Chapter 503: The Deal with X

“Well, either way…” I walked past X—my father—and headed for the exit. “… I’ve made my decision, and you’ve made yours. Looks like we’ll be enemies from now on, huh?”

“Kai Kai… is there really no other way?” My father asked all of a sudden, right before I left.

I stopped momentarily, then clenched my fists.

“… No. I refuse to back down.”

“I see…” X stood up from his chair as well, back still turned to me. “Well then… let us make a deal.”

I raised an eyebrow. “A deal?”

“If you can make it to me and defeat me before I manage to advance antimagic enough to counter Chaos… then I will accept that you are strong enough to stand up against even those otherworldly beings I spoke about. However… if you aren’t able to do that… I will wipe out magic and destroy the primordial Chaos in this world. Does that sound fair?”

“So… a trial, huh?” I muttered. “Fine. And not only that, there’s no reason to tell your subordinates to hold back against me as to not take my life. I want them to try and kill me with all their strength. Only then will I grow stronger and improve, don’t you think?”

“Heh. You’ve really matured, Kai Kai,” my father said with a wry smile. “Very well. If that is your choice, then as a fellow man, I will respect that decision. But that being said… I cannot do that.”

“… Why, exactly?”

“Because if you happened to die and your mother found out, I would be killed, revived, killed again, revived again, infinitely until she was satisfied. She is a master of Necromancy Magic, after all. I am not trying to say you will die against my subordinates, but allow me to warn you—the Four Cardinals are very strong, and there is a high chance you really will die in front of their respective powers. I am not taking that risk.”

But I only smiled. “Relax. I have two lives. Even if I die once, I’ll come back stronger than before. You know the saying, ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’? Well… when it comes to me, what does kill me will make me even more stronger.”

“… How in the world did you get- never mind. I will not pry. If that is the case, then fine. I will tell them not to hold anything back when fighting you. However, I will tell them not to target your friends. Is that fine?”

“I was just going to ask that, actually,” I said. “I will be facing off with the Four Cardinals with Mei Gui, the same power you said would hurt me eventually. The others have nothing to do with this, so leave them out of the picture.”

“Of course. I have no intention of doing any unnecessary harming or killing, Kai Kai. I am aware some of the lower subordinates in the organization have committed quite… despicable sins, but there is nothing I can about that. I cannot control everyone, after all.”

I nodded. “Don’t worry. Those guys can be taken care of by my allies—so long as they don’t acquire antimagic, that is.”

“Heh, I have no intention of giving those punks antimagic. The power to nullify other peoples’ magic will be too tempting for them to handle. They will begin rebelling. The Four Cardinals are all people who have a hatred for magic one way or another, and because they are all under my direct control, I can make sure they do not try anything.”

“You don’t mind if I… kill them, right?”

“Naturally not. They will be trying to kill you, so there is no wrong in doing the same to them out of self-defense. Those four… none are the type to give up until they’ve died, anyway. However, I will say this: if you can save them without killing them… I will be grateful to you.”

“Save them…?”

“Of course, this is not part of the deal. It’s just… the four of them have helped me a lot on my journey to develop antimagic. They all have certain pasts that has led to their burning hatred for magic, but you will have to find out the specifics yourself. That is part of the challenge. Of course, you can choose not to do that altogether, but… I will let you ultimately decide your course of action.”

I nodded, and prepared to head out.

“… Until we meet again, father.”

“… Until we meet again.”

That was all we said. With the deal made, I headed out of the subway station, still trying to wrap my head around things.

I certainly had not been expecting this… but at the very least, I now knew my father and mother were both alive. And now, I have a random older sister out of nowhere… but that’s besides the point.

Either way, could this really be called good news? I mean, yes, my father is alive and well, but he’s now my enemy. Was the decision I made really the correct one…?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Well, at least I know my mother supports me. The only question was where she was… but I had a feeling we would meet again as well soon.

Thank you, mother, for believing in me.

If it wasn’t for her, I would never have received that stone pendant, and I never would’ve been able to use it to break the shackles set in place on me by my father. I never would’ve met Mei Gui, who was so valuable to me now that I simply could not let her go, even if it meant I had to fight my own father.

Sorry, dad. Magic… it’s become a part of me. And I’m sure if it was erased from this world, not only myself, but the girls whom I love will also undoubtedly be saddened. I’m no longer alone—I have other people’s feelings to think about. They taught me that.

And Mei Gui… there’s no chance I am letting her be erased from this world. Never. I mean, I went through the trouble of naming her and everything. I’m not letting her go now.

*****

After stepping outside the abandoned subway, I found myself alone. Well, technically, not alone, since Lorelei was still here inside my soul, but the wolfman from before was gone. He was an enemy I would have to fight soon, but regardless, my impression of him wasn’t half-bad considering how he actually fulfilled all his promises.

Well, being alone like this was perfect. I needed some time by myself anyway to just think about things.

I knew the girls must be worried, but right now, I needed to first calm my own mind. Using Sky Magic, I flew up to the roof of a nearby tall building, and sat down there, staring out at the horizon.

The sun was slowly rising.

And there I sat, wondering what to do with the information I now had. What was the first thing I should do next? Without a doubt, the Four Cardinals will be ordered to hunt me down now. But should I simply wait for them to come for me, or take the initiative and go for them…?

If the latter, I needed information, which I was clearly lacking. My father didn’t give me any hints to their location or their abilities, which I was assuming was part of the trial. After all, when those so-called otherworldly beings came for me, it’s not like I was going to just automatically know what their weaknesses and combat styles were.

Speaking of which… I didn’t know what ‘otherworldly beings’ my father was referring to, but I didn’t think he was necessarily lying. He had no reason to lie to me about something like this, and in all honesty, I had considered the possibility of aliens anyway. After all, space exists, and it’s hard to believe we were the only lifeforms in the entire universe—even if other ones have not been proved.

My father must know something… but to get those answers, I would first need to show him I was ready by defeating him.

“Have you made up your decision?” Terrarim’s voice said in my head. It was getting so populated in there nowadays that I really felt stressed sometimes.

What do you mean? I responded back.

“Awakening my brother and sisters, I mean. If you obtain their powers, defeating that man will be feasible.”

You mean… as I am right now, defeating my father is not feasible?

“Correct. He holds a power similar to own—Chaos. Although his comprehension is not nearly as strong as yours, he has many, many years of experience to make up for it. You may be strong thanks to your power, but you are not his match yet. However, once you obtain the blessings of all four Empyreans, kiddo… you’ll be unstoppable—in this world, at the very least.”

Well, I didn’t know if Terrarim was telling the truth, or if he just was lying to get me to free his brother and sisters. But either way, this was something I was going to do eventually. Immortality sounded sweet, especially since the girls could obtain it as well.

“… Fine,” I said at last, out loud. “I’ll do it.”

Terrarim laughed. “Wise choice, kiddo.”