章 9: The New House

The four hooded figures had stood around the general of our army. As they moved around the general, we could see under their hoods. But there were no faces under the hoods but human skulls. One of the skulls of the hooded figure was constantly cackling as if laughing at all of us as it looked out at the army. Another Hooded Skull had occasional flickers of fire in it's empty eye socket like the flames of anger of a berserker burning just under the surface. The third Hooded Figure's Skull had drops of blood running down it's face like the tears of a grieving family. The final skeletal being was just a skull with no emotions being able to be inferred, however it had a carving on it's forehead of a grave stone.

The fourth one looked at all of us, the soldiers of a broken army, before holding out a skeletal hand with a copper hued ring on it. Suddenly that very ring flashed with a bright white light before being replaced by a huge scythe in his hands, the blade of which the skeleton held against the general's neck. The four beings stared at us before the one with the scythe efficiently decapitated the general. That was the first time those four were seen, The Four Scythes.

-Sightings of the Four Scythes (Author: A Broken Soldier), Page 1

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After Charon finished reporting to Adam what Hades had told him, he simply stared at Adam. Adam seemed to pause for a moment after digesting all the information which Charon had dumped onto him before he sighed and ran his hand over his face. He stared at Charon for a second through his fingers before shaking his head.

"Thank you, Brother. I really had hoped that we wouldn't end up involved in the wanton wars that have begun to wreak havoc across our continent, but it seems we are not quite that lucky." Adam paused as he looked up at the ceiling before chuckling to himself, "Although, I am glad to see you finally make Hades your subordinate even if officially he is still a freelancer while he investigates."

"I suppose I do feel guilty for it taking this long, I hadn't even noticed that I was already ordering him around until he pointed it out to me." Charon thought back to all those times he had Hades help with something that was not related to Hades' contract whatsoever.

"Now, onto a more important topic Charon. You have created your own species, as the progenitor you are now able to create your own house. Rather, you have to create your own house. You already have a well renowned ex-freelancer under you, and you yourself are one of the most talented soul mage seen in decades." Adam saw that Charon was glaring at him and could only shrug, "There are not many laws that the royal family of Nekronis Kingdom have to follow but this one is ironclad. First was the vampire split in the very beginning, by one of our ancestor's brother, then later on came the Wraiths and Liches, also created by a member of our family. Each one created their own house and had their descendants rule as one of four kings. Now it is your turn to create a house, although we don't need to announce it until after Hades has finished his task from you. The other Kings have already approved of it, now you just need to begin creating it. Starting with..."

"Don't you dare say it, I won't do that! I'm still young, I want to focus on my research." Charon interrupted Adam in frustration over a topic that had been discussed many times before.

"I do apologize Charon, but... you need to get an heir." Adam gave Charon a sheepish smile.

"Damn you! You just want to be an uncle don't you?!? I just want to do my research! What if the kid hates doing research with me?!? I DON'T WANT TO MARRY SOMEONE JUST TO HAVE SOME BRAT THAT DISRESPECTS RESEARCH!" Charon, immediately imagining the worst case scenario begins to fall into the abyss that is rage, as his skin unconscious;y crackles with sparks of the mysterious white energy.

"Charon! Calm down brother, no kid of yours is going to hate research, it's just not possible frankly. You also don't need to marry. Honestly, we don't even know if your species can even sire children." Adam began using his 'Big Brother voice' which had been used in many similar situations before.

As Charon listened, he found the first sentence Adam said so true that even his instinct cut down his anger inside him and that he should listen to his brother. Taking a few deep breaths, even though Charon was almost certain he no longer needed air, he managed to calm down before sitting back into his chair and the white energy which had crackled along his arms and face was dispersed. Adam sighed in relief, for one he felt actual life threatening danger albeit briefly, from this brother of his who had yet to catch up to him in strength.

"Sorry, I tend to lose myself when it comes to research." Charon looked away from Adam like a child who was about to be scolded.

"Brother, you can be honest about the real reason why. It's okay to be worried about the future, hell I know I am. You just need to not lock yourself away so much, you tend to forget how to talk to people when you do." Adam shook his head at his brother before continuing, "What I was thinking was you could go to the orphanage in the capital, meet some kids and decide a possible heir to adopt. You could even adopt one of them right then and there if you feel so inclined. With you being able to turn people into your race, it may as well be the same as making them your children anyways. Of course with how painful it is you ought to wait until they are old enough to handle the pain before performing the ritual."

"Yes,I suppose you are correct as usual Adam. If I am to be the new King then I must work on my antisocial behaviour. I guess a good start would be to visit the orphanage and just see if any of the children could make a good heir, and a good research partner." Charon whispered the last part under his breath before getting up and leaving the room.

Adam could only shake his head before pulling out a golden bell from his desk. He picked up the bell and infused some of his Mana into it before ringing the bell once. As the bell rung out, a shadow could be seen coagulating in front of his desk as an old butler rose from the shadow. The Butler gave Adam a bow before looking him right in the eye.

"So I assume Charon just finished his report about the forest?" The butler asked as Adam's eyes grew in surprise before he let out a chuckle.

"Yes, I assume then that you already informed the other Kings?" Adam inquired as he looked at this mysteriously loyal butler, almost as if some secret about him would appear if he stared hard enough.

"Yes sir. I also intend to help Hades with his investigation from the background when able." The Butler grinned as he thought about the young ex-freelancer and his potential to be almost as excellent as a butler as The Butler himself.

"Good, I want you to keep me and the others updated as this continues on. Also, try to find any research books on souls that Charon hasn't already found and send it to him while introducing yourself to him. He will be your new master soon anyways." Adam added on before pulling out more paperwork and seemed to almost cry.

The Butler chuckled at Adam's hatred of paperwork before sinking into his shadow, "As you wish, my lord."

As the cogs of ate continued to turn, in a room somewhere in the capital was four people spread around a table with various herbs on top of it. One of the people gathered was actually one of the 'newbies' which Hades had been training before leaving to talk with Charon. The other three were glancing back and forth from a report in their hands to the 'newbie'.

One of the three was dressed in typical nobility wear, with a pin on it that is especially common amongst nobility of the Atlea Kingdom Nobility. Another is wearing monocles along with the scholarly garb that is common amongst government officials of the Dregh Empire. The last one is a older man with scars across his face and a weapon tied to his waist with a red band tied around his arm, A fashion choice that is quite common for veteran freelancers.

"So lad, you are following the job exactly yes?" Asked The Man who seemed to be a veteran freelancer.