The Sorrow of the Past

"..."

Ary was looking down in grief.

"....?"

While Kashi and others were shocked.

They find it hard to believe that Ary, who had been almost dead after the attack by Leon, killed him without more struggle.

"Hmm?"

Mike reacted as he glimpsed the light coming out of the cave.

He focused his gaze on the cage.

".....?!"

His eyes got enlarged as he noticed something.

"Hey, guys. Look!"

He called out while pointing his index finger toward the cave.

"Hmm?"

Erica, Emily, and Mary reacted as they looked toward the cave.

While Kashi tried to heal himself by taking the pill, Ary was still looking down in grief.

"Hmm? What's this?"

Emily said as she stepped forward.

"What the—?!"

She reacted as she found something unexpected.

"Hey, guys!! Come here, quickly!"

She called them in a loud voice.

"Hmm?!"

Kashi reacted after hearing her high voice and ran inside the cave, thinking that there might be something dangerous.

Erica, Mary, and Mike ran inside as well.

Even though Ary didn't move from his position but mumbled,

"Arterismet VII...you damn bastard...I'll kill you and cut you into a million pieces..."

He was cursing the Demon King.

His anger was obvious after getting a reminiscence of that tragic moment when the demon king sexually tormented her mother, Mina, but he failed to do anything.

Due to this, the hatred for the demon king and the hunger for power took birth within him. That was the reason he wanted to be stronger than even his ancestor, the 1st Warrior, Shin Inochi. So that the tragedy that happened in his past never ever happens again.

"What's wrong?"

Kashi asked as he arrived inside the cave.

"Hmm? Is that..."

He called out as he saw a green-colored enormous ball.

"Look, There are our companions inside of it."

Mary said as she noticed the bodies of other warriors floating with it.

"Are they really dead—ARGH!!"

Emily punched him on the head and yelled, "Don't speak rubbish!" before he could finish his question.

Erica glanced at them and said,

"Hmmm...they are alive."

"Hmm?"

Emily, Mike, and Mary reacted after hearing Erica's words.

"She's right."

Kashi confirmed, then he pointed his right hand toward the ball and called out,

"Serpina—Release them."

SWISH!

The green-colored ball vanished, and the Warriors landed on the ground.

They were unconscious.

"Hey, Erica."

Mike called out while glancing at her.

"Hmm?"

Erica reacted as her gaze shifted to him.

"Did you sense their energy?"

Mike asked.

"Yeah."

Erica replied.

She sensed their energy. That's why she realised that they were all alive.

"Hmm... that's weird. Why did that demonic beast capture them here?"

With a serious expression, Emily pondered openly while putting her right-handed fingers on her chin.

"It's because they wanted them."

Kashi called out.

"Hmm?"

Erica and others reacted as they shifted their gaze to Kashi.

"What do you mean, Senior?"

Mary asked.

Kashi, while glancing at the Warriors, clarified,

"Demon King is so strong that even the heavenly level Warriors couldn't match him. However, even with that much strength, he failed to conquer the realms due to the divine protection around the realms. That's why he needs an army that supports him to conquer the realms. That's why that demonic beast trapped the warriors here. They will turn the strong warriors into demons and kill the weak ones."

"Do they force warriors to be Demons?"

Emily questioned.

"Yes, they tortured them to almost death if they denied being demons."

Kashi replied.

".....?!"

Ary's eyes got enlarged after hearing this.

He was standing outside the cave when he heard those words.

"Grrr...."

He gritted his teeth in anger.

"Hmm?"

Mike reacted as he heard the sound of clenching teeth.

He saw Ary and called out,

"Hey...What's wrong with you, bro?"

"Hmm?"

Emily, Erica, and Mary reacted as they shifted their gaze to Ary.

Sigh!

Kashi let out a sigh since he understood how painful Ary was feeling at the moment.

"Ary."

Erica called out as she stepped toward him.

"Y-Your eyes?!"

Erica reacted as she glimpsed the blood in his eyes again.

"Wait a second. I'll heal you ASAP."

Erica said as she showed her staff to Ary, but before she could do anything, Ary started walking away.

"Hey, wait!"

Erica tried to stop him.

Ary didn't respond to her words, nor did he stop. There was a light coming from the left end of the cave.

It was the exit.

Ary stepped toward the exit without responding.

"Don't bother him."

Kashi called out.

"Huh?"

Erica reacted, then shifted his gaze to Kashi, saying,

"Something is wrong with him. He is acting strange now."

Sigh!

Kashi sighed again and said,

"Nothing is wrong with him. Yet his past went wrong."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Emily asked while lifting her eyebrows.

A brittle smile formed on Kashi's face as he said,

"Actually, the truth is..."

***

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Ary was walking toward the outside through a tunnel.

His eyes were open and reflected an empty-eyed expression.

"Let go of them, Bastard!"

"Yo, Brat!"

"Grr!!!"

Ary gritted his teeth in anger as those words returned to his mind.

He was holding back his tears, yet the blood from his eyes was still visible.

He felt like he was having a mental breakdown.

Soon enough, he arrived outside the cave.

"Great job! You did it, my child!"

With a thrilling voice, Father Albert, who was standing outside the cave, said.

"Hehe. He's my summoner after all."

Galirothoxmus, who was standing beside Father Albert, bragged after seeing Ary come out.

"Hmm? Where is Erica, Ary?"

Lady Selene asked as she noticed that Erica wasn't with him.

Ary didn't respond but walked toward them.

"Hey, Father."

He called out as he reached in front of him.

"Yes, my...child...?!"

Father Albert said, but then his voice trailed off as he noticed the flow of blood from Ary's eyes.

"A-Ary...?!"

When Galirothoxmus reacted, his voice reflected his anxiety.

"Your eyes..."

Lady Selene called out with an uneasy look as she noticed the blood from Ary's eyes.

While ignoring their reaction, Ary asked in a cold voice,

"Why didn't you do anything to that bastard Arterismet VII, despite knowing how much worse he did to me and my family?"

"...?!"

Father Albert, Galirothoxmus, and Lady Selene were left startled as they heard Ary's query.

"You...remember...?"

Father Albert called out.

"Yes,"

Ary replied, then he started walking past him from the left side, saying,

"You disappointed me, Father of all the heavenly realms. But as a son of my parents...I won't disappoint them and my uncle. I'll slaughter that bastard Arterismet VII one day and complete the avenge of my family!"

Father Albert didn't respond but lowered his gaze in disappointment.

Ary didn't know how many warriors had lost their lives just to avenge his parents.

"Father..."

Galirothoxmus called out in a sad tone.

"It's fine. He didn't know all this."

Father Albert said.

"I don't know how he remembers all this, yet it's good. At least he has an aim now."

Then, he glanced at Ary, who was walking away from him, and said,

"To end the Tyranny of the Demon King."

Father Albert was trying to smile.

But deep within...he was crying in sorrow.

Ary arrived back at the Warriors' cottage with the help of a teleportation bar.

Selina noticed Ary while she was sitting on a bench beside the room where Ary and Erica lived.

"How was your training, Warrior—?!"

She said while giving a charming smile to Ary, but she halted as she noticed the blood in Ary's eyes.

"Y-Your eyes...Wait, let me help you."

"No, it's fine, Selina."

Ary replied.

"What?"

Selina was left astounded after seeing Ary stop her from curing him.

Ary gave her a fake smile and then stepped toward his room, saying,

"I just want to be alone for a while. I hope you understand this."

"....."

Selina was left in confinement. She didn't understand what happened to Ary.

The mechanical door chirped aside and Ary stepped in.

Thud!

With a thud sound, Ary knelt on the ground.

His gear disappeared and his raven clothes appeared.

The book of Almita fell to the ground beside him.

Ary placed his right palm over his face, mumbling,

"Mother... Father..."

He remembered their faces. He remembered the time when he had fun with them together.

"Uncle..."

He mumbled as he remembered his lovely uncle, Sokan.

The uncle that used to send money to him wasn't his real uncle but a friend of his father.

He closed his bloody eyes and lay on the ground, sobbing in tears. He asked himself,

"Why does all this happen to me...? Why...?"

He fell asleep while sobbing.

Swish!

The golden light started shining from the book of Almita and miraculously, the rectangular-shaped book morphed into a feminine figure.

As the golden light disappeared, a lady in her early 20s was seen with an astonishing look.

She had long golden hair and a pair of green eyes. She had a slim body and snow-like fair skin.

She had a blue astral dress over her body.

That girl was the book of Almita itself.

She knelt on the ground beside Ary and gently placed his head over her lap.

Ary was sleeping yet the tears were still flowing out of his eyes.

Almita gently caressed Ary's forehead, saying,

"My dear Master, I can understand how tragic your past was."

Then, a gentle smile formed on her face, she added,

"But you have to move on. For the sake of your parents, your uncle...for the sake of the Warriors that sacrificed their lives just to protect the realms."

Then, she leaned closer to Ary's face, saying,

"For them, you have to be strong enough to end the tyranny of the Demon King."

Unexpectedly, she kissed Ary's forehead.

Then, while lifting her lips, she wiped the tears from Ary's eyes, commenting,

"Don't cry, my dear Master. You are strong. I promise you that I'll always support you in your need, and always tried my best to motivate you. So, please...don't cry."

Surprisingly, the blood from Ary's eyes got cured as Almita touched his eyes.

Almita was an angel weapon. She knew everything about her owner when she got one. So, she had already glimpsed Ary's past.

She felt sorry for him.

That was the reason, she used her human form to comfort Ary.

She smiled while looking at Ary and said,

"If you feel lonely...then we will complete your loneliness. Me and Miss Erica."

Then, once again, she kissed Ary, not on the forehead this time but on the lips.

—

Then, she lifted her lips and while looking at Ary from a close distance, she mumbled,

"I think...I don't want any other master rather than you, my Master."

Soon, golden light again surrounded Almita.

She showed Ary a lovely smile, saying,

"I will always support you, my dear Master."

Swish!

Soon, she morphed back into the book and fell to the ground.