Chapter 65

this is a fictional story by realTensai

The sun began its descent, casting its last few rays upon the city as Alvis approached his destination. A chilly breeze flew past his face, making him grit his teeth and embrace the comfy of his coat.

Summer is about to end.

A weak smile appeared on his face as his beloved winter was about to come. Even though the cold reminded him of his hometown, Ignuma, he still liked winter more than summer. It was just the tranquility and peace that came with it he enjoyed so much.

As he strolled down the road, he finally arrived. As he looked at the playground, he saw some kids playing together, shouting whilst having fun. However, upon closer inspection, not all of their shouts sounded fun. Also, their playing seemed rather rough, almost like fighting. No, wait, they are fighting.

Boys no older than twelve were quarreling. Two of them were human, one a dwarf, the other a demon. However, the demon fought on his own against the other three guys and was actually winning. Still, Alvis would have to interfere. He sighed, taking a step forward. Can’t let them fight each other.

“Stop!”

However, Alvis halted in his steps as a familiar voice interrupted their fight first. His mighty voice froze the boys in their very move, all of them too scared to continue. And upon seeing his fierce gaze and athletic body, even the demon trembled.

“Why are you fighting?”

The boys couldn’t even answer, their legs shaking.

“They insulted me!”

The demon boy was the only one brave enough to open his mouth.

“Is that true?” he asked the other boys.

“W-We didn’t even mean it like that.”

“Than apologize.”

They bit their tongue, yet upon locking eyes with the guy, they immediately apologized.

“Now go away.”

The three boys ran away, tears in their eyes.

“And now to you.”

“What? I did nothing wrong.”

“Yes, yes, you beat them because they insulted you,” he said, staring into his eyes. “When I was your age, I did the same. But now that I’m older, I know that this isn’t the right answer.”

“What should I have done then?”

“I don’t know.”

“Whaaat?”

“I wanted to say something epic, like the strong one doesn’t have to fight. But how could I say that when I myself haven’t grasped that concept yet? All I know for sure is that a true warrior wouldn’t resort to violence for something like that.”

“What are you talking about?” the demon boy said. “Man, I don’t care. I have to go home, anyway. And if they insult me again, I will beat them again. This is how the world works. Only the strong ones survive.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The boy left, and the guy stayed at the playground reminiscing. Alvis figured that it was time for him to step out.

“You sure failed to sound cool there, Dane.”

Dane looked up and spotted Alvis.

“So you’ve seen everything, huh?”

He scratched his head, an odd expression on his face.

“What was all this talk about a true warrior, even about? Have you watched too many movies?”

“Just stop. You wouldn’t understand.”

His reaction was lacking his usual lightheartedness, making Alvis instinctively take a step back. However, he just cleared his throat and continued.

“What did you call me here for?”

“There is something I have to talk to you about.”

Dane’s expression was a bit too serious, so Alvis immediately guessed the worst.

“What? Don’t tell me your PX5 is broken??”

“No,” Dane said, not even chuckling. “It’s about the class trip.”

Alvis’ eyes widened for a second before he regained his composure.

“What is it?”

“Throughout the class trip, I’ve noticed how you have acted weirdly,” Dane began, casting his eyes on Alvis. “I couldn’t understand what was going on, but it seemed like you were hiding something.”

Alvis averted his gaze, yet his cheap smile didn’t leave his face.

“H-Haha, since when did you become someone who pays attention to his surroundings?”

“Cut the jokes.”

Dane’s cold words pierced through Alvis’ guard, making him gulp.

“At first I thought I was just seeing things and my imagination was getting the best of me. However, after seeing how Lia also acted suspiciously, I knew there had to be something.”

The bitterness of his words made Alvis’ heart shake. Yet the lump in Alvis’ throat forbade him to speak.

“Then on the last day of our trip, the two of you just vanished and even came too late for our departure. All the others just assumed that you two took your sweet time on a date, but I knew this wasn’t true. Even though you appeared to be in good shape, I sensed the smell of battle from you.”

When it came to things like that, Dane was surprisingly sharp.

“Also, your aura changed completely. Just in this one week, you became significantly stronger. Almost a new person.”

Dane stopped for a second, staring at the ground. However, when he lifted his eyes again, they were full of resolve.

“Tell me, did you fight an assassin again? What happened during the class trip?”

Their eyes met, but this time, Alvis couldn’t look away. The gears in his head were turning, all kinds of excuses flooding his thoughts. However, met with Dane’s sincere eyes, Alvis just shook his head. He took a deep breath in and out and the lump in his throat that had sealed any word from leaving his mouth vanished.

“I will tell you. I will tell you everything that had happened.”

After that, Alvis explained everything from scratch. How he saved Lia and fought alongside her to destroy the Assassin Organization. How the Assassin Guild reached out to him and gave him an ultimatum. How the Devil Cult was after him because of some kind of prophecy of theirs. And how he defeated the Devil Cult with the help of Priest Zaini and by becoming the leader of 500 assassins.

“T-This is insane!”

Even Dane lost his cool after hearing all of this.

“To think you hid so much from me…”

Alvis bit his tongue, his eyes trembling. However, Dane’s shock soon faded away and his expression changed. His face tensed up as he clenched his fist with raging eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me any of that? You went into so many dangerous battles without even informing me? What happened to our promise? You think I’m too weak to keep up in the big battles? Do you think I will be a burden to you?!”

His desperate words hit Alvis like bullets that came straight for his heart.

“N-No! You got it all wrong. I.. I..”

“Just admit it already, damn it!” His shout shook Alvis’ entire body. However, as Alvis looked into his face, he saw his lips trembling. “You think I’m weak, don’t you?”

Alvis opened his mouth, trying to refuse, yet no words would leave his throat. He coughed, doing his best to answer, but something had sealed his tongue. The moment he wanted to reject, memories of Dane’s corpse flooded his mind. The next second, an image of his beheaded head rolling on the ground tormented him. Dane’s face switched to an insane smile paired with an insane voice and Alvis almost vomited.

Insanity!

Alvis grabbed his head, forcing the bad thoughts to leave his mind. His staggered breathing exposed his vulnerability, the scars of his last battle not erased yet.

How could Alvis answer if his mind was still full of regrets?

“I see,” Dane said, using Alvis’ silence as an answer. “So you don’t trust me anymore.”

He turned around and went away.

Alvis stretched his hand out, yet he couldn’t stop him.

“W-Wai…”

He couldn’t even finish this simple word before memories of a failed past sealed his mouth again.

“Shit!”

Alvis slammed his fist against the bench. His heart bled and all he could do was grit his teeth and force his nails into his palm.

This is all my fault.

Alvis not only betrayed their friendship but also rejected Dane’s identity. The thing Dane prided himself the most on was his incredible strength. The fact that Alvis, his best friend, didn’t trust his strength was the worst betrayal ever.

“Shit!”

He just bit his tongue as his eyes became wet, thinking about how he might have ruined his first genuine friendship.