"Uncle Fang, we need to talk."
At the edge of a pond in an isolated part of the Arnhaunt estate, Ol' Fang sat still and gazed at the reflection of the stars on the pond's waters. In his right hand was a bottle filled with alcohol. Around him were a couple of other bottles in different positions and locations, presumably empty unlike the one in his hand.
Dark clouds filled the sky, painting a gloomy atmosphere together with the scenery.
Ol' Fang took a swig from the bottle in his hand before replying.
"Ugh. I knew you'd show up eventually but so soon?"
"You nearly assaulted a member of the royal family's entourage, putting the family at risk. If you weren't a close friend of my father and an uncle I grew up under, I would have ordered your arrest." Asher frowned.
Seeing as his 'nephew' was showing such a stern face and taking the matter seriously, Ol' Fang sighed. Although he knew that Asher was just acting stern to get him to speak, Ol' Fang was aware that he had almost put the family into deep trouble.
He might be known as the 'Smiling Blood demon' to the public, but to his students, his friend, and this little 'nephew' of his, Ol' Fang couldn't put up such a persona.
"You're as bad at acting as your father." Ol' Fang said before taking another gulp of alcohol from the bottle.
"I apologize for that." Ol' Fang added.
Asher sighed and took off the austere facade, taking a seat beside Ol' Fang.
He didn't speak but instead withdrew a bottle from his space ring and took a sip from it.
Ol' Fang raised an eyebrow at this but didn't comment on it.
"It's grape juice." Asher said, as if having read his mind.
"Sure sure." Ol' Fang laughed knowingly.
After a few seconds of tranquillity, accompanied by the duo occasionally taking sips from their distinct bottles, Ol' Fang finally sighed loudly.
"You really plan on just keeping quiet? Didn't you come here looking for an explanation?" Ol' Fang said.
"All I came here for was to understand whether you're aware of your actions and you've answered. If you want to talk, feel free. I won't force you. " Asher replied.
Ol' Fang looked at him and sighed before turning his glance toward the pond once again.
"Your father probably told you the story of how we met, right?"
Asher nodded as he recalled it.
It was about thirty-seven years ago; the third year of the Second Great war or the Second Great Sou (south) war.
The First Great Sou war was the war that led to the birth of the Great Dawn kingdom alongside other neighbouring kingdoms, which were all former colonies of the Great Empire of Terra, the progenitor of the Kingdom of Terra.
As for the Second Great Sou war, it was the Kingdom of Terra's attempt at trying to reform the Great Empire of Terra by waging war against all the kingdoms that were birthed from its collapse. The Second Great Sou war was what led to the Great Dawn kingdom dropping in rank as well as losing some of its previous landmass. It was also the time when talents were discovered, legends were born with some even dying, like Asher's grandfather, war god Leuven.
The war had spanned seven years and the prelude to that was a period of three years filled with multiple intense clashes by the border between the Great Dawn kingdom and its allies against the Kingdom of Terra and its allies.
In the third successive year of the war, Darius and Ol' Fang had met on the battlefield, although not as enemies. Ol' Fang was a refugee who had lost his family to the war; killed by the Terreans. After swearing an oath of vengeance on their grave, he had trained hard on his own and began terrorizing the camps of the Terreans.
However, on one fateful day, Ol' Fang had fallen into a trap and although he escaped, Ol' Fang was gravely injured and being hunted down by the Terreans. He was eventually saved by Darius who had met him in his situation coincidentally. Despite the warnings from those beside him, Darius recruited Ol' Fang to his side later on after hearing his story and going through a few other events together.
"I'm going to add to that now." Ol' Fang's eyes turned melancholic.
"You should know that I've lost all my family members and the only ones I can say I have are your father, yourself, and my disciples, Luther and Aaron, who I treat like my sons. But before them, I had another disciple, Arwen, my blood cousin, and last blood family member.
"Arwen was a talented young man with a large potential and a bright future ahead of him. I was confident in time that with my help, he would have grown to be a very powerful mage. In fact, your father had confirmed that Arwen possessed enough talent to reach the seventh-stage of the Guardian realm and possibly the eighth-stage with enough resources and training. As a result, he had also agreed to help me raise Arwen without asking for anything in return."
Ol' Fang paused and then glanced at Asher a bit before turning back to the pond and continuing,
"In case you're wondering, Arwen lived in a separate village, but just like me, had survived an attack on his village. I only found him a year after meeting Darius which was around the fourth year of the Second Great Sou war. As the only remaining member of my family's bloodline, apart from myself, I had taken him under my wing and taught him all that I could."
Asher nodded as he kept quiet and paid attention.
"Arwen was eleven years younger than me; around sixteen at the time, but he was a fast learner. Fast-forward two years later, the sixth year of the Second Great Sou war, and Arwen, eighteen at the time, was already a fourth-stage Guardian mage and a member of one of the units under Darius. To be specific, I was in charge of the platoon his unit was in.
"My original plan had been to keep Arwen away from the battlefield, but he was just like me and desires revenge so I couldn't hold him back and had instead wanted to keep him by my side. But over time, he had proven his skills so I became less protective of him and more proud of my little cousin and student.
"However, it was then the second most horrible thing that had ever happened to me, as well as my first grievous mistake; worse than when I had stepped into the enemy's trap before I met Darius."
Ol' Fang's eyes turned red and wet as he paused for a bit.
"We were ambushed. A surprise attack by the Terreans as a result of an information leak. The enemy forces were eventually forced back, but it was too late. The damage had already been dealt. In that raid, Arwen had died and I could do nothing to save him."
Bang.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed in the sky accompanied by the sound of thunder. Drops of rain began to fall, rapidly increasing in intensity until it became a downpour, but Ol' Fang acted as if he felt nothing. No, rather than saying he acted, he was truly oblivious to the change in the weather. At that moment in time, Ol' Fang was lost in his memories.
Ol' Fang continued,
"The enemy had retreated, but Arwen was dead... I had sworn that day to take my revenge, but the heavens played a trick on me."
Ol' Fang chuckled, but it sounded more sad than happy.
"On the seventh year of the Second Great Sou war, the last year before the beginning of this peaceful era we are witnessing, a great shift took place. Some of the officials under the Kingdom of Terra switched loyalties to the Great Dawn kingdom and its allies, seeing that the Kingdom of Terra's defeat was soon arriving; at least that's what they said, but who knows exactly why they did so. To be honest, the war looked as if it could go another five years or so, and if it did so, the Terreans would have gained the upper hand.
"One of the officials who switched loyalties was the man who killed Arwen with his own two hands as well as the one who had commanded the enemy forces that attacked us on that fateful day. The mage who not only orchestrated the deaths of my comrades but also my first disciple and my cousin, the last surviving bloodline I had in this world. By now, you can guess who that is."
Asher sighed as he now understood why Ol' Fang had reacted that way. Truth be told, if it were him, he might have also done the same.
Ol' Fang added,
"Lucius was of a high rank in the Kingdom of Terra back then, not very high but still impressive and notable for his age and strength. With such a talent heading over to our side and considering his background, he was kept close to the royal family as both a form of protection and supervision. Till now, I've never had the chance to fulfil my oath of revenge, even with the culprit right in front of me."
"On one hand, I have a promise to fulfil to Darius and my deceased family. On the other hand, I have one to fulfil to my cousin and first disciple. How pitiful." Ol' Fang gave a hollow laugh.