Ch.4 - Greed

After the conversation King Charles had with Saint Maxime, He started to pace back and forth in his office.

His face filled with regrets and hatred, he threw a piece of ornament off of his table.

"How could i have known that this would happen?"

"All i wanted to do was to make this place better"

"All i wanted was power"

These thoughts of regrets permeates King Charles' mind.

"24 years ago.."

"Making a deal with the chaos"

"why did i do that"

His eyes starts tearing up in sorrow, as he sits down on his chair.

One day, while exploring an abandoned cultist town to investigate the demonic problems of the kingdom, King Charles came across a telepathic totem.

whilst he walked around to find clues of the damned, he hears a voice, ringing inside of his head.

"Come, and take me."

"I will make your desires come true", says the mysterious voice.

"WHO'S THERE", shouts King Charles while unsheathing his sword.

"I am not a who but an it. I am not here but an observer."

"I wish for your help and I will help you in return..", proposed the voice.

King Charles's face and behaviour seems to suggest he's been enticed by the idea.

He sheathes his sword and talks in a calmer tone.

"I dont know what you are but if I help you, You will help me back, is that correct?" , asks King Charles.

"Yes, that is indeed what i proposed but let me word it in a better way"

"We will make a deal. I have three requests of you, and you can ask of three things from me." says the voice.

"What do you want? I will do it if i think it is worth it." Says King Charles.

"All i want is simple.."

"All you have to do is to free a totem from a rubble in the hut, second to your left which has red paint on it."

"Second, bring me to the heart of your kingdom and hide me underground"

"And lastly, draw magic circle circles per my instructions, where the totem will be resting on top of."

"Do you think these requests are worth it in exchange for your desires?" The voice says while giggling a creepy laugh.

"..." King Charles stood in silence, deep in thought.

After 5 minutes of thinking about what could go wrong with those requests, he simply thought he could just deal with it when the time came.

After all, the demonic cult hasn't shown any type of concerning power, thought King Charles.

"Alright, Deal. I accept your requests, but you will need to hear of mine first." says King Charles.

"Go on then, what are you requests?" asks the voice.

"First, I wish to know what you are." King Charles demands.

"Sure. i will tell you what I am." speaks the voice in an intimidating tone.

"I am chaos."

"I am the creator of the seven."

"That is all you have to know.." says the voice

King Charles' face littered in confusion

"Whatever do you mean by that?" asks King Charles

"I meant what i have said. You will understand someday. But today, i have kept my word."

"Now, what is you next request?", asks the voice.

"My next request.." Murmurs King Charles.

"I wish for the power and skill to become a swordmaster" answers King Charles.

"I can make that happen."

"Although, I am not sure if your mind can take it." Says the voice in a sly tone.

"Now! your last wish."

"What is it?" asks the voice.

After giving it some thought, King Charles felt regretful about his first request.

a few minutes of thinking went by and King Charles decided to do something for the kingdom which he rules over.

"I wish for the Kingdom of Grimoard to prosper financially and in power" says King Charles.

"Hmm, what a noble wish" says the voice.

"Not what i expected from someone like you but, i can also make it happen."

"Is the Kingdom of Grimoard also where the totem will be residing?" asks the voice.

"Yes", answers King Charles.

"Then I promise to make it prosper until the end of the world." says the voice.

"I will now grant you your second wish. I do hope you survive the ordeal." Says the voice.

A shadowy figure laments over King Charles' head but wasnt noticed by King Charles.

"If you dont, I will have something else make you do your bidding." says the voice, leaving King Charles in confusion.

Suddenly, King Charles felt a sudden rush in his head.

Thousands of information entering his head rapidly, skills and techniques of the sword penetrates deep inside his mind.

His body, deforming and causing unbearable pain before going back into normal but being more sturdy, refined and lean.

King Charles Almost passes out after the ordeal, water coming out of his eyes, nose and mouth while sweating profusely.

The pain was gone. His body felt the best it's ever been but the mental torture of that transformation left him unable to move.

"Is that it?"

"Do i need to send one of the second's minions down to complete his mission?" the chaos god thinks to itself.

As it was about to command the shadowy being watching over King Charles, King Charles managed to move in order to lie down.

"That was horrible." says King Charles.

"But I am now a swordmaster.. and my Kingdom will prosper."

"Just like how i've always dreamed!" Exclaims King Charles.

The voice laughs.

"I didn't think you were gonna make it!" says the voice, excitedly.

"Now, do your end of the deal." demands the voice.

"Alright I will. Just let me rest for a minute." King Charles complains.

After 30 minutes of lying down, King Charles stood up and freed the totem which looks like a gargoyle made of obsidian or pure darkness.

"This is what you need?" asks King Charles.

"Yes, that is exactly it!" says the Totem.

"Now, to your kingdom. You put me down in a room somewhere underground of your kingdom's capital and draw two magic circles for me."

"Then, I will grant your third wish." says the voice

"Yes, I get it. It will take 4 days and 3 nights to get there. Be prepared for a long ride." Says King Charles.

After arriving in the capital, King Charles managed to locate an abandoned home complete with a basement in the middle of Gloire.

He then started cleaning up the basement and set the totem down and as per the totem's instructions, completed a magic circle by using demonic beasts blood.

unbeknownst to King Charles' knowledge, the magic circle which was drawned by his very own hands is the magic circle of pure dark magic. A magic specialized in teleportation.

He was also instructed to draw and magic circle not of the laws of this world. It was a magic circle which forcefully takes mana from the surrounding and from the citizens although very slowly. Too slow for it to be noticeable. It is so slow in fact, the mana it took gets replenished before it can take the same amount again.

"You do not know of what you've done but you have done very well." says the voice

"If you are still here in the end, I will make you one of mine." says the voice.

King Charles merely shook off the comments and started heading back to the royal castle of Grimoard.

As per his third wish, the knights and soldiers of the kingdom started getting stronger. One of his generals even became the 6th swordmaster, along with his younger brother, Christophe.

A few weeks after the totem's been placed down, the miners in Gloire's mana stone mine found the biggest mana stone deposit ever seen in the continent.

with the funds, stronger forces and new equipments, King Charles decided to go to war with the surrounding kingdoms and managed to seize their lands.

Although the Kingdom received many profits from the war, he had lost one of the kingdom's swordmaster, the 6th swordmaster of grimoard to a swordmaster of an opposing kingdom.

the war ended 6 months after he had declared it.

After a year went by, he had another child, who was named Ludwig Grimoard.

Whilst doing his duties, he wondered, what was the purpose of the magic circles?

So, He hired a high ranking mage to take a look at the circles.

Ince the mage saw the circles, he was flabbergasted to the sight of a dark magic circle when at the time, the only person who had found out about dark magic was Yves Laurent, who had just entered the realm of 6th circle magic and explained the uses of dark magic.

Though, much to King Charles' dismay, the mage could not identify the second magic circle. Although, he said that it felt ominous.

King Charles and the mage soon left but without them knowing, pawns of the chaos gods, lower demons had followed the mage on his way back and murdered the mage once the mage left Grimoard.

King Charles who had learned the most basic of magic and the information of dark magic, decided to check the mana around the area and noticed that the mana was slowly but surely being absorbed by something in the building, which cause him to suspect an incoming demonic invasion.

In that moment of realization, King Charles started giving orders to start training his children in case they can stop it in the future.

Starting with Théo and Alexandre, He started training them endlessly without thoughts of their well being.

Then, once Ludwig was 6 years old and was able to move with stability, he also started giving training to Ludwig.

But now, in the brink of the end of the world, King Charles is filled with regret and anger towards himself, feeling guilty of what he had done.

"I will atone for my sins." says King Charles while overseeing Ludwig training with Christophe through his window.