Chapter Two: The Second Phase

In the morning, Mikami wakes up, takes a quick hot shower, and heads to the living room. Upon arriving in the living room, she finds Hiteru sleeping with half of his body on the floor and his legs on the couch.

"Is he always like this when he drinks?" Mikami nudges Hiteru with her boot. "Wake up..."

"Stop bothering me..." He speaks still half asleep.

"Oh really?" Mikami gives a strong stomp on Hiteru's hand and rubs her boot.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" He screams in pain upon waking up. "Are you crazy?"

"I wonder if teaming up with you to avoid attacks was a good idea... With such heavy sleep, anyone could come in and capture us to prevent us from fighting in the tournament."

"About that..." Hiteru thinks about his encounter with the reaper. "Nevermind, let's just eat something quickly and head to the tournament. My fight is going to be the first one." He grabs a blue shirt and a black coat and dresses himself.

"Aren't you going to take a shower?" She asks while fixing the things Hiteru knocked over when he fell off the couch and knocked over the small table.

"I hate taking showers in the morning. Maybe after my fight I'll need one." He says as he stretches. "Don't tell me you wanted to spy on me?" Hiteru says with a mischievous tone, and almost immediately feels his cheek sting from a slap.

"Dream on, idiot, let's go already. I want to get to the final quickly to show you what's good." Mikami walks ahead towards the arena.

"I'll love to see that..." Hiteru says rubbing his cheek, while following Mikami.

In the morning, in the mansion's foyer, Mito was leaning against the mansion wall, thinking about the relationship between that man and Hiteru.

"(If Hiteru never knew his family, what is this guy doing here right now? Would Hiteru go with him if he knew they shared the same blood?)" These questions kept spinning in her mind.

"Hello, lovely lady, what are you doing up so early? Today we're just going to hear about victories in the evening. Most bettors are nursing a tremendous hangover." Yoh, Hiteru's supposed relative, spoke as he descended the stairs.

"Answer me, what's your connection with Hiteru?"

"Took you long enough to ask, huh? He's my brother's son, but the kid doesn't even know... My brother died a long time ago, and I didn't even know this brat existed until I saw him in the tournament. I watched the fight; he's good."

"And what do you want with him now?"

"I live alone, keep him away from me until the end of the day, and I guarantee that you won't have to deal with him for the rest of your life. I just want to make some easy money; I didn't know a nephew who looks like my brother would show up when I least expected it."

"I guess I should be thankful he doesn't associate with you." Mito starts walking away.

"Wait a minute..." Yoh grabs Mito's arm. "I have to warn you, the boy was made to destroy, and from what I've noticed, he's still extremely naive, to the point of not even knowing how to differentiate feelings... That's very dangerous if you really want him as your apprentice."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Hiteru and Mikami were walking calmly towards the arena. When suddenly they hear a huge uproar in the direction they were going, and it only got worse as they approached...

"What's happening?" Hiteru asks as he runs towards the chaos.

"Wait a minute, idiot." Mikami runs after.

As they get closer, Hiteru realizes that everything is coming from inside the arena; the place was on fire, and people were running desperately to get out.

"What the hell is going on here?" Hiteru runs to the door and comes face to face with the reaper coming with Kiory on his shoulders.

Mikami helps lay Kiory, already unconscious, on the ground, the reaper sits on the ground, exhausted.

"What's happening?" Hiteru asks, seeing the desperation in the eyes of everyone coming out of the burning building.

"He was very strong, didn't seem human at all... Not like me or Hiteru, more like a demon." The masked man spoke amidst heavy breathing.

"Demon, huh?" Hiteru seemed interested.

Immediately afterward, he rushes into the arena without bothering with the infernal heat surrounding him.

"I feel a very strong mana... What are you?" A voice comes from the middle of the fiery field; it was too hot and loud to see anything.

"Who are you? What are you doing?" Hiteru speaks as he ventures further.

"If you find me, I'll tell you..."

"Great." Hiteru extends his hand with his palm facing up. "Fifth-stage conjuration, concentration orb."

Hiteru creates a small shimmering blue energy sphere, and it begins to suck the fire into it. From a small flame, it pulls all the fire in a few minutes and compresses it into a fireball in his hand. He then sees a rather young man with white hair wearing a red cloak.

"Who would have thought that such a young mage still existed?" The mysterious being said with a soft voice.

"Who are you?" Hiteru asks, not feeling so much danger but being cautious.

"My name is Fred, I am a necromancer... Ever heard of one?"

"Wizards who work with the dead... If I'm not mistaken, you use necromancy to communicate with the dead; I've even heard of necromancers who bring the dead back to life." Hiteru speaks as he tightens his fist and extinguishes the fireball.

"You're right... And do you also know what I can revive?" The man had a wicked look in his eye. "Invocation of the impure soul..."

The man crouches down and touches the ground with the palms of his hands. Immediately afterward, a circle composed of luminous symbols and writings takes over the arena.

"Oh great, what now?!" Hiteru summons his red swords to protect himself. The entire ground begins to crack and separate. Hiteru jumps over the fissures that form one after the other, and soon manages to land on pieces of debris on top of the stands.

"Why does this only happen when I'm around?" Hiteru says, holding his swords firmly.

Something that no one in the kingdom, and especially Hiteru, expected happened. From within the ground emerges something that would shake the city and much more, Hiteru's memories. A huge red dragon emerges from the ground.

"No... Not again..." Hiteru feels his whole body tremble, his fists clench tightly around his swords, his teeth grit, his pupils contract. It wasn't the same fear as a boy who saw a dragon for the first time.

In that dragon, Hiteru saw all of his past that he himself struggled to forget... He saw the boy who felt inadequate, and he didn't like that.

"Don't worry... I won't do anything to you... Run away, what I want is to destroy the city." The man said, jumping on top of the monstrous beast, which with a flap of its wings sends a piece of the stands flying.

"No... No... NOOOOO!!!" Hiteru clasps his hands together, and a circle forms around the entire arena. "I don't know you, and as far as I'm concerned, this kingdom could go to hell, but a lot of people died to stop this thing from continuing to destroy."

With a snap of Hiteru's fingers, a huge barrier forms a purple and translucent dome, purely made of magical energy.

"Beast, destroy that barrier..." The necromancer says, ignoring Hiteru. The dragon spits out a true sea of flames that spreads over a large space of the dome, but doesn't even crack the barrier.

"Give up... As long as I want to... This thing will stay here..." Hiteru speaks with labored breath.

"Is that so, and what can you do? I can see inside you, your immense mana was used just in this barrier. Without spells, you are insignificant. Maybe the dragon can't get out of here, but I have more toys, and you won't be here next time."

"I'm aware of that... But I think two swords are enough to fight." Hiteru grabs his swords and locks eyes with the enemy.

"Beast, turn him to ashes..." The man points at Hiteru. The dragon prepares to spit out another sea of flames, but suddenly a kind of portal opens behind Hiteru. A chain emerges and grabs him, pulling him through. Hiteru emerges from another portal outside the barrier, immediately Death makes a gesture that closes the portal.

"Are you an idiot? What were you doing?" Mikami speaks agitatedly, still upset with Hiteru's irresponsible behavior.

"Saving this place..." Hiteru speaks breathlessly and still arrogantly, then he gets up and walks through the kingdom amidst the fear of the residents.

Mikami is startled by the impact of the dragon trying to break the barrier.

"What is that thing?..."

Over time, the royal knights arrive to surround the area and think about what to do with the barrier and what was inside it. They could hardly believe the moment they saw the dragon trapped in the barrier, first they were surprised to see a dragon for the second time destroying everything inside the barrier. And second, the surprise of there being magic capable of containing the most powerful beast that kingdom had ever witnessed. Far away from there, Hiteru was entering the bar.

"Old man, give me the strongest drink you have..."

"I don't know, kid, you're very young, and this thing is so powerful that no one even remembers what they drank the night before when they wake up." The old man says as he grabs a dusty bottle.

"Perfect." Hiteru takes the bottle and fills a small glass.

"I finally remembered you... You were friends with my granddaughter when she and I lived in Mizard, the city that was attacked. Don't you remember? I'm Koroto. You must remember, since you mentioned my granddaughter yesterday."

"I do remember, old man... I'm just trying to forget everything that happened back then. I just faced something that took a lot from me. I just want to get rid of my burdens." Hiteru speaks as he takes a sip, puts the money on the table, and heads towards the door.

"She suffered a lot, Hiteru... Knowing that her friend died. It's not something a person can forget just like that. You should talk to her..." The old man speaks, remembering the nights when his granddaughter would wake up crying from nightmares of seeing her friend die.

"I'm leaving again... She would just feel bad again, let's leave it like that, old man. It's better for her and for me."

"Grandpa, you won't believe what happened." A feminine voice comes from inside the house.

"I'm at the bar, Asura..." The old man speaks as he cleans Hiteru's glass. "What are you going to do, Hiteru?" He speaks more quietly.

The door opens, and a very beautiful girl enters. Her hair was black, and her eyes were blue. She and Hiteru exchange glances for a moment.

"Grandpa, who is he?"

"I'm just a customer who's already leaving... When I'm around here, I'll stop by your bar again, old man..."

Hiteru leaves the bar, obviously shaken by seeing Asura again. Especially on the same day that the dragon that had taken everything from him had reappeared and was trapped.

"Sorry, old friend, but after everything, I'd rather be thought of as dead than to face your disappointed gaze." Hiteru walks on with his hands in his pockets and head bowed.

After walking to a square in the city center, he sits calmly while everyone passing by mentions a dragon trapped in the southern part of the city.

"I finally found you..."

Mito appears in the square out of nowhere, slowly approaches, and sits next to Hiteru.

"I just saw what happened, that barrier is very strong. I doubt the dragon can get out of there before the king orders its execution..."

"Mito... With all due respect, could you leave me alone?" Hiteru speaks sitting with his head down.

"What happened there? You seem upset." She speaks very friendly and gently as she puts her hand on his shoulder.

"Do you want to know? Then I'll tell you... Do you know why I never talked much about the attack on the other city? It wasn't because I didn't remember... It was trying to fool myself... That day, we were afraid that everyone would die in the city, so I and all the group of apprentices as well as some knights decided to help the few warriors present in the city... I led one of the groups of apprentices, it was basically my first mission, and I would be the leader... Believe me, Mito, there is nothing more terrifying than seeing your comrades destroying their own bodies to execute spells they hadn't mastered... And then seeing them being incinerated..." Hiteru speaks with an evident tone of sadness.

"Is that why you'll avoid your past? Whenever you come face to face with this trauma, you'll create a barrier and drown in sorrow."

"I was fine, working with you as a bounty hunter... But the eyes of that dragon took me back to that night. All the terror and suffering are back... Not mine, those I overcame a long time ago... But those of everyone who was there."

Mito hugs Hiteru, the boy can't hold back and breaks down in tears.

"When you appeared in my life, I had just become wanted by five different kingdoms... I was kind of scared and isolated myself in that forest, until a boy all injured appeared, with hair redder than fire, and eyes as green as emeralds. With a wound that at the time I thought was incurable and burns on his arms and legs... But he survived a dragon. So I decided to train him, He was you Hiteru, I saw my student become a warrior so strong that he never lost a fight, against a human at least." Mito strokes Hiteru's hair. "Don't blame yourself so much for what happened to them. They chose to protect life in the kingdom..."

Hiteru gets up as he wipes the almost imperceptible tears forming in the corner of his eye.

"Hiteru?" Mito speaks seeing Hiteru move further away.

"Let's pack our things, the tournament is over. We're not going to get the money for the bounty of the guy who's orchestrating the attacks to manipulate betting earnings. Let's pack our things... The sooner we leave this city, the better."

"Could you give me two days? I have some matters outside the mission to resolve..."

"Alright... I just need to rest." Hiteru begins to walk alone.

"I understand you, kid... It's too much to ask that you overcome everything you've been through. Especially after what you went through today... Even more when your only maternal figure is me... A woman who has made more mistakes than you during life." Mito speaks as she watches Hiteru move further and further away.

Night falls and advances, and in the early morning, Hiteru was sitting atop a house watching the dragon still trying to break the barrier, already getting exhausted and just dragging its claws along the barrier.

"Give up, you idiotic lizard, that thing will never break... You know what's funny? I do feel like killing you, but it's very different from the anger I feel towards myself." Hiteru lowers his head. "I think it's because you were only taught to destroy and you do that majestically. But I, who was taught to protect, failed miserably."

"Hey..." Mikami speaks from the ground.

"What do you want?" Hiteru asks.

"The tournament was canceled, I'm going back to my life as a mercenary." Mikami speaks as she jumps onto the rooftop. "I came to say goodbye, see you around."

"Good. Good luck. I'm sorry we didn't win the tournament."

"The worst part was putting up with you all this time, for nothing... Take care, see you around, Hiteru."

"If we meet outside of here, maybe we'll be hunting each other for the bounty." Hiteru smiles ironically.

"That'll be fun, then stay alive until then. If you win in the future, I'll buy you a drink."

Mikami leaves, and Hiteru continues sitting on the rooftop under the waning moon.

"I guess that drink really was strong..." Hiteru lies down on the rooftop with heavy eyes looking at the moon.

On the other side of the city, in the tavern. Old Koroto was playing cards with his granddaughter after closing the bar.

"Asura... So, what happened with that dragon?" The old man speaks as he draws a card from the pile.

"A stranger erected a very powerful barrier, they're going to execute the dragon when they find the guy who made the barrier. They need him to allow them to enter the barrier, so they can attack."

"I see... And how were the participants?"

"My fight was the last one. So I spent most of the tournament helping the royal guards. I didn't even have time to see the other fights."

"It must be difficult to be the right-hand man of the captain of the guard."

"Nothing that isn't worth it, after all, when he becomes captain of another larger squadron, I'll assume the royal guard... You know what, grandpa? I think everything is finally falling into place."

At that moment, Koroto saw that there was no possibility of telling Asura about Hiteru being alive... Not that Hiteru with a confused mind, would only bring more problems to his granddaughter.

"I'm glad for you. In fact, it seems I won another one." The old man puts four aces on the table.

"Isn't it funny, grandpa? I had two aces in my hand, you put down four of them. Since when does a deck have six aces?"

"These manufacturers sometimes put extra cards in these things, don't they?" The old man smiles and gets up. "We'd better go to bed..."

"Alright." Asura gives a half-smile.

The next morning, Hiteru wakes up to the strong sunlight, on top of the roof, with back and head pain.

"Note to self, never drink that drink from Koroto again..." Hiteru looks at the barrier, and the dragon was still trying to scratch it. But the beast was already exhausted. "I've played enough with you. This time you're not to blame for being here, so I guess we're even." Hiteru extends his hand with the palm facing the barrier. "Your end has come, you idiotic lizard."

Hiteru clenches his fist. And the barrier shrinks simultaneously, to the point of breaking all the dragon's bones, until it reaches the incredible size of a small snowball. The pressure inside the sphere was so great that it didn't stop trembling.

"I doubt that with this compression, a single bone of your body remained intact. Now I'm getting rid of this, any crack, and the pressure can sweep the city." Hiteru looks to the east. "I don't think there's any village over there." Hiteru plants his feet on the ground and concentrates his power on his right arm. "Three... Two... One!!!" Hiteru throws the ball with absurd force.

The sphere streaks across the sky like an arrow. Hiteru falls to his knees on the ground as he feels his pressure drop.

"Manipulating barriers this large takes much more than I expected..." He sits on the ground, already exhausted.

"Hiteru..." Kiory appears behind Hiteru, who knows where. He supports Hiteru's back with his knee. "I need to take you to the king."

"So you're from the royal guard, Kiory?"

"I never said I wasn't. I just don't like to boast about being there at fifteen." Kiory helps Hiteru to stand up.

"What does he want with me?" He speaks as he brushes his coat with light taps.

"I have no idea. But you just killed a dragon, so it must have something to do with that."

Hiteru and Kiory walk slowly towards the castle.

"That man, did you crush him along with the dragon?" Kiory remembers with a certain shudder at the thought that someone of that level could have been killed by Hiteru.

"I highly doubt it... An experienced wizard always has his tricks. At most, I made him spend a lot of his mana."

After a long walk, they arrive at the castle, Kiory passes with Hiteru past the guards who looked askance at Hiteru.

"If this ends in a fight, I won't be responsible for anything..." Hiteru speaks with ill will to be there.

"I doubt that's the case, they're just frowning because none of those who were there could move when the dragon appeared. Fortunately, we've already accounted for everyone in the city, and it seems that everyone was out of the area until you set up your barrier." Kiory speaks as they reach in front of a huge door. "Ready to see the king?"

"No... But if this gets him off my back."

Kiory opens the door and the two enter. There was the king sitting on his throne, with Edward, the captain of the guard, by his right side along with Asura.

"(Of course she had to be here?)" Hiteru thought as he approached. "So, Your Majesty? Do you want something from me?"

"Who are you?" The king asks calmly.

"Did you call me for this?"

"Answer!" Edward speaks in a threatening tone.

"My name is Hiteru." Hiteru replied, avoiding eye contact.

"Hiteru..." The king stands up. "I heard that you captured, and this morning, killed the dragon that appeared during the tournament."

"That's basically it, is that all you wanted to ask?" Hiteru seemed very uncomfortable. Especially because he didn't want to talk to Asura, who as calm as she seemed, could have already put two and two together and discovered who he was...

"I want to know who you are and what you're doing in my kingdom." The king speaks inquiringly.

"I'm just a bounty hunter who came after a guy... Consider the dead dragon as a courtesy."

"I would like you to stay for the heroes' honors, and I would like you to be one of the honorees... Allow us to thank you for your deeds." The king speaks very amiably.

"I'm sorry, but honors are not important to me. I would just like you to cancel future tournaments."

"Why do you ask that?" The king shows interest.

"Everyone who died, including the apprentice class, died to protect the kingdom's days of peace... Don't tarnish their names by holding an event of violence, full of bets and cheating. I don't mind if the tournament continues annually, but you could at least change the date to a month later or something like that..." Hiteru turns his back.

"Are you giving orders to the king?!" Edward draws his sword from the scabbard.

"Calm down, Edward!!" The king speaks raising his voice.

"Sorry, Your Majesty, but I can't stand this arrogant air." Edward spoke with a look of disdain towards Hiteru.

"I will grant your request, Hiteru, but in return, you will stay for the honors at least for being the savior of the kingdom."

"Ah... How about this, Your Majesty, I attend the ceremony, say a 'hi', and leave?"

"I have the impression that I won't get much more than that from you..." The king speaks in agreement.

"Yes..." Hiteru looks sideways at Edward... "Oh, and Captain of the Guard..." He turns his face with a mocking smile. "Train your men to fight real dangers, not to run away at the first sign."

"That's enough!!!" Edward brandishes his sword and rushes to attack Hiteru.

He tries to hit Hiteru, but Kiory intervenes and blocks Edward's blade with his bracelet.

"Compose yourself, captain!! He's right, those clowns were useless. It was lucky there were so few injuries."

"I won't tolerate being disrespected..."

"Okay, okay... I'm leaving." Hiteru speaks as he heads for the door.

As he leaves the castle, Hiteru once again passes by the guards who seemed to dislike him quite a bit.

"Hiteru!" Asura called out as she ran.

"(Darn, don't tell me...)" Hiteru turns slowly. "What is it?"

"I want to talk to you." Asura speaks in a serious tone.

"How can I help?"

"Red hair... Green eyes... Pale skin... Can you tell me what your last name is?"

"You don't want to know that, excuse me..." Hiteru turns, but feels a hand grab his wrist.

"Just tell me!!"

"It's Hizui..." He replies softly.

At that moment, Hiteru saw that there was no turning back... He would have to summon his courage to look again into the eyes of someone who was once his best friend.

"You... Why?" Asura seemed very shaken, after all, it was as if a broken piece of her past had returned.

"Asura, I..." Hiteru turns to face Asura, and receives a slap in the face.

"For five years... I spent five years bringing flowers to your grave every month... Thinking you were dead." Tears began to roll from Asura's eyes.

"I didn't want this... But it's just that..." Hiteru is interrupted by a hug.

"You idiot..." She squeezed Hiteru tightly. "Never again, never ever, disappear and leave me alone, do you hear me?"

"Yes..." As much as Hiteru had tried to avoid the reunion, he couldn't deny that the embrace of someone so dear felt very good. "I'm sorry..." Hiteru smiles, perhaps because even though he had to face Asura, that hug was very much worth it.

Meanwhile, in a distant forest, the Necromancer who had summoned the dragon was drawing a circle on the ground using his foot.

"I have to admit, the boy is quite smart. He destroyed my best puppet, I can't use the others since it would be too risky if they were discovered... I'll have to use my insects to take over another territory now."

"Not gonna happen..."

Suddenly, he finds himself surrounded by beings resembling humans, but with finer and more delicate features, pointed ears, and long blonde hair. He wore silk clothes, worthy of a noble.

"Elves? On this side of the world? How strange." His eyes constantly shifting as he searched for all the elves in that place.

"You're not in the right forest, human." The leader of them spoke with an air of superiority.

"Human, huh?" The man smiled in a sinister way. "It's been a long time since anyone classified me like that."

"Who are you?" The leader of the elves felt a strange sensation indicating danger.

"My name is Satiliel... But call me by the name I started using when I left the church. You can call me Fred... The number three among the necromancers in history, second only to my former master, and the other one is irrelevant."

"So I have good news, no being was buried in this forest. Get lost, there's nothing here for a wizard who plays with corpses." The leader of the elves draws a sword.

"In fact, it does, I wanted the bodies of the dark elves that you guard in the forest's underground." Fred speaks as he is enveloped by a dark aura resembling black flames.

"Never! They may have become corrupted, but elven blood still runs in their veins, you won't get the elven power; it won't fall into the hands of a human..."

"Well, I preferred dark elves, after all, they were already corrupted... But you guys will do too... Mental plan conjuration: Audrey's Hell..."

All the elves begin to fall one by one, their leader holding onto the tree, but feeling all his organs, nerves, and even his blood being burned from within. The elves begin to thrash, trying to stop the pain, to the point where some cut their own throats so they would die quickly. Their leader endures the pain, clinging to a tree, squeezing the plant so hard that its bark begins to crack.

"You won't... Make me yield."

"Incredible... Your soul is so strong that not even my magic can kill you from agony... But it doesn't matter, the five who fell will already give me good soldiers after the rituals. The spell will last at least six days, endure this and maybe you can see your comrades attacking the humans and signing the elves' sentence." Fred speaks as he extends his hands and uses his dark aura to envelop the bodies and make them levitate around him.

"Write my name down, Fred, on the day of your death, you will hear the name Mírius..." The elf says as he faints from the pain.

"I understand..." Fred takes a small dagger and carves the name "Mírius" into his own hand. "Maybe you don't know, elf, but as a wizard who works with the dead, I greatly appreciate their promises. After all, they are what help differentiate the victims in the memories of their executors, and yours is one that I will make sure to remember on the day of my death." The man begins to walk surrounded by floating corpses towards the forest's exit with a superior smile on his face. "Wait for it, Star Light, in a few moments you will experience a chaos greater than the dragon attacks."