LUKE

Luke watched the barrier corrode due to his star core ability. The size of it's corroded part looks like an elephant can fit in it.

'This should be enough.'

Luke thought as he the duration of his ability run out. He then retracted his core and walked together with the others.

"Mom, I'm done. Can I go with you?", Luke asked his mother.

"Can he come, Mister Bartender.", Lilith asked Modu.

"Sure... But, the human children should stay here. We can't have them in there.", Modu said, he really can't do any more than these.

"Is it okay for you guys? I won't stay for there for long. I just want to know the other strong people like Mother."

Luke talked with Hestia and Aidan, hoping they will not be sad about it.

"Having to enter here is enough for me, Brother Luke. Also, Aidan is here with me, right?", Hestia looked at Aidan while smiling then Luke found Aidan flinch with her smile.

"Yes, my lord. Hestia is right."

Luke can't still be comfortable to Aidan's speaking formally with him. It all started when the three of them joined their older brothers and sisters in one of their etiquette lessons. After that, Aidan started seeing Luke in a different way.

"Well, okay then. Have fun while I'm gone. I'll be back quickly."

When Luke parted with them in the lobby, he then climbed up the stairs and found Nora waiting for him.

"You're here, young master. The queen asked me to wait for you and go in together with you.", Nora bowed to Luke.

"Okay then... Where to, Nora?"

Luke held Nora's hands while she escort him to the room where the meeting is happening.

After they passed the left hallway upstairs, they turned to their right this time and saw a big double doors at the end of it's halls.

Luke realized that it must be the room they are going to so he ran ahead of Nora and sprinted forward excitedly.

"Ah, wait. Young master!"

Nora lifted her arms and grabbed Luke at his collar before someone flew away towards them.

Luke was shocked as he saw a man, old enough to be middle aged lay unconscious in front of him. He eyed him carefully and as the man suddenly stood up.

"Norm, you bastard! Who would sneak attack his opponents! Fight me like a real man you are!"

He brushed his dusted clothes as he shouted towards the direction where he flew away from.

"You call that sneak? Hahaha! You're just too slow to see my punch, you little lizard."

Luke then saw Norm cracking his neck in both sides while he removed his coat off.

"Hey, Uncle Norm! How's your day?", Luke happily greeted him, never minding the man in front of him.

"Oh, hey Luke! I'm fine! But, that lizard in front of you won't be. So come here before we get started."

Norm waved his hands to Luke while he invited him inside.

"Huh?! Who's this kid to you?! Is he your bastard?", the man in front of Luke turned to him and leaned down to see his face so he can glare at him.

"You dare?!", Nora released her weapon soul and aim it at the ride man.

Luke stared at Nora's weapon soul, and saw that it's an umbrella in folded form. But, Luke never had a chance to praise her as the rude man grabbed Nora's throat and slammed her to the walls of the hall with powerful force.

"Hey, Belial! What the hell are you doing?! Stop before it's too late!", Norm warned him.

"Huh?! So what? I don't care who she is, she pointed her weapon at me.", Belial said as he tightened his grip on Nora's throat.

Nora, who was slammed on the wall gasped for air but, she can't do anything to break free. Luke saw it all so, he acted first.

"STOP IT!!", Luke screamed at Belial who was cruelly smiling while he ran towards him.

"Hey kid, wai-", Norm tried to stop him but he was too late.

[SECOND STAR CORE - VACUUM]

Luke activated his second star as it glowed green then, a black halo formed at Luke's open palms.

'I can only do this one time.', Luke thought and gritted his teeth.

He then threw the black halo at Belial's head. It only happened just a second after the black halo passed through Belial's neck, but the black halo enlarged and formed a dark sphere that covered Belial's whole head.

'Huh, what the hell is this?', Belial thought as his vision became dark and hearing anything became difficult.

Luke then took the chance to free the unconscious Nora from Belial's scaly hands.

Belial then struggled to breathe and forcefully tried to break the dark sphere on his head.

'What is this?! Even my transformed hands couldn't scratch it.', Belial thought as he huffed for air while trying to break it using his hands.

"Thank god you're alright, Nora."

Luke tried to talk as he forced himself to stay conscious but, he collapsed from exhaustion due to him using his second ability.

Vacuum is a powerful ability but, it causes Luke to deplete all of his gracia in just a single use. He got this ability from a [Green Rank - Black Halo Scorpion] that traps it's prey to it's halo first to make it exhausted then uses it's stingers to finish it at their vital parts.

Finally, Belial was freed from the dark sphere and knelt in breathlessness. He then found the kid who made him kneel, in unconscious state as he covered his maid.

'This little shit did that to me?! A king that was unbeatable in the battlefield?!', Belial couldn't take the humiliation and tried to attack Luke using his dragon claws.

As Belial raised his hand, transformed into a dragon's claw, a whip suddenly tied at his neck again and he was pulled towards it's user.

Belial tried to untie the whip but, it tightened more at his skin as he clawed on it. He's the one who was choking now.

When the pulling stopped, he looked and saw the 'Monarch of Death' staring at him with killing intent. He was not able to resist it as he was grasping for air.

"Do you know what's the main ingredient used in my whip?", Lilith stepped at Belial's head and leaned down to let him hear what she has to say.

"It's a dragon's tail bone. My father made it for me when he killed a demon dragon rampaged at his lands. It just took him ten seconds to kill it in a dismembered state.", Lilith said to Belial up close.

Seeing that Belial cannot breathe anymore, Lilith loosened the grip of her whip but not realising it from his neck. She then lifted his whole body up in the air to clearly see his face.

"Do you also want to suffer it's fate? You shameless bastard... tried to kill my guard and even attempted to hurt my son? Ha! I could kill you right now if it weren't for the sake of the alliance.", Lilith said furiously as her guards ran towards Nora and Luke.

Belial can't deny what she said so he just accepted his fate. He will be forever humiliated because his petty actions almost broke their alliance apart.

"Please forgive his negligence, Monarch of Death. He was blinded in rage and was arrogant.", a woman with olive green hair pleaded to Lilith.

"For the sake of our alliance, I will be forgiving this bastard? I will have him leashed if he wasn't a king to his people."

Lilith threw Belial's body inside the room using her dragon whip but, no one catched him. The poor guy, then bowed deeply at Lilith who was walking away.

"I, Belial Karion, whole heartedly apologizes and being thankful that you showed mercy towards my moronic actions! I thank you as the 'Monarch of Destruction' and as a person for sparing me and my people!", Belial thankfully announced as he smashed his head on the floor in gratitude.

As the people in the room was having a commotion, Lilith approached her guards and immediately hugged her son that was conscious now.

"Did you see me fight, Mom? I made that rude guy kneel for me."

Luke proudly boasted what he did at his mom.

"Yeah, I saw it. And I became so worried about you. Don't ever do that again!", Lilith scolded him.

"But, he choked Nora. I can't let her die in front of me!"

Luke answered back, furious at what Belial did to Nora.

"He called the young master a bastard. I won't forgive what he said.", Nora seated up while being healed by Minerva.

"I will go talk with the monarchs. Go back to the lobby first and rest down there. Hela, go with them, Minerva and the others will accompany me back."

Lilith kissed Luke's forehead before standing up, then went back to the meeting. Her killing intent was released again as Luke saw her opened the doors to go in and smiled at him before closing them.

"Nora, we will go down to the children's room first. We should be able to rest there."

Hela helped Nora stand up then carried Luke at her back.

"Auntie Hela, am I heavy? I can walk if you say I'm heavy."

Luke became a little embarrassed as he was carried down to the lobby with the other children are.

"No, you're not heavy. I will even carry you when you've grown up if you ordered me to.", Hela can't help to let out a giggle when she sees Luke act like this.

It's making her realize that Luke is still a child and must be taken care of. She then remembered that Hestia and Aidan were left in the balcony and waited for Luke.

So when they reached the stairs, Hela saw Hestia and Aidan surrounded by children.

"Hey look, there's Hestia and Aidan. They really waited for you."

Hela went down the stairs carefully as she talked to Luke.

Luke then smiled as he saw his friends still in the lobby. But, he noticed something was wrong. Aidan has a bruise in his face and was protecting the teary Hestia behind him.

"Hey, look at us!"

"You filthy humans should've never went here!"

"How can you even get here, huh?!"

The children of the monarchs surrounded the both of them and even punched Aidan in the face. Hestia was so scared of them and tried to fight back but, Aidan stopped her.

He said that will a commotion and it will trouble the queen and Luke. So, they resisted the bullying and waited for him to come.

They then heard a commotion upstairs and someone pointed out that it was because the two were here that something happened upstairs.

"Hey, I said look at me, you little.. gah-!"

A child with scarlet hair tried to punch Aidan in the face again but was kicked in the ribs instead.

Aidan and the other children saw it happened and turned their attention towards the boy who suddenly kicked the rude child in the ribs.

"I didn't know the children of the monarchs were somewhat bullies to the humans. They never even done anything to you then you'll try to attack my friends. What qualifications do you have to do that?"

Luke never minded the other children and just walked towards the kid that he kicked.

"I'm the son of the Monarch of Destruction, I can do any-"

"What qualifications do YOU have?"

The scarlet haired kid tried to boast but was stopped by Luke's question. Luke emitted a cold aura around him as he stared furiously at the rude kid.

'This is how Mom does it, right? I will just emit some of my aura in an overwhelming way while staring angrily at my opponent. This should do the trick.'

Luke was thinking of oppressing him with overwhelming aura but he never knew he unconsciously learned the killing intent.

The rude kid then lost his will to fight as he saw Luke and fell unconscious. The smell of his urine then filled his pants.

"What the... Um, I never thought that will make him pee himself. I just wanted him to be scared at me."

Luke tried to explain to the other kids and the men in the lobby who immediately cleaned the pungent urine on the floor as they take care of the rude kid.

"Bill! You... You'll pay for this!", a boy, not smaller than Luke released his star cores but, was stopped by an even bigger kid who has a white hair.

"I suppose you're stronger than you look, right?", the boy with the white hair said.

"Can't blame me, I grew up like this." Luke mockingly shrugged his shoulders at the white haired boy.

Unfortunately, Luke's mockery worked at him and then released all his star cores. There were four them, two green and two blue.

"Wait, young master. Will you please forgive him this time? My young master just wanted to save his friends so he did that to your friend.", Nora bowed at the white haired boy, hoping they will stop fighting.

"Get out of my way, lady. I'm gonna have a duel with your young master here. I'm not so petty that I will revenge Bill. Plus, he deserved it.", the white haired boy said to Nora.

'This guy, I like his guts. I think he will be a good friend.' Luke thought as he gently helped Nora sit on a chair that looked worried for him.

"I will be okay, Nora." Luke quietly reassured her.

Luke then turned back to the white haired boy and faced him.

"My name's Rendell Ulliar Asmodeus, grandson of the 'Monarch of Lust', Mendelin Asmodeus. I'm fourteen years old. What about you?", the white haired boy introduced himself to Luke.

"I'm Luke...", Luke briefly answered.

"Just Luke?", the white haired boy asked confused.

"Let's chat after we finish fighting."

Luke the released his star cores but he never planned to use it. He's still exhausted due to the fight upstairs.

"Let's go then...", the white haired boy said, his short hair stood up like it froze from his gracia as he activated a star core.

[ FIRST STAR CORE - BLUE ROSE]

He summoned his weapon soul, a crystal bow as he jumped backwards to create space then shoot ice arrows towards Luke.

Luke easily reflected it using his black dagger, a weapon he saw stabbed in a man's chest when he first awakened his star soul.

The ice arrows shattered at contact and scattered at Luke's feet. But, the real effect of the star core ability showed was shown. The shattered shards of ice grasped Luke's feet and formed like a rose, restricting his movements.

'Crap, I'm stuck!', Luke thought as he infused gracia to his dagger to break the ice that seemed like blue roses at his feet.

"Nice trick!", Luke said as he freed himself and dashed closely to the white haired boy.

'I can't let him go far away.'

'I can't let him get too close.'

They simultaneously thought as the white haired boy shot another barrage of ice arrows again. But, Luke dodged it this time as he continued to get close.

'I won't fall for that again.', Luke thought. He guessed that the blue roses will not form if he won't break the ice arrows so dodging then was the best option.

The white haired boy clicked his tongue and shot another barrage of arrows but this time, not towards Luke. It all landed at the floor.

Watching the arrows land on the floor, Luke thought that the white haired boy panicked and jumped over the ice arrows while holding his dagger in two hands.

[SECOND STAR CORE - ICE THORNS]

As he watched Luke descend at the air, he shot ice arrows towards Luke and the arrows suddenly became giant spear-like ice thorns.

Luke saw the ice thorns coming at him and immediately released a glowing core.

[FIRST STAR CORE - CORROSION]

The activated star core glowed then transfer it's gracia to the black dagger. Luke swung his dagger in mid-air and cut through the incoming ice thorns like a hot knife in a butter.

Luke then landed directly at the white haired boy and pointed his black dagger at his throat.

"You lost.", Luke said to him.

"You too.", the white haired boy said back.

"Huh, what are yo-", Luke tried to ask why but, several ice thorns were pointed at his back at that moment.

'How?!, Luke thought hardly as he tried to look back where the ice thorns came from.

"The 'missed' arrows... I intentionally did that to make you drop your guard down.", the white haired boy gave a smug face at looked while smiling.

"I guess we're even then...", Luke said before stopping because he can't decide what to call him.

"Ren... call me Brother Ren. You're my younger brother now, haha.", Ren brushed Luke's hair as he was too taller than him by a head.

Ren happily brushed his hair while deactivating all the abilities he used and looked at Luke's face. But, he didn't understand what happened. Luke just collapsed on the floor while his nose bled, dripping down his cheeks.

'What happened?! What did I do wrong?!', Ren thought hastily while looking at Luke and his maids trying to know what just happened.

"Hahaha!! Take that, you son of a bitch! That's for humiliating me!"

Ren heard the voice of Bill, the one Luke kicked earlier, then turned around to see Bill with a proud face. Ren walked towards him and saw that Bill activated his fourth star core ability to attack Luke sneakily.

"You bastard! Do you know what you've done?! What did you do to him?!", Ren punched Bill in the face and pulled his collar up.

"Hahaha! He couldn't even see it! My fourth star core, [Nightmare Bell] will let him see the most scary moment of his life over and over again until I said do or run out of gracia!", Bill laughed loudly, scaring the other kids around them.

His feelings for getting revenge overwhelmed him and he became a maniac. But, it turned to agony when he's hands suddenly turned cold.

"Then, I'll make you do it...", Ren said to him, as his gracia violently attacked Bill's hands.

Meanwhile, inside Luke's mind, certain scenes were showed to him repeatedly as he covered himself in fear.

'Make it stop!! Someone please make it stop!!', Luke said in his mind while crying.

The scene he had for a hundred times now was none other than the dark space where he had seen the body of a dying man, he had remembered that he was the one who killed him by taking the dagger out of the man's chest.

And it repeatedly bombarded him with fear, regret and sadness, it shows his nightmares over and over again.

'I can't... I'm sorry...I can't take it anymore. Please, just make it stop!!!', Luke shouted his final plea, that was his last attempt to not be succumbed to his nightmares.

Then suddenly, all of the sound, the visions that was being shown to Luke stopped. It was like someone stopped the time inside his mind. Luke stopped crying and wiped his tears.

He then stood up, finding out what caused the time to stop.

'What happened? Who saved me?', Luke thought.

"It was me... I slowed your perception of time and temporarily saved you."

Luke heard a man's voice talked to him but not only that, he knew what Luke is saying on his mind.

'Do I know you, sir?', Luke thought again, hoping to hear the man's voice.

Somehow, the man's voice made him more calm and comfortable.

"What 'sir', I'm not your 'sir'...", the man chuckled at Luke's question.

'Then, who are you to me?', Luke thought.

"I'll answer that after you get out of this illusion.", the man's voice said to him.

'How can I get out then?', Luke enthusiastically asked. He felt like he was back in the First Elder's lessons where he always asks questions, though his Brother Feng asks more than him.

"Well, it's tough... You must find a bell that creates this illusion in your mind. I can't personally go there, because I might endanger the child that casted it when I just casually swipe it out and turned it back to him. Though, I wanted to do it but, will Lily be angry at Luke, at me? Well anyway, go find it yourself, I'll be here for you."

The man's voice rang long at Luke's ears as he heard the man chatter endlessly.

'You sure talked a lot.', Luke complained.

"Just shut your mouth and open your eyes instead.", the voice quickly answered Luke.

In just a few minutes later, look found the bell. It was small, like an apple when Luke found it.

'I found it!'

"Good jooob!! Now, crack it in your hand. Make sure you use your gracia to crack it."

'Okay!', Luke nodded while he held the bell in one hand.

But, he can't seem to crack easily like the voice taught him, he even used gracia.

"Puhaha! -.. Oh, I'm sorry... Not like that, using one hand won't easily crack it obviously. Use both hands, both hands!"

'Okay fine, chill out.', Luke's mood became bad because he clearly heard the voice laughed at him.

Cracking it with both hands, Luke put all his gracia on his hands to make more cracks to it.

And in his final push, the bell gave out and completely shattered in Luke's hands, making the illusions that illuminated around vanish. As the scenes of his nightmare became dimmer, Luke finally saw the face of the man speaking in his mind.

The man stood still while his arms crossed, his black hair matched the color of Luke's hair and the man's purple eyes stared at Luke with interest and pride.

"Took you awhile to figure it out. I expected less time but, the results are still up to my standards.", the man spoke to Luke as Luke approached him.

"What's happening here? How are you inside my mind? Who are you?", Luke bombarded him with questions.

"Let's just say... I'm an important person to you. This place was created because you have inherited my weapon ~ [Ophiuchus]. The thirteenth and most efficient weapon that you can use. And I, as a soul of your weapon, can talk with you here and use my power to protect your mind and soul.", the man answered Luke with full details while keeping a poker face with a little smile.

Luke absorbed the things the man said and processed it in his brain.

'An important person... His weapon? Is it the dagger? And my protector per se.', Luke thought in a confused tone. He hated riddles the most.

"My goooood! I hate riddles! So, you're sayin that your are my weapon soul and you're important to me? How can you be important to me? I don't even know the real you."

Luke complained at the man and scratched his head in frustration. But, the man seemed to be paying no attention to Luke as he was looking at something, rather someone outside that place.

"Hey, you. Are you even listening? Where are you even looking at?"

Luke get beside the man, and Luke realized that he was tall. Taller than his mother but, slimmer than the Second Elder. The man, at Luke's eyes, looked like a king or a real man that Luke pictured to be when he grew up.

"You're mother... is she happy? With just you two?", the man asked while looking up. The person he was looking at was none other than Lilith.

Luke saw the man looked sad as they watched Lilith's images from his memories.

"My mother loves me the most. She always gives me what I wanted and always protects from harm. But, she always misses my father. And I can't sympathize with her because I never met him."

Luke lowered his head as he remembered the face of his mother whenever she mentions the person that she loved the most.

"But you know, ever since the day I collapsed and awakened my beast soul, she never felt sad anymore. It feels like she's always happy even though she mentions my father."

The man knelt down to meet Luke's lowered face as he watched Luke tell the story about his father.

"Do you want to meet your father?"

"My father... heh. I don't know, I never met him in my life. He could be anyone that I met before or heck, maybe you're my father."

Luke shrugged his shoulders as he looked up to face the man who was kneeling. He felt no remorse on his father but, Luke believed that he left them and his mom and said a joke about him without caring, who else might here him badmouthing his father here anyway.

Then the man that was in front touched Luke's face with a solemn look on his face. Luke felt confused as he tried to talk to him but, the man burst out in tears.

"H- hey, you okay, dude? Why are you suddenly crying?!", Luke supported the man who just slumped on the floor and wept.

Luke never saw a grown man crying in front of him. Well, maybe the men who was kicked out of their business can be counted but, the man infront of him cried in sorrow, not disappointment.

Luke felt that this man had been suffering for many years and he just exploded all the pent up emotions he was suppressing until this moment.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry that I was weak! My body... it couldn't contain my fused souls and I had to use the last option I had! You're father is weak! I'm sorry, Luke! I won't for you're forgiveness but, please give me a chance to repay all my misgivings!", the man wept at Luke.

"What?", Luke was speechless.

Luke was left there, in that white space with a crying while clinging at his left leg.

They both cherished their first moment as father and son, awkwardly.