Chapter 144; Aldaril

I was so angry at the moment that I could swallow the world. The pain was so great...

Isabella had betrayed me.

Here this bastard was trying to kill me, and she protects him.

By Iris...I'll avenge you, Isabella...

[She is still aware of herself. I detect no abnormalities from Bravery. But if she stands opposed...she is a false wielder.]

Fine! I'll ask!

"Are you still in there, Isabella?" I asked.

She nodded.

Which means...

"CASSANDRA! I ORDER YOU TO EXECUTE ALDARIL RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!!" I shouted.

Isabella's expression changed from stern readiness to confusion and worry as her eyes changed.

"Sister! How dare you suppress me while Mizik is in danger! And now he has given me an order that I must obey!"

Bravery turned dark as the shield and armor disappeared. She stored it and now held a black dagger in her hand.

She turned to Aldaril as he remained where he was.

"H-hold on...what is this? You're betraying me!?" He said.

"Betraying? No. I am only loyal to Mizik. Isabella might want to help you, but I only care about my darling! Now die!" She said with a smile.

Her dagger began glowing brightly and she stopped in mid-swing as she clutched her head.

"Cassandra! No! Don't hurt him! Please!" Isabella said.

"S-sister!? But...Mizik gave an order! His orders are absolute!"

"I don't care! He needs my help! Mizik doesn't know the full story!"

"How...how dare you defy Mizik... YOU AREN'T WORTHY TO BE HIS WIFE!!!" Cassandra screamed.

They both started struggling to maintain control and began rapidly switching back and forth.

I slowly stood up and began trying to absorb some of the magic returning to the area.

Aldaril also stood up slowly and looked at the two fighting amongst themselves.

Akari was preparing to strike Aldaril, but she also looked ready to run away.

I walked towards Aldaril with my shotguns ready and he held his lantern up.

"Mizik! I'll obey you, I swear! I just need Isabella to stop!!!" Cassandra said.

"Mizik!!! Stop her!!! I can't hold her back unless you order her!" Isabella said.

Honestly, I was glad that Isabella was okay...but also fairly pissed at what she had just done.

"Seriously? You betray me and expect me to just allow that? THIS ASSHOLE IS TRYING TO KILL ME, ISABELLA!!! Cassandra, hold Isabella back. Do that and I'll fulfill any request you have of me," I said.

Cassandra's eyes when wide and she smiled.

"YES! ANYTHING FOR YOU, DARLING!!!" She said.

At the very least, I could trust Cassandra not to keep things from me or cause problems. I would talk to Isabella later. But for now, I needed her out of the way.

"Mizik!!! Please stop her!!! This is too much!!!" Isabella shouted.

"I'LL BECOME HIS WIFE!!! MIZIK WILL GIVE ME HIS LOVE!!! EHEHEHEHEHE!"

THAT MIGHT BE PUSHING IT!

"Just keep her restrained! We'll discuss the details later!"

At once, Cassandra nodded and continued fighting against Isabella.

"Master Mizik...gave an order!!! I must...fulfill it!!! Hehehehehehehe...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" She laughed maniacally.

Whatever makes you happy, I guess...

"What...is wrong with that woman!?" Aldaril said as I held my shotgun to his head.

"She's my slave...and a dear friend. My sister-in-law, Cassandra. Now then, release Isabella, or I'll end your miserable existence."

"Release her...? I haven't bound her in any way! She's helping me of her own volition! Working to free my beloved from the eye of order!" Aldaril said.

Vengeance was right, it seems...

"Then..." I said as I looked over at Isabella.

"Mizik!!! Please don't kill Aldaril!!!" Isabella shouted.

At once, Aldaril tried to kick me in the chest, but I dodged backward.

I tried to shoot him, but missed and he began levitating again.

"YOU WILL NOT HAVE ME, MIZIK!!! NOW YOU WILL KNOW TRUE TERROR!!!" Aldaril shouted angrily.

Suddenly Akari looked very afraid.

"This feeling... That's...a heart stone!" She shouted.

There was a blinding light and the floor below Aldaril split open.

A pillar of raw magic began shooting upward and was soon absorbed by a small crystal about the size of an actual heart.

It radiated an intense magic unlike anything I had ever felt before... I was truly in awe of the immense power that came off of it.

Aldaril touched it and used some sort of magic on it.

Moments later, he grabbed it and touched his chest with it... The crystal phased through his body and became one with him.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!!!!!!!" Aldaril screamed as magic flooded from him so violently that the ground quaked.

He changed his lantern back into a spear and dropped to the ground.

"Now then, Mizik. I have been patient, but you've proven to be far more difficult to deal with than I originally thought. I cannot subdue you. Therefore, I must end your life. Do you have any last words?" Aldaril said.

"ISABELLA!!! IF YOU STILL LOVE ME, I COULD USE SOME HELP!!!" I shouted angrily.

Isabella took control and released the dark blue orb that she held into the air.

It floated over to Aldaril and he stopped.

"ALDARIL!!! CEASE THIS AT ONCE!!!!" It screamed.

It sounded like the voice of a young woman.

"H-hikari? Wait! You don't understand!"

"SILENCE!!! I have sat here and watched while that woman worked diligently to release me! If you want him to understand, you must explain!" The orb shouted.

At once, it floated over to me and seemed to duck low...as if it were bowing apologetically.

"Please forgive my husband, good sir. He means well...it's just that the years of not having humanity have taken their toll. Surely you can understand..." She said.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Hikari Sano. Former Avatar of Order from the realm of Order. Part of the multi-world cluster known as Tanavol. That...lovely yet foolish Lich, is my husband, Aldaril Sano... Although he uses the first name of the second Avatar of Death as his surname for some reason...likely out of anger. He is the Avatar of Death. Despite his appearance and powers, he is not evil, I assure you. Your...wife, was it? She was doing me a service before you arrived," Hikari said.

"What kind of service?" I asked.

"You see...I wish to pass on and be free from the Eye of Order. I am trapped, currently, and Aldaril refuses to take me to the Order realm to be cleansed."

"Hikari! Please listen to me! They are our enemies! The reason you died in the first place! I cannot go back or they'll kill me and start a war!" Aldaril said.

"I believe you, but...why would my own allies betray me? I see no logic in it, whatsoever."

Aldaril went silent for a moment.

"It wasn't just them... The other Avatars did too... And it's because you chose to marry me... Our union was never allowed and you knew that."

Hikari sighed...if you could call it that.

"I already told you dear, I couldn't care less about what they think. End of story. And Aldaril, you should have left the Eye of Order back on Tanavol. Stealing it was reckless and solved nothing."

"I...I know... But how could I just leave you...? It wasn't possible for me to do such a thing..." Aldaril said.

"It's alright, my love. I forgive you for breaching protocol. Now then...Mizik? Your Isabella possesses skill in divine energy and was trying to free me. Unfortunately...no one explained that to you and you nearly died..."

"Sorry, but I have every reason to believe that Aldril is still evil. He's done nothing but send armies of undead against me since I began trying to reach Isabella."

Hikari floated over to Aldaril angrily.

"IS THIS TRUE!? EVEN AFTER THE TRUCE WAS CALLED!?" She shouted.

"I...uhh...yes... I wasn't keeping tabs on my soldiers... I sort of just let them be..." Aldaril said meekly.

"YOU IDIOT!!! YOU CAN'T JUST NEGLECT SOMETHING LIKE THAT!!! WHAT IF HE HAD BEEN KILLED!?" Hikari shouted.

"Him!? What about me!? That guy almost killed me!" Aldaril said indignantly.

"Because YOU failed to explain the situation and kept ATTACKING HIM!!!" Hikari said.

Aldaril seemed to shrink as she continued to shout at him.

"I-I'm...so sorry... Please don't be angry, Hikari..." Aldaril said as he held his hands up defensively.

Hikari just sighed again.

"I can't stay mad at you... I love you too much. But, you must stop fighting! I had time to talk to Isabella about him. He is very important. Killing him would cause time to reset back many years! Also, he is the one chosen to deal with the coming darkness that has been plaguing other worlds," Hikari said.

"You...know about the Corruption?" I asked.

"We are aware of its existence. But we have not encountered it. The Mad Admiral has been concerned with it recently. He looks on at other worlds quite often," Aldaril said.

"Okay..." I said.

"Look...please let Isabella finish releasing Hikari from her prison. After that...I'll give you whatever you want. Just please...stop trying to kill me..." Aldaril said.

I put Vengeance away.

"Fine...but if you try to attack me again, I won't hold back. I'll erase you, you damn lich..."

Aldaril nodded and then...

"Shake hands. Show your agreement by shaking hands! Do it! There is a system to these things!" Hikari shouted.

"The...Avatar of Order..." Aldaril said as while shaking his head.

I walked closer and extended my hand.

As soon as Aldaril reached out to me, he was covered in blue flames.

I retracted my hand and then saw what had happened.

The skin and outer parts of his body had reformed.

It was just like the solid illusions from before.

His right eye was normal with a pitch-black pupil. The other blazed with a cyan-colored light.

He placed his hand over it and moved it to the side. It changed into an eye completely identical to his other one.

His hair was long and black. I could see that the tips of it were colored gray like Leiso's and it was up in a ponytail.

Aldaril was a pale man looking to be in his mid-twenties. He was also about an inch taller than I was.

He looked fairly normal, actually.

"Sorry about that. I had to change back into my human form. That alarms people sometimes. My name is Aldaril Sano. Avatar of Death, of the Death realm from Tanavol. Formerly of the Peace realm. Nice to...umm...meet you..." He said.

Aldaril held his hand out and I took it.

After we shook hands, Hikari seemed to cheer up.

"Good! Now I hope you two can stop fighting long enough for me to be free! Unless you want to sign a contract of ceasefire, that is! I'm sure we can find a lawyer to write one up. Then we'll take it to a notary to get it made official, sign it, take it back to the notary to ensure that the signatures are legitimate, THEN take it to a courthouse-"

"Th-that won't be necessary, Hikari!" Aldaril said worriedly.

"Cassandra, let Isabella stay in control," I said.

"Yes!" She said happily as she forced Isabella to come forward.

Isabella looked at me with what almost appeared to be anger...but just sighed and shook her head.

I felt so relieved at the moment that it made my head spin. Isabella was still my ally...

But...

For some reason, my mind still felt wrong...

On top of being relieved, I was angry with her. Angrier than I had ever been before.

I knew I loved her, but... What the hell was happening to me...?

I would need to speak with her, so I contacted Isabella through telepathy.

"I plan to have a long talk later. But for now, I would ask that you try not to be too upset with me. How the hell was I supposed to know what was going on?"

"That's...why I'm not angry... I understand. But...using Cassandra to restrain me seems a bit underhanded, don't you think!?"

"Mizik gave me an order! I followed it! I'm a good girl, unlike Isabella! Mizik is going to be so proud of me! I'll be rewarded! Yes...ehehehehe..."

"You might not realize it, Isabella, but I'm pretty pissed about all of this right now... I could have died and you didn't explain a damn thing to me! You also didn't help me at all!"

"..."

"How dare you upset Mizik! I told you that we should have killed Aldaril and you didn't listen! You're a traitor!"

"Not now, Cassandra!"

"Yes, darling!"

"I'm...sorry... I messed up..."

"We'll talk later."

Isabella looked almost ready to cry as I terminated the contact.

I was seething with rage...

I had never felt so betrayed by her in my entire life, but I was trying not to let it bother me.

"Hikari, go to Isabella... I love you..." Aldaril said sadly.

I could see a great deal of pain on his face as he spoke.

"I love you too, Aldaril. Never forget that," Hikari said.

The Eye of Order went to Isabella and she began continuing her concentration.

After an hour passed, the Eye was separated from the spirit of a woman.

She had long and beautiful blonde hair with dark blue eyes.

As soon as Aldaril saw her, he held out his hand and she went to him.

They embraced one another lovingly and tears began streaming down his face.

"I'm so sorry... I failed you, Hikari..."

"It's okay, Aldaril. I enjoyed the time we spent together. I don't blame you and I never did. I know that it wasn't your fault."

"Please promise that you'll never forget me, okay?" Aldaril said.

Hikari smiled lovingly at Aldaril.

"Never. Even if my soul ceases to be... I will never forget you, Aldaril. Now... The time has arrived. Please let me pass on."

Aldaril slowly let go and the two reluctantly separated. Then, he held up his lantern.

Hikari was enveloped in a pale light and her soul disappeared.

"Thank you, Aldaril. For everything..." She said.

Moments later, Aldaril dropped to his knees and wept bitterly...

"I...I failed to protect her... I'm so sorry..." Aldaril said.

Isabella walked over and placed a hand gently on his back.

"She forgives you. I know she does. Besides, it wasn't your fault," she said.

"Yeah...I guess you're right... She said it so many times, but I refused to believe it. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused," Aldaril said.

He stood up straight and his lantern shrank. Aldaril hooked it on the side of his armored robe and drew the Eye of Order to himself.

Then, he placed it in the lantern and it disappeared in a flash of dark blue light.

"You've helped me out greatly. I need to reward you somehow..." Aldaril said.

"Well...we were originally sent here to deal with this mansion. It was an SSS-Rank request," Isabella said.

"Right... Well, I can disperse the illusion and free the souls trapped here. I'll also give you the second heart stone that I have stored in this place," Aldaril said.

"S-second heart stone!?" Akari said.

"Yes. There were two. I sort of stored the one in my chest. It has already assimilated with my Eye of Death. And I must say it has an incredible amount of power. But the other one should go to you two and not the fox woman," Aldaril said.

"W-why not!? Aren't I trustworthy?" Akari said.

Aldaril glared at her.

"You barely anything at all to help out. You also planned to run away if things got bad. Leaving your allies to die. Besides...I know of your past, Akari the deceiver."

Akari stepped back and looked angrily at Aldaril.

"How dare you say such a thing to me, lich! Mizik, he's obviously lying about me! I'm no deceiver!" Akari said.

You are CLEARLY a deceiver.

"I'm not inclined to believe you after what you've shown me in our travels. And currently, I trust him more than you," I said.

Akari just crossed her arms and looked away.

Of course, I was definitely angry with Aldaril.

But this entire thing had been one gigantic misunderstanding.

If anything, he could be useful to have around...

Maybe even an ally to fight the Corruption...?

"Aldaril, are you involved with anything else?" I asked.

"No...not at the moment. I've spent two hundred years looking for someone worthy of being the vessel for Hikari... But you can see how that turned out."

"Then I would like to request your help. You're strong and we would like to have your help in fighting the Corruption," I said.

"The dark force threatening other worlds? Corruption is its name... I would be honored to help you, but...I need to go be alone for a while. Hikari was as all I had, you see... I need some time to myself. I don't know how long it'll take, but some day I'll come to find you. Until then, take this," Aldaril said.

He raised his lantern and a second crystal flew out of the floor where the first had been.

It came over to me and I held it in my hands.

I was truly in awe of how much magic was radiating off of this thing.

"Is this really okay? I hear that these are pretty valuable," I said.

"It shouldn't be a problem. Besides, money is irrelevant to me. I don't need to eat and I can sleep wherever I want. Even if I don't have to do that, either. I also have all the equipment I could ever need."

"Alright then. Isabella, is it okay if I hold onto this?" I asked.

"I think I would prefer it if you did, actually. I think I also want to give you Honor back..." Isabella said.

She took out Honor and offered it to me.

"Umm...I think that if you can't figure it out... I could probably hold the heart stone for you! I'll take really good care of it, I promise!" Akari said as she eyed the crystal hungrily.

I quickly placed it in my inventory and grabbed Honor.

"Not necessary. I have an inventory for a reason, Akari. Also, I don't trust something that valuable being in your hands," I said.

"Why not!? I'm trustworthy, dammit!!!"

"That's why. Because of your behavior. I'm putting it away safely and that's final."

I placed Honor in my inventory as well right next to Justice.

Akari watched carefully as I did.

"If you somehow manage to get into my inventory, the next time someone sees you will be at the bottom of a ditch with a hole in your head. Got it?" I said.

"Why wait? She's caused far more trouble than this in the past hundred years. Akari the deceiver... She's a dangerous woman, Mizik," Aldaril said.

"Liar! I haven't done anything wrong! Unlike you, evil lich!" Akari said angrily.

"The pot is calling the kettle black, it seems. Right, Akari the deceiver?" Aldaril said with a disgusted look in his eyes.

"You...INSUFFERABLE UNDEAD SCUM!!!" Akari shouted angrily.

"SHUT UP, AKARI!! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!!!" I shouted as I pointed Vengeance at her in shotgun form.

She immediately looked fearfully at me and dropped to her knees.

"I'm sorry! Please forgive me, Master Mizik!" Akari said desperately.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Aldaril.

"You really should just get rid of her. But whatever. Regardless, you want to leave, right?" He said.

I nodded.

"I'll send you back to the front entrance using shadow travel. Then I'll disperse the fog and the shade visions over the mansion. After that, I'll free the dead. Please, be safe on your travels... And beware the Mad Admiral. He is likely to be one of the most dangerous beings in this entire world. Possibly beyond. I know only of his actions and not the intentions behind them... Now then, goodbye," Aldaril said.

Then the three of us felt a floating sensation as we were enveloped in shadows.