They walked at sunset. There was almost no one left on the cobbled road. Silence rang in their ears, but the boy wanted it that way. He didn't want to hear a word more about organizations, worlds, and other nonsense. He fully understood that it was true, but he had no intention of participating in this circus. Lesteria noticed his gloomy expression.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"What..." He didn't expect to hear that.
"You believed in me, and I let you down. I couldn't defeat the mage, and I tarnished your name." She lowered her gaze.
"That's not the point..." His emotions began to break free from under the shell of his act. couldn't hold back the outburst.
"I don't want to be a part of this! What necklace? I bought it online! It wasn't stolen from me, I gave it away!" He clenched his fists.
"I... I don't deserve your admiration." He felt sorry for the girl who considered him her idol. He couldn't look her in the face. Without a word, he ran towards the house. He entered the house and immediately lay down on his bed wanting to forget about crazy day. He also wondered if other worlds, demons, and heroes really existed. It could be safely assumeed that all the information he had heard was true. It filled him not with excitement, but with fear. His life was in serious danger. He covered himself with a blanket, contemplating his fate. He didn't even notice when he drifted off into the land of dreams.
He was awakened by the sound of a bell. Sleepy, he got up to investigate. Opening the door, he saw a blond-haired boy. Out of breath, he was unable to even utter a word. The Ethereal Avenger had tears in his eyes. The young boy's heart raced, as he was ready for the worst.
"They attacked us..." The words, spoken with difficulty, were enough for the Apostle to start run towards the candy store. He wondered if Albert had been attacked by the Swarm. Maybe it was just an unrelated accident and there was nothing to worry about. His chaotic thoughts swirled in his head, creating quite a bit of confusion. Meanwhile, the store was on fire. Scattered on the ground were candies that had not yetlong ago. All the cabinets and counters were destroyed. The shopkeeper crawled away to escape the enemy. The villain savored the melody of the crackling flames. Around his neck he wore a gold necklace with a red diamond at the end. He took off his dark hood, revealing gray hair. Jase mercilessly stepped on the unfortunate man's hand.
"What do you want!?" Albert fought fiercely against the pain. He didn't want to give the criminal the satisfaction.
"I have a simple question." He took off the artifact. "I want you to tell me how to use the Agelarg necklace." He seemed furious. He was so close to infinite power, yet he couldn't extract it. The purest frustration possible swirled inside him.
"Isn't this Agamel's necklace?" From what he remembered from the morning, the artifact had a different name. He didn't have time to argue, because the force crushing his hand increased twice. "I have no idea!" he shouted.
"You're an informant for the Apostle of Destruction." He pressed even harder. "You must know!
"You destroyed my shop for such nonsense?" He wasn't going to give up. The situation was absurd, but one thing was certain. The gray-haired man was a true criminal. He didn't know how, but in an instant he had turned his shop into ruins. Fortunately, he had his son to find help, so the police and fire department should be here any minute.
"Nonsense!?" He held the necklace under his nose. "You call infinite power 'nonsense'!? You mortals will never know the meaning of true power. I wonder what you'll say when I destroy your entire reality, and this miserable dimension collapses like a house of cards!
... It was the strangest monologue he had ever heard in his life.
"Let me ask you again... How do you use the artifact?"
"You say that once you find out, you'll destroy the world." Shopkeeper smiled with the last of his strength. "There's no way I'm telling you." Even now, he considered it a peculiar game. He thought that probably this high school student had lost his sense of what was real and what was fiction. He even he felt a little sorry for the madman.
"In that case, we'll talk differently." The dark night was lit up by flames. All Jase's fingers gained fiery claws. It was then that Albert realized he was no joke. Indeed, the enemy possessed supernatural abilities. He brought his fingernail closer to the defenseless man's hand. The man felt unearthly pain as the flames burned his skin.
"This is my territory," said the young man standing on the street surrounded by houses. He was wearing the most ordinary black cloak. His hair and eyes were red as blood. His hair was styled in a way that some would call fashionable, while others would call kitschy. His ears were adorned with earrings. The left one was decorated with a blue scale of the most powerful race of dragons. The right one was a crystallized phoenix tear. Both accessories were so similar that he sometimes forgot which was which.
Seeing the villain's disbelief, he took a step forward. Apostle could finally behave like the hero he had always wanted to be. He wanted to let anyone else die.
"By what right..." He didn't expect to see him here. He hastily devised a plan action. After a moment, he grabbed Albert by the lapels and lifted him up. With a hostage, he felt invincible. He knew that the Apostle would not want to hurt his informant. The redhead struggled to contain his panic attacks. He thoughtlessly entered the room, hoping for who knows what. Now he would have to fight for his own life. On top of that, Jase had a hostage. It was certain to him that He had to improvise.
"How's Alferna's Necklace?" He sat down on a broken chair. He tried to keep his his cool.
"Agelarg."
"Agamel." Jase and Albert corrected him at the same time.
"Do you think I would give you the real name?" He smiled mockingly. Fear was slowly fading into the background. The only thing that mattered was the most authentic roleplay. It seemed that his game was working, as Jase was doing a poor job of hiding his own fear.
"I'm in a good mood..." He stamped his foot impatiently. "I'll spare your life if you give me the medallion and get out of here," he proposed.
"A generous offer," he replied after a moment's thought. "Unfortunately, I must refuse. I am too close to give up."
"I understand..."
Damn it!
"Even if I know I'll die!" His hands burned more intensely than before, and the room became as bright as day. "I won't back down!"
Such motivation... He looks more like the good guy than I do.
He assumed a fighting stance. A ball of energy resembling a small sun. The Apostle of Destruction couldn't even stand up. Fear took control of all his limbs. He could only sit there and wait to be burned alive. He was amused by the thought of Jase standing in front of the corpse of the "Destroyer of Worlds." He would surely be surprised. The ball of fire flew towards the boy, and he didn't even blink. If he was going to breathe his last, he wanted to do it in a cool way. The attack missed its target. Colorful projectiles shot near him, creating storms of sparks. A pink-haired girl entered the room. This time she was wearing a thin red jacket.
"How long did we have to wait for you?" He managed to keep his voice as calm as he could muster.
Saved! You're wonderful!
"Do you think you're worthy of fighting him?" She grimaced with anger. The arrogance of the gray-haired man got on her nerves. She grabbed the pink rifle that the fallen shopkeeper mistook for a water pistol. Lester patted the weapon, then turned it into an elastic slime, which then took the form of two revolvers. She aimed at her opponent and fired colorful rays without warning. Jase immediately created a wall of fire that absorbed the attack.
The fight began. Fiery projectiles raced against magical bullets. The enemy created long claws that melted everything they touched. Lesteria practiced her tactical approach to combat and kept a healthy distance. From time to time, she had to stop to recharge the energy in her weapons. The Apostle of Destruction paid the most attention to the fiery wolf that the young man was slowly transforming into. Jase sped up on all fours, catching up with the girl.
If this is a recruit of the "Swarm," I'm afraid to think how strong I should be
"What's going on here?" asked a confused Albert. He had just gotten up, dusting off his pants. He honestly thought he was dreaming.
I have no idea.
"They're fighting over a toy necklace," he replied truthfully.
The claws pierced the warrior's arm, and the wound began to burn. The Apostle of Destruction could only watch his friend suffer again. Currently, the authority figure was unable to help him. He had to trust her. Lesteria avoided close combat attacks, but she couldn't hold out much longer. She looked at her idol's face. She could see that he was worried. She did not expect someone like him to care about her fate. She took a deep breath. This time, Jase's attack hit her in the side. That was what she was waiting for.
"He exposed himself..." she whispered to herself. Instantly, her two weapons turned into pink goo, which transformed into a huge hammer of the same color.
"Get down!" The powerful blow knocked the fiery wolf off its feet, pinning it to the ground. She smiled as she struggled to catch her breath.
How cool!
"Not bad," he said, crossing his arms.
"Did I pass the test?"
"Test?" He didn't remember anything like that happening.
"You lied and abandoned me to test my loyalty." She recalled the moment when the situation overwhelmed him and he revealed the truth to her. Apparently, she thought it was the most ordinary test. Realizing this, the Apostle of Destruction laughed loudly. Lesteria didn't understand his enthusiasm, but she started laughing too.
Later that night, the fire department arrived and extinguished the flames. Later, the police arrested Jase on charges of terrorist attack. The investigation says he used bombs. However, only a few knew how it really happened. The Apostle of Destruction could sleep peacefully, knowing that the artifact was safely in his drawer.
That same night, under a full moon, two people stood in front of the destroyed store. The first person asked in a woman's voice.
"Is there someone new here?" She sounded worried.
"It's worse than we thought," replied the man. "It's the work of the so-called Apostle of Destruction. He has the status of a Destroyer of Worlds.
"..." The woman fell silent. "What... What is he doing here...? Which faction does he belong to?"
"I assume he works for the Sphinxphare... Probably related to the Executors" He took a small notebook out of his pocket. "I have no idea what he's doing in a place like this," he added. "And this conflict?" She pointed to the ruins.
"From what we've gathered..." He flipped through a few pages. "The Apostle of Destruction gave our recruit a powerful artifact. The young man betrayed us in pursuit of power. In the end, it turned out that he was too weak to wield such power. The rightful owner easily took back the necklace.
"Why would the Apostle of Destruction give it to him in the first place?" The woman was unable to fully comprehend the meaning of the story.
"To mock him," he replied grimly. "To give an ambitious warrior promises of power. That power corrupted him, and the cruel man laughed right in his face."
"Cruel."
"It's hard to understand what goes on in the minds of the beings of Rissengard," he concluded. Ordinary beings are not able to comprehend the actions of world destroyers. The only logical solution was not to get in his way. They simply did not have the resources needed to even to even hurt the Apostle of Destruction.