1 The summoning

A girl with long black hair walked quickly while holding a huge book. When she arrived at one of the huts, she turned left and right to make sure no one saw her, then she entered the hut quickly and placed the large book on the table and began to browse it hastily. She stopped at one of the pages and began to read it in a mad speed, saying, "This is it. I found it."

She pulled the dusty rug from the floor to reveal a drawing of a magical circle, and from her pocket she took out an amulet with a black bird drawn on it and placed it in the center of the circle. She began to chant some incantations, saying, "In the name of the Old Covenant, between the King and the Holy, I, the granddaughter of the nobles and the descendant of the alliances, ask you, oh revered guard, the holder of the sacred staff and the breaker of chains, Ashteria, to answer my call."

The magical circle shone brightly, and suddenly a black mercury substance appeared in the middle of the room, moving and changing its shape rapidly. After a few seconds, lightning surrounded the black substance, which began to shrink until it finally exploded with a loud boom, causing the hut to shake violently. The girl involuntarily screamed in shock, and in the center of the circle a shadow of a man appeared standing in a cloud of smoke.

For a moment, the girl stared at the shadow in disbelief that she had succeeded. The shadow began to cough loudly, saying, "Open the windows, I'm suffocating!" The girl jumped to the window and opened it, and after a short while, the smoke cleared to reveal the features of the shadow, who turned out to be a young man of medium height, with white hair and crimson eyes.

As soon as the girl saw the young man standing in front of her, she was taken aback with surprise, as she had expected him to be an adult. Nevertheless, she lowered her head respectfully and initiated a greeting.

"I am delighted, my revered guardian, that you responded to my call and I summoned you from the world of immortals to seek your help in saving humanity from the horrors of the upcoming war by eliminating the enemy of humanity, the king of the Oris. So that peace may prevail in our world."

The young man lifted his hair upwards, revealing his crimson eyes, from which a cold beam emanated, staring at the girl.

"Kill the king of the Oris, and how will that stop the war? All they have to do is appoint a new king and the matter will be over."

The logical words of the young man surprised and confused her at the same time, causing her to speak hesitantly:

"But, perhaps... appointing a new king is not that simple, it could cause chaos in their kingdom and among the ranks of the Oris army."

"No, not necessarily, the title of king is not hereditary, the council of elders chooses the kings, and the army is under the command of the generals, not the king."

Just the thought of all the effort she had put into making the magic circle would go to waste, made the girl feel frustrated, but she was still determined to find a solution, after succeeding in summoning the guardian, she said firmly:

"My lord... Kill them all - the king, the council, the leaders. This way, we will ensure peace."

The young man raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"And what do you think the humans will do to the Oris once the ground is cleared for them? Won't they slaughter every one of them - women, elders, and even children? Is this your idea of peace?"

"Impossible, we will not exterminate an entire race."

"You're right, you won't exterminate them entirely. You'll leave some to suffer a fate worse than death. Enslaving the rest is a better way to showcase the glory of your victories."

The way the young man spoke revealed a deep-seated hatred, as someone who had experienced and known the secrets of the matter, so The fear returned to the girl as she asked:

"Why do I feel that you hate humans and continue to defend the Oris? We are peaceful creatures, we do not enjoy well-being because of them."

The young man burst out laughing.

"Humans are peaceful? That's really the funniest joke I've ever heard in my life. If that were the case, why did they reject King Oris's proposal for a truce?"

The girl widened her eyes, listening to his words in disbelief. When the young man noticed this, he realized her ignorance.

"Don't you know that the Oris king who is the first enemy of humanity, whom you seek to kill? is fully prepared to abandon all the lands they occupied in exchange for the island of the ancestors, and as a sign of his good intentions, he is willing to release dozens of prisoners."

"You, revered guardian, your words cannot be true. The Oris are violent and irrational, they will not take the initiative to make peace."

"Irrational? The Oris are ruling several different races, and despite that, they live in complete harmony. Can you say the same thing about humans, my dear? If your wish is truly to spread peace in this world, you must consider killing the human kings, who are the problem."

The girl remained shocked and unable to accept the truth, as the sacred guardian clearly had knowledge of all the facts. For the first time, she also realized that she really did not know anything about the Oris, except what she had heard about them.

"My revered guardian, do you mean to say that we are the ones who are wrong?"

"Surely, you are the villains and the root of all evil, but who is this revered guardian that you keep mentioning?"

The girl raised her finger towards him and pointed, "You are not the revered guardian, the protector and breaker of chains, Ashteria."

"Ashteria...isn't that the name of that mythical character? Isn't it supposed to be a fictional character? Don't tell me you used the magic circle to summon someone from fiction."

Confusion appeared on the girl's face, and she was annoyed by his mockery. "Then who are you? If you are not Ashteria?"

"Who am I? That's not an easy question. Am I the hybrid traitor to his companions and Lord, or am I the plague, the most despicable and vile person you may have met or even heard of?

I have killed thousands of innocents, even my mother committed suicide because of me. She probably couldn't show her face to the public after I killed my younger sister with these very hands.

My memory is a bit fuzzy, oh, I remember, Takai is my name, Jin Takai. Nice to meet you."