– Hahaha, oh God, – Theo cried, wiping away his tears. – Brother, you should see your face right now! This is hilarious!
Theo's hysterical laughter echoed for a few more moments, each one giving Raphael enough time to contemplate the best ways to get out of this situation. His mind raced with numerous possibilities, but they were all either too far-fetched or suicidal. After the battle with thirty assassins and their leader, an unprepared Raphael was on the verge of collapse. The most he could manage was a couple of spells, which would hardly be enough against an experienced A-rank assassin and a Guardian.
– What's the matter? Trying to think of a way out? Forget it. After using our family's forbidden technique, your strength is clearly spent. And judging by the ice shards around us, I'm guessing your mana is drained too, – Theo smirked.
– Master! Please, I kept my word and exhausted the Honorable Knight, just as you requested…
In an instant, the leader's head rolled off his shoulders.
– Tch, as if I'd take orders from mercenaries.
– Pfft, brother, you haven't changed one bit. Still the same empty talker you were as a child.
– Shut your mouth! Address me properly and call me the Guardian of the Mirror Lake! – his older brother snapped.
– And what exactly have you done to earn that title? – Raphael retorted, slowly descending from the remnants of the clearing, clutching the wound in his side. – You not only violated the family code but also committed treason. After that, at best, you're just a sewer rat.
Whoosh.
The aura around Theo flared, taking on a dark red hue. A gust of wind rose around him, and the nearby trees shattered, scattering in all directions.
– Watch your mouth, scum. I'm doing the family a favor by ending your life.
Even under Theo's overwhelming aura, Raphael didn't flinch, though he felt its pressure. He stood, leaning on his beloved rapier, and looked up at Theo, who was perched atop the ridge.
– I'm curious, you were with Sister Aurora. Is she involved in this? And the Mother Superior? Everything's going too smoothly, considering where we are.
– You on the brink of death, and that's what you're thinking about? If you want to care for someone, worry about your own people.
In a flash, Raphael's rapier and he himself were inches from Theo's eyes.
Clang.
Theo deflected Raphael's strike, retreating slightly, gripping the hilt of his sword.
"Where the hell did this bastard get so much strength?!"
– What happened to Erin? – Raphael demanded in a tone that brooked no argument.
– Oh, I almost got scared there. Take it easy.
– Answer me!
– Well... see for yourself, – his older brother replied with a smile.
Stepping aside, Theo's knights brought forth the head of a young girl with black hair and tossed it at Raphael's feet. Looking down, he saw a horrifying sight.
The girl's head was mutilated beyond recognition. Where her eyes should have been, there were petals of dark roses, oozing black blood that left ominous stains on her skin. These roses, like vile worms, sprouted from her neck and through her entire head, grotesquely disfiguring it. Their velvet petals contrasted starkly with the pallor of her skin, creating a macabre display.
Inside her mouth, there were no teeth or tongue. Her jaw was brutally torn, and black, festering liquid dripped from the gaping hole. The stench of rot and death hung in the air, clouding Raphael's mind. The skin on her face was marred with cuts and burns, as if someone had tried to erase any trace of her humanity.
Anger.
Grief.
Despair.
Hatred.
Or perhaps disappointment?
Yes, definitely disappointment.
~~
– I'll be your bodyguard? Then promise me you'll be better than you are now, – a proud little girl declared.
~~
– My lord, congratulations on becoming a Guardian! – the young girl said, smiling, and handed Raphael a package with a scarf. – This is for you! I sewed it while you were sleeping.
~~
– My lord, don't overeat before dinner, I made some chicken for you.
~~
Memories flashed one after another as Raphael picked up the head of his dear friend. Erin's smile had always brought him joy. As long as she was around, as long as they and Alice walked through the castle, as long as they could spend time in peace, Raphael needed nothing else.
He had never worried about his own death; he just wanted to see those two alive... Yes, even if it meant they would suffer, as long as they lived. That's what Raphael Earhart always thought.
"If only I hadn't listened to that butler and gone with her... If only I had moved faster, he wouldn't have caught up to us, and here I would have protected her... If only..."
Thoughts began to spiral, pulling Raphael away from Theo and the battle. The intense shock shook the foundation of his steady mind. The once unified personality began to split, until…
D…
Damn…
Damn it…
FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AaaaAAAAAA
AaaaAAA!!!!????????
"…What? Where am I?"
AaaAAAaaaa!!!!
[You're here.]
"Who are you?"
AaaAA1!!
[You don't need to know. But just a little more, and you'll go mad. Hah, it'll be fun to watch.]
"You don't care? I don't even understand where I am right now."
AaaA1!!
[Oh, not at all, it'll be fun to watch. But I think it's not time yet. Wake up, my child, and give this world the pain it gave you.]
Inside Raphael's mind, madness was brewing, the unified consciousness splitting into two, each intensifying the spectrum of emotions every second. He no longer knew where he was, or where that voice was coming from, or whether it was even talking to him… just a moment ago. Or was it not a moment? Raphael's sense of time, as well as space, had completely vanished. All he felt at that moment was a searing burn.
Emotions blended into a terrifying mix. As Raphael lifted his head, Theo's knights and his older brother recoiled in horror.
Raphael's face had turned pale, and black, mud-like tears slowly streamed from his eyes. At this moment, he didn't even resemble a human, but rather a monster. The tips of his hair turned black, and his eyes became dark gray. Raphael's gaze was now completely empty – he had become a soulless machine, seeing nothing.
– Kill him quickly, before he "falls"! – Theo hastily ordered his knights.
– Yes! Surround him and attack with sword aura right away!
The aura-enhanced blades rushed toward Raphael, but with a single circular motion of his aura-imbued rapier, he sliced the nearest knights in half. Those less fortunate were left alive.
One of these knights lay legless, two meters from Raphael. Raphael slowly turned his head in the knight's direction with an expressionless gaze. Anyone who saw him now would not believe it.
– Please... s-spare me... – the knight begged.
Without hesitation, Raphael sliced the knight in half again, his blade cutting from the lower torso up through the head, right down the middle. He stood, holding Erin's head in one hand while his other hand methodically severed the limbs of the knights, one by one, as if he was savoring the process. Yet, even that was unclear – what was truly terrifying was that during these brutal killings, Raphael showed no emotion, said nothing. He simply exterminated his opponents.
– For fuck's sake, kill him already! – Theo shouted, finally losing his patience as he gave the order.
More knights charged at Raphael, but each one who tried to strike was easily and brutally slain. The Guardian had fallen as a knight...
A Fallen Paladin, a knight whose very essence had turned away from the path of humanity and embraced the dark nature of the universe. Such individuals lose their sanity, gaining immense power in return.
Throughout history, only three cases of a Fallen Paladin have been recorded, each one resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. These beings are walking catastrophes, and one of them, driven mad by grief, now stood just fifteen meters away from Theo and his remaining knights.
And although each of Theo's knights was at least an A+ ranked knight, they were powerless against Raphael's overwhelming force.
– What, not so funny anymore, brother? – Raphael, or what was left of him, asked in a flat, indifferent tone.
– Damn it, let's see who's laughing now! – Theo snarled, drawing his sword from its sheath and instantly closing the distance to Raphael, delivering a preemptive strike to the heart. In a flash, Raphael parried the blow, countering with a thrust of his own.
Theo leaped back, pivoting on one foot, and delivered a diagonal slash at his younger brother, pouring his aura into his sword. The shockwave from the strike toppled trees within a kilometer radius of the impact.
– Is that all? Trash, – Raphael replied coolly, his gaze devoid of any emotion as he stared at Theo.
– How dare you! Fifth Divine Technique of the Earharts – Rose Bloom!
Six black spheres of flame materialized in the air, each not exceeding four meters, emitting a toxic smoke.
Pointing his sword at Raphael, Theo stepped back, and the flaming orbs flew toward his younger brother with ferocious speed.
– Fall back if you want to live! – shouted Theo's right-hand man, the commander of the knights.
The knights fled from the potential trajectory of the flaming orbs.
Boom!
A series of explosions ripped through the forest, reducing it to chaos and destruction. Animals that had once peacefully inhabited the green wilderness scattered in panic, their eyes full of fear and confusion. Birds, caught off guard by the explosions, took flight with frantic flapping wings, heading in the opposite direction of the castle.
Within moments, the clearing was transformed from one crater into six, and in the center, Raphael knelt, half of his body charred, still leaning on his rapier with his right hand, while his left hand shielded Erin's face.
"Thank the gods, he didn't fully fall, otherwise this wouldn't have been enough."
– Haha, you had me worried there, little brother, – Theo sneered with a vile grin. – I thought we were in for another tragedy.
– ...
– Hm, nothing to say? That's not like you. Oh well, time to end this.
And at that moment, Raphael felt a sharp pain in his back.
– Ngh... – Turning, Raphael saw the last person he wanted to see here. – Alice?
His only sister, the one he truly considered family. The one who, despite the mockery he endured for years from their older brothers, still came and played with Raphael. The one who would never turn away and would always support him, even if the whole world stood against him... or so he thought.
– Forgive... me, – Alice whispered softly, her voice devoid of emotion.
Raphael's eyes widened.
– THEO! What did you do to Alice?!
– AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes, I knew you'd appreciate my final gift to you! – Theo screamed in hysterics.
Alice's eyes glowed with the same red light as the trio of assassins who had attacked Raphael earlier. She was under Theo's control. If only he had more strength... He might still be able to fight, and maybe, just maybe, he could save Alice. But she appeared just when he had exhausted all his power. How convenient.
– Ha... To die at the hands of my beloved sister, holding the disfigured face of a friend... I guess that's all I deserve, – Raphael whispered quietly, lowering his head.
– Alright, fun's over. I still have to explain what happened here to Mother. So hurry up and die already, – Theo said cheerfully.
With those words, Alice pulled the sword from Raphael's back and, on Theo's command, beheaded him. The last thing Raphael saw was a single tear falling onto his face from Alice's eyes.
***
"Is this what the afterlife looks like?"
Raphael awoke somewhere in a dark void. There was no ground, no sky, just pure darkness. This naturally left him confused.
[You're not dead yet, my child.]
Unlike the previous voice, this one was gentle and soft, almost lulling Raphael to sleep.
– Who are you? – Raphael asked, his voice weary.
[It's too soon for you to know that.]
Although Raphael couldn't see the owner of the voice, he was sure she was smiling.
[Hm, you're surprisingly calm for someone who just heard a strange voice in his head,] – the unknown being remarked in surprise.
– After the events of the last few hours, not much can surprise me, – Raphael replied, exhausted. – So, what do you want from me, right after my death?
[To give you a second chance.]
– Why would you do that?
[Let's just say I have an interest in your life. While I can't return you to the moment of your death, I can send you back to a younger age.]
– Hah, you're a strange one. But if it gives me a chance to return, I'm not against it.
[You're quite amusing, Raphael Sutisna.]
– Wait, what did you call me?
Suddenly, Raphael was blinded by a bright light, forcing him to shield his eyes. Before he could ask the mysterious being more questions, he vanished. The next thing he saw when he opened his eyes was his room in the Dragon's Crest castle.