Aamon Von Soren (1)

Kelan Empire. Capital City. Imperial Castle.

A woman with blonde hair sat before a mirror. The room was silent, the people around her terrified. The mirror reflected an image of a woman in her early 20s, with blonde hair, ruby eyes, and a perfectly symmetrical face. Her fair skin and refined appearance were enough to stir men's hearts. But the frown on her face and the anger in her eyes contrasted with her appearance.

"That bastard, that hateful bastard…"

These spiteful words contradicted her noble etiquettes yet she didn't care. Her hands held a letter, tightly gripping it.

"What was he thinking? I am going to kill him."

"My Lady, please calm down."

A hand-maiden calmly approached her and opened her mouth. Looking around the room, she was the only one with authority to speak here.

"Emma, why did he do this?"

The woman asked, desperate for her answer but her question was only met with silence, for no one knew why he did this.

* * *

After standing in the cold for too long, I made my way toward the Lord's Chamber. I initially wanted to go back to the bed-chamber to the warmth of fur blankets, but this body of mine said otherwise.

This clash of egos and two selves was getting tiresome and I felt too powerless to do anything. My other self still had an upper hand.

So, now I was sitting in the Lord's Chamber, looking at papers I didn't know anything about.

Clack! Ptak!

Still, the warmth from the burning wood in the hearth was the only good thing about this godforsaken place.

A centuries-old castle with no elegance, a topography that was covered in snow throughout the year, and a place at the forefront of the monster attacks. If not for Adrienne, Aamon would never have come here. His possessiveness for Adrienne was dangerous.

And the only way to go back to Aamon's estate was to finish the task here quickly.

[Monster Subjugation]

I held a paper in my hands and my frown deepened. It was because of Aamon's self. Being an Auror Knight, he specialized in exterminating monsters, demons, and other dark energy creatures. Still, no one knew why he was so good at it.

House Soren was a family of merchants and Aamon was the only one to become an Auror Knight. And not only in House Soren, no one could compare to him in the entire empire in this regard. It was as if he was solely born for wiping out dark arts from this world - a killing machine with a purpose.

And it was the reason why he came to this godforsaken place. Being the sole heir to the ducal house of Soren, he married Adrienne and the County of Luvia came under his control. Normally the Empire wouldn't allow this power imbalance, but Aamon was too great of an asset for the empire. This, coupled with the fact that the County of Luvia was at the forefront of the Empire in the north, the Imperial family allowed this.

[Recent sightings of Mistbeasts in the vicinity of the border. Numbers uncertain.]

"This is going to be troublesome."

Quietly muttering to myself, I frowned. To be honest, I didn't know why I was frowning, but it seemed like an instinctive reaction of real Aamon. Even in the game, I never came across such monsters so I was unaware, but looks like Aamon was aware of them.

"Ugggghhhh…."

A feeling akin to needles piercing my brain assaulted me, I felt the surrounding grow dimmer, my vision getting narrower, and visions from a memory assaulted my mind.

* * *

Step.

Slash!

A body fell to the ground, split in half.

Step.

Slash!

Two bodies fell more to the ground, splashing the puddle of blood.

Step.

The ground was littered with bodies of monsters, empty husks of their former selves. Blood gushing out of them puddled the surface, painting the scenery red.

Step.

Amid this massacre, a man with an overbearing height, dressed in black, walked with a perfect noble gait. There were no stains of blood on his attire.

Step.

He continued his movement, walking towards the center of this playfield where the last one remained standing.

The air which normally gave off a fresh scent was now filled with the smell of iron and a sense of despair. Disgust appeared on the man's face, not towards the monster standing in front of him, but for the environment he was currently standing in.

"W-why do you hate us?"

The monster asked, already on the verge of death. His desperate eyes looked for answers, 'Why is my existence such a bother for you all? Why do we have to live in fear of being hunted down?'

"I don't hate you. I am just following my orders."

The man replied in a serene tone, devoid of any emotions.

"I see. At least you are better than the others who hunt our kind."

The monster sighed. Having the ability to tell apart lies from truth, he realized the man in front of him was speaking the truth.

"But you are no different from a monster too. Someday, they will come for you too. What will you do then?"

"Only time shall tell."

"I see."

The monster, although a bit dissatisfied with the response, heaved a sigh. His time was nearing.

"I just longed for a time where we could also live in the sun, to not hide in the shadows. But it looks like that time is still far away."

"Should have laid low then instead of causing chaos."

"Hahaha, kughhhh," the monster coughed blood but there was no pain in his eyes, "We don't have the luxury to lay low, young man. Our existence is racing against time."

The man slowly pulled out the sword from the monster's heart and swung it to clear off the blood.

Once again, there was silence, and the beating heart of the monster stopped.

[Soul Purge]

The man flicked his fingers and fire engulfed everything, cleansing the world from the tainted souls.

* * *

I opened my eyes to throbbing pain. The vision, or nightmare, I had just now showed me a memory of the past, of Aamon's past.

Now I knew what Mistbeasts meant and what they looked like.

'It seems the memories can be unlocked with a trigger point.'

That was the conclusion I arrived at but the pain refused to subside. Suddenly a hologram screen blocked my vision with a mechanical sound.

{Side Quest: Exterminate the Mistbeasts at the northern border.}

{Reward: +5 Destiny Points}

This was the first quest I got apart from the weird 'Became the creator of your own destiny' bullshit from before.

"Cain"

A habitual action.

A middle-aged man opened the door to my chamber and entered.

"Yes, My Lord." He said as he curtly bowed.

Satisfied with his gesture, I answered, "Arrange for breakfast. Adrienne and I will eat together. Also, get the knights ready. We will move out soon."

"Yes, My Lord."

Cain replied and left the room to make arrangements.

"It will be quite bothersome with these subpar northerners. I should have brought knights with me."

I cursed myself in my characteristic tone. It was getting quite difficult to separate myself from the other 'self'. Every time I opened my mouth, it seemed only something spiteful escaped my lips.

'Phew,' I sighed to myself in this empty room. Things were going to be tough from now on.