บท 2: Right or Wrong

"Cool," Regal laughed. "You're young, but you already know how the world works."

"I knew all along," Aiden said. "I just wanted to honor the words of my mother and father. But they died without anything because of their stupid morals. I'm not like them."

Regal narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "Fine. Stay here. But you have to do the house chores. I'll take care of the hunting and cooking."

Aiden grinned and nodded. Finally, he found a place where he could belong to. Regal opened the door for him to become a better person.

He opened his mouth and was about to say something more when Regal suddenly slammed his teacup back to the saucer and lunged his body onto Aiden, so they were now both on the floor.

The boy was caught off guard. He thought that it would be the end of him, but Regal pushed him to the ground without harming him. It was almost like it was in slow motion because their bodies did not collide with the ground, but merely slowly laid on top of it like a leaf falling from a tree.

Before Aiden could even ask what happened, a powerful explosion tore the upper half of the cabin. Regal grinned. He tapped Aiden's shoulder and instructed the boy to hide under the bed.

"Stay here, child."

The man stood and laughed. "So, you have found me, Gordon, the Father?"

'Gordon, the Father?' Aiden almost gasped. He covered his mouth in shock, not believing what he just heard.

In the world, there are a few people who excelled among the rest, they were called Mages. When a person ascends to another level of power, they ask for aid from powerful entities that lie on another dimension to ask for their skills. Among those entities are the Seven Gods.

They are known to hold the most powerful skill set across that dimension. The mages who could call out to them are called the Contracted, these mages are known to have unlimited potential and could equal an entire nation's power with proper training.

And the Father was one of them.

Aiden could not move. His body was frozen by the magical pressure that was coming from Gordon. The mana around them was too strong.

Gordon was a tall man who looked to be the same height as Regal. He had short blonde hair that was slicked back and a pair of rectangular sunglasses sits on his nose.

As the commander of the White Cloaks, Gordon wore a pristine white cloak that reached right above his ankles. He had some silver pieces of armor like shoulder pads over his cloak and a silver chest plate underneath it. Unlike most White Cloaks, the buttons on Gordon's cloak are opened whereas the other White Cloaks have their buttons closed completely.

This shows that he challenges all of his opponents to try and scratch the silver armor underneath his cloak. None has been successful so far.

'A man of his caliber, what could he possibly want from Regal? And who is Regal?' Thoughts entered Aiden's mind as he watched the two exchange glances.

"We finally found you after all of these years," Gordon said to Regal. His white cloak flowed in the wind as he stared at the man who saved Aiden. "We have been trying to find you for years. Why have you gone rogue on us?"

"I could not command an organization that devotes themselves to killing innocent lives," Regal said through gritted teeth. "Those demons are innocent!"

"They are an abomination in front of our Lord," Gordon lashed back. "Those filthy vermins deserved death. They deserve to be ashes under the Lord of the Light!"

"What bullshit," Regal chuckled and shook his head slightly. "You are not the man that I allied with."

"I could say the same to you," Gordon muttered. "Generals!"

Four White Cloaks burst out from different directions. They stood around Regal, all of them having the upper ranks of White Cloaks. One of them alone could fight one thousand Mages, and there are four of them right now.

"Former Commander Regal, wake up!" a young woman said. She was a beautiful woman who was shorter than the rest. She took off the hood of her cloak that showed her long black hair and beautiful angel face. "You should not do this, sir."

"Reina," Regal called out. "You are all blinded by darkness. You're the one who should wake up!"

Reina looked down. "Very well." She drew her sword and raised it at Regal. "You are not the commander I have known before."

"There goes your last ally in the organization," Gordon shrugged. "You just disappointed her as much as you disappointed the rest of us. For ten years, she held on to the thought that you were just misunderstood."

This made Regal scratch his head. "I do not want to fight my vice commander and the generals that served under me."

Gordon clenched his sword, and at that moment, it was clear to Aiden what was happening. Regal was the previous commander of the White Cloaks but they wiped out an entire race— the demons. That was the reason why Regal abandoned the organization. He believed that the demons were innocent.

'But what could they want from Regal that they are so eager to kill him?' Aiden gulped. 'Couldn't they just leave the organization at their own will? There were many White Cloaks that left and lived a normal life after leaving. But what happened to Regal?'

"It's too late for you now, Regal," Gordon said. "Kill him!"

The four generals brandished their weapons and launched themselves at Regal. Aiden clenched his fists as he watched the man who saved him glance at him for a split second and then smirked.

Regal placed a finger on his lips, winking before jumping. He flipped mid-air, opening his right hand where a sword appeared from nowhere. When he was about to land on the ground, two of the four generals were already waiting for him.

A man holding a mace and another holding a spear. Regal laughed and flicked his sword, blocking both of the attacks before they could even land on him. His movements were swift and powerful.

Aiden watched in awe as Regal danced with the four generals. They outnumber the man but he was able to par them effortlessly. Just what kind of power does Regal have for him to match these people?

Secretly, rooting for the man, Aiden felt something on his chest. He looked down and saw that there was chalk drawn under the bed. Aiden gulped as he watched where the chalk goes and realized that he was at the center of a magic circle.

Regal said that he should stay put. Maybe this magic circle was hiding his presence while the man fights. Aiden could only trust his own thoughts. He didn't want to burden the man even more, so his sole job right now was to stay still.

After a few more minutes of fighting, Regal has gained the upper hand. Two of the generals have already fallen and now it was time for Gordon to act. Aiden was scared of how much this man can do with the power of the Father. He was as strong as an entire nation's power after all.

'No matter! Regal had already defeated two of them. What's three more?' Aiden said to himself as he continued to watch.

"The Hellbringer," Regal smirked at the approaching Gordon. "I didn't expect you to wield such a weapon for me."

"67th Commander of the White Cloaks, Regal Godschild," Gordon raised his sword at Regal. "I, the 68th Commander of the White Cloaks, Gordon Grandkill, shall kill you to punish you for your crimes of killing the Great Bishop Palmas!"

Aiden's eyes widened at the revelation. The Great Bishop Palmas was treated as the kindest bishop that ever lived. He always gives a part of the income from the Church of White Light to the poor. His kindness and goodness have reached all lands.

But Regal killed him?

"He commanded the extermination of demons," Regal muttered. "He was the first to become a delusional monster. The demons were innocent!"

"The demons were the enemies of our Lord," Gordon growled. "And you are an enemy as well!"

"But you can never kill me," Regal smirked. "You have never defeated me, brother."

"Stars of Hope shine upon me and allow me to cast this magic! Unbreakable Seal, bless this net!" Reina suddenly jumped and threw a net at Regal. The man's eyes widened but he could not respond on time. He wasn't able to dodge the attack and was trapped by the net.

"Reina's famous seal. A powerful skill that allows her to bless any kind of object to trap her enemies," Regal laughed. "I should've never let my guard down."

"That's right," Gordon said. He raised his sword and smirked. "I had fun for the last ten years, brother. But all of these should come to an end."

The Hellbringer released its smoke as it was raised down to pierce into Regal's heart. Aiden wanted to scream but he was blocked by some kind of magic.

Regal fell to his knees and watched Aiden, grinning at the boy before his body collapsed on the ground. His skill was finally broken and a piercing scream erupted from under his bed.

"What was that?" Reina gasped. She brandished her sword as a burst of dark green light surged from the bed. She kicked the bed away and saw the boy kneeling inside the magic circle. "A Seeking ritual?"

Aiden stood with his head bowed down. The chalk that Regal drew lit up and a flood of powerful energy entered Aiden's body. He didn't know what was going on but he felt himself get stronger.

"Awaken," Regal managed to utter. Gordon's eyes widened as they saw the dark green light around Aiden glow brighter.

"A ritual of creating an archmage," Gordon smirked. "So this is why you stalled us even when your soul has already faltered before the fight. You wanted to protect this child."

"Is it his child?" one of the generals asked.

Reina glanced at Aiden and gulped. "Maybe. His Potential is dangerously high, but he's still just a boy."

"Boy or not, his blood is of Regal," Gordon muttered. He raised his glowing sword, but Reina tried to stop him.

"He's just a boy," Reina cried. "You can't kill him."

Without even thinking twice, Gordon pushed Reina away. He walked towards Aiden where he grinned.

"Sleep well, little one," Gordon vanished from where he stood. Aiden looked around to find him but he couldn't.

He could only gulp as he felt the powerful magical presence of the man that was already behind him. The smoking sword pierced his chest in a single thrust.

"This is Hellbringer," Gordon spoke. "I harnessed the power of the largest volcano on the planet and absorbed every bit of its flames and magic. The sword shall burn your insides first. It will burn and burn until there is nothing left of you."

Reina clenched her fists but there was nothing she could do. "It's too late. Nothing can withstand the power of the Hellbringer. Regal's body is resistant, but he's not immune. The both of you will turn to ashes very soon."

Aiden felt the flames inside his body. He was in a lot of pain, more so than all the pain in his life combined. Tears fell from his eyes as he held on to his burning throat.

"I will kill you."

Those were the last words Aiden muttered before the green light of the magic circle around him vanished. He fell to his knees with his eyes wide and his lips parted. The flesh under his skin lit up with a bright red color before his entire body exploded into ashes.

...

[Notice]

[Initiating contract and agreement.]