030 - Choices

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The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.

( Proverbs 12 : 7 )

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s

S

Si

Sir

"Sir," the aged voice rang in the silence.

The man, who was deep in thought with his eyes closed, was brought back to reality by the old voice that called him. His crimson eyes soon focused on the wrinkled face of the butler.

"Sir, we will arrive at the entrance soon," the aged butler's voice echoed in the carriage.

The master turned away from him and looked out of the carriage window. His eyes could only see the green of the forest. The extravagant carriage was traveling through a bumpy path formed in the forest. He slowly sank back into his thoughts.

Observing that his master was lost in thought, the butler quietly settled back in his seat. The carriage, adorned in gold and crimson, traversed the rough road without shaking and eventually came to a stop. The path ahead was blocked by the lush and intricate forest.

They had reached the southwest side of the Arcadia Forest, a magical forest that protected the elven kingdom from intruders. Anyone who ventured inside would lose their way forever and likely be killed by the forest's monsters.

The carriage door opened, and a man standing 6'11" stepped out of the extravagant carriage. He calmly gazed at the forest that lay before him. His crimson martial attire perfectly complemented his well-built physique. A soft breeze blew, causing his crimson hair to sway like a mane.

He began walking slowly into the forest, gradually disappearing within its intricate depths. His butler silently followed him. Unless one was invited or a designated person, the forest would not permit them to approach the elven kingdom. It would cause them to lose their way but if one was approved, It would take two days to navigate through the forest on foot.

The most efficient method was to cut a straight path through the forest using a dragon's breath, but doing so would be considered an act of aggression unless one possessed the power to overcome the entire elven race in one strike.

***

A magnificent sight unfolded inside the elven palace, a marble castle intertwined with towering trees. In the king's office, behind an aesthetically pleasing desk piled with papers, sat an elf with silver hair and golden eyes. The fatigue on his pale face was evident.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze falling upon the sofa in his office, which had been transformed into a makeshift bed. A young boy was asleep on the sofa, his face obscured by his hand. The light revealed his dark skin, while his void-black hair absorbed the surrounding light. His clothes seemed to ripple as if alive. Sleeping in the king's office would typically be considered disrespectful, but no one dared to object.

The boy slowly removed his hand, revealing his sapphire-blue eyes. They held an unfathomable depth as they scanned the room. He leisurely rose from the sofa and stretched his tired body. He turned his gaze to the weary elf who had been working day and night.

"Why do you look like a zombie?" he asked.

The elf closed his eyes, attempting to calm himself and prevent his anger from showing. He slowly opened his eyes and replied, "A king must fulfill his duties."

The boy tilted his head in confusion. "Don't you have a management team?" he asked.

"A management team?" the elf questioned.

"A group of people who can handle tasks for you," the boy replied nonchalantly.

"You have people like that?" the elf looked shocked.

"Why work hard when you can delegate the job to others?" the boy shrugged.

"It does sound feasible, but won't problems arise?" the elf inquired.

"Figuring that out is your responsibility," the boy looked at the elf as if he were foolish.

"Ahem, I will address that," the elf fake coughed before responding to the boy's gaze.

The boy turned towards the door and said, "Let's go, he is here."

"Who?" the elf asked in confusion, as he hadn't been informed of any visitors.

*click*

Twisting the doorknob, the boy answered, "A red cat."

With that, he exited the room, leaving the office enveloped in silence. Sitting in his quiet office, the elven king repeated the word a few times in his mind before realizing who the boy was referring to.

"Ryker?" he mumbled in doubt before hurrying out of his office to catch up with the leisurely walking boy in the marble hallway.

"Can't we just wait for him to come?" he questioned.

"Fran, do you want your castle to crumble?" Ze asked jokingly.

But Fran, who had no way of knowing he was joking, answered seriously, "No."

"Then let's go."

Both of them arrived near the border by teleporting. The barrier around the border had been strengthened multiple times after he kept breaking them, so the mages looked proud when he teleported inside. But Ze just teleported inside not to crush their hope.

Fran then gestured to the knights on guard that it was okay and not to follow them. They both moved through the barrier and arrived at a small space with no trees. It was made for the inspection of the visitors.

They didn't have to wait for long as two people exited the forest and arrived at the open field. One was a tall man with a broad build wearing martial attire that suited his crimson hair, and the other was a butler who bore marks of time.

Both groups scanned each other before greeting.

"Fran."

"Ryker."

"Yo."

They greeted each other.

"Young master," the butler called sternly.

"What?" Ze replied to his stern voice like a delinquent.

"Please show some dignity and respect as the heir of the Flamheart," the butler advised.

Ze grinned at his words and turned his head to Ryker, "Ryker, do you want me to show you respect?" he questioned.

"Young master, please sho--" The butler tried to reprimand him but was stopped by Ryker, who raised his hand to silence him.

"You don't need to, sir," Ryker replied respectfully.

"That's what I thought," Ze replied.

"Master, why?" the butler was confused as to why his master was showing respect to Zeru.

"Gil, go inside and wait," Ryker ordered his servant.

They were here to talk about a secret that only those who fought the final battle knew, so the others could not intervene.

Seeing his master's stern gaze, the butler walked toward the barrier.

The three of them waited until the butler was gone before starting their conversation.

"Why did you attack the Flameheart's castle?" Ryker asked the question.

"Heh," Ze sneered, "you're asking why? Didn't you hear the reason from your wife? I'm pretty sure I told her the reason."

"I did hear from Velma about how you barged in, killed her father, and burned Alexander," Ryker answered in a deep voice, hiding his anger.

"That's all?" Ze tilted his head. "They didn't say why I burned the kid and killed the old man. What a letdown, but it was within my expectations. Man, who would say their sins out loud?"

"Huuuuu," Ryker let out a deep breath upon hearing his answer. He continued, "So, you're finally showing yourself. Why did you wait until now?"

"Haha, are you sad that I spoiled your plan?" Ze laughed mockingly. "Man, you could have at least had the brain to think things through. I mean, to think you would get married to another woman immediately after things settled, just so she could give birth to my vessel. It wasn't a bad plan, but what can you say except you had shit for luck. She cheated on you, and the child was not yours--"

"What?" Ryker voiced in shock.

"What, didn't you know? F*ck, man, you suck," Ze expressed his fake shock, "Let me continue, then. Callista gave birth to your child. Man, you should have been happy. But fate kicked you in the balls, hard. She gave birth to my vessel. The face you made when you saw the baby was awesome. I mean, no offense, but it was fun to watch you break. Then you couldn't even look at Callista's face, and you sided with those old goats to keep Callista away.

But, here is a big 'but,' fate played again. She was poisoned, and you finally realized that your son was assassinated, LOL. And I had to take over to keep him alive. End of story."

Ze looked at Ryker, who was frowning as he heard him talk. Now his face looked so vicious, enough to make a man shiver. But Ze just smiled at him.

*siiiiiing* *swish* *boom*

Ryker, who was angry, drew his sword and swung it at Ze, who was smiling at him. His crimson aura flared as it crashed into the ground and caused the dust to shoot up.

"Man, don't get angry at me," a young voice came from the dust.

The dust slowly settled, and Ze became visible. Ryker's sword was caught in Ze's hand. Unshaken by this, Ryker continued his questioning.

"Where is Callista?" his angry voice echoed.

"Who knows? There is only an innocent village girl here," Ze shrugged.

"What did you do to her?" Panic was visible in Ryker's angry voice.

"Not going to say," Ze smiled mischievously.

Ryker pulled his sword out of Ze's grip and swung it at him again, imbuing it with more aura.

*Boom*

"Ahem... ahem... Man, be civil," Ze's voice came from the dust, his hand clutching the sword.

"Give her back!" Ryker roared.

"Kid, do you want to send your mother back with him? If you want to, I will move," Ze addressed the person inside.

He could not intervene in their family problem; they had to solve their misunderstanding themselves.

Zeru, who watched everything that happened, heard Ze's question. He finally got to know why he and his mother were abandoned. He didn't understand why his father did it—maybe he was angry or guilty.

"No," he answered.

He may not know the reason, but he didn't need to know because his answers wouldn't change. His mother's suffering wouldn't be erased, and his anger wouldn't vanish, those memories will haunt him forever.

"He doesn't deserve my mother," he declared firmly.

Ze, who heard his answer, grinned. "The kid doesn't want it."

Ze tightened his grip on the sword and clenched his other hand into a fist. The pressure he exuded increased many folds before he punched out. His punch connected with Ryker's abdomen, lifting his body into the air. The punch didn't make any noise; it had crushed the concept of sound.

Ryker's body rolled a few times before crashing into a tree and breaking it.

Fran, who watched this exchange, gulped in shock at the power. He knew how strong Ryker's aura was—it had grown exponentially compared back to the fight with the demon.

And at this moment, he didn't know if he should support Ryker in defeating Ze. Even though Ze had not caused much trouble so far, he was still a variable that could explode at any time.

"Agh... haaa... haa," Ryker struggled to get up, groaning.

*Click* *Clank*

A broken bracelet fell from his hand.

"You came prepared," Ze commented.

It was then that Fran noticed the broken bracelet was an artifact, but he didn't know what it was for. Seeing that Ryker was standing up and not staying down, Ze threw the sword back to him. The sword stabbed into the ground before Ryker.

"I will give you a choice," Ze voiced, a devilish smile forming on his lips. "If you pick up that sword, I will destroy you. If you don't want to fight, leave."

After saying that, he turned to Fran, who was looking between both of them.

"Fran, I will give you a choice as well. If you want, you can help Ryker in fighting me. But if he can't kill me, I will kill all the elves on this planet except you.

Now, what will you both choose?"

Fran's eyes widened in shock at his words, but he knew that he needed to make a choice. It was between his friend and his whole race. He wouldn't have minded if it was his life he had to offer. He was a king, and his people came before his feelings.

He lowered his head and took a step back.

"Good."

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