Chapter 1 — The Prelude To The Prelude (2)

"What on earth...?" I exclaimed, bewildered by my surroundings.

Where am I? And how on earth did I end up here? As I glanced around, my senses were bombarded by the bustling energy of the place.

Within the vicinity, a flurry of activity unfolded. Children, aged between six and twelve, gleefully brandished swords, their youthful voices reverberating through the atmosphere.

'Wait a minute,' I thought to myself. 'Wasn't this the school's courtyard?'

Confusion set in as I tried to make sense of my surroundings. As far as I knew, I had no business being here. The only logical explanation was that this was a dream.

"This had to be a dream. I mean, it had to be. None of this makes sense otherwise," I chuckled to myself, feeling foolish for being momentarily frightened. The fact that I was frightened for a moment now seemed ridiculous to me.

Despite my attempts to rationalize the situation, I was unable to shake off the sense of unease that lingered within me. Nevertheless, I convinced myself that this was indeed a dream, and that any moment now, I would awaken to the familiarity of my own bed.

However, just as I was about to come to terms with this conclusion, a sudden, fierce voice interrupted my thoughts, causing me to jump in alarm.

"Take that back!!!"

The voice was so piercingly loud and high-pitched that I had to quickly cover my ears with my hands to protect myself from the noise.

The unexpected voice challenged my belief that I was dreaming, and caused me to doubt my previous reassurances. Despite my initial shock, I tried to regain my composure and figure out what was going on.

Turning towards the source of the voice, I saw two individuals standing in the center of the enormous courtyard.

As I looked closer, I realized that I was familiar with both of them.

One was a boy with pale skin and a face that showed no trace of masculinity. His crimson hair was tied in a ponytail, and his deep crimson eyes were like refined rubies. He had a slender figure that made him look more like a girl than a boy. In fact, everything about his appearance made it quite likely for him to be mistaken for a girl. If I didn't know him myself, I might have thought this person was female. His name was Leon Asura and he was the third son of House Asura.

The other person standing in the courtyard was also a young boy, but with a very different physical appearance. Unlike Leon, this boy had a well-built physique, which was noticeable even from a distance. His short hair and sharp, piercing eyes were reminiscent of flames, and he exuded a confident and assertive demeanor that suggested strength and power. This boy was named Marcus Asura, the second son of House Asura.

I rubbed my eyes repeatedly to ensure that what I was seeing was real.

I wondered if this was what people meant by seeing their life flash before their eyes. Maybe I was actually dead if this was the case.

After rubbing my eyes several times to ensure that what I was witnessing was real, I resigned myself to simply observing the unfolding events.

All of the students who were previously engrossed in swinging their wooden swords halted their actions and turned their attention towards the commotion caused by Leon's outburst.

Even Marcus, who had been diligently swinging his wooden sword just moments ago, halted his movements and fixed his gaze on Leon. Although Marcus attempted to feign ignorance by asking "Huh? What did you say?" the sly grin on his face suggested otherwise—he likely knew exactly what Leon was referring to.

"I demand that you take back what you just said!" exclaimed Leon, his voice trembling with anger.

"Please lower your voice, Leon. Your shouting is hurting my ears. And what exactly are you referring to? What did I say?" replied Marcus calmly, his expression unflappable.

"I'm talking about the derogatory comments you made about my parents. Take those words back!"

Leon's features contorted in anger as he emitted a fierce growl, his gaze locked onto Marcus with a searing glare.

The intensity of Leon's reaction was enough to make me nervous, but Marcus remained completely composed and unflappable.

"Seems like your anger is misplaced. Are you sure you didn't misunderstand what I said?"

"Don't take me for a fool, Marcus! While I may be willing to tolerate insults directed towards me, I won't stand for any mockery of my parents."

"There's no need to be so upset. I only spoke the truth, didn't I? Incompetent parents often give birth to talentless children. Do you disagree with that statement?" retorted Marcus, his tone slightly mocking.

"How dare you!"

The words left on Marcus' mouth only served to further anger Leon, who launched himself at Marcus, attempting to grab him. However, Marcus quickly dodged Leon's attack, causing him to lose his balance and stumble.

"Grr…" 

"Oh my, how scary." 

Leon corrected his balance immediately and glared at Marcus angrily, but Marcus just snickered in response. There was an alarming aura of bloodlust emanating from Leon, but Marcus seemed unfazed by it.

"You may be right that I have no talent, but I won't allow you to speak disrespectfully about my parents!"

With a self-satisfied grin on his face, Marcus gazed down at Leon and retorted, "I simply spoke the truth, Leon. Just take a look at yourself. Despite being a half-demi human, you are still weak. I had assumed that demi-humans, much like your mother, would have more monstrous abilities, but evidently, I was mistaken."

"Did you just implicitly refer to my mother as a monster?" he seethed, his fists clenched at his sides.

Marcus shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean, let's face it. She looks like a monster. I'm just stating the obvious.

At that moment, I felt something within me snap, and I attempted to move towards him and grab him by the collar. However, there was an invincible barrier that stopped me from doing so.

I wasn't sure why I was so furious with Marcus, but it felt like an intense emotion that was urging me to punch him in the face, and I could barely control it.

Leon's reaction was more understandable than mine; his features twisted into an expression that could only be described as demonic.

"You… I'll kill you."

His eyes filled with icy determination as he took a step towards Marcus, grabbing him by the collar. But instead of cowering or showing any signs of fear, Marcus simply grinned, seeming to relish the confrontation. It was almost as if he had been looking forward to this moment.

Just then, someone stood between Leon and Marcus, his arms outstretched to keep them apart. He looked at them with a stern expression, his glasses glinting in the light. "That's enough, both of you," he said firmly.

That someone was a young man with long dark red hair and maroon eyes to match, whose youthful face was adorned by a pair of refined glasses. He had a slender build and his long red hair was pulled over his shoulder in a low ponytail.

As I looked closer, I realized that I recognized him—he was none other than Sirius Asura, the first son of House Asura.

"What do you think you're doing, both of you?" he asked in a calm and measured voice. "You're both in school, so shouldn't you be focusing on your studies instead of engaging in physical altercations?"

Leon gazed at Sirius and expressed his displeasure, "He insulted my parents right in front of me, and you're suggesting that I should just keep swinging my sword?" he replied heatedly. "How could I just stand by and do nothing? There's no way I would let a remark like that slide!"

Marcus chuckled, "Perhaps you should continue practicing with your sword instead," he said slyly. "If you stop swinging it altogether, your skills might deteriorate to nothing."

Sirius gazed at both of them with a look of disbelief, as if he couldn't comprehend how they were still bickering despite his presence right in front of them.

"Cease this ridiculous behavior immediately. You both are acting like delinquents." Sirius let out a sigh, "You're sons of one of the most powerful houses in the republic, and yet you can't even behave properly. You two are Asuras, and you should act like it."

"I had no intention of entertaining his insults, particularly when he called me incompetent at sword fighting. However, his verbal assault on my father and mother was a line I could not ignore. To be more specific, he referred to my father as 'trash' and labeled my mother as a 'monster'. It was intolerable and something I could not simply let slide."

Leon appeared extremely angry and his gaze was fixed on Marcus with increasing intensity. It seemed as though he was on the brink of losing control and physically attacking Marcus.

"I don't want this situation to escalate any further, Marcus. I need you to apologize for what you said. I believe that your comments about our aunt and uncle were inappropriate and hurtful, and it's important that you take them back. Now," Sirius said firmly.

Marcus scowled in response, clearly not pleased with the request. "And what if I refuse to apologize? What will you do then?"

While the question was directed at Sirius, it seemed to be more of a challenge to Leon, who was standing nearby.

Sirius narrowed his eyes and responded in a measured tone. "I don't want things to escalate any further, Marcus. Let's try to handle this peacefully."

However, Marcus wasn't willing to back down so easily. "This isn't even an issue to begin with. I simply spoke the truth," he argued, crossing his arms defiantly.

Finally losing his patience, Leon lunged at Marcus with a punch, but Marcus was quick to dodge it, evading the attack with ease.

"You're itching for a fight, aren't you?" Marcus taunted, a smug smirk on his face. "Well, if that's what you want, let's do it." His demeanor indicated that he was eager to engage in a physical altercation.

However, before the situation could escalate any further, Sirius intervened, exclaiming, "Stop this, both of you! If Grandfather hears any of this, he'll be absolutely livid with the both of you!"

The threat of their grandfather's wrath was enough to make Marcus and Leon pause before they could resort to violence. Nevertheless, Leon seemed determined to continue the confrontation. He glanced around and noticed something lying on the ground nearby, which he picked up.

Sirius realized what Leon was about to do and attempted to stop him, "Hey, Leon! Stop—"

But it was too late, Leon had already made up his mind, "Marcus! I challenge you to a duel!" he declared, pointing his wooden sword at Marcus.