Sword 22: Traitor

NEL'S POINT OF VIEW

"Kill me if you do not see your father's soul at the end of this day," I said as I stood up.

I was about to leave when I remembered something. It had been a while since this presence appeared after Scarlette came. I smirked. I held her chin up with my right hand and moved closer. I closed my eyes as I kissed her. It was just a short kiss before leaving her more shocked. A few meters from the café, someone grabbed my collar and punched me in the face. I laughed because I was successful in pissing him off.

"Damn! You dared to kiss her!" the man shouted. "What is funny?" He was in a rage about killing me. "Chill, Bro. It was just a kiss and I do not affect her. I did not take her virginity, okay? You know what? Just stop. I got so many things to do. I am going to save her father." I sighed as I shook my head. "And do you think we believe that—" I cut him off. "And am I pleasing you all to believe me?" I talked back. "I do not care if you believe me or not. I will do this because I want to end my father's evilness."

I was about to disappear from his sight when he suddenly grabbed my right arm and harshly bit it. He sipped my blood! "Hell!" I closed my eyes because of the pain. "What is with the sudden bite?!" I shouted. "For me to be able to enter this hell," he answered and smirked, "Your blood is sweet, by the way." We were in the Underworld already. I brought him without noticing.

I glared at him after seeing his saliva on my wound but he laughed. I wiped it on the right side of my black pants.

"So, you will save him, too," I stated. "Yes and, Scarlette was right, you seem to be trusted," he told with a small smile. "And I want to get rid of her sad face." I chuckled. Youth these days, is too lovely. "She is indeed your girl, huh?" He scratched his nape in embarrassment. "But we are not dating. She hates me right now—"

I shushed him as I pulled him into one corner to hide when I felt some demons near us. "Get serious now," I whispered. "What is the plan?" he asked. "We are in the northern part of this world and Max's prison is in the southern part. We will go there using my portal. We just need to kill the demons there who are guarding him. Then, we will use my blood to destroy the crystallize cage," I explained as fast as I could. "Simple," he commented. "It is not. Demons' energy level here is ten times more powerful than what you have encountered before. Hell is their source of energy. That is why," I told him. He just nodded. "Let us start then."

I opened the portal in front of us and got in. It brought us to the front of the room where he was imprisoned for several years. We readied ourselves before we got out. As expected, they were shocked to see me with a stranger.

"Why are you with him, Master?" the two demons in front of me asked. They were larger than the normal ones and they also wore pure metal gear with huge axes as their weapons. "God Durlen must know about this." Loyal dogs are too troublesome. When I felt the deadly liquid come out from my palms, I swiftly brushed it on their foreheads, and boom, they got knocked down. Dead in a snap. "As if you could report when you are dead," I said to them.

"More demons are coming," Asher hissed. Uh, maybe, these demons' fall made a loud thud and attracted attention. "Can you take all of them down?" I asked as I looked at the three hallways from different directions simultaneously. "I will try. Do your business." I nodded before I opened the iron double door and entered.

In the center of the small room, the crystallized cage was placed. The man inside it looked at me as I walked closer. He was wearing all white and glowing. He still looked the same as the last time he left Earth.

"Who are you?" he asked in a deep voice. I gave him a feeble smile. "Nel Adriano, the son of that devil Durlen," I introduced myself. "What are you doing here?" He stood up. "Do not worry, Sir. I will set you free. At the end of this day, you will see your beloved family." He remained silent but I had not enough time to guess what he was thinking about this free escape.

I took out the small knife from the right pocket of my pants and cut the skin near my wrist. I let my blood drip on the walls of the cage. "Why are you doing this?" I smiled at him. I want to tell you that I was the one who killed him before but I just kept it to myself. "I want to end my father's darkness." Every drop had an effect. The cage got cracked and after a few moments, it exploded and disappeared.

"Come on, Sir. Let us get out of here." He seemed to be weak to run. I held his hand and supported him. "We do not have enough time." Exactly, Asher rushed in and closed the door. He was breathing heavily and full of sweat. His clothes were stained with blood. "I cannot handle them anymore!"

I immediately raised my hand towards the wall. A portal appeared. "Get inside." The two of them ran inside the portal. I was about to enter too when I felt a sharp thing stabbed in my back. Max and Asher looked at me and they were also surprised. They tried to help me but I waved my hand dismissively as I closed the portal and made it disappear.

"I sincerely apologize for killing you in the past, Mister Max. And Asher, good luck. Tell Scarlette to do her best as well." I gave them a sad smile even though they could not see me anymore. "The war is going to start. Go back to Hetarnia," I whispered.

"How could my only son betray me?" Dad asked from behind. He was raging in too much anger. I was hurt because he was still my father. "Dad, your evilness sucks." My mouth tasted rust because of my blood. I smirked at what Asher said earlier. He said that my blood tasted sweet but it was not true. "You are now playing hero. You are still evil." I could not move. The memories were refreshed again when he ordered the young me to kill people. I clenched my fists in both sorrow and anger. "But not as evil as you are."

"Hi, Half-Bro!" Rhode—who was smiling widely—appeared in front of me. "H-help me, R-rhode," I begged. "Sure." She took the knife which was placed at the side of her waist and stabbed it in my chest. "Sorry," she uttered as she laughed like an idiot. I glared at her. "Damn you, Rhode." I thought she would not mind me being dead but her real voice spoke in my mind. 'I apologize, Half-Bro. We feel the same. I also want to betray him but I have no choice. I do not have the courage to do so. I still want to live.'

Before my vision became blurry, I saw tears fall from her eyes. Gone was the smile on her face. 'Take their side. You will be saved.'