"If it is what I think it is…" Ana pondered deeply, not letting anyone discern what she was feeling. "Troy…."
…
The night fell shortly afterwards, blanketing the world in darkness.
In the graveyard.
Step Step
A shadowy figure came before Arash's grave. The figure was Benimaru, and he said melancholy. "I didn't expect we would have our meeting like this."
After he escaped to his base, he met up with others and asked if everything went as planned. His heart jumped when he heard his generals were almost close to dying, but something happened to Ragnar, which changed the situation. This made Benimaru think of many things.
But the next thing he heard brought him much more shock. When he learned about Arash's death, he dove into a deep trance. He wanted to just bring down the church, but he didn't expect Arash to die in the middle of the chaos. And it didn't take him much time to guess who was the culprit. There was only one man who was under his radar who was most suspicious—Okarino.
Benimaru glanced down at Arash's grave and brought out a bottle of wine. Opening the cap, he murmured. "I heard you liked the old man's Hobbs wine very much. So, I brought you some."
Hobbs owned a brewery in this city that was as old as the city's establishment date. They were known for their wines that could rival those that contained magical ingredients.
Squatting on the ground, Benimaru tilted the wine bottle and let the wine drop on Arash's grave. After he dropped half of the wine in the bottle, he stopped. Then Benimaru moved his mask a bit from the bottom, just letting his mouth show up, and he started to chug down the rest of the wine.
"Ahh~ now I know why you loved this. It sure is great." Benimaru praised the wine after he finished drinking.
Afterwards, Benimaru talked to Arash's grave, acting as if he were talking to Arash. "Arash, I do not know what to say, but I am sorry. If it weren't for me, you would have been alive and continued witnessing your children's journey. I might not have understood it if I were my previous self, but after becoming a father, I began to understand."
"I robbed you of your privilege and luxury to guide your children and watch them take care of you when you get old. Arash, now that I think of it, I might have done this to so many parents and their children in my past occupation. Arash, do you think those souls that I took would forgive me for robbing them of their familial love?" Benimaru said this with sadness as he felt many feelings of guilt waking up from deep within his heart.
However, he was only met with silence. But Benimaru didn't mind this, as it helped him to contemplate about himself.
A couple of minutes later, Benimaru stood up and went to Arash's grave with a smile. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter and your daughter too. I already owe it back to you for letting Ana grow into such a beautiful child, and now that has increased a hundredfold."
"So, let me repay this debt by guarding this city for five years before Ana matures. Also, I am sure Ana wouldn't let go of your killers. When she decides to take revenge, I will be there to do the heavy lifting."
Step Step
At that moment, Benimaru heard footsteps coming near him. "Well, the guards are here. I will take my leave now. I hope whether you go to hell, heaven, or a different place, you are able to live a better life, my friend."
The next second, Benimaru's figure vanished into thin air. When the guards arrived, they smelled something.
"Hey, does that scent feel familiar?"
"Hmm…isn't this Hobbs wine? Why is it here? Did someone drink here while we went for a dinner break?"
"I don't know. I hope nothing bad happened while we were away."
…
Without going anywhere, Benimaru arrived at his base.
Just as he arrived, he was met with his generals. He looked at everyone's worried faces and asked. "What is it? Why are you all making that face?"
Ragnar and Fiain hesitated to speak, so Ravenna replied on their behalf. "We were just worried about you. You know, we never saw you have such a strong reaction to anything."
They were really concerned, as they have always seen Benimaru to be stoic, have an easy-going attitude, and be thoughtful. It was the first time that they saw their Lord become shocked beyond numb, as if world-shattering news had hit him.
"Hahaha.. You guys. It is nothing." Benimaru shook his head and laughed, not trying to explain to them the reason.
Instead. He walked toward the castle, and others followed behind him.
On the way, Ragnar asked. "Lord, what is the next course of action?"
Benimaru thought about Ragnar's question and told him the answer. "We will stay dormant here for the next five years. No more expanding and no more recruiting anyone except for someone with potential."
"As you wish, my lord." Ragnar nodded his head, as he felt his days of training soldiers were gone. But he asked, curious about this decision. "Lord, why do we want to stay dormant for five years?"
Benimaru hesitated a bit before settling on telling them. They were his close ones, and they would carry out many things, so they needed to know. "I want to protect this city. The new baron is young, and he doesn't have the trust of many. He might receive attacks from many directions. I felt, five years should be enough for him to mature. Afterwards, we will leave this place and head deep into the EverGreen Region to find a new suitable place to call home."
Others were surprised and curious why Benimaru decided to protect this city in the first place, but Ravenna, who knew many things about Benimaru, could guess why he did it. However, forgetting all this, Fiain asked as she caught on to something. "Lord, are we going too deep into the region because of the Purge?"
"Hmm." Benimaru nodded his head. "If we stay at this place, we will die even before getting to defend. So, I want to go deep and find a suitable place where we can isolate ourselves and have an easy time defending the base."
"You can say we are going to make a forbidden zone for ourselves."
At that moment, they entered the castle. He said it to everyone. "Okay, everyone, go take a rest. We will talk about other stuff tomorrow."
The generals nodded their heads and left. Benimaru entered his room and slumped onto the bed. "What twists and turns!"
Looking at the ceiling, he said to himself. "I am sorry, Ana. For making you sad once again for losing your father."
Benimaru felt much worse than when he died with Ana in the past. He got a chance to reunite with his daughter, even if he couldn't meet her. But what about Arash?
Will he get a chance?
Will he go into this nonexistent place called heaven and hell to begin with?
"I wish I had the power to control the dead." Benimaru reached his right hand to the ceiling, clenching it suddenly.
"I need to get stronger. Only that way can I guarantee myself that this type of mistake won't happen again." Benimaru got up and sat on the edge of the bed. He said to the system. "Give me my rewards."
These past two days, he didn't claim his rewards because Arash's death had weighed on his mind so much that he forgot about everything.
[ Congratulations, host! You have completed the mission "Know My Name" ]
[ Your actions have caused the deaths of half the forces of the city, especially, Arash, Ahat, and Belmuk. ]
Benimaru knew why he was responsible for Arash's death. He was holding down the church by himself, and his plan left the army to be occupied by Vio and Savrena. This led to Okarino having much freedom to wreak havoc in the castle.
But hearing this from the system brought him more guilt.
[ Your unique ambition has brought great fame. Many are curious about what you will do in the future, and some are baring their teeth at you. Masked Fools have now become a prominent force, even if they are the weakest. ]
Benimaru's face darkened after hearing that. He didn't know if he were to be happy or mad at this.
'What a foolish mission…' Benimaru signed helplessly. 'It is my fault to begin with. I just went to the church because of the animosity that I had bred for them. Just because Belmuk had ulterior motives for my daughter.'
Yes, Benimaru's reason for doing all of this work was because he wanted to make the man suffer who looked at his daughter with bad intentions.
"Anyway, let's get the rewards." Shaking his head, tossing these thoughts away from his mind, he said to the system.
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