Athos walked slowly towards the guards with the sword in his hands, the point dragging against the ground and creating sparks. The sparks engulfed the sword, turning into flames that covered the blade, shocking the khali and horrifying the guards.
'Is he able to control fire without training? The fire element affinity and mana control must be excellent.' Khali thought, changing his plans. Originally, he planned to take Athos somewhere else and start life anew, but his talent was too good to pass up.
He must be brought into the organization.
The guards on the other hand were in a panic. They were just patrolling, when everything around them turned completely white and they felt intense cold, before passing out. When they woke up, they were already trapped and unarmed, but at least their captor didn't hurt them.
The boy on the other hand, looked furious and ready to kill them.
"Hey, you got the wrong guy! I swear I don't know you guys!" The 2nd guard or lionel yelled at the Khali but never stopped looking at the flaming sword.
"No, I'm sure you're the right guy. You were the ones who carried the alchemist's wife to execution, right?" Khali replied without looking away from his sword, focused on analyzing Athos' skill level.
"Yes, it was us, but what does that have to do with-" The 1st guard or Mark tried to counter-argument but realized the situation. "Shit. It's you."
"Right." Athos nodded, slowly running the flaming sword through Mark's arm. He put the blade against his forearm and went down to his shoulder, burning the skin.
"What do you mean 'it's you', what the fuck are you talking about??" Leonel was a little less intelligent and still didn't understand what was happening.
"It's the alchemist's son, the boy the captain was hunting." Mark said between groans of pain as realization hit him. "It was you who kidnapped the captain."
"Right." Athos changed targets, now burning Leonel's ribs. He wasn't as tough as Mark and he screamed in pain at the slightest touch of the sword.
"I asked the captain that and I'll ask you too. Do you remember what you did to her? How many times did she scream?" Athos' eyes regained the glint of madness he'd had when he'd tortured the captain.
"Boy, you're mixing things up. We took your mother to the stage, but she was already dead. We didn't torture her the day before either. The captain did everything himself, forbidding everyone to enter the prison." Mark tried to save himself, putting all the blame on the captain.
"He's right! We have nothing to do with this. We are innocent!" Leonel screamed, shivering every time the hot iron touched his skin.
"Do you want me to believe that? That you conveniently weren't in the place? That you just did what you were told and it's not your fault?" Athos said sarcastically. He looked directly at Mark, recognizing the one with a brain of the pair.
"When you say it like that, it sounds like a lie. But it's true boy. We didn't hurt your mother." Mark looked into her eyes as he spoke, conveying his sincerity.
Athos looked into his eyes, looking for any hint of a lie or guilt, but found only truth. He felt his will waver for a moment, the flame of hatred burning in his mind fading, making Athos hesitate and his sword tremble.
He wouldn't hesitate to kill innocents if it were to complete his revenge, but torturing people just for carrying his mother's corpse was beyond him.
"Boy, you don't have to do this. If you let us go, I swear my friend and I won't talk about you. We can help you escape the city if you want." Mark sensed the hesitation in him and hammered the iron while it was hot.
Mark wasn't the only one to notice the hesitation on Athos. khali noticed it too and was glad of it. It gave him hope that, deep down, Athos wasn't just a raging beast. That he still had a reason or at least a line he wasn't willing to cross.
But Athos's next action destroyed that thought. Athos decapitated both guards in a single move, using the flaming sword to cauterize the cut the moment it was made, preventing a single drop of blood from spilling.
Both heads rolled to the ends of the room as Athos checked his sword, making sure it wasn't smeared with blood.
"Why did you do that? I thought you were undecided whether to kill them or not." Khali asked in disbelief, unable to understand his thought process.
"I hesitated for a second and decided to show mercy to them. They're not to blame and don't deserve to be tortured." Athos said coldly, as the hatred burning in his mind calmed down.
"You call that mercy?" Khali sneered at Athos.
"I was merciful, not stupid. I couldn't let them go after they knew my identity, so I gave them a quick and painless death. That was mercy." Athos explained his train of thought, making Khali realize how disturbed Athos' mind was, but he found order amidst the chaos that was his mind.
'He may have lost his cool the moment he saw the guards, but he didn't lose his rationality. He still listened to what they had to say and killed them for a reason, not for fun.' Khali felt relieved when he realized that fact. He could not take Athos under his wing if he were just a mindless monster. Being a ruthless killer is one thing, being a complete psychopath is another.
"I originally wanted to help you get out of town, start over somewhere else, but I've changed my mind. I want you to be my apprentice, Athos." Khali said, freezing the corpses with a wave of his hand.
"I refuse." Athos didn't think twice before saying;
"EH?" Khali thought he had misheard, but Athos's expression of disinterest proved otherwise.
"You refuse? Do you understand that I'm offering you the chance to learn magic? To use the great talent you possess and not let it go to waste in this small town?" Khali spoke up, offended by the immediate refusal.
"I don't care about any of that. If I become your apprentice, I'll have to leave the city, right? I won't be able to complete my revenge if that happens." Athos said resolutely.
"Athos, I understand your desire for revenge, but this is not what your parents would want for you." Khali calmed down as he understood the reason for Athos' refusal.
"I don't do it just for them, I do it for myself. I would never forgive myself if I let any of those motherfuckers live." Athos' mind relived the trauma, renewing his hatred and making his eyes glow with elemental energy.
His eyes glowed crimson red, but Khali noticed a dark glint in the back of his pupil. A flicker of darkness, something almost imperceptible was awakening.
"Haah…let's make a deal then." Khali placed his left hand on his shoulder in solidarity, but covertly activated a magic ring with a symbol of light.
The ring glows faintly and the nearly awakening darkness is gone. 'The element of darkness is too dangerous for someone with mental problems.' That's what he thought when he sealed his affinity.
"What was this?" Athos questioned him, pulling away.
"An item that will help you think more clearly. You're more focused now, aren't you?" Khali didn't lie, the ring sealed the darkness in him and kept her from clouding his judgment.
Athos noticed that his mind felt clearer and the urge to kick Khali in the balls and run away from that place had lessened.
"I appreciate it, but I'm still going after my revenge." Athos was polite but firm in his refusal.