"Day 1
The war has finally broken out with the demons. Today we moved our force to invade the continent of Ragna, where the demon force is based in. Our lord had given us a specific mission: find a safe shortcut to the demon lord's castle. If it succeeds, a special squad can move in quickly and assassinate the demon lord, thus ending this war swiftly. Our group is composed of seven experienced adventurers of rank A. Surely this would be more than enough for a scout mission.
Day 2
Although the forest was filled with monsters, we managed to get out safely without losing any injuries. This is too easy.
Day 3
One of our rogues found a small cave behind a waterfall. We decided to make it as our temporary base for this mission. The position is perfect. A nearby water source. The waterfall will mask our traces so no one will find us here.
Day 4
We lost one man today. He fell in fissure. Damn bastard was stupid. He thought he heard something and fell down there by himself. But I don't mind: the less we are, the bigger our share.
Day 5
A fight broke out between the two swordsmen. Each claimed that the other tried to kill him. Luckily we managed to stop the fight before they kill each other. Now we lost two of our main fighters. Tomorrow we will let them stay at the cave with the priest.
Weird... they used to be best friends before the trip.
Day 6
I killed the priest today. When we went back to the cave, she just jumped on me and tried to stab me with a knife. She used to be so gentle. How can this happen? We found the two swordsmen already dead on their beds, their throats slit open with a sharp object. Did the priest kill them ? Why?
Day 7
Now I know why all this weird thing happened. There must be a traitor among us. He wants us to kill each other to take all the money for himself. It must be. The word 'traitor' keeps repeating itself in my mind. But which one is the traitor? Cole or Jack ?
Day 8
I killed the two traitors. I saw them whispering to each other behind my back when I was scouting. They must have been planing to kill me to get the gold all to themselves. But I was quicker than them. I moved first. At first they yelled at me about how I misunderstood. When I finally stabbed one, the other started crying and begged me to let him go. Taking me for a fool... as if a traitor would admit to be one. I took his head and smashed it into a nearby rock. Now the money is all mine.
Day 9
There must be another traitor. Apparently it's a woman since the voice was female. I could hear her whispers everywhere I go. She must be hiding somewhere around here.
Day 15
I still could not find her. But I could hear her voice. It just keeps getting louder and louder. I searched carefully, sought every possible trace but still nothing.
Day 20
Why am I still writing this damn diary? I can't stop. My hands just move on its own as it writes down my every thought. And I keep hearing her damn voice. Suddenly I felt a chill behind my back. I turned my head around: she was behind the whole time. And there she asked: "Would you die for me?"
-end of entry- "
- Diary of an unknown soldier
* * *
"ALL OF YOU WILL DIE", the reborn Alastor proclaimed. His voice was filled with anger. But in his mind, he was calm. More like he could not afford to be agitated right now. The life of his family was on the line.
He has been talked with Asmodeus and Belz about the two powers he received. But he discovered that these abilities were not really meant for offensive strategy. He would have to use them wisely to win this battle.
Watching a ten year old kid making such a statement, the fat general could not hide the anger on his face. A mere peasant dared defy his authority. Unacceptable. He ordered the mage beside him to kill the boy.
"Javis, kill that brat right now!"
'This ugly pig dares giving me order me. If I have not accepted this mission from Father Terrick, I would have ...' thought the mage while making a dispirited expression. He looked at the boy, pitied him for facing Javis. 'Don't hate me for this, brat! I am just doing my job.'
The soldiers, afraid to be hit by the blast, let go of Alastor and spread out. They would not expect this little boy to be able to run away anyway.
Javis raised his staff and launched a fireball at the young lad. But the boy was smiling. He has waited for this moment since the beginning. Alastor raised his hand toward the incoming fireball.
"
A black hole opened on his hand before completely sucking the fireball into it. From afar it was as if the boy has just catched the fireball with his hand before crushing it. The soldiers, including the mage Javis and the fat man could only stood there, wondering what just happened. Did the spell fail ? Could this boy also be a mage ?
As for Alastor, he kept checking his hand if it was burned. Nothing. Instead he now had a weird hole on both of his hands.
'Amazing! So it's true. Belz's Legacy allowed to absorb all form of mana for myself. Even now I could feel that my own mana has increased, although only a little bit.' Alastor analyzed in his head his new found power. 'Lucky me since a mage attacked first. If it was an archer or a swordsman, I would be dead'
"What the hell do you just stand there for? Keep firing you idiot!" the general shouted at the mage.
Hearing the shout, Javis came back to reality and this time fired a succession of ten fireballs. But it was for naught. The boy just made all the fireballs disappear into thin air.
"And you bunch of idiots. Don't just stand there! Do something!!!" This time, the general yelled to the soldiers near Alastor. He started to panic. He did not expect to encounter resistance in this kind of place.
The soldiers, hearing their commander's orders, started encircling the child. They now saw him as a real potential threat, not just a normal farm boy like before. But it was all according to what Alastor had in mind. In fact since earlier, he had waited for the soldiers to come closer while gathering enough mana from the mage. He could now use the second ability he had received.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"
A dark mist engulfed Alastor before launching into multiples projectiles at the soldiers. The knights immediately raised their shields to defend but the mist simply passed right through it before entering the knights' body. As it entered, the knights fell to their knees before standing up again. But something changed in them. Their eyes were lifeless, as if what was left was simply a corpse. They now turned toward the other group of knights surrounding the general.
"Slay them!" Alastor shouted as he pointed toward the fat man on his horse.
What came next could be simplified by a slaughter between the two sides. The knights who maintained their conscience were caught off guard. They were not prepared to fight against their own. The mage immediately ran into the forest as he realized the severity of the situation. The general was not that quick however. He was stunned by the scene before him. He kept shouting at the knights to stop fighting but no one listened to him anymore.
Even his horse, agitated by the surroundings knights, kicked him off and ran away. Before he could even regain himself from the fall, a knight approached him, raised his sword before plunging it into the fat man's head.
Now that the fight was over. Alastor rushed to his mother' side. She was covered in blood but still breathing. He still had some of the potion the Raven guy had given him. He immediately poured the rest into Morgan's mouth. But without proper care, she would not last long.
Although heavily injured, Morgan was not unconscious. Her years of training has allowed to overcome the pain and this situation was no exception. She saw how Alastor did. She was not surprised by these new found powers. She already expected those. But the thing she was back was that it came too soon. But for now she would simply smile to Alastor. At least it would ease his concern for her.
Alice, now freed from the knights, also rushed to Alastor and her mother. She could not speak properly as her eyes were swollen by the tears she cried. She could simply hug Alastor and her mother.
Their reunion was cut short however.
"So here you are. We finally found you, you little demon !", a voice came from above.
The six heralds and Ikarus finally arrived. They have observed the situation from the sky since the beginning. At first Mikael did not think much of the boy. He could not sense any mana from him. He thought perhaps the boy in question was someone else. Until he saw Morgan. He recognized her face. The face that reminded him of his mistakes. The face that has haunted him for the last ten years. Now he knew it was this boy and none other. He did not care about the death of all those innocent villagers. Sacrificing the few to save the many. It was the most plausible solution to him.
'Celestials... So these are the guests Magnus mentioned. I could feel the pressure they emit even from here. I don't have any offensive attack and at my level,
In an instant, Mikael teleported to Alice and has taken her hostage before teleporting back to the other celestials. He was sure that the boy was no match for Ikarus, let alone six heralds. But he wanted the boy alive and he saw how Alastor manipulated those men. It was better to be careful than sorry later. The end justifies the means, no matter how dishonorable it is.
The celestial drew out his luminous sword as if it was made from light itself and put it to Alice's neck.
"Surrender or this girl won't live to see another day" said Mikael. With this it was checkmate.
Unknown to him, the celestial Ikarus did not share his point of view. She was raised to be an Executor, one who holds justice above all, even among celestials. The kind of person who would rather die than committing something this despicable. She wanted to unsheathe her sword but for now she remained silent.
"Release her Mikael! She had nothing to do with this.", said Morgan with her weak voice.
Mikael smirked at the frail Morgan now half way to death's door. He dropped his sword but still held Alice tight at his arm around her neck. "You brought this on yourself when you decided to turn against us that day, Morgan. Did you even think about what you did? That boy's life is nothing compared to the peace of this world. And look what you have been doing these ten years! Playing house with that demon. Did you even tell him the truth ?"
"No... Stop it Mikael..." Morgan began to lose her composure. She tried to walk up to Mikael but her legs were giving in. She then tried to crawl with her hands but Alastor stopped her as he was afraid that her wounds would open.
"About how you kill his parents?"
"No... that's not..."
"I pitied you demon. Not only did you lose your real parents the day you were born, you were adopted by the one responsible for their death." Mikael gave off a sneer to Alastor.
"Mom, what did he mean?" The young Alastor was now confused. Not only was he facing with an unbeatable enemy, these things he was hearing. Talks about his real parents. Their death.
"I....I...." Morgan could not say anything to Alastor. She was overwhelmed with grief. Images of that event started come back to her.
"Time to end this charade!" As he finished his sentence, Mikael threw a rope made of light toward Alastor. But it was cut by a pair of claws at incredible speed.
A tall man with demonic wings in a noble attire now stood in front of Alastor. Four others followed him: lich in a black robe, a girl dressed in white with a cold expression, a three-headed wolf like beastman, a small girl in a luxurious robe mixed with black and purple holding a small blue slime.
"FEAR ME MORTALS!" shouted the slime while trying to make a spooky voice but ended up with a ridiculous one.
....
No one uttered a single words. The newly arrivals made a disappointed impression as their comrade's attempt to make an entrance only made them look even more ludicrous.
The girl holding the slime and whispered. "Shut up and read the mood you idiot!". She tried to stretch the slime to make him shut up.
"Ahem", Mephisto was irritated. But he tried to remain his composure and started talking. "Ignoring that. Are you all just being mean to the kid here? Six celestials ganging up on "
Mikael was furious. He did not expect the demons to act so soon. Not to mention he knew who these four people were. The only he did not recognize about was the lich and the girl in white.
"And are you rude to interrupt someone else's conversation, Mephisto? How about you damn bastards just wait there for your turn? We will exterminate you in the name of God."
"Watch your language, boy! There are children around. Try to stay civilised! Or have you filled your heads with all that God thing so much you could not even appreciate a sense of decency" Mephisto made a mocking gesture, provoking the celestials even more.
"YOU FLYING CHICKEN!!!", clamored the slime.
That was it. The line was crossed.