Tick tock tick tock. The clock keeps ticking. Is it time yet? Is it time yet? Can I go?

No, it was not time.

The needle was stopped from moving to the next second. And, it stopped.

The needle was unmoving. It had stopped. Motionless. There was no longer sign of it to ever move again.

Isolated from the other clocks, only this peculiar clock had stopped. The clock was within its owner’s hand. Apathetic, emotionless, lifeless, a humanoid creature made out of flesh that was not quite a normal human.

The creature stood in one place, unmoving, just like his clock. In the corner of his vision were paths, one that went upward and one that went downward. But, it was twisted at a certain point and the light and darkness rendered it impossible for one to know whether it really went up or down at a certain point.

“It is not the time. The time is not now. It is not for the inevitable to come yet,” said something.

The creature waits. It waited and will keep waiting with its broken clock. Yes, until the very limit that time permits. In the past, current, and surely even in the future…

The plaza was crowded with people, both young and old. Voices, laughers, and shouts could be heard left and right. The time was a little past noon. It was the peak hour of people’s activities.   

A man clad in simple - looking robes walked that noisy street. Selv was the name of that man. Due to the letter that had been sent to his humble home, he now held the obligation to show his presence in the lord’s mansion this morning. However, due to an unforeseen incident, he had missed the time for quite a bit.

He checked the time written on the letter once again in hope that he had misread it, but unfortunately for him, he did not make such mistake. The letter clearly stated morning and not noon.

“This’s quite a trouble,” he muttered.

Even if this town’s lord was his acquaintance, a lord is still a ruler. A certain amount of respect should be shown. For that reason, he had bought sweets to make it up. That was a questionable thing to do if one considers the other party was an adult.

Because he had hidden his face with his hood, no one noticed and the walk was easy and fast. Soon, he reached the gate to the lord’s mansion.

“Halt!”

A guard blocked his way with the spear in his hand. A few seconds ago, no spear could be seen near the guard. Yet, where did it come from?

Selv knew of its existence. A spear made out with the latest innovation, which was a body-clad weapons.

Thanks to the genius inventor, Astral Mneruq, it was now possible to insert a weapon to our body and let it out via pores on our skin with a simple swing motion.

The logic behind it involved human’s body natural response to foreign components and the drastic material conversion. From solid to liquid, liquid to gas, and gas to solid. Such technology was both useful and dangerous, thus the information about it was severely restricted.

Furthermore, the use was restricted to this town alone. Only the citizens of this town were permitted to use it. Even so, the number was low due to the price of the operation. In the end, only people with security duty have it because the government paid for them. In exchange, they have several restrictions even after they retired.

The young, man who was blocking Selv, suspiciously looked at him. He speculated that Selv was not noble and part of the government based on his clothing. He also did not remember his face as one of the people working in this mansion or the usual merchant. So, the young man deemed his as a suspicious person.

Certainly, Selv’s clothing was not something special. It could be found in a second-hand shop, except for his sword. His face and air were also so-so. He was not ugly for a commoner but also not as beautiful as noble due to their daily skin treatment and cosmetics.

Usually, he would not have trouble with the usual guard, but his luck that the guard changed at this hour. If he had come faster such problem would not occur.

“Unauthorized individual is not allowed to enter the lord’s mansion unless permitted so. Please leave this place if not. If you choose to force your way, then I have the permission to use force,” the young guard said. He stood tall with no signs of sloppiness even from his way of talking. One could see how much he loved his job.

“It’s nice to see a young lad doing his best at his job,” said Selv. The young guard devotion impressed him so he could not help but gave him praise or two.

He took out the letter from his pocket and gave it.

“Here. Does this do as the permit?”

Selv handed the letter to the young guard. Although the world’s literacy rate was low, it was needed for one to be able to read and write to work for the government. The young guard carefully reads it while still keeping his guard up.

Seeing the too serious young guard, Selv let out a smile. He reminded him of one of his friends in the past. An inflexible knight that was hard like the myth material Orichalcum. He was too serious and hard-headed for his own good. But, he was also someone who sticks to the right, even if everyone else was not. He was a good friend.

While Selv was reminiscing about the friend he hadn’t seen for a long time, the young guard had finished examining the letter.

“Certainly, this is a letter with an authentic seal of the Lord. But, the letter stated that the time was this morning. Mind explaining about that?”

“Well, I arrived here this morning, but this and that happened so I was late,” Selv said as vague as he could. But, the young guard would not accept such answer.

“What do you mean by this and that?”

“It’s this and that.”

“… I understand,” the young guard gave up on inquiring and decided to report to his supervisor. He wanted to drive away such suspicious individual, but it was out of his duty to do so. The manual stated that in such situation he should ask for his supervisor or someone senior.

“Please wait here while I inform the Lord about this. Please don’t hope too much for a positive reply,” he said.

Leaving those words, the young guard went off after he closed the gate. It seemed that the guard misunderstood something, but Selv decided to ignore it.

Around five minutes later, the young guard came back with a pale face together with the usual guard. Unlike the armor-clad young guard, he wore a blue military uniform.

“Hey Greg, I thought you were on break time,” Selv said as he lifted his hand to greet him, expecting a similar reply.

“Master Selv, please accept our apologies for the rude behavior of this new guard,” said Greg.

What he got in return was a deep bow from the two.

“He’s someone new from the outside so he did not know anything about you. So, please forgive him.”

He bowed even lower than before.

At this point, Selv was more interested whether his body could reach the ground or not.

“Lift your head old pal. There’s nothing to apologize about,” he said, patting Greg’s shoulder.  “I’m not angry or mind it. Or rather, I would be grateful if you people also treat me like him.”

Upon hearing his words, the old guard, Greg, lifted his head and replied, “That’s something that I, we, could not do after all you have done for this town,” he said in a strict tone. “Please stop saying such thing and follow me, the Lord is waiting.”

He got up and led him to the mansion.

Selv shrugged his shoulder and obediently followed him. On his way, until he had disappeared into the mansion, he noticed that the young man did not lift his head. He then entered the mansion.

The first thing that appeared was white; the white of the wall and the flowers that were decorating the room with a sense of serenity. It was then followed by the red of the carpet that stretched on the ground to the elegant stairs that split to the left and the right wing of the mansion respectively.

In the middle, between the stairs and save, stood a statue. It was the statue of a brave hero that protected the town from great danger two hundred years ago.

The benevolent protector. The courageous hero. The all-powerful savior. Many spoke great praises of him. Selv, however, could not help but wonder whether that was true for the hero himself.

Could such person truly exist? Did he really protect the town with his will? Or perhaps…

He thought, speculated, and thought back again. No, he could not believe such person ever exists. It was because, the protector, hero, and savior of this world were someone whose job was to slay the threats at the time. Whatever it was a monster, demon, or a fellow human.

“Please, this way,” Greg called.

Selv resumed his steps. Leaving behind the statue he could not come to like, Selv followed Greg to the left wing where business related things were held.  He climbed the stairs, took his steps in the long hall, and finally placed it in front of a certain room.

Greg knocked the door two times, then opened the door.

“Captain of the guard Knight, Georgia, reporting, hereby brought the invited guest.”

“So you finally came,” someone said from the room.

There were two people in the room. First was a man with glasses. He wore a designed uniforms for government work that gave the image of a white-collar worker. But, beneath his glasses were hawk-like sharp eyes. If it was their first meeting one would be on guard to protect themselves whenever they were attacked. Although, the truth has been he just born with those eyes and had no combat experience whatsoever.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The other was a man with a fine suit that did not lose to this mansion; further enchanted with a cravat that gave him the image of clean gentlemen. Yet, the mustache on his face was clearly out of the image because his face did not match with it. This man was the mansion’s owner, Vincent. 

“Hey, did you wait long? I guess that was unnecessary,” Selv said in a joking tone.

“Indeed. You wasted few good hours of my life,” Vincent replied.

Clearly, Vincent was not feeling well from the fact he had been kept waiting for hours. He was this town’s lord. There were plenty of jobs waiting for him in the other room. No, there were already plenty of documents on the table that proved of the work that had been done while he was leisurely taking Nely to Annatashya.

“So what is your excuse?” Vincent asked, putting his hand on the cup of tea.

“Well, on the way someone asked for my help so I just did,” Selv said as he took the seat on the opposite side. He placed his gift on the table.

“So it’s the usual thing. Anymore excuse?”

“I brought you sweets,” he said and pushed the box to him.

“…”

Veins were bulging on Vincent’s head. Not only he was late, he also shamed him by bringing sweets for an adult man like him. Truly, if it was other than Selv then their head would already have gone off somewhere.

Moreover, this was not the first offense. He could not help but let out a sigh.

“My lord, it would be wise to stop minding every single thing he does,” the glasses man said.

“You’re right Haust, my dependable assistant,” Vincent said with a tired tone and took a sip of the tea.

In response, Haust fixed his glasses by pushing the side of its frame with his fingers. Yes, Haust was Vincent’s assistant, one of the few exceptional people that had been hired to work here.

A mere word of dependable was insufficient to explain how good he was.

“Hey, Haust. Long-time no see. How are you doing lately?” Selv asked, lifting his hand as a greeting, again.

“It’s considerably fine, Master Selv. There’s nothing for you to worry about,” Haust said with a bow. Once again, his greeting was replied with a bow.

“Is that so? Tell me, when was the last time you took a holiday? Of course, weekend is not counted.”

Haust put his hand on his chin and said, “Five years, if I make no mistake.”

“That settles it. Leave this guy alone and go take a good break for few months. The Lord should be able to manage his town for a while. Right, little Vincent?”

“Don’t decide it on your own! And don’t call me little Vincent!” He shouted, slamming the table in the process.

“What? Are you still bad at stuff like checking the financial report?” Selv asked.

“I could do that just fine. But, I do not like the way you keep decides thing on your own. I’m this town’s lord! It’s I who decide a thing.”

“So, that’s what he said. It seems he can handle it alone. What do you want to do?”

“I will consider your advice,” Haust said with no delay.

“Haust!?”

Vincent could not hide his surprise and shout. Knowing that he was a workaholic, Vincent had believed that Haust would prioritize him over Selv. It was a shock.

Vincent looked at him as if he had betrayed him.

“My lord, there’s no need to look at me like that. It’s merely a jest.”

“A jest… I see.” Vincent let out a sigh. “I’m glad that you’re kidding about it.”

Vincent slacked his facial expression and slouched on the couch.

“I see that you’re still bad with jokes as ever,” Selv said as if not related.

“Whose fault do you think it is!?”

“Who knows?”

Feign ignorance, Selv lifted his hands and shrugged. He was fully aware of who he was talking about. After all, it was none other than himself. When Vincent was still a child, he often played around with him with jokes. Well, due to his character Vincent often believes him and he went through bad things because of it. Selv somewhat reflected on it.

Now that he thought of it, the words that Annatashya had said to him might be true.

“My lord, I think it’s about time to start talking about the main topic.”

“I guess so. I’m already tired before it begins.”

Vincent sighed and took the documents Haust had offered to him. In the meantime, Selv sipped on the tea Haust had brewed while no one was paying attention. Occasionally, Selv wondered whether he does it with magic or some sort.

“Now for the reason, I called out, please read this,” Vincent said, handing him the document.

The tone of his voice changed. Previously, it was more relaxed like when talking to family or close friend, but this time it was heavier and formal.

Selv, who had mastered TPO, wordlessly took and read it.

What was written there was a detailed report of sight of a certain thing. No, perhaps it was someone depends on the perspective. But, for the public, it was categorized as a thing.

“Death,” Selv muttered.

Yes, it was death.

A mysterious thing that spread deaths and terror every time it appeared. The enemy of all living beings. It who reins life. The monster that could not be touched by mortals.

Its first appearance was a sudden one. Approximately five hundred years ago, when the world was at war between humanity and demon race, it made itself known in the midst of the battlefield.

Clad in its peculiar black fog and the aura that triggered primal fear, with its gleaming red eyes, it sees everything as an enemy and started attacking both sides.

Limbs flew in the air, bodies fell, and meats splashed on the ground. As long that ears still functional, screams and wails could be heard from all directions. If at first, it came from behind, next it would come from either left or right. Followed by in front, beside and lastly, from within the hearer.

The record stated that the land was dyed in blood and intensities, and even now the smell of raw meat and blood lingers.

It was one of the three great tragedies that struck the world. Now, Selv could understand the importance of his presence.

“That’s right. Just a few weeks ago in the small village near the capital, a death was sighted,” Vincent put his leg on another and put his hands above. “The eyewitness immediately ran toward the capital for help and special force was deployed, but unfortunately…” he cast down his eyes. “The village was already no more.”

“I see,“ Selv muttered.

It was unfortunate that village had been erased from the world. But, the feeling was close to upon knowing the number of casualties of a natural disaster. There was sadness but it felt distant.

Selv read the document one word at a time, so that he would not miss important information. But, it only reports about the incident. There was relatively nothing worthy except the appearance time and date so that mitigation could be done. But, that was not Selv’s job.

“That’s a sad thing considering the low life expectancy and slow population growth due to the constructive loss these past decades. But, surely, you did not call me to just inform me of this,” he said, taking one last gulp of the tea.

“That’s right. The report you have read was the one sent to the reporter’s superior,” Vincent gave him another document. “And this one is from our investigation team.”

“Why to bother making me read that- I see.”

The moment Selv laid his eyes on the pictures attached, he had understood the situation. He obediently took and opened it. What was inside there was a grave report that could make people insane.

“Evidence of Multiple Deaths, is it?” He said. The paper wrinkled from the force he put on it.

“That’s correct,” Vincent replied. “As we both know, the information regarding Death is strictly restricted. One of it is while the mass was told the disaster known as Death as a singular, few people know that the correct term is ‘Deaths’. ”

Right, the disaster with the ominous name was not a singular but a plural. Their appearances were unknown due to the fog that shrouded them, but even so, their silhouettes could vaguely be seen. 

At the time it was a big man over two meters tall.

Another time it was a glamorous woman with a perfect figure.

One time it was a man with one hand.

The other time it was female with a long ponytail.

Sometimes it was a child that had yet hit puberty.

There were several varieties that reached the number thirteen.

It was, however, only the known number to humanity. The possibility that more might be outside, left to be discovered, exists.

As for categorizing the Deaths, because of the fact that their figures were covered with black fog, a more reliable thing was used to distinguish one from another.

“Is it accurate that these spear and sword marks aren’t from the victim or a third party?” Selv asked. He never took off his eyes from the document.

“The left marks are from the Death by Spear and Death by Sword,” Vincent said with a clear tone.

“That’s the conclusion of the forensic team. If you doubt this method then we have nothing left to use. It might not want to believe, but this’s the reality.”

“But, for multiple Deaths to appear after all these years…” Selv could not hold the bitterness from his voice. His body ached. He unconsciously gripped the area around his left chest.

Vincent and Haust said nothing about it and continued.

“As for the record, it’s the first appearance of multiple Deaths in these five decades. The last was by Death by Flame and Ice which erased a town in less than three hours after its first appearance,” Haust said. “Similar amount casualties are speculated.”

Selv was aware of that incident. The town that turned to dust in one day was the known name for it. The word goes that a strange phenomenon was happening where several burned bodies were found at resting places.

The investigation team was deployed but was unable to do their job because out of nowhere ice emerged when they were about to enter the town. But, because the ice was transparent, the scene of the town enveloped with flame beneath was caught by the team’s eyes.

The building crumbled as a drastic change of temperature kept going from hot to cold. At first, it cracked, but the continuous change soon reduced everything to dust. All organic and inorganic things. As if in some movie, the finale was a great explosion of the earth itself because the ice reached the hotspot below.

“Fortunately, the damage that time could be said minimal. If it touched a bad spot, then this whole continent will take considerable damage,” haust concluded.

Selv put the document on the table and refreshed his mind with the tea Haust had refilled god knows when. This whole talk was starting to make him regret of coming. But, what could a man do against the lord of a town?

At most was probably grumbled, or that was the case for a normal man. Fortunately, he was not quite a normal man you could find anywhere. No, in this case, it should be unfortunate that he was not common.

He crossed his arms and looked at the clock that had shown it was almost evening. It was about time to go back, he thought.

“Let’s cut this short. You’ve called me here, to this independent town cut away from any nation, despite knowing my condition. So, what do you want me to do?

Vincent held his breath and finally used the magic word that could fulfill any wishes. Yes, that magic word that anyone would learn in their early part of childhood.

“Two types of weapons have been confirmed and together with the eyewitness, the appearance of Deaths is now the first priority problem of any nations on this continent, regardless of race.”

He pulled down his leg and stood straight.

“I as the lord of this town ask you, the Guardian. Please, help me protect the lives of my citizen!” He made a deep bow that showed his title as a Lord was nothing but measly. On his side, Haust also did the same.

Both showed no sign of lifting their heads as they waited for Selv’s answer. The clock ticked.

Tick-tock, tick-tock. Tick. The bell rang.

It showed the time for people to go home. Return. It was time to return.

“Understand,” he said.  

Selv stood and took his sword.

“Wielding this title that you people gave me, I shall fulfill your plea.”

With the magic word of asking, Selv’s course of action was set in stone.

He with the title of Guardian was determined to clash against the Deaths when the situation arises. But, even in this dire situation, Selv remain unfazed.

His business here was done. Positioned his trusty sword to his side, Selv walked to the exit. Once he returned to the previous stairs, a group of servants was lining up with male on the right and female on the left. They were standing straight without breaking a sweat, waiting for the signal.

“The Guardian is going back! Everyone, show your respect!”

“Yes! Have a nice trip, Master Selv!”

With Haust’s words, they firmly respond and rhythmically bowed one line after another in domino manner. Selv walked like moose when he split the sea. Every step was firm and unhesitant. The wind that brings the fresh air with a slight apple scent which was this town special’s carried the end of his robe, slowly fluttering.

The Guardian reminisced the last time this had happened. Although the people were different, he was also sent off in this manner. Yes, this was not the first time, but the second.

Similarly, years ago a Death was sighted nearby. That time he had also accepted the same request. Only he could accomplish it.

After all, he is the guardian. He was the benevolent protector. He was the courageous hero. He was the all-powerful savior. Many spoke great praises of him. Yes, that person was Selv, the only human that had fought on par with Death and live to tell the tale.

Years had passed since his last fight, but nothing had changed; this town, this world, its problem, nor save himself.  

The sun gently warmed his body with its orange light as Selv exited the mansion. Being the same person as always, Selv stretched his body in public the moment he passed the gate.

“I see that acting to fit this title is tiring as always. People can’t change easily.”

Covering his face with a hood, Selv made sure of his location using the bell tower.

“Now then, I should take care of my other business. I hope that girl did not bother Annatashya too much.”

Stepping on the stone street, Selv moved to do his daily activity. There was no time for him to stand still. Even now the clock is ticking. Waiting for the right time to come, it continues to sound.

“Ah, I should buy some Apples on the way back.”

And silently, the needle moved for a half second and rested there, only to try moving again to make a full second. The time is soon.

Yet, the actor was oblivious to the curtain call was starting.