ARC: Proposal to a God

The entire royal city of the west bore witness to the fight that had occurred inside the Triedge coliseum. The word slaughter was what resonated through the minds of those that had watched the scene. Firmly watching the annual Blood War through the visuals provided by the plant-like creature, everyone was unable to process the scene that had just occurred inside the arena.

A human. A mere human had single-handedly massacred all five thousand competitors. As if not content with the annihilation, the Grim Reaper even went as far as to decapitate everyone watching inside the arena. All one hundred thousand spectators were killed without remorse.

Raul Thena.

The name of the human that had joined the annual competition resounded throughout the Royal Capital. Just the mention of the name was enough to make everyone tremble on their knees. In just a single day, the name Raul Thena had become a legend.

“Hey, we’re done stocking on rations.” Kath said as she began to load barrels of what appeared to be preserved food, inside the colossal barouche. Using her body strengthening magic, along with Mui, she kept stacking barrels inside the carriage one after another.

“We’re running out of gold.” Mui said as she jingled the gold purse tied to her waist. “Only 15 gold coins were left. It won’t be enough for us to survive for another month.”

The group had been constantly spending gold for their rations. Without a steady source of income, they have been continuously depleting the savings they got after selling the unique ivory snake fang that they got months ago.

“We have enough rations to last for a whole month. We’ll think of think of ways to earn money later. We should prioritize—” Taki then looked towards the beast men that seemed to be staring at their direction for quite a while now. Sighing in resignation he added. “Get yourselves ready as soon as we got out of that gate.”

Taki pointed towards the colossal steel gate that was only some distance away from them. Everyone knew what would happen the moment they left the solace of the royal city.

“When is that guy coming? The tournament had ended quite some time ago.” Raul said inquisitively.

The entire group along with the whole royal capital watched in silence as the match unfolded before their very eyes. The scenes of carnage—they were again reminded on how cruel the man they were travelling with could be.

“Oh he’s here!” Onesa said squeakily.

A man with disheveled ash-brown hair slowly walked towards their direction. With a bulkier left shoulder that clearly indicated the presence of the regenerated left arm, he glanced at the beast men surrounding the barouche. The beast men immediately recognized the man from the arena.

“I-it’s R-Raul Thena!”

“H-Hey! You must b-be k-kidding me!”

“The m-monster of the arena!”

With trickles of sweat immediately forming on their foreheads, the beast men began to scamper away from the Grim Reaper. In just mere seconds, the crowd of beast men was reduced to nil. Ignoring the fleeing beast men, Yuje walked towards the barouche.

“Hey.” Taki greeted. The former farm kid then wrapped his arms around the black cladded man.

“So I wasn’t seeing things. Your left arm—” Taki said as he grabbed the left arm of the Grim Reaper. Smiling from ear to ear, he then turned towards everyone. “Let’s go!”

The group safely exited the city of sand. The rumors about the monster cladded in human shell had reached the ears of all the citizens of the royal city. Filled with fear, the beast men that had wanted to take over the Lambards stood from a safe distance as they watched the group of six disappear from view.

****

Endless desert that spanned as far as the eyes could see.

The group had been traversing the sand dunes filled ground for a few weeks now. The western demon continent was vast, and as if fulfilling their expectations, it took almost three weeks until they’ve reach a grassy plain filled with overgrown weeds.

“Blazing Chain!” Raul yelled. The freckled kid then guided the vehement chain with a length of two meters towards its target.

The target was a mud-like creature resembling a slime. The brown-black creature’s body was then hit by the blazing flames and, as if mocking the assault, it devoured the tiny embers into naught.

“Oh God Gaia…Solidifying Earth!” Onesa chanted.

The mud monster then began to solidify from the ground up. It was a mismatch towards the earth magic user Onesa. With its body completely immobile, Raul then again hit it with his fire magic. This time, the magic effectively shattered the solidified body of the mud monster.

“Phew! Nice one Onesa!” Raul exclaimed as he fell to the ground. ‘Blazing chain’ was a middle rank magic that consumed a lot of the user’s mana. As of now, it was Raul’s trump card.

“T-thanks. You did well too.” Onesa exclaimed shyly.

Magic was a phenomenon possible only by creating an indirect contract with a God. One does not necessary need to create a blood contract like those from the ancient times. It was enough to acknowledge the God that was the origin of the magic casted. This principle was true only to those magic by which the external power which was the Gods was needed.

Some unique magic like the one Yuje used does not require a link with the Gods. In the art of Hiryu, the catalyst was the blood of the user—Yuje’s blood; on the other spells like the one Raul and Onesa chanted, the catalyst was the link to the Gods that governed it.

Unknown to many, it was possible to create magic by creating a contract with a being other than the Gods. Of course, magic created from the contract with the Gods were mostly strongersince the source of the power themselves were omnipotent beings.

In the demon continent, most of the high ranking warriors of each cardinal territory made contracts not with the Gods but with their respective Emperors. The contract enabled them to perform similar magic to that of the Emperor. On the other hand, the contracted was unable to raise its sword towards its master. In exchange for the power granted, they become loyal subordinates.

“Professor Kia…” Onesa reminisced in a solemn voice. She too, like Taki, had greatly revered the black creature. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

“I’m sure he’s content with the ending. I am sure.” Taki said as he patted the head of the red haired girl.

The group had been taking turns maneuvering the Lambards. They are now in a grassy terrain coupled with frequent boulders blocking the road.

Yuje, as usual, was in deep meditation. He was now able to unlock up to 19 percent of his original strength. It seemed that it exponentially gets harder to break through the blood pact as time goes on. Even after almost a month, he was able to unlock only an additional two percent of his former strength.

This is not going anywhere. I need to raise the forceful removal a bit more.

Yuje opened his eyes and spoke.

“Someone is following us.” Yuje said as he glanced towards everyone inside the colossal carriage.

After those words, everyone became wary of their surroundings. Upon going outside, they steeled their selves for the upcoming attack.

~Clank Clank Clank

A clanking sound was heard going towards the stilled carriage. After a while, a hooded figure greeted the group of wary students.

~Clank Clank Clank

After a few more steps, the figure stopped a few meters in front of the group, its face completely hidden behind its blue cloak. Surveying the students in front of it, it began to spoke.

“Raul Thena.” The figure’s deep voice was that of a man.

“What?” Raul replied casually. The aura exuded by the figure was calm and not at all threatening aside from the ominous appearance it gave.

“So you are Raul Thena.” The figure spoke. It then began to unveil its hood—the face behind the hooded figure shocked everyone present especially Raul. It was a face he was most familiar of. It was the face of himself; of Raul Thena. The figure had the same face as him.

“Hey! Th-that’s me! I mean…that’s…it’s the same face!” Raul, agape, pointed towards the figure in front of him.

“I am the familiar of the Emperor of the West, Thanatos of the Freezing Maelstrom. Fear not for I have come only to deliver my master’s message.”

The creature then opened a folded parchment and threw it towards the air. The parchment then suddenly burst into tiny particulate pieces. The tiny particulate pieces then huddled together and formed a mosaic. After some time, the mosaic then perfectly formed into a figure.

The figure, completely clouded in the dark pointed its fingers towards Raul. As if able to see the man in front of him, it then smiled mischievously.

Hello there Raul.

So this is what you actually looked like. You don’t seem strong at all?

Heh~ Listen. I won’t find you and kill you.

That would be too boring.

I have set a bounty of three hundred thousand gold coins for your head.

I even went as far as to announce that anyone that would be able to successfully capture you, dead or alive, would receive the honor of filling the last remaining position of Lord in the west.

Selomar seemed to be dead.

Well, if five months had come and you’re still alive and kicking…

I’ll personally go and kill you.

Think of it as an honor.

Raul Thena.

The figure then vanished into black tiny particles that were then carried by the wind. The familiar, finally fulfilling its purpose flew up into the air and disintegrated into dust. With nothing left after its former body was scattered by the soothing wind, an eerie silence enveloped the group of six.

“Ha…” Raul said. Looking towards the heaven, the freckled man began to laugh like a maniac.

“Ha.ha.haha.hahahaha.HAHAHAHA!!” Raul laughed with tears in his eyes. “An emperor is after my life! Five months…if I’m lucky to live that long…five months.”

“Raul.” Taki said. “You’re still alive. Don’t lose hope just yet.”

Suddenly, Raul grabbed hold of Taki’s arm and flung him towards the ground. With a ~thud sound, Taki fell flat face-first on the earthen soil.

“What do you know?!” Raul hollered for everyone to hear. “And you!!!”

Rault turned to Yuje in rage. He was infuriated at the fact that the man used his name in the tournament. And now, one of the five Demon Emperors is after his head. It was an unbelievable threat for a man who had just attained his C rank.

Everyone understood the emotions of Raul. They knew of how frightening it was to be targeted by a monster. Keeping their silence, everyone just stood there, staring at the enraged man.

“Haaaaa…” Raul sighed in submission. “This won’t change anything. Let’s go.”

With those words, the group continued with their journey towards the next town.

****

In a dimly illuminated room, two figures sat in front of each other. Both were considered as a symbol of strength in the entire world.

“You seemed happy. Who was it that you contacted just moments ago?” One of the figures spoke.

“Heh~ Nothing too significant. It seemed that my beloved Royal Capital had a massacre happen inside while I was gone.”

The other figure spoke. His blue overcoat that draped over his entire body complemented his pale ivory skin. Glancing towards the other figure in the room, his indigo-white eyes danced with excitement.

“So what does Thanatos, Emperor of the West intends to do with the intruder?”

The creature that was inside the room with Thanatos had twin tails that kept intertwining with each other. With a hard black carapace that covered its abdomen, the green eyes with blue slit like pupils glanced at the emperor of the west with interest.

“I’ll hunt him down of course—that is if he lived long enough to piqué much more of my interest.” Thanatos replied. “And how about the wedding? You told me that you’ll be married to the woman of your dreams. Hah!”

“T-that is…” The emperor of the north shyly avoided the subject till now. But it seemed that it would eventually be tackled sooner or later. “She rejected my 55th proposal. I thought that I had her!” Elgaia of the Earth’s Origin began to hide his face with his palms. As if a youth in love, he fidgeted at the topic.

“HAHAHA!Really. You’re hopeless Elgaia! Want me to forcefully make her obey your every command?” Thanatos greedily suggested.

Pausing for a while, Elgaia finally replied. “No. I really love this woman. I’d rather die that make her fall in love with me using force.” Elgaia said with conviction.

Thanatos went towards the window and leaned on the glass pane. After glancing at the outside, he then turned towards the still fidgeting emperor in front of him.

“Really, why do you always have trouble with women? I remembered the time when you proposed to Emperor Mithra. Hah! To be honest, even I was taken away by such beauty. If only I was strong enough that time to forcefully make her mine. If only…” Thanatos said as he clenched his fist. Reminiscing those memories had always been painful for him.

“I am just waiting for the news regarding the man that I have tasked my subordinates to find.” Elgaia said. “Once I win the fight, I’ll finally be able to marry her…hopefully.”

Thanatos took a piece of parchment and engraved on a portrait of a man using his magic. After some time, he did the same with the stack of papers that was neatly placed on the table.

“Here. This is for the trouble of making me come here for a wedding that is non-existent.” Thanatos gave Elgaia that stack of papers that had been imprinted with the portrait.

“It’s not non-existent! It will come. Someday!” Elgaia retorted. Glancing towards the handed pile of parchment, he then asked. “What is this?”

“A new hobby of mine.” Thanatos grinned from ear to ear. “It’s Raul Thena. You can join on the game too my dear friend. Heh~”

“No thanks. But as a favor, I’ll ask my men to post this.” Elgaia answered. He then looked towards the portrait of the man drawn by magic. With freckled face that is half covered by his brown-black hair, the thin man’s face was drawn in a fearsome manner.

“Raul Thena’s quite fierce eh?” Elgaia bemusedly stated.

“Hah~ that was a farce. The kid actually looked stupid and weak in reality. This fierce appearance should make the game more interesting right?” Thanatos grinned. He then looked towards the three moons that had just hovered above the clouds.

That day, Raul Thena’s face became widely known not only in the west demon continent, but also in the entire north. Erika, Sel and the rest of the students that saw it was utterly shocked.

Raul Thena

A magic user that annihilated a hundred thousand men at the Royal Capital of the west.

Rewards will be personally given by the Demon Emperor Thanatos.

Bounty: 300,000 gold.

Special Prize: Last remaining seat of the Lord in the west.

Capture him—dead or alive

“That Raul…what had he done?”

****

The water metropolis, Baran, was located near the western coast and was adjacent to the Gray Mountain. Being the closest city to the ruins of Muhaita, home of the battle-frenzied race of Mulak, it’s a place often ravaged by wars.

The city of Baran was the sole city in the west which was governed by a human Lord. Such a government made it possible to create the sole city in which human rights were actually exerted and enforced. The humans inhabiting the city were not treated as fodder or as food. They were treated as living beings, with rights on par to that of the beast men or probably greater.

It was a mystery on why Emperor Thanatos gave permission for a human to become a Lord but one thing was sure, even though the human Lord governed only a single territory, it was still a great feat revered by everyone.

“Archers at ready…On my command!” A man in his sixties spoke. His bald head shone brightly under the scorching sun of the battlefield. “Fire!”

A volley of arrows that filled the entire sky rained down towards the hound-like humanoid creatures underneath the battlement. Still continuing their charge amidst the acquired injuries, the creatures then roared their last breath as another set of arrows rained upon them.

Mulaks.

They were a battle frenzied race of humanoid creatures resembling hounds. With the head of a dog and the skeletal body of a child, these beast men prefer to use pure brute strength to demolish everything that stood in their way.

If not for the fact that these beast men don’t use any tactics other than a full frontal assault, the city of Baran would have long gone down into ashes.

“Commander Loven, the enemies have retreated.” A soldier spoke towards the bald man wearing a black-indigo overcoat. An epaulette was strapped to his uniform by a passant. In his chest was an insignia of a cloverleaf encircled by a snake—the crest of the city of Baran.

“The siege…how’s the damage?” Commander Loven asked. Wiping his bald head with a towel, he anxiously waited for the answer.

“Seven injured sir.” The soldier read the report from a parchment. “And zero casualty.”

Commander Loven heaved a heavy sigh of relief after the words ‘zero casualty’. He had been born and raised inside the water metropolis. It was the city he loved the most in the whole world. He had long resolved himself to live and die for the city.

“Sir.” The soldier pointed towards the woods covered by thick shadows. From it, a grandiose carriage pulled by five lizard-like creatures had emerged.

Everyone still stationed at the barracks and on the battlements became wary of the approaching vehicle. The nearest city from here was the Royal Capital of west, and to get from there to here required one to pass through the valley of bones—a monster infested area.

There had been almost no incident wherein one was successfully able to come from the royal city towards the isolated water metropolis; except from the annual visits from convoy from the officials of the emperor.

Since passing through the valley of bones was not normally possible, the only conclusion they could come up with was that the group approaching their city was from Lankan, a city which was two months by carriage from Baran. Either that or the convoy was from the Emeperor of the West himself.

“Halt!” A soldier spoke from the battlements. “Introduce yourself!”

The carriage which was pulled by the lizard-like creatures then came to a stop. Afterwards, the man sitting at the bow front—a brown skinned man revealed himself after removing his hood. After getting down from his seat, he was then joined by five others cladded withhooded cloaks.

“We are merchants from the city of Yaneshu, royal capital of the west!” The brown-skinned man spoke. He then took out a barrel from inside the carriage and opened the wooden lid. “We had come to do business. To trade!”

A series of murmurs then enveloped the area. The soldiers began discussing things which each other.

“Are you saying that you had crossed the valley of bones?” A bald man asked the group.

Taki had no idea what the man was talking about but he remembered the time when they were attacked by a legion of skeleton monsters. The legion was decapitated by their resident monster with a single slash from his blood sword.

“We did pass through a valley infested with skeleton monsters. If that is the place you are calling as the valley of bones, then yes!” Taki replied.

Another series of murmurs that escalated in volume embraced the group. The soldiers’ eyes went from wary to disbelief. Everyone found it hard to believe that the group in front of them had passed through the restricted valley.

“Absurd! The valley of bones is one of the five restricted places in the entire west! You’ll need an entire army to safely pass through there! Preposterous!” A voice said among the crowd.

“Silence. Let’s listen to what the ‘merchants’ had to say.” Commander Loven interjected. “Do you have any proof that you really came from the royal capital? That you really did pass through the valley of bones?”

Taki then stormed his mind for anything that would prove their legibility. He had no idea why it was such a big deal that they came from Yaneshu, but he deemed that proving their credibility meant everything right now.

“Here.” Raul brought out a tiny piece of bone from his waist pocket. The bone was glimmering with an ancient emerald color. Raul deemed that the bone could be sold for some gold and discreetly gathered the scattered pieces. The series of murmurs began to die down as soon as Raul revealed the emerald colored bone.

“T-that’s!” Commander Loven exclaimed agape. “The bone of the Skeletal Witch of the Volley of Bones! It’s a high grade alchemy ingredient. Every alchemist dreamt of acquiring even a single piece of that.”

“But sir! The Skeletal Witch is a rank A+ monster!” A soldier loudly declared. With a stuttering voice, he further added. “T-the scariest part about them is not their strength, but their numbers. A single S-skeletal W-witch governs over a legion composed of over a thousand skeletal warriors!”

Everyone went into an uproar after the bone was exposed to the public. Raul made a smug face after he deemed that the bones might fetch for quite a sum of gold.

“Is this not enough evidence?” Raul, irritated, said.  The wind suddenly blew eastward and made his disheveled hair cover half of his face.

“Raul!” A soldier exclaimed. Stupidly pointing towards the smug-faced man, the soldier, open-mouthed, shouted his name. He then runs towards a barricaded side in the battlement and grabbed hold of a piece of paper. After staring at the portrait, he then began to pass it towards the next soldier.

“Raul? As in the Terminator?”

“Look! It’s the same face as that of the wanted poster!”

“Oh heavens…I can’t believe this. I-It’s r-really Raul Thena the Terminator!”

Raul and the rest of the group were bewildered by the reactions of the soldiers. After some time, the steel gate entrance of the city then opened. A bald man with wrinkles on his face appeared from it and walked towards the group. Beside him were soldiers that seemed to serve as escorts.

“We welcome you to our humble city, Raul Thena, the Terminator.” Commander Loven said as he raised both his arms in welcome. “I am sorry for doubting you before.”

The soldiers that accompanied the bald commander then formed into a straight line in salute towards the unusual visitors.

“What is this about?” Raul asked in a baffled tone. The word ‘terminator’ kept resounding through his mind as he inquired the man in front of him.

“Your name had spread far and wide even in this secluded city of ours. Welcome. Welcome to the Water Metropolis—City of Baran!” Commander Loven exclaimed in delight.

The bald commander then looked towards the woods enclosed by blindingly dark shadows born from the thick canopy of leaves. Gently smiling, he then looked towards the group in front of him.

“No wonder. If it’s the Terminator himself, the likes of the Valley of Bones is nothing.”

Raul was perplexed by the word ‘Terminator’ that kept spouting from the soldier’s mouth. He looked towards his companions and grimaced at the clue-less look they responded with.

“What are you talking about? And what is this Terminator thing you kept bullshiting about? Hah?!” Raul was irritated by the ongoing conversation that he had no idea about.

All the soldiers that heard his statement took a step back in fear. With shaking knees, one of them gave Raul a piece of parchment. Raul became silent after staring at what’s written; Taki read the contents out loud for everyone to hear.

“Raul Thena…annihilated a hundred thousand men at the royal capital of the west.” Taki glanced towards Yuje. With a serious tone he continued reading. “Bounty…300 thousand gold…The last remaining seat of Lord in the west…Dead or Alive. What the hell is this?!”

The group of students was utterly shocked by the words that came out of Taki’s mouth. Raul himself was rendered unable to move from the reality that his face had actually become wide known—even as far as the secluded city of Baran.

“Worry not for we are not after your bounty Master Raul.” Commander Loven said. “We greatly revered you for your act of going against even the Emperor himself in hopes of saving your friend. Annihilating a hundred thousand enemies in the blink of an eye—I wished this old man was there to see that heroic moment! Rumors even stated that Emperor Thanatos himself shook on his knees just from the mention of your name!”

The news seemed to have been distorted beyond boundaries the moment the bounty was placed upon the freckled man. With no strength left to retort after seeing the wanted poster, Raul just stood there motionless as the bald commander in front of him kept spouting praises one after another.

“Oh, have you eaten lunch yet? Come. Please come.” Commander Loven said as he ushered the group to move their carriage inside the city. “The water metropolis might not suit your tastes but please accept our humble city Master Raul.”

With those words, the group entered the city of Baran.

****

The water metropolis was a paradise.

With five levels of landscape, the entire city resembled a gargantuan living fountain. Being a city adjacent to the coast, Baran was filled with innumerable water structures that kept embellishing the city especially at night when the triad of moons were reflected upon the water.

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The title of ‘Lord’ kept the other cities from attacking the water metropolis. Aside from the frequent continuous onslaught of the Mulaks, the city was a haven with minimal crime rate.

Today, a special event was being held due to the arrival of an unexpected guest. The said guest was welcomed by the commander himself. Commander Loven was the chief officer of the entire army of the city of Baran, at the same time, he was also the famous human Lord of the west—the indomitable Loven. The bald man took it upon himself to oversee the entire military. After all, the lives of those inhabiting the city depended upon whether the military would be able to suppress the monster’s invasion or not.

“Is that really the Terminator?”

“He looked younger that I thought.”

“Look at those eyes—scary.”

The group of students was warmly welcomed by the citizens of Baran. Raul in particular had become an instant celebrity, especially towards the children.

“I wanna be like him when I grow up!”

“I want to see him fight~”

“Woah.”

The children of the city of Baran kept spouting words of awe towards the freckled man one after another. Raul kept his silence since he knew that all of the rumors were exaggerated. In the first place, it was Yuje who actually did those things. There was also the fact that he had a 300,000 gold bounty on his head and that the Emperor of the West was after his life. Such heavy burden made his mind close to exploding.

The group then entered the city’s castle which was surprisingly shabbily built. It gave the impression that it could collapse at any moment.

“Heh~ sorry for the castle…I mean…it’s not—presentable. Right?” Lord Loven said in an apologetic tone.

“The Lord had chosen to invest all the money towards the construction of the citizens’ home rather than the castle. Lord Loven also invested a lot towards the military in order to make sure that the city was safe from the monsters’ attacks. If not for those things, the inhabitants would hardly be able to sleep at night.” A soldier spoke. It seemed that Lord Loven was greatly revered by everyone. Even the soldiers beside him instinctively spoke to protect their Lord’s dignity.

“It’s lovely Lord Loven~ no worries.” Mui said in consideration. Genuinely smiling, the girl said words of comfort towards the crestfallen Lord.

“Yes. Mui is right. It’s not as bad as you say your liege.” Onesa added.

“Thank you.” Lord Loven replied while smiling. He then ushered the group to go inside the grand hall by which a long antique table greeted their arrival. The savory food made their stomachs grumble. They had been eating preserved food day after day. Surely, everyone would appreciate eating exquisite cuisine every now and then.

The group, along with Lord Loven began to chow down the food served. They continuously snuffed everything out as if they were famished for several weeks. Lord Loven watched in delight as the students ate without restrain.

“Father!”

A young boy with red hair cut till the temporal dashed towards the bald man. Upon contact, the boy bear-hugged his muscular father and immediately sat on his lap. Looking towards the group of students, he then expectantly waited for his father to speak.

“It’s him. Without a doubt.” Lord Loven pointed towards the freckled man which had his face half covered by his overgrown hair.

The kid then immediately left his father’s lap and scurried towards Raul. Smiling from ear to ear showing an incomplete set of teeth, he then nodded a few times as if approving of the scenario in front of him.

“What is it kid?” Raul said as he watched the kid with wary eyes. He had too much ‘fan service’ today. He was close to exploding already. He prayed to the Gods that the kid in front of him was not another ‘fan’ of him.

“How did you do it? Did you know that I’ve never been so amazed in my whole life? You’re so awesome!” The young boy squeaked in excitement.

Raul couldn’t bring himself to shatter the dreams of the boy in front of him. Contemplating on what to say, he paused for quite some time before he spoke.

“It’s no big deal. Forget it.” Raul finally said.

The one-sided conversation continued with the kid asking questions one after another. Raul on the other hand kept replying with safe answers. Deep inside him, he wished that the agony would soon end.

****

It had been two days since the warm welcome the group received from the city of Baran. Taki and the rest of the students stayed at an inn on which the lodgings were sponsored by Lord Loven himself.

Raul had successfully sold the bones for half a thousand gold coins. The earnings would be enough for them to last another several months in the continent.

They had successfully stocked up on rations—this time double the usual amount. At first, they were intending to go towards the city of Lankan which was the nearest one from Baran. But after some dialogue with the inhabitants of the water metropolis, they found out that Lankan was currently under an all-out war.

Being the city adjacent to the boundaries of the south, Lankan was the front line of the west against the invading south. It seemed that the Emperor of the West was on bad terms with that of the Emperor of the South. Most of the west’s armies were situated at the city of Lankan. Just the fact alone screamed of the word ‘very dangerous’.

After contemplating, they had decided to take a detour towards the city of Po. It was three months from their current position but it’s a lot safer than the war-ridden city of Lankan. Their lives were their top priority after all.

“Kath, are the rations all set up inside?” Taki said as he pointed towards the barouche.

“Yeah. We are good to go.” Kath replied.

~Ding! Ding! Ding!

A sound resonated all throughout the city. It was the alarm usually rang when the Mulaks were invading.

~Ding! Tang! Ding! Tang!

The citizens of Baran were bewildered by the unusual sound of the alarm. The second one was definitely the Red Code which indicated extreme peril. After some time, the sea of crowd gathered outside began to split open in half. In between, a group of battered soldiers was seen, in front of them was a soldier carrying a child in his arms.

“Oh Gods. That is the Lord’s elite unit right?”

“What happened?”

“Where is the Lord?”

“Look! That child is Lord Loven’s son Marcus!”

The citizens of Baran fired questions one after another. Everyone was anxious on their Lord’s whereabouts. The child being carried by the injured soldier wearily looked towards the open-mouthed citizens. After a certain figure hit his field of vision, he jerked back and dashed forward, not minding the various cuts on his petite body.

“Ra..Raul! Master Raul!” The panting child exclaimed. He then looked towards Raul with pleading eyes.

“Please. Please. Please save my father!” The child began to sob furiously. “T-the Mulaks! They captured him! Those creatures never made such intelligent moves before. It’s weird but…pleaseee.”

The entire plaza they were currently in went silent. The dreadful thought of the Lord falling to the hands of the bloodthirsty creatures brought everyone in a state of shock. They loved their Lord with all their heart. Everyone knew the devotion their Lord had been continuously pouring in order for the water metropolis to survive.

Raul and the rest of the group watched the kid fall down to his knees in tears.

“I…can’t” Raul finally replied. He then looked away from the crestfallen child.

“Why?! Why?! Please! My father…my father!” The child called Marcus pleaded.

“I’m not the powerful mage you think I am.” Raul said. He had resolved himself to tell the truth. As smug as he always was, he felt that it was not right to keep hiding forever. “Those rumors. They’re lies. I was not the one that did those things.”

A lot of people had been hearing the ongoing conversation but Raul didn’t mind. He doesn’t care anymore.

“You—you’re a…fake?” Marcus finally asked. It was a question that pricked at the heart of the freckled man.

“Yes.”

After those words, Marcus, down-hearted went back towards the unkempt castle—his eyes completely lifeless and had lost all its hope.

****

Raul received rude remarks from the residents after the revelation. Steeling his heart, he then assumed his position as the coachman and went towards the bow front. Biting his lips in pain, he then drove the grandiose carriage towards the outside.

They were outside the city; in the outskirts when the carriage was put to a stop. Raul went inside the wide-spaced colossal wagon and confronted a man currently in his meditation.

“Yuje.” Raul spoke. His fierce eyes were intensified by the dimly lit room.

Yuje opened his eyes after those words. Still sitting in a meditating pose, he stared towards the freckled man in front of him.

“Please…help them.” Raul said. Bowing his head down till the waist, he politely asked the grey-eyed man for help. Everyone especially Taki was shocked by the otherworldly scenario. The self-righteous Raul was bowing his head down towards another person.

‘This scene’s familiar…I see. It was like that time—with Erika.’ Taki thought as he watched Raul plead for Yuje to help another person.

“…………………….”

Yuje contemplated on whether or not he should help them. After thinking things through, he replied with a question.

“Will you be satisfied if I help them while you do nothing yourself but ask the assistance of others?” Yuje asked. It was words filled with substance that made Raul think twice of his actions.

“Yes…It’s doesn’t matter anymore. As long as that kid stops crying… I don’t mind being branded as a fake—forever.” Raul replied with conviction in his voice.

“Very well.” Yuje said while subtly smiling. The black cladded man then stood up and stared towards the outside.

“I will help them.”

****

Muhaita was once one of the most prosperous cities in the entire west. Strategically located near the border of the south, it was once the garrison city of the west. After the Great War 300 years ago, the year when Demon Emperor Crestus of the Black Lightning suddenly went missing, a famous necromancer named Jean de Vorg made Muhaita his home.

Driven by insanity, the infamous necromancer massacred everyone residing in Muhaita, successfully turning their corpses into his familiars in the process. Jean de Vorg, after reaching the limit of age died soon afterwards. Without a master to control them, the familiars created by the infamous necromancer roamed the area surrounding Muhaita, crossbreeding with the other species of monsters.

The result of those series of crossbreeds was the Mulak—mindless humanoid creatures with the head of a dog and the skeletal body of a child. They were instinct driven beasts that devour everything that stood in their way.

With insane breeding rate, the creatures exponentially expanded in number and began to occupy even the adjacent cities near Muhaita. As of now, the once prosperous city of Muhaita had now become nothing but ruins—ruins that was home to the Mulaks.

“Thank you…” Raul said towards Yuje as he determinedly drove the grandiose carriage.

“………………..”

“If only…I was strong enough to do this on my own.”

The group had already traversed the Gray Mountain and was now near the ruins of Muhaita. Surely, moments from now, they would inevitably be assaulted by numerous hound-like beasts.

~AWOOOOOOO

~AWOOOOOOO

A series of howling sounds carried by the wind was heard. After a while, multiple subtle footsteps began to envelope the area.  

~RAAAAAAAAAH!

As expected, rabid sounds began to escalate some distance away from them. The colossal wagon was put to a stop and the group of students went outside to confront the upcoming enemies. Each of the students began chanting each of their own magic.

“Blazing Chain!”

“Wind Blade!”

Raul and Taki chanted their spells and began to confront the assaulting enemies. The hound-like creatures were hit by the spells and obtained severe injuries each time the mid rank magic had hit them.

“Earthen Spear!” Onesa exclaimed. It was one of the highest low ranking magic of the Earth attribute. It was quite a feat if taking into account the fact that the feeble girl was currently on her D rank.

A spear made out of solidified earth began to pierce through the body of a Mulak charging towards them.  Blood began to gush out of the rabid beast after the spell hit its mark at a vital spot.

“God Strength!” The twins of Grimfort began to enhance their bodies with strengthening magic. Using the claymore that they had bought at the city of Baran, Kath and Mui began to decapitate the Mulaks one after another. The two was realistically the strongest in the group if excluding Yuje. Both of them are currently on C++ rank.

The group kept butchering the Mulaks one after another. Unfortunately, no matter how much enemies they decapitate, more of the creatures kept appearing afterwards. Without a doubt, there were currently an astronomical number of the said creatures.

“This is going nowhere. There seemed to be no end to them.” Raul exclaimed as he tried his best to maintain the form of his Blazing Chains.

~Slash

Hundreds of Mulaks disappeared into dust after that single strike. Yuje had finally participated in battle. The grey-eyed man first observed the current strength that his party had before he took action.

~Slash

~Slash

~Slash

Yuje kept releasing gargantuan strikes one after another. After some time, the thousands of Mulaks that first surrounded the group were reduced to nil.

“Haaah~” Taki fell towards the ground. Like Raul, his spell Wind Blade was also a middle rank spell that consumed an amazing amount of mana in each strike.

“I thought I was going to die.” Onesa said as she brushed off the dusts that began to stick towards her sweaty body. “We should probably rest and regenerate our mana?”

“I don’t think we have the leisure to do that.” Raul said grimly. He then pointed towards their front. “Look.”

“Oh Gods.”

Another pack of Mulaks began to appeared before them. This time, they were far more numerous in number. With drools on their mouths, the rabid creatures had completely surrounded the group.

~TWWWIIIIINNGGGGG

A crimson-black substance enveloped the entire surroundings. After it receded, the Mulaks surrounding them before was minced into smithereens.

The group had seen the feat before numerous times. But no matter how much they had seen it, they still couldn’t believe the abnormal strength that their resident monster had within. They had only decided to proceed with the plan of saving the Lord of Baran since Yuje was with them. Such a rescue operation normally required an entire army in order to succeed.

“Let’s go.” Yuje calmly said as he began to unsummon his blood sword. After getting back inside the colossal barouche, the group followed suit and resumed traversing the path.

****

The word ruins perfectly described the once prosperous city of Muhaita. With innumerable rubbles everywhere, thick dusts covered the structures that had been crept up with vines. The gray dome-shaped buildings had been wrecked beyond recognition.

~Slash

~Slash

Yuje kept releasing slashes one after another towards the approaching mobs. He positioned himself beside Raul at the bow front. Annihilating the approaching enemies as if nothing, the barouche moved forward without a hitch inside the feared former city.

“Hey.” Taki pointed towards a large wooden platform that was sullied with age. At the center was a figure of a man completely enclosed in ice. The Mulaks surrounding the structure began to smash at it with their sharp razors. Unable to inflict nothing but small scratches and dents, the rabid creatures roared in frustration.

“It’s Lord Loven.” Onesa said.

The man enclosed inside the ice was without a doubt the Commander and Lord of the water metropolis. On his knees, the bald man began to warily watch his surroundings. He then went agape when he saw the group of students beyond the assaulting Mulaks.

“So he’s alive.” Yuje said. His eyes have a glint of glee in it. “Heh~”

~SHHHHHHHWWWWWWAAAAAAAANNNNNGGGGG!!!!

With a massive nauseating strike, the Demon of Grimfort annihilated all of the Mulaks in an instant.

****

Marcus had never been content with the life he had inside the water metropolis. Enclosed inside a wall, the young boy felt like a caged animal.

‘Why can’t we go outside without fear? Like those living in the other cities?’

Those were the questions Marcus kept asking himself as he read his history books. After some time, the answer dawned to him. It was because they were living in the west, the west that considers humans as nothing but food. If they had been living in the north, they would surely have been able to live peacefully.

Then one day, the news about a human going against the Demon Emperor Thanatos reached him. He was in awe. He greatly revered the man called Raul. He was comforted by the fact that there was someone out there with the ability to stand up against the beings considered omnipotent. He had wanted to meet the said man. He would surely learn a lot of things from his eternal hero.

But yet again, the world was cruel. His father, the only family that he had was captured by the Mulaks. He doesn’t even know if he was still alive. He then saw a glimpse of hope after seeing his hero. Unfortunately, as if mocked by fate, the hero that he had met after praying towards the Gods every night turned out to be a fake. Marcus was in despair. The cruel reality that kept appearing one after another pushed his mind into the brink of insanity.

~knock! knock! knock!

“Young master!” A servant called towards the crestfallen boy.

“………………..” Marcus didn’t bother to reply. His mind was currently drowned with dread.

“Your father! Your father is alive!”

At those words, Marcus jolt down from his bed and opened the door with a bang. He then looked directly into the moist eyes of the butler in front of him.

“W-whaa…i-is that—true?” Marcus asked with a shaking voice. Deep inside him, he anxiously prayed to the Gods that the soon to come reply would be a yes.

“It’s true. Young master.” The butler responded with a relieved smile. “He’s at the grand hall right now.”

Marcus immediately went down towards the lower floor of the deteriorating castle. Running without anything to protect his feet, he dashed forward to see for himself the only parent that he had. He then saw Lord Loven, injured but definitely alive. With teary eyes, the father and son tightly hugged each other.

“Father! I thought…” Marcus said with snot falling down his face. “I thought…” *Hic*

“Those guys saved me.” Lord Loven said towards the still crying child. Marcus then looked towards the direction Lord Loven looked at and saw Raul with a relieved smile on his face.

“Raul.” Marcus said as he walked towards the freckled man. Raul turned his head away from shame. He still felt awkward after revealing that he’s a fake.

“Thank you.” Marcus uttered in a sincere tone.

Those words shook the heart of the thin young man. Suppressing the tears that began to form in his eyes, Raul looked away, discreetly subtly smiling.

****

“Are you really going to leave?” Lord Loven asked. He had wanted to repay the unusual guests for what they have done.

“Yes. We need to get to the next town as fast as possible.” Taki politely replied.

“I see. Thank you very much. If there is anything I could do for you…” Lord Loven exclaimed. “Perhaps another set of rations? Gold?”

“Haha~ we are grateful. The carriage was already jammed full of rations that you gave us. And you’ve also given us a thousand gold.” Taki responded while scratching his head. “It’s more than enough. Really.”

“Is that so?” Lord Loven smiled. He then turned towards Raul and patted him in the shoulder. It was the bald man’s subtle way of saying his goodbye.

“I’m sorry for being a fake.” Raul said. His sense of justice instilled in him since his childhood pricked at his conscience. “If only I was strong enough.”

“Haha~ you’re already strong enough. You had saved this old man’s life!” Lord Loven chuckled.

“But I’m not the one that really saved you.” Raul then looked towards Yuje. “If only I could become as strong.”

“Haha~ Young man. Don’t be so greedy. Every gift has its own thorns. Power is like a double edge blade—there will come a day when you would be cut by your own weapon.” Lord Loven sincerely advised. “There is no easy way to gain strength. You need to work for it.”

The group began to walk towards the barouche. Kath had completely filled the colossal vehicle with rations. Everyone was ready to leave.

“By the way Lord Loven.” Mui asked. “What was that ice magic that we saw from before?”

The group stopped in their tracks to listen to the Lord’s answer. They were all curious of the magic’s origin. After all, it was without a doubt a high ranking defensive magic; enough to withstand the continuous assault of the Mulaks.

“I am a Lord after all.” Lord Loven replied. Scratching his chin, he further added. “One becomes a Lord only after a blood contract with the emperor. After the contract, one is able to access a portion of the contractor’s power. That ice magic you’ve seen before—it was Emperor Thanatos’ power. Only a speck though.”

“So you’ve gained a high rank ice magic after the contract with the Freezing Maelstrom?” Mui said.

“That’s right. But I chose the blood contract with the weakest link. The minimal amount—just enough to have my rights to become a Lord.” Lord Loven added. “There are other Lords capable of garnering massive amounts of power after undergoing a full blood contract with the emperors.”

“I see.” Mui said. “Magic from the Gods was created by an indirect link; by acknowledging the source of it. It was what most people do since it was the easiest way to create the magical phenomenon.”

“So in short, Lord Loven meant to say that a direct contract with a powerful being would enable one to utilize a stronger form of magic. Is that correct?” The farm kid inquired.

“Heh~ Smart kids. That’s right. Although establishing a direct contract with the Gods was impossible since they are on another realm. Then what are you going to do if you’re in the mortal realm and you want to have an access to stronger magic? Enter into a contract with one of the most powerful mortals. The Emperors of course.”

Everyone was thrilled by the revealed information. None of their textbooks have mentioned such a thing before. It was perhaps due to the fact that there was no one in the human continents with the power to grant great magic towards another by the form of a blood contract.

“I see.” Raul broke the silence. He then asked in a serious tone. “Such power would surely not be so easy to attain right? What are the risks?”

“Haha! Of course! I’ve nearly died after entering into the weakest blood contract. I instilled into my body the minimum amount but the excruciating pain almost killed me. Till now, I am grateful that I was lucky enough to live after that experience.” Lord Loven chuckled.

The group grimaced from the thought of how excruciating the pain must have been if the contracted was the Emperor himself. From the description of the Lord in front of them, it must have been a hellish experience that would mean life and death.

Raul stormed his mind for all the events that happened since they came at the deplorable continent. All of those life and death experience kept popping on his mind one after another.

What was the reason that they’ve survived such a dangerous environment till now?

The answer was clear. It was because they were with the Demon of Grimfort.

Although the Grim Reaper’s power was greatly suppressed by a blood oath, the power exuded by the man was beyond a monster. Raul had never in his whole life seen a being as strong as the grey-eyed man. He had never seen someone so invincible that even the mountains seemed to crumpled away from just a single glance from him.

Walking towards the black cladded man that disinterestedly listened to the ongoing conversation, Raul spoke; resolve clearly emanated from his eyes.

“If it’s you.” Raul said. He then kneeled in front of the man—shocking everyone present that time.

“I’m tired of being useless.Powerless. Please…become my God.”