" I don't----"
Carseain placed his sword on his neck.
" Brat, 'you lie you die' policy is still effective."
Cahill gulped and averted his eyes with a glint of pain.
" I don't have anyone blood-related but I've got a younger brother."
Carseain : " Name?"
Carseain : 'That's surprising. The report didn't mention having a foster family. He was an orphan.
But, there is someone who comes to my mind whom the Nightmare Guild Master would call his brother.
'The Worst Nightmare's Darkness'- The one who enthroned Cahill and became the 'Brain' of Nightmares. His name was- '
' Cain'
Cahill : " Cain"
Carseain took a deep breath looking down. He was silent for a while and the rest were focused on him. He suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hey, kid, work for me instead . I'll give you everything you need ."
"Huh? What's this all of a sudden?"
Cahill stood up from the ground.
"You're definitely skilled and you also have the guts. I'll keep your family safe and also help them If you wish."
Cahill put his dagger back and dusted his pants.
" It's definitely a lucrative offer. But I'm sorry I can't accept it. "
"Why?" Carseain asked, a little concerned.
Cahill showed him the nightmare insignia.
" It's because of this. They know my location and that I'm alive. Even if I go back the others would report I betrayed or failed the mission. The guild doesn't take chances, so they'll kill me because I haven't committed suicide yet."
Cahill was trembling. His eyes were filled with horror and terror.
Rovenin frowned.
'So brutal. It's almost repulsive.'
Carseain: "What are you planning then?"
Cahill: " I'm estimating 5 days of time before they catch me. I'll cut off my wrist and throw it into a monster's lair. In the meantime, I'll leave the money with my brother and cross the border alone somehow."
Cahill said contemplating deeply.
Cahill: "My brother should be fine for a while since he's smart."
Carseain: 'Well, Cain's a genius when it came to survival and frauds , so I'm sure he would be.'
" After that? What will you do after crossing the border alone? "
Cahill: " I'm thinking "
Carseain: " Do you even think you can cross it so easily? There's a magical barrier operated by the court sorcerers."
Cahill: " I'll get by somehow."
Carseain: " What if they go after your family? "
Cahill: " They had records of me but I erased them already. "
Carseain: " So you'll stay away from your family and keep running. But for how long?"
Cahill tried to hold back his tears biting, his lip.
Cahill: " I...I don't know. "
Rovenin: "Aw.. you're making him sad."
Nox : "You hurt him, Young Master."
Carseain: "Shut up, Rovenin. Don't learn from him, Nox."
Rovenin: "As you wish."
Nox: "As you wish."
Carseain: 'These rascals.'
He clicked his tongue.
"Cahill, just so you know it's pretty heart-rending hearing all this from a 13 year old."
Rovenin: "You still bullied him, Young Master. How heartless "
Nox: " Heartless " He said in a very low voice.
Carseain: " These--"
Cahill : " It's got nothing to do with you so don't worry. I can ---"
Carseain: 'Ah, this kid takes priority over those rascals '
" You're worried about me? How cute!"
He smiled brightly. Cahill was silent thinking of his dark future.
"Wouldn't all your problems be solved if the insignia disappeared ?"
Cahill smiled painfully.
"That would be nice." He muttered hopelessly.
"Wahhhhh.....what are you doing? "
Cahill screamed while Carseain picked him up like a bag of sand on his shoulder.
"Put me down! Put me down right now!"
Cahill screamed and struggled in vain.
Carseain : " Rovenin~~"
Rovenin: 'I knew this would happen.'
He sighed.
" It'll take about three hours. Let's go to the attic, Young Master."
Rovenin led the way.
Cahill: " What will take three hours? Where are you taking me ? Hey, Answer me! "
Despite his struggles, Cahill was ignored.
☆☆☆
Inside the attic.
There were a few lamps , a wooden desk, a mini lab and a myriad of books . All of them were on magic theory and Magitech.
Rovenin was busily looking for some supplies while Cahill and Carseain sat on the wooden stools lying in the corner.
Carseain: " It's been a while since I came here. Still as cramped as ever."
Cahill : " Wh-what are we doing here?"
Carseain patted his head.
Carseain: " If you say,
'Sir Rovenin~, you're the best ! You're a genius'
He'll take off the insignia painlessly. "
Rovenin: " I'm not as petty as you are, Young Master "
Carseain : " Yeah, that's why you pick on me every chance you get."
Rovenin : ' I should have teased him more when I had the chance.'
" That's a sign of my Love and loyalty, Young Master "
He was acting all coy. Carseain curled his upper lip.
Carseain: " Love, my ass." He retched.
Cahill: 'What's up with these two?'
"Ah..." He whispered.
" Wait...what nonsense is that? The Nightmare Insignia can't be .One has to die for that to happen. Even the Magic Tower couldn't do it."
Rovenin: " That's right but it can be tinkered with. I can change the location it sends the Guild."
Carseain: " Didn't you completely remove it off those Assassins sent after Father ?"
Cahill: ' They let them live after they dared to kill the Marquis!'
Rovenin: "They were dead bodies."
Cahill: 'Figures.'
Rovenin: " All I did was sever the Insignia's connection with the magic circuit and rewrote the place of death."
Carseain: "We were kids back then, haven't you grown smarter? You should be able to do it."
Rovenin: " The insignia uses magic to send the location whereas it is attached to the life force to check the mortal status. I can only fiddle with the magic circuit that's why I can remove it when the person is dead."
Carseain: "Because there's no life force for it to hold on to and the last of the magic left in the dead body is used to send the status to the guild. "
Rovenin: "Precisely"
Carseain : "Aren't they very meticulous? "
Cahill: " What sort of household gives corpses to children to play with? Are they in their right mind?"
Carseain and Rovenin stared at him for a while.
Cahill: "What?"
Both of them burst out laughing.
Carseain: " Did you he-hear that ,Rovenin? Hahaha"
Rovenin: "My Goodness...haha"
Carseain: " Are you sure you can say that? Mr. Underage Assassin."
Rovenin: " Those words fall flat on the ground coming from a 13 year old little 'nightmare'."
Carseain: "The Irony...."
Cahill pouted and averted his eyes.
Cahill : " They're laughing too much. It's not even that funny."
Rovenin: " Anyways, eat this , Underage Assassin."
Cahill ate the pill given by Rovenin.
Carseain: " Hey, didn't your mom teach you not to eat candy given by strangers."
Cahill : " It's fine. You don't need underhanded tricks to kill me, right?"
Carseain smiled.
Carseain : "Look at you talking back."
'He didn't say it won't work on him. Lil' nightmare's opening up to me .'
Nox entered the attic.
Nox : "Sir Rovenin, I brought a cot as you asked."
Rovenin: " Put it there and you can leave."
Nox : "Okay"
Rovenin asked Cahill to lie down on it.
Rovenin: " The pill was a solidified potion to stagnate your magic flow in the circuit.
Once the flow stops, withdraw all magic from your palm without leaving a single drop."
Cahill did as he was told.
Withdrawing magic completely is an arduous process and takes years of experience in Magic Manipulation.
However, Cahill was able to pull off this feat with a few instructions from Rovenin.
He was extremely impressed.
Rovenin tampered with his magic circuit and weakened the ties with the insignia.
He extracted the spell carefully and started re-writing it.
Rovenin is a genius, perhaps that's an understatement.
Cahill understood that.
Both "Magic circuit tampering" and "Rewriting" at such a high level was enough to get him a high position at the Magic Tower. Even one of those skills at such a high level would get him the title of a 'Sage'.
Rovenin did it impeccably.
One hour passed in silence.
Carseain who was deep in thought searching through books broke the ice.
"Rovenin."
"Hmm?"
"To take it off completely all we have to do is drain off his life force completely, right?"
"Correct. That is only possible if he's dead or his hand is cut off."
"Paroah's Flowers."
Cahill and Rovenin widened their eyes.
However, Rovenin didn't lose focus.
"Paroah's Flowers"
Flowers which grow deep in Monster's lairs feeding on life force from monster's corpses.
It's a very rare flower that has immense medical value as it's rich in Life force. It's highly sought after as it cannot be grown but is akin to a panacea.
Expeditions are especially sent to procure them .
However, it is parasitic. If it were to infest upon the living, they would die of the excruciating pain rather before running out of Life force.
Rovenin: "Young Master, Are you out of your mind?"
Cahill: "Do it."
Cahill's voice was trembling.
Rovenin: "No! In case you're hoping for anesthesia, I can't give it to you."
Cahill: " Pain's nothing new to me."
Rovenin frowned.
Rovenin: " Young Master, it hasn't even been two days since you got that power. There's no guarantee you'll succeed."
Carseain: " I know it is uncertain but if you don't even try we'll surely fail"
Cahill: " I'd rather bet on uncertain success than definite failure."
"Rovenin" called Carseain.
"Trust me." He said in an assuring voice.
Rovenin turned to Cahill looking with darting eyes.
"It's dangerous."
"Again it's nothing new."
Cahill smiled. Rovenin sighed.
'I feel like I'm dealing with two Young Masters.'