Two hours earlier.
Thrive and Hope Inn.
"Hmpf–! Mmrm!"
"Don't make this hard for both of us, kid."
"Hurry!"
"Go now!"
Rustle.
Chad sat in his room, sipping his newly brewed tea. The wind blew from the open window. He looked at the sky and saw the moon shining brightly, giving light to the quiet village.
He stared at his cup of tea.
An image of a kid with black hair and big, green eyes came to his mind.
"A divine mark…"
From the looks of it, he can make out whose mark it was.
No human can handle carrying a divine mark. Either the bearer is not normal, or the divine mark itself is extraordinary, in more ways than one.
He saw a shadow of two men carrying a child outside the inn, hurrying to take him to some place hidden.
Chad leaned back on his chair.
"Haa…"
He observed the wooden ceiling of his room. Memories before coming to this secluded village came to his mind vividly.
Inside a beautiful, white cathedral.
The lake beside it has all kinds of fish swimming, some even flying with wings through the garden.
At the long dining table, adorned with golden patterns, each carved carefully by an artisan, two men are sitting and having lunch. One of them has long, blonde hair, and the other has shoulder-length black hair.
The black-haired man cut his steak gracefully and spoke before taking a bite,
"I'm going out."
Clang!
The sound of utensils dropping to the table filled the dining area.
The blonde man's hands trembled.
"What…did you say just now?"
He tried to laugh it off.
"Ha ha, please repeat yourself. I seem to be having a hard time hearing you."
Chad did not care.
"I said, I'm going out."
"Please stop your jest. You know how dangerous it is for you to go out right now."
Michael, with his long, blonde hair and hazel eyes, frowned.
He noticed Chad staring at him quietly and added,
"...However, if you insist, then I shall accompany you."
Chad put down his utensils.
"Michael, do you hear yourself? You're gonna accompany me?"
He looked at Michael as if he was talking nonsense. He continued,
"I'll never be able to walk around peacefully if you go with me. It's impossible. I will go myself."
This made Michael frown.
"Please think it over. It's not as easy as it sounds. We haven't even been able to locate the–"
"That's why I'm going."
Chad cut him off.
"I know what you're thinking, but it's not like I'm going out to cause chaos out there. I just want to travel, that's it, really."
He saw Michael's face full of worry. Chad knew how much this man did for him. It must be hard for him to let him go alone.
"I will be fine. I'm going to find places with good food. After I had my fun, I promise I'll go back to you myself. Don't you know me best?"
Chad sighed, trying to reassure him.
But it was not enough for Michael.
"Then, let me assign some guards for you."
"No, I don't need them."
Chad shook his head.
He really did not like the idea of having bodyguards. He felt like they would just slow him down, depending on who Michael ends up picking for him.
Michael insisted.
"You do need them. You're not the way you used to be, and the outside world is no longer the place you used to know. You will be in danger if you go out alone."
Chad scoffed.
"Hah, no one could ever put me in danger. Even if there is someone like that, they haven't been born yet!"
He puffed out his chest to show how mighty he was.
In the end, Michael ended up letting him go without guards on the condition of him never getting hurt. Chad was confident he would never suffer any damage, so he agreed.
'Please don't cause too much trouble.'
Before he left, Michael looked at him, still full of worries.
Back to the Thrive and Hope Inn.
Chad took another sip from his tea. It left an unpleasant taste as the tea had gotten cold.
He sighed and got up from his seat.
He brushed his hair off but his hand felt empty. His eyebrow twitched. He looked at the ends of his hair and clicked his tongue.
'I cut it way too short.'
He's used to having long hair, so his shoulder length hair right now irked him off. It really is way too short for his liking. He lightly flicked his hair and moved to go out of his room.
***
Chad followed the trace of the kidnappers. He was watching them mock Eli, but he only planned to observe.
He really did not want to get involved in anything that happens in the mortal realm, as much as possible. However, when the kidnapper told Eli that they would let him live, he found himself unable to take it anymore.
He stared at the two masked men, almost nonchalantly.
"No one ever survived after having their divine mark extracted. It's not something you can take by force."
Divine marks were mandated by the very first Almighty God to the angels He sent to descend in the mortal realm to fight against demons. It was a present He gifted them in order for the angels to pass on fragments of their soul's power to chosen descendants, which must be done willingly.
If they die, their soul's power would go to the mark, and the heir would gain whole access to it, making them the new crowned bearer of the divine mark.
This is a rule made by the Almighty God when He made these divine marks. No one is above the Heavenly King. That has always been the law of this world. That is why when a mark is forcefully taken out, the bearer dies with it.
Chad looked at the two men in front of him as if they were fools.
"You'd better stop spouting nonsense in front of me."
"M, Mr. Chad?"
Eli blurted out.
Chad pointed at him as he continued.
"This kid is not even aware he had a divine mark. There's no way he can control it enough to give it away on his own. Moreover, what are you even targeting him for?"
He shook his head at the kidnappers in exasperation.
"He has Solomon's mark! Only humans with no power whatsoever can host that mark, you morons! If you're going to steal a mark, at least find something more suitable! Ah, really, my back…"
He rubbed his lower back in frustration. Not only did they hastily kidnap a child, they're not even smart enough to pick their target properly!
'S, Solomon's mark?'
Meanwhile, Eli was quietly listening, trying to understand what everyone around him was saying. Everything he's hearing is new to him.
From the looks of it, the kidnappers wanted to extract this so-called divine mark of his, but in return, he had to die. His face turned pale at the thought of it.
Both the kidnappers gasped.
"Solomon's mark?!"
They looked at Eli, who's full of sweat.
Chad clicked his tongue.
'Tsk, they really didn't know.'
He walked towards them as he silently dug his fingernail on the top of his right palm until it bleeds. The blood started to flow with no signs of stopping. It slowly transformed into the shape of a long staff, and the end sharpened like a knife.
Chad gripped the weapon made out of blood.
"Gasp!"
The masked men gasped.
The taller one trembled on his knees.
"Blood manipulation?! What in the world are you–?!"
Chad's eyes looked empty to him.
"Are you a remnant of the Santheus clan? But that can't be! Even half-bloods have red, bloody eyes!"
The kidnappers tried to rationalize the scene, as he slowly approached them.
"You clearly have golden eyes!"
Chad's eyes deeply glimmered at the mention of it.
A gust of wind gathered on the taller man's feet while the chubby one had his fist coated with flames.
Their feet started taking steps back unconsciously, even while on their fighting stance.
The chubby man added,
"B, but Chad, no one else can use blood manipulation apart from the Santheus! He is… that man is…!"
"Keep guessing."
Chad lifted his weapon.
"Don't worry. I won't kill you."
Chad stabbed the kidnappers on their legs, making them kneel in front of him. The blood splattered to his face, but his eyelids did not even move.
"Kugh–!"
The weapon made out of blood slowly shifted into the shape of a tornado. Chad used his fingernails to make his left palm bleed and his right palm even more. He put each hand on top of the kidnappers' head. The wind and flames around the two dwindled.
The air chilled. Blood curled around Chad's hands like ribbons, tightening and spinning.
"G-guoooohhhhh!"
"Aaaaaghhhh–!"
The sound of two men screaming in agony filled the dark forest around them. The blood on Chad's hands circled around, forming a tornado.
It slowly swallowed their faces until they could no longer scream.
Eli trembled at the sight.
'W, what in the world is happening?'
The feeling of being swallowed by the blood tornado from Chad's hands made the two left unconscious, their faces falling to the ground.
After that, the blood tornado vanished into thin air as if they never even existed in the first place.
Chad looked at the dust left behind by the tornado, not giving a glance to the kidnappers. His eyes frowned as he looked at both of his bleeding palms.
This is why he did not want to get involved. He wiped the blood onto his black pants.
Eli flinched.
Chad turned to look at him.
'A, am I next?'
Eli gulped down as he saw Chad approach him.
Chad kneeled on one knee and started to untie the rope binding Eli.
'Huh?'
Eli looked at him confused. He thought he would be next after the kidnappers, but now, Mr. Chad seems to be helping him.
Chad noticed the way he looked at him.
"...They're just unconscious. They'll wake up in a few hours."
'Ah…'
Eli nodded.
His pupils glowed again.
Chad sighed.
"You're using it way too openly. That's not how it should be done."
He got up after he finished untying Eli and offered a hand to help the kid get up.
"Let's go."
Eli stared at the hand in front of him.
'He's still bleeding…'
Now that he took a closer look on Mr. Chad's face, he does look a little too pale.
He accepted the bleeding hand offered to him.
"J, just who are you, really?"
"Huh? Me?"
Chad tilted his head. He thought he already gave Eli a name earlier, did he not? He looked around and saw the tall kidnapper on the ground.
He grinned,
"Just call me Chad! …maybe?"
He scratched his face.
Eli's pupils shone.
'Chad…?'
He recognized another lie.