much, but it sent a wave across Aldwin¡¯s body, numbing him. Rose turned to the girl that was standing on top of one of the tree. Before they started fighting, Lucifer brought her up there. So far she just stood there and watched the fight with her expressionless face. At first Rose planned to attack her while Aldwin kept Lucifer busy, but Aldwin saw right through her plan and forbid her to do it. She didn¡¯t understand why Aldwin told her to not attack the girl. Looking back at the fight she became curious of Lucifer¡¯s power and skill, she haven¡¯t tried scanning him yet, in fear that the girl might attack if she tried to scan Lucifer. She started the incantation for a powerful scanning spell, cautiously hiding her voice so that the girl didn¡¯t notice her. ¡°Go on, don¡¯t be afraid.¡± The girl spoke. Her voice startled Rose, she noticed the spell. ¡°It¡¯s not like knowing Luci power going to change anything. Go on.¡± Rose ignored her taunt and finished her spell. Lucifer (Fake) Stats
Name: Lucifer Master: Elizabeth
Class: Fighter Subclass: Martial Artist
Original location: ? Spirit Rank A++
Parameter
Health(HP) 1600 Mana(MP) 1200
Strength B Magical power C
Agility A+ Luck A
Endurance B+ Signature power ?
Physical Resistance E Magical Resistance DThis novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Skill
Martial Art: A+
Lucifer is a true master of his own Martial arts.
Pain resistance: A
Pain does not affect Lucifer battle performance and he would fight until recieving a lethal blow.
Natural Instinct: A
Instinct recieved as a talent from born. Able to feel the best course of action in battle. Fighting without his vision will only slightly lower his battle performance.
Fiendish Power : A
Lucifer is considered by many to be a high ranking demon. Reduce damage received from source with no or lower Fiendish or Divine power.
¡°A++?!¡± She was surprised, but the fact that Lucifer was an A++ spirit explained why he was able to match and even push Aldwin back. The thing that was still nagging her mind however was the question to why Aldwin didn¡¯t change his weapon and why didn¡¯t he use his signature power. She knew that Aldwin had many other weapon, weapon that would give him advantage over Lucifer close range bare handed fighting style. Lucifer kicked Aldwin right in his stomach. Aldwin blocked it with his dagger, but the kick pushed him until he hit the road railing. ¡°C¡¯mon show me your signature power.¡± Lucifer said. Aldwin¡¯s eyes moved from one end to the other as if looking for something. ¡°That would be for our next meeting.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s too bad¡­ cause there is no next meeting.¡± Lucifer answered with a creepy smile. ¡°I agree.¡± Aldwin answered with another another grin. His eyes wasn¡¯t directed at Lucifer, but something behind him. Something that fell from the sky. The ground behind Lucifer exploded, shaking the whole forest and the mountain. Dirt, dust and rock spewed into the air, blocking everyone view of what was happening. A huge man appeared behind Lucifer, with a giant club in his right hand. Lucifer raised his hand to the side to protect himself from the attack, but the club carried an immense force. His body blown a hundred meter into the forest, knocking down any trees in his path. After the air cleared, Rose could see what was happening. A barechested man stood in front of Aldwin with a club in his hand, Lucifer was nowhere to be seen. The Elizabeth girl from before had already ran away somewhere. The man was huge, around one and a half Aldwin height, and with a body that was full of ripped muscle. The lion hide that acted as his cape fluttered in the wind. His appearance reminded her of someone, a hero she knew, but she couldn¡¯t find it in her mind. ¡°Move aside Demon! Give me your master and you don¡¯t have to face a horrible death.¡± The man spoke with a deep voice. Aldwin chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me Heracles.¡± Aldwin answered. ¡°There is no way i would lose to someone like you.¡± ¡°You know me from just my look. I hope your strength is as good as you knowledge.¡± Heracles answered. ¡®Heracles?!¡¯ She yelled in her own mind. She couldn¡¯t believe that she didn¡¯t remember Heracles appearance. The Nemean lion hide in his back basically gave away his identity as one of the most famous hero in the world, Heracles or more commonly known as Hercules. ¡°This is bad.¡± She chanted a spell. Heracles Stats
Name: Heracles Master:
Class: Fighter, Warrior, Knight, Mounter, Archer Subclass: Swordman, Lancer, Berserker, Beast master, Charioteer, Tamer, Gladiator, Bowman.
Original location: Greek Spirit Rank A++
Parameter
Health(HP) 3000 Mana(MP) 500
Strength A+ Magical power D
Agility A Luck B
Endurance A+ Signature power A
Physical Resistance E Magical Resistance E
Weapon Master: B
The Ability to wield any weapon with great proficiency, even the one he haven''t wield in life. Heracles was born with great ability to wield any kind of weapon. He''s also known to wield many different weapon in his legend. The exeption of this is bow and club which he could wield with rank A proficiency.
Pain resistance: A
Pain does not affect Heracles battle performance and he would fight until a lethal blow is dealt to him.
Battle Instinct: B
Instinct Honed through Numerous battle. Able to feel enemy action in battle.
Aldwin placed his hand together. A giant sword as big as his own body formed in his hand. A crude sword, the blade was rusting and the edge didn¡¯t look sharp. There was an ornament of some sort on the center of the blade, but it was already broken and covered with ash. Aldwin and Heracles stared at each other for a good half a minute. Their weapon clashed, blowing the ground below them and sending a gust of wind that shook the forest. A bolt of lightning crackled across the sky and hit Heracles head right between his eyes.,but it fizzled out and did nothing but annoyed him. Heracles turned his head to look at the source of the attack. Rose was extending her arm out with smoke coming from her hand. ¡°I-it didn¡¯t work?¡± Heracles stared her down. The sense of dread and despair crept up her spine. Her body shivered and froze in fear. Heracles pointed his finger to Rose. ¡°Don¡¯t try that again! Don¡¯t interrupt my fight! Do-¡± Aldwin struck Heracles body with his giant sword, but the sword stopped on his skin without as much as leaving a scratch. ¡°Damn! the Nemean hide is strong.¡± Heracles stared him. ¡°Rose, don¡¯t try that again. This is between heracles and me, don¡¯t interrupt!¡± Rose could move again. ¡°What are you talking about?! Do you think you could beat Heracles alone when that guy before beat you to pulp like that?! When you couldn¡¯t even leave a scratch on him?!¡± She yelled. ¡°You¡¯re loud as always. I¡¯ll think of a way! I won¡¯t lose to a heroic spirit, especially not to a demi-god! ¡± Aldwin replied. Heracles let out a loud and deep laugh. ¡°Won¡¯t lose to a heroic spirit? Your mouth is loud for someone who couldn¡¯t even pierce my Nemean hide.¡± Heracles replied. ¡°Pathetic!¡± He leap out high into the sky and slammed down on Aldwin, creating a crater as he touched the ground. Aldwin moved out of the way and charged at him after he landed. Aldwin aimed his attack at Heracles neck. Again, his sword didn¡¯t have any effect on Heracles. Heracles deflected Aldwin¡¯s sword with his hand and began fighting him. ¡®It¡¯s strange.¡¯ Rose thought. Even though Heracles perimeter was higher than that of Lucifer, but Aldwin fight more evenly against him. Which doesn¡¯t make sense, Heracles completely outclassed Aldwin in everything and his club skill was on A rank, not to mention none of Aldwin¡¯s attack have any effect on him. Yet Aldwin dodged, blocked and clashed with him on an almost even ground. Their weapon met each other¡¯s numerous time. Each time it met, Aldwin¡¯s arm throbbed more and more, sending a numbing pain throughout his body. Rose noticed and knew that Aldwin couldn¡¯t stand much longer. ¡®If a normal spell didn¡¯t work, then i just have to use my strongest one.¡¯ She took a gem from her pocket and began chanting a long spell. She tried her best to hid it so that they didn¡¯t notice. The night turn to day as a giant ball of light hovered in the air. Aldwin and Heracles look at the ball that hovered 10 meter above their head. ¡°Rose you idiot!¡± Aldwin shouted. He planted his giant sword on the ground and hide his body behind it. The whole area erupted in a blaze. Rose lowered her magic shield to look at the result. The smoke slowly dissipated, and in the middle of it all, Heracles stood unharmed. ¡°I-Impossible even an A- ranked magic couldn¡¯t touch him.¡±
Absolute defense: A
The manifestation of Heracles first labor, the Nemean Lion. This ability is active even if he doesn''t wear the lion hides. Any attack lower than A-rank will have no effect whatsoever to him.
Divine power: A
Heracles is the son of supreme god Zeus and a mortal woman, making him a top class demi-god. Reduce damage received from someone that have lower or no divine or Fiendish power.
Heracles turned to look at Rose. ¡°Girl, i told you not to interrupt.¡± The ground beneath him crack and Heracles disappeared. Only for him to show up right in front of Rose with the club above her head. There was nothing that she could do, He was too fast for even her eye to catch. Heracles noticed something and jumped back. A thunder struck the place where he stood before. It struck in front of Rose, but she was unharmed. ¡°HERACLES! I¡¯M YOUR ENEMY HERE!¡± Aldwin stood with a colossal spear beside him. The spear was so huge, its length was double that of his body. The blade part crackled with golden lightning. ¡°Don¡¯t touch that girl Heracles, or not even all of your twelve labor is going to be any of help to you. Rose! get away from there!¡± ¡°But!¡± ¡°No But!¡± Aldwin shouted. His face serious, much more serious than Rose have ever seen before. Rose reluctantly followed his order, knowing that she would only be a burden if she stayed there. She retreated into the forest, taking a safe distance while still able to observe the fight from there. Heracles position his body to face Aldwin. ¡°So you do have a weapon that could pierce the Nemean hide, i wonder why didn¡¯t you use it before?¡± He asked. ¡°Cause I don¡¯t need such luxury to defeat you.¡± The colossal spear in his hand transformed back into the giant sword from before. Aldwin held the the ornament in the center of the blade and crushed it with his hand. ¡°Corvus Nigrum.¡± The blade lit up. A raging black flame emerged from the crushed ornament and consumed the blade.They charged at each other again and their weapon clashed. Aldwin moved faster than before, he dodge and slashed at Heracles chest. Heracles moved back a bit, the blade only grazed his chest. This time, blood dripped from Heracles chest. ¡°Who¡¯s pathetic now?¡± Aldwin questioned him. ¡°HAH! You can¡¯t even kill a demon who is beaten half dead! And instead resort to attack a girl, Pathetic!¡± Heracles stopped his attack and stepped back. He let out a huge roar that made the mountain trembled. A roar that sent shiver to anyone or anything that heard it. ¡°Pathetic? Then i show you how scary i can be.¡± A tree smashed Heracles body. He was unharmed and the tree split in two. ¡°Did you forget about me?¡± Lucifer appeared behind Heracles. He punched Heracles body with his right fist. He twisted his hand, pushing Heracles back a few meter, but he only received a minor injury. ¡°Damn your body is hard.¡± Blood covered Lucifer broken and twisted left arm. It was crushed by Hercules club from before. His tanktop and trouser shredded with many cut. ¡°MAKE WAY! MAKE WAY!¡± Someone shouted. Everyone there looked to the source of the sound. A giant fireball darted in the sky like a meteor. The sky turned red as the fireball fell to the battlefield at breakneck speed. Aldwin and Lucifer dashed to their respective master while heracles stood still, undeterred by the falling meteor. The area exploded, causing a massive landslide and creating a huge crater. ¡°Wha-what happened?¡± Rose asked after the explosion. Aldwin extended his arm and made a gesture signalling Rose to stand back. In front of them, a huge and deep crater made by the falling object. In the center of it stood a massive chariot dragged by two huge blazing horse. On it, a man stood. Silver greek armor covered his chest and a red cape fluttered behind him. A helmet with a huge plume that stretched from the front to the back sat on his head. On his right a fine silver sword, and on his left, a beautiful decorated shield. The shield caught Rose attention. The shield was made of multiple layer of circle. Imagery of many thing engraved each layer of the shield, constellation, people, farmland, cattle, ocean. ¡°The Great HEROOOO has entered the battlefield!¡± The voice that spoke before resounded in the crater, but the man that stood in the chariot did not speak. ¡±Xanthus and Achilles of Greek has arrived!¡± The man on the chariot put down his sword and switched it with a spear. He poke one of the horse with it. ¡°Hey Xanthus don¡¯t spout out my name so easily. We didn¡¯t come here to chat with the enemy.¡± ¡°I have to!¡± Xanthus, one the horse spoke.¡±Everyone must know the great horse Xanthus and the master he serve when i enter the battlefield. So they will know who defeated them when i trampled over their body.¡± Achilles sighed looking at his horse action. ¡°You forget Balius.¡± Xanthus look at the horse next to him. ¡°Oh yeah. AAAAND BALIUS!¡± Strongest Adversary - 3 Achilles sarcastically clapped after hearing his horse entrance speech. ¡°Bra-vo. I feel bad when you¡¯re the only one who is able to speak. Athena should have given both of you the ability of human speech.¡± Balius, his other horse turned its head to Xanthus and neighed. Xanthus nodded and looked at Achilles. ¡° Balius said that he rather be dead than having a stupid mouth like m¡­...you!YOU! Balius said that you have a stupid mouth! You should punish him!i.¡± ¡°Oh shut up Xanthus! Look in front of you!¡± Achilles pointed forward with his spear. Heracles stood still, watching their ridiculous behaviour. His body singed and scratched a little in the arm, but other than that there was no damage to him. ¡°Look like the explosion is not enough to damage him. Guess we have to charge directly at him.¡± Achilles remarked. ¡°Done?¡± Heracles asked. He leap up high into the air with his club held with both hand. ¡°Balius, Xanthus!¡± With the sound of their hooves against the hard ground, The horses pulled the chariot out of the way before Heracles slammed his club on them. Their trot became canter which in turn became a gallop as they climbed the wall of the crater. They gained more and more speed and momentum as they climbed the almost vertical wall. Xanthus and Balius hooves caught on fire as they got near the top of crater. The sound of chariot wheel grinding the rock couldn¡¯t be heard anymore as both the chariot and horse flew in the air. The horses galloped in the air as if they were still on the ground, getting further and further to the sky. The chariot turned sideway when it was far enough from the ground and began circling in the sky above Heracles. ¡°ACHILLES!¡± Heracles let out a thunderous shout as he extended his arm to the side. His shout could be heard by Achilles whose chariot was hundreds of meter above where he stood. ¡°LET¡¯S US SEE! WHO IS THE GREATEST OF GREEK HERO BETWEEN US!¡± Heracles took out a huge bow that is as big as his body and place a proportionately huge arrow on it. His muscle tensed and bulged as he pulled the string and aimed it at sky. Smile appeared on Achilles face. ¡°I take your challenge Hercules. Let us decide who is the greatest of greek hero.¡± He tighten his grip of the rein that controlled both Xanthus and Balius. ¡°Xanthus! Balius!¡± Both his horses and his chariot sparked lightning around them. They got faster and faster at circling the sky that a huge halo of lighting appeared in the sky. With a huge shockwave Heracles let go of the arrow in his hand. His hair blown by the shockwave as his arrow accelerated to a speed faster than that of the sound. A deafening sonic boom erupted as the arrow twisted the air and pierced the sky. The arrow missed, but the ripple in the air could be felt by Achilles and his horses as the arrow passed them. The arrow flew past them and didn¡¯t stop even when it reached the cloud above. It created a visible hole in the thick cloud that covered the sky that night. ¡°Impressive! But you won¡¯t beat me if you can¡¯t hit me!¡± Achilles shouted. ¡°Then dodge this!¡± Heracles replied by shooting several arrow in quick succession. Even though he shot multiple arrow, each one was as powerful as before. None of it hit Achilles chariot, but it came closer than the first one before. ¡®This is bad! He will hit me in one point.¡¯ Achilles thought. He raised one of his arm then pointed it at Heracles below. ¡°It¡¯s time to attack boys!¡± Both of his horse changed their direction and took a dive, followed by his chariot. They gained more speed as they descended. Thunder and flame erupted around and enveloped them, creating a barrier that protected them and at the same time increased their destructive force. Heracles took out his club and held it with both of his hand. Red mist evaporated from his skin, and pushed out the air around him. The ground under gave up as he raised the club above his head. ¡°God of war, Stance!¡± Rose couldn¡¯t believe what had transpired. She had seen a legendary spirit like Aldwin or Hector fight before, but what she saw on that night was on a whole another level. Arrow that travelled faster than sound, blazing chariot that flew in the sky faster than a racing car, she was both amazed and afraid. And just when she thought that there could be nothing more unbelievable that could happen, she was proven wrong. Aldwin stood in front of her, his arm extended forward. Black smoke shielded both of them in a spherical shape. The last thing she saw before the black shield formed was Achilles chariot taking a sharp dive at Heracles. The ground quaked and rumbled all around her. She could only imagine what was happening. The black smoke returned to Aldwin¡¯s body after the ground calmed again. Her eyes widen, looking at the devastation all around her. The side of the mountain that she was on was gone. The road, the park, and everything in front of her that was part of the mountain, turned into a steep cliff. The trees and forest all around her caught in a blazing flame.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Impressive! don¡¯t you think?¡± Lucifer appeared next to them. His broken and twisted left hand had already healed almost completely. He was carrying Elizabeth on his back. ¡°Lucifer!¡± Rose shouted and jumped back.. ¡°Easy girl! We may be enemy, but watching two legendary hero fighting each other is worthy of cease fire. Even your spirit understand that.¡± Lucifer answered. Just like Lucifer said, Aldwin did not move. Aldwin stood silently next to her, his eyes focused on one thing and one thing only. In bottom of the cliff in front of them, two man who caused it all stood, Heracles and Achilles. Lucifer stood next to him, joining him watching those below them and ignoring Rose. ¡°What do you think?¡± Lucifer folded his arm and asked while Elizabeth played with his cheek. ¡°Pretty obscene destructive power, but it was scattered over a large area. Heracles arrow is more impressive in term of energy density.¡± Aldwin answered. Aldwin turned his head to face Lucifer. ¡°Why don¡¯t you join the party? It¡¯s still hot down there.¡± He sneered. Lucifer closed his eyes and raised his shoulder. ¡°Cheeky bastard, but even Elizabeth didn¡¯t notice it immediately.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? What are you two talking about?¡± Rose questioned. She was confused with Lucifer remark and sudden friendly attitude. ¡°Look around you Rose, the sky.¡± Aldwin answered. ¡°The sky?¡± She searched her surrounding, looking for something that might look out of the ordinary amidst all that chaos. ¡°Birds.¡± Strangely there was a few bird that didn¡¯t fly away from there. The bird was normal, and she didn¡¯t feel any magic from them, but the fact that there was still bird sitting on a branch after such a huge explosion made her suspicious. ¡°Yes. That bird has been following us since we started to search for that friend of yours. Also there are a few drones hovering in the air, and some surveillance magic ball somewhere around here.¡± ¡°Other faction spying device.¡± ¡°Now let us see if those brutes down there notice it or not. ¡± Aldwin looked to those at the bottom of the cliff. Achilles and Heracles stood facing each other. Burn wound and bruises covered Heracles body. Achilles helmet was gone,his chariot and horses tumbled in the ground next to him. ¡°You¡¯re a worthy opponent Achilles.¡± ¡°And you too.¡± Achilles took out his silver sword and shield. They both prepared to continue their fight, but before they could took a step forward, a golden spear fell from the sky. The spear didn¡¯t do any damage, but it took the attention of the two combatant. Following the spear, a man in a radiant golden armor descended between them. His mana seeped out and boiled the air around him, making it shone bright orange like the sun. On his forehead was a mark of the sun. ¡°Heracles, your master demanded that you return back to base. What you have done is over the limit.¡± ¡°Ch! That weakling, all plan and no action.¡± Heracles barred his teeth. He turned his body and leaped into the forest. The man in golden armor faced Achilles and bowed his body. ¡°My apologies for interrupting your fight.¡± Achilles scratched his head. ¡°It¡¯s fine it¡¯s fine...¡± He leaped at the man before him and swung his sword. His sword met the man spear. ¡°You¡¯re fast.¡± They pulled both of their weapon. ¡°I take my leave then.¡± The man in golden armor bowed once more before walking away to the same direction Heracles took. Achilles waited until the man in golden armor walked out of his sight before he raised his chariot from the ground. ¡°OY! Balius! Xanthus! Don¡¯t play dead!¡± He poked both of his horse. Both of his horse that was lying on the ground slowly raised their body. ¡°That was a good nap!¡± Xanthus remarked. After he raised his chariot, they took to the sky and get away from there. ¡°Well that was¡­ disappointing. I was expecting a fight to the death.¡± Lucifer said. He walked away and waved his hand. ¡°I look forward to our next fight.¡± Elizabeth pinched his cheek. ¡°AW! What was that for?¡± ¡°You lie, Luci. You said you¡¯re going to kill them.¡± She spoke with monotone voice. ¡°But the condition is not right. There was too many distraction.¡± Elizabeth stared him down. He sighed. ¡°Okay, okay, you can sleep late for tonight and tomorrow.¡± Broad smile appeared in her face. ¡°Yes!¡± Her voice filled with happiness. After watching Lucifer and Elizabeth walked into the burning forest. Rose spoke. ¡°Aldwi-¡± But before she could say his name Aldwin shouted. ¡°You can come out now!¡± He eyed one of the tree near them that was not caught on fire. From behind the tree a pale skinned woman in maid clothing came out. Her face expressionless and she appeared like a human sized doll. Rose remembered. She once saw her in the church in front of Rein¡¯s house. ¡°What do you want, Doll?¡± Aldwin asked. ¡°Master Calvin have a piece of information in exchange for a favor.¡± She answered. ¡°What Information?¡± Rose questioned. ¡°A girl. Shoulder length brown hair. Amber eyes. Should you deliver Master Calvin letter.¡± Rose was shocked to hear what she said. ¡°How did you know?!¡± ¡°Master Calvin have ears and eyes everywhere. He knew many thing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll deliver the letter.¡± Rose decided without thinking, there was no time left to waste. ¡°Subway station 117 near the SkyRise tower. In a storage room, left hand side of the wall, not too far from the entrance.¡± She answered. ¡°Aldwin!¡± Rose stared Aldwin. ¡°What?¡± Her face turned red and she hesitated to say something. She muster the courage to say it. ¡°C-Carry me there! I don¡¯t care how you carry me, over the shoulder or anything, just be quick!¡± She flustered. Smug smile streaked in Aldwin¡¯s face. He dashed and lift Rose up. He carried her one hand under the leg and one arm supporting her back. ¡°Wh-WHA?!¡± She was surprised. She expected him to carry her over his shoulder like before. ¡°Hang tight.¡± He shouted as he jumped off the cliff in front of them. Rose screamed her lungs. The cliff was taller than it looked. Black smoke wrapped Aldwin¡¯s leg, creating a dark metallic boots. He kicked the cliff as he fall, and they darted in the air. Rose closed her eyes and braced for impact when Aldwin feet almost reached the ground.She felt nothing. When she opened her eyes they were already jumping from one roof to another. The Start of A War - 1 A man stood between on a hill, holding a binocular in his right hand. He was observing the fight that transpired in the mountain. As unbelievable as the fight was to others, there was no doubt in the man eyes, no trace of disbelief. He raised his right arm and an eagle perched on it. The man caressed the eagle and touched the eagle head. His finger and the eagle eyes shone. ¡°Now!¡± The bird flew from his arm. He stood up and unsheathed the two sword hanging from his back. He turned his body to face another man who was standing behind him with an axe in hand. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± ¡°Took you long enough Rorex.¡± A blue orb stood in the middle of a dark room. It was glowing brightly a few moment before. A woman in black robe stood before the orb, worries washed over her face. She took a step back and glanced at other that was also in the room. Along with her, three was in that room. ¡°We must inform Damien at once, and make him contact the other master.¡± An old man spoke. ¡°I dare not interrupt him during this time.¡± The woman spoke. ¡°This matter is of the utmost importance.¡± The old man replied. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you go Merlin?¡± Another woman with a green dress asked with a sly smile on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish, such an action would only make him mad.¡± The woman answered. She sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± The woman left the room with a heavy heart. She stopped before a door, she hesitated for a second before it.¡°Master Damien.¡± The room was dark, but even then she knew what was happening. The silhouette of a man surrounded by two woman. ¡°Master Damien.¡± The woman spoke again. ¡°Master Damien! Merlin call for an urgent meeting.¡± ¡°That Damned old man!¡± Damien clapped his hand and the light turned on, illuminating the luxurious penthouse. He stood up from the bed while the two naked woman beside him put his clothes on. After he got dressed he followed the woman to the room from before. He sat on one of the chair in the room. ¡°What did you call me for?¡± Damien asked. ¡°Call the other master. Something happened.¡± Merlin, the old man answered. ¡°You dare order me?¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± Damien stared the old man with eyes full of animosity. He took out an orb from his pocket. It emitted a bright light. A hologram of 4 person appeared in the room. ¡°Damien, you call us?¡± One of the hologram spoke. ¡°No. That old man called you. Where are the other?¡± ¡°They¡¯re busy at the moment, and thus unable to attend the sudden meeting.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Merlin cut. ¡°Something just happened that need all of your attention.¡± Merlin touched the orb in the middle of the room. The orb showed them all the fight that happened in the mountain. The people from hologram began to talk what they saw on their own. Damien watched the fight with intrigue. ¡°Five legendary spirit gathered in one place. three is unknown,but the two is without a doubt Heracles and Achilles. I believe we have severely underestimated our opponent power.¡± Merlin spoke. ¡°I advise for us to change our plan for the long term. What transpired tonight is naught but a glimpse of this game in the coming days.¡± ¡°Cassandra. What do you think?¡± Damien spoke to the woman beside him. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. They¡¯re are dangerous, but we should be extra cautious of the man in white.¡± Damien let out a loud laugh. ¡°HAHAHAHAHA! You¡¯re prophecy is always the ridiculous one, but this? You tell us to be wary of the one that lost?¡± He enjoyed the feeling of a cold hard chair in his back.He reveled at the marvelous sight before his eyes. A small fancy cup hanged from the ceiling by four large chain. Black reddish murk, a mud of otherworldly origin, a filth beyond human comprehension filled the cup and overflowed to the pool below. It never stopped pouring out and the cup never run dry nor empty.He never grown tired of it no matter how many times he watched it, no matter how long he stared at it, it always amazed him. The fruit of hundreds of years of his predecessor work. ¡°Laurence.¡± Someone called him from the hallway behind him. Two men wearing a victorian england era garb dragged another man on the ground. The man wearing a church attire left pool of blood as he was dragged across the floor. The two men leave him in front of another man who sat on a chair. ¡°Please leave us alone.¡± Laurence spoke. The two men leave the room. ¡°Lau...Rence.. You..You will pay.. For your crime to the gods!¡± The dying man mustered all of his strength to spoke. ¡°The bishop.. Will hear this...The pope... will hear this... He will not let you get away! The crusader, the grand crusader will come for you.. And you will have no place to hide¡­ from the judgement of the gods.¡± Laurence watched the dying man with intrigue. ¡°I¡¯m really waiting for that god judgement of yours, i really do. But your god and angel and fairy tale can do nothing here. This, is a godless place, a godless land.¡± Laurence grabbed the man by the throat and lift him off the ground. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for the crusader to come knocking at the door now.¡± He threw the man off from the balcony they were on to the pool full of black mud down below.The man struggled to get away from the mud and out from the pool, but numerous hand emerged from it and dragged him below the surface. The mud seared his skin and peeled it off from his muscle. He screamed as his muscle and soft tissue melted, as his organ dissolved, and as his bone consumed by the black mud. ¡°Look like you¡¯re not even worthy of being a beast.¡± Laurence let out a satisfied laugh. 20 KM outside the city. Amidst the snow covered forest and mountain lies a towering manor. Behind the manor a man wearing a red mantle stood in a runway, watching the mountain range in the distance. His face was stern and his gaze unbroken. A woman in suit approached him from behind. ¡°Lord Emyr. It¡¯s cold outside, please let me be the one waiting for him my lord.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Thank you Mireille, but he is my spirit and this is my responsibility. You should look your spirit and ask him about the progress.¡± ¡°Yes my lord.¡± The woman bowed. He narrowed his eyes when he saw something in the sky. A yellow dot in the night sky moving ever closer.The sound of hooves could be heard as the chariot pulled by two heavenly horses came into sight. The chariot landed on the runway. The chariot went around the runway before stopping next to Emyr. Achilles got off from his chariot and caressed both of his horse. ¡°Good job boys.¡± The chariot vanished in an extravagant burst of lighting. ¡°Good night Achi.¡± Xanthus spoke. Balius neighed. ¡°Good night both of you.¡± Achilles replied. Xanthus and Balius trotted to the stable on their own. ¡°Where have you been?¡± Emyr questioned the man on the chariot. He wasn¡¯t amused by his spirit action that went against his order. ¡°Having some fun while you are sitting idly on your chair, Emyr.¡± Achilles answered. ¡°Lord Emyr. How many times must i remind you that i¡¯m your master?¡± Emyr emphasized the lord part. ¡°And how many times must i remind you that i run away from trojan wars because i don¡¯t like my king at that time?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time to hear your every whim. You¡¯re no strategist, you can¡¯t win this game unless you follow my order.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re no warrior, you can¡¯t win this by yourself. Hence why you summoned me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re hard to deal as spirit goes.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re no fun. Like, at all.¡± ¡°Just return to your room. We discuss this matter in the morning¡­ I look away this time, but i won¡¯t forgive you next time something like this happen.¡± Mireille entered the outbuilding and took a elevator to a place several meter underground. When the door opened, bright light assaulted her vision. She waited a few second for her eyes to adjust before walking down the seemingly endless white room.Hundreds of row of clay soldier she had passed and a hundred more waiting. Chariots, horses, siege machine, weapon, all made of clay and stone lined in that room. ¡°Ah! Mireille, my favorite retainer. What brought you to come here?¡± A chinese man with fancy clothing sat on a stone throne at the end of the room. She kneeled. ¡°My lord Qin. Lord Emyr wanted to see the result.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so formal with me Mireille. You should enjoy life more.¡± Qin raised the glass of wine in his hand. ¡°I¡¯m afraid i can¡¯t do that my lord. I have no need for such luxury. I live only to serve.¡± ¡°Emyr is lucky man to have a subordinate like you. And i¡¯m a lucky spirit to have made a contract with someone like you.¡± ¡°Your word flatter me my lord.¡± ¡°Well as you can see it¡¯s almost complete. It should be ready in about a week time.¡± Qin placed his wine on the table and stood from his throne. ¡°For now let¡¯s test it. I myself never control a number this many, but there should be no problem.¡± Qin raised his hand. In that instant the countless clay soldier within that room all turned their body to face him. They all moved in a perfect harmony at the same time, something that no matter how much a human trained could never achieve. ¡°They are ready Mireille. Ready for the war to come.¡± ¡°Rose, where is the location?¡± He asked. She couldn¡¯t hear him well because of the wind buzzing in her ears. ¡°What?¡± ¡°God you¡¯re heavy as hell!¡± ¡°HEY! I¡¯m not heavy!¡± ¡°Oh, now you hear me loud and clear. Where is the place?¡± ¡°We go to the SkyRise tower apartment. There is a huge sign on the rooftops, you won¡¯t miss it. It¡¯s also Friede apartment, Rein should be there.¡± She answered.¡°Aldwin, do you know Lucifer?¡± ¡°Not really. I do know his real identity however. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just seems strange. Lucifer, a demon from bible to be summoned.¡± ¡°Well Rose, every legend, story, myth, and folklore hide some truth and real life experience here and there. Every legend has its source somewhere in this world. In the past there exist someone whose action inspired the jewish and christian to write him off as a demon in their bible.¡± ¡°And that person is?¡± ¡°Nebuchadnezzar the second, the morning star, the king of Babylon. Though i¡¯m still confused to why he fight with his bare hand and martial arts. He is famous for being a great strategist and a great architect, but not for being a fighter. It would make much more sense if he was a mage.¡± ¡°Maybe the truth differ from the history we know.¡± ¡°Rose..¡± ¡°What?¡± He stopped on the roof of a house and let Rose down. ¡°There.¡± He pointed one building in the distance. A building that was consumed by smoke and flame, hidden amongst other tall building. ¡°Hang tight again.¡± He lift Rose again and jumped from the roof. Soon, they reached the building in front of the apartment. Police, Firefighter, and medical personnel filled the street. The fire had consumed most of the upper level of the building. ¡°What did you do Rein?¡± She asked herself. ¡°OY! Acturus!¡± Someone called them. Rose looked behind her and found Herman calling her from the next building. His face showed that he wasn¡¯t happy to met her. ¡°Herman, where is Rein?!¡± She asked from far. Herman responded with a hand sign. ¡°Rein!¡± She shouted when she saw him. Rein was taking care of Elis who was sitting next to him. ¡°I know where Friede is, come with me quick.¡± She pulled his hand. ¡°You too Elis.¡± They ran to the station Doll told her. The station was closed due to a recent incident. They broke in and immediately searched for her while Hector and Herman stood watch outside the station. When they broke in, a vomit inducing stench assaulted their nose. Rose remembered it clearly, the same smell of rotting flesh. Remembering what happened to the girl from the day before, she quicken her pace and dashed in front of everyone. Rein, Elis and Aldwin followed her closely. Just as she expected the subway station was filled with dog abomination just like the previous station. She chanted a spell, but before she could finish it, the dog¡¯s head exploded in torrent of blood. She was confused at first then she realize that Elis was with them. She didn¡¯t ponder it for long. It didn¡¯t matter how Elis could blew their head off, there was something that she need to take care of first. ¡®Storage room, storage room, storage room.¡¯ She thought about it over and over as she searched the station. She stopped when she saw a white storage room door. She grabbed the handle, but it didn¡¯t budge. She tried to pry it it open, but it was futile. She wanted to blew the door, but she was unsure if it would hurt Friede. ¡°Friede! It¡¯s me Rose! Open up!¡± There was no answer. ¡°Move!¡± Aldwin spoke behind her and grabbed the handle. He pulled the door off its frame. Rose body shivered. ¡°Friede!¡± She screamed as she saw what inside. Friede was there in the storage room. She was crouching down with her whole body trembled and covered by blood. Her hand covered most of her face but leaving both of her blank eyes visible.Beside Friede was a dead dog. Its head pierced by a broken broom. ¡°Friede! Friede! Look at me!¡± Rose shook Friede shoulder. There was no reaction at all. ¡°Friede!¡± Rein showed up. ¡°Re...Rein?¡± Friede replied with an almost inaudible voice. Seeing that Friede reacted to him, Rose move aside. ¡°Thanks god you¡¯re alright.¡± Rein hugged Friede in his arm. Tears of relief flowed down from his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, i¡¯m sorry, i¡¯m sorry for everything.¡± ¡°Rein..¡± She spoke again. She sobbed and wept in his arm. Rein kissed her forehead and caressed her hair. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m here now. Everything is going to be alright. I¡¯m going to protect you. ¡± Rose stood up and walked outside the storage room, giving them time. ¡°Aldwin, search for the the one who did this!¡± She ordered. ¡°Rose, look at that.¡± Aldwin pointed at a body on the floor. It was a woman, her limbs were ripped apart from her body. She knew who the woman was, it was Angela, the master of the dogs and a spirit from the devil faction that she fought yesterday. ¡°Who did that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Her body was already there when we came here. Someone must have came here before us. ¡± Rose returned to Rein and tapped his shoulder. ¡°Rein, we should get out from here. It¡¯s not safe.¡± Rein wiped the tear of his face. ¡°Yeah. Thank you Rose.¡± The Start of A War - 2 ¡°So, uh.. When do you plan to go home?¡± Rein asked as he sat on the table facing Rose. ¡°Tomorrow, i sleep here for tonight.¡± She sipped the tea on her hand. ¡°What?¡± ¡°What? Any problem?¡± ¡°N-no. I mean, your house is not too far from here, so you don¡¯t really have any reason to stay here... right?¡± ¡°Tell me Rein, what if someone attack this place tonight?¡± She put down the cup.¡±If it¡¯s only you i don¡¯t have any problem, but Friede is sleeping here and your spirit is low on mana. If someone attack tonight i doubt she could do much.¡± ¡°Well you got a point there, but... there¡¯s only three bedroom here. Two is already occupied by Elis and Friede.¡± She got up from the chair and walked to living room.¡°I see no problem. You can sleep on the couch right?¡± ¡°Uh..¡± Rose left the dining room before he could argue. He let out a long sigh and took the cup in front of him to wash it. He lost himself in his own thought as he washed the cup. Everything that happened so far was making his mind restless. He have no trouble if this ¡®game¡¯ only involve the participant, but that wasn¡¯t the fact. Numerous innocent bystander were killed just in the apartment alone, but what really made him uneasy was that for some reason the other faction was targeting Friede. Conflict waged in his heart. He wanted to keep Friede close to protect her, but at the same time she might be in danger if the curse decided to act. There¡¯s also the problem of Friede¡¯s feeling for him, something that he couldn¡¯t just put aside. ¡°Hey do you have any snack?¡± Aldwin voice brought him back to reality. ¡°Uh.mm.. there are a few on the cabinet over there.¡± Rein answered and pointed his finger. Aldwin opened the cabinet and searched for something to eat. ¡°So..uh.. Do spirit really need to eat?¡± Rein asked. ¡°Do you give your spirit something to eat?¡± Aldwin asked back. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Not really. It¡¯s not like a spirit will vanish if you starve them, but we can still feel hungry and get a stomach ache. Also if we don¡¯t eat food, our daily mana consumption to keep our form in this world would increase each day.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Well i¡¯ll be going now. Rose will be angry if i don¡¯t watch the perimeter as she told me to.¡± Aldwin took a snack with him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about your curse. It won¡¯t act in the presence of a demonic spirit like me or that spirit of yours.¡± Rein was surprised to hear Aldwin word. ¡°Y-You know about my curse?¡± ¡°You can say that i¡¯m kind of a curse specialist. Yours is a unique one. It¡¯s dynamic, reacting to your condition and the condition around you. As long as you stick close to that spirit of yours then there should be no more problem.¡± Aldwin spoke as he went out from the dining room. Rein stood silent, pondering about Aldwin word for a few second before continuing the unfinished dishes in front of him. After finishing the dishes he went to his own room to take a look at Friede. When he opened the door she was sleeping soundly on his bed. She fainted not long after they saved her. Rein panicked at first, thinking that he doomed one of his friend again, until Rose told him that it was only exhaustion. When they got home, Elis and Rose cleaned her body and changed her clothes before letting her rest in his room. Rein sat on the bed next to her, observing her sleeping face and stroked her head. After that he went straight to the master bedroom, but stopped right before he opened the door. ¡°Oh yeah, Rose should be inside.¡± He spoke to himself. He knocked the door a few times. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Rein. I need to take something first.¡± ¡°Open the door.¡± She answered promptly. Rein face lit up as he opened the door. Rose always appeared as a strict and formal person whenever he saw her, so seeing her in a pajamas and sitting on the bed was a surprise for him. ¡°What are you staring at?¡± She asked. ¡°H-How did you get your pajamas?¡± ¡°You said it yourself didn¡¯t you? My home is not far from here, i can just tell Aldwin to get it for me. Anything more you want to say?¡± ¡°N-nothing.¡± ¡°Then get your things. I want to sleep.¡± Rein walked to and opened the cupboard. ¡®Is rose usually like this? She seems really irritable.¡¯ He thought as he took a blanket out. After Rein left the room Rose laid down her body on the bed. She stared at the ceiling for a while before writing symbol in the air and chanting a spell. ¡°Aldwin you there?¡± She spoke to Aldwin telepathically. ¡°Yes. Why do we need to speak like this? I can just come to your room.¡± His voice popped in her head. ¡°I want to be alone for now.¡± ¡°Why bother speaking with me?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t sleep. I¡¯m exhausted but my mind just won¡¯t calm down.¡± ¡°Want me to sleep with you then?¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°Really? You¡¯re the one who wanted to speak with me and now you tell me to shut up?¡± ¡°For god sake Aldwin, i¡¯m being serious here.¡± His chuckle resounded in her mind.¡°Okay-okay, is something bothering you?¡± ¡°A lot of thing actually.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about the game. It¡¯s just like you said before, there are some A++ spirit. I know they are strong, but to see their strength up close i¡­ don¡¯t know how do we beat them or if we have any hope at all. I mean look at what the they have done to the side of the mountain. Lucifer, Heracles, Achilles, i bet that sun guy that interrupted Heracles is also an A++ spirit, not to mention maybe there are more out there.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry too much Rose. There are more to a war than just the strength of individual soldier. And you haven¡¯t even see the full extent of my power.¡± ¡°You said that when you¡¯re beaten to pulp.¡± ¡°For me Lucifer is the only true problem. I won¡¯t lose on a one on one fight with a heroic spirit. With the exception of that sun guy probably, he is a also problem.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Who is that sun guy? And you can do nothing against Heracles before. Yet you boast that you won¡¯t lose to a heroic spirit?¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m trying my best to hide my power before. For that sun guy you probably know who he is if you¡¯re as knowledgeable as you claim to be Rose.¡± ¡°Okay let me try¡­ golden armor and earing mean that he¡¯s either a very rich person in life or that was given to him by gods. His blazing aura and mark of the sun meaning that he had close ties with a sun deity. And his face look like he is from India¡­¡­.. Karna!¡± ¡°Yes. The half brother and nemesis of Arjuna. He is probably the closest of anyone in this age to reach an S-rank, if he is not already one.¡± ¡°S-rank?¡± ¡°S mean that it¡¯s over the limit. Though very rare, some spirit have an S rank on one of their perimeter or skill, and since a perimeter and skill could reach S rank it also make sense for a spirit to be able to also reach an S rank, but that is still just a theory.¡± Aldwin chuckled. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± ¡°Well, since you summoned me you always give me the impression that you have no real goal in mind Rose. You gave me the impression that you only participate for the sake of it you know. Guess i¡¯m wrong. I mean if you just want the attention of that Arthur boy, you don¡¯t have to go this far.¡± She blushed. ¡°W-what are you talking about?! W-what i¡¯ve done is not for him!¡± ¡°Yeah yeah whatever.¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s true!¡± ¡±Not ONLY for him. But in all seriousness what is your final go. last of Acturus. My house and myself is the last of thousands years old legacy. I... want to save it, and if i can¡¯t then, at least have my family name be remembered within the heroic faction.¡± She spoke with a mournful voice. ¡°Rose, if i may ask... what happened to your family?¡± She didn¡¯t answer. ¡°It¡¯s okay if-¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I guess i do owe you this much, after saving me and fighting for me¡­...thirteen years ago, the rest of my family went out on a mission with the heroic faction. I don¡¯t know the detail, and never really wanted to know, but father, mother, uncle, they all left that day and they just.. never came back. After that, a friend of my father took care of me until i¡¯m big enough to take care of myself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for asking.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Thank you actually, for listening to me.¡± Aldwin smiled on the roof. Rose didn¡¯t let out a single word for a few minutes after that and Aldwin just enjoyed the silence. ¡°Rose, you still awake?¡± He asked. She didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Guess she¡¯s already sleeping¡­. Wait a minute, if the telepathy link is still on, anything i think from now on will be heard by her. Geez, you¡¯re such a troublesome partner Rose.¡± ----- The whole world was split in two by a fissure. Two opposite imagery filled the opposite world and an invisible wall separated the two. She was standing on one side, unable to move, only observe. On her side, a blue sky filled with cloud. The cold breeze swept her hair and fluttered it, giving her a sense of peace and calmness. Field of grass and flower spanned as far as the eye can see. Butterflies and birds flew and played around the peaceful land. A small and simple cottage stood in the middle of it all with a chimney that spewing out white smoke. She looked over to the other side.The sky was scorched red. Mountains of corpse filled the land and river of blood runs through it. Golden and diamond castle stood in the distance, shining brightly like a beacon in the dark. On the mountain of corpse 13 kneeled, eight men and five women. Crown sat on each of their head, but they all bowed low, almost making their crown fall. They laid their weapon and shield in front of them. Weapon and shield of unknown origin, yet she could feel their unfathomable power. In the middle of it all, between the two world, a man stood. A man she knew, but somehow felt unfamiliar. One feet on one world, one arm on one world, one eye and one ear on one world. One half platinum armor, and other half a white trench coat. He stood still unmoving like as till water. His eyes closed shut. Until, the sound of a wooden door creaked open woke him up. He opened his eyes and immediately turned his head toward the sound. Without hesitation he stepped into the one world, the world of green field of grass and flower. With a smile on his face he slowly walked to the small cottage. The dark and red world of corpse and king crumbled as he pulled his foot off that world. A woman came out from the house as he approached it with a broad smile. Rose eyes opened wide. Her eyebrow raised and her mouth agape. Her heart skipped a beat and her chest burning. She recognized the woman, of course she does! She saw her face everyday, every morning. Everytime she went to the bathroom, or gaze at a mirror, she saw the woman face. ------ Rein body jerked as he jolted awake from the nightmare. ¡°Friede!¡± He screamed. He had trouble breathing. His heart in chaos. He took a deep breath and exhaled a few times, but to no avail. Realizing that his heart won¡¯t rest until he confirmed that it was only a dream, Rein stood up and headed for Friede¡¯s room. When he opened the door he was surprised to see Friede sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked down blankly and didn¡¯t notice his presence. Tears dripped from her cheek. ¡°Friede..¡± He speak softly. She startled and wiped her tears. ¡°Rein..¡± ¡°What happened?¡± He sat next to her. ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°No way there is nothing.¡± She hung her head and cried again. ¡°I¡¯m afraid Rein¡­.. I¡¯m scared¡­.The image¡­ what happened earlier.. I can¡¯t.. get it out of my head¡­ It¡¯s haunting me.. When i sleep.. And when i wake up..it¡¯s still haunt me. ¡± She held his hand. ¡°Please.. Stay here...Don¡¯t leave me alone.¡± Rein hugged her. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m here okay. I¡¯m gonna protect you. I won¡¯t let anyone hurt you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t leave me.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Friede rubbed Rein back and played her finger there. Unknown to him, her finger glowed and she drew a magic circle on his back. His body fell to the bed as he lose consciousness. ------ He vomited on his own feet. His body fell to the ground. His heart beated so fast it almost exploded. His lung burning, it screamed for air, air,air. His leg muscle ripped apart from pushing it too hard. He had ran as fast as he could as far as he could for as long as he could. Tears formed at the edge of his strange colored eyes. Fear and dread still linger in his heart. ¡°You useless piece of shit ANGELA! You died before doing anything. If you die then better save your master first!¡± He punched the concrete wall. It was still fresh on his mind. The horror that happened right in front of him. He was chasing the brown haired girl, thinking she would be an easy target. He let her ran away before catching her. Exhausting his prey before killing or capturing them was his hobby. He love the fear in their eyes as he captured them after they thought that they could escape. But she was different. The girl he thought to be a little lost lamb was actually a big bad bloody wolf. The girl screamed and ran like any of his other prey, but she stopped moving when she reached the subway station. Her scream turned into a giggle and then she bursted into a maniac laugh. When she turned her head to face him there was no hint of fear or something similar in her face, it was filed with joy and delight. In fact, it was his heart that filled with fear when he saw that face of her. Scream broke the silence. A creature as big as human that crawled on its four leg with skin as dark as night appeared from the shadow and mangled his spirit. It pulled her limbs apart from her body and bathed in her blood. The girl with brown hair approached the creature and what left of Angela. The creature ripped out Angela heart from her chest and gave it to the girl. She then proceed to soaked herself with blood from the heart. She took a broom, broke it,impaled one of the undead dog and brought it to a storage room. She went inside and locked the door. He didn¡¯t know what she was planning, and he didn¡¯t care, the creature red eyes were fixated on him. He ran as soon as he saw the red eyes. That was how he ended in his miserable condition. He observed the darkness around him. There was no sign of the creature, or at least that what he originally thought. A loud sound of metal banging a concrete floor slowly approached him from the darkness. He didn¡¯t know where the creature was, or where it was going to show up. He paralyzed in fear and panic. Something dripping on his head. ¡®Water?¡¯ He thought, but it was warm, and red... blood. He looked above him. The creature crawled on the ceiling, its red eyes were directly above him. The creature fell and pinned his body to the ground. For the first time he could take a good look at the creature appearance, but it wasn¡¯t what he expected. It wasn¡¯t a creature at all, it was a knight, with full black plate armor that covered all of its body from head to toe. From the hole in its helmet, two red glowing eyes stared directly at him. The knight strangled him with both of its hand, but it stopped and let him go. The knight crawled back into darkness. He could still see the red eye staring him. He was confused. What was he supposed to do, was the knight testing him? toying with him? He laid still, couldn¡¯t decide what to do. The knight growled. ¡°WHA-WHat do you want?¡± He asked. The knight didn¡¯t answer and growled. Its red eyes moved upward. ¡°Up? Up? Stand?¡± He asked. He slowly stood up. It stopped growling and began crawling toward him. He took a step backward, but the more he walked back the more it followed him. ¡°What do you want from me?!¡± No answer. He suddenly tripped and fell to the ground. He covered his head expecting the knight to lunge at him for falling, but it didn¡¯t do it. When he opened his arm the knight was nowhere to be seen, even its red eye had vanished. He laughed. He laughed in relief. He had never felt something like that before, the feeling of escaping death. He didn¡¯t understand the knight or the girl motives, but it didn¡¯t matter to him, he survived. Bright white light filled his vision along with a rumbling sound of wheel grinding metal coming from his right. He turned his head. Trains. Day of Training - 1 Rein sat up with a ringing head after the doorbell woke him up. ¡°Who is it this morning?¡± He yawned. He noticed Friede was sleeping next to him. ¡°When did i fell asleep? Why did i sleep here?¡± He went to the front door and saw Albert waiting in front of the nonexistent door. The sky was still dark with only a glimpse of sunlight. ¡°Morning Rein.¡± He walked through the doorway. ¡°Albert? uhh...Morning.¡± ¡°Rein, who is that?¡± Rose popped up behind him. She still looked sleepy with her mess of a hair and pajamas. ¡°Come here for a second.¡± Albert pulled Rein outside and spoke with a small voice. ¡°You¡¯re a fucking bastard you know that?¡± ¡°W-what?¡± Rein then realized what he meant. ¡°NO! No! This is not like what you think it is. She sleep over here last night for a reason!¡± ¡°Oh yeah? And that reason is?¡± Rein asked Albert to go inside for a breakfast while explaining all that happened the day before. ¡°Dude, why the fuck didn¡¯t you call me yesterday? I could have helped you.¡± Albert asked while munching the sandwich in his hand. ¡°I¡¯m in a panic, even asking for Rose help didn¡¯t cross my mind until after like an hour.¡± ¡°Well. What important is that everything turn out for the good in the end. So how is Friede?¡± ¡°Still sleeping, after what happened to her, it¡¯s natural. Now that you mention helping me where is your spirit?¡± ¡°I left them home. Took some time to convince them, but it¡¯s better like this. Don¡¯t really want to see them bickering with your spirit.¡± Albert stopped speaking and finished his breakfast. He then turned on the TV to watch the news. There were two big news, the SkyRise apartment caught on a blazing fire and a meteor fell on one of the mountain near the city, both on the same night. ¡°A meteor? Really? Something like that near the city would have been caught on camera.¡± Albert remarked. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I-¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s not a meteor.¡± Rose voice interrupted them. ¡°A fight happened last night. I¡¯m surprised that the supervisor is able to cover this one up.¡± She sat on one of the chair and took a sandwich. There was an awkward silence after that, where they just stare at her. ¡°What? Don¡¯t mind me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re killing the mood Rose.¡± Aldwin entered the dining room and also took a sandwich. Albert and Rein waited Aldwin and Rose to finish their breakfast before doing anything. ¡°So¡­what¡¯s the plan for today?¡± Rein asked after thinking for a while what he would say. ¡°We can¡¯t really do anything for today. We still have to watch over Friede and Elis is still recovering from the lack of mana. I guess today is the perfect time to teach you.¡± Rose answered. ¡°Come see me when you¡¯re ready.¡± She continue watching the news. ¡°And you Albert, what do you plan to do?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know actually, after hearing what happened yesterday. I guess i stay here for a while, maybe i join your lesson. Arthur is busy, he haven¡¯t been able to teach me much.¡± Albert and Rein left the room. ¡°That was surprising for you Albert.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your face, It didn¡¯t get all red. Guess spending all day with three beautifull girl have a good effect on you.¡± ¡°My heart still beating like crazy, but i manage it somehow.¡± Albert waited in the living room while Rein took a shower. After Rein finished they returned to the dining room. ¡°Let start with the basic of the basic. What is a mana?¡± Rose questioned Albert and Rein. ¡°Mana is particle in the air right? Living creature such as human naturally absorb them, but only a trained human can utilize it as magic.¡± Albert answered. Rein sat still, he didn¡¯t have any clue what that is. ¡°Good, guess you do your research Albert, unlike Rein. Though i may add. Even an untrained person can use magic, but they can¡¯t utilize their own mana. Next we move to the the fundamental technique.¡± ¡°Oh i know that. It¡¯s the enhancement, transmutation and that sort of thing right?¡± Rein asked. ¡°Wrong!¡± Rose replied promptly. ¡°That is indeed the basic, but it¡¯s not the fundamental mana manipulation. What i mean is absorb, store, and release. Just like Albert said, human can absorb mana from when they were born, it¡¯s the easiest to learn and the hardest to train out of the three. Then the body store and hold it inside your body. Next your body release and utilize the mana inside you body to alter and manipulate the physical world, it is the hardest to learn but the easiest to train once you know how. Release is the one i¡¯m going to teach you today. Fortunately, both of you have already experienced it by summoning your spirit.¡± Rose took out a small crumpled paper and gave it both to Albert and Rein. Inside was a small purple crystal. ¡°Placed both of your hand above it and focus like you did with the summoning. If the crystal move or change in any way that mean you have succeed.¡± Said Rose. Rein put the paper and the crystal on the table and focused on it, trying his best to remember the feeling of summoning ritual.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Half an hour passed and nothing happened. At least not to Rein¡¯s crystal. A dim light came out from Albert¡¯s crystal. ¡°Good, you¡¯re pretty good at it.¡± Rose said. ¡°Have you ever done it before?¡± ¡°No, this is my first time seeing a crystal like this.¡± Albert said. ¡°Well keep it going. Do it like before until either the crystal shake or change form. If in just thirty minutes you can already make the crystal shine then advancing to the next part should be easy for you.¡± A tint of jealousy surfaced in Rein heart seeing Albert progress. Another half an hour passed and still nothing happened. Frustration began to take over him. ¡°Nothing happen! You sure this crystal is not broken?¡± Rein asked. ¡°It¡¯s just that you have no talent¡± She answered. ¡°No, something must have broken.¡± She took the crystal from his hand and poured mana into it. When she opened her hand the crystal transformed into bird shape. ¡°See?¡± She gave it back to Rein. ¡°Wow.¡± Rein said in astonishment. The bird shape was really well made with many fine detail. ¡°Are there any way i could do this faster? Like shortcut or something, tips maybe?¡± ¡°None. Just continue doing it and you¡¯ll get it eventually.¡± ¡°And how long is that supposed to be?¡± ¡°Hours, days, weeks, maybe more. Who know.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Rein you¡¯ll get it today.¡± Albert tried to comfort him, but it backfired and annoyed him instead. Rein stared back at him. ¡°Easy for you to say. ¡±Rein let out a sigh before continuing what he had done in the past hour. ¡°Continue doing that until lunch came.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going somewhere?¡± Albert asked. ¡°I have to report what happened yesterday to Arthur. I will be back around lunch time so don¡¯t forget my share of meal.¡± Aldwin and Rose stood up from their chair. ¡°Aldwin, what are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m your spirit what do you think i¡¯m going to do?¡± ¡°Stay here. I can protect myself better than anyone awake in this house.¡±She glanced at Rein.¡± And help him a bit would you.¡± She left the room. Aldwin sat back on the chair and raised his feet on the table.¡°You won¡¯t get anywhere doing that with that crap talent of yours.¡± He said. ¡°Oh yeah? And what am i supposed to do then?¡± Rein asked with an irritated voice. ¡°Just wait¡­ until rose is far enough.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Aldwin didn¡¯t answer. He waited a few minute before taking both Rein and Albert outside. ¡°There is a faster way to make someone like you able to use magic, but it came with it¡¯s own risk. Rose won¡¯t accept this method.¡± Aldwin walked behind Rein and placed his hand on his back. ¡°You still want it?¡± ¡°Yeah. I guess. But what is the risk?¡± ¡°Nothing to severe. Stay still¡­.. And try not to scream too much.¡± ¡°W-¡± Before Rein could ask what he meant, burst of energy surged from Aldwin¡¯s hand to his chest. A sharp excruciating pain shot throughout his body from the point that Aldwin touched. He screamed his lungs out as his eyes turned black. His blood veins emitted black light that was visible through his jacket. Aldwin¡¯s lips curved to a smile. Something hit Aldwin¡¯s body. He was blown to the church wall behind him. The moment Aldwin¡¯s hand get off him, the pain subsided a little, but it was still too much for him to handle. ¡°Master!¡± Elis ran to Rein side. Ball of magic hovered around her. ¡°What are you trying to do?!¡± She asked aldwin. ¡°Helping him.¡± Aldwin answered. ¡°Are you mad? Do you even know what you¡¯re doing?!¡± ¡°I know. I overload his whole body with mana to forcefully open his magic gates. Yes there are risk like making him a cripple or just completely destroy his nervous system, but hey, he wanted a shortcut.¡± Aldwin replied with a sly smile on his face. Anger boiled in Elis chest hearing his answer. She extended her hand forward, but before the magic around her followed her command, a roar interrupted her. An unnatural roar erupted from the roof of their house. A black armored knight stood there. It¡¯s two glowing red eyes stared Aldwin. ¡°Ah you show yourself. You¡¯ve stalked us since yesterday. I wonder what it is that made you to show yourself. ¡± Said Aldwin. The knight somersaulted in the air before smashing its sword on Aldwin. Aldwin blocked it with with his own sword and pushed the knight back. His hand throbbed in pain. ¡®His strength is much higher than i anticipated. A, or maybe A+.¡¯ He thought. The knight flailed like a madman, or so it seems to other than Aldwin. The knight movement was planned, but it was erratic and bizarre that it was hard for even Aldwin to predict its move. It spun in the air, making use of the angular momentum to strike hard multiple times. Not only that it combined its sword technique with multitude of kick and punch, landing multiple light blow on Aldwin. Every time Aldwin attack back it either leaped back or rolled wildly on the ground before countering in the most unexpected way. Its movement was exaggerated and very inefficient. Albert and Rein watched in awe not knowing what to do while Elis was still confused to who the knight was. Rein couldn¡¯t grasped what was happening, but he noticed something in the midst of chaos. The knight only held the greatsword with its left hand. Knowing that the fight had gone nowhere the knight did a backward somersault to make a gap. It held the black greatsword in front of its chest. Aldwin saw the knight appearance clearly for the first time. He let out a huge maniacal laugh and covered his eyes with his hand. ¡°To think.. To think that i could met you here. What is the chance?¡± The knight stood still and didn¡¯t react. ¡°Don¡¯t understand?¡± Aldwin asked. Aldwin¡¯s sword gradually changed shape until it became the exact same sword as the knight. ¡°You...¡± For the first time the knight let out its deep ghastly voice. ¡°Sword...My¡­ Sword¡­.¡± ¡°Decalogue, the sword of apocalypse. To think that i met its original owner here. Fate is truly full of twist and turn.¡± Aldwin and the knight dashed at each other. Aldwin with a smile on his face and the knight with a thunderous roar. ¡°STOP!¡± Albert stood between them before their sword met. He didn¡¯t know why, but he had a feeling he must stop them. The two exact same sword stopped just before slashing his neck. Grazing his skin but not so much as to hurt him. ¡°Move Kid!¡± ¡°No!¡± Aldwin and the knight stared at each other. Aldwin pulled his weapon back after seeing that the knight didn¡¯t kill Albert. Albert turned to face the knight. ¡°You¡¯re not an enemy are you?¡± He asked. He wasn¡¯t sure if the seemingly mad knight understoodhim or if he would be skewered in that instant. ¡°Xander.¡± Elis called. The knight turned its head recognizing the voice. ¡°Emera..Lis.¡± The knight held its head and let out a ghastly scream. Its voice started to change from deep ghastly voice to that of a woman. The helmet started to dissipate. The mad knight was no more. Before him stood a fine woman with a pale white skin. Unlike the knight before who was taller than him even with its knee bent, the woman stood a head shorter than him. Her silver sharp stare directed at him. The woman turned to face Rein and promptly kneeled. ¡°Apologize my lord. For Xander¡¯s behaviour.¡± The woman raised her head to look at him. ¡°This humble servant is Xandra. Your spirit.¡± Day of Training - 2 Rose sat on the subway train, leaning her back against the chair behind her and closing her eyes. She couldn¡¯t get the image out of her head. What she saw the previous night on her dream, on Aldwin¡¯s dream. She knew that spirit¡¯s memory and subconscious thought could leak to their master dream by the mean of contract, but that raised another question on itself. If the dream that she saw was Aldwin¡¯s subconscious thought. then the woman in she saw in the dream¡­.. ¡°That.. Can¡¯t be me..¡± She spoke to herself. The more she think about it the more confused she became. There was the possibility that Aldwin came from the future and somehow related to her, but the spirit from the past seemed to know him as well which was impossible if he came from the future. ¡®Another possibility is that i look exactly the same as that woman. That woman in Aldwin¡¯s life that leave such a huge impact on him. That explain why he act so polite and nice to me despite being a demonic spirit. But then again, what is his goal, his goal must be related to me or that woman somehow.¡¯ She sighed. ¡°Why do i have to get such a troublesome spirit?¡± ----- Rein lost his word. The woman that kneeled in front of him said that she was his spirit. Aside from Albert, rarely someone could summon more than one spirit when their first spirit is still in this world, and he didn¡¯t remember summoning another spirit. ¡°I know that you must be confused my lord¡± Xandra stood. ¡°Just like Sh-.... Elis. I was summoned during your second try, but was unable to materialize because of your curse, but yesterday for a few moment the curse left your body.¡± ¡°Geez. Now it¡¯s two versus one huh.¡± Said Aldwin. ¡°Just stop this useless fight Aldwin.¡± Said Albert. ¡°You can¡¯t win.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Xandra stood up and properly held her sword with both hand, unlike her previous condition when she still wore her helmet, she looked more like a knight. Elis moved next to her and chanted a spell. Aldwin raised his eyebrow and smirked. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± He taunted. ¡°Come.¡± ¡°Stop..it.¡± Rein stood up and limped to Aldwin. ¡°What... did... you do to me?¡± Rein knew that Aldwin did something more than just overload him with mana. His chest felt heavy and hollow, like something was dragging his chest from behind. His heart to be exact, just like when the curse left him. He must have tampered with his curse somehow. ¡°Giving myself an insurance. You said so yourself, you will only cooperate for some time before we become enemy. So i altered the curse in your heart so that if you¡¯re trying to hurt Rose or me, the curse would inflict a great deal of pain.¡± Aldwin turned his back. ¡°The pain you¡¯re feeling right now should be gone in a few hour. After that you will be able to use basic magic.¡± Rein watched him Aldwin jumped to the church¡¯s roof and disappeared from his sight before he succumbed to the pain. ¡°My lord, must i chase him?¡± Xandra asked. ¡°No.. just let him go.¡± ------- ¡°Dismissed!¡± Said Arthur. In front of him was a long table with a few other person sitting beside him. They all stood up and left the room save for three, himself, Rose, and Hector. ¡°Hector, any problem?¡± He asked. ¡°Not really, but knowing that Achilles is summoned as well in this game, made me, a bit uncomfortable and excited at the same time.¡± ¡°Is that your regret? Not able to kill him.¡± ¡°No. What he did to my body after he killed me was a plain insult, but after what i¡¯ve done to Patroclus it¡¯s justifiable. After all it¡¯s a war, i killed many, he killed many, we fight and i turn out to be the weaker one. I¡¯m happy with the prospect of having a rematch with him, but you just can¡¯t not feel uneasy meeting someone who killed you.¡± He stood up. ¡°Well, enough of my rambling.¡± He left the room. Arthur noticed that Rose was restless since she came here, she wasn¡¯t as responsive as usual during the meeting. ¡°Now Rose, is there¡¯s an issue?¡± ¡°I.. don¡¯t know how to say this, and i don¡¯t want other to know. I made a deal with someone without asking your permission first.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel sorry Rose.¡° ¡°The problem is , i don¡¯t know if he is an enemy or a friend.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡±I believe that you made the right decision for the circumstance you¡¯re in.¡± He answered with a smile. Rose took out a letter from her jacket and gave it to Arthur. He opened and read it. She wanted to check the content first before giving it to him, but the envelope was protected by some magic that not even she could open. The letter burst in flame after he read it. ¡°Rose, who sent it?¡± He asked with a distressed voice. ¡°An old man. His name is Calvin. Is something wrong?¡± She knew something was wrong, she just asked to confirm it. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is a gift or a disaster.¡± He walked to his desk and took out a thick folder. ¡°Arthur, i¡¯m-i¡¯m sorry.¡± Arthur never made a face like that before. The face of anger and panic. She knew she messed up, and she messed up real bad. Arthur sat next to Rose and placed his hand on her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t blame yourself. I¡¯m the one at fault here for not telling you this sooner. I¡¯m stupid for not thinking the possibility.¡± He opened the folder. ¡°This is a list of the most dangerous person in the world. I made after collecting information over the past few years. ¡± He took a paper and handed it to Rose. Name: Calvin Full Name: Unknown Sex: Male Birth: Unknown Nationality: Unknown Years Active: 1721- now Allegiance: Hunter Faction(Formerly), Unknown Race: Caucasian Eyes: Blue Hair: Black(Formerly), White Equipment: Curved sword, Short sword, Cane, Axe, Scythe, Numerous other self-made melee weapon, Gatling gun, hand cannon, Numerous self-made gun, Numerous explosive weapon, Steel peg leg, Wheelchair. Magic: Mastery over ALL basic form of magic, specialize in enhancement. Familiar creation. Homunculus creation. Necromancy. Lifespan lengthening. Numerous other forbidden magic. Note: Vast spy network all over the world. Winning the 1755 Game of Spirit in just under 10 days. Credited for numerous assassination of world leader and Faction leader. Credited for discovering and collecting numerous legendary artifact. Fighting power at least equal to A++ ranked spirit.True Immortality(Unconfirmed). ¡°He is the number one in my list.¡± ¡°1721 till now? Forbidden magic. Homunculus. Necromancy. Winning the game of spirit under 10 days. Equal to A++ spirit. Immortality. W-What the hell?¡± She asked in disbelief. Someone of his caliber and power should at least be in one of magic association record, but she never even heard of him him. ¡°One of the biggest problem about him is that his goal is never clear. If he want to cooperate with us then it¡¯s good, but if he consider us to be his enemy we might as well already lose.¡± ¡°What should i do?¡± ¡°Do nothing for now. Don¡¯t observe him, don¡¯t spy on him. Just let him do what he do for now. I¡¯ll personally look to it later.¡± Arthur handed her the folder. ¡°Since it already come to this. You must remember the rest on this list. If you met with any one of them, don¡¯t even try to fight. You¡¯re strong Rose, but these people is just on another level.¡± Rose nodded as she read the rest of the list. ----- Rein leaned his back on the sofa with his hand extended forward. Xandra took his hand and a mark appeared in both of their hand like a tattoo of a wolf head. A dull pain emerged in his hand, but it was nothing compared to the pain he felt from his body. ¡°The contract is complete master.¡± Said Xandra. ¡°Yeah.. thank you. And you too Elis.¡± He looked at Elis who helped them with their contract. Elis smiled. ¡°My pleasure master.¡± He closed his eyes. The pain haven¡¯t get any better and closing his eyes didn¡¯t help much. ¡°Xandra, what happened back then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand what do you mean master.¡± ¡°Before you opened your mask you were crazed, like a different person, even your height was different.¡± ¡°That, Master, is Xander. I could say that he is my second personality, but i prefer calling him my twin brother. We don¡¯t just swap mind and memory, when he took over, this body transformed into a man body, his body. We were born at the same time inside the same body. When i awake he sleep, and when i sleep he wake up. It is undeniable that he is a better warrior than me, but he is a mad warrior, fit only for killing. I will try my best to restrain him until the time come for him to show up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± Rose shouted from outside. Her voice interrupted the moment. When she entered the house she was confused by Xandra presence. ¡°Rein, who is she? And where¡¯s Aldwin?¡± ¡°Rose..¡± Rein proceed to tell her all that happened while she was gone, what Aldwin did to him, and who Xandra was. ¡°ALDWIN! Come down here!¡± She shouted at the church roof. She was angry for what Aldwin had done, for doing what he did without asking for her opinion. ¡°I know you¡¯re there!¡± ¡°Yea yea yea. You interrupted my sleep Rose.¡± Aldwin appeared on the roof. He jumped down. ¡°What?¡± Rose tried to slap Aldwin, but he dodged. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± ¡°Do what?¡± Aldwin asked. He pretended to not know what she meant. ¡°What you did to Rein.¡± ¡°What did i do?¡± She gritted her teeth. He was clearly provoking her, but she didn¡¯t care.¡°Bullshit! You know what you did! Don¡¯t play dumb on me!¡± ¡°I did what i need to do.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to do something so extreme.¡± ¡°I have to, i don¡¯t want his curse to act during battle and hindered his spirit from fighting.¡± She realized something from his word.¡° Wait you don¡¯t mean?¡± ¡°Yes i lift his curse if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking.¡± ¡°Then-Then why did you lie to him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want him to see me as his friend. When the time come when we become an enemy i want to fight him and his spirit without them having any connection to me. It¡¯s easier to fight someone you hate than someone you considered your friend.¡± He replied. ¡°I hope that you don¡¯t tell Rein about this, it would defeat the purpose of my bad guy acting.¡± Rose stared at the ground. Her anger wasn¡¯t quenched, in fact it became worse after knowing his selfishness of not telling her his plan. ¡°Fine! Do whatever you want!¡± ¡°Now back to business. How¡¯s the meeting?¡± She stared at him in the eyes with a stare that was full of annoyance and anger. ¡°We have decide to act. Tonight we will go scouting some area, and tomorrow.. We¡¯re going to attack Warrior faction¡¯s base. ¡± The True Evil - 1 ¡°Huh?¡± Aldwin asked, not sure if he heard her right. ¡°How do you know about their base?¡± ¡°Apparently they sent out an invitation letter for everyone in the city. Pretty nice of them right?¡± Aldwin sighed. ¡°Rose.¡± Smug grin appeared on her face. ¡°Oh so i¡¯m not allowed to be sarcastic while you are?¡± Aldwin sighed one more time. ¡°Whatever you want.¡± ¡°In all seriousness, we detected a strong trace of magical energy that we believed originated from the Warrior Faction.¡± Aldwin furrowed his brow. ¡°Who say that?¡± ¡°One of the intelligence team. why?¡± ¡±That sound like a trap to me. If they are professional i don¡¯t think they would leave a trace behind unless they plan to bait people into their base.¡± ¡°Because it IS a trap.¡± ¡°What?..... So you intend to face their trap head on. Then do you know about their strength? What kind of spirit they have?¡± ¡°No.¡± She answered promptly. Her quick answer made Aldwin confused. ¡°Did your head bump on something Rose? You plan to attack an enemy base that is definitely a trap without knowing their power?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Ho-¡± ¡°Before you continue. This is a well thought plan. We don¡¯t expect to win, the purpose of the attack is to draw as many member of the warrior faction and their spirit into the spotlight and to gather as much information as possible. That¡¯s why we will only send our strongest member to increase the odds of surviving the trap.¡± ¡°Let me guess. That ¡®strongest member¡¯ include you and me in there?¡± ¡°Of course, what do you expect after showing your power by fighting with Hector?¡± Aldwin buried his face on his palm. ¡°What a hassle.¡± He stopped moving for a few second, thinking. ¡±Why the warrior faction, If we go by your logic to save the innocent people, shouldn¡¯t we focus on the devil faction? Even if we knew where the warrior faction are, so far they haven¡¯t done anything to threaten innocent people.¡± ¡°That may be true, but that¡¯s only because we¡¯ve only encountered the devil faction. We don¡¯t know what the other faction have been up to. Looking back in history, the other faction were never that different, their end justify their mean.¡± ¡°And what about the Heroic faction?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Does the Heroic faction always a holy one? Fighting for the best interest of the innocent, saving those in need..¡± Rose glared at him. ¡°What are you implying Aldwin?¡± She asked with irritated voice. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe your ancient order of heroic faction isn¡¯t as noble as you think it is.¡± ¡°How dare you?!¡± She yelled. Aldwin often complained as made a sarcastic remark, but what he just said went too far. ¡°What do you know about the heroic faction huh?! What right do you have to say such thing?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying that you holy order might not be as holy as you think it is. Maybe yes the order is, but what about its member? Do you think they do it out of caring for others, or do they do it for themselves?¡± ¡°Just say your point.¡± ¡°No, i¡¯ll let you think about it for yourself, i¡¯m just going to stand watch.¡± He turned and jumped to the church roof again. Rose punched the church wall in frustration. Thinking back, it was always like that in the past few days. They were on good terms and suddenly Aldwin said something that get on her nerve. She got mad and he walked away, then they made up and it repeated all over again. Now that she was sure that Aldwin¡¯s goal had something to do with her, she can¡¯t take lightly what he said and what he did. ¡°What are you trying to do Aldwin?¡± She mumbled. ¡°Nothing.¡± Suddenly Aldwin answered from the roof. Her face flushed red, she never expected any answer from him. ----- ¡°Rein, what happened to you?¡± Friede asked as she ran down the stair. She had just woken up, recovered after a long day yesterday. She expected Rein to be waiting for her, but what she saw was Rein lying on Elis¡¯ thigh, grunting in pain.Normally he would have blushed and maybe pushed Elis away, but his pain was so excruciating that he didn¡¯t even notice it. His body drenched in sweat. She ran to him the moment she saw him, she didn¡¯t even noticed Albert and Xandra there. ¡°Fri-Friede, you¡¯re awake.¡± Rein said with a painful smile and a hoarse voice. ¡°What happened to you?¡± ¡°Nothing, just the usual day of being beaten to pulp by this world.¡± He let out a pained laugh. ¡°How about you?¡± She smiled hearing his concern ¡°I¡¯m fine. I slept through the morning after all.¡± She finally notice Albert and Xandra. ¡°Oh Albert you¡¯re here too.. And you are?¡± ¡°Xandra my lady. I¡¯m lord Rein second spirit.¡± ¡°Lord...Rein?¡± She slowly turned her head to Rein. ¡°Not that i want to be called like that, but she¡¯s persistent about that.¡± ¡°Sorry i''m late. I¡¯ve talk things out with Aldwin. Don¡¯t worry about him as long as i¡¯m here.¡± Rose suddenly entered the room. ¡°Rose, you¡¯re here too?¡± Friede was surprised. ¡°Friede you have wake up.¡± Rose was also surprised in turn. A smile appeared in her face, but it disappeared the moment she saw Rein¡¯s condition. ¡°Rein how¡¯s your condition?¡± Rein didn¡¯t answer. Instead, it was Elis who answered. ¡°The pain is getting worse, but his overall condition is getting better, and he¡¯s sleeping right now.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t i hear his voice just now?¡± ¡°Yes. He have just fallen asleep the moment you enter the House.¡± Elis answered. She stroke Rein¡¯s hair that was wet from sweating. Friede smiled bitterly seeing that. Something burn in Friede¡¯s chest. A flame of jealousy and envy for Elis. She didn¡¯t notice it before because she panicked when she saw Rein¡¯s condition. Now that she have calmed down, the situation was clear as a day. Of course, she musn¡¯t let her emotion show, after all that was what she have determined to do after finding about Rein feeling for her sister. ¡°So. What¡¯s the lunch for today?¡± Rose asked. ¡°Ah! Now that you say it, i just remembered that we don¡¯t have enough food for all of us. I wanted to tell Rein earlier so he can buy more in the grocery store, but then this problem with Aldwin happened. Just wait here, i¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go. Just give me the list of what i have to buy.¡± Rose said. ¡°Eh? But i can-¡± ¡°No! You take care of Rein and make the preparation for lunch.¡± Albert gave up. He wrote down the list of ingredients he needed to make lunch and handed it to Rose. --- ¡°Where are you going Aldwin?¡± Rose asked as Aldwin approached her. She was just about to leave Rein¡¯s home. ¡°I¡¯m your spirit. I have to protect you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just going to the grocery store. I¡¯ll be back in ten minutes.¡± ¡°Rose¡­ I feel something bad is going to happen.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Oh yeah? And i feel that nothing bad will happen. Women¡¯s intuition is better than men¡¯s.¡± ¡°Rose.¡± ¡°Shut up! Can¡¯t you see i¡¯m angry with you?! You stay here, stand guard, and don¡¯t do anything to Rein, Albert, or their spirit! That¡¯s is my order as a summoner!¡± Aldwin looked at her in the eyes and saw that no matter what he said she will not budge. Not by a mile or an inch ¡°Fine then, but if something happen and i¡¯m proven to be right, i will mention it every time you try to argue with me.¡± ¡°As if i care about such thing. Hmph!¡± she turned her head away from him. ------ ¡°That should be all.¡± Rose checked the list one more time and looked at her watch. It has been twenty minutes. The walk itself only take less than five minutes. As much as she doesn¡¯t want to admit it, she wasn¡¯t that experienced in buying ingredient in grocery store. She only make her own food a few times a week, the rest of the time she bought it from restaurant or store. And when Aldwin appeared, she never make her own food again because what he made was far better than what she could make. She sighed. She wondered why did she wanted to go to the grocery store in the first place instead of letting Albert do it. Then the face of Friede came to her mind. Yes, that was the reason. She couldn¡¯t stand seeing the way Friede look at Rein. It was a pained, bitter, conflicted expression. She left the grocery store and began walking back to Rein¡¯s home while still thinking about Friede¡¯s problem. Her mind wandered everywhere, so much so that she wasn¡¯t paying attention to where she walked and bumped with a man. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry!.¡± She apologize. ¡°It¡¯s fine, but please pay attention when you¡¯re walking. There¡¯s a lot of car passing through this street, it would be dangerous if you don¡¯t notice a car .¡± Huh? Rose thought. The voice sound awfully familiar. Even though she had apologized, she wasn¡¯t paying attention to the man¡¯s face. She looked at the man¡¯s face. Rose gasped and jumped backward. Her grocery bag fell to the street, but it wasn¡¯t the time to think about such thing. Her heart pounded hard and her hair stood on ends. She prepared a spell,and despite her best effort she couldn¡¯t help but to shiver. Stood before her was a man around Rein¡¯s height. His shirt was buttoned all the way to the neck. That, combined with his hair that covered his eyes made him looked geeky. Of course that what she would thought if not for her deadly encounter with him before. ¡°Wh-What are you doing here?!¡± She shouted at Lucifer. She observed the surrounding. She knew that it was a dangerous thing to do, but she have to know where the his master was. She couldn''t see Elizabeth anywhere. ¡°Just like you, buying groceries.¡± He raised his hand and showed to her a grocery bag he held. ¡°Don¡¯t be so tense. I have no intention of fighting you.¡± ¡°Do-do you think i would believe that?¡± ¡°No.¡± Something flashed in front of Rose¡¯s eyes. Then her vision turned black. No, it wasn¡¯t her vision that turned black, she didn¡¯t lose consciousness, but something black have covered her eyes, or at least covered most of her vision. She took a step back and everything became clear. Lucifer had brought his feet up to her face, but stopped milimeter away from crushing her face. ¡°Good thing you don¡¯t believe me. If you have relaxed because of that i would have killed you.¡± Lucifer added. He retracted his feet. ¡°Actually even if you relaxed i won¡¯t be able to kill you.¡± Something was stuck in his feet, stabbing him through the tight. An arrow. ¡°You should be grateful. You have a loyal and protective spirit.¡± he grabbed the arrow and pulled it out, splattering blood everywhere. The way he pulled it out with a quick and swift movement with full confident almost made Rose think that it didn¡¯t hurt at all. ¡°Not many have that kind of spirit.¡± He took off his shirt and tied it around the wound, using it as a makeshift bandages. He then walked away as if nothing had happened, leaving the still dreaded and confused Rose behind. Only after he was out of sight did Rose lower her guard. Everything happened far too fast for her mind to comprehend, but she knew she have to hurry back to Rein¡¯s house. ------ ¡°I told you.¡± That was the first thing Aldwin said when she returned. Usually Aldwin would say something like that with a mocking grin on his face, but right now his face was dead serious. Only then Rose realized what had happened. It was Aldwin¡¯s arrow that stopped Lucifer feet. ¡°From now on you¡¯re going to hear about it over and over again for the rest of your life.¡± He added. The usual smug expression returned to his face. "Be ready for it." She walked pass him without even taking a look. Her head hung low so that Aldwin couldn¡¯t see her face, which was flushed red. ¡°Thank you.¡± She whispered. She whispered when she was already quite some distance away from Aldwin. She didn¡¯t want him to hear it, but considering Aldwin hearing abilities, he probably heard it. The fact that Aldwin chose not to say anything made her thanks inside her heart. ---- Darkness have fallen over the city, that include Rein¡¯s house and the church. Aldwin and Rose have returned to her home and they were probably scouting and patrolling the city. Albert had also returned home, he was away from his home much longer than what he had promised his spirits, making them worry over him. That mean the one left in Rein¡¯s house were Himself, Friede, and his spirits, Elis and Xandra. The pain Rein felt have became better over time. He was sleeping soundly on his own bed inside his room.Inside the room next to his, Friede stood motionless, staring at the mirror. Her expression was flat and her eyes showed indifference. However, the same couldn¡¯t be said for her reflection in the mirror. Her reflection face was elated, showing a sadistic smile and sadistic stare. A frightening sight for anyone to see, like a scene directly from horror movie. Yet, it was not a ghost, or some other supernatural forces working on her. No, the thing on the mirror was the other side of her, her darkest desire, her true self one could say. Friede was always a special among special, but not in the form that anyone other than her could see, or could comprehend. Even among the mages in the world, there was no one in the current age that could hold a candle to her might. Even Rose who was considered by many to be genius was nothing to her. Though she never showed it to anyone or tell anyone about that because she was, special. Among countless legend, folklore, and others of that kind, there were many heroes, sages, warriors, mages, who possessed incredible magical power since birth. Whether they have the blood of dragon in their veins, or they were born from mating between god and human, they all possessed untold amount of magic in their body. Yet, even those people couldn¡¯t match Friede in term of pure magic capacity. Friede did not posses a blood of dragon or the blood of god. Instead, she posses something much more powerful, the blood of an Eldritch being, and not just any Eldritch being. The blood that ran through her vein was the blood of a Great Old one who slumbered in the sunken city of R¡¯Lyeh. Yes, her form on the mirror was the personification of that blood. The blood of Ctulhu. She raised her arm and looked at the back of both hand. On the back of her left hand was a symbol of Dragon, and on her right was a symbol of the wolf. Both the exact same shape as Rein¡¯s, but hers wach much darker. ¡°Do i really have to make a contract with that weak and pitiful creature Mistress? It felt... disgusting.¡± The voice came from a kneeling woman behind her. Lustrous pitch black armor covered her body. Her skin was pale white and her eyes silver. It was Xandra. A chuckle came from behind her as if to reply Xandra¡¯s statement. The chuckle came from the bed, where a woman, with black hair with a tint of blue at the end of it, lied. Her feet was not that of human, but a hooves of goat. Four curved horned came out from her temple, two curved upward and two downward. On her forehead was a third eyes. It was Elis, or more appropriately, Shub-Nigur. ¡°How can you not love such an adorable miserable little human?¡± Shub licked her lips. ¡°Clinging to his sanity so hard when there are no hope. I wanted for so longto just push him over the edges so i can finally devour his mind, but at the same times i want to see his cute face when he despair, and his cute face when i gave him hope. Over and over again. Ahhh~ What a sight.¡± Elis stare became blank. She opened her mouth wide and a drool came out from it. Her hand started to rub her body and private part. Seeing her like that Xandra can¡¯t help but to look away. ¡°Still i can¡¯t comprehend why must we make a false contract with him.¡± Friede turned her body to face Xandra, but the image on the mirror still face the same way. ¡°Because I-we love him. The false contract is to ensure we know where his position is wherever he go. Is that not enough explanation for you?¡± ¡°Deepest apology my mistress. However, since we could take over his mind or change his memory completely, why should we do this?¡± ¡°I want him to love me-us back with his own heart. I will only resort to that method if for some reason his mind shatter before i could make him mine.¡± ¡°If that is the case shouldn¡¯t we kill the woman who claim to be your sister? She is after all his target of affection.¡± ¡°No. Rein is a like an ice carving. Beautiful but brittle, he have endured so many tragedies in his life that he developed a dependency to another person to keep his own mind from shattering. If iris die before i could change Rein dependency from her to me, then his mind will shatter and all we have done would be meaningless.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± She stood. ¡°Then what about the woman and the man that came here earlier?¡± ¡°Albert¡­ he¡¯s not a problem. Once they may be best friend, but recently their relation have been strained, so killing him shouldn''t be a problem, but keeping him alive might be more entertaining.¡± She looked at Shub behind her. ¡°His spirits are the one who killed both of you in your previous life. Though with me here they won¡¯t posses any problem.¡± ¡°Of course. With you pwer we could easily win this war after all.¡± Without minding Xandra praise, Friede continued. ¡°Rose¡­. I can¡¯t say anything about her. I pretended to be her friend in the past, but she seems to take it seriously. What a stupid human. Devour her if you want, but the problem lies in her spirit¡­ Aldwin. Do any of you know anything about him?¡± Her question brought Shub back from her fantasy. ¡°No.¡± She answered promptly. Xandra shook her head. ¡°But even him shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Even if he is an A++ rank spirit, compared to us Eldritch being-¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that.¡± Shub interrupted. ¡°And what make you say that?¡± Xandra asked with eyes of hostility. Her pride didn''t allow her to acknowledge the strength of something other than an Eldritch being. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But facing him give me chills.¡± She sat on the bed. "He also have the same sword as you didn''t he." "Now that you said it. No human should be able to wield my sword no matter how strong he is." "Maybe he''s also one of us." "No. If he is we would instantly know." Friede raised her hand, signalling both of them to stop speaking. ¡°I don''t think he will be any problem, but to be safe both of you musn''t underestimate him. I will tell you what to do about him latter.¡± They nodded in unison. Shub stood from the bed. Her face beaming with smile. It was an honest innocent smile, like a child smile wantinga gift from their parent. ¡°Then mistress. Shouldn¡¯t i be rewarded. I have taken care of him quite well haven¡¯t i? I even gave him nightmare about losing you every night so that he could yearn for you in his wake.¡± Friede turned to look at his true self in the mirror. ¡°You¡¯re allowed to hunt tonight child.¡± A ghastly version of Friede¡¯s voice resounded in the room. The normal Friede added. ¡°But you must be careful not to reveal your true self to other spirit. Kill any witness.¡± Shub tilted her head to an impossible angle. Then her smile widened such that it touched her ears, literally. The True Evil - 2 Two pairs of eyes stared to the distance from the highest tower of that city. It was a starless and moonless night, and the city began to darken as its inhabitant ceased their activities. The night was silent. Far too silent. Even the snow stopped falling that night. Aldwin and Rose were scouting around the designated target area for tomorrow raid. While they knew it was a trap and they did plan to bait the trap, they don¡¯t want any unforeseen circumstances to happen and screw with their plan. Rose turned her eyes to Aldwin. Careful so that Aldwin didn¡¯t notice it. She always thought Aldwin¡¯s words and sarcasm were annoying, it never occurred to her that his silence would be so unsettling. He hadn¡¯t talked more than necessary since her encounter with Lucifer. He hadn¡¯t in fact, talk with her at all after that. Was he mad at her, or was he just trolling her like always? The situation was awkward for her. She wanted the silence to end, but starting a conversation was embarrassing since she hadn¡¯t apologized to him yet. And just thinking about apologizing was enough to make her face flushed red. She rarely apologizes, almost never in fact. She also never feels bothered when she didn¡¯t apologize when she was at fault. So the feeling was a first time for her. ¡°Aldwin.¡± She said with an almost unhearable voice. Aldwin didn¡¯t react, though she was sure he could hear it. ¡°Aldwin.¡± She called again. This time with a louder voice. Still, he didn¡¯t react. ¡°Aldwin.¡± With an even louder voice. ¡°Aldwin!¡± Now she shouted. Yet he still didn¡¯t react. His stare was focused on the distance and his mind seemingly wanders somewhere else. Rose clenched her fist. Her face burned with embarrassment. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry okay. It¡¯s my fault for not listening to what you say. You¡¯re right and I''m wrong! I¡¯m sorry!¡± Silence. Rose raised her face to look at him. He was still in the same position with the same distant stare in his eyes. His eyes suddenly moved and looked at her. His face turned to her. ¡°Did you say something Rose? I was daydreaming just now.¡± He grabbed his own head. ¡°But can it be called daydreaming when it¡¯s night? Hmm.¡± T-this bastard. He pretends that he didn¡¯t hear my apology. ¡°Nothing! Forget everything!¡± She looked away. ¡°Why the red face Rose?¡± A mischievous grin appeared on his face. He looked toward the distance again. ¡°I miss something embarrassing don¡¯t I?¡± He asked. Rose, of course, didn¡¯t answer him. Whether he truly didn¡¯t hear her apologise or he just pretending to not hear it, it didn¡¯t matter to her. She already told her heart¡¯s content and a great burden was lifted off her shoulder. Her eyes wandered. From the sky, the city, the street down below, then it slowly moved to a church in the distance. She couldn¡¯t actually see the church, she just knew the general location. She sighed remembering Friede condition. After what had happened to her the day before, there was no way for her to hide the fact any longer. Rather than her not knowing anything, she thought it was better to let her know about everything so that she could take care of herself. The game, faction, god source. She was sure it was the best course of action, but there was a doubt in her heart. Was it right to drag an innocent person into the game? A person who doesn¡¯t have a spirit to protect her. Rein and his spirits could and will protect her of course, but something just doesn¡¯t feel right about it. Especially about the part that Friede didn¡¯t seems to be too shocked about it. Did Friede already knew about the game, about the faction, she wondered. She shook her head to dismiss those thoughts. Even if she did know about the game, it was not a problem as long as she didn¡¯t participate in it. ¡°Forget it. Do you see anything strange Aldwin?¡± She asked, returning to her serious demeanor. ¡°No, nothing so fa-r¡± Aldwin squinted his eyes. This was the first time he did it during their scouting. His eyesight was superhuman, extraordinary even for a spirit. He could see the edges of the city with high detail from the tallest building, he had no need to squint his eyes no matter the condition, even in an almost pitch black condition. ¡°Did something happened Aldwin?¡± She asked noticing his strange behavior. ¡°Back down Rose.¡± He said. ¡°What?¡± She was confused about his sudden change of Tone. ¡°Back down!¡± Rose jumped back after he shouted. There was only one reason for him to do that, enemy. Where and what she didn¡¯t know.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Aldwin also jumped back a few step and raised his right arm toward the heaven. Rose yelped and shut her eyes when a blinding flash struck them. There was no thundering sound, no heat, no pain, just a blinding flash. She slowly opened her eyes and was greeted with an unbelievable sight. Aldwin was preparing to throw a spear. His left arm was straight forward toward his target and his left was bent with the spear above his head. It was not a normal spear. Even calling it a spear might not be correct. It was a crackling thunderbolt. Thunder raged around his hand, but the immense power was contained in the form of a spear. The sight was not so dissimilar to the legend of sky gods or thunder gods throwing their thunderbolt at their enemies. And just like those gods in the legend, Aldwin let loose of the thunder. It disappeared from his hand in an instant. One would not expect to see a more than a moment of lightning during a thunder, and one couldn¡¯t. Did it hit? What kind of enemy needed such a drastic measure against them. Those question resounded inside Rose¡¯s mind, but Aldwin¡¯s face answered her question before she let them out. His eyes wide open. It was the look of shock, but there seemed to be some more hidden meaning behind those look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Rose.¡± He said with a soft apologetic voice. Something struck the back of her neck. Hard. ---- A drunk middle-aged man came out from a bar in the middle of the night. The bar was run down and was hidden in some shady back alley. It was not a place you want to go unless you don¡¯t have anywhere to go and don¡¯t have any money to go somewhere better. That was exactly what happened to that man. His suit was in tatters and his skin covered with dirt and dust. On his arm was a bottle of questionable alcohol. Simply put, he was a mess. He had drowned himself all night to forget all of his problems. The problem with his short-tempered boss, with his cheating wife, with his rebellious daughter. He took a sip from the bottle in his hand once he started to remember it again, but the bottle was empty. ¡°Fuck!¡± He cursed himself and threw the bottle randomly. The man walked, limped toward the general direction of where his home was. At least in his mind, he walked down the right path. Just one step and he almost fell. Another step and he almost fell again. He crouched and threw up whatever he ate and drank that night. And he threw up and threw up again. Then threw up some more. ¡°Hello there.¡± A soft and charming woman¡¯s voice caused his ears to perk up. He looked up and saw an otherworldly beautiful woman. Her skin was fair white, her hair was long and lustrous black with a tint of blue near the end. Her womanly feature was, amazing, to say the least. It was further enhanced by her skimpy clothes that covered only part of her breast and her crotch. Strange choices in winter, but the man didn¡¯t care. He stood up, mesmerized by the woman beauty. ¡°Come here.¡± She said with a smile. The woman extended her arms out, inviting the man to her embrace. It was, of course, a strange and suspicious offer, considering how stunning the woman was. It was without a doubt some kind of tricks or traps, and any sane, rational, men would have noticed that, but he wasn¡¯t sane or rational at the moment. He was so drunk and was so enamored by her beauty that he couldn¡¯t see, or maybe his mind could not process it, that woman had horns on her head, tails, and hooves instead of legs. The man walked toward the women, hoping to get into her warm embrace, not noticing that his feet gradually became heavier and heavier and that he sank further and further into the ground the more he walked. Then, the man realized what was happening, but everything came too late. His whole body was drowning in a strange black mud on the ground, save for his neck and his head. He screamed and thrashed inside the black mud. The woman didn¡¯t stop him from screaming, she was delighted to see that the man was causing a ruckus. Her face flushed red and she rubbed his cheek. ¡°Yes, yes, scream more. Call more of your friend here. So we can all have fun together.¡± After screaming for minutes, nobody came. It was to be expected, criminal activities was a normal occurrence in such places. No one cared if someone screamed for help there and no one would come to help. A look of disappointment was evident on the woman¡¯s face. She pouted poked her own cheek in a rather cute manner. ¡°What a bummer.¡± She then smiled wide, so wide that her cheek cut open and the edge of her lips could literally touch her ears. Her jaw split in two then her neck and her chest, revealing a gaping hole with hundreds of teeth lining inside. ¡°Thank you for the food.¡± ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!¡± The men screamed his last. ------- Shub''s stomach rumbled. It was only an effect, she didn¡¯t have any actual stomach. Then she looked back toward the dark alley where she had just consumed numerous men and women. She hasn''t had enough, not even near enough. Her master forbid her to feast when she was looking after her fake master, so that night was a special and delightful night for her. The form she took became more and more monstrous the more she feasted on men. Her head was that of a goat along with her legs and arms, yet her torso was still that of a human. Black tentacles came out from her back and wriggled like an eel. She opened her mouth and black ooze came out from her mouth like a drool. She giggled. She had located her newest prey. Her prey walked to another alley. Even though she wanted to attack her prey in the open, her master had ordered her to stick to alleys. She mustn¡¯t be seen or detected, and she has to kill any witnesses. She waited in the shadow until the time was right until her prey was right before her. In an instant, tentacle enveloped her prey and pulled him to the shadow. Her prey didn¡¯t even have a chance to scream or to even realize what was happening before she consumed him whole. She munched her prey carefully. Taking time to savor their taste from their blood, their innards, their bone, everything. This was why she loved young men and women in their early twenties, their body was healthy and full of energy. Their blood fresh and their meat delicious. ¡°More. More. More.¡± She couldn¡¯t have enough of their taste. There was no way she could, they were so tasty. She thought about Rein back home and fantasized about him. He was special, how tasty would his body be. She knew that he was her master¡¯s, but she couldn¡¯t help her own desir- Her head exploded. A thunderbolt arrived in a flash and hit her head, blowing it and painting the street and wall with black mud. Her headless body fell to the ground unmoving. Like a blood, the black mud flowed out from the wound on her body and the stump that was her head. Her hand twitched. Her body raised itself and began hovering. The black mud that flowed out from her body flew toward where her head originally was and formed a new head for her. Her goat eyes opened and fixated on the one who threw the thunderbolt. She gritted her teeth after realizing who it was. It was Rose¡¯s spirit, standing on top of a tall building in the distance. It the human who dare interfered with their plan. They were able to control Rein¡¯s curse and thus able to control him indirectly. That was until that man took the curse out from Rein¡¯s body. She screamed and sprinted toward the building in the distance.