C1-20

"Have you heard about the execution yesterday"

"About the Nun from the old orphanage at Black street? Yeah, I have heard about it but I don't know the details"

"Then I will tell you the full details. Luckily my brother is from Knight Corp so I have more information"

The 2 men talked about the whole Noble fingers event inside the tavern.

"That so unlucky for the Arthur guy"

"Yeah, the Noble is really going too far on this one"

"Why people don't report that Noble to the Authority? I am sure that the guy Title would get stripped"

"Hah, what do you know how the authority work.

Let me tell you. If us commoners reported him, the Noble guy would only get a minor punishment at best.

While a Knight could report and the guy title would strip, the Nobles would then found a way to harm or cut connection with that Knight.

It isn't worth to offend a Noble for a guy like Arthur"

"True, but isn't Knight meant to protect us from the injustice and protect the country"

"That the past, there isn't any big war among countries anymore and no more demons attack so now Knights value is just equal mercenaries"

As they were speaking, a person with cloak and wore a mask walked to them then the person spoke.

"Excuse me, I just heard your story. Can you repeat it for me so that I can record this down? I will pay you 3 cups" The voice revealed that the person was a girl.

"Well, sure"

After a while, the girl in cloak said thanks and pay the man then hurriedly left the place.

"Huh? do you know why she needs to hear that"

"Who cares? At least I can sell this story for some booze"

---

After the girl in cloak left the tavern, she ran to the Orphanage as fast as she could.

When she reached the place, she stopped and looked at the building.

"It still looks the same when I left" There was sorrow behind her voice.

She walked to the door then knocked on it but hear no answer or movement.

But instead of doing like a normal person, was chanting a weird language under her breath then a mysterious red color glow on her eyes.

In her view, she could saw through the walls and the door like there wasn't any that blocked her sight.

Soon she found Arthur who she was looking for and she was shocked.

She chanted again and the door automatically opened like there was a ghost opened the door from the other side.

She then ran to the room where he stated and inside the room, there was a small puddle of blood on the floor and the source was from Arthur's wrist.

"I'm too late?" She walked to his body then touched the chest.

"Hum, still warm. This is good"

She chanted again and strange blue energy started swaying around the room.

The energy covered him, his body reacted to the energy and madly absorbed it like it had its own conscious.

After a few minutes, the room returned back to normal and Arthur was breathing, he wasn't dead anymore.

Relieved, she sat down and looked around. She then picked a doll on one of the beds in the room.

"Sally still here? I thought they sold you" She held the doll while waiting for Arthur to wake up.

---

*Before the masked lady came*

Arthur was on his bed again, staring emotionlessly at the ceiling and in his hand was a kitchen knife.

He had lost the only person that kept him alive and it was all his fault.

After the execution, some of the guys from the old days (Kids from the orphanage) came after they heard the news.

They also cried and some blamed him but no one hit him because they knew he had suffered enough.

He and the group carried her body back to the orphanage and buried her body behind the house which was a huge playground.

After they finished burying, they stayed for a while then left before sundown. As for Arthur, he just sat in front of the grave and looked at it.

He didn't move for a very long time and sometimes he said sorry. It was almost a day of sitting and he only stopped when a new day began.

After coming back into the house, he took a knife and walked to his room. He was about to kill himself, grief had taken over every reason left and he just wanted to end this feeling.

"Mother, I see you soon" He cut his wrist and blood dripping out like a fountain. Soon, he lost his conscious and felt into his eternal sleep.

Or so he thought.

*2 hours later*

Arthur opened his eyes and saw the same ceiling that he had seen all his life.

"I didn't die?" He asked himself then looked at his supposed to be cut wrist but he only found a scar there.

"You are lucky that I save you" When he heard a woman voice, he looked at the side and found a person with a mask and cloak.

"And who are you? I don't remember asking you to save me"

"This may show you know who I am" She showed him the doll on her hand.

"...Alice?!" The Doll was a favorite toy of a girl who got adopted 16 years ago and the girl was one of his friends.

"So you still remember me...Hello Arthur"

"Did you come here because of Mother? Or you come here to visit" He asked her while trembling from guilt.

Sighed as she saw Arthur's state of mind, she then chanted and waved her hand at him.

He saw what she did and he felt that himself calming down for an unknown reason.

"What was that?" He asked her with a calm face.

They looked at each other for a short time then she told him.

"...I am a Witch"

He was shocked but soon to calm down as he asked her.

"Did you know about Mother's death?"

"Yes, and I know the whole story behind it"

"Then you must know why I wanted to die"

"Why? You chose the coward way out, you didn't think about avenging Mother? She died protecting you, Arthur and you just going to waste her sacrifice?... " She angrily shouted at him.

"Then tell me what I should do!!! I see no hope in getting revenge on that son of the B****...No one can help me and I am just too weak to do anything" He talked back.

"...Then I am going to help you"

"Aint you afraid that Knights will found out about you? You are a Witch"

"That why I need you...I can't help you with the killing and battles but I can give you the strength"

He froze as he thought about that, she was a Witch. Stories about the Witches told that they could give a person immense strength but there was a catch.

The catch was that the person had to give the soul to the witch.

"Oh please, stop trusting stories about us. I am not going to ask for your soul but there will be something that you need to give up on"

"I don't care what price I have to pay. Even if it kills me"

He saw the chance to avenge her so he would take it no matter what may happen to him.

"Good. Thanks to my magic, your body should be on top of its condition again"

Listened to what she said, he stood up and walked out of his bed. He didn't feel pain anymore and he could walk normally.

"How can you help me get stronger"

"With this"

She brought out a glass bottle from her bag then handed him the bottle and he checked it.

Inside the bottle was some kind of green liquid and it looked like it was a poison more than something that would help him.

"It is a potion that will boost the strength of its drinker. A normal person would have the strength to kill a horse with bare hands after drinking it" She explained to him.

"So what do I give up on when I drink this?"

"...Your lifespan. After drinking that, you can only live for 2 years at maximum"

"Then I will gladly take it" He didn't care how long would he had on this world, he only cared for revenge.

---

"Where are we going?" Alice the Witch asked.

"We need some info about the Noble and I know a man who can give us that"

"Um, ok but why this place"

The place they were in right now was one of the bad parts of the city, the criminal den and the reason it still existed here because of some powerful Noble supports.

Soon, they got into a small tavern which looked almost empty if not for a man drank a cup of booze at the bar.

"Hey, Bole" Arthur called the man which he looked back at them.

"Bole?! That Bole? Isn't he the most well mannered and had the best chance to get into the academy of scholars? Why is he doing here?"

"Well, the guy got kicked out after he tried to f*** his own teacher in his drunken state. Lucky for him, Mother asked the headmaster to spare him...Now the guy in the eye and ear of the criminal den thanks to his smartness"

When they came closer, they could see Bole. He looked like he was over 30 despite he was younger than them.

"What are you doing here? Don't show your face here Arthur...Because of you, Mother died" The guy picked up a cup and threw at him, he was a bit drunk.

Both of them dodged it then Arthur rushed to Bole and pinned him down. Even he was weak, he still had some technique training to subdue someone.

"Calm down Bole, I am here to look for your help"

"Dream on, Arthur. After what happens, do you expect your friends to help you"

"I need your help so I can take revenge on that Noble!!"

"..." Bole stopped struggling and calmed down after that.

"We're good?" Arthur loosened his grip.

"...Yeah, I will hear what you want to say"

Arthur then explained everything to Bole.

"Okay, wait a bit. I will come back soon" Bole left the bar.

After waiting for 10 minutes, he came back with a piece of paper.

"Here, take it and leave" He gave the paper to Arthur then went back to drinking, the guy still mad about Mother's death.

"You will hear good news soon" Arthur then left the place with Alice.

Before they walked out, Bole suddenly called him.

"Arthur, make sure that you kill that bastard and...watch out"

"Thanks, Bole"

---

The paper had the address where the Noble son was staying at and some more info about his place.

"Alice, go to this place and hold the bottle for me...I need to prepare"

"When will we attack?"

"At night, I can sneak in with the cover of the darkness"

After that, Arthur walked back to the orphanage and took the only sword he had, the Knight Sword.

He didn't come home only for the sword, he came back to say something to Mother.

Walked into the yard, he then kneeled down in front of the grave.

"Mother...I am sorry for everything...I will join you a bit late than expected but I promise you, I will die with a smile on my face"

He wiped tears from his eyes and picked the sword.

"Let see how good is the sword"

He then practiced his swings like them time at Knight Corp, the feeling is coming back to him as he swung faster.

Each swing caused small whirlwinds around him which weren't normal at all, his strength and stamina improved explosively after getting healed.

But he didn't notice any difference from his regular training, maybe he was too focused or anger which he held back a long time was showing through power.

"I am ready"

He put down his sword as he looked at the sun, it was about to get dark.

Time to end this shit.