Arthur tiptoed around the corridor at first. But then he realized that the corridor was too large for anyone to hear a footstep, especially with the marble flooring.
Thus, he simply broke into a run, rushing to the game room to retrieve his bag.
Fortunately, the game room was left untouched since he last walked in. Arthur was assured that no butler or maid touched his bag.
He picked it up, and then carried the backpack to the front while unzipping it. He had to get his hands on the demon dagger as soon as possible. In case he got attacked by Albert's inner demon, he could stab his heart and then summon Dullahan in full power.
He walked out of the game room, and as his hand grabbed through things inside his bag, his brows began to crease.
"Huh? Where is it?" Arthur muttered.
"What's wrong, boy?" Dullahan asked.
"The demon dagger is gone!" Arthur replied as the panic alarm in his head went off. He frantically grabbed everything he touched inside the bag to find the dagger, but the dagger was nowhere to be found. "Oh no, did I forget to bring it? Or did I drop it somewhere?"
"Hmm, I can sense that dagger somewhere nearby. So, it's probably still inside your bag. Just keep searching boy," Dullahan said. "Besides, why are you carrying such a huge bag?"
"That's because I stuffed the backpack with everything I could think of to hide the dagger. I can't just bring a sharp dagger in a sleepover like it's some kind of nail clipper!" Arthur said as he decided to flip the backpack open and dropped everything inside the bag to the ground.
He continued searching frantically until he heard the grim voice of an old man speaking to him from the end of the corridor. "Looking for this?"
Arthur raised his head, and jolted backwards when he saw the demon dagger in Albert's hand.
Albert smirked seeing the reaction. He spun the dagger in his hand skillfully, as if he was adept at handling a dagger. He then intentionally cut the tip of his finger. "Incredibly sharp. This dagger has been polished to its best condition, ready to cut a rope… or a head."
"…"
Arthur was too stunned by the old man, but he was more stunned to see the inner demon behind Albert who was supporting a full set of silver armor.
However, Arthur still couldn't see its weapon, or its face.
It was just a mass shadow wearing a silver armor right now. But it was already as intimidating as it could be.
"Now, tell me, kid," Albert walked casually towards Arthur, and then pointed the dagger at his neck. "What do you want from Young Master?"
Arthur gulped.
He was stared down by the red eyes of the demon behind Albert. But even in this dire situation, Arthur was still unwilling to lie.
Facing the demon he was about to fight, a tint of courage came from inside his heart, and he replied honestly and firmly, "To save him… from you."
"From me? Oho, kid, no need to lie, I've met with your kind many times in the past," Albert pressed the tip of the dagger on Arthur's neck and said, "You want to corrupt the Young Master with your friendly act, derailing him out of his responsibility as the heir of Fairmont family. So you can drain him out of his wealth and connection."
"Or perhaps, you are the other type? You want to sneak into the mansion and steal valuables. Perhaps killing a few guards, and then kidnap Young Master and demand a huge ransom? You are far too predictable, kid."
Arthur was staring at the old man who pressed the cold tip of the dagger on his neck, and then scoffed.
"What's funny?" Albert asked.
"Is that what you think of every person who comes into his life? Sounds like you're just imprisoning him," Arthur retorted. "Dean told me that you can be suffocating, by the way."
"You have no right to call him that!" Albert yelled as he slashed the dagger forward, but Arthur quickly took a step back.
"What's wrong, old man? Can't stand seeing him making a genuine friend? Do you want him to live a lonely life?" Arthur continued taunting him.
"There is no such thing as loneliness when you are at the pinnacle of human feats. He will follow the tradition that Fairmonts have just like his predecessors. He will be as great– no, I will make sure that he will be even better than his father. Even if that means I have to kill a pest like you!" Albert yelled as he continued attacking Arthur with the dagger. But Arthur was so agile that he dodged everything with ease.
"I see that his inner demon starts to take control, boy," Dullahan commented. "When a man becomes a slave of their inner demons, they will start speaking of their true feelings, including their sin. For someone to have such a powerful inner demon, meaning that he has a malevolent sin he hides deep inside his heart!"
"Is that so? Then let me ask you one thing, old man," Arthur grabbed Albert's wrist in an attempt to disarm him. "Have you ever murdered someone for that ambition?"
Honestly, Arthur was just concocting a theory about Albert and the disappearance of Lancelot's mother in his head. He was trying to find out the truth, so he asked a question that could rile this old man up.
But the reaction that Albert gave sent chills down his spine.
"Anything goes for his future."
"You—" Arthur was caught off guard by that confession that Albert took the chance to attack with a second dagger, aiming at Arthur's stomach.
"Get back!" Dullahan warned, and Arthur quickly stepped back.
Albert knew that Arthur would do that. So he twisted his wrist to escape from Arthur's grip, and then used the demon dagger to stab his shoulder.
"Ack—!" Arthur grabbed his shoulder right after Albert pulled the dagger out. He staggered as he was enduring the pain.
Of course, with Dullahan's power, the blood dried quicker than regular humans would, and the wound began stitching itself.
But it was still extremely painful, to the point that Arthur's entire body was shaking right now.
"Your dagger is very useful. Weird carving, but definitely the sharpest I've ever held," Albert commented as he flicked the demon dagger to remove the dripping blood from the tip. "I'll be taking this dagger as a souvenir after I kill you."
Arthur gritted his teeth. He clutched his wound, but still stood strong against his enemy.
Dullahan had been observing for a while and finally said, "Leave the corridor now, boy. His inner demon is about to fully manifest soon, and might cause destruction in its surroundings. We don't want regular folks to see such supernatural occurrences, and I'm sure you don't want Lancelot to see this."
Arthur nodded lightly as he agreed.
He couldn't let Lancelot see this ugly sight of Arthur fighting Albert, especially when he couldn't see the demon behind Albert right now.
Besides, Arthur was completely unarmed. If they were in an open space, he could at least find something along the way as a weapon.
"I'll guide you, boy," Dullahan offered as he pointed at the door near them. "Now go!"
Arthur endured the searing pain on his shoulder, and ran towards the door.
"Get back here, you little shit!" Albert yelled as he chased Arthur with respectable speed.
Meanwhile, Lancelot had been holding the trigger of the gun in his hand as he walked from the shadows, watching the fight between his butler and his friend.
He still didn't know who to protect at this point, but he wanted to find an answer.
Thus, he stopped the security guard who rushed to the corridor when he heard the head butler's voice, and said, "Tell everyone to go to sleep. Make sure nobody says anything about this when the dawn comes."
The security guard shuddered. He knew better not to ask questions right now, because even if the heir of the Fairmont family was still young, everyone in this mansion had already recognized his power.
"I will handle this myself," Lancelot said as he followed their footsteps out of the mansion.
*
"Holy crap, why is he so fast?!" Arthur panicked as he had many near misses with the demon dagger in Albert's hand.
But he was honestly impressed that the old man was able to close the gap between them during the chase many times.
"Go right there, boy. You're at a disadvantage in the open– use the trees!" Dullahan pointed at a small path outside of the fence, leading to an unoccupied wooded area. It was near a hill, so he had to be careful or else he might accidentally step on the wrong stone and plunge to his death into the sea below.
While Arthur was struggling to keep his balance around the woods, Albert maintained steady steps, and closed the gap enough for him to stab Arthur in the back.
"Argh!"
Arthur lost his balance and fell to the ground.
He gritted his teeth as another searing pain on his back made him stagger.
Of course, he could always heal it out, but the pain was too much to handle for a fifteen-year-old with minimum fighting experience.
"I admit that you are quick on your feet, kid. You're the fastest enemy I've ever faced in my whole life. You should be proud of that," Albert said as he flicked the dagger again, and the blood on the dagger splattered on the ground.
He looked down at the young man, and smirked. "It's been a while since my last kill. I'm getting old, but this is a good exercise," Albert cracked his neck as he stood straight despite his age.
There was a murderous aura around him, alongside the dark aura coming from the demon wearing silver armor behind him.
Arthur knew this old man was not just a regular butler. But for him to be able to stab someone twice without blinking an eye meant that he wasn't just military trained for self defense.
He was trained to be cruel.
"You—you're not just a regular butler, are you?"
"There is no way a regular butler can stay as the most trusted confidant in the Fairmont family for a long time," Albert replied calmly. "I was an assassin in my younger days, before I got hired to protect the masters of the Fairmont family."
"You're hired to protect, not to kill!" Arthur yelled.
"In order to protect, one must eliminate the pests around your master. You are one of the pests I must crush, so Young Master Lancelot won't be distracted."
"You talk like Dean's fate is already set in stone. He is a free man that deserves to choose his own destiny!"
"His destiny is to follow in his father's footsteps. This is the fate set by him, when his ancestor made the deal!" Albert raised his voice, thinking this kid was too naive to understand the situation. "He is just a kid who doesn't know any better. So, I must set him straight!"
"By killing his friend?"
Albert sneered, voice flat as steel. "Friend?" Then his confession landed like a blow. "I killed his mother back when he was just a child. Do you think I can't kill a mere 'friend'?"
Arthur's eyes widened.
"W-what did you say?"
"I killed his mother. That woman tried to change Young Master's fate," Albert admitted without shame. In fact, the blaring aura behind him indicated that he was proud of what he had done.
"She is his mother. How could you—" Arthur was left speechless. As someone who cherished the memory he had with his mother, he couldn't imagine the pain Lancelot would've gone through if he heard this.
"She tries to shape him into a whiny little bitch. She knew that the Fairmonts are different from the commonfolks, but she still tried to register him to the regular kindergarten so he would learn how to 'make friends' and 'be a normal child'," Albert mocked. He snorted as if it was truly a stupid idea. "She also tried to bond with him by doing stupid, useless stuff like telling him bedtime stories, cooking for him, and taking him to a theme park. Ha! Can you believe that? If I allow that to happen, he will grow up just like you!"
"…"
Albert looked down on the wounded fifteen-years-old and mocked, "Weak, stupid, emotional. You said you're here to 'save' him? Then I'll 'save' him by killing a distraction like you!"