Chapter 53: Arena Fifty-One: The Gods Of Death I
[From time and time, humanity has descended into the darkness.]
[They have killed, they have plundered.]
[They have committed atrocities, they have killed their own kin.]
[Yet, they never stop. They never realize.]
[Seeing their foolishness, the God Of Death can only laugh.]
...
"A-ah, dad! Maybe explain some things to me?"
I asked as we walked through the corridor. We had left the room, but not after bursting through a couple more walls. And then we arrived in this corridor, which according to dad, led to outside.
The car he had been using to break in had finally broken due to the damages taken to the engine, so we had to walk to the exit.
"Explain what?"
Dad asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Everything! Why do you have such... high-tech outfits, how can you shoot with such accuracy? How can you break into a highly guarded facility like this?"
I asked, exasperated. Hearing my barrage of questions, dad laughed and turned away.
"Let's just say I have a dark past."
He said in a light yet stern tone, indicating that he didn't want me to ask anything more.
I sighed and followed behind him while holding the gun he had given me in my hands.
"Anyhow, setting my past aside, you should be prepared for a shootout, Arnold. You might have to kill some people."
"K-kill?"
"Yes, kill. You didn't think we would get out of this place without getting our hands dirty, did you?"
Dad looked at me over his shoulders with narrowed eyes. I hesitated for a moment before nodding. What he was saying made sense... Thinking that, I resolved myself to kill.
I didn't want to die, nor I wanted dad to get hurt. If that meant killing others... Then as much as I hated the idea, so be it.
Almost suddenly, a notification surfaced in front of me as I came to terms with the reality before me.
[The God of Death and Afterlife, Anubis, has taken a liking to you.]
[You have satisfied the conditions partially.]
[User's resolve has been strengthened]
[Mental backlash from killing beings of the same species has been temporarily nullified.]
[Compassion and regrets have been nullified.]
[Revenge and emotions related to love and hatred have been strengthened.]
As I read the notifications, I felt my heart becoming colder and colder. Finally, I felt like I could kill anyone, even my own family. At the same time, I could feel hatred burning inside me.
I wanted to kill Felicia, who had betrayed me. I wanted to kill Christopher, who had put Anastasia through such hardships. All kinds of negative emotions had gathered inside my heart.
Something had changed inside me.
"Alright, dad. I'll kill them if the situation asks for it."
I muttered, but dad stopped in his tracks.
He hesitated for a moment before asking.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
After that short conversation, we started walking again.
...
"Where are you going, Raymond?"
Raymond stopped in his tracks as he heard the stern voice behind him. Sighing, he turned and looked at the lord of the house, his father.
"To the Imperial Castle, father."
Lord Winchester narrowed his eyes at the answer before asking another question.
"And why exactly are you going there?"
"To save both Felicia and Arnold, if he is there. The castle has been infiltrated, so we have to hurry."
"Do you know the identity of the man who infiltrated the castle?"
Lord Winchester asked as he walked down the stairs.
"No... I don't."
Raymond shook his head as he tightened his grip on the sword on his waist.
"It's Arnold's father, Alfred Tilgen."
"W-what?"
Raymond hadn't expected such a reveal. He stood there, dumbfounded.
"Do you know about the Tilgen Family?"
"... I don't."
Raymond admitted his ignorance as he watched his father walk towards him.
"Well, that's normal. After all, every data we had about them was erased by the order of His Majesty Christopher."
"... His Majesty ordered that?"
Raymond was more surprised.
"The Tilgen Family is an old family of the empire... That had existed around the time from the first divine emperor."
"T-then why aren't they a noble?"
Such an old family would have been a marquis, or maybe part of the three major houses if what his father was saying was the truth.
"Because they acted as the shadows of the empire. And having a bunch of assassins as nobles wouldn't really bode well, you know."
"Assassins?"
Raymond could now guess what his father was telling him.
"The Tilgen family had protected our empire for a thousand years... Until ten years ago, when the current head of the family, Alfred Tilgen, asked for a sudden retirement."
"And His Majesty granted that?"
"Mhm... After all, Alfred had protected His Majesty from countless assassination attempts. Anyhow, before leaving, he asked for three rewards for all the work his family did."
Lord Winchester stopped there and stared at his son for a few seconds before continuing.
"First, he asked to be treated like a normal citizen, without any preferential treatment. Second, he wanted His Majesty to remove all data about his family... And third, he asked His Majesty to leave his family alone."
"But you know about him... That means..."
"While His Majesty had erased most of the data, he didn't erase everything. And just yesterday, he released the data to us major nobles and the A.R.M.A., in case Alfred wanted revenge for abducting Arnold."
"His Majesty broke the promises."
Raymond gritted his teeth as he felt the complexity of the situation.
"That he did. Now, you have an extremely skilled assassin, who's your friend's father, searching for revenge in one hand, and the Imperial family in the other hand. Will you still go there, Raymond?"
Lord Winchester placed a hand on Raymond's shoulder as he asked the question. Without hesitation, Raymond nodded.
"I will... If I let this continue, Arnold and his family might get branded as a criminal... And Felicia might get hurt in the crossfire. I don't want any of that to happen... So I'll go, father."
Hearing his son's determined response, Lord Winchester sighed and let go of his shoulder.
"Alright then... Good luck, son."
"Yes, father."
Nodding, Raymond left the mansion, leaving his worried father behind.
...
I walked behind my father as I saw him kill the guards one by one with a frightening degree of precision.
Yet, I felt nothing. No fear, no disgust... Nothing.
Anubis's blessings had been working pretty well so far.
My dad, who was walking in front of me, abruptly came to stop just before turning a corner. Then he gestured at me to come before turning the corner together with me.
In front of us stood Felicia, with twelve heavily armed Imperial Guards aiming their guns at us.
Seeing me behind my father, Felicia spoke up.
"It's not too late to turn back, Arnold. Drop your weapon and ask your father to do the same."
She said in a gentle tone as she looked at the gun in my hand.
"If I do that, will you let me and my father go?"
I hissed at the venomous snake in front of me. Dad stepped back while holding the heavy rifle in his hands aimed at the guards in front of us.
"That's... That will be tough. You will be pardoned... But your father has killed Imperial Guards. He'll be judged fairly in a trial... But he'll have to be arrested."
Felicia said with a pained expression, which only enraged me more. She didn't mean those feelings... She was faking it all.
I turned towards dad, who just chuckled.
"Your choice, Arnold. If you want me to step down, I will. Or we can fight and run away."
"..."
I hesitated... But my father's next words forced me to make up my mind.
"By the way... Roxy Rubiat has been kidnapped."
Immediately, all those disgusting words Felicia had said to me came to my mind.
Blood rushed to my head as I pulled up my gun and aimed it at the monster in front of me.
"Arnold, listen to me. It's a misunderstanding. The Imperial Family didn't kidnap Roxy... We didn't even know she was kidnapped until a few hours ago."
"... Fuck you."
I hardened my grip on the gun. As she saw that, Felicia frowned.
"Are you going to shoot, Arnold? Will you really shoot?"
She asked in a gentle tone as she spread her hands.
"Then come on, shoot."
"... oh, I will."
I grinned with malice... Before pulling the trigger.
Felicia's body trembled as the bullet hit her leg. It seemed that I needed to fix my aim.
"Arnold, you have changed."
My father sighed before releasing a barrage of bullets on the soldiers in front of us.
The Imperial Guards quickly surrounded the wounded Felicia to save her. The bullets hit some of the guards... One fell while the others somehow persisted.
Using the time we had gained from that, dad grabbed my hand and ran in the opposite directions.
"After them!"
I could hear Felicia's pained voice behind me as I jumped into the elevator at the end of the corridor.
The door closed behind me, shielding me from the shots aimed at my back. The elevator soon went up to the ground floor above us.
"Are you really okay, Arnold?"
My father asked me while frowning. I nodded once again.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"... If you say so."
He didn't pursue the matter any longer. The rest of the elevator ride passed in silence.
Soon, the doors opened up once again, revealing the ground floor of the castle. We were inside a storage room from what I could gather.
"Come on, let's go."
Dad pushed the door open... Only to find himself staring the blade of a sword.
"Stand down, Alfred Tilgen."
Raymond said to dad as he stood there, silent.
"Raymond..."
I whispered the name of my good senior, who turned towards me with a sigh.
"It's nice to see that you're safe, Arnold."
"... Step aside, Raymond."
I didn't reply to his words of relief. Instead, I pointed my gun at him.
I couldn't trust anyone related to the Imperial Family... And Raymond was their soon-to-be prince. He was Felicia's lover and fiance... Meaning that there was a high chance that he would betray me too.
"Arnold... ?"
Raymond looked shocked as he stared at the gun. I hissed again.
"Step aside, Raymond!"
The senior stared at me, still shocked. Then, finally, he looked down.
"No, I won't."
He gazed at my face with a determined look in his eyes. He wasn't going to budge.
"Then... Die."
I hissed before I pulled the trigger.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone