Outside the base of the Court of Darkness, a few doctors and guards were loading trucks for their grand escape. Sitting in one was Dr Helmbrecht, with one foot up and his head resting on his chin. The man sighed. In front of him was a videotape of what was happening inside – specifically with his favourite specimen.
"Man, why do champions always seem to have a yearning to take my projects? It's mine, can they keep their hands off?" he whined, annoyed by the troubles he was having. However, the smile on his face told a different story. "So, Darkness, it seems our little experiment is running away. What are we going to do about it?"
From his ear, a dark voice rang out. "Plan B," was all that was said before the line cut off. The man's face changed into a far more sinister look as a devilish smile appeared.
"I was hoping you would say that."
Inside the building, Dain was still holding Malrik's sword, telling him to stand down. The boy sighed before standing up and accepting defeat. Dain let go of the sword, letting the boy sheath it and walk away.
"Where are you going?"
"Far away from here. I'm not stupid enough to go head-to-head with a champion. I need to get out of this hellhole while I still have the chance." This made Sarah frown.
"Hold on, aren't you a part of this organisation?" Malrik glared at the girl.
"When the hell did I ever say I was? I just want to leave, and you guys keep getting in my way with your need to play saviour."
"But you were taking apart dead body parts," the girl argued back.
"Yeah, from. The. Evil. Organisation," Malrik spoke sarcastically, like he was speaking to a child. He didn't know why, but the girl was seriously getting on his nerves.
"OK, let's calm down here," the champion sighed, trying to soothe the two children before him. "We need to decide on our next move. Kid, where are the children that were kidnapped?"
"I killed them," Malrik said flatly, making the father and daughter duo widen their eyes in shock.
"What do you mean you killed them?" Dain asked sternly. Malrik could tell from the way his hands were slightly twitching, whether he lived or not was based on his next response.
"I mean, I was put in a cage with multiple children, and it was kill to survive. Now tell me, if it were your daughter here in the same position, would you be mad at her?" Dain didn't answer. He clenched his fists, knowing he couldn't judge the boy.
"That doesn't matter! How can you say you killed innocent children with such a straight face!?" Sarah asked, angry at the boy before her.
Now, Malrik didn't answer. He started walking straight at Dain, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the dead body on his shoulder.
"Hey! Answer me!" Sarah dropped into her fighting stance as Malrik drew closer, ready for a fight. However, Dain put his hands out, stopping the girl as he stared at the boy with a serious expression.
In an instant, Malrik grabbed the body on Dain's shoulder, throwing it to the ground, surprising the man slightly.
"Hey–" a dark blue aura burst out from the boy, sending Sarah flying. Dain disappeared behind his daughter, grabbing her until the pressure died down.
Malrik stared grimly at the man, a mix of anger and sadness appearing in his eyes. He dug into his pockets and pulled out a gun.
"Vale."
Dain was about to stop the boy before he heard his pained voice.
"Ten times," the boy breathed out, a single tear running down his face as he struggled to contain his emotions. "Ten times, you shot my mother, yeah, I remember." The boy smirked. "You think I forgot? It still haunts me. Though you did take care of me for the past two years, but guess what, I feel nothing but joy seeing your lifeless corpse before me. My only regret is that I couldn't see your broken face before your death – the same way my mother looked at me when you killed her." Malrik pointed his gun at the body. "At least I can take pride in having my own justice."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The shots went on ten more times as Malrik relentlessly fired. However, after the tenth shot, he didn't stop. He continued with his anger rising, his face twisted in pure rage as he stared at the smile the man was wearing. He pulled the trigger. Again. Again. And again.
The smile his mother's killer wore reminded him of his first time here. Those miserable excuses for humans, smiling as people were dying, as he was fighting for his life – and just like then, no one stopped smiling, not even the dead.
Blood spurted out of the body like a fountain, splashing on his shirtless body. He couldn't stop. Sarah covered her mouth at the gruesome scene in front of her. After a while, Dain appeared next to Malrik, grabbing the boy's hand.
"It's done. You can stop now." Malrik just glared at the body.
"No. No, it's not done. Just look at his face. He's still smiling. He isn't suffering like the countless people he killed, like the countless people who died to the hellish creatures he made them fight. Why doesn't he get to suffer?!"
"He will suffer in hell. Don't worry – all those crimes won't go unpunished. You just need to let go of your hate."
As soon as those words left his mouth, another dark burst of blue aura exploded outwards. This time, it blew even the champion away, shocking him.
'What is this powerful magic?!'
Malrik turned his attention back to the dead body, repeatedly clicking the now-empty gun.
"Let go of my hate? Shut the hell up, you know nothing about me. Hate is all I hav–"
Malrik suddenly started holding his head in pain. Falling to his knees, he looked down in surprise.
'Wha–what is going on?' he thought. He looked around desperately, trying to find the answer.
Outside, Dr Helmbrecht was still sitting on his trunk, watching the footage of Malrik shooting at his dead comrade.
A guard ran up to him. "All the preparations are done. We are ready to move, sir!"
"Finally. I was starting to feel bad for our dead friend there. Malrik is putting a number on him, even though he's dead." The man looked oddly proud. "Anyway, I guess I should probably put an end to this."
He lifted his hands as they glowed a golden colour. A hologram-looking brain suddenly appeared before his hands, just as the man's smirk unnaturally widened. On the live feed, Malrik fell to his knees in pain.
"It's been fun, kid."
Dr Helmbrecht closed his eyes and started taking pieces out of the hologram brain, a large amount of magic flowing out of him as pressure blew outwards.
With Malrik, the boy was screaming—shouting as he banged his head repeatedly. His eyes widened, and his face twisted into a crazed, shocked expression as he began to piece together what was happening.
"No! No, please stop!" he shouted as he squirmed in a futile struggle. Tears started falling as images faded from the boy's mind—images of his parents, friends, and even people from the organisation vanishing one by one.
"No! I beg of you, Doc, don't do this! I'll come back! I'll be a good experiment, I swear! I won't run! Please just don't take away my memories! Please!"
The poor boy screamed, desperately clutching his head as he lived through every experience and then forgot them like they never happened. Sarah rushed to the distraught boy. Dain was looking behind him in shock.
'What is this sinister magic I'm feeling?' He could barely track where it was coming from; however, whoever it was, he was certain they were the one responsible for Malrik's state.
The doctor was focusing hard. The boy's willpower was strong. It was taking all his strength to take each one out. He stood up, floating like a deity as his arms trembled. Focusing all his energy into his arms, he ripped the brain apart, creating a large burst of pressure that exploded outwards and sent everything flying. His arms vibrated as the detached brain froze. Slowly, he brought his arms together, fixing the hologram brain back together.
The doctor landed on his feet. He pulled up a phone as officers scrambled to start the trucks. He called, and someone answered.
"Is it done?"
"Yes. He won't remember a single thing."
As the Court of Darkness vanished, the entire building fell into silence. Malrik was on his knees, looking upward and breathing heavily. His eyes were barely clinging to life, but the man was no longer whole – he was broken.
"Wha–what happened?" The boy looked around, scared. Bending over, he clutched his head in terror.
"I don't remember anything."
On the other side of the world, a man was standing in a pitch-black room. His gaze scanned across the large city through the tall glass window. He took a sip of the crimson drink in his glass cup. His face was hidden in the darkness under his cloak. The only thing peering through was his golden, glowing eyes and wide, large grin.
"I'll see you soon, kid, and next time we meet, we shall embrace the darkness together."