Chapter 4
Ethan laughed out loud when he heard what the man had said. "You are joking, right?" he said, holding his stomach.
The man didn't seem to find what was funny to Ethan. "You are lucky we aren't allowed to hurt you," he said, turning around to leave. "The ritual will happen in two days," he said coldly. "And by the time you are my puppet and have found the Staff of Nox, you will be the first to witness the beginning of the end."
"Unfortunately, you won't be able to witness the full process of this, but your death would be the first of the many yet to come."
With that, the man left with Hadrian, leaving Ethan alone in the room.
Ethan sighed and laid back down, covering his face. He is in trouble now.
The Staff of Nox, huh?
What does this have to do with him? And what would they need the Staff of Nox for? The Staff of Nox is an ancient artifact that was made from one of Nox's braids.
In Nox's hand, it is a destructive weapon; it is not just a staff. It could be turned into any weapon, according to the situation.
So when the Bloody Tyrant, who kept the staff, died, the Realms War began when the Dark Realm attacked the other realms. A human hero stood up with his party, and they locked the gates of the Dark Realm, hoping to stop the war.
Unfortunately, they died painfully and miserably, failing to stop the war and reinforce the lock. Certain races can leave the Dark Realm and return whenever they want, but they rarely ever leave.
But since the key to the lock is the Staff of Nox, why would they need him?
Well, he isn't going to be around to find that out. He wants to save Hadrian from his upcoming fate, which is probably death because he has a feeling that if he doesn't, he's going to regret it.
But he must first cancel the Curse of Restraint placed on Hadrian. If he remembers how to do so correctly, the only way for someone to get rid of the Curse of Restraint is to kill the master, find the mark, destroy it, and put the puppet in a near-death situation.
The most difficult is finding the mark, and the easiest in this situation is to kill the old man since he doesn't have to fight an army to get to him.
He knows where the mark is. It's on his forehead, but if he wants to destroy it, he needs to get the old man to give Hadrian a specific instruction again and then destroy the mark.
It is set, then; he's going to stain his hands with the blood of his enemies.
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Back at Silver Field Academy...
The news of Ethan getting kidnapped by Hadrian and that they were both nowhere to be found had reached the ears of everyone in the school.
A small portion of the students were relieved because the Villainous Hero is finally gone and they are not choked by his dark aura anymore.
But most of the students were worried: if someone was able to infiltrate the school by placing the Curse of Restraint on a student, who else might this happen to?
Emily too heard the news; she was worried about Ethan, but she was more worried about his familiar, who is in his dorm.
She sneaked into the boy's hostel and into Ethan's dorm. It seems no one has entered yet, but Midnight was nowhere to be found. She searched everywhere but couldn't find the cat. Ethan probably won't know she entered his dorm again without his permission if she leaves immediately.
Emily leaves quickly before anyone notices someone is in Ethan's dorm. Also, it's almost time for her next class.
She was cornered by Crystella before she could get to her next class. She sneered when Crystella cornered her. "What do you want?" she asked, emotionlessly.
Crystella looked down to her feet, trying to gather the right words. "I need your help," she said.
Emily knew Crystella would come to meet her. "I will be late for class," Emily replies. "Your reputation as Arc of Focus is going to be ruined; if you get removed from that position, the mission will fail. We can talk later this evening in Willow Park," she said, leaving Crystella alone.
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Ethan meditated as he waited for the old man and Hadrian to arrive again. He's not in a hurry to leave. He still plans on exploring this place before he returns to Silver Field; after all, this is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity, and there may never be another chance like this.
Maybe if he meditates enough, he'll be able to unlock the other ranks. He only has four ranks unlocked, and the other three haven't come to him yet. He has unlocked the Gravity, Space, and Time ranks. He wonders what the gods were thinking when they created him. No one needs this much power.
He didn't know how long he had been meditating, and he didn't know when Hadrian had returned to the room because he ended up falling asleep as usual.
He snapped awake when he fell out of his lotus position. He saw Hadrian sitting in front of him, watching him quietly. "Hello," he said. He is a bit embarrassed, but he has refused to show it.
"Hello," Hadrian replies.
Ethan looked away awkwardly, 'Taegen would be laughing if he saw me now,' he thought. "Where is the old man?" Ethan asked, wanting to get his mind off it.
"He's in a meeting with the elders; he wanted me to keep an eye on you so you don't try to escape," Hadrian replied.
Ethan could tell he was being honest. He then said, "Don't worry, I don't plan on escaping just yet."
Hadrian squints his eyes in suspicion. "What are you planning?"
Ethan winked at him and said, "It's a surprise."
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Emily sat on the bench next to the willow tree at a park owned by the school. She had a little smile on her face. Students couldn't help but marvel at its lonely beauty. Her blonde hair covered her right eye, and her left eye was dark blue.
She waited for Crystella patiently. When Crystella arrived, she was wearing a hoodie and sat beside Emily. "You're still afraid of being seen with me, I see," Emily said.
Crystella was about to reply, but Emily stopped her. "Don't say anything; what do you want?"
"I want to hire you for a job," Crystella said.
Emily's eyes widened, and she chuckled a bit. "And what exactly is this job?" she asked.
"I want you to bring Ethan back to the academy," she said. "You don't need to worry about how you will leave the academy; I will have that covered."
Emily smiled; she should have known. The thing is, she was already planning on leaving the academy to save Ethan, but she wants to listen to what Crystella has to offer. "And what's in it for me?" she asked.
"I'll give you the Gem of Signare," she said.
Emily didn't hide her surprise. The Gem of Signare—if she's able to get her hands on that, she'll finally be able to return to her family. "Alright, you've got yourself a deal."
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Ethan groaned in boredom. "So," he said to Hadrian. "What do you like to do for fun?" Ethan realized what he said, then mentally slapped himself.
Right one with the Curse of Restraint has no will of their own.
He was surprised to hear Hadrian say, "Read."
"Huh?" Ethan said in surprise.
Hadrian looks away and repeats himself. "I like to read."
Ethan wants to say it's boring, but he would be a hypocrite since he too likes to read. "Do you have any books I can borrow?" he asked. He's bored right now; he needs something to do! It doesn't matter what book it is—a novel, a textbook, anything—as long as he's busy doing something.
"No..." Hadrian refused. His tone was unchanging, monotone, and lifeless.
It was boring for Ethan; if there is no life in one's eyes or voice, it means they are dead through and through. The only thing that guarantees Ethan that Hadrian is a living thing is the presence of the Curse of Restraint.
Is this how he'll be without the curse holding him down?
"I wonder what that would be like," he murmured.
It was quiet again, and Ethan could hear ringing in his brain. He groans and stands up, walking to Hadrian. "Is there something—"
Ethan grabs his face and looks into his eyes, "It's time for a change of plans," he said. He touched Hadrian's head with his left hand. 'One.'
Hadrian screamed in pain as his head slowly got crushed by the amount of weight Ethan put on his hand, touching his head.
He slowly increased the weight by ten kilograms. 'Soon either Hadrian's head or neck would give out,' Ethan thought, using a method he dislikes the most. Hurting the true victim of the Curse of Restraint. But if he has to do this, then he will.
Is this the plan? No, but will Hadrian be released from the curse? Yes. The old man has no choice, unless he wants to suffer eternal pain from his power core, because right now, Hadrian is not up to his fullest potential, and there's no way he'll need to be fought for seven days and nights to be nearly defeated.