Chapter 79: Alex (Part 6)

I lived off the grid with my father in a small cabin barely big enough to house two people for the next two years. This cabin was hidden deep within a forest that expanded far away from the kingdom’s capital, Saneth. Saneth is the focal point of the kingdom of Iasa. It is technically… the only place here in the kingdom that still falls under the regulations of what qualifies as a city.

My family used to live in one of the wealthiest parts of the capital, surrounded by nobles and other stand-alone successful people. But to live where we did was incredibly rare, as roughly thirty-five percent of citizens struggle to get by with meal-to-meal stability, with more than sixty percent of citizens living in complete poverty.

The shining royal palace radiates from the center of Saneth. Besides its overwhelming height, appearance, and stature, the palace stands out to many for a different and somewhat unique reason… it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the dreary, grey city of Saneth.

My father immediately moved me into the cabin after briefly staying at the hideout with Zeris. He explained that he and Zeris used a top-secret memory serum on me that’s usually only available to the government. Using this serum and some other technology they’ve acquired, they both basically watched a video that played back my memories of that night as I was put under a deep sleep.

With the assassin, who called himself Armaros, mentioning that the bloodline must be eliminated, my father thought it best to get me a new identity so I was no longer his son-by-law. This was because after Armaros murdered Bee and my mother, he communicated with another individual or group, informing them that he had taken care of the 'pure' and a 'kid'.

Because of this, my father was led to believe that the intel on himself and his family only revealed that he had one child, not that he had taken in a second. Additionally, my father assumed they didn’t have the information on which gender his child was because Armaros killed a little girl so quickly, not even bothering to search for a boy.

With Armaros leaving after what he did, it only confirmed my father’s suspicions, which meant that as far as Armaros and whoever else he was working with was aware… Armaros had adequately done his job.

My father often reminded me that I was supposed to die that night, not Hailey. I just happened to survive through sheer luck, as Hailey unfortunately took my place as his child. And as I was given a new identity and life, my father reassured me that this action was only to keep me safe.

And even though I believed him and understood his logic, a part of me still assumed that he just didn’t want to see me as a son anymore.

I was then told his end of the story. After meeting up with some friends for a drink that night, he noticed he was being followed on his way home. After drawing out his shadow into an obscure area, an open field with little to hide behind, he turned around unbothered, his hands in his pockets, asking for the individual to show themselves.

After about thirty seconds of waiting, they revealed themselves wearing a mask, and my father didn’t recognize who they were as they commenced their duel. After a few minutes of back-and-forth battling, my father expressed how shocked he was about this mysterious person's strength, keeping even him… one of Iasa’s strongest, at bay. Forcing him to kick it up a notch, the brawl continued to play out, and the battle fell in my father’s favor as he gradually grew used to the enemy's abilities and fighting techniques. But a second individual showed up before he could put the fight to rest.

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He was also unaware of who this person was at the time. Still, after watching back through my memories and noticing a match in abilities, he determined that the second person who attacked him was Armaros, a known assassin from Racafi.

Masked like his first opponent, my father had pieced together that they were there with the same goal despite their varied arrivals. And as the battle resumed, this time as a two-on-one, what had caught my father’s attention wasn’t the threat of his opponents and their seamless nonverbal chemistry. No. He wondered why the second individual, Armaros, showed up and engaged in their battle so much later. If it was a two-on-one from the start, the end result of the fight might have been different.

But since he had already considerably worn down the first enemy, it was almost like Armaros was just stepping in to take their place. While their combination attacks were effective and kept my father on his toes, the lack of full strength and speed from one-half of the duo substantially lowered their overall threat level as a team. Also, even though the first opponent had grown sluggish, it became clear to my father that this person had fought many more battles than Armaros had, as their combat experience made up for what they now lacked in resilience. Armaros, on the other hand, was flashy and vigorous but was marginally more intimidating than his worn-down partner. They were much more potent when fighting together, but that fact meant nothing by then.

Picking up on all these clues throughout the battle, my father targeted his original opponent, keeping an eye on Armaros’s attacks as he did so. Eventually, he put down the first enemy for good, emphasizing that he had broken their arm and, most likely, a few of their ribs. With them injured to the point of inhibiting their battle threat, my father put almost all of his focus on Armaros.

The injured enemy intervened several times, even once saving Armaros from probable death, but the battle was as good as done. Eventually defeating Armaros and knocking him out cold, my father saw the first enemy fleeing the scene, leaving a helpless Armaros behind to die.

In regards to the fight, that was all he told me. I was curious about their abilities, how they worked together as a team, and most importantly, how my father managed to defeat two worthy opponents that had even earned his respect throughout the battle… but I stayed silent, knowing all too well not to ask questions or interrupt him when he’s speaking.

After the fight, my father explained that he flew Armaros to government custody, where they took over from there. And while he felt something was off about the sudden attack, he initially didn’t think much of it. My father is known worldwide for his powers, achievements, and bounty. And while it wasn’t completely unheard of for people to try and seize the benefits of taking my father down, he’s never had trouble with a bounty hunter.

But as my father thought more about the opponents he had just faced, the fight, and how powerful and dangerous they both were, he grew more agitated. He told me those weren’t any ordinary bounty hunters, and that’s when something inside him then clicked.

He wasn’t their only target, and the fact that Armaros had shown up late was the final piece of the puzzle.

Still low on iris from the drawn-out battle, my father tapped into his reserves, a dangerous risk. Flying over to the house, my father immediately understood as he saw the house crumbling in a wrathful sea of flames. The battle with him was only a distraction so they could attack somebody even more important than himself.

One of the only seven pure wielders of iris in the entire world.

My mother, Marissa. The demigod of Soma.