Chapter 74: The Fall of a Frozen World(9)

“Do you see this? This is the start of a new era! Abandon your false lives in this eternal present, and live in the future.”

For the first time, Azel had finally gotten the attention, and from many. Those who had gotten skeptical after the death of The Ace was confirmed, and the new owner of his zone was still unknown. Many wondered how safe this paradise really was. But she was still a long way away from making them join her and Aether. While she had gotten them to question their world, she had yet to show the new world and how it’s better.

So while they had gathered up to listen, they came only for that, not to change their ways or opinions. It was selfish of her, but she needed a little more for Aether before she could change their mind. As much as she tried to talk, it wouldn’t work.

“One of your protectors has fallen, don’t you see that this is the end of the world? Don’t let yourself be blinded by the past. We are humans, we should strive for the future, not the present, nor the past!”

Azel watches as one human made his way up to her through the crowd of people, pushing them aside, she could sense the anger in his eyes. Which couldn’t mean anything good. The man grabbed her by her collar, screaming in her face.

“And what do you know, brat! We don’t have time for your little tricks. Even with The Ace gone, the Queen will protect us, and nothing will change!”

Azel didn’t respond instantly, letting the man finish before giving him a cocky smile, which only seemed to anger him even more. He tried to say something, but she was faster.

“To those who still think it’s possible to maintain your perfect lives. This man here is a contradiction; he was one of you not long ago, and now look at him.”

…His grip loosens slightly, realizing she was right. He had broken out of his usual behaviour even if he didn’t have to… but whose fault was it? All he needed to do to get back was to eliminate the anomaly.

He raised his fist, ready to punch her, but as it came down, it didn’t hit her face;

Instead, it made contact with the dark blade of a sword. He jerked his hand back, screaming in pain, as he looked at his fists, which had gotten cut badly from hitting the edge of the blade. He raised his glance slightly to see that the one who was wielding the blade was a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes.

But what caught his attention wasn’t any of those features; instead, it was his mask. One he recognizes quite well. A half mask that clung to its owner like it was trying to become one with him. Designed to look like a clown, it was known to belong to one person.

…”The Fool!”

The man staggered, finally seeing who he was, and rushed back into the crowd so he wouldn’t die.

Azel’s eyes widened as she saw him . She hadn’t expected him to appear so quickly after defeating a Knight. And how had he done such a thing in the first place? The Ace wasn’t weak in any way. But Aether was, so the gears weren’t working.

She had wanted to continue with her mission, but Aether put his hand in front of him, stopping her, and giving her a reassuring nod. He stepped in front of her and looked at the crowd with his serious eyes.

“For those who don’t want to change, I suggest you leave. As the gate to the new world would only open to those who acknowledge me as their savior, and their desire for the future.”

The crowd stood silent, dumbfounded by such a revelation; even Azel was staring with her jaw open. But not for long, as that silence and surprise quickly turned into anger and hatred, and they became wild.

“Who do you think you are, kid?

“The Queen will protect us!”

“Go back to where you came from, demon!”

The comments didn’t stop, not for a long while, but instead of trying to stop them, Aether just waited until they grew tired of complaining, and spoke only when that happened.

“What is it that you want? Do you not believe me, even after killing a Knight? If not, then will you believe me after the second? What about the third? When the Queen is dead, will you still try to live in the ashes of her broken world?”

Aether knew he couldn’t convince them, and neither was it his plan, but just like he had done in the First Ring with the sacrifices, he wanted to plant doubt inside them. And even if Azel had done a great job. He wanted to be sure.

He didn’t wait for the comments to stop; he let them speak their anger, alone, leaving alongside Azel. But as Aether was walking, with her following from behind, he could sense she wanted to ask something.

“What is it, Azel?”

She flinched slightly, surprised by his asking. Surprised that he could figure out that she had a question.

“How did you do it? How did you kill The Ace?”

Aether stopped in his tracks, looking down at his marks.

“How else, with my blade?”

That was all he said, continuing to walk forward again. But Azel didn’t insist, since she knew it wasn’t her business to ask. He was doing his part, so why did it matter how he did it?

…

“And I’ll do the same for the others, too.”

…

…

The fog was suffocating, blinding his eyes, but he didn’t stop. His lanters shone in the fog, but there wasn’t anyone around to see them. While the fog was dense, he had grown used to it; he had traveled through it many times to get to The Ace, so doing it again for another wasn’t a problem. Even if it was slightly heavier.

He knew that after Ace, there was Two. But would there really be a Knight with such a path? The Two? Or maybe he was missing something, the suit. Maybe it was The Two of hearts.

Either way, he was stronger than The Ace, which means that he won’t be able to face him head-on and win like he did with him; he will have to figure out his abilities, and after that, make a trap.

But there was the fact that when it came to preparing, The Ace had only allowed him to do so because he didn’t remember much after he used his ability, and because of his honor, he let him go because he wasn’t dressed right for a fight. Even if he would have done just fine in those clothes.

But he doubted that The Two would ever let him leave after he got inside, so if he made the same mistake he did with The Ace, of just going inside without preparing or talking about it with Azel, he was dead.

One mistake would be his last, and it will probably be this way for all the other.

He had to get stronger. But how? He could try and improve his rank, but he should have done that before he killed The Ace, so he had the beasts on the second floor to fight. But if he had done that, he could have died if he had done something wrong.

So in the end, he thought it was better that he wasn’t greedy.

Plus, he had gotten some more shards since he had to fight them again to get to The Ace, after retreating from the battle. So he had probably broken the two hundred mark, and with the ones from The Ace… if The Two’s trials also have him going against monsters, he would be happy. That way, he could grow strong enough to kill him.

…

While he was walking through the fog. Aether spotted a gigantic building over three floors. Meaning that The Two took was more cautious than The Ace was. But it was to be expected that the weaker Knights had more Trials, since there were seekers in the world, so they weren’t immortal, the only thing allowing them to live being their powers, and the Abyss.

But for people like The Jack, there was probably no other trial than the first, which was the fog. And it was to be expected, he was powerful, very powerful… it made him wonder how he would even scrape him, but actually kill him.

But he wasn’t going to give up. J. had asked him to do it; he couldn’t decline such a request. He would be a horrible person if he couldn’t even grant death to someone in need of it.

How was he going to do it? That was for time to tell. As he still had a long way until he reached him. But he knew that his blade was stronger against opponents who were strong themselves. So he still stood a chance.

But to reach The Jack, he had to deal with The Two.

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