บท 31: Messy thoughts

Lucas walked, cursing Lilith for starting an argument. He cared for them deeply, but he couldn't understand why she was so upset about Lucas trying to protect them. 'How am I in a wrong here? I did this to protect them and this stupid kingdom!' Lucas muttered angrily to himself. Then he stopped walking and stared at something that had caught his attention: a gigantic statue of king Thomas holding a sword up high.

'This bastard. Don't think I don't know that you woke Dorian up.' Lucas said, looking at the statue. 'You're going to pay for it, you little bitch!' Lucas growled in anger.

He started walking again but then noticed something else: a signboard hanging from the wall behind the statue; it read 'Welcome to the Elemental kingdom.' Lucas sighed and walked away.

"Tsk." Lucas clicked his tongue after walking further into the city center as thoughts about his argument with Sarah and Lilith continued to appear in his mind. He thought about what he could have done differently and how could he have avoided the conflict. However, he kept trying to persuade him that he was not in the wrong.

"That bastard Thomas is to blame." Lucas said to himself. "Thomas could have saved Dorian's father." Lucas clenched his fists so tightly that his fingers hurt.

Suddenly, Lucas felt cold metal pierce his skin; he gasped and looked down. A dagger was sticking out of his chest. Lucas struggled to pull the blade free, but it wouldn't budge. Lucas sighed and turned around to see a masked robber standing behind him. The thief smiled wickedly and raised his hand to strike another blow.

"Good timing." Lucas said as he tilted his head with a villainous smile. "I need some stress relief."

The robber noticed that Lucas's wound would start to close and ejected the knife. The robber backed away a couple feet before jumping forward, raising his right leg and spinning in midair.

"What the hell are you?!" the robber asked Lucas.

"Me? I am an angel of death." Lucas grabbed a robber's leg and twisted it so hard that it broke. As soon as the thief fell, Lucas lunged forward and stabbed him in the heart.

"Oh dear," Lucas whispered. "I'm sorry. But you deserved it."

Lucas looked around for any other robbers but there were none. In fact, there was no one around; 'I killed in a broad daylight.' Lucas muttered to himself.

Lucas sighed and created a fire blast that incinerated dead robber into ashes. Then he used wind magic to blow the ashes away from the scene of the crime. Lucas looked around again; he couldn't find anything suspicious in the city center. 'Looks like there are no witnesses. It would be a bother to return to school if someone saw me.' Lucas said to himself.

Lucas sat down on a nearby bench and sighed. "Well, that was a waste of time." Lucas said, shaking his head.

"How did Lilith know Dorian was a demon, though?" Lucas wondered out loud. "Does this mean that she knows what I am?" Lucas's eyes became wide in surprise; he immediately stood up. But whiffled away that thought. Instead, another thought came into his mind. "C-Can it be that she thinks I am a demon?"

"Nonsense!" Lucas laughed awkwardly. "I am overthinking this."

He walked away from the city center and towards his house. Suddenly, he stopped walking when he heard a familiar voice:

"Lucas, I have been waiting for you."

Lucas turned around and saw Thomas there. Thomas looked like a mess. His torn clothes were covered in blood and dried mud; his recently regenerated jaw had still scars from where he'd bitten his own teeth off. His hair was disheveled and his face was bruised.

"Why did you go to meet Dorian?!" Lucas asked.

"To kill him." Thomas replied coldly. "I wanted to kill him."

Lucas burst out laughing.

"Kill him? You're insane! What makes you think you can kill Dorian?" Lucas asked incredulously. "I fucking warned you. HE IS AS STRONG AS DRAKE!" then Lucas continued with an annoyed tone. "Speaking of Drake. Where the hell is he?"

"H-He's not available." Thomas said and took a deep breath before telling, "That's why I need your help."

Thomas stared at Lucas and waited for an answer. Lucas looked at the ground and sighed as he considered how to respond. Finally, he nodded.

"You want my help? Well, what do you need?" Lucas said. "Sure. I will help you."

Thomas's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes."

Thomas smiled in relief, but that quickly turned into a frown as Lucas started laughing.

"But I won't help you fight, Dorian."

"What?!" Thomas exclaimed in shock. "Are you mad? I need your help in killing him!"

Lucas shook his head. "No, I don't want to help you kill him." Lucas walked closer to Thomas and pointed at his chest. "I already told you. The situation you're in is on you."

Thomas clenched his fists in anger but didn't say anything.

"You want to kill Dorian to protect the kingdom? That's fair. I am all for protecting our home. However..." Lucas said slowly while thinking. "If you need to use me to weaken Dorian, you need to wake up! Look at yourself," Lucas gestured at Thomas and added, "Dorian fucked you up before even knowing how to use his power."

"T-That..." Thomas stammered, "That's why I need your help. Come on! Please!" Thomas pleaded desperately. "You can weaken him!"

"I can. But I won't." Lucas crossed his hands over his chest and looked at Thomas sternly. "I said I will protect my home, and that is exactly what I will be doing."

"W-What?" Thomas exclaimed.

"As long as his vengeance is not interrupted," Lucas answered without hesitation. "he won't kill innocent people."

"How do you know this?" Thomas asked.

"Because we made a deal." Lucas answered. "We both agreed that he won't kill anyone as long as he gets to avenge his father."

Lucas pushed Thomas away so he could walk into his apartment. He opened the door and turned back to say one last thing.

"Without Drake, there is no way that we could win."

Then Lucas closed the door and locked it, leaving Thomas standing outside his house.