After that, it was a life on the run. Constantly moving around and switching resting places, they had almost no time to breathe.
The people after them were rapidly gaining on them.
"Bang!" Throwing down the bowl in his hands, Levi quickly grabbed Ian's arm and rushed out of the small road-side restaurant. Heading into an alley, Levi ran through the many paths with familiarity having already memorized the surrounding area and its paths. However, it was two versus many. When the other party outnumbered them by a lot and almost every exit had someone there, there was nowhere to run to except into their trap.
Levi's naturally narrow eyes narrowed even further, appearing completely closed, and his brows knitted tightly together. Ian panted harshly behind him, never in his life had he run so fast besides that day.
Ian could feel his heart beating violently wanting to escape his chest. Ian could only suck it up, however, in this situation. They had no time to rest, not even a breather, he could feel the hunters closing in on them.
Ian felt his skin crawl.
In the small road-side restaurant just now, Ian and Levi had been taking a brief break from their move. During this time, their enemies managed to find them once again. Thankfully, before they completely surrounded them, Levi had noticed and dragged Ian out of danger.
Yet once again, grave danger was closing in on them.
Click. Click.
The subtle and low sounds of something clicking and setting up made the hair on the back of Ian's and Levi's neck stand up.
Click.
Bang!
From behind them, a round, sharp pellet at the speed of light shot at them.
Narrowly it missed Ian's back, slicing through his flapping jacket leaving a tear.
Ian grasped in shock, fear crept up on him as his body uncontrollably shivered in reflex from the close encounter.
Levi shocked and angered, Ian swore he heard him curse—something Levi never did before as he thought cursing to be vulgar and unscholarly.
Somehow, Ian felt the tension and fear in his heart retreat and fade as he saw Levi doing something uncharacteristic of him. He even felt like laughing. But he knew now was not the time.
'Who the **** fires a gun in the streets in broad daylight?!' Levi fumed as his jade green eyes flared in anger behind his eyelids.
Desperately trying to escape out of the encirclement, Levi quickly chose another alleyway to enter from a fork in the road.
Running to the end, Levi felt a bit panic-stricken. It's one thing if it's just him, but there's also…
He turned to look at the panting Ian.
Levi squeezed his eyes shut. Then opened them with unexplainable resolve.
Levi turned from facing the dead-end wall of the alley and faced the heaving men after them.
This was the first time the men had come so close to capturing the remaining two members of the annihilated gang destroyed by their boss. Not to mention that one of them was the younger brother of the former gang's leader. They could barely contain their excitement for the great reward promised to them for this mission.
As they stepped forward and stretched their wicked hands towards Levi and Ian, Levi opened his jade green eyes wide. Those jade green eyes seemed to possess an unworldly glow that demanded absolute obedience and submission.
A deep and commanding voice rang out in the alley.
"Stop!"
All those before the jade green eyes froze in their spot. Unable to move. Unable to differentiate between merely stopping their bodily movements or all bodily functions, a few of the men had their breathing cut. Soon their faces turned purple and their bodies began trembling with the need to intake oxygen.
Just that one command seemed to take all the energy out of Levi as his chest violently heaved and large beads of sweat dripped like rain from his forehead.
But as they were still in the midst of a crisis, Levi could only muster up his remaining strength, grabbing Ian and pulling Ian through the mass of men and out of the alleyway.
He wasn't sure when his control would wear off.
They were once again on the run for their life. Leaving the immobile men behind, Levi led Ian to a deserted place off the radar nobody knew about.
There, Levi and Ian could finally rest. Temporarily safe from their pursuers.
Inside an abandoned house, Ian sat a little restlessly on a dusty chair he didn't care to wipe off before he used it.
What had happened earlier remained in his mind, edging him to ask Levi. However, Ian was too prideful and embarrassed to ask Levi directly, having been arguing and against him for the whole of his life.
Although Ian didn't say anything, Levi still noticed his abnormality. And for the first time since the tragedy happened, Levi smiled like he used to whenever he wanted to tease Ian.
Levi crept closer to Ian. Ian looked at the approaching Levi in doubt.
"Little kid, what are you thinking about?"
Irked and unable to control himself due to habit, Ian retorted, "I'm not a little kid anymore! I'm already 20!" Then he hesitated, should he ask Levi the question brewing in his mind?
Levi chuckled. If he had his fan with him, he would have flapped it open and discreetly covered his mouth to laugh elegantly like an ancient gentleman. Since he did not, he raised his arm to laugh behind his sleeve.
Ian shuddered at how weird and pretentious Levi looked.
Levi did not mind, nor did he care, if he did, he wouldn't have started dressing as he did or acting as he did.
Levi smiled. He knew what Ian wanted to ask him. Anyone would have this question if they saw what he did. All except Angus.
Levi's smile faded slightly. But then he shook that thought out of his head, focusing on the present.
Suddenly Levi turned serious. He said to Ian who was surprised by Levi's sudden change in air around him, "I know what you want to ask me. That was my power, my ability. It has been passed down within my family for generations, so far down that I don't even know if it has existed ever since the start of time."
Ian was shocked. What was this power that can so easily control others' movements?
Did his brother know about Levi's ability?
Levi saw the doubt in Ian's eyes and explained, "Your brother knew."
Angus also knew about Levi's parents' plot to manipulate the trust of his and Ian's parents using their inherited power to hand the company and assets of the couple over to them. It ended with nothing coming to fruition, fortunately, due to their passing.
In a way, Levi wasn't sure whether to feel happy or sad regarding the death of his parents. They never did care for him even though he cared for them. That's why he felt so torn after finding out about their wicked and greedy plot, for he also cared very much for Angus and his family who treated him like a part of their family more than his own family. Eventually, Levi and his parents grew colder to each other. Just as Levi was about to confess his parents' wrongdoings to Angus, he heard of the news of their passing.
Later, he had still confessed to Angus about his ability and what his parents had planned to do. Afraid that Angus would fear and disgust him, Levi was stunned to see Angus thinking nothing of it and hugging him to comfort the crying Levi. That was probably one of the only times Angus had seen him cry and be in such an embarrassing state.
Thinking back on it now, Levi could still feel the embarrassment coursing through him. But back to the previous topic.
"And I plan on giving this power to you."
This time Ian was extremely shocked. But…why say "give" and not "teach"?
Levi said, "By having this power, you will be able to protect yourself."
Levi sighed deeply and looked Ian solemnly in the eye.
"Even when I'm not there."
It was like a bolt from the blue. An ominous feeling seemed to overwhelm Ian in that second. A feeling he didn't want to decipher from Levi's words.
Ian subconsciously grabbed at Levi's shirt. An act of dependence on the only remaining family member left.
In that moment, Ian felt the fear of embarrassment and the hindrance of pride disappear from his mind. Those chains removed themselves completely from his body and mouth.
Ian's lips moved.
"I'll learn."
***
Over the course of many months spent evading and running from the enemies after them, Levi passed the seed of the power to Ian, planting it inside Ian for Ian to nourish and make it blossom.
The power and ability Levi possessed came from his bloodline. However, merely passing his blood into the body of another does not pass the power to them. Only through a special oath and ritual can someone outside the bloodline obtain this power.
The power of [Mind Control].
"This ability—this power—no one knows where it comes from. It gives us the power to control others. Their thoughts. Their emotions. Their every move. Everything that is them. We can make them forget anything we want them to forget. We can command their undying loyalty and absolute obedience."
Levi's jade green eyes glowed with a mysterious power.
"They will die if we tell them to."
Ian gulped.
"Isn't that a little harsh?"
Levi smirked, a little mockingly. "Why? Still such a softie, are we? One day you will understand."
'But like Angus, I hope that day never comes.' Levi thought to himself.
Ian nodded, a little unsure but agreed anyway.
"Now, I'll teach you some basics of not just mind manipulation, but manipulation of all things and through all things.
"Your powers are not the only tool you can use to manipulate another being.
"Your every word, tone, intonation, gesture, movement, etc. are powerful suggestions and tools to guide their thoughts, influence their behaviors, and change their mindsets.
"Here's what generations of my family found out through extensive research into the subject of manipulation and control, to better understand the use and nature of their power…"
***
The rapid sound of footsteps hitting the ground closely one after the other kicked up dust and dirt into the air, blurring the surroundings as two people were chased by an unrelenting group of men.
Countless times the two were shot at with bullets by the group behind them, yet they stubbornly refused to slow down or stop. For them, stopping means certain death.
"Levi!" Ian called out as he ran, feeling his body having an easier time than before with all the constant running at high speed with no time to rest. "Why don't you use your powers on them?!"
Trying not to waste his energy on words, Levi tersely replied with one word.
"Can't!"
"Why?!" Ian refused to relent.
Levi gritted his teeth, fed up with Ian's constant questioning, and shouted, "It's draining! Not enough power!"
Thinking it's disadvantageous for them to run out in the open, Levi and Ian ran into the gaps between buildings, hoping to slow down the pursuers.
"This way!" Levi led Ian into a path between two buildings that were built exceedingly close to each other, with one of the buildings tilting towards its neighbor, forming almost a triangular gap to go through.
Ian and Levi passed through the triangular gap and kept running.
While trying to shake off the men following them, they sometimes used the emergency stairs on the buildings, parkouring from house to house, over courtyard walls and from roof to roof. Jumping down from the roof, they kept increasing their speed.
A few minutes later, they once again went through another strange gap. Finally shaking off the people behind them.
Coming to a stop, they took a short break, trying to restore their lost energy as much as possible before continuing to run.
Suddenly, Levi's eyes widened, showing their jade green glimmer that constricted in shock and panic.
Throwing himself at Ian the moment a loud bang was heard, Ian was knocked to the ground, his head knocked hard against the stone ground.
Pain hit Ian forcefully as tears sprung to his eyes. He had never suffered such grievance before, always being carefully protected and cared for all his life. Even when he was on the run, Levi took care of him and he had not suffered such wrenching affliction.
Raising his hand to brace his throbbing head, Ian was surprised to see blood on his hands.
It was not his.
This realization shook Ian to the core. Remembering the sound of a gun firing, Ian immediately sat up and lifted Levi up to see his pale face and the blood dripping out of his gunshot wound.
It was his heart.
Coincidentally in that split second, the bullet had accurately shot into the heart of Levi who used his own life to protect Ian's.
Levi lay dying in Ian's arms. His breathing slowed to almost a stop as he weakly peeked at Ian through his narrow eyelids.
"Run…Ian…Run…!"
Even in his last moment, Levi reminded Ian to escape. To protect himself.
Blood spurted out of Levi's lips and stained his dust-stained T-shirt. Shirts that he used to disdain to wear, thinking it lacked class and elegance unlike the long robes he loved to dress up in.
Ian would never be able to see Levi wearing the outfits he loved the most ever again.
The weird but dashing young man, with a sly appearance and a pretentious fan, dressed in flowing long robes with his long, untied hair swaying freely in the wind. Looking like a scammer.
"Master!" A heart-piercing cry left Ian's mouth as sobs broke through his stunned body.
This was the first time Ian had outwardly called Levi his master. Levi had given Ian the power of mind control and taught Ian all he knew of the powers they possessed and practically treated Ian like a master would their disciple, however, Ian had been too embarrassed to call Levi "Master". Until this moment, where death separated them.
As if hearing Ian's call, the corners of Levi's lips lifted up into a gentle and satisfied smile.
The slowly beating heart came to a still as his breath left him.
At this moment, something in Ian split in half.
All light disappeared from his eyes, turning them cold and desolate.
The seed of the power Levi had planted in Ian blossomed. Feeding on his devastatingly strong desire.
An overwhelming power seemed to surge up from within the depth of his soul, thrumming through his limbs, and flowing into his brain. His eyes glowed a deep and striking purple as the light purple in his eyes faded away.
Overpowering power was right at his fingertips.
"Die."
— — —
A horrendous scene appeared. Tens of people died instantly. Some's heart exploded. Some committed suicide with their weapon. Some killed each other.
It was the picture of chaos and death, darkness and horror. A testimony of indomitable might.
Watching this scene with piercing, cold eyes, Ian felt it was his own heart being ripped to pieces instead. All his loved ones were gone, all killed!
Killed!
By!
Their!
Hands!
Unquenchable and inextinguishable hatred soared like flames into the sky in his heart.
Twisted thoughts of vengeance and debts of blood left his mind with no room for anything else.