30 minutes earlier
Aether and the Left Guardian were walking through an alley after leaving the inn.
"She'll find out later that you're from the Noctvain family. So why did you humiliate her like that ? It'll bring a lot of trouble."
"I didn't like her attitude." Aether replied.
In his past life, the Ravenfall family had been one of the major powers that stood against him. But it hadn't been under the rule of the current patriarch.
In the near future, the head of the Ravenfall family would be betrayed and killed by his own younger brother.
That brother would rise to power as the new patriarch, and he would be the one to betray Aether in the future.
'Maybe she was also killed by her uncle. That explains why I hadn't heard of her in my past life.'
"Young lord, you shouldn't act so lightly. Your words hold weight like a King." the Left Guardian said with an awkward smile.
"... I'll keep that in mind."
Aether showed respect for the Left Guardian's words, as he had been the most loyal to him in his past life.
"Can I ask you something? How old are you?" Aether asked out of nowhere.
In his past life, he had been so focused on his destiny and revenge that he never learned much about the Left Guardian.
"Uhh, that's unexpected... Anyway, I'm thirty years old."
"What? Thirty? No way! You look like you're in your forties!"
"Ahaha, why would I lie to you, young lord?" The left guardian smiled awkwardly.
As they were talking, a voice interrupted them.
"As a noble, you're awfully close to your guard."
A man in a black hoodie was leaning casually against the wall as he spoke.
As soon as the Left Guardian saw the hooded man, he quickly stepped in front of Aether and unsheathed his sword.
"Who are you?" the Left Guardian demanded.
"I'm a nameless slave." the hooded man replied.
"...A slave to whom? A demon?"
"Haha, sharp eyes. But no... I'm a slave to a noble. A noble count under the Noctvain family."
His words were laced with resentment.
From the way he spoke, it seemed he had once been a slave to a noble before falling into the hands of a demon.
"Why did you sell your soul to a demon?" The left guardian asked.
"Why shouldn't i...? I was born in chains, ate leftover foods, and lived in pain. Then a demon came to me, saying he would help." the hooded man said with an eerie smile.His smile showed his hate for the noble who used him as a slave. Then he spoke again,
"With that demon's power, I killed that noble who took everything from me. And now… I will kill the Noctvains too."
Right after he spoke, he pulled out a piece of paper.
A strange circle was drawn on it. It was a summoning circle. Mages use these to transport someone or something.
As soon as the Left Guardian saw the magic circle, he knew it was for summoning something. He quickly used a precise sword move and slashed the paper.
Slash slash
In an instant, the paper tore into pieces.
"Hmm, impressive. But the real one is on my hand."
On the back of his hand, a summoning circle was drawn.
Usually, when the circle is drawn and something is summoned, it tears through the circle drawing. That means the moment he uses the summoning circle on his hand, his hand will explode.
"What are you doi...."
Before the Left Guardian could finish, the hooded man activated the summoning circle on the back of his hand.
Black lightning rose from the circle and caused a big explosion.
Crash! Bang! Kabooom!
The Left Guardian took Aether and stepped back a few steps to protect him.
"What did he summon to cause such a big explosion?" Aether said, worried.
Summoning circles are not that usable. They are called forbidden because they have a weakness. When they summon something, they cause a small explosion.
But the explosion just now was much bigger than normal.
As the fog cleared, both the Left Guardian and Aether's eyes grew wide.
"It's the Soulborne."
"So this man was the one who awakened the Soulborne."
Both of them were shocked to see its gruesome appearance. The soulborne was literally disgusting.
"Man, summoning this thing wasn't easy. Tsk." the hooded man stepped out from behind the Soulborne.
"...!!!"
His hand was torn apart by the summoning circle magic.
Zssssss....
But his torn hand began healing quickly.
This was the power given to those who made a contract with a demon.
In the Chasm: Graveyard of Madness, many powerful creatures live. Among them are humanoid unholy beings called Demons. Who live alongside the Soulborne.
Out of all the Demons, 72 are the strongest. And they're referred to as Demon king.
* * *
In this world, everyones soul has a rank. These ranks are called Soul Realm or Martial Realms.
The highest Soul Realm a mortal can reach is called the Life and Death Realm. After that, mortal ascends to the Celestial Being Realm, gaining the power of a Demi-God.
From there, a whole new level of power and hierarchy begins.
Just as mortals can reach the Life and Death Realm, unholy beings can also reach that same level.
When a human or holy being reaches the Celestial Realm, they become a Demi God.
But when an unholy being reaches the Celestial Realm, they are called a Devil.
There are currently 72 Demon Kings who have reached the Life and Death Realm.
The 72 Demon Kings are unholy beings who either failed or are still trying to reach the Devil Realm.
But the interesting part is, they are trapped in the Chasm: graveyard of Madness.
Since they are sealed away, the 72 demon kings have apostles, humans who signed contracts with them. These apostles aim to open the gate to the Chasm and bring destruction to the world.
The hooded man was one of those apostles.
* * *
"I, Franklin, will kill all nobles and free this world from slavery and your hypocrisy." the hooded man said with determination.
Meanwhile, Aether felt the weight of his words. Deep down, he too believed that this world needed to know pain.
.
.
.
.
To be continued...