Meanwhile, a few minutes after Toshirou left, Joel woke up. Having regained himself and his mind at rest, he felt okay and his head was not in pain anymore. He awoke to the sight of Sung-nim and Raynell giving him gentle smiles and their eyes full of compassion.
"How do you feel, Joel?" Sung-nim asked him.
"I... I feel great, thank you." He replied.
"Are you sure? You were in quite a lot of pain." Said Raynell, concerned.
"Yeah really, I'm fine." He looked around them. "Where's Toshirou-nii?"
"He went out, but I don't know where to." Raynell replied.
Joel looked downcast. 'I really wanted to talk with him though.'
"But without further ado," Sung-nim cut in, her face was drawn in seriousness which came as startling to both Joel and Raynell. "Joel-kun, are you aware that you've been cursed?"
"Huh?"
"Mrs Sung-nim.."
"No, Raynell. He has to know, it wouldn't do him any good to be ignorant." As much as it hurt Sung-nim to say this, she desperately felt that the boy had to know.
"Umu, please what do you mean by I've been cursed?" Joel asked, cocking his head to the side as he was genuinely puzzled as to what Sung-nim said.
Somewhere at the back of her mind, Raynell felt it wasn't a good idea to pour this on him, especially at a crucial time such as this. Though in the long run, she knew that Lady Sung-nim was right. He needed to know.
"Joel-kun, do you remember meeting anyone suspicious? Like someone who hurt you and did something unsightly to you?!" Sung-nim asked him.
"Erm... No, I don't think I've met anyone like that before. The only thing I know is that I get these painful headaches sometimes."
"When did this begin?"
"Umm... I don't really know. It's been happening for as long as I can remember."
'That's strange. Does he really have no clue? Is it amnesia or is it something else?'
"Lady Sung-nim, this... isn't like you. Your eyes, they are so frightened." Said Raynell.
"Is that so? I really am sorry for worrying so much, but, it isn't something I can help." Sung-nim replied.
"Ah, um, Mrs Sung-nim," Joel's eyes looked disheartened. He didn't know what lady Sung-nim was speaking of but he did know that it was related to the seizures that had been hurting him. His countenance was crestfallen. "I don't think this is the right time nor the place to talk about this. Toshirou-nii will soon be back and the next thing in his plan is to fulfill the request. I wouldn't want to distract him or put this burden on him. He already has enough on his mind as it is."
He gave them a sympathetic smile. "That's why, we talk about this later. When we've done what we came to do."
Sung-nim didn't know how to respond but something about the way the boy spoke appealed to her. It soothed her, it calmed her. She returned the smile.
"Okay then, I understand. I will respect your decision."
Joel nodded in appreciation to both her and Raynell.
The door suddenly opened and Toshirou walked in, taking off his black hooded robe and dropping it on top of his bed.
"Welcome back Toshirou-nii." Joel gave him a wide smile.
"Welcome back." Raynell and Sung-nim said in unison.
"Yuh" He replied solemnly. Taking a seat on his bed, he put his hand on the back of his head on let out a sigh.
"I don't really want to know what's going on but one at a time, okay? Let's deal with the problem at hand then move on to the next, and the first step is to have a good night's rest. Lady Sung-nim, thank you for helping Joel recover. By this time tomorrow, everything would've been resolved. I assure you."
Acknowledging Toshirou's comment as his final for the night, Sung-nim arose and patted her nightdress, dusting them.
"I understand. Thank you for your time and I'm glad I could be of assistance to you. Have a goodnight, Aosaki-kun, Raynell, and Joel-kun." She said smiling and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her quietly. Seeing Toshirou subsided her worries, after all, he was the one to save her village. It was best to leave and do everything she could to support him.
After Sung-nim shut the door, Toshirou took off his jacket and crashed on the bed with his eyes closed.
"Go to bed, the both of you. We have a busy day tomorrow." He climbed further up the bed and rest his face in the pillows. He said, feeling sleepy, "Joel... I'm glad you're alright."
Joel gasped in surprise, not at all expecting those words from Toshirou's mouth.
"H-Hai! I'll do my best not to be a burden."
No response came... He was already asleep.
"Hmm... Toshirou-san always gave off the idea that he could never be tired, but I guess that's untrue." Raynell sweatdropped with a small grin.
"Looks like it." Joel chuckled.
"But are you sure you're okay, Joel-kun?"
"... I'm fine, really. Let's get some rest like Toshirou-nii said, we have a long day tomorrow."
"Alright. I guess it's all fine. Goodnight, Joel-kun." She climbed into her bed, laid down and covered herself with a blanket.
"Goodnight, Raynell-san." Doing the same actions as her, he put his head on the pillows and allowed himself to be sunk into dreamland.
And goodnight to you, Toshirou-nii.
...
"What do you mean the boy took the Thessalonica?!! You dare tell us such reproachful news!!"
The pale blue-haired man knelt on one knee with his head faced downwards.
"I am sorry my elder Byung-joon, but it would appear we gravely underestimated the boy, plus we mistook him for our former companion, Hazel."
"Former companion?"
"Indeed, for we have no doubt to believe that the girl is dead."
The elder was visibly shaken by this revelation. He and the other six knew the powers given to the four individuals they had chosen but for the illusionist to be dead, that Aosaki boy must be a demon himself. He put his hand chin and sighed. Just what exactly was going to happen if they left that boy unchecked?
"Elder Byung-joon, do not fret. I along with my companions will see to the return of the Thessalonica, and the death of the adventurer. We will execute the plan just as proposed at the peak of noon tomorrow. We will not fail."
"You better not, or there will be devastating consequences! You of all people should know that, Azahel."
"Yes, my lord."
Byung-joon heaved a sigh and looked up at the ceiling of the pavilion that was his house. He sat on an extravagant sofa in the living room, clothed in red silk and yellow outlines. There was an unsettling feeling residing deep within his guts that told him something unfortunate was going to happen, but he ignored it. He and the remaining elders have created warriors, warriors that no adventurer could defeat. He himself had witnessed the power of these men. No matter how strong that adventurer boy was, he would never be able to defeat them.
"Why wait for the next day, why do you not strike while the iron is hot?" Byung-joon asked the man before him.
Azahel replied, "While that is true, I am afraid that the iron is too hot to be struck. According to the information given to us by Hazel before her demise, the adventurer had placed in certain traps in case of an unexpected attack. He's a meticulous one. At this moment where he knows that people like us exist, he would've most likely set into place more precautions making it difficult for us to get by. If we indeed act now, it will only bring problems upon us and will distort our operations."
Byung-joon grit his teeth hearing the words of Azahel. What kind of boy was this adventurer?
"It seems like we truly need to eliminate this one." Byung-joon said. "Are all the preparations in place for the dethronement of tomorrow?"
"Yes, elder Byung-joon."
"I presume you have your men on ground?"
"Indeed."
"I see. Do you have any knowledge of the plans the boy has made?" Byung-joon asked.
"I'm afraid not. Our information was cut off at Hazel's demise, which is why we have to act in haste."
Byung-joon rest his head back on the couch, he was way past his prime for these kind of headaches. "You can go now, Azahel. Tomorrow, everything will be decided. You are dismissed, thank you for your hardwork."
"The pleasure is all mine, elder Byung-joon." Azahel replied with an arm across his chest. As light would disappear when the switch is flipped, Azahel vanished in an instant from the sight of the elder.
Byung-joon closed his eyes, reminiscing about the old days, were everything was simple and easy to understand but alas, all good things were not meant to last forever. It is sad and greatly unfortunate that the lad he had known since childhood would be killed tomorrow. It was truly a thing of sorrow.
'I am sorry, Yeong-ji.'
...
"Seungho, what do you think about the adventurer, Toshirou?"
The burly brown-haired man paused in his pushups before continuing. The two shared a quarters given to them by the elders, well three including Azahel who wasn't back from his meeting with an elder who sent for him. Whoever the elder was, Junhyung didn't care to know. To him, the elders were all the same. Heck, they even had similar names, so why go through the stress of trying to remember who was who? The only one worth remembering was the eighth elder whom he poisoned, something which he regretted but didn't allow to distract him.
"I think he is an upright man. 106, 107..." Seungho replied doing his pushups and counting as well.
"Heeeeeh... You think so?" Junhyung said, playing with a pebble, throwing it in the air and catching it.
"I.. *huff*... know so... *huff*... 111, 112..." Seungho kept on counting.
"If you ask me though, I'll say he's suffering." Junhyung smiled. Putting the pebble in-between his fingers, he raised up his hand, marvelling at the beautiful piece of rock. "His eyes hold so much pain it's almost pitiful."
"Pitiful you say? I think otherwise." Seungho stood up from his workout. Taking a towel from a chair, he wiped the sweat off his neck, face and hair and faced Junhyung who was lying on his back on the brown sofa. "But it is as you say, the boy is indeed suffering. That expression on his face, I would never wish it upon myself as a punishment or even for my enemies."
"Oh stop it, that expression makes him look like a badass." Junhyung laughed. "You're too stiff, Seungho. It won't help you with what we're about to do soon you know."
"Do you really think this is the time to be cheerful to our heart's content? Tomorrow, people are going to die. We are going to take the lives of innocent people!"
"Not like this is the first time." Junhyung said in a bored tone.
"And this is why I do not like you, Junhyung. Your manners and character is too carefree and careless. I wonder what Hazel saw in you all this time. Why do you have to be so nonchalant towards the notion of killing?"
Junhyung sat up, giving Seungho a small amused grin. "First, don't bring Hazel into this, and second, let me tell you a little story, Seungho."
Getting Seungho's full attention, he continued. "A few years back, well, a couple of decades after the Great Annihilation, there was a boy of six - seven years, with a little girl of about five. Their parents due to the aftermath of the Grear Annihilation so they were left alone, wandering the earth with no destination in mind. To survive, the boy had to resort to stealing, all to make sure his sister could live to see another day, but then, one afternoon, she wanted to steal as well. The boy stopped her, not wanting to put the guilt of sin upon her head and continued to steal on behalf of both himself and the girl."
Seungho gulped, clearly not expecting this kind of tale.
"They lived in the open, the wilderness, anyhow you want to call it, without as much as proper clothes on their body." Junhyung smiled, laughing softly to himself. "They only had one meal to get by everyday and had to move from town to town to avoid getting caught by the soldiers. But one day when the boy left to gather thrown-away clothes, he cautioned his sister not to leave the hideout they were in - an open space covered with dirty torn sheets to be precise. Tell me Seungho, did the girl listen or not?"
Seungho didn't know how to answer the question asked of him. What was he to say? He had no idea. But going off intuition, he replied. "She didn't listen."
Junhyung made a finger gun with his right hand and pointed it at Seungho. "Wrong."
'Wrong?' Seungho thought.
"She listened, she obeyed, and she didn't step one foot out of the place. But guess what? When the boy returned, her guts were spilled out of her cut-open stomach. Her neck had been sliced and diced with a knife, and her lower half had been defiled."
Seungho's eyes opened wide, shock mixed with disgust crossed his face, and his mouth dropped open slightly.
"That's right." Junhyung's grin became wider, his golden-yellow orbs flashed open with so much killing intent that Seungho was taken aback. "She was molested and then murdered, mutilated in fact. Did she deserve it? No she did not. She was just a girl of five, a sweet, innocent girl who wouldn't hurt a fly, but her kindness and purity and abstinence from wrongdoing was rewarded with wickedness and darkness. So what did the boy do? He hunted the bloody bastards down, found them, and killed them. He stabbed their hearts over and over again, making sure to mutilate their bodies the same way they did to his sister."
'This guy... he's traumatized! I heard he was taken from an asylum, but I never knew why; he has lost his sense of humanity.'
"I am that boy. I have lost everything and cannot retain anything any longer. I want to die, Seungho. I want to be reunited with my family. If killing others is the way to go then what the hell, I'll go for it. What's a couple more bodies compared to what I've already done?"
The rhetorical question sounded deep within Seungho's soul. In this act they were to perform, freedom was guaranteed to the participants but from different angles. He now understood where this boy was coming from and as unsettling as it was, he had no right to confront his decision. Every man wants redemption, but it comes in various forms and for varying purposes. That much was clear to him at this point.
"I understand. I will not question your decision anymore." Seungho said to him with a solemn voice.
Junhyung scoffed, but smiled nonetheless. "That's really good of you."
The two said nothing more to each other. They could only wait in anticipation, of what was yet to come.