Chapter 48
To the end
(Athena P.O.V about 2000 years earlier)
It was a view that came straight out of a nightmare. A castle shrouded in a black fog, cast a giant shadow over the land extinguishing all life that got caught in its path. As I watch the landscape be consumed by the darkness, I found myself wondering how many times must I watch this same scene play out.
“Huh an elf? How the hell did an elf get in here?!” I was suddenly approach by two men. From their silhouettes it seems these men were once humans, but now their literal shadows of their former shelf. Corruption have completed shallow their body, and eventually it will consume their lives as well. I quickly turn my back towards the men, looking at them reminded me of the sad fate all the demons will eventually have to face.
“Aww the poor thing is scared of us.”
“Can you blame her? I’m sure she knows full well what happens to people that try to sneak into the Demon King’s castle.” One of the man step close enough that I could hear him breathing. “Why don’t you turn around, it’s rude to face away from someone who’s talking to you.” I turn around just like he ask. What he said was true. It was rude of me to turn my back to them. These two chose to become demons of their own free will, while I’m against what they did and dread the future that awaits them, I still should show respect to them, since they were once human.
“Wow…. You’re really beautiful…” The two men eyes widen with surprise “What is someone like you doing here?”
“I came here to talk to my little brother.”
“You snuck in here by yourself just to find your brother? Wow, not only are you beautiful, but brave too. Honestly, it’s infuriating how perfect you elves are. So infuriating, that I want to crush every single one of you smug long ears.” The man sneer at me, exposing teeth that was far too sharp to belong to humans.
Normally demons would relentlessly hunt down any living creature that falls into their site. The fact that I was able to have a civil conservation with these two must mean they just recently became demons, but seeing the man in front of me hunching his shoulder trying to make himself looked feral, it appears that it doesn’t take long for the corruption to devour its host mind.
“That’s enough.” The man’s friend steps in front of him just when it looked like he was about to pounce at me. I was surprise to see that the guy actually listened to him and back off. The only person that can control a demon is obviously my brother. I guess these two must’ve been best friends in the past since I see no other way he could’ve stop him from attacking me.
“Sorry about that, my friend isn’t really fond of elves, actually pretty much everyone here doesn’t like them. So to answer your question no, your brother isn’t here. and you shouldn’t be too, so hurry up and leave, before another demon spot you.”
I was surprise that these two not only didn’t attack me, but they even answer my question. It’s unfortunate though, their minds will keep deteriorating until they turn into nothing more than simple-minded beast for my brother to use as he please. I couldn’t help but feel pity for them, everything that made them who they are was taken from them because of a single decision.
“Why did you become a demon?” The two men turn back towards me, confused by my question.
“Why do you care? We’re nothing more than insects to an elf like you, or maybe that’s exactly the reason why you want to know. Humans stepping out of line and trying to surpass beings like you is out of the question isn’t it?”
“I don’t think that at all, I just don’t understand why you’ll sacrifice everything for power.” One of the men slam his fist into the wall next to me, creating a giant hold in the wall.
“Of course you don’t understand, I’m sure you also don’t get that it’s taking all our will power to stop ourselves from tearing you apart. So then, I will tell you again, leave, now.”
“You’re wasting your breath on her.” A deep and familiar voice echo though the dark corridors. “She’s the type that’ll try to save anyone, even those that are beyond saving. Isn’t that right, Athena?” The disembody voice was accompanied by footsteps that grew closer by the moment.
“Wait Athena?!” The two men back away from me the moment they heard my name.
“There’s no need to fear her. She won’t hurt you, well I should say she can’t hurt you, since that’s not her real body, but still, this does raise a question. Why are you in my castle?” A man with fiery red eyes emerge from the darkness. Despite being demons themselves, the two men next to me shiver at the sight of the man with red eyes. While I’m normally against people judging someone by appearance, I fully understood why they were afraid of him. His sharp horn, and cold glowing red eyes, were enough to make even the most ferocious monster coward in fear.
“Is there something wrong with visiting my little brother?”
“I’m not your little…” The Demon King pauses and looks at the two men that was shiver in front of him. “You two can leave, the grow ups are talking now.”
“Yes sir!” The two immediately ran away leaving me and my brother alone.
“Well seeing that you’re here, I guess it’s about that time.” The Demon King walk past me to look out the tower’s window. Through the darkness that covered the land, a small fire could be seen in distance slowly moving towards us while burning away the miasma that has blighted the land.
“Yea, it’s about time for the ‘final battle.’ The victor of this fight get to decide the fate of the world. What a pain in the ass.” The Demon King let’s out a long sigh, while staring at the army that was marching towards his castle. “Oh well, better start preparing for the inevitable confrontation.”
“You know you don’t have to fight. You could just leave all this behind.”
“Are you telling me to run away Athena? If I did that than I would be on the run forever, and that’s a bigger pain in the ass than dealing with your champion.”
“I’m not telling you to run away, what I’m trying to say is that you should leave this world. I mean aren’t you tired of fighting?”
“….” He goes silent. For a while, the both simply stood and silence and watch the pitch black scenery in front of us.
“Speaking of leaving, don’t you think it’s time for you to go? You know people will start to talk if they found out the ‘Great Athena’ is lounging around in my castle.”
“Let them. Right now I don’t care what others think, the person I’m worry about the most is you.” I held my hand out to my brother who simply stare at it in confusion.
“C’mon, enough with these senseless battles, let’s leave all this behind, you don’t have to suffer anymore.”
“Suffer? I guess from the perspective of a woman who was born with a sliver spoon in her mouth, my life would look like a living hell.” Knowing he wouldn’t accept my hand I let it fall back to my side My brother gave me a wide grin. It seems he was happy seeing me disappointed.
“Earlier you said you couldn’t understand why those two men left their family so they could obtain power right? It’s quite simple really, they didn’t have a family to begin with.” My brother let out a laugh that echo throughout the hallway.
“It’s a tragic story really. Those poor bastards were born slaves, they never had a chance to make a decision in their life, that is until I destroy their town, but even then when they were finally free from their master’s clutches, the options they had were limited. Since they got a special mark burn onto their bodies when they became slaves the moment they enter another town without their master, they’ll be immediately identified as runaway slaves and will be punished. And since they have no knowledge of the outside world, living in the wilderness isn’t really an option for them either. Which means the only choice the two had at living a somewhat decent life was to become demons. Like I said sad a story, but then again not everyone is meant to live a quiet and happy life.”
Seeing him talk about something so depressing with a smile on his face left me without words. I wasn’t sure if I should comfort him or not, all I knew was if I leave him to die like this again the regrets I shoulder will become too much for me to bear.
“Well then if you don’t mind, I have a castle I need to defend.”
“Wait!” I quickly reach out and grab my brother’s arm to keep him from leaving. “You…. You could at least try to live a normal life; you might actually like it.” A sigh escapes from his mouth.
“Ok Athena, I’ll try to settle down, after I take over the world.” Despite him talking in a humorous manner, I knew full well he wasn’t joking. My hands tremble as a thought that I’ve been repressing slowly broke free from its shackle each time my brother refuse to stop his conquest. ‘The only way to stop him is by putting him down for good.’
“Why are you so obsessed with taking over the world?” Suddenly he wraps his arm around and pull me closer to him. “You really want to know why?” His grin widens almost as if he was waited for that question.
“It’s because I was made for this.” A black fire suddenly envelops my hand that he was holding. Strangely, I didn’t feel any pain or heat from the fire, all I could feel was the warmth in my body vanish as the fire crawl its way up my arm.
“They say life is precious, and yet here I am, a man born with the power to destroy life with just a simple touch. Surely, this must be a sign right? Or are you saying that that I’m nothing more than a mistake that needs to be erase?”
“I…” The building suddenly started to shake violently, nearly throwing the both of us to the ground. I didn’t have to look outside to know what was going on. The shouting was enough to tell me the humans have started their attack.
“I wasted too much time on you.” My brother let’s go of my hand thus letting the fire freely consume my arm. “Since you don’t feel like leaving you’re welcome to stay and watch the show, or you can join in on the action if you want, I really don’t care.”
“I try to grab his arm to prevent him from leaving, but it seems the fire is not only consuming my arm, it also was robbing me of all my strength. Of course, I can easily remove these flame, and go after him, but it wouldn’t change anything. He is completed committed to this path, which means the only thing I can do now is watch and hope that one day he’ll get tired of all this fighting.
I turn my attention back to the window and watch as an army of knights charge through the castle’s destroy gate. At this point I’m sure any sane person would be panicking as they watch a war break out right in front of their face, yet the only thing going through my head is how many times must I watch this same scene play out.
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(Aaron P.O.V)
“Hmm…. I see…. Judging from your story, it looks like the real me is quite hard headed” The creature who took the form of my sister nods its head at me like it just solved a riddle.
“Indeed, he is stubborn, but there is still hope for him.” My heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach the moment the two look at me with great expectation. I already knew what they were going to say and I wasn’t ready to hear it.
“Isn’t it hilarious? When it comes down to it, it won’t be a chosen hero or an almighty god that stops the Demon King. The only one who can truly put an end to the Demon King’s reign of terror is you Aaron.”
Yea, just like I fear, the two expects me to put an end to the Demon King’s corrupted legacy. While I’m all for my sister living a happy life, this goes beyond her, this involve the entire world, whatever makes them believe I can do this is beyond me, after all…
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“I’m not special.” My thoughts and concern spill right out of my mouth. “I just happen to be related to the Demon King, what makes you think I can stop her?”
“You just answer your own question. It’s because you’re her brother.”
“Listen Aaron, you might not have notice it since you haven’t known him as long as I have, but I can assure you, he has change.
“Yea, if the Demon King was his same old self, then he would’ve kill you the moment you found out he was the Demon King, or he would’ve turn you into a Demon The moment you ask.”
“He really does care about you. So much so, that he risks his life multiple times to save yours.”
“Right, like the one time from a blood wolf, and there was that time with the orcs…. Oh also don’t forget….”
The two continue to list off all the things my sister has done for me. While it was nice hearing how much she cares for me, it wasn’t enough to convince me how I could stop her. If anything it filled me with more doubt. If she really cares about me as much as they say, then she’ll no doubt be heartbroken if I try to stop her from doing something she been trying her whole life to achieve…. At least I think she will, probably not. All I know is that she definitely won’t be happy and probably would leave me behind if I tried to oppose her goal.
“…. Can I get more time to think about this?”
“I’m afraid we’re out of time, it seems you’re going to be waking up soon.”
“Waking up?”
“Your body is starting to disappear.” The fake Anna point towards my feet which were becoming transparent. I found it odd how I didn’t notice my feet were vanishing from existence, and even odder how calm I was.
“Is this normal?”
“Yes it’s quite normal. Once your body vanish from this world, you’ll wake up in the other one. The problem is, it’s way too earlier for you to be waking up now.”
“Obviously it’s Anna, there’s really no one else capable of disrupting your magic, although in here current state it must exhausting trying to pull someone from a dream.”
Hearing my sister was the one pulling me out of here, I couldn’t help but to feel disappointed in myself. When Athena drag me in here I thought that I might I be able help, yet once again I’m nothing more than a problem.
“This must be quite irritating for you Aaron. I brought you here to help you, yet all I done was try to convince you to stop your sister. That won’t happen anymore, from here on, I’ll let you decide what to do.” A piece of paper suddenly appears in Athena’s hand. Slightly curios to see what the letter contain, I accept it, only to be immediately disappointed to see nothing on it.
“It’s blank.”
“Of course it’s blank, that letter is meant for your sister eyes not yours.” I ignore the fake Anna and continue look over the letter, confuse as to how would I be able to give this to my sister. I accepted how reality breaking this place is, but there’s no way I can bring a dream item to the real world right?
“Relax Aaron, that’s nothing more than an example. When you wake up, a letter handwritten by you will be in your left pocket. If you really want to continue on this journey, give it to your sister, it should benefit you two.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Tear it into pieces, so no one can ever read it.”
From what I can gathered, it seems whatever is written on this paper is extremely important and dangerous. I don’t know if I should be happy that she trusted me with this, or concern.
“Oh by the way Aaron…”
“Great, something else I need to be worried about.” Was the first thought that came to me, when she said that. I tried to hide how displease I was with the new upcoming information, but seeing how she was smiling a little bit harder at me, think she was aware of it.
“While I do wish the best for you and your sister, I have no control over Joseph’s action. He may kill you two if he sees you as a threat.”
I’m sure Athena didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help but to interpret that as I a threat. I guess it doesn’t help that I don’t really like the new hero. The little bit of respect I had for him vanish the moment I saw him flirting with my sister while waving the weapon that tormented her in the past. He’s nothing more than an idiotic brute, that just happen to earn Athena’s…. favor….
I was suddenly struck by a realization, that right now, and front of me is a literal goddess. I mean I was always aware of this fact, but it just now fully hit me that I’m in the presence of being that has granted mere mortals the power to defeat gods, and not only that but also has deep ties with the Demon King. Which means she can answer a question that’s been bugging me for a while.
“Athena, do mind if I ask you a question?”
“Sure go for it.”
“How do you decide if someone is worthy of your powers?”
“That’s simple. All candidates that I choose have to be brave, kind, strong-willed….”
“Don’t forget handsome, and a well-built body.” The fake Anna nudge Athena with her elbow while winking at me.
“What, I never said that?!” Athena’s face turns red from embarrassment. I guess even Athena has a preference, it explains why there never been a female hero.
Anyway, going off what Athena and fake Anna said, it seems entities giving their powers to a mortal is pretty much the equivalent of a human giving heart-shaped chocolates they created to someone they cherish or respect. If that’s the case, then…
“…. Did the Demon King ever give someone the power of a Demi God?”
“….” The two instantly went silent. It was unsettling seeing the playfull atmosphere the two had turn cold so quickly.
“He never told you about Lilith? That’s surprising, seeing he’s allowing you to travel with him, I thought he at least tell you about her.”
Lilith? I definitely heard that name before. I search deep in my memory, trying to recalled where exactly I heard it before.
Right, it was in a history book my sister tore up before we left home. To this day I never understood why she tore the book apart, but since Athena mention her, it must mean she was a demi god, the Demon King’s demi god at that.
(A/N: The event Aaron talking about happen in chapter 16, just in case you forgot, I mean it did happen a long time ago.)
“Who exactly is Lilith?”
“Hmm…” Athena let out a hum while folding her arms across her chest. “Why don’t you ask your sister?”
“What?!” I didn’t bother hiding how displease I was with Athena attempt to avoid my question. Athena knows full-well that my sister won’t answer that question.
“Sorry Aaron, that’s quite a personal question, I’ll feel bad for your sister if I told you it without her permission. Plus, you’re about to wake up, so I really don’t have time to tell you.” I look down at my body and was surprise to see more than half of it was now gone. The only thing that remain was pretty much my head. Once again, it escaped me how I didn’t notice or feel my body vanishing.
“Can you at least tell me, what their relationship was?”
“Bye Aaron.” The two ignore my question and wave goodbye at me.
These guys, they’re not even trying to hide that they don’t want to answer it.
“Fine, I guess I’ll ask her.”
“Thanks Aaron.” It’s impossible for me to stay mad at Athena. That dangerous smile of hers seems to be able to wash away any negative emotion a man may have. “I Know my brother is quite stubborn, but if it’s you, then I’m sure you can stop him, but even if you can’t…” The world around me darkens, I guess that meant I was going to be waking up soon. With my sight gone, I strain my ears, hoping at the very least I can hear the last thing Athena wanted to tell me
“If you can’t to stop him, then at the very least, stick with him to the very end.”
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.
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I open my eyes to find I was back in the real world. The world that hung in the sky and the beautiful flowers that stretch across the lands was replace with a wooden ceiling and mountains of books I was looking through before I fell asleep.
I quickly reach into my pocket and sure enough, there’ actually a letter in there, confirming that everything I saw a moment ago, wasn’t a dream. I mean it was a dream, but at the same time it was real?
I threw my face into my hands to calm myself down. Right now is not the time to confuse myself. I got more important things to worry about, like Lilith, and what Athena meant by follow him to the end. Damn it, if I only I had a little more time.
“You look disappointed. Did I wake you up at the good part?” Hearing my sister’s voice, I quickly sat up straight to see she was sitting on top of my desk. For a brief second I was overjoy to see her and that prideful smile she always carries. But that joy quickly vanishes when I saw the dirt covering her clothes, and the blood on her right hand.
“What happen to your hand?”
“My hand?” Confuse she raise the hand I was pointed at to her face. Her eyes widen the moment she saw the blood covering her hands.
“Oh this must be from when I fought that clown.” After examining her hand for a second, she shrugs her shoulders and let it fall back onto the desk as if having blood on her hands was natural.
“A clown? You fought a clown?”
“Long story, one that I’m hoping I’ll forget soon. Anyway enough about me, let’s talk about you.” Sis thrust her finger into my face and repeatedly poke my forehead. “Athena usually don’t drag people into her dream world unless she wants something from them. So, what did she want from you?”
My thoughts instantly went back to what Athena told me about the letter. If I want to my sister to continue on her journey, then I should give the letter to her, but if I don’t then I need to quickly destroy it before she or anyone can see it.
Going by Athena’s thought process, it seems she thinks that if my sister reads it, it’ll encourage her to keep going, and if she doesn’t she’ll eventually get discourage, and give up. If this is what Athena thinking, then she’s seriously underestimating my sister.
Even if I do follow Athena’s instruction and not give the letter to her, she’ll still keep pursing her goal, that’s just how stubborn my sister is. I mean even after getting injured in what appear to be an exhausting fight, she still sitting up straight, making sure not show any sign of weakness. Ever since I was a kid I always admire that side of hers, but now I’m starting to fear it.
After hearing a little bit of Demon King’s past from Athena, I fear that my sister will repeat her past mistake and continue to fight until she eventually dies.
Is this what Athena meant by follow him to the end? If my sister dies, she wants me to follow her to the grave?!
My entire body shivers at the thought of both us, lying in dirt somewhere, our bodies torn apart, and blood staining the ground.
She…. She really doesn’t think that ‘ll happen right? I mean what’s the point of going through all this if she just expects us to die?!
“Aaron…” My sister call to me softly, I look up expecting her to comfort me, only to be flicked on my forehead.
“What was that for?!” I rub my forehead to ease the pain. She must’ve use magic, because it felt like she hit me with a book than her finger.
“You kept me waiting, I don’t like being left in suspense.”
“Sorry, I just don’t know how to answer your question.”
“All you have to do is tell me everything Athena told you. What’s so hard about that? Unless, you’re planning on backstabbing me.” Sis voice suddenly turn cold in emotionless. “You’re not planning on betraying me are you Aaron?” She narrowed her eyes at me. My body tremble slightly a menacing glow my sister’s eyes were giving off.
“No, I would never betray you!” I jump to my feet and shouted as loud as I could to force the fear that building in my throat out.
“Relax, I’m just messing with you.” She put one of her hand on my shoulder and gently guiding me back into my seat. “I’m well aware you’ll never betray me.”
“Really? You really trust me?!” I once again raise my voice. This time it was out happiness rather than fear.
“Of course. You’re so innocent you can barely hurt a monster trying to kill you. There’s no way a kid like you is capable of backstabbing anyone.”
“T-thanks? I’m sure that was an insult, but I’ll just take it as a compliment.
“Plus, Athena isn’t that cold-hearted. As much as I hate to admit it, if she wanted to, Athena could’ve killed me a long time ago. All she had to do was just tell the hero who I was the moment she found out I was alive.”
Yea sis is right; when I was talking to Athena I felt calm and relax, like nothing could hurt me as long as I was in her presence. I just can’t see her doing something cruel as sending someone to kill us, or telling me to die alongside my sister. Thinking rationally, it doesn’t make sense for Athena to go through all this trouble of giving me this letter if she expects us to die.
I reach into my pocket and pull the folded letter out. Getting a better look at it, I found it funny how I was getting work up over such a small thing. There’s no way this piece of paper can change our destiny, I’m sure Athena is aware, which means whatever is written here isn’t meant to encourage my sister to keep fighting, it’s meant to support her.
“This is what Athena wanted me to give you.” slightly hesitant, I hand the letter to my sister, who quietly accept it.
This didn’t change our fate at all. I mean why would Athena give this letter to me if it would threaten not only our lives but the world? I shook my head to reassure myself I did the right thing.
“No way!” Sis suddenly jumps off my desk, nearly giving me a heart attack in the process.
“W-What is it?”
“This could change Everything!” Ignoring me, she continued to look at paper while walking around me.
“What does it say?” Unable to contain my curiosity, I reach for the letter, only for my sis to slap my hand.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you read this Aaron. Your human eyes may melt if they do.” For a few seconds I believe her, until I saw the shock look she was wearing was slowing breaking into a smile. No doubt about it, she was messing with me.
“Let me see!” I jump out my chair and lunge straight for the letter. While still looking at the paper, sis twirls out of my way.
“You’re going have to move much faster than that if you want to read this.” Giving me a mocking smile, she waves the paper in the air, challenging me to take it from her.
Accepting the challenge, I ran straight for her, while reaching for the letter she held in the air. Just like last time, she twirls out of the way just before I could reach it. Hoping to catch her off guard, I quickly turn around and tried to grab her arm to prevent her from moving. She immediately responded to my action by lightly jumping backwards.
The room we’re in, while it’s quite luxurious, it isn’t that big, it most definitely was design for resting in mind, not playing, something I came to realize too late.
As my sis jump backwards, she trips over one of the many books I was reading. Normally, I’m sure she could’ve easily recover from this mistake, but right now it seems she was too exhausted to regain her balance. I quickly jump forward to stop her from falling, only to end up tripping on the same book.
As we fell, I realized there was one good thing that was coming out of this situation. We’re not hitting the floor like I thought, instead we’re falling onto a bed. Just as my sister land onto the bed, I quickly place my hands in front of me, to stop myself from falling on her.
Breathing heavily, sis looks up at while giving me a smile. “Doesn’t feel good to be left hanging does it?” I look at her confuse. I didn’t understand what she was getting at until she waves the letter in my face.
“Serious? This whole act was just to get back at me for taking too long to answer your question?”
“What can I say? I’m a petty person. Now do me a favor, and get off me.”
“Right, sorry.” Realizing I was still on top of her, I quickly jump off the bed.
Still breathing heavily, she slowly picks herself up. Seeing her struggle to get back to her feet, I realize whoever she fought must’ve been an incredibly tough opponent.
“Did a clown really do this to you?”
“Who knows.” Shrugging off my question, she hands me the letter and slowly walk to her side of the room. Concern, I watch her till she collapses on her bed, before actually reading the letter.
Just like I expected, the handwriting was mine. Athena must’ve made me write this while I was unconscious. This is the only way I can see this letter existing in this world. Although what I didn’t expect was for this letter that Athena went out of her way to give me, to only have one sentence on it.
Your creation waits in the next town.
“Did you create something sis?” Confuse, I look at my sis who was sprawled out on her bed.
“And here I thought you did your research on me.” Sis chuckle a little to herself before sitting back up.
“I’m not really an inventor, but I did create one weapon.”
“The moment she said weapon, my eyes strangely fell upon the book we trip over. As if some strange force was telling me it’ll answer my question. The book title simply read, ragnarok.