Chapter 11ARE YOU SCARED

“You didn’t have to bring this upon yourself, Little Brother,” the knight’s voice rang out, its sorrowful tone swept away by the blistering hot winds across the battlefield.

Another knight lay on the ground groaning with shallow breaths. The armor over his chest ripped off and mangled around the waist.

From his jagged wounds, blood seeped relentlessly, staining the ground beneath him.

Despite the excruciating pain he felt in his arm, Izek strained to reach for his fallen sword. But just as his fingertips brushed the hilt, the surrounding grains of sand seemed to come alive, swirling and pulling the blade deep into the ground.

It had only been five minutes since Izek challenged his older brother to a fight.

“But why?” Izek cried out, his voice cracking with anguish and confusion.

“You forgot, you were the one who challenged me to this duel.” Izek’s older brother answered him coldly without showing any signs of sympathy for his younger brother.

.

Izek still clearly remembered the day when the Emperor of the Nova Empire visited his Kingdom.

He had no idea why the Nova Emperor would come to the land of knights because he was said to have the largest military in the entire human continent. And Izek’s curiosity grew further when he visited the Valoria mansion.

Though Izek didn’t get a chance to meet him, his elder brother did.

On that same night, it was suddenly decided that his elder brother would go with the emperor to the Nova empire.

Izek on hearing this news from one of the servants, ran straight to his elder brother’s room.

And the moment Izek laid eyes upon his brother’s face. His brother smiled, trying to hide the sadness on his face.

“Is it all true that I hear, brother? Are you really leaving?” Izek quickly asked, not wanting to beat around the bush.

“Listen, Izek…”

But at this point, no one could contain Izek’s outburst.

“But you promised. Wasn’t it your dream to become a wandering knight and travel the world and help all the people on your way? And I was going to accompany you too once I had fully mastered my aura. What about that?”

“It’s only a matter of time that I will be away. The Emperor is not someone we can refuse. So, all I have promised to him is a quest. And once that is completed I will come back.” Izek’s elder brother tried to calm down Izek.

“And when will that be?”

“I am not sure but I will be back soon. I promise.” Izek’s brother tapped on his little brother’s shoulder.

That was the last time Izek saw his big brother, as he left early in the morning even before he could get his chance to say his goodbyes.

…

It was only two years later that out of nowhere, Izek’s elder brother appeared in front of him.

“Elder brother you are finally back.” Izek dropped his sword in the middle of his training and went to hug his brother.

“I came back to say, that I won’t be returning after this.”

Izek’s grip tightened around his elder brother. But he did not feel the same embrace around him, as he saw his elder brother’s hands hanging lifelessly on the sides.

“So, does that mean it’s finally time for you to leave on your journey? Give me a little time maybe a day or two to say goodbye to my friends and make some preparations. You know what, just give me half an hour and I will be back with my stuff. We two brothers are going to make a wonderful team journeying together and the world will know our name. After all, you are my awesome big brother and the strongest.”

Izek respected his brother a lot. Not because Izek knew he was a genius who mastered the aural arts at a very young age. But while training with him, he closely saw how hard his elder brother worked to reach where he was.

Izek moved apart from his brother to give him some space and turned around to go back inside the mansion.

“I said I will be leaving for the Nova Empire right now. This might be the last time we meet.” Izek’s brother repeated himself.

“Then I will come with you.” Izek turned and shouted back. His anger seething in his fist.

“No, you can’t.”

“I will.”

“No. It will be dangerous for you.”

“Do you even know what they say about you these days? They call you the emperor’s hound. That you will do anything that bastard says or asks you to do.” Izek pointed at the armour his brother was wearing specifically to the emperor’s mark on it.

“That’s my job. I have decided to serve the Nova emperor and his words are my command. You should know that as a knight.” Izek’s brother was unfazed.

“Don’t give me that. You said you will come back and then leave to travel the world. Wasn’t that your dream?” Izek reminded.

“I think I might have spouted some nonsense like that. But that’s not my thing anymore.” Izek’s brother’s words felt detached as if he had lost all his ambitions in the time he was away.

“Is that all you have to say to me? If you think I am not good enough to go to the emperor myself and ask what he did to you. Then you are wrong.” Izek angrily warned his brother.

“Izek you shouldn’t do that. Forget about me. Now the future of the Valoria household rests on you.”

“That’s easy for you to say. But your family has waited for two years for you to come back. And I waited for you too.” Izek was disappointed with his brother.

“I have my duty towards the empire. So, I can’t.” Izek’s brother looked down, unable to meet his brother's eyes but showed no remorse.

“For some reason, I feel irritated with that tone of yours. Is that something the emperor ordered you to do as well? If he is the cause of all of this then I will just beat him.”

“Izek you shouldn’t become the emperor’s enemy. You will die.”

“Then are you the one who is going to kill me.” Izek blatantly threw the words at his brother.

But instead of denying it, or stopping Izek, his brother kept quiet.

“Is that so? I guess we will just duke it out like we always do. You know what happens if I win. You are coming back.” Izek yelled.

“Don’t be childish.” Izek’s brother tried to stop him.

But Izek now danced to his own tune had already picked up the sword and ran towards his elder brother unleashing his aura in one full swing.

But instead, his aura was met with a blast of another purple radial aura that blasted him away.

“You will not be able to defeat me. Never.”

“While you were away I too have honed my aural arts. And I am confident I can blow you away with it in one strike.”

For a second, Izek felt he saw his elder brother flash a smile.

But his enthusiasm faded when his elder brother, the real owner of the Bulwark, brandished his gauntlet.

In his right hand, a sword materialled and in the other a shield.

But that was not all.

Izek’s elder brother’s aura suddenly condensed around him to the point he could feel its weight in the surroundings.

And as if a teleportation spell had been cast on him, he found himself in an entirely different space.

“This is the true power of aural arts. If you are going to get in the emperor’s way you need to be at least this strong to be able to do this with your aura.” Izek’s brother showed him the true essence of aural arts by expanding the projection of his soul core into a domain.

Izek couldn’t believe his eyes as he saw the endless desert of sand around him. The world around Izek felt foreign, as if the very ground beneath him had shifted, leaving him lost in a landscape he no longer recognized.

At first, he thought he really was teleported, but despite the reality in front of him, he could also tell that it was a virtual space built entirely of aura.

For Izek, mastering the art of condensing his aura to his body or weapons had always seemed like the pinnacle of his abilities. But now, as if a veil had been lifted, he found himself thrust into a realm he never knew existed.

This sudden revelation should have been exhilarating, but instead, it was overshadowed by the bitter taste of betrayal.

The same brother who had once shared everything with him—who had fought by his side, laughed with him and tenderly applied medicine to his wounds after every battle—now stood against him.

After a small exchange of blows, Izek lay on the ground, his body battered and broken, barely able to breathe.

Izek had utilized all his skills and exhausted all his energy, but his brother stood there without a scratch.

The brother who had once been his protector had nearly beaten Izek half to death, all because of a single threat—an impulsive declaration he made that he would harm his brother’s master.

The bond they had once cherished was shattered, replaced by a stark, unforgiving reality of responsibilities.

***

KINGDOM OF VALORIA [COLOSSEUM]

Izek’s eyes opened as he looked around him. His hands felt something soft as they hit the ground only to grab a red spider lily.

“It feels so real.” Izek muttered to himself.

Izek could feel that the domain made by Alicia’s aura had already been lifted.

But unlike the last time where the effects of the domain should have faded along with it, the flowers remained. Like a reminder of death's quiet whisper, he had come so close to—bittersweet in scent, hauntingly beautiful, and yet so sad.

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He looked above and he could still see the blue opaque barrier reminding him that he had pathetically lost despite all the efforts he had put in. As he raised his hand, he saw the golden gauntlet attached at the back of his arm as Bulwark went dormant for some time.

But surprisingly unlike the battle with his brother where he sustained life-threatening injuries and had to be hospitalized for a month to recover.

He felt no pain in his limbs or areas where he sustained his injuries. The places where he received cuts had stopped bleeding as well.

But the moment he tried to stand up again, he fell back on the ground.

“You shouldn’t do that. I might have healed you completely. But you are still fatigued after continuously using your aural arts and depleting your soul power.” A girl’s voice reminded him of Alicia’s presence.

Despite Alicia’s warning, Izek thrust his leg forward and kneeled on one knee in front of her. Refusing to stay put in front of his opponent.

“Alright, as promised. I will do anything you want. You can be my master?” Izek said out loud. For some reason, he did not detest the idea.

“What? Why would I want that?” Alicia looked surprised at Izek for suggesting she become his master.

“Hehh…”

“…Hehhh.”

“But didn’t you participate in the knight selection because you were in search of a knight? And we even made a deal that the losing party would do anything that the winner would want.” Izek reminded Alicia.

Izek was a man of his word.

“I didn’t make that deal because I wanted a knight of my own. I just... I just…” Alicia who sounded so confident during the fight, suddenly started hesitating and shaking her head anxiously.

“So, why did you come here?” Izek felt disappointed in himself, knowing that nobles would have sold their territories and mansions to have him as a knight at any cost. He was being refused out front like this.

“I only came here to eat the moon berry tarts because I was told that they are the sweetest. So, as part of the deal. Can you please tell me the best place to get moonberry tarts before they are all over? I don’t want to miss them today before I go back.” Alicia urged.

“You are going back…”

“Yes, I came with Alice Hart, the princess of Hart Kingdom. But we are supposed to return early tomorrow to get to my new domain. You see I only became a noble two days back.” Alicia explained her circumstances.

Her face which was emotionless during the entire fight, had now a flush of red as Alicia felt embarrassed for making such a trivial request. And that too to one of the highest-ranked knights in the entire Kingdom of Valoria.

She silently stood there awkwardly twisting her fingers. Izek might have only taken a glance at her when she was high in the sky covered in her aura.

But seeing her so up close standing right in front of him. He was mesmerized by her appearance, which he could have only described as angelic.

But the piercing red glow in her eyes still reminded him of how terrifying she was. That if she wanted, she could blow him in smithereens just with a flick of her magic.

“I can’t say I am too pleased by losing a match when I thought the stakes couldn’t have been much higher. But the moon beery tarts are a good enough reason for me.” Izek raised a thumbs up being a moon berry lover himself.

“Alright, I will tell you. And to be honest it’s a secret place that only the top people of the Kingdom know that serves the best moon berry tarts. And they know how to make it the best ever experience for you.” For some reason, Izek felt the need to whisper the last line as if it could be troublesome if someone heard us.

“Yeah, tell me.”

“But first can you answer my one question? You can refuse if you want to and keep quiet. I would still fulfill my promise.”

“Alright. I will listen.” Alicia had no qualms about accepting such favorable terms.

“A few weeks back, there was a report of an individual of an unknown origin that destroyed the entire fleet of pirates at sea in a blink of an eye. And they only described her as a girl wearing a white suit and silver ashen hair just like yours. They called her the White Queen.”

“―Don’t call me that.” Alicia embarrassedly hid her face with her hands.

“―But that is not my real question.”

Alicia pouted realising she had been played with.

“You used gravity magic in the first attack which is a compound magic that also utilized dark magic. But I can also tell that you used divine healing magic to quickly heal me.”

Alicia forgot, while using her aura and pure magic she unknowingly used divine magic to quickly heal Izek and he was quick to catch on it being the owner of a divine angel’s weapon.

“So, what do you want to say?” Alicia intently stared at Izek. Usually, people would be surprised or refuse to believe this as it went against all logic.

People would deny what their eyes saw and couldn’t comprehend. But Izek was different. He had the ability to properly analyze his situation and understood it better than anyone.

“I wanted to let you know, that you are not the only one who can use the divine magic attribute and dark magic both.” Izek looked serious, as if he had seen this happen before and he could still see it clearly even now.

***

[2 YEARS BACK]

Izek still crawled on the ground, trying to stand up back again to fight against his elder brother.

He didn’t want to lose, much so he refused to lose the fight.

“Stop trying.” Izek’s older brother got closer and looked down at his brother crawling on the ground.

He lifted his leg and stepped on Izek’s right leg. Twisting it twice.

A cracking sound followed by Izek’s scream was the only thing that echoed in that vast desert.

“Do you even know what they say about you? That you have massacred villages and hundreds of innocent people on the orders of the emperor. How can you do that Theron Valoria.” Izek despite the agony he was in with a broken leg now screamed as he called out his brother’s name.

“And I will do it again if I am asked to. And I won’t hesitate even if it’s in thousands, if they decide to go against the emperor. I am no longer the upright knight you once knew. I am no longer a Valorian.”

Izek was shocked, he couldn’t accept what his brother was saying.

Just what did the emperor do to him to change him so much? Izek couldn’t stop thinking.

Suddenly Izek’s eyes were drawn towards the Bulwark sword his brother was wielding. Out of the blue, the shield started to radiate golden light as if trying to hurt its wielder.

“Damn this shield.” Theron having no choice let go of the shield, as if it was about to explode if he didn’t stop channeling his magic into it.

“Brother are you alright.” Izek unable to understand what was happening called out.

Theron stepped back only holding the Bulwark sword in his hand while the shield lay there on the ground.

“Why is Bulwark radiating black miasma?” Izek was shocked to see a divine weapon radiating dark magic.

“Shaaa…. It's too soon.” Izek saw his brother in pain as he tried to absorb the black miasma into him.

Izek knew his brother wielded both light and divine magic so he could not understand how he could control a conflicting element like black miasma.

“I am no longer the person you used to know. I am Theron the Knight Hero and the Emperor’s swords. That’s all you need to know now.” Izek’s brother Theron declared.

While Izek slowly lost his consciousness on the ground, lying injured with the shield of Bulwark thrown by his side.

***

ALICIA ASCALON ASHBORN

‘Was father wrong?’

There is someone else…

I don’t believe Izek was lying. But…

Heck, I could still remember how father made such a fuss out of it. He stubbornly refused to believe I could use both divine magic and black miasma until I used both of the attributes to hit him at once.

It was a catastrophe of its own but the true demon lord finally believed me and asked me to keep this fact hidden.

It almost felt like Izek was warning me to be beware of this person.

“I didn’t mean to pry and I need to thank you for healing me as well. I still feel bad for breaking that mask. After I saw how upset and angry you were after it broke. I am truly sorry. If there is any way I could get it fixed.” Izek genuinely felt sorry for unknowingly breaking my mask.

“You don’t need to worry. It’s a keepsake from my mom. But I know how to get it fixed. And everything and anything goes in a fight, so you owe me no apology.”

I was upset, as it was the first time I felt I lost something that I gained in this world. But I know who can fix this in a jiffy.

“Tell me is there really a way I can defeat someone who is stronger than me?” Izek asked me. It felt like it was a question he wanted to ask someone else.

“Of course, you can’t easily win against a magical genius like me. But if you want to defeat someone strong. Just grind till you die.” I said proudly.

That’s how I ended up finishing even the hardest games in my previous world. And I think this strategy is suited perfectly to a persistent fighter like Izek.

“Yes, I have never seen a magical genius and an angel like you.” Izek laughed.

“Umu.” It felt great when someone finally acknowledged me.

“Right, I have still not asked my question. ―Was there anything that made you scared when we fought.” Izek asked out of nowhere.

Hmmm… What is he saying? Am I scared?

“Of course not. I think I should leave now.” In a moment I lifted the barrier.

And the area filled with the red spider lilies was exposed to the audience’s eyes. It was obvious from their bewildered cries that they were surprised to see Izek lying on the ground, but unlike other knights, he was fortunately still conscious.

While they still tried to wrap their heads around the results of the match, I quietly walked away from the battleground.

…

Later Izek announced that he accepted he lost but also refused to share the details of the match and left soon after.

However, he still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling he got from Alicia when he asked his final question. His eyes did not betray him when he saw how Alicia’s other hand slightly trembled when she materialized her white sword.

Alicia on the other hand got out of the colosseum to meet with Athena, Regis, and Hana who were already waiting for her at the entrance.

…

“Master, are you alright? Why are you feeling so sad?” Hana came straight running at me.

I guess I made Hana worry too.

“Hana can you fix this for me.” I presented to Hana my mask that was broken in two.

Regis and Athena were shocked to see the broken mask and their curiosity grew further to know what happened inside the barrier.

“Yes, I can do it.” Hana only gave a glance at the mask, and in the blink of an eye, the mask was restored to its normal state.

“I never actually believed someone could possess the power of causality. But it's more unbelievable to see this power in action.” Athena was bewildered by Hana’s power.

“But what happened during the fight? And what was that red field of flowers.” Regis had her own set of questions.

“That’s my aural arts. I guess that Mr. Knight was too strong. So, I had to use a bit of my powers as well.” I laughed and rejoiced to see my mask fixed again like the damage never happened.

“Thank you, Hana. And in return, I have found the best place for us to have moon berry tarts.” I made sure to get the name of the place right from Izek, which I told Regis and Athena.

“Alright. We can go here and I don’t think it's too far from here.” Athena said.

“But before that, we need to collect our prizes.” Regis reminded.

“What prizes?” I was out of the loop.

“Well, you see we bet money that you will win on all the matches. And I happen to win all the bets.”

“Huh...!” Wait, does that mean that I did all the work and Regis reaped all the benefits. “―Alice.” I hoped at least Athena would say something.

“I did too and I won lots.” Athena held a betting ticket close to her face trying to hide her embarrassment behind it.

“You too.” That took me by surprise but in the end, we received a huge amount for winning.

I guess no one thought I would win the last match except for these two.

And now it was time to go to that special moonberry tarts shop.

After taking a carriage through the inner markets of the capital city, we arrived on an isolated road.

Coincidentally the address referred to the only shop that was open on the street. So, fortunately, we did not encounter any crowd.

When we entered the shop, we were greeted by a maid, “Welcome, master Valoria told us that we would be expecting some guests.”

“He did?” I asked in surprise.

“You see the Valoria family owns this establishment. So, this entire place has been reserved for you all today to show his generosity. Welcome to Lunar Berry Delights Shop.” The maid smiled at us.

I didn’t know that Izek could have been such an important person.

Later Athena told me that, “Izek Valoria is from one of the founding families of this kingdom and holds an important seat at the round table. So, he is also some sort of a prince here.”

After that, the maid, instead of leading us to a sitting place, led us to an open huge back garden.

“This is a moon berry garden. We make moon berry tarts out of those which you handpick yourselves.”

“Oh!” We were totally astounded by the idea of this establishment.

The maid then explained to us how to harvest moon berries from the mid-sized trees.

“First of all, you cannot pick moon berries using magic, otherwise they lose their sweetness. When moon berries ripe they fall on the ground. But instead of staying there, they are like rubber balls and will bounce back high in the sky if you do not catch them in time, they turn yellow. Those are the bad ones you need to avoid. So, you need to harvest them before that happens. Here are the baskets you can use. Please go forward.” The maid pointed towards some catching baskets specifically designed to catch the small moon berries.

“Let’s see who gets the most moon berries.” Regis was the first to jump into the garden. I think she felt restless after sitting all this time in the colosseum.

Athena, Hana, and I followed.

We were all on the lookout for the moon berries that were first to fall on the ground and chased after them. It was really inconvenient not to use magic, as any contact would harm the moon berries.

But we all quickly got used to this challenging and fun task.

When we thought we had collected enough, we brought our haul to the maid.

She took a quick look through our baskets and thanked us for our hard work. “Good work. Now leave the rest to us to serve you the best tarts in the entire kingdom.”

We were now shown to a sitting area and it was decorated beautifully with art pieces related to knight’s armor and swords.

Only after a little wait, the maid brought for each of us our moon berry tarts.

Hana was first to dig in and she quivered in ecstasy with the first bite.

After having a bite myself, I was glad that I decided to come here and I wanted to thank Izek for recommending me such a great place.

“Honestly, would they mind if I asked them to take some moon berries home?”

***

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