"Corner."
Ian called for him as they entered the inn.
"Yes, young master?"
"How long do you think it'll take for father to arrive?"
"The Duke? I think they'll be here before dawn."
"Calm down. It's okay. Everything will be fine." Ian said as he handed Kio a glass of water. "Drink this first." The kid did as he was told and gulped down the water. "Have you calmed down now?" Ian asked, patting his back slowly, to which Kio replied with a nod. "Great. Now start from the beginning. What happened? What did you see?" "That.. after you left, we decided to return as well. As we were walking beside forest, one of us suddenly disappeared. Then, one by one, all of them started disappearing." "There was no one else around? Did you not see how or who took them away?" "No.. there was nothing.. and it was too foggy to see too far.." "Fog? But it's summer." An island country like Saint Mary's didn't have fog unless it was the m
With Ash's cleverness and Corner and Arthur's skilled detection techniques, they managed to safely avoid the eyes of the guards throughout the cave and managed to arrive in front of the door that lead to the underground. "There are guards outside the door." "What do you think we should do? They don't seem affected by the distraction outside." "You take the left, I'll handle the right." Corner came to a pretty simple conclusion as he ordered Arthur. Soon, they took care of the guards without even letting them make a single sound. "I'll take the lead." Corner was acting as a proper knight and not like Ian's guardian for once as he lead the team of three. Inside the underground cave, their arrival started to create small ripples among the captives as they went through the hundreds of cells in order to find Ian. "There. Brother
"I got him, young master!" Said Corner as he approached Ian while dragging one of the guys behind him. It was a middle aged man. Ian couldn't see what his face looked like since Corner seemed to have beat him into a pulp. But he could tell who it was by his fighting style. 'One of the executive's assistant, Neil. He'll be useful..' "Good job, Corner! He looks like someone important. You're so smart! Father would be very proud." For the first time, Ian praised Corner the same way Corner used to praise him all the time. Corner, getting a taste of his own medicine, scratched his head in embarrassment. The executive in his hand dropped to the ground as he did. "Whoops.." He picked the guy up once again. "Was there anyone else?" Ian asked as he tried to peek behind Corner. At that moment, Arthur blocked Ian's view as he smiled politely. "There were only weaklings with him. Please wait here for a moment as I take care of the scene. It's too vulgar." Ian instinctively nodded his hea
"I'll try to block the explosions from going forward. Anyone capable of defensive spells stay behind. Everyone else, leave first." Miller ordered as he turned around. One third of his knights also stopped and took on defensive stance at that moment. The other's were helping the rescued people and took their leave immediately. Ian was amazed Miller's swift decision making skill and leadership as he looked forward to his next words. That's when he felt a tug on his arm. "Young master.." "Yeah? Are you also leaving?" Ian looked behind and it was none other than the protagonist. "That's not it. The Duke asked you and Miss Rianne to leave first." "Oh..Looks like she's leaving.. You're here to escort me?" Ian asked as he glanced at the retreating back of Rianne and her knights. They were only here for the extra credits, so it was
"It's safe inside." Ian said, pointing towards the massive gate behind him. "What.. is that gate?" Miller asked, amazed by the scene in front of him. The other's also held their breath as they tried to take in the view in front of them. "I'll explain later. We don't have much time. Please, father?" Ian said with urgency in his tone as he pointed upwards. Only then did the other's came back to their senses. Arthur, the one holding the peculiar shield, was also surprised by Ian's action but he didn't let go of the shield. 'What a perfect protagonist.' One after another shock made the people lose their rationality as they looked at each other. At that moment, Miller took a step forward and shouted. "Everyone! Enter the gate right now!" With his command, the other's managed to handle
"It was so cool..."Ian said as he made an amazed expression, putting all the stage lights on Arthur. The other's also remembered the unforgettable scene that they witnessed inside the cave as they looked at Arthur."You're over praising me, young master..."Arthur said, trying to act as modest as he could."Not at all! Everyone here is a witness! Right, Corner?"Ian tried to bring other people into the conversation as he looked at Corner. He nodded his head in agreement with Ian."It also seemed pretty durable. What exactly was it?""That... I can actually use more than one attribute.."Arthur, who was no longer being blackmailed by the organisation, had no reason to hide his talent anymore. And more than that, the people inside that room were those whom he judged to be trustworthy."What? More than one attribute?""Is that even possible?"B
"You're amazing..."Ian said with a look of reverence on his face as he looked at Corner. He genuinely wanted to keep Corner by his side forever, after what he witnessed moments ago."I can't believe you didn't leave that bastard behind and actually brought him with us..."The bastard Ian was talking about was none other than Neil, one of the organisation members. Even among that crowd of explosion all around them, Corner hadn't let go of that bastard or leave him behind to die. Seeing his work efficiency, Ian was simply in awe."Young master... Why are you doing this?"Asked the knight with an almost teary face. Corner thought that he was being teased like that(Ian praising him) because he always used to praise Ian. Well, Ian's words did have a sarcastic tone to it. But it was only a habit of his, he did actually mean it when he praised others.Seeing Corner suffer like that, Ian decided to praise him eve
"What a troublesome Prince...haah.."Ian sighed again as he opened the letter. Water dripped down his hair into his face, rolling down his cheek. He had a slight reddish glow on his skin and looked slightly pale.As he sat down on the couch leisurely, opening the letter and reading it, one could paint an amazing portrait out of him at that moment. But sadly for him, there was no artist nearby." 'My dear young master Adrian..' heh.. What 'my dear' is he talking about?"" 'In the beginning of my letter, I wish you good health and quick recovery.' What recovery? I'm completely fine.."Ian chuckled as he continued reading the letter."' You cannot imagine how hurt I was when I heard that you went through something so cruel.. Thinking about it still gives me goosebumps!' What's his point? So many useless things.."Ian kept reading in between the lines as he tried to understand the summary of the l
Ian returned. After wondering the continent for half a year, he came back with a 'Bang!'. Right when the nobles all around the country gathered to 'show the hero his place', Ian returned. Crazy hypothesises such that Ian being a Devil worshipper, betraying the country and being on the run or that he's actually a demon etc etc all came to an end as he openly took Arthur's side and threatened the other nobles.Of course, most of those rumours weren't too far off the mark. Ian did prefer villains over heroes, demons over angels, he had no love for their country and lastly, he was a darkness ability user with a twisted moral sense. And! To top it all off, he also preferred these rumours over ones that would hail him as a hero. he'd rather be on the run after being called a demon rather than be called a hero and worshipped. Again, twisted morality. But he couldn't do that this time. There were too many people using his name so he couldn't just let it be as those people got treated bad
"It's been a week since young master lost consciousness."Rob wrote in his diary as he sighed. There was a heavy atmosphere surrounding the duchy ever since the day Adrian fell down from the roof and went into a coma. How or why it happened was still a mystery around the duchy but speculations about an attempted suicide was slowly spreading around. Rob didn't believe them though. The Adrian he knew was too selfish and arrogant to do something like that. Yet, even when he was so sure, a small part of his mind kept lingering over that quiet and motionless room where Adrian was."Ah.. It's been a while."With that, Rob went to take another look at the sleeping Adrian for the 36th time that day. Although he was telling himself that Adrian's situation wasn't that serious, that he'd wake up soon, as he tried to remember all the bad things Ian did in his short lifetime just to mask his worry, he didn't even realise that he was unconsciously heading towards Ian's room again. After worryin
Things Ian did(Unintentionally or intentionally) that influenced the future of Arthur's world: First of all, although the effect wasn't that eye-catching at the moment, Ian was going to be known as the figure that erased racial discrimination. Due to him giving shelter to people of all age and race, and the humans around him having constant changes in their views and perspective, it was going to be the seed that erased all future discrimination and racial profiling. Secondly, he was going to be known as the bridge between Humans and the Demons. The Queen of the Demons, Ash's mother who had gone back to the demon world to deal with some 'internal affairs' would soon return with an actual offer of friendship between the demons and the humans. It was Bela's way of showing gratitude to the people who had taken care of her son in his times of need. Ian's love for Ash was plain as day and the care and gentleness he showed when dealing with him was no different from what a parent woul
"What..?""That's absurd!""Is that sorcery? Does he think he can fool us so easily?!"There were looks of disbelief, shock and confusion on everyone's faces as they looked at Ash. But no matter how tough they acted or how oblivious they tried to be, the bone chilling aura coming from Ash that slowly filled the room was undeniable. It was an aura that was impossible for any human to manifest, dark and scary."It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not.""I'm not the one behind bars looking at lifetime imprisonment and possible death sentence."Ian shrugged his shoulders in a casual manner as he signaled for Ash to stop. He was only here to give these people a chance. A chance at repentance. If they refuse to grab it, he didn't care less whether they died or lived inside a cage forever. 'Human resources are valuable after all.'That was one of the other reasons why Ian was here. He wanted to bind all these people under contract and have them serve the country. It didn't sit right
"You're gonna let them go?" Arthur asked, conflicted, as he looked at Ian. They were currently in an underground prison, the biggest prison that was made on Ian's request under the Duchy. The war criminals, the cult members, were being held here. Seven days had already passed since Ian's soul returned to his body. He was forced to have complete bedrest this whole time by his parents and the kids. They finally let him go after he managed to manipulate them emotionally with everything he had. It was a difficult job indeed. But nothing was impossible for Ian. "Let them go? NO?" Ian asked back in utter shock instead. But it wasn't Arthur's fault that he misunderstood. Ian did indeed say something that could be easily misinterpreted. "But you just said 'It's time to go out.'..?" That's what he said. To the criminals. Not that he meant it literally. "To the hall. TO.THE.HALL." Ian repeated himself twice, once for the criminals and once for Arthur. Everyone captured already had
Ian's time with the kids were cut short as the Dicarious couple arrived in a haste. A part of Ian was happy to see them again after so long. But a part of him was also wondering if they really were there for Ian. What if they were expecting their son to come back? What if the person they expected to see coming to his senses was Adrian and not him? How disappointed they would be. With a mixture of these various emotions coursing through his mind, he failed to make any type of expression when faced with those two people. Neither could he smile wholeheartedly nor apologize and cry. The kids were guided outside by Arthur and Albert, giving Ian and his parents the room to themselves. Ash was reluctant to leave seeing Ian's expression, but the atmosphere was too heavy for him to interfere. So while everyone else went to another room, he stayed, waiting while standing outside Ian's room. The others also didn't force him to leave since they didn't know which was better. "Are you
"YOU!"Smack!"THOUGHTLESS!"SMACK!"BAS-! JER-!! PERSON!"Ian had to wake up from his peaceful sleep with the sound of someone's shout along with the obnoxiously loud yet not so painful smacking of the pillows."Ow ow ow.. what the hell...?""Huh?""I'm back?"Ian woke up rubbing the back of his head that was the victim of continuous battering and looked around. The changed bedroom and the familiar faces made him aware of the fact that he had indeed come back. "What?""What are you talking about, young master? You didn't go anywhere."Both Albert and Arthur looked concerned as they checked Ian's status for any abnormalities. Only after multiple checking did they finally sigh in relief. "Ah no.. ""Hey guys.. Long time no see?"Ian greeted the kids and the Prince and the Knight all together while leaning back on his bed. The one responsible for the ruthless battering from before still had a massive pout on their face as they silently glared at Ian. "Are you angry? I'm sorry. How lo
Ian enjoyed the tea from hell while having a long and informative conversation with death, or at least that's who he assumed the other person was. He learned about the past that he had locked away and the people he had forgotten. But it all felt distant, like he was viewing the life of somebody else. "Why did I do that? Lock my memories?"Ian was curious. Just by watching the memories of Noah's future, he could tell that he lived a pretty okay life. The daughter he adopted also turned out to be great. She became his family. These were precious memories. So he couldn't understand why he'd lock them up like this. "After I presented you with my request, this is what you told me."Death continued showing Ian another set of completely different memories. An old man, wrinkly hand, white hair, hazy eyes. The room looked similar to the one he was in right now, and so was the person in front of them. "The me right now cannot save a world.""The blade has already lost it's edge.""I've grow
"What do you mean by welcome back?"Ian asked, confused. As far as he could remember, never before in his life did he see this man or these scenes. And these weren't circumstances that he'd forget 'by chance' either. "After your first death, you came here.""First death.. Ah.. When I jumped down the bridge?"Ian remembered his last moments as Noah. The music that played, the scenery he watched on top of that bridge, they were all very memorable. Yet, he had no memory of coming to this place.But unlike Ian's thoughts, the guy in front of him shook his head in denial. Not understanding exactly which part he was denying, Ian tilted his head to the side slightly."What death are you talking about then?""You didn't die back then."The guy sat down on the bed, facing Ian and the endless hell behind him as he spoke. "When you were at the verge of losing consciousness, you heard a childs cry.""A child?""Yes. It was the final monster outbreak." Ian wondered what this guy was talking abo