by Michael Sisa
The gates were black and metallic, and it spanned almost twenty meters in size. It was covered by tinges of white that was without doubt snow. The castle itself was smaller in height than the Roshaila’s but its diameter was three times larger. Numerous towers were seen from their spot as they entered through the gates.
“Edward!” a raspy voice said. The owner towered two meters, and his purple robe hanged till his ankle. For some reason, his eyes reminded Dan of a hawk. His smile was crooked and his lips were bulbous. He walked towards Edward with brisk steps and clasped the man’s hand after contact. “Good to see you old guy!”
Edward smirked. “If I remember, you’re ten years older than me, Wellter.” Edward turned to his men and said, “Salute!”
Immediately, everyone assumed a stiff stance and said in unison, “We greet the Head of the Prochson Family! Wellter Prochson!”
Wellter did not respond to Edward’s men. He made a gesture and wordlessly told the group to go inside his castle.
Numerous servants were lined up in arrays as the group traversed the inside of the estate. Upon closer look, most of the servants were female, and bruise marks adorned their cheeks. They wore an indifferent expression as Dan and his group walked past by. Dan felt that there was something eerie with the atmosphere, but he did not voice his thoughts out loud. Instead, he made a mental note stating that he should not associate himself much with Wellter Prochson.
After entering the Grand Hall, Wellter turned to Edward. “Leave your men outside this hall. From here forth, it will just be you and I.” His voice held contempt and arrogance. It was condescending.
Edward’s face was indiscernible. He said, “You heard him. Go.”
Immediately, Edward’s men dispersed like the wind. Only Dan and the butler were left with Edward. Wellter raised a brow and spat. “You two. The nerve—didn’t you hear your Lord’s words?!”
Kurt was still in his usual smile. “I’m afraid I cannot do that. I am the one personally tasked to oversee the Young Master. Wherever he goes, I shall be there. It was the order from the Elder.”
“Young Master?” Wellter glanced towards the child beside Kurt. He then turned to Edward and said in disbelief, “Edward Roshaila! You! So you really meant it when you said that the candidate for the great seat is a child?! Preposterous!” He snapped a finger and immediately, dozens of men clad in pure white appeared and surrounded the group. “You think that our alliance is something to take advantage of?! You damn.piece.of—”
“Mister, you should listen first to the reason behind things. That’s one of the basics of negotiations, right?” the words of the child made Wellter stop. He glared.
“My son’s right. Do you really want a bloodbath between our families? Rest assured, I won’t stand by—I’ll destroy this entire castle… you have my word.” Edward’s word made Wellter flinch. He knew that Edward was a monster. Even with the numerous men he currently had at his disposal, he was not confident that he would be able to win if he enraged such beast. Edward was usually calm and composed, but such persons were usually the frightening ones once angered. He felt shivers crawl down his skin when he realized that he had almost angered the Emperor of Fire.
Wellter made hand signals, and immediately, his men dissipated like fog. He heaved a sigh and said, “Sorry for that. I take it that you have a reason for choosing this child?” His voice was grim and serious. “Edward, we are allied with each other, but it doesn’t mean that we are allowed to play around.”
“Of course.” Edward placed a hand on Dan’s shoulder. “This is my son, Daniek Roshaila. Someday, he will become one of the strongest beings this world had seen.” His voce carried neither doubt nor hesitation in it.
“Daniek, huh?” Wellter turned around. “Then follow me. We’ll test the child. If I deemed him worthy of our plans, then we’ll continue with our alliance. If not—Edward… we will probably become enemies.” His voice trailed off. It was almost a whisper. Dan noticed Edward’s eyes glimmer after the utterance of the word ‘enemies.’ Somehow, he felt the suppressed thirst for blood within the man he had come to call as father.
The group walked towards the training grounds of the Prochson Family. Numerous men clad in white were seen practicing, and after they saw Wellter, they immediately saluted and dispersed. The fifty meter wide arena was immediately cleared of people.
Wellter turned around and faced Dan. He said, “Attack me with the intent to kill. Show me everything you’ve got, child.” At the back of Wellter’s mind, he knew that the child would most likely be strong for his age, but not strong enough to inflict a single wound upon a magician’s body. Edward had most likely overestimated his son. It seemed that Dan was not even ten years of age.
Dan glanced at Edward. The man said, “It’s fine. Wellter may be old, but he’s a veteran that has survived numerable battlefields. You could go all out.”
Edward and the butler cleared out of the way, and they watched from a distance as Dan and Wellter faced each other. Wellter became impatient from the unmoving child and spat, “Come. Go all out. Don’t waste the time. Don’t worry, I won’t attack you. I’m not too low to actually go all out against a mere child.”
Dan pulled out his daggers. One was the memento of his dead father, and one was a gift from Edward.
“Mister,” Dan uttered.
Wellter raised a brow and asked, “What?”
Dan heaved a sigh, and immediately after, he channeled an astronomical amount of soul spirit into his weapon. The condition Wellter told him was to ‘go all out.’ It meant that he did not have to suppress nor control the amount of soul spirit he channeled into his weapons. He had no need to make sure that the estate remained unscathed after the release.
Dan’s next words made Wellter shiver. The previously docile eyes of the child now resembled a demon. “Don’t die.”
And twin gargantuan slashes were released.
Chapter 13: The Two Families’ Secret
The twin colossal slashes kept cruising forward, turning the ground into rubbles as it passed through. High-pitched sounds echoed as it shot towards Wellter. The man broke out of his stupor and immediately casted magic. Ice erupted from the ground and stood between its caster and the colossal blade. Ice shards flew in all directions from impact, and the ground violently shook. The pillar of ice was sturdy and continued to resist the child’s attack. Eventually, the pillar of ice broke, but along with it was the dispersal of the slash. A deafening boom erupted, and those that were watching the scenario covered their ears.
Wellter was slightly paled-face as he mumbled, “Edward… what kind of monster is this child?”
At the corner of his eyes, he saw Edward grinning in smug satisfaction.
He was not done pondering when he felt another surge of malicious aura erupt before him. He immediately glanced towards its direction and he was stunned when he saw numerous slashes of the same size and strength making their way towards his direction. On instinct, he dodged instead of blocking. Somehow, he knew that his ice pillars would be reduced to smithereens the moment it met the menacing blades.
Wellter strengthened his body with mana, and he dashed towards the left, eventually successfully evading the strikes. To his surprise, he saw the child dashing towards his direction, eyes filled with murderous intent.
His previous words, “Go all out. I won’t attack,” resounded in his mind, and he lightly clenched his fists as he regretted such declaration. If he knew that the child was such a monster, he would have not applied such a handicap on himself.
The figure of the child blurred, and Wellter’s eyes widened in surprise when the figure multiplied into three. All of them carried the same frightening speed. Wellter sidestepped as he dodged a pierce attack from his left, and he created a barrier made of water as he blocked the gash from above. He felt a gust of wind from his rear, and he leaped sideways as he dodged the attack from the last figure.
“This damn,” Wellter snarled. He channeled his mana into th
e air, and afterwards, four pillars of ice fell down the training grounds, eventually forming a quadrangle. Wellter twirled his hand twice, and the pillars of ice began to spread out thinly, forming a translucent barrier made of ice magic. Dan’s three figures were trapped inside the old man’s magic.
‘That should be enough to restrain him. What kind of a child is this? That technique… there’s something peculiar about it,’ Wellter thought. He watched as the three figures began to amalgamate, eventually forming a sole figure. Immediately, Dan raised his hands to the heavens, and the Head of the Prochson Family was filled with disbelief from what he saw after.
Numerous blades manifested themselves in the sky, and they all hovered directly above him. By estimate, there were almost a hundred of them, and each one held malicious and menacing aura within them. They slightly quivered as their tips uniformly pointed their direction towards the stunned man.
Dan wordlessly pulled down his hand, and the blades conceded along with his gesture. Numerous blades darted towards Wellter’s direction, all were ready to kill. Immediately, Wellter summoned a dome-shaped barrier made of ice magic; it was transparent, and it blocked the blades that kept striking it one after another. Loud clanking sounds echoed, and shards of ice flew in all directions. The barrier made of ice slowly, but continuously formed numerous cracks, and Wellter’s face turned even paler by each passing seconds. To Wellter’s relief, the barrage eventually stopped, and he immediately removed his barrier made of ice. His gaze darted towards the huffing child before him. Its figure remained trapped inside quadrangular barrier.
Wellter declared, “Very well. This marks the end of the test.” He willed for the pillars of ice to dissipate, and the barrier melted and evaporated. Edward and the butler went towards Dan’s direction. The butler gave his Young Master a small towel to wipe off his sweat. Dan continued huffing as he tried to steady his breath.
Wellter went towards Dan and his group. He looked at Edward. The man wore a suppressed smug look on its face. “Edward—where did you get that monster? How old is he? Ten? For heaven’s sake—he made me use a B rank magic!”
“Eight,” Edward corrected. Wellter almost spouted another curse when he heard it. “I guess this clears the doubt? As I’ve been repeatedly telling the Prochson Family, we’ve found ourselves a potential candidate for one of the seven great seats. Moreover, the child is my son.”
Wellter inhaled a large gulp of breathe. He shouted, “Yvette! Tell Yvette to come here!”
Almost a minute after, a figure of a young lady wearing an azure dress that hanged till the knees walked towards their direction. Her gait was hurried but steady, and it was elegant enough to shame even the richest of nobles. She wore a light beige hat that had a pink rose on top. Her eyes were deep crimson, and her lips were dark pink. Her skin seemed so fragile that light touch would scar it. She stopped right before Wellter Prochson and did a curtsy.
“Grandfather, you called for me?” she asked. Her voice seemed angelic. It was soft and soothing to the ears.
Wellter grabbed her by the hand and shoved her right in from of the huffing child. “You shall marry this child. You shall marry the son of Edward Roshaila.”
His sudden declaration took both Yvette and Dan by surprise. They looked at each other as they tried to process the words uttered by the man. They both knew that they were supposed to marry a member of the allied family, but the way they were introduced with each other was out of the ordinary.
Yvette swallowed the lump in her throat as she tried to say the words that ran in her mind. “Isn’t he… a child?” She turned to Wellter. “Grandfather! I know that you wanted me to marry a Roshaila to strengthen the alliance between the families… but a child?!” Her voice was hysterical. It was almost sobbing.
Before Wellter was able to utter a response, Yvette asked Dan, “How old are you?”
“Eight,” Dan simply said. He had long resolved himself to reject the betrothal.
“Oh God… he’s seven years younger than me!” Yvette said. “I won’t accept this. Definitely not!”
“Don’t worry. I have no plans to get married to someone at this age either.” Dan dusted off his garb. He returned the towel to Kurt. “Father, you told me that it would be alright if I do not marry the Prochson, right?”
Wellter turned red from what he heard. “Edward! What’s the meaning of this?!” After seeing the child’s potential, Wellter could not wait for the child to become part of the Prochson. The child was a gold mine waiting to be dug out.
Edward made a subtle chuckle. “Turning a new leaf? Moments ago, you almost shoved the child out of the castle, but now…,” He smiled from ear to ear. “You understand the implications right? You should realize that although the House of Roshaila is declining, it is by no means lower than the Prochson.”
“Then the marriage?” Wellter was anxious.
“My daughter should be enough as a blood link between the two families. There’s no need for my son to be married to Yvette.”
Yvette heaved a sigh of relief after Edward’s words. She did not want to sound rude, but she hated the idea of being married to a child seven years her junior. She noticed that Dan’s eyes were dancing as Edward uttered his declaration.
A long pause filled the air. Eventually, Wellter conceded. “Fine. Just the fact that the child is talented enough to corner me should suffice. Edward—you’ve really got us an edge for the next years to come. I highly anticipate the child’s growth in the next few years.” Wellter looked towards the slash marks that now adorned the stadium. “Now… that I think about it, the child’s technique is a bit… peculiar?”
Edward took out a pipe and lit it using a minute ball of fire. “He’s an Anito. Even I couldn’t believe it.”
Wellter and Yvette were both stunned after his words. Time seemed to have stood still as they gazed at Edward then to the child, then back. An Anito was a term synonymous to a monster. All throughout history, all of those that were capable of using their technique were highly feared and regarded.
Wellter asked in a trembling voice, “C-Child… is it true? But… W-Where did you learn it? I’ve never heard of a child capable of using such rare technique.”
Dan shrugged. “Not really sure.”
Wellter shrieked, “The Elders! We’ll meet with the Elders!” He walked towards the training ground’s exit and ushered for Edward and his group to follow. “Come!”
“Hey, let my son rest for a bit. He’s been using the technique since a few hours ago. His body won’t be able to handle the fatigue… especially if he meets those old coots at the top of this castle’s tower.” The last part of Edward’s statement was the real issue.
Wellter was hesitant as he conceded with Edward’s suggestion. “Fine. Yvette, accompany him. Edward and I will meet with the Elders.”
***
It had been a minute since the two Family Heads went their way towards the castle’s tower. Yvette and Dan stood on top of the stadium as they stared at the dissipated shadow of the two. To Dan’s surprise, the butler suddenly disappeared, leaving him alone with the lady of the Prochson Family. A few seconds of awkward silence filled the two as they pondered on what to say.
Eventually, Yvette broke the silence. “To think that you’ve almost cornered grandfather in that fight.” She smiled when she saw Dan’s gaze. “What? I’ve seen the fight. I’ve been watching from over there.” She pointed at a structure near the arena, particularly at an opened window. “Your father must be very proud of you. Say, what kind of technique was that thing from before?”
Dan paused and lightly tilted his head as he wordlessly asked what she meant.
“That technique wherein you suddenly multiplied into numerous figures. Lord Edward said you’re an Anito, but as far as I know, the technique I witnessed earlier is a technique similar to the one the Muravi uses.” When she saw the quizzical look upon Dan’s face, she added, “Muravi’s a clan of assassins that’s infamous for their speed. Their techniqu
e relies heavily on agility. Records say that they are capable of creating clones of themselves using unparalleled speed. Sadly, the members of that clan are now extinct.”
“It’s the first time I’ve heard of them.” Dan replied. “I’ve invented the technique itself. Everything’s made from scratch.”
Yvette’s eyes beamed with surprise and anticipation. She bewilderedly said, “You made it?!”
“Yes. The principle behind it is simple actually,” Dan said. He immediately paused as he deliberated whether to tell her the concept behind his technique. After some thoughts, he remarked, “Forget it. The principle of the technique’s a secret.”
Yvette pouted and then bit her lips. “Unfair. You’ve made me anticipate the principle behind that technique… then now… you’re saying that it’s a secret?”
“I’m seven years your junior, remember?” Dan grinned. “Big sister should know a lot more than me. You sure you want to ask a ‘child’ about those things?” Although he did not want to openly admit it, Yvette was the prettiest woman he had ever seen. He was pretty sure that even the Goddesses themselves would pale in comparison with such beauty.
