Chapter 7: Good and Evil

Ethan slowly opened his eyes. He was in a void-like place. His limbs were chained to the ground.

[ These chains... ]

Before his thought could finish someone interrupted him.

"Greetings Ethan Cross"

He looked behind him and found professor Alleina standing there.

"Looking at how unsurprised you are, it seems you knew about me beforehand"

"Where is she?"

"There's no need to rush Ethan. We are in a space created by my powers where there is no logic of time and space. Before talking about the witch how about you introduce yourself. I found out that you were no puppet but an actual human. You also do not have anything related to the witch on your body so you are not something created by her either. So why? why Ethan do you know of this witch and why does your soul keep going against the flow of this world."

"I have no idea what you mean by that but isn't it common sense to introduce yourself first before asking about others?"

Professor Alleina then removed her glasses "I wished to solve this peacefully."

Her jet-black hair started to turn blonde. Her eyes became yellow. Her red shirt gradually started to be replaced with silk white robe. Six wings emerged from her back.

"I am Valeria. Apostle of wisdom."

"I am Magnus, your doom"

Just as he finished his entire body was engulfed in dark flames.

"???" Professor Alleina, now Valeria was surprised by what she was seeing

[ That... that is demonic energy... how can it enter this place which I created ]

Sensing danger Valeria used her holy flames. Suddenly Ethan leapt from that dark flames and directly into Valeria's white holy flames punching Valeria right in the face.

Valeria, who was not ready to take that punch was thrown back by the impact. As she quickly got up to regain is balance, she couldn't believe what her eyes saw.

Ethan, his black hair had now turned red. His eyes, like pools of obsidian, swallowed the surrounding light, and within them, crimson orbs burned fiercely. Some marks appeared on his forehead and face.

Ethan then lifted both his arms and took a defensive position. Seeing that Valeria conjured a spear out of thin air and took stance. Ethan made the first move. He directly leapt towards Valeria. Valeria tried to counter it with her spear but as soon as her spear touched Ethan, he vanished. Ethan then suddenly appearing on her side punched her unguarded ribs breaking them in the process.

Ethan then lifted his right arm and closed his eyes. Suddenly a sword appeared in his hands.

"??? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE. This place is created with my soul and no one else but me can control it unless-"

Valeria stopped her mouth.

[ Now it's making sense ]

[ His soul was different. It was as if his soul didn't fit in this world. ]

[ Now I understand why she knows the witch. ]

"You don't belong here"

"I don't want to either"

With Valeria poised, her ethereal spear gleaming with divine energy, and Ethan standing tall, his twin swords at the ready, the battlefield was set for an epic clash between two formidable adversaries.

Their weapons clashed with thunderous force, and the ground beneath them trembled with the impact. Valeria's spear, infused with divine energy, met Ethan's twin swords infused with demonic energy, each strike producing a symphony of sparks. Their movements were a dance of power and precision, a testament to their skill and determination.

Ethan's eyes burned brighter with crimson intensity as he aimed his hand towards Valeria. A wicked grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. In an instant, a sinister magic circle materialized beneath his outstretched hand, crackling with dark energy.

From the magic circle, obsidian chains emerged, snaking their way towards Valeria with swiftness. The chains coiled around her. Valeria's divine energy surged, attempting to repel the dark chains, but it was futile against the relentless force of Ethan's demonic prowess.

The golden spear trembled in Valeria's grasp as she struggled against the binding chains, her eyes wide with shock and fury. She had underestimated Ethan's command over the dark forces and was now paying the price.

Ethan's eerie laughter echoed through the air as he spoke, a malevolent glint in his eyes, "You thought yourself invincible, didn't you, Valeria? Oh, the terror in your eyes is simply delightful."

"Just kill me," Valeria managed to utter, her voice laced with pain and defiance.

"Do you take me for a fool? This place was created by your soul, and should it get destroyed, this world will crumble as well," Ethan retorted, his sadistic grin widening.

Fueled by desperation, Valeria tried to bite her tongue as a last resort. However, Ethan was too quick and grabbed hold of her mouth, slamming her to the ground. Her attempt to end her life was thwarted by the very hands that sought to torment her.

"So even these so-called apostles of gods commit suicide?" Ethan mocked, his laughter echoing like a haunting melody in the air.

Valeria's will to fight was slowly breaking, but she refused to give Ethan the satisfaction of her surrender. He leaned closer, a malicious glint in his eyes, and whispered, "Oh, I will kill you, but in the most painful way possible. Now, tell me where Seraphina is?"

With malevolent intent, Ethan channeled his raw demonic energy into Valeria's body. Her screams of agony pierced the air as the holy mana within her clashed violently with the dark energy. Unlike her encounter with Akazaki, the pain was intensified manifold, threatening to shatter her very soul. Valeria gritted her teeth, doing her best to hold back her screams, and attempted to remove Ethan's hand from her, but his grip only tightened.

His face twisted into a sadistic laugh as he watched her suffering, seemingly enjoying every moment of her torment. Unaware of the overwhelming strength he was exerting, Ethan pushed Valeria to the brink of consciousness, leaving her gasping for breath.

As Valeria's strength waned, the world around her began to blur, and darkness started to claim her senses. Ethan's sinister laughter echoed in the fading background as her vision faded into oblivion.

"Aww! So fragile. I thought I could play a bit longer," Ethan mused, his voice still holding the echo of sadistic amusement. With a flick of his wrist, he released his grip on Valeria, letting her unconscious form fall limply to the ground.

Ethan then took a deep sigh and closed his eyes.

<Few years prior to the end of The War of Eternities>

Ethan who was then Magnus, was in a village surrounded by skeletons.

"Whew they just don't end."

Magnus was on a job to hunt down a lich. Lich's are undead beings who can cast magic and summon other undead. The lich Magnus was hunting had recently devastated the dukedom of Kashmire, one of the four dukedoms of the Empire. There's a rumor that lich Agamas, who terrorized the continent centuries ago has again awoke from his slumber.

Magnus finally tracked lich to a abandoned village in the forest.

[ Though these undead are weak, the only problem was their numbers. ]

Magnus was fighting a huge hoard of skeletons in the middle of the village. His holy sword and armor made the job very easy. It took him a total of 25 minutes to fully clear the field. He spread his mana around the village. He found that lot of demonic energy was being concentrated in the basement of what it seemed like, the village elder's house.

Ethan drank some potions and made his way to the house. After reaching the staircase to basement he took a deep breath and proceeded downstairs. The more deeper the stairs took him to more horrible the smell become.

[ There's bloodstains everywhere. That explains why I see no villagers. Demonic energy is running rampant around here. It was a wise choice not to bring anyone here. ]

Magnus reached the basement.

[ What kind of basements would be 3 floors deep ]

Magnus took his stance and flowed his divine energy into his sword making it bright like a torch. What he saw in front of him was something he had never seen before. Piles of corpses on top of each other. There were even corpses of children among them. Stood before the pile of corpses was someone performing some kind of ritual in his black robes. Magnus knew at that moment it was his target.

"Koros zul vorken desh val'rak"

The lich who was covered in black robe was casting some spell. Noticing that Magnus slashed his sword aimed at the lich. His slash travelled through space and reached the lich. The lich then gestured his hand and a wall of bones from the ground rose up protecting him from Magnus's slashes.

Suddenly all the blood around Magnus started to gather and take the shape of various golems. Magnus, understanding what was happening gathered divine energy in his body and before unleashed it all at once at all directions around him destroying the golems in process.

[ ??? ]

The golems which had been shattered were gathering again taking their previous shapes. Suddenly a golem leapt at him from behind. Magnus took a step to the side and slashed it in half. It had no effect. Magnus's sword simply passed through the golem.

"Shur'ath sathor nok-ra

Velk n'ethos zhaunen yar'nor"

Magnus could still hear the lich's chant. His instinct told him he should finish this battle as soon as possible. Magnus kept slashing every golem that leapt at him. The golems as well kept regenerating.

[ So it's like this ]

The more Magnus sliced the golems the faster their regeneration became. And the faster their regeneration became the smaller the became making it harder to hit them.

"I don't have time for this"

Magnus sheathed his sword and and lowered his body while closing his eyes. His right hand still on the sword's hilt, Magnus ignored the incoming golems.

Swoosh

Suddenly Magnus disappeared and striked every golems in sight countless times and returned to his original position. The golems started to get cracked one by one and one by one they all shattered.

"Shur'ath kain narken doth

Zhul'garoth yar lomen tor'shak

Koros zul vorken desh val'rak

Shur'ath sathor nok-ra"

Just when he was panting from the technique he just used he heard the lich's chanting again. Suddenly a pillar of red light shone on the pile of corpses. Red orb like light came out of the body and started to enter the lich's body at tremendous speed.

The lich's robe started to flutter. Magnus's instincts kept urging him to run away. Demon energy was running rampant making it harder and harder to breath. Magnus cast a divine barrier around him to protect him. After absorbing all those red orbs the lich looked at Magnus.

Unlike normal skeletons, the lich's bones were completely black. It had his front upper body exposed showing his rib cage. He removed is hood revealing mysterious glowing red markings on his face. It's eyes were hollow yet seemed to strike fear to anyone looking at it. The lich raised both his arm to his sides and conjured two black sword with red engraving which made Magnus surprised as liches were only known to be powerful magicians. The lich seemed to be waiting for Magnus to make his move first.

Magnus who knew it was pretty much impossible to defeat the lich with his strength without some sacrifice leapt at the lich with his sword engulfed in white flames. The lich took a step to right and avoided Magnus's slash. Magnus changed his sword path to a horizontal slash aimed for the lich's neck.

The lich simply bent backwards to avoid the slash. Magnus striked the lich again and again but each time it would dodge. Magnus again dashed forward at the lich with his sword sheathed. He attempted a slash but let got of his sword mid way resulting in the sword filled with holy energy to fly towards the lich. The lich avoided the sword by tilting his head. After the sword passed by the lich, Magnus disappeared in front of the lich only to teleport to the the sword. Grabbing the hilt of the sword Magnus used all his might in this slash.

It was a unique ability of the holy sword. The wielder can teleport himself to his sword or make it teleport to him once a day. This time the lich couldn't block the slash and instead blocked it with one of his swords.

Two powerful power of opposite quality clashed against each other resulting in a huge explosion pushing both of them away. Magnus being in the midair before explosion was thrown back quite a lot taking some damage as well.

The lich took his stance by putting his right leg ahead and bending his waist to the front while his swords at both of his hands. The lich then dashed towards the unprepared Magnus delivering vertical slash with both of his sword at the same time.

Magnus, still on the ground dodge the slashes by rolling to the side while throwing a vial of holy water at the lich. The vial directly hit his rib cage and the bones showed signs of corrosion.

The lich then did a horizontal slash from sides. Magnus tried to avoid that by lying flat which was a mistake for him as the lich stopped midway and pierced both of Magnus's leg to the ground. Magnus screamed in pain. The twin swords emanated demonic energy which clashed with the divine energy inside Magnus's body causing immense pain.

The lich spoke to Magnus for the first time while looking at him with his hollow eyes.

"As powers of opposite energies collide, chaos occurs. The same thing can happen inside the vessels which hold these powers as well. Everyone's power is unique, by mixing it inside a vessel can cause immense pain that can even result in the vessel's destruction. But I don't wish for that for you."

The lich pulled out both the swords and they dissipated in black smoke. Then to Magnus's surprise the lich offered a hand to Magnus. Magnus being flustered stayed as he was.

"Well I understand"

The lich then turned backwards and kept walking towards the pile of corpses.

"Wha- What was her- your mother's last moment like?"

"???"

Magnus was shocked by what he just heard now. He tried to heal his wounds on legs and asked the lich back.

"What do you mean? Why are you speaking as if you know her?"

There were hint of anger and curiosity in his words. His mother never talked about his family. As her identity was shrouded in mystery everyone thought she was a commoner and made fun of her for seducing Magnus's father, the grand duke of the Empire. Magnus always hated that. And now there is someone who was asking about her years after her death. What's more it was a demon, a lich.

"She must have quite a hard time living with humans, resisting the urge to kill them."

The lich seemed to be looking at a little girl from the pile of corpses.

"I am- let's say someone from your mother's family, or at least I used to be"

Magnus's face that had hint of anger was gone. What remained was pure curiosity and shock. He finally met someone from his mother's family.

"Love is always the problem. She could have had everything, yet she ran away. for what? A HUMAN!"

The lich's body emanated intense bloodlust which made even Magnus shudder. The lich turned to Magnus and stopped his blood lust.

"I am the past head of the great clan of The Vorathal and your mother- she was the princess of our clan."

"???"

Magnus's thought couldn't be expressed in words.

"Im-Impossible my mother was a human"

"No she was not, she was my grand-daughter"

An awkward silence followed the conversation. He got up from the ground slowly.

"Yes that would mean I am your great-grandfather"

"Impossible"

Magnus was holding his head as he heard something unbelievable. Magnus dedicated his entire life to protecting innocents. He was now a knight under the Empire. He just couldn't believe that blood of demons flowed within him.

"I will show you"

Just as the lich said that he teleported behind Magnus and put his hand on his back. Pain surged within him as he screamed to the top of his lungs. Blood started to flow through his eyes. Magnus's whole body started to get numb. He couldn't hear anything that was happening. Magnus was then repulsed by the lich's hand throwing him in front of the pile of corpses.

"Embrace your existence child. The Vorathals can give you things The Stormblades can't. Instead of staying with those ego-maniac people come to me. Don't make the same mistake your foolish mother did."

"Shut up shut up"

Magnus was holding his head in pain. Blood flowed out through his eyes, ears and nose. His white hairs partially turned red. His eyes started to become black with red pupils.

"What did you do to me?" asked Magnus in agony

"Just embrace it child. This is who you should be."

Magnus looked at his arms. His arms were burning as some red marks were being created. These were the same as the lich's. He knew this was not a good sign. As demonic energy started to engulf his body he instinctively knew he had to do something.

He then looked at the lich standing there. Since his sword wasn't with him he simply dashed towards the lich and tried to attack him.

"oho" This lich just laughed at his decision

Instead of avoiding it he took the punch head on. Magnus had successfully land a punch on the lich's face but it had no effect. The lich then flicked Magnus's head pushing him few meters behind as a result.

"Children are truly energetic"

Magnus was in an unbearable pain. He felt his bones break one by one.

"Endure it. If you get unconscious you will die."

Once the bones were broken they kept regenerating one by one. His muscles grew anew. His entire body was being reshaped. Soon the process stopped.

"You succeeded. What you went through was the 'Body Reformation technique'. It breaks ones bones and creates new strong ones in their place."

Magnus was trembling on the ground panting in pain and anger. He tried to get up but his hands slipped.

"You were probably the youngest one in our family to go through that. The old ones take three to four days to recove-"

Even the lich's skinless face couldn't hide how shocked he was from what he was seeing. Magnus was getting up on his own two feet and taking up a stance to fight him.

"You are making me more interested in you"

"I prefer women" Magnus again dashed towards the lich but this time he was faster. Before the lich could put up his defense Magnus's punch hit him. With a newfound power a menacing smile started to appear on his face.

"Everyone's like that after getting new powers."

The lich then stood up from the ground.

"Lemme show you what true power is."

Just as he said that orbs consolidated of demonic energy started to form behind him. With his hand gestures those orbs flew towards Magnus each causing huge explosions that even the ground trembled. Magnus was avoiding it well at first but got hit by some as well suffering injuries.

"That should be able to calm him down"

Just as the lich put his hand down Magnus appeared through the smoke rushing out of it towards the lich with his arm engulfed in demonic energy. The lich realizing this hit could be fatal erected a bone wall before him. The lich then transform the bone wall into sharp bones and threw them at Magnus avoiding fatal spots with his demonic energy.

Magnus being hit by the bones so close couldn't avoid it. He four limbs were pinned to the ground.

"Quite ferocious for a new cub. Just what I would expect from my blood" The lich looked at Magnus proudly.

Unbeknownst to him Magnus had lost his sanity. He pulled out his right arm from the ground partially tearing it in the process and pulled out the bone from another hand by biting it. After completely freeing him His body started to heal itself.

Magnus had a sadistic laugh on his face as if he was enjoying it. He looked at the pile of corpses beside him and lifted his arm toward it. Suddenly black substance came from his hand and covered the pile of corpses entirely. The black substance pierced their flesh, devouring them from inside. As the black substance enveloped the lifeless bodies, an eerie silence settled over the scene, interrupted only by the grotesque sounds of bones snapping and flesh tearing.

In the depths of Magnus's eyes, a glint of madness gleamed, as he reveled in his newfound power, intoxicated by the darkness that now coursed through his veins.

The lich who was seeing this happen was lost for words.

[ Even the experienced Vorathals cannot use the power of gluttony yet- I guess like mother like son]

The Lich, determined to stop Magnus, launched his assault, his twin swords arcing through the air with deadly precision. Two vertical strikes, aimed to cleave Magnus in half. But Magnus was no stranger to combat, and with an agile swiftness, he dodged the first strike, but the second one came perilously close, knocking a sword from the Lich's grip.

Seizing the opportunity, Magnus grabbed the fallen sword from the ground, his hand wrapping around the hilt as if it had always belonged to him. The Lich's eyes widened with disbelief, realizing that Magnus had somehow gained control over his necrotic weapon.

The Lich, seething with rage, summoned an army of skeletal minions from the very ground they stood on. The horde of skeletons swarmed around Magnus, encircling him from all sides. But Magnus unleashed a torrent of dark power that erupted from his body, an inferno of shadows that engulfed the vicinity, obliterating the skeletal horde in a cataclysmic wave.

Amidst the dissipating darkness, Magnus's eyes glowed with a fiery intensity. He lunged toward the Lich once more, his sword clashing with the Lich's remaining one in a dazzling display of swordplay. The battlefield echoed with the clanging of metal as they engaged in a fierce duel, the air charged with the intensity of their clash.

Each strike of Magnus's sword sent ripples of demonic energy, and the Lich responded in kind, his necrotic powers creating eerie wisps of greenish-black smoke with each parry. Their movements were a blur of steel and magic, as they danced on the edge between life and death.

With precise strike Magnus then cut an emerald orb shining inside the Lich's ribs.

"As I thought this orb has something to do with your existence doesn't it?"

As the emerald orb perished slowly the lich fell on the ground.

He thought to himself just where it started to go wrong.

[ I have awakened who I shouldn't have. This is too early for this child. ]

[ That brat was right. She always said my greed will kill me one day ]

[ I am sorry ]

As the skeleton of the lich started to disintegrate Magnus felt uncomfortable. He was finally regaining his sanity. He coughed up blood. He felt as if someone was ripping his heart. He started to feel dizzy. Soon his consciousness faded away.

When Magnus opened his eyes he found himself between debris. He pushed his way to the top. After struggles he found himself in the ruins of the house he entered before. His memories were dizzy. All he could remember were him coming to the basement and fighting the lich. Suddenly he had severe pain and memories after that were unclear to him.

The last thing he remembered was the lich perishing away before him. Thinking that his mission was done Magnus prayed for the souls of those who perished from this village and left for his next adventure.

<Current time>

[ Can't believe I who fought demons my entire life was half demon myself ]

[ That lich- I didn't even ask for his name, he erased my memories. But why did those memories only appear now? ]

He felt a sharp pain in his heart suddenly. He felt to the ground while holding his heart. He started to cough blood. He was determined to not get unconscious this time. His blood vessels started to go awry. He felt his muscles being torn.

[ This pain is more than last time... Why? ]

He started having nosebleed. His left eyes vision started to get blurry.

"This... this pain... it's unbearable," Ethan muttered through gritted teeth.

The pain seemed insurmountable, threatening to break him both physically and mentally. It was as if his body was being torn apart from the inside, the darkness within him clawing at his soul, desperate to break free.

With a surge of willpower, Ethan tried to tap into the light within him, the remnants of his own divine energy that resisted the encroaching darkness. He had to find balance, to control the demonic energy without losing himself in the process.

With newfound resolve, Ethan fought back against the pain. He embraced the darkness but refused to be consumed by it. Slowly, he began to regain control over the demonic energy.

[ The pain has been suppressed a little ]

[ This won't do, if I have to control demonic energy I must control it well ]

As demonic energy slowly dissipated around his body, the chains that bound Valeria dissipated as well.