"So I should just walk away then". Azure said lightly. He couldn't do it. He couldn't let these scum get away with their crimes. They murdered his parents. They killed his parents in cold blood. They left an innocent baby parentless, and all for what? Some stupid old man they call their pope.
"If you value your life, then you'd let it go". Alex climbed on the beast.
"What if I don't value my life?" Azure chuckled. "What if my life is worth so little to me that I want to throw it away?"
"Should I tell the truth about your parents death?" Alex said. "The truth is that they died because they kept their nose where it didn't belong without being strong enough. Do you want to die like that?"
"So you knew about it then, my parents?" Azure was feeling emotions that he didn't understand. He didn't know why he felt sad, he didn't know why he felt angry, he just did.
He never knew the people in question. They weren't his parents but something about everything just enraged him. Something about everything made him angry.
Alex was silent for a few seconds. "I knew them, they were good people. Perhaps the only good people that were left in the church". He looked at Azure with a solemn expression. "Now, you can't go trying to figure out what you're not supposed to know. If you even try to investigate the cause of your father's death… I'll kill you myself!"
Azure swallowed a huge chunk of saliva. Alex just threatened him. "Let's just hope it doesn't have to get to that then". Azure said.
Alex nodded. "Let's hope that it doesn't". Alex patted the beast mount. "Are you coming or not?"
Azure hopped on the beast mount then it took off. In a few minutes, they arrived in front of a cave.
"This is supposed to be a dungeon?" Azure asked.
"Yeah". Alex nodded.
"It doesn't look like much".
"I should think that you'll change your mind once we get in". Alex said.
When they got inside, they were assaulted by darkness. It was so dark that they couldn't even see their hands if it were held in front of them.
They walked forward for about a hundred meters. What lay before them left Azure speechless.
There were floating beasts. Crocodiles, lions, tigers, wolves, whatever the animal. However, each of them had distinctions that contradicted with the usual that one would see on earth.
"This is a dungeon". Alex said.
"It's not nearly as lack luster as the one back at the headquarters". Azure said.
"Well, we keep a different breed of demons locked up over there". Alex replied. "As you can see, these demons look so similar to wild animals". He gestured towards a wolf. It was similar to any other wolf except that it's fur was colored blood red.
"So why do we keep them here?". Azure asked.
"You see, most of the beasts here are either dead or incapacitated". Alex said. "It was the pope's idea of a training ground. There's a simulation, when you're inside it's as if these beasts are alive and they can do to you whatever they please, until you're dead of course".
"Why are we here?" Azure asked. He didn't think that it was training time.
"So you can get stronger". Alex turned so that he directly faced Azure. "Why do you think that it's so hard for people to learn new bible verses?"
"I don't know, because they're so hard to come across?" Azure answered questioningly.
"No, it's because they're so hard to understand". Alex turned to look at Azure. "That bible verse that you used earlier, do you know why it was easy for Bastian to counter it?"
Azure did not catch on to the question that Alex was asking, instead his mind registered something that was completely different.
"Do you know him?" Azure asked.
Alex rolled his eyes. "Here I was thinking you were smarter than this". He muttered. "He literally said that we should remember the name Bastian".
"Oh.." All of a sudden, Azure felt very stupid.
"Now, back to my question". Alex said. "Why do you think he could counter it so easily".
"Because he understood it more than me". Azure said.
"Now what do you understand by that verse?" Alex asked.
"That when light is cast upon darkness, the darkness cannot withstand it". Azure said.
"Tsk, tsk. That's not a strong enough understanding, I could come up with a better comprehension than that". Alex said. "Think, what exactly do you understand by it".
"I just told you". Azure was beginning to feel angry.
"That's why I brought you here". Alex said. "See, although these beasts are dead, when you enter the simulation, you feel pain when they attack you". Alex smirked. "You know that right?"
Azure nodded slightly, he felt that Alex had made that pretty clear earlier on.
"Do you know that this training ground was made for Messangers upwards?"
All of a sudden, Azure was beginning to have a bad feeling about what was happening.
"See we're already inside the simulation, all I have to do is to turn it on, and those beasts that were caught for people way stronger than you will have you to play with". Alex said. "So until you give me a suitable comprehension, I'm going to turn on the simulation and you'll keep dying until you get it".