[Moments Earlier]
Rebal found himself within his mansion in the blink of an eye, once again finding Ralyks' teleportation ability very strange.
It was just a moment before that he was staring at the bloodied corpses of Ralyks' victims, and yet… here he was.
'Sir Ralyks really is amazing.'
Nothing short of awe and dread currently enveloped Rebal as he thought of his savior. He had never met a man like Ralyk, and he didn't think he ever would.
'The Mansion appears fine, so I'm guessing Sir Ralyks' subordinate must have taken care of everything.' The man grinned as he began to walk.
'Where's Asher, then?'
Rebal knew his own premises like the back of his hand, so it didn't take him very long to locate his son.
He was seated in a pretty small lounge—one that Tëõ long sofas opposite each other, with a center table separating them.
"Asher, my son! It's a glorious ni—!" Before Rebal could complete his echoes of joy, he noticed something off about his son.
The boy was seated in absolute silence, his vacant eyes looking at the ground.
'He looks absentminded. He didn't even notice my presence…'
Rebal instantly knew something was wrong.
As part of his training, Rebal had taught Asher to be constantly aware of his surroundings so he would never let his guard down.
His son had followed this counsel, and Rebal always saw that he never let his guard down.
However, this night was completely different.
'I haven't seen him this shaken since his mother's death…'
Rebal drew close and placed his hand on Asher's shoulder.
"Uwaaaaahhhhhh!"
Asher's sudden screams frightened Rebal, causing both of them to recoil back for a few seconds, the former landing on the hard floor.
"S-sorry. I didn't mean to startle you like that."Rebal was astonished as he said these words.
The look of sheer terror on Asher's face was not something he had ever seen on his boy's face before.
It made Rebal as curious as he was worried.
"What happened to you?"
*************
Rebal and his son now sat on their respective sofas opposite each other, and while silence was the central theme in the room, it was constantly interrupted by their audible breaths.
After a few seconds of saying nothing, Rebal finally spoke up.
"What happened?"
Silence followed the question—at least for about five seconds.
Then…
"T-the one Sir Ralyks brought here… his subordinate… he was…" Before Asher could complete his words, he covered his mouth with his hand, almost as if he wanted to retch.
No, this wasn't merely disgust.
It was just sheer fear—the kind that made one hesitant to speak of its cause.
"What did that man d—?"
"HE'S NOT A MAN!" Asher suddenly raised his voice as he hit his two hands on his laps, having widened eyes with moisture evident in them.
His distant gaze was enough to drive anyone insane.
"He's… not a man…" As this tone of his trailed, Rebal had no choice but to agree with him.
"So, what did this subordinate do?"
Everywhere was so silent and peaceful that Rebal was still confused about the details of the event that happened in his absence.
If it wasn't for what he heard from Scylla's communication device, he would have thought they hadn't even begun their attack yet.
'The fact that he scarred my son like this means it was quite the big deal.'
"Is it how he killed the enemies? He used some gruesome means, or…?"
Rebal found Asher shaking his head, so he stopped what he was saying as he watched the latter look him in the eyes.
"He didn't kill anyone."
"H-huh…?" Rebal was left quizzical. "What do you mean he didn't kill anyone?"
"They begged for death… but he didn't kill them."
"They're still alive?"
"Alive? C-can I even call them alive…?"
Rebal was confused. If they weren't dead, that meant they were alive—right
There were just two states of being, and even if someone was being starved or tortured, they weren't dead yet.
They were still alive.
'Isn't he contradicting himself right now?' Rebal thought to himself.
He began to wonder if his son was overreacting.
After all, he too had experienced Ralyks' cruelty and he saw how the man brutally murdered his enemies.
What exactly did the subordinate do that could trump the deeds of his Master?
"What exactly happened here? Were the enemies killed or not? There can only be one."
No… no, Rebal didn't understand.
Asher shaking his head was enough proof, but the older man couldn't comprehend it.
There was only one way for him to truly realize the error of his ignorance; so he could reach beyond his limited understanding.
"I will tell you… exactly what happened." Asher finally said, much to Rebal's relief.
Unknown to the man, it would soon become his nightmare.
**********
"It seems the time has come."
Ater was looking at the moon through a large window from where he stood when he uttered those words.
His gaze appeared distant, as if reminiscing about some far off land, or a time that had long passed.
It wasn't like Asher could understand any of it, as the young man simply sat a short distance from Ater—ready to attend to whatever requests he made.
Despite being a subordinate, Ater's status vastly exceeded Asher's, and the latter knew that very well.
After all, this man was the only one who could save their empire.
"Those fools. They plan on seizing the Capital in a head-on assault rather than splitting their forces and attacking specific parts in order to make proper use of their time and resources." Ater's whispers made themselves known to Asher.
"At least they bothered to divide their forces into two—one attacking the Black Market and the other focusing on the surface. A simple strategy, but it works…"
At this point, Ater turned to Asher and smiled at the young man.
Asher felt a tingle down his spine as he felt the crimson gaze upon him.
Something about it seemed malicious, and the pressure it gave off actually exceeded Ralyks' own.
"This should be interesting."