-Chapter Thirty-Six-
A Miserable End to a Miserable Story
As the years went on, Aria’s mother only grew harsher on her with her teachings. With every mistake Aria inevitably made, her mother’s patience and tolerance declined.
But in balance, Aria’s heartfelt feelings for Aelius only developed further and further, until she reached the age of a teenager and her emotions blossomed into love for him.
Ever since she awakened her God Eyes, her mother completely forbade her from ever visiting Kanaria again.
Just like that, she was separated from Aelius and her feelings for him left with nowhere to go, could only build up one-sidedly.
With dragon-grandma’s teachings, Aria proved herself to be a talented Sorceress among her peers by the time she was admitted into Farrien Sky Academy, and she had taken a place in society as one of the up and coming stars of her generation.
Being the son of the other Archduchy of the Kingdom, it was also only natural for Aelius to enroll into the Academy as well.
She was excited for school life with him, out of the reach of her mother.
Leading into their first day, she had already dreamed of how much time they would spend together.
Every lunch, every dinner, every break. But that naive dream of an obsessive, young teenage girl was quickly shattered when Aelius couldn’t even reach the heels of the other children his age, in terms of magic capability.
Aria had found out quite early on that she and Aelius were to have an arranged marriage, that was agreed on even before she was born, but it was due to that which caused unsavoury rumours to spread among the students.
Aria quickly found that the more she tried to approach Aelius, the more her peers told her she didn’t need to bother with trash like that, and even went against her back and will to bully him.
By the time the first six months of her first year had passed at the Academy, Aria had quickly realised it was better if she didn’t selfishly cling onto Aelius.
As for him, he had changed as well.
He used to be a bright, kind and outgoing child. Yet now, in his early teens, he was a timid, shy and unconfident child with severely deficient self-esteem.
Aria thought of the only solution she could: to keep her distance until they graduate, and then get married like she planned to. But that plan didn’t work out, in the end. It turns out that she grew too complacent.
—-----------------------
One day, Aelius had disappeared from the Academy.
Aria soon found out from Director Polia that he had left the Academy to pursue Mercenary work.
Aria found it incredibly laughable. One of the Heirs of the Archduchy of the Kingdom, trying to become a Mercenary? A joke that you could only find in a Nation as stupid as Farrien.
She considered the fact that Aelius might come to hate her for her indifference towards him during his time at the Academy, especially if he ever discovers the truth behind why he couldn’t keep up with his peers in terms of magic.
Yet, despite everything her mother had done to chain him down, using an incurable poison, he still escaped Aria’s clutches.
After Aelius disappeared, Aria didn’t know what she was fighting for anymore.
She didn’t know why she was still hanging on.
Originally, she would tolerate her mother’s mistreatment, because she could see an end-goal in sight.
But that goal was now gone.
She didn’t know when Aelius would return, if at all. He was no longer in her clutches, and it was uncertain if she could ever catch him, and she lost all will.
Years passed and she graduated from the Academy, but there was no news of Aelius.
He may not have even been in Farrien, for all Aria knew.
Slowly and gradually, she fell into despair.
For years, she awaited his return. For years, she fought her demons.
But he never did, and finally, she went under.
She gave in to her mother’s tight clutches, returning to the Aerianne Archduchy post-graduation to carry out her filial duties.
And like that, time flowed like a river.
—-----------------------
Then came the fateful night she was reunited with Aelius, but it was not what she could’ve ever expected.
He returned stronger than ever, aware of the truth of what her mother had done to him in his childhood.
He was aware that their household was the culprit of why he suffered so much back then.
Yet, she still had hope upon seeing hm, that he might welcome her back.
She was clinging on to the dream of the past, when they were still children. And yet again, her dream was quickly shattered when Aelius revealed the fact that Aria’s mother was the culprit behind the death of the Kanarian Archduke and Archduchess, people who Aria loved like her own parents.
Aelius came with the intention to take the Aerianne Archduchess’ life, and Aria had no intention to meddle.
She was resolved that, even if he wanted to take her life, she would gladly offer it up to him. She was willing to offer up anything to him.
He was her everything. He was her life’s meaning. Without him by her side, she felt as though she had no point in continuing this painful journey.
Yet to her dismay, he spared her and then abandoned her, leaving her alone before her mother’s dead corpse.
Regardless, her hope still persevered onward. She firmly believed that someday, she could reunite with him.
And that hope too, was smothered like a dying flame, when a strange man named Baron Fedaul came into her life.
She was forced into a hellish nightmare she would’ve rather died than be subjected to.
While she believed he would someday come to save her, waiting in the Aerianne Archduchy on her own, unsure of what to do, she felt a deathly frightening presence behind her.
It turned out to be a Devil, and without being able to even resist, Aria was captured by them.
—-----------------------
By the next time Aria’s consciousness had returned to her, she had committed atrocities she could never take back.
Even if it was against her will, she had performed crimes against her own species.
And then her consciousness went under again, and she lost herself to the will of her captors.
Aria’s sense of clarity would come back intermittently at times, and she would be shown horrible scenes.
The first was her taking innocent lives with her own hands at the orders of the Devils.
Many followed, not dissimilar.
A few times, she could tell she was trying to chase Aelius down, because he was having a feud with the very creatures that had enslaved her mind.
Yet, she was powerless to resist.
The magic they cast on her mind was of an inexplicably higher Tier.
It was more profound and powerful than she could ever imagine.
After time passed, the memories began to blur, but her sense of disgust always remained the same. And then came a time she never wanted to die more than she ever had before…
—-----------------------
As usual, her clarity was returning to her in pieces before she was completely awake again, even if temporarily.
Through the darkness, light gradually began to reach her. And she could hear off in the distance, her own voice, making noises against her will.
She was still in a haze, but she could make out her own voice making moans she had never heard before.
And then she could hear the grunt of another man.
As her vision returned to her, she could see another body on top of her, and as the senses in her body returned, she could feel something zinging up her entire body from her below her waist.
It didn’t take long after she woke up for the reality of what was taking place to settle in.
Looking around, Aria found she was completely nude, laying on a bed and above her, were the devilish red eyes of her captor, Baron Fedaul, gazing unto her.
He was also completely nude as well, and she could feel his muscles in her grasp as her voice continued to moan.
So quickly, did her world fall apart in that moment, yet even as her soul died, her body continued to shudder with pleasure against her will.
She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry.
She could feel her sanity falling apart, and then she fell under again.
Not only did they violate her mind, now so did they her body.
She was saving herself for Aelius all this time. Yet now, she can no longer even look in him in the eyes after this.
She was completely sullied.
—-----------------------
What have I done? Aria’s mind instantly returned to her, like it never did before.
Instead of being piece by piece, it came back in a single moment, and in the corner of her eye, Aria saw Baron Fedaul collapse onto the ground headless.
“Hah- haha.”
Her first reaction was to laugh in relief, when she turned her eyes before her to find Aelius in the centre of the room.
He was far older and manly than she remembered, even more so than the night he had killed her mother.
He was giving her a hateful glare that, through her God Eyes, she could sense incomparable animosity.
Kneeling on the ground, a young woman with long, bright green hair lay in his arms.
The green-haired woman had a gaping hole in her stomach and her skin was deathly pale, and Aria realised she was dead.
Looking down, Aria noticed her staff in her hand, having just freshly fired off a spell, and her eyes dropping further, she saw there was also a gaping hole in her own stomach.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Blood suddenly surged up her throat and out her mouth and nose, and she fell to her knees.
The wound was reminiscent of Aelius’ power, and Aria was quickly able to deduce that he had inflicted it on her, before her vision began to fade.
As she fell over, she saw Aelius glaring at her with disgust, but she was unsure what expression she was returning to him.
It was growing… so cold…
Was she finally to be released from this hellish nightmare? Did Aelius save her yet again?
She found peace as her mind faded, her lips softly moving as she tried to utter her last words. A-Aelius… thank you… I l-love… you…
And that was the miserable end to a miserable story.
That was Aria’s life, destined for so-called greatness.
The irony of life’s cruelty, unparalleled.
—-----------------------
Aelius gasped as he found himself in the Aerianne Archduchy lobby.
Looking down, he found a young Aria in his arms, peacefully recovering from his power with her wound rapidly closing up.
Like everything was okay, in that very moment.
But nothing was okay. He took in a shaky breath for a short moment, and then he screamed.
He cried out in agony, he roared in rage.
The Archduke was startled by Aelius who howled loudly in anguish.
For someone worthy of being the Hero, they must feel the pain of others as if it were their own. That was one minimum requirement to save the world.
Finally, after minutes, his voice calmed down and.
As he looked down at her, he noticed drips of water hit Aria’s cheeks from above, and he quickly reached up to feel streams of salty water falling from his eyes.
Did he just witness… Aria’s past life?
Suddenly, Aelius felt his eyes start to sting, but it wasn’t just from tearing up. It quickly built into a painful burning and he found himself panting harshly as all his vision turned black.
Frantically, he looked around him, trapped in the darkness with his breath caught in his throat.
He could still feel Aria’s warmth in his arms and her soft breathing in his ears, but his eyesight was completely absent.
New skill acquired!
「Eyes of Truth」
Eyes belonging to the mythical race, the Dragons. See through all manners of illusions, read into people’s motives, and penetrate the ordinary fabric and barriers of reality.
Eyes that only the chosen one whom is born every few centuries, of the Varnian lineage can possess. It was bestowed upon the Varnia ancestors by the wisest dragon in history, Dragon Vorissa.
Aelius’ vision immediately returned to him, and he felt his irises glow up golden and then quickly dissipate back to brown again, as the skill deactivated.
But it was the last thing on his mind.
Instead, the vivid image of Aria’s body being violated, as well as her being enslaved by the Devils, suddenly ignited a dormant flame of fury within him.
Reaching up, Aelius let out an enraged roar and tore out two handfuls of his hair.
He was so filled with rage, he did not know where to direct it. He wanted to, no, he needed to tear something apart right now.
Something, anything.
Rising to his feet, Aelius gently laid Aria down and sprinted out the manor.
With utter brutality, he came skidding to a stop at the territory gate where the three Devils’ corpses were left.
His power sent half the ground cracking, but he gave no attention to it as he grabbed all three bodies and returned to the manor.
Though the fight against the three of them originally was incredibly high-risk, Aelius still easily emerged as the victor.
He emerged as the victor more easily than he expected. He could only attribute his ease of victory to one thing: the Devils lost to his momentum.
Even when a person fights fifty people, the person can win the fight just through their sheer momentum.
If it was enough to stun and catch their opponents off guard, they would have a far easier time turning the battle into their favour than otherwise.
As for these Devils, they were completely helpless because they had never been killed like this before.
Winners are bad at losing. Apex predators don’t know how to react to a stronger existence, like an inescapable cycle of causality.
It was thanks to this, that Aelius was able to easily kill off the two lower-ranked Devils and then focus on dealing to Fedaul alone.
But after seeing the vision he did, Fedaul’s death was hardly satisfying anymore.
No, instead, he was itching. He was shaking. He was shuddering with the pent up desire to brutalise his enemies.
How dare they? How dare they do such a thing?
And how was he such a fool, to have never realised her feelings for him?
If there was one thing Aelius hated the most, it was seeing the strong and valiant women in his life subjected to cruelty and being reduced to miserable vulnerabilities.
And this time, he was the exact cause of doing that to one.
It’s not as though he abandoned Aria since his childhood, in his last life.
It was just that by the time they met again after Alea’s death, he had changed too much.
Truth be told, he always liked her very much.
It was ingrained in him, as a child who grew up by her side. That’s why he was always so tormented by his relationship with her.
That was why he constantly felt conflicted.
But to say all of that was just an excuse. The simple truth was, he fucked up. He fucked up so bad, he didn’t even know the truth of what happened until now.
Why did he assume Aria defected to the side of the Devil’s of her own free will, in his past life? Just because her mother colluded with them?
How did he never realise that had been enslaved, that the Devils were capable of mind-restraining magic? When Aria coldly carried out merciless and atrocious acts, he should have known better that it was out of her character.
But he found it easier to hate her, after she killed Claire. He was simply negligent. It was all his fault.
And he owed her far better than what she suffered through her last life. This time, he’ll correct every past mistake he made.
But before that, he just needs to satisfy himself slightly and get rid of this itching feeling. Just before she wakes up, he needs to regain his composure, and there was only one way he could think of calming himself down.
For a volcano to fall dormant from its critical melting point, the only option left was eruption. Release.
+Rage Points
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+Rage Points
+Rage Points
—-----------------------
The Aerianne Archduke sat before the deceased body of his wife, and the fatally wounded and rapidly bleeding body of his daughter.
In a single moment, he had lost everything that brought meaning to his life.
He still couldn’t comprehend what just took place, when the boy opposite him, who turned out to be Aelius Kanaria, shot past him out the corridor.
When the Archduke turned back around again, he found Aria was somehow steadily recovering with a mysterious power.
Relief flooded through him, temporarily suppressing the guilt.
As he sat there in relief, his heartbeat gradually calming down, he suddenly felt it freeze in his chest.
Something had just set foot in the manor. Something dangerous.
The Archduke grabbed his blade and returned to the lobby, where before he stepped out, he peeked around the corner to see what it may have been.
The aura was suffocating.
It was like the king of purgatory had risen out of the ground.
The hatred, the malice, the malevolence and the pure, unsatiated desire for death and suffering, overwhelmed the Archduke’s senses.
He peeked around to gasp to find Aelius Kanaria returning through the front door, radiating dominance and authority.
Instead of stepping out, the Archduke watched on, unable to move.
Before him, Aelius dumped a few horned corpses onto the ground before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
For a moment, all was deathly silent, until he opened his glowing crimson eyes again and raised his hands to his sides.
Around the Archduke, all the blood from the dozens and dozens of corpses began to gather at Aelius’ feet, swirling into a vortex until it was a large tornado.
The Archduke’s eyes widened in fear as he felt an ominous sense drench the atmosphere.
What sort of demonic ritual was this?
As he watched on, the vortex finally died away, revealing the first horned corpse standing on its feet, and it opened it eyes.
The Archduke instantly sensed overwhelming power radiate from the corpse as it woke up, and for a moment, all was deathly quiet again.
Until the corpse began to scream and Aelius charged forward to tackle it to the ground.
The corpse, or rather, former corpse, but now completely animated and living, attempted to block Aelius but was completely overpowered to the ground.
Aelius hit the ground with the corpse before quickly getting up onto it, and the horned victim looked up with fear in his eyes.
The teenage boy was the pure embodiment of rage, his glowing red eyes casting fear into any who would witness them.
“What did you bring me back for? H-how did you even-”
Before he finished his sentence, he was slapped across the face by Aelius.
Above him, the horned victim quickly noticed he was being given an incomprehensibly soul-shattering death glare.
“You know…” Aelius began to speak, his voice starting out in a low, menacing growl. “It’s actually not the first time one of my women got fucked by another guy… but you know what happened to the other guy?”
The horned man had no idea what the teenager was talking about, when Aelius began to laugh eerily to himself.
And then before a second passed by, he slammed the horned Devil across the cheek and proceeded to let out a barrage of punches down on the victim.
“I. Ground. Him. Into. Mince. Meat.”
With each word, a punch sent the entire manor shaking.
The Archduke watched on in horror as Aelius ceaselessly pounded the man.
Every blow was sending blood exploding into the air, drenching Aelius from head to toe in deep crimson.
The horned Devil tried to struggle and resist but was completely overpowered as Aelius bashed on its face for minutes and minutes.
There was no end to his rage, and even after the horned Devil had fallen completely still, Aelius continued punching.
Soon, the Archduke saw that nothing remained of the horned Devil’s head but still, the teenage boy mercilessly continued.
There was only mince and dust like he had promised by now, and Aelius was punching so hard that the ground was left with a crater in it.
Finally he ceased, looking at his handiwork with harsh breathing, until he quickly rose to his feet, picked up the corpse and dragged it by the ankle to the front door.
The Archduke watched on still, without even daring to breathe as Aelius, standing at the door, let out a monstrous roar into the wilderness.
Immediately, the countless trees shook as hundreds of birds scattered off into flight from fear.
Aelius then grabbed a nearby sword and stood the headless corpse up on the ground through stabbing it into the ground before he wrote in the air with magic.
The Archduke squinted as he read the words.
You are next.
Feeling deathly ominous and with nothing left to see, the Archduke quickly spun back around and returned to Aria’s unconscious and still recovering body, wearing a grave expression.
He had no idea what he just witnessed, but he was uncertain whether he could win in a fight against the teenager.
As he returned, he found his wife’s dead body, and quickly slapped himself out of it.
At the least, he has to find out what happened here. How did everything get all so messed up, in a matter of moments?
—-----------------------
Aelius felt pain soaring up his knuckles, and glanced down at his hands to find that he had been punching Fedaul through the ground so hard his hands themselves were on the verge of turning into mince.
But he couldn’t care.
Though he had himself a little rage session, he barely felt satiated.
Half of him felt like he was throwing a childish tantrum, the other half of him felt like he had not had enough.
He left a message here so that the Devils knew he was coming for them. He will inflict the pain they gave him, repay his debt of suffering one-hundred fold.
Thankfully, Fedaul had not completely died, allowing Aelius to regenerate his wounds with Blood Essence.
If left alone, Fedaul would have eventually died entirely all on his own, but if he had, Aelius would have had no chance of healing that monster, just so he could beat him to death with his bare fists.
Aelius shuddered, feeling the rage coursing through him yet still.
He needs to find more of them. He will never be satiated until his crusade ends.