"Let me introduce you guys. These two are the new members of our faction, Renis and Krck." Alem didn't really give much of an explanation and just pointed at the two behind him. "Get to know each other as we will all be one group from now on. Aside from these two, we also have one more member who is called Flor."
"Hey, what's with the sudden new members? Shouldn't you have discussed this with us?" Nor looked at Alem with a frown.
"Not really. As the faction leader, what I say goes in the end." Alem didn't hide his attitude anymore. He had officially decided to take the role of leader. After seeing Linsal's faction and the other three's backstory, he felt that keeping the power was safer. Plus, he was doing most of the work so why wouldn't he make the decisions? "Don't worry, they won't cause problems. If anything, they're under my protection, just like the rest of you. Don't forget, rather than a group, I'm more of the protector of this group."
Hearing his words which weren't far from the truth, Nor felt her tongue tie up. What could she say?
"I don't mind." Salea suddenly spoke out. She was a quiet person after all. "Whatever boss decides, I will follow."
"Well said Salea." Alem turned his head and looked at the other two. "This here is my student, one of my personal people. So, treat her as you would me." Alem had become accustomed to Salea's nature during the week. She was very helpful and knew how to read the situation well. Plus she never complained which was great.
"I'm Samir." After Salea was introduced, Samir decided to introduce himself. "I'm this guys cousin."
"Krck." The ape man lifted his hand and shook Samir's.
"Anyways, let's quickly go and settle your matters." Alem was about to walk away when Nor suddenly grabbed his shoulder. "What's up?"
"I want to talk to you." Nor had a calm expression, but Alem noticed the anger in her tone.
"Sure." Walking away from the group, they both stood facing each others. "What's on your mind?"
"I want you answer me honestly." Nor looked at her two family members from afar and then back at Alem, sighing slightly. "I've been noticing your change in attitude for a while now. In the beginning, you were lazy and not caring for anything, but you've slowly become someone who doesn't ask for anyones opinion and makes decisions without asking any of us. What are you trying to do?"
Alem saw her being serious, but he decided not to joke too much at this point. "I have changed from before, but don't worry, I don't have any malicious ideas. You know as well as me, if I had any other thoughts, no one could stop me from doing what I want."
"True, but your attitude is changing a lot. Previously, you didn't fight anyone, but ever since the first raid, you've been getting into a lot more combat. You've already killed two beast kings, raided a full camp, and now you've added more members into this group, who are all high ranking faction leaders. It makes one wonder what your thoughts are." She didn't give Alem a chance to speak before speaking about all of the things he had been doing as of late.
"Does it worry you that I want to control the group now? That I am not as nice as before? Not as obedient?" Alem sat on the group and looked at her from below. He had a smirk on his expression.
"Yes." She was straightforward, not hiding a thing. What was the point? Alem was not someone they could attack anyways.
"I see. But, I think you understood something wrongly." Alem looked at the sky and spoke without any fear of being assaulted. "I wasn't obedient in the past, rather I was too lazy to care, so I let you do whatever you wanted. Keep in mind, this whole test is dangerous to you guys, but it's a game for me. At the same time, other than Samir, I don't really care for anyone else in this world. Salea is now my student so I do have a bit of care for her, but aside from these two, all of you guys are only kept around to help relieve my boredom and to make my life a bit easier." He scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "I'm not trying to be mean, rather I'm just telling you my thoughts. Though, Kir has become somewhat of an interesting kid, plus his presence is enjoyable."
"Essentially, we are your toys?" Nor said with her expression remaining calm.
"I never said that." Alem shook his head. "Nor, you know what the issue with you is? You're too serious. Not only that, but you are a conceited person. You only care for yourself and think that only you are right."
"How so?" She didn't get angry surprisingly, just listened.
"Well, you constantly forget that the only reason you're alive is because I am keeping you alive." Alem suddenly stood up and grabbed her throat.
"Alem!" Samir and the rest saw the scene and suddenly rushed over, their faces filled with shock.
"Stay back!" Alem said with a growl.
"Don't hurt her Alem, please!" Eli shouted, her steps not stopping.
"I said stay back, did I not?" Alem glared at Eli.
The latter's face paled as she stopped moving forward.
Alem then focused back onto Nor. Surprisingly, she didn't struggle, just looked at him calmly. "Impressive." He squeezed a little harder, lifting her onto her tippy toes. "I could kill you like this, whenever I wanted. Not only you, but I could kill all of you without batting an eye, yet you keep forgetting that. You try to command me and I let you because I'm too lazy to argue. Don't mistake that for fear." Letting go, he threw her onto the ground and looked at her from above. "The past me would have never been this aggressive, but I have come to terms with one thing. Some people are only out to use you. Nor, you're one of these people. I use you guys to relieve boredom, while you use me for protection. You need me, I don't need you."
"Then, are you going to kill us?" Nor stood up, rubbing her neck. Her eyes were a little red, despite her expression being calm.
"I won't." Alem shook his head. "I want you to understand the hierarchy here. I will stay silent for the most part, but that doesn't mean I don't make the rules."
"At this point, do you think me and the others would even stay around you? You harming me is equivalent to harming the three of us." She said while continuously rubbing her neck.
"What you guys do is none of my business. After I met up with my cousin and even got Salea in my group, I lost interest in keeping you three around. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind you three around, but you have to control yourself." Alem turned his gaze away and looked at Linsal's large army which slowly disappeared into the surrounding. "Nor, it would have never gotten to this point if you didn't push it. You need to learn when to move forward and went to shut up."
"That's fine. If you need me to shut up, I will." Nor nodded her head, her eyes still red. "If you continue keeping us alive, I will not say a word after this."
"Take it as you will." Alem lifted his arms and shrugged. Though, Nor noticed the frown on his face, making her shiver slightly.
Walking back towards the group, Alem ignored all the stares coming towards him.
"Alem, what the fuck was that?" When he was far away from the group, Samir didn't hesitate to near him. "Are you an idiot? Why would you do something so dumb?"
"What do you mean." Alem looked at his cousin with a frown, of course the latter wasn't scared. This was his family, why would he be scared?
"Why would choke Nor? What did she do?" He sat beside Alem and asked him with a glare.
"Don't forget Samir, we don't know any of these people. They use me for protection, that's our relationship." Alem shrugged. "Nor has also been acting out of line lately, so she needed to be taught a small lesson."
"Do you not hear yourself? You're sounding so wrong right now. A lesson? What are you? Who are you?" Samir was disgusted by Alem's words.
"Me? I'm the one keeping this group alive." Alem spoke without a wasted breath.
"Oh really? What the hell is wrong with you? This isn't the Alem from before. You're getting too power hungry!" Simar didn't mince words and directly mentioned the issue. "This strength of yours is getting to your head. I've been noticing it since we met. You keep calling yourself the strongest. You consider life nothing. Is this Alem? The one from before?"
"I have changed, I agree." Alem sighed, looking into the distance. "But, this change happened for a reason."
"Why." Samir asked with irritation.
"Do you think I became this skilled just because of sleeping? Because I was lazy?" Alem looked at his cousin with a serene expression. "The pain and torture I went through for this strength is different from what you can fathom."
"Then why did you do it? Since you chose this path, you can't start attacking others because of it." Seeing his cousin act this way, Simar was a little hurt. 'What did he go through? Why?'
"I didn't choose this, it just happened. I fought and fought. I've broken many limbs, felt the pain of acid and fire, I've felt things even worse." He sighed. "I've experience loneliness which made me consider everything insignificant." Alem stood up from the rock and stretched a little. "Why do you think I want to travel so much? Why would I let more people join our group? I'm sick of loneliness and boredom." Alem knew that others had seen much worse than him, but in the end, he wasn't like others. He couldn't handle such an environment.
Hearing the tone of his cousins voice, Simar felt that he didn't know the full truth. "Dude, if something is bothering you, tell me about it. Talk to me about it. Why are you taking your anger on others?"
"Honestly, there is one person I do wish to speak to." Alem couldn't help but think of Shameless. In his whole life, Alem spent the most time with Shameless, plus the latter knew him best. During his long fights, it was Shameless who would heal and console him. During the times he would miss his family in the fights, Shameless would joke with him and push him to keep going. Truly, Shameless was someone he cherished more than others.
Simar sighed seeing him act the way he was. "I don't know what happened to you Alem, but you need to calm down. You should find some other way to relieve the pent up stress. Taking it out on Nor, deserved or not, isn't the way. The old you wouldn't." With these last words, Simar walked away.
Without turning his head, Alem sighed. 'What is wrong with me? Why did I erupt like that?' Unlike what Samir thought and the way Alem spoke aloud, his thoughts weren't aligned. Even he was surprised by his actions. 'Do I miss my family this much? Do I miss Shameless that much?'
Looking back at the sky, Alem shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Are you alright Nor." Eli and Kir neared her with concern.
"I'm fine." Nor had a bitter look as she used her pinky to wipe the bottom of her eyes.
"What happened? Why did he erupt like that?" Eli asked with anger and confusion.
"Who knows. Still, he probably was super stressed for some reason." Nor calmed the two down. "Don't worry, he wasn't going to do anything to me."
"So? He acted so aggressively. The fact I respected a guy like him makes me sick." Kir growled. "Screw him, let's leave."
"You're still too childish Kir. Without him, where could we go? We depend on him greatly." Shaking her head, Nor tapped his head lightly.
"Who cares. I'm stronger now. We don't need him, I will keep us alive." After his training with Alem, he was confident in his skills. "Come on, let's leave."
"No Kir, I will not hear about this again." Nor rejected directly.
"Hey Nor." Suddenly, a voice appeared from behind Eli and Kir.
All of them looked over and saw that it was Alem.
"What do you want to do now? I don't care what it is, but if you touch my sister again, I'll put my life on the line to kill you." Kir seethed as he looked at the man he once respected.
"Alem, I don't care what our friendship was in the past, but you doing that to Nor is too much. Get lost!" Eli also glared at Alem at this point.
Ignoring the two, Alem looked Nor directly. "I'm sorry."
"Why apologize now? Look at her neck, you squeezed so hard it's starting to swell." Eli scowled.
Looking at the hand print on Nor's neck, Alem felt even more ashamed. Sure he killed without batting an eye, but that was only against people he cared little for. Despite the Nillian's not being his most cherished people, they were still people he cared for. "Let me make it up to you."
"Get lost Alem, you're starting to become an eyesore." Kir said with a frown, while also brandishing his sword.
"How?" Nor asked suddenly.
"Ask away. What can I do to make it up to you." Guilt was truly filling his mind. "If I can do it, I will do it."
"Kill Tirax." She said without much thought.
"Alright." Alem nodded his head and then turned around. "Krck, Renis, let's handle your matters quickly. I have an important task to complete."
Seeing this, Nor stepped forward with doubt. "Are you actually going to do it?"
"Of course. I will keep my word to you." Alem didn't blink and just smiled at her.
"Alright, then forget it." Nor shook her head. "The fact you said it is enough to make up for it." Suddenly, Alem watched as the little princess smiled slightly. 'No wonder that Tirax guy is obsessed with her. She is a beauty.'