The Vice Head looked at him blankly. "Why did you wish to meet me, oh hero?"

"I wish to discuss something." Alastor replied, his face serious.

"Please do go on."

"I do not want to waste time, Vice Head. I want to do something, anything, instead of plainly sitting in my room. I am sure that there are many things which need to be done, and I would like to help in any way possible. For example, what are the current problems the general public of the kingdom is facing?"

Severine sighed lightly. "Where do I even begin? And do you think you can really solve them, oh hero? You are far too naïve if you believe that you can solve these issues alone. It will take more than just your skills and ability. You must first understand how our nation functions."

Alastor merely smiled languidly at her words. "I have an idea. What is it that you and the Head Mage lack?"

The Vice Head pondered about his question. After a few seconds, she replied, "We have capital. To an extent, we have power too."

"Then why have you stood still?"

"Because our interruption would only make things worse. You may not understand this, Chosen One, but our kingdom values bloodline highly. Even the citizens themselves would not accept anyone but the royal family, or someone of a higher bloodline, on the throne." Severine replied. "Foolish, but not something that can be fixed easily."

"But aren't the Chosen Ones considered to be God's children themselves?" Alastor replied, making Severine's eyes widen slightly. "It's pointless to test me, Vice Head."

Seeing Severine's eyes drift towards Raven, he continued, "It's a privilege second time heroes get. Moving back to the topic, my bloodline. Isn't that why the Head Mage is ready to acquiesce to me?"

The Vice Head nodded with a hint of a smile. "It is, indeed. However, what does this have to do with the idea of yours?"

"The Head Mage is being too conservative with his plans." Alastor replied. That old dingleberry's ultimate goal has always been to overthrow the throne.

"How so?" Severine asked, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

This information is going to make him orgasm. Quite literally, actually.

"What if I said I could become an elementary mage in a week?" Alastor replied, his smile growing wider. “Even a day.”

The Vice Head stared at him in stunned silence. Even Raven's eyes widened, her jaw slack.

"Is that... is that even possible?" The Vice Head eventually muttered and gulped.

"With a bit of support, I can make even the impossible possible." Alastor replied calmly.

"What support do you require?"

"As many lives as you can reap. Dark mages, gangsters, criminals, whoever you can kill. The more, the merrier." Before the Vice Head could interrupt, he continued, "I can wipe mana traces."

"You can do what?" The Vice Head gasped, all traces of her previous dignified self gone. She nearly swore, only reeling herself back because of Raven's presence.

"I can wipe mana traces." Alastor repeated patiently.

—

Severine stared at the teenager in front of her, dumbstruck for the umpteenth time today. He can wipe mana traces? A variety of emotions flowed through her heart as she remembered the Head Mage’s words once. Indeed. Would this man even do something without a meaning? If he can wipe mana traces, he could go on massacres and we’d never find out – no matter how much we tried.

So his stance is truly not to not kill civilians. She let out a shaky sigh. He isn’t cooperating with us because he has no choice, but because he wants to. Because he has mercy.

This kingdom, no, this world could become a bloody mess if the man in front of her acted just the slightest bit more callously.

All of a sudden, she understood her mentor’s fear, her mentor’s excitement, her mentor’s emotional instability when it came to this Chosen One. Sure, she had known that this Chosen One was a second time hero, but it was only now did she truly understand and process how terrifying the entity in front of her was. She could almost see the river of blood flowing behind him, the tower of corpses he was standing on.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

But now she had a chance. They had a chance. I can clean the kingdom of its filth.

“This is not something I have a say in. I shall deliver your request to the Head Mage.” Severine replied to the Chosen One, clenching her fists. It’s time to act. I’ll slaughter all those bastards! I’ll make them regret ever having been born.

—

Hecate didn’t even seem all that surprised when Severine explained the conversation she just had. Instead, he seemed… dismayed. I can understand why. After all, the hero is just too exceptional, perhaps even more exceptional than the Head Mage expected. It would certainly be quite impossible for the Head Mage to try and exert any sort of authority on him. However, to be this shaken up about it… it’s out of character for the Head Mage.

“I want to personally carry out a thorough cleanse of the capital.” Severine proposed, her expression serious.

“Do as you wish.” The Head Mage muttered. For the first time since she had ever seen him, he seemed… old. Like age had finally caught up to him.

Even upon receiving his approval, Severine did not teleport. Instead, she walked to his desk, taking a seat.

“Are you okay?” She asked, her tone uncharacteristically gentle.

“I’m not sure, Severine.” The Head Mage replied, the light in his eyes exceptionally dim. “I kept telling myself it’d be fine, but now, I’m not sure anymore.”

“What changed?” The Vice Head asked, wanting to pry into the root issue. “Did you not expect him to be this strong? But unlike me, you didn’t underestimate him from the start, did you? You treated him like the brokenly powerful individual he is.”

Instead of answering her question directly, however, the Head Mage asked, “How much do you know about the First Hero, Severine?” His eyes turned cloudy, like he could see distant events playing out right in front of him.

“What the general public does. You must know a lot more, considering you are from his time.” Severine replied. She made sure to choose her words carefully, since she knew Hecate was sensitive about the past. Especially that far back into the past.

“He was an exceptional individual.” The Head Mage continued, his voice cracking. “He was a true genius. A genius among geniuses. He had been summoned to kill a single evil – the demon king – but he managed to uproot multiple. Poverty, corruption, war… nothing was able to last in front of him. He… created a utopia. A world I still look back on fondly. With longing.”

The Head Mage paused for a few seconds. Taking a deep breath, he continued, “I was one of his closest aides. I thought I knew him. I truly did. However, the day he completely exterminated demonkind, everything changed.”

The Head Mage flapped his mouth open and shut, like the words were struck in his throat. The sheer desperation on his face made him look far too old and far too vulnerable, both in ways Severine never thought she would witness. Severine gripped his bony hand gently, trying to reassure him in any way she could. And it seemed to have worked, for he continued, “He… began slaughtering humans. In droves. He didn’t exterminate demons out of the goodness of his heart. He needed sacrifices. Lives to strengthen him. Luckily, he seemed to have been only using human lives as a springboard to travel to someplace else, to achieve some goal, or…”

She gulped as she understood his implication. “T – then, the Great Massacre wasn’t done by the Demon God? Didn’t the First Hero only manage to seal the Demon God after sacrificing his own life?”

“All part of a tale we spun.” The Head Mage muttered. “What else could we have even said? The Hero that changed the world itself, the Hero that is the very light of humankind, didn’t care about humans in the slightest?”

The Vice Head leant back onto her chair, processing what the Head Mage had said.

Hecate didn’t give her too long, though, as he delivered another piece of information. “Did you know why the First Hero, Ragnar, was called a genius, Severine? He could do what others took years in days. He could do unbelievable things with ease, like wiping mana traces, for example. He also talked about how this was not ‘his first rodeo.’”

“He was a second time hero?” Severine gasped.

“Maybe. Maybe not. I do not know. However, the Chosen One is much too similar to Ragnar, Severine. Much too similar.” The Head Mage’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “If not for the fact that he seems to value lives, I would have rushed to kill the Chosen One. I would like to believe I have a decent chance of being able to kill him, but who knows what kind of life saving cards he has? I do not dare underestimate him. Even if his current body is that of a fledgling, a budding mage, his soul…”

The Vice Head rubbed her forehead. “But this would be too much of a coincidence, would it not? How long has it been, three hundred years?”

“They are too similar. A few differences here and there, yes, but they are too similar. I do not claim he is Ragnar, or a descendant, but it is likely this Chosen One might also be from the same place as Ragnar, with similar goals.”

“What do you intend to do?” Severine asked, leaning back towards the table.

“As I said, I am beyond tempted to kill him.” The Head Mage replied, his face scrunching up. “However, I am afraid it may be the same as poking the hornet’s nest. For now, he seems to have no intention of slaughtering everyone in sight – evidenced by the fact he approached us instead of just killing civilians on his own. But if I were to try and kill him, what if he does exactly what Ragnar did? Use any and all lives he can to strengthen himself?”

Hecate bit his lip, “And unlike three hundred years ago, I have a certain extent of power now.”

“So you intend to just observe the situation for now?” Severine summarized, grasping onto her forehead once more.

“I believe I still have some time to observe him. I do not want to make any hasty decisions I can not take back.”

The Vice Head nodded slowly, still clutching her head.

“This changes nothing for you, Severine.” The Head Mage tried to comfort her, seeing how stressed she was. “Just approach him as you normally do. There is nothing to panic about, yet. I’ll simply have to change a few of my plans, and perhaps… have a few extra conversations with him. Do not be anxious.”

Severine nodded once more and sighed deeply. “I shall try.”