Chapter 94: *The legend of the Absolute Warrior*
When they were gone, he heaved a sigh of relief; at least they were out of danger. And that’s when the Elite Warrior Vampire’s skin began to slowly crumble, and he finally saw it—or rather, he finally saw them.
He didn’t intend to leave without his reward for having killed an Elite Warrior Vampire. He took the last and the most precious bloodstones that were in his body, and before his last points of HP disappeared, he rushed to cross the teleportation portal.
When he reached the other side of the teleportation portal, he heard the familiar sound of the System echoing in his mind. That’s it, it was over.
He had just enough time to confirm that everyone was safe and that they were standing in front of pavilion number 8 within the Sun Sect, ensuring their protection, before he succumbed to unconsciousness with a triumphant smile on his face.
Alan rushed to catch him before he fell headfirst to the ground, and he saw that he was holding 3 small bloodstones with golden veins in them in his hand. He guessed that they must have belonged to the Elite Warrior Vampire, but he had never seen anything like this before.
He put them in Kevin’s magic bag and forcefully made him drink a legendary grade Healing potion, as he had done for Axel. Kevin had no apparent injury, but he could very well have internal injuries that he couldn’t detect; it was out of the question to take any chances.
Erik had put Axel on his back and he did the same with Kevin. He followed his instructions, and after putting comfortable clothes on them, they placed them together in their bed. There was nothing else they could do for them right now; the power that Axel and Kevin had used had completely exhausted them mentally, and they had no idea how long it would take them to regain consciousness.
They had decided to move into their pavilion temporarily to keep an eye on them and be there in case they needed anything. With no better option, they chose to sleep in the living room on the sofa that could turn into a bed because their guest room had already been changed into a weight room by Kevin.
During their dinner, Erik asked Alan, worried about their friends, "If they haven’t woken up by tomorrow morning, what do we do?"
Alan had already thought about it and said to him, "For Kevin, it’s quite easy; I just have to tell them that he did too much meditation and that the mental fatigue put him in a coma. But for Axel, it’s different. Monday and Tuesday will be fine; you will only have to tell the instructors that he prefers to stay to look after Kevin. But on Wednesday, you told me that the both of you are taking part in an expedition and that Axel was one of the two leaders of this expedition..."
Alan sighed helplessly and added, "I really hope he will be awake by Wednesday, or else we’ll have to find another explanation for his absence."
Erik just nodded to let him know he understood and said, "I hope they will get better soon..."
He suddenly remembered a detail that had startled him, but with everything that had happened afterwards, he had completely forgotten about it... until now, "Tell me, my love, what is this Absolute Warrior you spoke of when Kevin used his Warrior Spirit skill and that this symbol appeared on his forehead?"
Alan smiled at him and said, "Well, one of the best times I had with my dad and my brothers, before he realized that I didn’t have a Chakra reserve but a Soul force reserve, was when he was telling us the legend of the Absolute Warrior. He said to us that whenever the human race was in peril, the Absolute Warrior always appeared. He had a golden symbol on his forehead like the one that appeared on Kevin’s forehead, and my father told us that this Absolute Warrior was the most powerful being that existed in this world. The legend said that he was tireless and that he could even continue to fight when he was unconscious. My father said to us that he could even compete with the power of the gods."
Erik was quite speechless because what Alan just told him seemed to match with what Kevin had told him before entering the purple dungeon.
Alan added, thinking out loud, "But I always thought that the Absolute Warrior was a fighter, and Kevin is a mage without a doubt. Even though he knows better than any of us how to fight, he has no chakra reserve... it’s a bit disconcerting."
Erik didn’t want him to freak out if he told him that Kevin had said to him that he had this kind of potential, so he just asked him, "Do you know what threatened the human race? It can’t just be the demons, right?"
Alan nodded and said, "My father wasn’t very sure either, but apparently, this would have already happened 3 times in the history of our world. Humans who survived said that large black vortices, like those for the dungeons but much larger, appeared out of nowhere and black flames erupted from them, destroying everything in their path. But that was only the first phase; after that, an army of Pure Demons invaded the human territories, and then, they were either killed or enslaved. The fighters and mages were powerless to fight against these Pure Demons; only the bearer of the Pentagram Mark and the ones who were protecting and fighting alongside him could fight them. Every time, what the survivors said was the same: rainbow-colored vortices appeared also out of nowhere, and overpowered fighters appeared. The one leading them into battle was nicknamed the Absolute Warrior, and he was easily recognizable by that symbol on his forehead."
Erik couldn’t believe it; he had never heard this story before, "How come I’ve never heard about it?"
Alan got up from the table and held out his hand. Erik took it without even thinking; even if this man was leading him to hell, he would follow him without hesitation. Alan intertwined his fingers with his and led him to the sofa they had transformed into a bed, making him lie on it.
He positioned himself on top of him and finally answered his question, "’This information is confidential and should never be disclosed to anyone.’ This is what our father always told us."
Alan continued, immersed in his memories, "He said that if people knew what had happened, and that it had happened not once but already three times, fear would spread like a plague, and it was very difficult to predict how people who are desperate to survive would react."
Erik agreed with that fact, but it also meant something else, "Is your family part of a secret order that has to protect our world, or something like that?"
Erik had tried to say that with humor, but Alan simply nodded and said, caressing his face, "You are right; it’s something like that. As I said last night, all my ancestors have fought alongside the bearer of the Pentagram Mark."
He then told him, "When my older brother turned 18, he was sent to the Academy of the capital, and I have only been able to see him again because I was qualified for the annual capital’s tournament. But then he avoided me, and I still don’t know why. I know that my brother would never do that without a good reason, so I let it go. As for my twin brother, I haven’t seen him yet, but when we were 18 years old and after we were tested, my father separated us. He sent him to join our brother in the capital, and he banished me from our family by sending me here and telling me to forget about everything I had learned here. He said that I was no longer part of this family and that I should never come back."
Charming, thought Erik. It was the first time Alan had spoken openly about his family; the only member he knew was his cousin, and he was pretty cool... He finally asked him something that was bothering him, "And your mother let him do it without saying anything?"
Alan lay down on his side and took him in his arms, exhausted by this day and by this conversation, "My mother died giving birth to my brother and me; we were more or less raised by our aunt. It is why I have a good relationship with my cousin."
Erik hugged him tight and said, "I’m sorry, my love, and thanks for telling me all about this... Do you really have a twin brother? What’s his name?"
Alan looked at him suspiciously, so Erik added hastily, "I’m just curious, my love; if you don’t want to tell me, it’s fine too."
