2 Where the hell am I? (Edited)
In the vast expanse of the void, where no light or sound could be transmitted, but only the endless darkness within the abyss was present…
One soul had been wondering for an eternity, drifting silently forever without anyone impeding its journey through eternity.
That is, until now…
Some mysterious and powerful force pulled and pushed at the soul roaming through the abyss, sending it speeding through the void endlessly, faster, and more volatile. than ever before.
The soul couldn't fight back and save itself as the strength of the mysterious force far exceeded its own strength and capabilities.
Taking a moment to question its own existence, the soul wondered if it was even human anymore as it soared through the void in an unknown direction.
Unable to find an answer for many of its own questions such as its makeup and reason for 'being', the soul continued to examine itself until it noticed some small changes to its form.
The soul was slowly fading away without a clue of its reason to exist and why it was in its current predicament as it squirmed around in pain, trying to free itself from the mysterious forces grasp.
Even worse, it was trying to process what was happening around itself at the same time, draining any energy and strength it had.
The soul tried to gather any information about its surroundings, after wandering around for God only knows how long, it found survival to be near impossible.
It wanted to fade away as soon as possible, so it would not have to deal with this pain and suffering, yet the powers of the mysterious force wouldn't let it go so easily.
Eventually, the soul came to a halt in front of what felt like a golden star, so bright that the soul was concerned it could be burned by the immense light and its enormous power that pulsated around itself.
Suddenly, the soul felt the power of the golden star reduce and the aura of the light stopped lightened the suppression placed on its form while save it from fading away into the abyss.
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"So… it seems you have some willpower and strength to you.
Out of all the puppets so far, you've shown some decent promise, even after nigh eternity in the valley…" cackled the mysterious being in the form of the golden star.
As it spoke, the energy around its form in the abyss pulsated, sending small shockwaves out into the endless void.
Like ocean waves, the energy rushed out across the void in all directions, even sweeping over the soul form in its grasp and control.
The soul did not understand what was going on, much less why it was there, how come it felt stronger and more energetic than ever previously or whatever the 'Valley' was…
To be honest, it was having a world war mentally, trying to figure out who or what it was at all times.
An inkling told the soul that it shouldn't be here within the vast void, especially in front of the golden star, but it couldn't do anything to escape.
Another part of itself told the soul that the 'Valley' wasn't a place for beings such as itself to safely exist there without ending up as food.
It also missed part of its soul, sensing it wasn't completely whole, as if the last few chapters of a novel were bland or scrambled with gibberish written all over.
While the remaining pages of the novel were either damaged by the elements or the ink began to fade away, making it difficult to understand or make sense of, if the reader chose to scan through the mangled book that begun to mould.
Truly a pitiful form of existence.
"You should not exist, especially after your journey in the 'Valley'… but here you are," said the mysterious entity of the golden star, sounding cruel and rather prepared to make the soul's life miserable.
"You are a unique thing…
For my sole entertainment only though… my dear puppet.
You will serve me and my interests in another world.
Good luck my puppet, now go and garner my source of entertainment and joy hahaha!"
The golden star cackled, with its voice reaching out into the void, as if spitting in the face of the soul.
Immediately, the golden star sent out an energy beam into the soul, settling a raidiant golden flower within its core form, blooming like it's in the height of spring.
A crack appeared in the darkness of the void and the soul soared through, vanishing away onto a new path, dictated by the mysterious entity and its powers to force the hand of Fate and Destiny.
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֍ Kros Empire – Capital ֍
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In the grand palace of the imperial city, sat a man on an exquisite throne, adorned with various previous jewels and metals such as gold and silver.
The man seated on the throne was the Emperor and an anxious one at that, even with his Imperial Knights surrounding him from all points in the throne room for his safety.
Each of the Imperial Knights stood impeccably like marble statues, yet capable of moving at the peak of humanities capability to attack and defend for their Emperor.
Most people would be far too interested in the armour and equipment utilised by the Imperial Knights, as it was engraved with various intricate points of detail that increased the value and capabilities of the equipment.
But it still couldn't stop the Emperor from being anxious, since it wasn't the fear of death by assassination on his mind.
No, the Emperor was rather worried about his Empress, whose water broke, leading to news reaching him of the impending birth of a child.
The first child between himself and his Empress, who would eventually lead the Kros Empire in the future.
For now, though, the Emperor worried about the Empress's health and wellbeing.
Everything was prepared to ensure the safety of the child and mother, but the Emperor still couldn't stop fearing something could possibly go wrong, yet he prayed to the Gods and Goddesses that all is well.
At times he would shake out of fear and worry about raising a child, as the subject would come up on his mind, however he would subconsciously remember his own childhood.
His own father wasn't one to express his emotions, especially to his own family, since it could be seen as weakness.
The Emperor's own youth consisted of beatings and senseless training sessions while under the supervision of his father or hired educators and instructors.
It was done in the hopes to instill manhood, commitment, strength, and leadership qualities but instead created a rift between father and son that became irreversible.
The Emperor was aware his own ministers and advisors would recommend the same sort of education for his own child, even if it was rather cruel and gruesome.
For Royals and Nobles of this world it was considered necessary education, just like breathing and sleeping, as it would be ingrained into the person.
However, the Emperor didn't believe it was necessary for an innocent child to experience such harshness at such a young age, as it would affect the mind of the youth and their further development in his opinion.
He truly hoped the next generation would be better than the last, but he knew it would be incredibly difficult to influence society to change their views and belief on a certain subject, when they could easily conduct its practise in secret.
Before the Emperor could further delve into the subject matter, an aide to the Emperor rushed into the throne room with news.
A successful birth of a baby boy had occurred!
A boy was born and with that a successor of the Empire.
The delight on the Emperor's face was not going away anytime soon.
That was until he was rushed to the mother's side after receiving urgent calls from her Majesty's Imperial Healers.
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'God what the hell!
How am I alive?
Argh, why does everything hurt so much, this pain…
I don't think I can keep myself awake…'
As the consciousness of the baby began to fade, the last things he saw was a shadowy figure dashing towards him at quite a pace, shouting random words that couldn't be understood.
The babe also sensed the warm embrace of the dark shadow next to him, bracing his whole body in its arms that held him close to its chest.
He sensed the dark shadow was tearing up. as droplets fell on his small delicate body, being the first new sensation besides the delicate and nurturing grasp of the closest dark shadow.
The babe did not understand what all this meant, other than the words that suddenly appeared before his eyes.
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[!¡! ALERT !¡!]
[System activation has failed to boot up!]
[Soul of Host has been tampered with, damaging System Coding, Operations & certain Functions!!]
[System will place Host in comatose state till soul is repaired and capable of functioning alongside System Operations without failing Installation]
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As the Emperor finally reached the room, he bolted inside to see the last moments of his son's cries as they slowly faded away with the wind into dead silence.
The baby closed his heavy and weary eyes before he became eerily silent.
The Empress wasn't in any state of mind to reply to the Emperor's frantic questions, as she was grieving herself.
She held on tight to her baby boy, weeping uncontrollably while rocking her child's lifeless body.
Only the faint sounds of him breathing could be heard, yet it still wasn't enough to surpress the heavy tears and cries of the Empress, who continued to beg the Gods and Goddesses to help her child, but her prayers remained unanswered, leaving the Empress to continue weeping aloud.
Her voice echoed through the giant halls of the palace that night, turning the defining structure of the Kros Empire, into a place for pain and anguish, when it should have been filled with laughter and joy.
The cries of a grieving mother in pain could be heard throughout the walls of the silent palace.
To help her recover, the Empress was moved to another room with the baby, while the Emperor was informed of the strange birthing.
The baby cried far more than usual, and they noticed his body was changing constantly.
It was like his bones were cracking and repairing themselves at an alarming rate, which was visible for all to see and feel when holding the baby in their arms.
The healers deduced the bones were shattering and then reconstructing themselves in an alarming rate of speed.
Even after the baby lost consciousness, his bones continued to break apart and rebuild themselves.
Unable to do anything, they called for other physicians for aid before informing His Majesty with their final analysis pertaining to the Prince's health.
They concluded from their observation, the child would pass away soon from the pain of the constant breaking and repairing of his bones, or he would die from malnourishment.
In the end the Emperor decided to separate the child from the Empress and pronounce the child having passed away in his sleep at some point afar from the palace to help ease any social unrest that might arise.
He had to make this announcement for his empire and his people, before altered news reached the populous, changing their thoughts on the birth of the first child of the Emperor.
Though it still pained the Emperor to make such a decision that would not only condemn his child, but also his relationship with the Empress.
Determined to ensure the wellbeing of his loved ones, the Emperor made some strategic choices that he believed would safe guard the Imperial Royal Family, and honour the value of the commoners and society as a whole.
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The Empress on the other hand couldn't part from her child, even at the insistence of her family and loved ones.
She tried everything in her power to resist the Royal Guards of her husband that came for the child, infuriating the woman, who felt that her husband couldn't dare to face her anymore, after making his decision.
The Empress decided to ask the aid of her loyal Imperial Royal Knights to protect her and the child as they escaped during the middle of the night, thinking the Knights could cause a distraction that would enable her safe escape.
However, her plans failed as her own Imperial Royal Knights believed the rumours circulating throughout the palace among the servants since the boy's birth.
Rumours of the boy's eyes heavily bleeding blood and that they turned completely black, terrified majority of those who heard the tale.
Another rumour was of the child's eyes burning brighter than the sun, burning those in the delivery room with the Empress into ash.
It was believed once the Empresses saw his eyes, her mind was destroyed causing her 'hysterical rage and unusual behaviour' that caused untold damage to the Empress body and soul.
There were even rumours that the child was possessing the Empress, using his eyes to control her.
They came to their own conclusion and thought the child was a demon spawn, though no one had the guts to say anything on their mind, unless they wished for a miserable death.
The rumours only reached the ears of the servants and knights, never making their way to someone of importance that could reprimand them for such thoughts, so they continued to spread like the plague.
However, those numerous rumours were enough to make the entire palace staff and Imperial Royal Knights eventually hate the child as if it were an enemy of the throne that they all believed in.
Hopeless and alone, the Empress whispered some words to her son before passing him over to the Imperial Royal Knights.
She blamed herself, thinking she did something that caused harm to the child, gifting the babe a horrible fate and destiny, but the truth was far from it…
The child was passed over to the Emperor's most loyal and close friend that many believed was the third most powerful person in the whole of the Kros Empire.
Yet the closeness of the two individuals came to be because of their families and their roots.
The Imperial Royal Butler held the babe, knowing all the responsibilities now laid with him, though the direction of the child's future had been predetermined, saving the butler a great deal of time and effort.
In the meantime, the Emperor chose to ignore any reports of the child's progress as the guilt of abandoning the babe was far too much for him to handle.
Instead, the Emperor focused on the people of his Empire and their needs to survive during a time when development wasn't progressive or forward but stagnate.
All that he could do was place the Empire first…
For the Empire and its glory.
That is why he took a big leap forward for his empire and called for some people to his study to plan for what was next.
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Time passed quickly and 6 months were gone since the Kros Prince's birth and today was the day he would be sent to the remote regions of the Empire, or to be more exact, the most southernly region of the empire, the Plano Ranges.
It was a vast expanse of land surrounded by mountains on both sides of a deep ravine, that infact was a dense forest which rested in between the two mountain ranges.
Stretching far into the horizon, the forest jungle had yet to be completely explored, since the dangers were far too much for rewards that might not even be found.
However, the land that was already scouted and claimed into the Plano Ranges was rather fertile and known to produce some of the highest quality produce across the Kros Empire.
Unfortunately, the farmers in the region weren't too great in number, as the region was rather inhabited by adventurers and thrill seekers.
They would race to the Plano Ranges, hoping to deal with the regions biggest issue of monsters that lurked and hid themselves in the vast forest between the two mountains.
These Monsters could easily wipe out tens of thousands of Knights without lifting a finger if they so choose but these sorts of Monsters weren't overly prevalent, but rather a fine tale to tell others.
Therefore, it was not advised to live in Plano Ranges, but there was a small city that was able to survive and somewhat thrive in the region.
It quickly became a haven for adventurers and warriors to trial themselves against the dangers lurking within the forest.
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The Royal Butler had organised carriages to transport the child to the Plano Ranges, sending along a small team of staff that would remain by his side and look after the child.
It took quite some time to organise staff to go with the child, since too many believed him to be cursed or a demon and would reject any mention of going to the Plano Ranges when asked if they wished to join the Prince's convoy.
In the end, the Royal butler chose some staff members that were currently training and sent along his son to be the Prince's personal butler.
Originally, he did not wish to send his own family member, but nobody would accept the job of being by the Prince's side.
Not only that, but his son was also the only person to show the babe any sort of affection and love besides the Empress, who'd become increasingly cold and distant as of late to those who observed her.
Therefore, his youngest child had volunteered himself before the Emperor, so he would not be stopped by his father and would have the support of his Majesty in protecting the Prince.
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The journey was quiet and safe for the most part.
At times they would be attacked by small raiding parties of bandits, but they would be killed off quickly by the few Knights that were sent along as protection.
Time passed quickly and 3 months into the journey towards Plano Ranges, a large group of soldiers appeared.
They wore Knights armour that had been stripped, battered, and fixed after going through battles after battles for a long time.
To the untrained eye, it might seem like the armour was about to shatter from a single strike since they had extensive damage from use over the years.
However, it was far from the truth.
In fact, it meant the individuals wearing the armour had tempered themselves through deadly battles, typically leaving them with many different scars and injuries to boast about.
Battle-hardened warriors who knew how to adjust themselves in the middle of conflict for greater gains and influence, regardless of honour and ethics.
The moment the Knights guarding the Prince saw the large group bandits in damaged Knights armour, they rode out of there as quickly as possible, utterly scared out of their wit after noticing plenty of blood stains on the Bandit Knights Armour.
Even the driver of the carriage where the Prince was resting escaped.
Only the Butler and three other servants remained inside the carriage.
Scared out of their mind, not knowing how to survive this ordeal, the young butler stepped out first and yelled out towards the bandits.
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"Why have you come?!
We have nothing to give other than a few bits here and there.
Other than that, we have nothing here of value, as the armour on the escaping Knights is more than you could imagine, if sold to the right people in the Dark Market."
The son of the Imperial Royal Butler kept his anger in check and chose not to let it consume him, as the rage would turn the confrontation into an all out war in a heartbeat.
"Ohh is that so… well you might as well give us those 'few bits here and there' and you can add the interest on top of that as well."
A burly sounding man spoke out under the knight's helmet as he rode forward a little towards the carriage.
He never held back his contempt and laughed quite merrily in the face of the young man who was determined to protect the Prince.
"Interest?"
"Yeah…, look just leave and go home, brat.
Everything here is ours, so get lost.
There is no point in you wasting about here anymore…"
After hearing the threatening tone of the bandit, the young butler prepared himself for battle.
In his mind he already decided that he would not let harm come to the Prince.
Even if he never woke up, he would remain by his side until his very last breath in this world.
He could not understand why he felt like this, since a small part of his turbulent mind wanted to run home to his mother's embrace, to be in the comfort of his home and safe environment.
While another part wanted to fight as if this battle would lead to his end at the hands of the Bandits in Knights Armour.
But… for this Prince, he could not leave.
NO MATTER WHAT!
The young butler drew the blade of his sword from its sheath, standing alone as the wind blew past his lone figure standing in front of the Prince's carriage.
Those who stared into the eyes of the young man could sense his fearless determination and unbreakable mindset to be the force that would stand in front of their goal.
His eyes were enough to cause every single Bandit to recognise the man as a problem, and one that could possibly harm them all dearly if not approached correctly.
"My name is Alfred, the youngest son of the Imperial Royal servants' household of Aleister and you have stopped the carriage of His Majesty Prince B- "
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"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!
Did I ask for your life story?!!
That demon kid's fate has been decided and you will not be able to stop us, you fucking brat!
You are a small bug… someone who doesn't matter to us, so leave!!
There is nothing you can do for this Demon Prince, who'll be beheaded by my rusty blade.
We were told not to harm you, but if you keep speaking, I'll ignore that order and gut you here and now.
So, hurry the fuck up and leave already!"
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After hearing the words of the burly bandit, Alfred hesitated for a moment before asking if the others would be spared like him.
All that he got back was a sly grin from the bandit.
Alfred understood immediately.
If it were not for his noble family being the royal butlers of the Kros Royal Family for generations, Alfred believed he would have learnt about the ugly truth of the world at a younger age, rather than at the Imperial Academy.
From other children, Alfred saw the disgusting truth about Nobles and their power, as it corrupted their thinking and beliefs into a warped belief they were above all else.
In general, he learnt how cruel this world was at an early stage, but even then, Alfred cursed it was too late.
In this world, slavery was very common, having been established so long ago, that things like r@pe, abduction, kidnapping, murder was just a common occurrence among the populous.
He knew that the other three servants, two of whom were female, would go through the same treatment as all the other women abducted all over the world.
They would be played with and killed afterwards, if not sold off, only to experience the same treatment with another source of brutality.
Leaving them to such a cruel fate would go against his very being and the honour of his family's noble name and principles.
Taking this all into consideration, Alfred stood firmly with his beliefs and morals, leading the young man to change his whole aura from steady calmness, into a fiery beast who was ready to shred apart its foes.
Alfred suddenly dropped his body's centre point of gravity and dashed forward to attack the bandits in front of him.
Kicking off the ground, Alfred left a small crater in the ground from where he launched his whole body into action.
With his blade to his right side, he slashed and stabbed through the enemies, though he moved to aim at the steeds of the Bandits, removing any chance of their sudden escape.
Alfred was not the strongest warrior, even during his days at the Imperial Academy, he was known to be far weaker compared to his elder brothers and sisters.
This would lead to him often being bullied and outcasted by the other kids his year at the Imperial Academy.
At first, he was unable to understand why nobody liked him or spoke with him, so when he asked some of children, Alfred was told a lie that his own siblings were the ones to warn everyone to stay away from him.
In fact, his siblings had warned the other children to stay away when certain groups wanted to bully the young and carefree Alfred.
They did it out of concern, but certain noble children were able to twist the statement for their own purpose.
The ambiguous wording allowed the children to rain terror upon an innocent Alfred regardless of the warnings enforced by the elder children of House Aleister, since Alfred's own siblings weren't concerned by his declining mental health.
Alfred became furious that his own brothers and sisters despised him for no apparent reason which in turn fuelled his determination to grow beyond them and their reputation among noble society within the capital and throughout the empire.
Therefore, Alfred trained and prepared endlessly for the Royal Knight Competition during his time at the academy.
Alfred would face all his brothers, sisters, and the numerous cousins throughout the tournament, drawing huge crowds during each battle.
Each time he was paired against a family member, Alfred would take his time to inflict as much damage and torture throughout the battle.
He would only end the fight with disarmament after he was thoroughly satisfied by the harm caused to his supposed loved ones.
Some of his siblings that he used to believe were kindhearted, tried to persuade him to stop the destructive nature of the duels, but Alfred just showed them no mercy and made sure to inflict them the greatest level of pain and harm.
One of his dearest sisters when Alfred was younger, found herself scarred and heavily injured with broken bones.
She tried to stop the ruthless Alfred by appealing to his kind heart that she knew from decades earlier, yet it was all for naught, as her dear younger brother fought her with his bare hands and beat her into submission.
It was a rather disturbing fight to watch, as it scarred members of House Aleister who came to the Gladiatorial Arena to see contest.
They truly worried about Alfred and his mental state, though it was far too late for any hope of mending the relationship in Alfred's mind.
He instead focused everything on reaching the finals stage, however Alfred retired before the last fight and his eldest brother won the tournament in the end.
Many believed from the strength shown from such a young age, that against his elder brother, Alfred would win, but the sudden retirement caused many to be outraged at the decision.
To quell the anger of the people, the elder brother stated he and those of House Aleister gfrom his own generation wouldn't participate in any competitions held by the Emperor and Imperial Royal Family.
This was done to fuel other competitors to join the various competitions held across the Kros Empire, but more so to stop the noble society of the Empire to interfere in the personal issues of House Aleister.
Alfred's eldest brother also stated he would be taking on more of the family obligations to the Imperial Royal Family, meaning there would be a significant reduction of time spent on developing his strength as a Knight.
The people were at first quite shocked by that statement, even his own family were angry with this son of theirs since most people consider John Aleister as a candidate to join the Imperial Royal Knights of the Kros Empire.
Much to everyone's surprise, Alfred accepted his eldest brothers' choice, even wishing him well with his future endeavours, which also happened to be one of the very few times they ever spoke with one another.
Everyone was shocked by his words and more so when Alfred said he would be leaving for some years to travel and also stating he would take on the family's obligation to the Royal Family, just like his eldest brother on his return.
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Unknown to his family, the young Alfred was chosen by a mysterious person to be his new disciple.
What that man noticed was not the strength Alfred had displayed during the tournament that he worked so hard to improve.
Rather his agility, speed, reaction time, understanding and reading the opponents movements were instrument in his decision choosing Alfred as his next disciple.
While a little concerned about the health of Alfred, in regards to his own family, but those issues were of little concern to the mysterious person.
Alfred's commitment to work hard and improve himself from being the weakest within his own family's ranks to one of the strongest was of no concern to the mysterious man either.
All that matter to the man was Alfred's ability to learn new and difficult paths of combat, far different from the typical pathway of a Knight.
However, the deciding factor for Alfred to take on this new path was largely down to his eldest brother, who happened to be the last disciple of the mysterious person.
John Aleister, Alfred's eldest brother, knew about his brother being selected by his Master as the next disciple.
Proud of his younger brother, John decided it was time to clear up many of the misgivings Alfred had about the siblings in general, including their cold nature towards him.
John was never proud of the decision set in place by the elders of House Aleister, as it shattered the bond all siblings had with Alfred, especially for their dear sister who use to be the closest person to Alfred.
She was the very same person Alfred brutally beat during the competition, much to the shock of every member of House Aleister, because none of them ever believed Alfred would hurt her.
In their minds, she was the 'Keeper' that kept Alfred in check, not knowing that she turned into Alfred's deadliest target after years of neglect.
As a young child, who knew that his dear sister would help him if asked, it was a rather harsh awakening to witness her leave him in his moment of need.
From that point on, Alfred despised her more than his other siblings, and made sure she knew this fact during the battle.
John became increasingly worried about the state of his younger sister, but she was being comforted by the whole family, while Alfred was still alone.
Ever since the elders of House Aleister learnt of Alfred's natural affinity and ability to absorb knowledge like a damp cloth, they began the arduous process of tempering his emotions, in the most crudest form.
Pushing him to suffer alone, and without the much -needed support of loved ones around him, Alfred became cold to his own family, as vengeance became his sole drive in life.
John's Master noticed this and chose to interfere and help Alfred onto the right path before the young man committed a heinous crime from which nobody could ever return from without harming their soul.
The Mysterious Master wasn't a fan of House Aleister's Elders, because their crude method to educate Alfred could have turned the young genius against the Empire.
Thankfully, John came to him, begging for the suffering of his brother to end before it was too late.
Otherwise, even the Mysterious Master worried what Alfred could do to the Empire and its citizens out of anger and frustration.
Alfred would go to live for a long time with his new Master, learning everything he could as the days went past in a flash.
He worked tirelessly to absorb everything the Master taught him, since Alfred was warned on the very first day of training that their time together could end at any moment.
This was a simple test set up by the Mysterious Master to see the drive and self-reliance embedded into Alfred's soul.
He wanted to know if Alfred would push through each day, barely holding on, or strive to learn and improve, leading himself into developing newfound strength and power unlike anything ever seen before.
Alfred also made sure not to miss any instructions from his Master during their time together, since John warned him about the Master's habit to suddenly change his mind and tell his disciples to leave.
He urged Alfred to study hard from the beginning and never take anything for granted.
Over the years, Alfred turned into a living weapon.
A blade that would not rust or break, that would shine as bright as the sun and blend into the night seamlessly.
He turned himself into a terrifying existence.
Those years of torturous training and study were a difficult period for Alfred.
He had experienced beatings and punishments to the point he could not walk for weeks without assistance, yet he would still train everyday till he bled and then some more.
Even going to the bathroom was an adventure of its own, with his unstable legs struggling to bare his weight for more than a second.
He had to be accompanied for quite some time until he would be healed enough to support himself again.
Many would have been broken if they were in his position, but he grew from that and got stronger.
Thankfully, all the bullying and cruel torture he experienced through his days at the academy, trained his mentality.
Without his mentality being so solid and unbreakable, he wouldn't have survived his Master's training regimen that came from the deepest depths of the gory pits of hell.
That very same existence was slaughtering the bandits, within minutes reducing the number of opponents with every swing of his blade.
An unbelievable power lurked deep within him, having only surfaced when he came face to face with his enemies.
Currently, Alfred utilised the anger and frustration built up within him to make his way through the Bandit Knights in the most bloodied and gruesome way possible.
Slicing apart limbs and bodies without a second thought or glance, Alfred moved through the assailants like a blazing sword moving through soft butter.
Just as the blade befell on another victim to quench its thirst for blood, Alfred sensed heightened danger for his back, allowing him to parry the first attack, yet Alfred slipped up and let the second attack land partially on the back.
The Bandits slightly grinned and laughed after they saw Alfred bleeding, having finally settled their first attack on his body.
All of the Bandits were emboldened to continue their flagrant attack on Alfred, finally aware that it was possible to defeat a member of the Imperial Royal Butlers in service of the Kros Imperial family.
The small shift in the fighting spirits of the Bandits helped them rush Alfred erratically in the hopes of inflicting further damage.
Some moved to attack simultaneously, with some of the Bandits choosing to move when Alfred seemed to ignore their position.
Yet none of the Bandits noticed their men towards the back of the group, slowly falling to a silent attack not inflicted by Alfred or anyone from the Kros Prince's convoy.
With everyone's attention mostly on the Imperial Royal Butler, none noticed the hiding group of Adventurers watching the battle from the forest jungle, safely protecting their own position from being attacked upon.
They had been stalking out the convoy and Bandit Knights for quite some time, trying to figure out how the situation developed to the current point.
While hiding themselves among the dense trees of the forest jungle and overgrown bush shrubs, their eyes were glued to the young peerless swordsman butler cutting down the other party alone, without a moment to waver in the fight.
There was no signs of fear, anger or manipulation in his eyes and movement.
They could not believe someone so young was so calm in the face of adversity.
However, after watching that very same young man slaughter through every single person he encountered with the bloodied blade, each of the Adventurers came to the same startling conclusion.
He was a terrifying existence.
An Imperial Royal Butler was no less than fearful as Knight, trained and educated by the Imperial Royal Kros Family.
One of the younger Adventurers thought of helping the swordsman at first, yet the other members of the group believed the swordsman wouldn't require their assistance.
A few even suggested it would be wise to leave the area, but unfortunately, a handful of Bandits noticed their position amongst the trees near the last group of Bandits toward the back end of the Knights, who wanted nothing more than to end Alfred's life with their own blade.
Sadly, none of them would have the chance, as the Adventurers went on the offensive, not wanting themselves to be slaughtered.
None of the Adventurers chose to hold back, and unleashed their own attacks on the Bandit Knights, leaving nothing to chance or luck.
Majority of the Adventurers fought with a sword and shield, though one chose to fight while hidden in the forest jungle, using the cover from the bushes and trees to fire consecutive arrows.
The Bowman from the group provided cover and protection to the other Adventurers, and at times would fire off a couple shots closer towards Alfred, protecting him from a sneak attack.
The Adventurers were all veteran fighters and qualified enough to not be bothered by death, as they swept through the Bandit Knights.
While the Adventurers preferred fighting in a unit against Monsters, and Beasts, they'd fought their fair share of humans, evident by the numerous scars across their damaged bodies.
The injuries didn't bother them or affect their battle prowess, easily viewable by the Bandit Knights crumbling under the pressure of the fast-moving attacks.
In time, only one Bandit Knight remained, who was brought down to his knees by Alfred.
Surprisingly it happened to be the burly talkative Bandit Knight, though his dominate hand was sliced off clean by Alfred, when the Bowman Adventurer fired consecutive arrows at the Bandit Knights shield.
From that point on, Alfred easily handled the Bandit, and brought him to his knees with, ignoring the pleas of the man who knew torture would follow as a means of interrogation.
The Bandit was prepared for the pain, or he thought he was at the very least, but in front of Alfred, the man would squeal like a pig.
Cursing the stupid face of the kid… no, the monster that sliced through all his brothers like it was nothing but hot air, the Bandit waiting for his end.
All he could do now was remember the hot flashes of the battle against the monster that never felt afraid or surrounded during their little war.
No, the man rather had them encircled and controlled under his foot, like they were his prey.
The Bandit finally realised he was nothing more than an ant in front of a beast, playing with his food for fun and exercise.
Before Alfred began to question the remaining enemy, he approached the Adventurers that became involved in the fight.
.
"Thank you for your assistance, kind Sirs.
I apologise, but I am lacking in funds to provide for your generous act, please forgive me."
Alfred lowered his head in respect, bowing to the group of Adventurers, with his sword equipped and be the side of his waist.
The Adventurers were shocked since they did not expect this guy to apologise or bow over the lack of reward that could be offered to them.
Typically, if an Adventurer aided out of their own free will, those who would be helped would pay something in turn, at the very least, but those with higher station in society would see it as a necessary task of the commoners and poor.
That's why the Adventurers were all heavily confused by Alfred, and his actions, since Imperial Royal Butlers weren't poor individuals, nor were those who they served.
For now, the Adventurers collectively ignored the startling piece of information they heard and focused on learning a little more about the Butler Swordsman, capable of fighting them all and possibly winning.
The entire time all of the Adventurers were watching the fight from the forest, they figured out together and alone, they were no match against the Butler in combat.
"Please stop kid.
We should be sorry for not stepping in sooner.
As your seniors we should have stepped up to help much earlier, however we were all mesmerised by your fighting capability.
By the way, my name is Zio, and all of us here are a part of the Adventurer team, the Withering Rose."
With a bright smile on his slightly wrinkled faced, the gentle and muscular giant, Zio stepped forward to meet Alfred's gaze.
"…That's a really depressing name." Alfred said with a straight face that lacked any sense of real emotion, with a slight mask guarding his true thoughts.
"…"
They all just stood there silently.
It wasn't the first time someone had said that, but nobody ever said it to their face.
They never had the gall.
But just as one of the members was about to reply, another member started laughing hysterically.
For a while everyone was looking at him thinking 'what the fuck bro?
Did you have a mental breakdown after so much time over that…'.
After some time had passed, he finally calmed down.
In a solemn voice he explained.
"Your right, it's a depressing name… and sadly, we understand that and we're fine with it.
Our first name was Blossoming Rose when our journey first started and over the years as we built our groups strength in members and fighting prowess, but with times… and losses, we changed our name to reflect our party's situation in time.
Now after so many adventures and journeys to reflect on for a lifetime, we changed our name to our current stage in our journey as a group."
"… Still depressing." Replied Alfred, in a monotone voice and deadpan face.
"…Hahaha! Yes, you can say it is.
We are just at that point in our journey now kiddo.
Anyway, my name is Roth, and from what it seems your short some people to manage the carriage, and we could do we some transportation.
Is it alright if we join you till the next town, while providing security for what remains of the convoy?"
Alfred thought about the request for a bit before responding with a sharp "No".
He wasn't willing to put up with unknown individuals, so he prepared himself to leave after cleaning up the bodies of the dead.
Not wanting to cater to the Adventurers, Alfred moved away with the Adventurers following him and trying to persuade the butler, ignoring the fact that there were individuals in the carriage on heightened alert, especially with everything deadly silent.
Earlier, when Alfred fought through the Bandit Knights with the Adventurers aiding him, a maid was cradling the Prince, while gently humming a lullaby to sooth the child.
That maid and her younger sister were the only staff members to remain, as the others had escaped during the fight, even the other man who was in the carriage with them earlier.
They were aware the Imperial Royal Butler was fighting for their lives and most of all, the Prince's, but the outcome was decided and they feared what might happen if the Bandits captured them.
The eldest of the two in the carriage had originally run away at the beginning but stopped after a couple of steps.
The sudden stop caused her little sister to lose her balance, tripping and flying forward only stopping after a couple meters when she collided into some shrubbery and bushes, covered in mud.
What stopped the eldest maid was the child left alone, abandoned by his family, currently left behind once more in life within the carriage.
She had experienced being abandoned by her family and understood the pain, but she couldn't delve too much on those matters when she needed to provide for her little sister, Agatha.
But something told her she had to protect that child as her own son.
To be by his side.
.
"SISTER LIZ!!
SNAP OUT OF IT!".
Her little sister's desperate pleas snapped her out of her daze, helping Liz click back into control, only to notice the tears and snot covered face of Agatha, who worried for her sister more than her own life.
She was trembling and her eyes shaking from the heavy emotions spiking through her mind, leaving Agatha in tears that constantly ran down her cute bubbly face, in what felt like an eternity of her sister standing still as marble.
Suddenly, Liz grabbed Agatha and led her back into the carriage, while explaining to the young girl that she needed to stand guard by the door.
Liz took hold of the young Prince, and cradled the babe in her arms, like a natural and nurturing mother on instinct.
An act she'd never previously experienced or gone through but it felt normal to Liz, who felt some deep emotions for the child in her arms.
Agatha did not understand why they came back for the devilish Prince, but once her sister made up her mind, there was nothing stopping her, so Agatha did as she was ordered.
Though when she would look over at Liz from time to time, Agatha somehow felt a small wish of her sister's became true with each passing second the Prince was within her arms.
As if Liz promised to give the babe all the love and care she had wished for herself in her youth, but wasn't afforded because of their family situation.
It did not take long for Agatha to realise her sisters meaning of wanting a 'family' of their own, safe and away from the capital of the Empire.
He was abandoned like them, alone, but unlike her who had Liz, her elder sister, the Prince would be without anyone beside him.
Agatha came to her own conclusion and decision on how to proceed in the future, however by the time she knew, the fight outside came to an end.
Looking through the drawn curtains, Agatha noticed Alfred was cleaning up the battlefield, with some aid from strangers.
Suddenly, the Prince began to move restlessly in Liz arms, crying as he finally awoke after months of being in a comatose state.
Both Liz and Agatha were shocked.
It had been nearly a year and he finally woke now.
As they tried to calm the Prince, the mind of the little child was finally able to process what was happening around him.
His first thoughts were 'Where the fuck am I?!'.
