14 Chapter 13 - An Assassin's Resolve

The sun was rising slowly from the east. Rays of dawn illuminated the vast green expanse. Tall green grass waved and sparkled with dew as a breeze went by. In the distant horizon, one could see the emerald hills. Among the grass one could see the figure of a boy running. His white shirt and black shorts had been moistened by sweat. His brown hair bounced up and down, while he lunged for air.

"G-God no... no more," He collapsed.

"Get up. You're not even half the way."

A man dressed in black appeared out of thin air and poked the boy's head with a black walking stick.

"Th-This is hellish!... 50 miles!... Every day!" exclaimed the boy in short bursts.

"You chose this path. Thus, you must follow it to your grave."

"Please! Just one minute... give me one minute of break."

"You said the same thing yesterday, and the day before. My answer, too, remains the same - NO."

The man picked the boy up and tossed him into the air.

"Aaaaaahhhh!" the boy screamed as he completed two flips in the air. He crashed into the ground with a thump.

"It is hard to believe you are Lawrence's son," the man sighed. Robert could only twitch in reply.

"Get up Robert," said Oliver and kicked him in the ribs. Robert spat out as he slid on the ground.

"Run, or I will kill you," An eerie glint flashed in Oliver's eyes. It made Robert's hair stand up. Robert put all his strength in getting up and staggered as he tried to run. Oliver smiled as he was amused by Robert's suffering

"Ha! Lawrence was right! It will be fun for me.", said the man as he disappeared into thin air.

***

"Arrgh!" Robert expelled his stomach's contents near a tree.

"My My! Wasn't that your lunch?", laughed Oliver as he watched Robert from a distance.

"So let's see: 50-mile morning run - Done; 200 push-ups - Done; 300 sit-ups - Done; 150 squats - Done; 200 pull-ups - Done; and your 100-mile evening run is done!" Oliver leaned on a tree.

"D-Damn it!" Robert collapsed.

"You can't collapse now! You have your evening lessons, and night hunting left!" Oliver smiled with evident amusement.

Oliver approached Robert. Robert's body was as still as a corpse; one could not be sure of his breathing. Oliver bent to pick him up.

Suddenly, Robert jumped and thrust a dagger towards Oliver. Oliver simply smiled, as he stopped the dagger in the air with the movement of a finger. Robert launched a kick at Oliver's legs. A painful crunch was heard. Robert felt as if he had kicked a block of steel. But Robert's gaze was firm. He dropped the dagger and used his other hand to catch it. He punched and stabbed simultaneously. However, Oliver deflected those blows with a sweep of his hand.

Robert staggered backwards.

"You have learned to conceal yourself well, and your attacks were not bad either!" Oliver said with a smile, "But, it is useless against me."

"I will kill you!" Robert's eyes burned with fervour.

"By all means. However, as of now, you don't have the power to kill another herald, much less me."

Robert screamed and rushed towards Oliver, but his broken leg staggered, and he fell down. He dragged himself, sweeping leaves and dirt.

"I... will kill... you!" His tired hands and feet felt numb, but with mere willpower, he continued to drag himself. With madness in his eyes, he moved until his body gave up, and he collapsed at Oliver's feet. Seeing that he was powerless, tears welled up in his eyes. He cried.

"Ah! Emotional drama, one of my favourites!" Oliver squatted and looked into Robert's eyes.

"First, let's fix your body," Oliver took out a red vial from his pocket.

He shook it a little as he grabbed Robert by the hair and lifted his head. Robert let out a groan.

Oliver popped out the stopper and dumped the contents of the vial into Robert's mouth.

"Your body will heal in some seconds. Stop acting dead."

With a wave of Oliver's hand, a tent appeared in mid-air. With another wave, the tent set itself on the ground. "Come inside when you are able to walk and don't even think of running away, else I will kill you," said Oliver as he disappeared into the tent.

'Damn it, you bastard. I will kill you' thought Robert as he got up.

Numerous bruises and wounds hidden under his clothes had healed up. Robert unwillingly walked inside the tent.

The tent seemed small from the outside, but it was quite spacious inside. A light bulb floated in the air, illuminating the tent with its yellow light. The floor was made of wood; some clothes and a sleeping bag lay on a side in the most unremarkable fashion. In the centre was a wooden table with two wooden chairs. On one of the chairs was Oliver, sitting with his eyes closed. His hands supported his head and his elbow rested on the table.

"Sit Robert, sit," Oliver said as he sat up straight and opened his eyes.

Robert involuntarily sat down on the chair.

"There is something I wish to ask you, Robert, so I will be cancelling today's lessons." Oliver beamed.

"Huh?" Robert was surprised. In the half-month of his journey, he had to follow a rigid timetable- there had been no exceptions.

"Now, Robert tell me why do you want to be an assassin?"

"Eh? It has been two weeks and you are asking this now?"

"That was general training." Oliver folded his arms and rocked his chair.

"GENERAL TRAINING MY ASS! I ALMOST DIED!"

"The fact that you have survived until now qualifies you to receive my teaching; this is the final test- tell me why do you wish to be an assassin?"

"Y-You!" Robert clenched his teeth. He arrogantly spoke "It is the path I chose. I wish to be a shadow which will cleanse this world. I wish to wield such power that no one judges me for my actions. I will cleanse this world of evil, and I will adopt any method to achieve it. Thus, I want to become an assassin."

"Hmm... Strong words, yet your resolve is weak. Cleanse the world of evil? Not be judged for your action?" Oliver laughed. Suddenly, Oliver stood up and in a flash, a dagger stood a micrometre away from Robert's carotid artery. The sensation of oncoming death sent chills down Robert's spine.

"Tell me the truth boy, or you shall know death."

"I-I-" Robert's mouth was dry, his senses told him that it was not a trick, "Rea- Damn it,"

"Tell me the truth," Oliver had a merciless look in his eyes.

Robert cursed under his breath. "I don't want to bring world peace or anything like that. That was just a ruse to convince you... What I want to do is be strong enough that no one can threaten me. I only wish to command power so great that the world may bend to my will. The way I see it, people only listen to you when they fear you or respect you. I have chosen fear over respect. When I'll an assassin, people will fear me and won't be able to hunt me down. Even if they wish to kill me, they would have the power only to bow down before me. I wish to live a life like that."

"A prodigal son! You really don't believe in your father's ideas, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know your own father? Do you have a heart as strong?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course, I know him. I am his son!"

"Do you know how he became an Earl?"

"Th-That well, he earned it through his own merit!"

"Haha! I knew it; Lawrence would never tell his innocent sons about that."

"What are you saying?"

"You see, this country follows a simple rule: the strong occupy the top. Normally, if one wishes to become one of the core administration, which includes the Marquis and the Earl, one must prove that he is worthy of that position. Something of equal value must be presented to the rank holder." Oliver sighed and continued, "However, your father did something special- He challenged the former Earl, your grandfather, and his entire army."

"Wh-What?"

"Yes, the Earl's army. It has several Titan-ranked commanders. The Earl himself was breaking through to the next rank." Oliver smiled and said, "Your father made them all submit without killing anyone."

"Th-That..." Robert was at a loss for words.

"Let me show it to you."

Oliver leaned forward and gently tapped Robert's forehead. Robert felt his surroundings melt and change.

Suddenly, he was standing in the middle of a grassy plain. On one side stood a huge army. The soldiers, standing in neat rows, wore metallic armour, like that of a knight, which glowed with mana. One man stood in front of the army in a remarkable blue and white armour; a golden cape fluttered behind him. His helmet covered his features. A golden lance glowed in his hands.

The man shouted, "Lawrence! This is your last chance; flee and I will forgive your life!" His voice boomed across the plain, accompanied by angry growls of the army.

The man, on seeing this, held up a hand and there was silence.

Robert tried to move his body but realized that he could only move his field of vision. He looked to where the leader was facing. Robert spotted a familiar figure - Lawrence! His father was standing there, dressed in brown leather armour, and holding nothing but a rusted sword. Robert wanted to facepalm, but he didn't have hands to do so.

Lawrence laughed, and said, "I will defeat your army first. Then I will sit on the throne of Triston. I will make you proud by doing this father."

A chill went down Robert's non-existent spine. Was this person really his father? His body, his face, his hands, all seemed too vicious to be his Father's!

"You idiot! You were told to bring something of equal value for Triston, not fight your father's BLOODY ARMY!" Earl Julian lost his patience, "CHARGE!" he bellowed.

A hundred thousand men marched forward. Mana roiled around as numerous spells were prepared.

Lawrence only stood there laughing. Robert wanted to shut his eyes and run away, but he couldn't. Robert couldn't bear to watch this, but suddenly he realized - isn't father the earl?

At this moment, Lawrence stretched out his arm, a golden red spell formation was formed in front of his palm. Numerous runes floated in it. Lawrence muttered an incantation. With a smirk, he said, "Bind!"

Golden chains sprouted out from the ground and wrapped themselves around the soldiers. All soldiers, without exceptions, were rooted in their places. The 'grand' march had been halted by one spell!

All of them struggled to break free, but for nought. Slowly, the chains started tightening. The noise of breaking bones and cracking armour echoed across the battlefield. Now they could not even struggle! These golden chains restricted all their movement; they were barely able to breathe!

Lawrence just stood there, laughing.

"That ended quickly." He scratched his nose. "I might as well wrap this up now," Lawrence muttered another chant, and this time a red spell formation opened up in front of his palm. Runes shaped like flames revolved in it. Lawrence whispered, "Reign of fire."

A similar looking spell formation opened up in the sky directly above the immobile army. The only difference was that it was enormous. It encompassed the whole army. The concentric circles in it rotated as huge amounts of mana were sucked in. This amount was incomparable to the mana Robert had absorbed in all his life till now.

Boom! The air exploded! Hot dry gales wrecked the green environment. Great balls of fire descended like rain on the battlefield. Fire flooded the ground. Nothing was spared. The cries of the soldiers were muffled by the roaring flames. All except the soldiers were turned to ash. No chariots, no spears, no swords, no armour and no clothes... only ash. The soldiers looked like the day they were born. Their skin was unscathed.

Robert was perplexed. 'Is that really Father? Why would he do such a shameless thing to his own army? So ruthless.' The space wrapped around Robert, and suddenly he was back in the tent sitting on the chair. He blinked twice.

"Lawrence did everything according to the state laws.", said Oliver. "He was charged with no crime, thus no penalty was imposed on him. He defeated a hundred thousand people, and officially became Earl of Triston. Your grandfather Julian was extremely proud that your father had earned his right without harming anyone; a feat very hard to achieve.

Apparently, your father had left for Blood Haven empire, before he became an Earl, in order to find power. In his search, he had slaughtered a hundred thousand men and vampires. He became an SS-class criminal there. However, his contributions to the war against the Elven empire were many. His criminal status was cleared by Black Dragon's ally Bloodhaven at that time. Maybe after killing so many, he realized how meaningless killing is. He atones by not killing a single person in his battles; no matter how harsh or unfair the battle is. Since the last war, he hasn't killed anyone. Albeit, he beats his enemies up and drags them in chains to the court."

Robert was too shocked to say anything.

"There is no good or evil in this world. A person is but a person, and taking someone's life is a sin no matter how you put it. Your own hands would be painted by the blood of millions if you choose to change this world. You will have painful experiences, tragedies and such if you walk this path. But if you do choose it after all, then walk it till the end. You will have to climb mountains of corpses just so you can sit on an empty throne and change this desolate, insipid world. Tell me. Are your resolve and heart strong enough?"

Robert clenched his teeth. Too much had happened today. He had realized that his father was a mass murderer, and his own house was built upon the graves of countless people. In the deadly silence, Robert thought, again and again, and again, trying to find reason in his path.

After a few minutes, Robert spoke. "No, I am not strong enough to bear the guilt of killing people. I am a naive boy, who thought that this world was painted in black and white. I am powerless. There is so much that I haven't seen. I know not what evil might there be, but I am sure many people live in pain, and inhumane monsters trouble them. So, with a clear conscience, I want to walk this path. I will get myself stained with mud, but someday that mud will dry up and fall off. My heart tells me that it is the right thing to do. I wish to believe in the path I take, Master Oliver."

Robert's eyes shined as he looked towards Oliver. "The reason doesn't matter. I see hope at the end of my journey, and that is all that values. Thus, I beseech you to teach me how to bear this burden and guide me on my tragic path, so that one day, when this is all over, I can disappear amidst the ones I helped."

Oliver smiled. "Good words. Well pronounced. One last question: Are you prepared to kill another person?"

Robert's face darkened, and he muttered, "Yes."

O

liver chuckled and got up from the chair. He stretched out a hand towards Robert.

"Let's begin your journey."