"I know you foolish mortals are selfish trash as always. You like to play with someone's weakness. You guys are the reason of this Raizel. You're the artists who performed this foolish art over Raizel and turned him into a living weapon. You are the creators of this art—the art I only art I hate and hate the most," Aizis said a bit loudly.
The whole surrounding became silent instantly. The moon, which had been hiding behind the clouds, finally made an appearance. Its light brightened the surroundings. Due to the great distance between this place and the main realm, the main realm didn't sense any casualties from inside.
𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩
At this moment, Raizel remembered something. Something from a long time ago.
Someone slapped a teenage boy pretty hard. He was a red-haired boy whose face and physical structure were almost identical to Raizel's. If someone saw him suddenly, they would probably mistake him for Raizel. It was actually Raizel at the age of 13. His whole body was beaten so badly, and fresh red blood was flowing from his wounds. Due to the massive blood loss, his entire body and face turned completely red.
The person who slapped him finally raised his voice.
"You fool, how could you fail to finish them off? Just why do you even exist? Your meaningless existence is unnecessary," the stranger said, his voice was filled with hatred and hostility toward Raizel. He looks like he want to kill Raizel right here and now.
Raizel didn't reply. Blood was constantly pouring from his body, he wasn't really reacting to his own wounds and pains, his calm and silent standing make it looks like he was completely fine even with those wounds.
"What did you even do? All you've done is kill a few of them and leave the rest? If you can't finish them all, then all I will do is kill you," he added.
He drew a magic circle targeting Raizel and was about to release a lightning spell. But at this moment, someone sliced through the magic circle. It was another general with gray-white hair, wearing a huge army long coat.
"Don't kill him. No matter what, don't kill him. After all, we have a useful weapon like him. He's a weapon that fights regardless of his physical wounds and the risk to his life. He doesn't care about his life; he's a useful weapon who can do anything we order him to," the gray-haired man said, his face was calm and expressionless.
While saying that, he went back to the battlefield where Raizel was fighting an entire army alone. Flame magic spells, sword slashes, and spears left countless wounds on his body, but he didn't seem to care about anything happening to his body. With the katana in his hand, he continued to destroy and kill every single one around him.
"When he fought against the other realm's army, I saw how he massacred most of them. I'm sure that if he had the time, he would have killed every single one of them, even if it meant losing his life. He is like a weapon; he will fight as long as his life runs. He took countless sword slashes and spears to his body and endured the endless flame spells. If we kill him now, we'll lose a valuable weapon," the gray-haired man added, he was smiling a bit, a mystery smile.
The man who was beating Raizel lowered his head and sighed.
"Leave, right now," he said with a commanding voice.
Suddenly, Marco's voice could be heard.
With his voice, Raizel regained his consciousness.
"I'm done here, guys. I've found the magic spell library as well," Marco said loudly, sounding pretty excited.
"Good job. Did you bring them as well?" Aizis asked.
"Yes, you think I would miss this?" Marco replied, confident.
"So then, Raizel, what are we supposed to do now?" Aizis asked.
"Since we're done here, we have to go back," Raizel replied.
"And what about this one? Shouldn't we finish him off?" Aizis asked, pointing his index finger at the senseless Aizes.
"He was trying to get in our way. Since we're done here without any problems, I have no intention of killing him. He's a teacher at the academy, so let him do his job," Raizel replied, his tone calm.
"So what about all these events that happened? What are you going to do about his memories?" Marco asked.
"We'll simply remove his past from his memory. The memory he'll have will be that of his role as a teacher and an elder of Zeldia. He'll return with his perfect personality and profession," Aizis replied.
They simply stood in silence, their eyes drifting across the vastness of the world, quietly witnessing its breath, its sorrow, and its endless, fragile beauty.
While they were talking, it was already midnight. The moon shone brightly in the surroundings, as always. "The darkness that veiled the world was buried beneath the bright glow of the moon.
𝘼 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙝 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜
The next day, the sun rose from the east, as it always did. It brightened the realm with its early morning light. As he always did, Raizel woke up quite early.
After preparing for the academy, as usual, Raizel teleported straight to the academy.
Aizis and Marco were already there before Raizel. They sat inside the vast coliseum-like classroom, chattering among themselves.
Inside the classroom, the atmosphere was loud as usual. Students chattered with each other, none of them aware of the events that had taken place the previous day. Even when it came to Aizis and Marco, they didn't seem to react to the matters at hand. They continued their casual conversations as if nothing had happened.
"As I already knew, I simply informed Raizel about the situation. However, he actually managed to anticipate everything before I did. So, it wasn't something to worry about," Aizis said, casual.
Raizel had been observing their conversation for a while when something suddenly unsettled him, he suddenly raised his voice.
"In every situation, it doesn't matter whether I need a reason or some sort of plan to eliminate my enemies or not, I don't need any certainty of my victory or survival. The most important thing is that I will eliminate them at any cost. It doesn't matter if my enemy is the strongest being in creation or not. The most important thing is that I will eliminate them as soon as they get in my way.'' Raizel drew a slow breath, his eyes brimming with unspoken questions.
''I don't even understand why I'm killing and destroying everyone.'' There was weight in his voice—like unspoken sorrow wrapped in calm. It didn't crack, it didn't tremble. but someone could hear the storm hiding behind the stillness.
''I only know that I must fulfill my master's order to protect creation, and to do that, I must kill and destroy the endless people in my path. The cycle of creation is always death and birth. Everyone around me is killed and destroyed in a constant cycle, without reason. They never manage to die properly before their souls are destroyed by their own kind. I am supposed to be the protector of creation. Like my master ordered me, I must protect creation. I must stop the endless war and death that are happening throughout creation. It's my duty.'' Raizel took a breath, his eyes filled with countless questions and confusion.
''Destruction, war, and death are all I've seen since my childhood. Is it my mentality that makes me think the world is wrong, or is the world itself on the wrong path? Why does everyone want to destroy their enemies so badly? Why do they even have enemies? Why are they so desperate to kill one another? Why can't they be united? Why did my master order me to destroy my enemies? Why is the whole world always at war with each other? I know I must follow my master's orders, but I want to understand why they want to destroy everything around them in order to protect someone. Why do I do this myself? Why must I kill to protect someone? I don't know the answer myself." Raizel stopped; there was an endless storm of anxiety in his eyes.
Aizis smiled faintly, a quiet flicker of happiness and satisfaction dancing in his eyes.
He lifted his gaze, breath steady, and spoke—his voice calm, gentle, carrying a warmth that lingered.
"It's because of their emotions. The one who destroys everything around him does so in order to protect someone he loves. It's because he's afraid that someone will be the reason for his beloved's death. When they lose someone they love, they become blind to reason, lost in the art of love, the art of mortals, and the very essence of emotion.'' Aizis took a breath.
''They are simply acting out the effects of the art that was ingrained in their hearts when they grew up surrounded by their loved ones. The art of love and emotion blinds them. Whenever someone dares to harm their beloved, they lose their senses and desperately want to destroy them. They want to destroy anyone who threatens those they care about. Every mortal has a warm and understanding heart shaped by the art of mortals. You know that something makes you different from them, right? Yes, you will understand soon enough," Aizis replied, smiling.
Raizel didn't respond.It seemed he had neither questions to ask nor answers to give. He simply had nothing left to say.His eyes, his face, every part of his expression was burdened with endless questions, haunted by a desperate hunger for answers. He kept staring at Aizis. None of them spoke for a while.