OLD TALES

"The Demon horde had been pushed back, and they had severe casualties, so even with the human's hero dead, they still wouldn't stand a chance against the humans. They had been weakened... until the Demon Queen felt the hatred from the youngest son and found a new hope. In his despair and hatred, he heard a voice whisper in his head, 'My, what a turn of events. Humans sure are ungrateful. It must hurt, watching them turn on the same man who saved them. Watching them scrap through his body with various types of weapons, tearing him apart, peace by peace. It's truly a gruesome sight.' The Demon Queen knew what she was doing, as all what she said only further buried the man in despair and anger."

"'Say, what if I can help you instill the same pain they brought on your father. Make them suffer like he did, give you power beyond comprehension,' the Demon Queen said, but the only word he heard from all that tale was 'Power'. The Queen promised him all that but had a few conditions, which never mattered to the man at that moment. He accepted whatever was handed to him without even a thought, thinking only about getting his revenge on the bastards who took his father away."

"Once everything had been settled, he could feel the power coursing through his veins, mixing with his anger and growing stronger every second. Before he could even think of anything, he went on a rampage. He went completely Berserk. He didn't care whether they were on his side or not. He murdered every single one of them in cold blood. It began to rain that night, but not water poured out from the heavens. No. Rather, it was fresh blood that poured down as the man killed and destroyed everything in his sight."

"But even with everyone on the battlefield had been slaughtered, he was still not satisfied, and the Demon Queen didn't make it any better for him. 'Kill! Kill! Kill!' she kept on pushing as she laughed in his mind. With that, he went on to the closest Kingdom, Mazebull, which was the main fortress of the humans, and without any remorse, slaughtered every living being he could find. People wailed. The whole Kingdom was in chaos, only to be left barren and empty in a couple of days."

"But as he was about to move on, he suddenly dropped to his knees. His body could no longer keep up with the actions as he passed out in a deserted but bloodied Kingdom..."

Albus then suddenly stopped his tale as he heard coarse breathing by his side. When he looked, Aeryn was staring at him with uncertain eyes. He couldn't tell whether they were eyes of fear, pity, or bafflement. A trickle of sweat was visible on his forehead, and his breathing was unstable, but wasn't too abnormal.

"I-I'm guessing the son in this story, is you?" Aeryn asked shakily.

Albus said nothing and just kept staring at him.

"Wow," Aeryn said as he slowly stood up and went to his own bed, "That is a lot..."

Silenced floated in again as the two sat quietly but was broken as Albus finally said with a soft knowing smile on his face, "Just remember to close the door."

"Huh?" Aeryn was puzzled, "What are you talking about?

"The last person I told, who was your mother, couldn't bear the sight of me and left immediately. We didn't speak till a few days later." Albus replied calmly.

"Can you blame her, though?" Aeryn quipped back.

"No. I've never blamed her, and the same goes for you. It was bound to be revealed sooner or later. Just remember that no matter what I did, I would never hurt you nor your mother," Albus said.

"Is that why you hate her so much? Jezebelle, I mean." Aeryn asked.

"There is nothing to like about her. Right now, she is stuck with me until the deal is broken or I fulfil my own part of the bargain. If not, she would have left and just brought on more chaos. Only she knows what she was looking for here." Albus said nonchalantly as he laid back in his bad.

"Your own part of the bargain? Haven't you suffered enough? How long will it have to go before she is satisfied?" Aeryn asked, looking at his father with uncertain eyes.

"I..." Albus was momentarily speechless. He didn't want his son to know that the bargaining chip was him all along. It would certainly make him hate his father.

Jezebelle chuckled loudly in his mind, "How does someone even lie while saying the truth. You never seize to amaze me."

Albus gritted his teeth at Jezebelle's voice, but his face soon turned soft is he spoke in his head, "Look, I know we had a deal, but... please... leave my son out of this..."

"My, the fearsome Demon Incarnate, begging me for something. I would never have dreamt of seeing this day," she chuckled, "But unfortunately, there is nothing I can do. A deal is a deal. You can't house a Demon Queen and not expect consequences, sweetheart."

"You don't even need him." Albus quipped exasperatedly.

"That is for me to decide." Jezebelle said coldly.

"..."

"Do you think you will win tomorrow?" Aeryn suddenly asked, worry written across his face.

"Huh, you're still here?" Albus asked mockingly.

"You won't get rid of me that easily," Aeryn said as he woke up and sat beside his father again.

"Huh, well, this is a welcomed surprise." Albus smiled.

"If you were able to survive 10 years of pain without giving in to her, then I believe you are not the same person that you were back then." Aeryn said solemnly.

"Haha, when you put it like that, I guess it's true..."

"So... Do you think you will win?"

"I do not know. Even the so-called Demon Queen is scared of him, " Albus said dryly.

"Don't go soiling my name now. I don't remember saying that. " Jezebelle hummed in his head, but he ignored her.

"Really? then I guess it's going to be tough..." Aeryn stated. Then he looked at Albus and was about to say something, but Albus held up his hand.

"Absolutely not. Don't even think about it."

"...Fine!" Aeryn said dejectedly with a big pout on his face.

"Okay, why don't we change the topic. Do you remember the time when..." Albus began to narrate stories of certain aspects of his life. Some were true, while others were just pure exaggerations. They laughed and spoke deep into the night, neither of them caring for anything else, except Albus' abrupt 'daily penalty' that distorted their discussion for a moment, but eventually things went back to normal as if it was a natural thing. Along the line, they both fell asleep together, singing goodbye to the night with their snoring.

The next morning, they were still fast in bed when a subtle knock was heard on the door. Albus shakily woke up and opened the door to find Al'Lan on the other side.

"Good morning, Albus. It is time." Al'Lan uttered with a seriousness to his face.

"Fine. We will get ready and meet you out." Albus replied as he turned around, but Al'Lan suddenly said.

"We have a problem... The star priestess, Mithra, will also join in the battle..."