Rowan stomped on the corpse of Edward, mocking Ryan.
"If you just hand over the princess behind you and let go of my coworker there, I'll call off Beelzebub and spare your life."
He stuck out his hand, "I'm sure you don't want to end up the same way your mentor did."
Ryan finally started responding, clutching his spear tightly.
"I'd rather die than give in to you bastards!"
In an act of defiance, Ryan stabbed his spear right into Xander's skull, killing him.
Rowan just smiled.
"Guess that's your choice then."
Saying that, Rowan drew his sword.
"If you somehow manage to beat me, that creature there in the sky won't be able to sustain itself," Rowan informed. "You'll be known as a hero."
Ryan just remained silent, pulling his spear out of Xander's corpse before getting into a battle stance.
Freya created an ice wall behind her, blocking off the street before leaning on it. All she could do was cry silently in the corner, she was feeling completely powerless at this moment. Having to rely on some runaway criminal for her safety made her feel uncomfortable. To make it worse, it was a guy even younger than her.
Before the two could begin their clash, Rowan was trapped inside a water lock. The source of the magic came from a certain gray-haired man.
Walking up to Rowan, he sighed, "To think all this death and destruction was caused by one young man, disappointing."
From inside the water lock, Rowan just looked at the man annoyed. He wanted to play around with Ryan a bit more.
Josiah looked around, noticing Ryan standing in front of his daughter. Fire started erupting from his body.
"Are you after my daughter too?"
Freya ran in front of Ryan, "Father, don't. He saved my life."
Josiah slowly walked towards them, with even more flames emitting from his body.
"Freya, get away from that boy right now," he demanded while conjuring up a fireball.
Freya stood in between the two resolutely.
"I'm not moving."
Ryan sighed, patting Freya on her shoulder before walking up towards Josiah, putting his hands up. He was already so tired from everything that happened today but kept a cool demeanor.
"So you're the girl's father, glad you came. Now I have less baggage holding me down."
Josiah just stood quietly, glaring at the boy. Ryan stared back cockily, smirking.
He started walking past the man, but before Ryan had completely walked past him, Josiah whispered something to him.
"Because you protected my daughter, I'll let you off the hook this once."
Ryan just nodded back at him, glancing at Edward's corpse somberly for a moment, before walking out of sight.
Freya walked up to her father, smiling a bit. Josiah smiled back before looking at the corpse of Edward, who had died with a smile.
[I hope that boy was the one you were looking for, Edward.]
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3 days later…
A few days have passed since the incident, now dubbed as the Shadowfall Incident. The total number of casualties from the incident was around 500 people, it was the worst terrorist attack the capital of the Emparal Empire had ever faced. Among the casualties were 13 C-rank mages, 4 B-rank, and a single A-rank.
Currently, many funerals are being held for the victims of the incident, the one with the largest audience being Edward the Emerald Knight's funeral.
Ryan was currently sitting in a tree, watching the burial from a safe distance. Tears were falling on his face once he saw men carrying the casket towards the altar. Many friends and family gathered, sharing their memories and saying their last words to the deceased.
After all of the words were said, the priest held out a piece of paper. It was his will. The priest cleared his throat before saying what was on the will. Everyone thought it was going to be a regular old will towards his family, but were shocked once they heard who the will was addressed to.
Dear My Super Strong Apprentice Ryan Akthar,
If you're reading this, that probably means I'm long dead by now. I wished I could've been there for you a little bit longer, but life just had different plans. I'm writing this because I want to let you know that everything will be okay, so wipe those tears. I've done all I can to prepare you for your difficult journey ahead. As long as you follow the winds of fate, you'll be fine.
As for what you'll inherit from me is the prestige of being my one and only true protege, no matter what anybody says. I know it may not seem like much but trust me, it'll be useful. Oh, and a little pocket change.
The time I spent training you meant a lot to me, so if you could do one thing for me, just don't forget that.
Sincerely,
Your Super Awesome Most Amazing Master, Edward the Emerald Knight.
Ryan had already left his hiding spot, walking towards the main area of the funeral. People gave with mixed looks, some with pity, others with envy, but he just ignored them all.
He walked up to the priest, who just handed him the will without hesitation. Ryan just smiled at the priest before walking away from the funeral, somberly looking at the will before he noticed writing on the back of the will as well.
P.S. Remember to smile when the times get rough, no matter what. It's how I get myself to keep moving forward.
He pocketed the will as he continued walking away, smiling.
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1 day later…
Titania sat alone in her room, finishing up her 10th bottle of wine. She had been in a depressed mood ever since Edward had passed on, crushing the bottle of wine in her hand. Before she could grab her 11th bottle, somebody knocked on her door.
"Can I come in?" Josiah asked from outside her room.
Titania didn't reply.
Josiah decided to just walk into the room, hurt to see his oldest daughter like this. Bags were forming under her eyes and her hair was an absolute mess,
"You haven't left your room since the funeral, how are you feeling?"
Titania just glanced at him before grabbing another bottle and chugging it. Josiah sat down on a nearby couch quietly observing her, noticing the many cuts across her hands and arm.
"I know you're sad about what happened, but you shouldn't be harming yourself because of it."
Titania just sat there quietly, looking down at the bottle with an empty look.
Josiah tried to talk to her multiple times, but Titania just remained silent each time. After a few more attempts, Josiah just gave up, deciding to give Titania some space.
Walking to the door, he said, "If you need someone to talk to, just remember that I'm willing to talk."
When Titania didn't respond this time either, Josiah just sighed and left her room.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Somewhere else…
Deep inside The Imperial Gaol, the prison that Ryan was sent to before his execution, Rowan was chained up against the wall. They had made sure to seal the teen in multiple magic sealing cuffs to make sure he could never get out. He was completely bored out of his mind.
He had always hated being imprisoned because all he could think about inside was all the entertaining things he could be doing instead of being locked up.
He was lost in thought when he heard the footsteps approaching his cell. Seeing who the individual was, he smiled.
"What took you so long, Lucifer."
The other individual tasked with watching over Rowan, Lucifer had arrived.
"The mistress wanted you to suffer a bit for your mistakes."
When he heard that, Rowan pouted.
"If it wasn't for that old man getting in the way again, I would've killed that girl by now."
When he heard that, Lucifer sighed.
"Give up on that, the mistress changed her mind on that."
Hearing that shocked Rowan a bit, "What do you mean?"
"The mistress doesn't care about the girl anymore, all she wants is the gem. You do have it right?"
Rowan nods.
"It's in my shadow storage."
Lucifer walks up to the cell bars, tearing them apart. He enters Rowan's cell and rips apart the chains holding him.
"Let's go."
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"What do you mean he escaped!" The Emperor shouted while slamming his hands onto the desk.
"It happened last night. Some unknown man with crimson eyes broke into the Imperial Gaol and broke him out," the Emperor's secretary explained.
The Emperor clenched his fists, "Hide the news, you mustn't let anybody know about the incident! I've already received too much backlash for the framed execution due to Emerald Knight's influence. Even in death, he finds a way to annoy me."
The secretary bowed, "I'll get on to it my liege."
-----------------------------------------------------------
2 days later,
"Did you hear? Apparently, the culprit of the Shadowfall Incident was executed privately."
"They must've learned their lesson from the giant, city-wide execution."
People could be heard gossiping about the recent newspaper. Ryan was sitting alone in a cafe, eavesdropping on the conversations. He was no longer a wanted criminal due to the reveal of the actual culprit.
He was worried that he would still be noticed by others but realized that people had already forgotten about him. It kind of hurt him a little realizing that people didn't care, but he got over it.
More importantly, he's a free man now. But he couldn't join Arcane Academy now, since Edward wasn't here to wiesel him in.
After paying for his coffee, Ryan walked back to his hotel. While taking his usual shortcut through an alleyway, he came across a familiar white-haired man.
Rowan smiled and waved at him cheerfully, "Yo, been a while!"
Ryan glared at him, you could feel an aura of hatred emanating from him. He entered a battle stance, pulling his new navy blue spear off his back.
"How are you here?!"
"Woah, chill out kid, I'm not here to fight. I just want to talk this time," Rowan reassured.
"Talk? Now you wanna talk?!" Ryan angrily asked. "You fucking killed my mentor!"
"Yeah, I may have done that. That's actually why I'm here."
Ryan put his weapon down.
"I swear if you try and apologize now, I will kill you."
Rowan smiled, "Don't worry, I don't want to apologize anyway. I just wanted to pass on to you his final words."
"His final words?"
"Yeah, hmm let me try to remember," Rowan made a thinking gesture, trying to recall the exact words. "Oh, I know! He was like 'Just wait until my apprentice learns where those demon creatures come from, he'll tear your organization apart!' I was interested so I wanted to pass on some info."
Ryan frowned, "Don't tell me."
"Yes Ryan, if I could remember correctly those demon-like creatures were called Nephilim. They're the mistress' failed project that she released into the world."
Ryan stared at Rowan blankly, clenching his fists.
"So you're telling me that the creature that destroyed my home village was a failed project?"
"Mhm, and we got even scarier creatures like Beelzebub."
Ryan fell to his knees in shock, amusing the white-haired teen.
Rowan laughed at the boy's misfortune, "Man you're funny. This is my favorite part of the job."
The white-haired teen started walking past the angry Ryan, "May we meet again, little spy."
With that, Rowan disappeared into the shadows.
Ryan slammed his fists into the ground, breathing heavily.
It took him nearly a minute to finally catch his breath. As he calmed down, he realized what he must do.
He gripped his spear tightly.
[Tear the Dark Legion apart.]
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At Arcane Academy…
Freya and Aden were lounging around on campus grounds quietly. Freya was looking down, deep in thought.
"Hey Aden, I have a question."
"What is it, Freya?"
"Am I a genius?"
Aden looked shocked that her sister would ask that.
"Of course you are."
Freya just looked at her unconvinced.
"I'm not, after what I saw that day, how could I be called a genius?"
Aden looked at her sister concerned.
"What do you mean?"
Freya just sighed.
"I had to rely on some kid to protect me. I had never felt so weak in my life."
Aden frowned.
"You shouldn't compare yourself to others. As far as I can tell you're a genius, everyone else at this school thinks you're a genius too."
Hearing that, Freya smiled.
"Thanks, Aden."
Seeing her happy sister, Aden cheerfully stood up.
"Now that you're happy, let's talk about some school gossip!"
Hearing that, Freya just sighed.
"Alright."
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2 weeks had passed since Edward's funeral. Ryan was currently standing in front of his grave, placing flowers on the gravestone before bowing.
[Thank you for everything you've done for me, Mr. Edward.]
He walked out of the cemetery with reignited fervor. He punched the air and yelled.
"I'm coming for you, Dark Legion!!!"
Luckily, nobody was visiting the cemetery at the time.
He went back to his hotel, packing up whatever he could fit in a small travel backpack.
He exited the city gates, looking back at the capital with mixed emotions before walking away to the distance, beginning Ryan's journey to defeat the Dark Legion.
(End of the Shadowfall Incident Arc)