Chapter 73: Twin Brother
Luna stayed on him for a few seconds, well, more like she stayed there till Ken spoke.
"Luna?"
She looked up, eyes teary and a face that said it all. She had been worried and panicked. He didn’t know what had happened, so he could not understand what would have made her this way, but he knew that it must have taken a toll on her for her to be this way.
He stretched his hand and placed it at the side of her face softly. "I’m okay," he said, making the bold assumption that whatever it was had to do with him, and it did.
She tightened her grip around him. "I was so scared, I thought we lost you," she said.
"Uhm, what exactly happened, Luna?" he asked. "After I stabbed the abomination, I passed out."
She pushed off when he said that and looked right into his eyes with shock. "You do not recall anything?" she asked.
"No, nothing."
She wiped her tears from her eyes and steadied herself. "After you stabbed it, your body began going through changes as well. I had come back to see, everyone too. They felt bad leaving you to fight alone, and we also felt a massive surge of mana, so it pulled our attention.
When we arrived back, you were on the ground writhing, your skin changed colors.
It looked like you were turning into an abomination."
When she said that, his eyes widened in shock. He realized that even while he was speaking with the voice of mana, her voice was still trying to turn him.
’If my soul had not been resilient enough, I would have become an abomination,’ he thought. It was a scary thought to an extent.
"Somehow, after a while, you managed to fight it off, and then you returned to normal," she added. "You were passed out, and even when we managed to escape and get onto the flying ship, you still did not wake up."
"We made it out?" he asked.
"Yes, after taking out everyone in the compound and leaving, we made it to the ship, and it turned out the captain handled everyone else that had been trying to lie in wait around the ship."
"Oh, so the captain’s a badass," Ken muttered. He turned his gaze to Luna. "I’m sorry I made you worry." He patted her head as he spoke, and she snuggled into his hand. Then she looked at him with a glare.
"Don’t ever try that again."
"I won’t. So where are we headed?"
"The capital. Sir Ross said we would be there soon, and finally we can get to the academy, the main point of this whole thing."
"Yeah, finally." Ken muttered. He had a feeling that all they would have to go through had only just started, and the academy, it would be the start of it all, the beginning of a new life and a brand new set of troubles.
[...]
Ken and Luna left the room after a while. He got dressed in a black shirt, trousers, and boots that he found inside the wardrobe. It was a bit too big, but it worked.
When he stepped onto the deck of the ship, he saw Nero, William, Ross, and the ship crew.
"It seems someone is finally awake, slept for almost a day," Ross said as he approached Ken with a smile.
"You didn’t expect me to die, did you?" Ken said.
"Haha, you still have your spunk. I guess even a near abomination turning can’t change that."
Ken noticed that the way Ross treated him now had changed a lot from the first moment they met. Back then, it was like Ross knew he was a human being, but he could not care less about Ken. Now, he was actually interested in the kid.
"I’m glad we managed to get out of it alive," Ken said simply to sound normal and grateful.
"Yeah, that was the biggest attack the Red Sun had pulled in a while. They are getting more active now, things are heating up," Ross said.
"Should you guys really be having infighting when demons are at your doors?" Ken asked.
"Sigh, I wish we could actually stop it somehow, but the Red Sun is as deep-rooted into the kingdom as the royal family itself.
I’ll tell you a bit about the past. The Red Sun was born when the brother of the first king of Vermilion, twin brother to be precise, was said to have been robbed of the throne.
He was the younger twin by a minute. He was more of a genius than the first king, magnificent with fire and ice magic. He was meant to become the king, but then his mother decided that their father could not set the second son as the first king of their new kingdom.
So he was relegated to stand by his brother’s side while his brother ruled. He refused this and fled, along with everyone that followed him, and after that, the Red Sun was born, and their sole goal is to take the throne.
They do not care about the demons or the impending doom. In fact, it plays into their favor. They are willing to use it however they can."
"Oi, Ross, the capital is up ahead," the captain’s voice cut through their discussion.
Ross looked at him. "Really? It’s about time." Ross walked off after that to prepare for landing.
Ken watched him walk off until he was far away, then he muttered, "Magnificent with fire and ice, aye?"
"Ken," William called his name. He distracted Ken from what he was thinking. Ken looked up. "Hey, uhm, Sir William, right?"
"Just call me William," he said and then stood in front of Ken, stretching out his hand for a shake. Ken took the hand without hesitation.
"You saved my life there, kid. You’ll be having me vouch for you to get into the academy. If anyone deserves it, it’s you." After he said that, he walked off and left Ken.
