Chapter 19: [RA] Albert Wingston: Meeting the Hero

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***Reaper's Arc Chapter 6***

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Theo slumped down to his bed wearing a tired kind of face. His face caresses the soft white pillow, rubbing it to his cheeks. It is the first time he felt something this soft in a long time, not like he remembered his past but the sensation felt liberating.

'Why am I even here? '

He felt weird, the soft bed he is in was so precious in touch, embroidered with elegant patterns of detailed origins over a golden alloy. The tiles were so shiny and clean that on intrusive thoughts, Theo tried to lick them. And there were chandeliers ornamented with precious gemstones. The toilet is also made out of gold that he is being tormented by a second thought that he must not defile this sacred seat.

Was he in heaven? Certainly not.

The elegant room he's in it for the holy knight of the sacred saintess. Theo became one after meeting the king. Remembering the interaction between them, he could feel his bladder boiling.

'The king is too scary!! '

Then a flashback occurred.

Fifth opened the door towards the throne room and they saw the king accompanied by four of his children. Theo, Agatha, and Fifth entered and then were surrounded by knights equipped with spears and swords hanging on their waists.

"Your majesty, we have arrived"

Fifth said as he kneels along with Agatha. Theo didn't know what to do and seems to be in a panic until Agatha pulled him down in a hurry. Nervousness is an emotion that hits Theo, the pressure on the surrounding atmosphere is heavy that he could sometimes forget how to breathe.

"Very well"

Said the king as he looked below the kneeling people. His face is serious and old, wrinkles are brought upon his face, and his beard is appropriate to the stereotypical looks of a king.

'What is this place? It's sparkly and huge '

Theo thought as he looks around the throne room. The king is sitting on a golden chair, up above some stairs with his left hand supporting his head. The princes and princesses are standing straightly beside him, showing their dignity and status as royal blood. Three of them are males, two teenagers, and one child, then the other one is a young girl holding a red fan covering her mouth.

Everywhere he looks are so clean and tidy, it is superficial in his eyes as he came from a village of impecunious status.

A vibrating voice from the king asked them.

"Father Fifth, care to explain the presence of an unfamiliar face?"

"Yes, your majesty. This boy is known as Theo Maxwell. Several weeks ago, the village where the saintess resides was attacked by nefarious monsters. The appointed holy knight that is meant to protect the saintess was killed. Thanks to the presence of this young man, he used his life and spirit to protect our beacon of hope. He is a fated 'Child of God ' "

The king scanned his appearance of Theo, his bodily structure, his face, and the color of his eyes and hair. Then the king sighed in disappointment.

"You're majesty!"

Agatha shouted while giving a sense of respect towards the king.

"Speak"

"If I may, I want to make this man to be my own personal holy knight."

She asked in a polite tone while she bows her head to implore her request. With only her social power that day, she still had no right to create a personal servant of her own preference until she came of age. After all, she is still a child that came from a commoner's uterus so she still had no authority over the matter except, if the king of the country allowed it.

The king grew silent over her request that she followed her statement.

"I believe I have the right to do so"

Her status as a saint shall suffice to persuade the king, she believed. The king threw another exasperated sigh before talking.

"Albert, come forth"

A child with silver hair among the princes walks forwards. His heterochromatic eyes screamed in anxiety and fear, looking towards the ground and avoiding the gaze of people. Theo looked at him and sense his fright, his eyes are moist from the strength of his nervousness.

That particular child is the fated hero, and his name is Albert.

The king then proceeds to ask.

"Do you deem the chosen hero to be insufficient as your savior?"

"..."

Upon hearing the king's question, Agatha was taken aback preventing her to talk further. Her silent response causes a smirk on the face of the hero's older siblings.

The only reason why she didn't say anything was because it might appear rude that disparage his title as the hero. She still wants to choose Theo no matter what but choosing him is the same as saying that the hero is incompetent.

Agatha looked at Theo to observe his curious face which looks worriedly at the hero in front of him. Agatha smiled like an angel at his behavior, in all fact, it just want her prefer Theo more.

'I don't really care about the hero, I just want to appear good to this kid '

She thought to herself negating all pity she have for the hero, preparing herself to say with full confidence that she will choose Theo no matter what. But before she could even say anything, the king interrupted her intent.

"You don't need to answer, we all know what you are bound to say"

The king looks at the hero apathetically. Even if his face is neutral, his eyebrows are curled angrily.

"Heh... pathetic"

One of the older siblings said, his hair is also silver yet curly, his nose long but flat. He is the second oldest prince, wearing an arrogant look in his two blue eyes. The other siblings didn't say anything but giggled, laughing internally at how pathetic the hero could look.

"Albert, do what you promised to do"

The king commanded with a rather slightly higher tone than what he used before, appearing angry to him like a mad father.

The hero tightly grabs his clothes in fear. His eyes emit a continuous stream of tears from the pressure. He tried to talk, but every time he opens his mouth, he immediately closes it again forgetting what he is about to say.

"ALBERT!"

The king screamed and his voice roars the place. Theo even flinched in shock. His voice causes Albert to close his eyes tightly while gritting his teeth. He opened his mouth and with a stuttering tone, he speaks.

"S-saint Agatha, I promise that I will prot-"

But before he could even finish his sentence, the second older sibling pushed him from his back and he came rolling down the stairs, head first. Theo could hear something crack in the hero's arm even just faintly.

He finally crashed to the floor, and then blood started to stream down from his ears.

The king hides his face with his hands in embarrassment.

The second older sibling looked down on him with a cocky face as if telling him that he deserves it.

"Eh?"

Theo stared at the hero's body with wide shocked eyes, sweat drops from his chin. The hero didn't move as if he died and thinking about it makes Theo afraid and angry at the same time.

Agatha looked at Theo worriedly, Fifth didn't say anything but his hands are curled into a solid fist.

"Albert, stand."

The king commanded the unconscious body. Whether he is alive or not is a question everyone didn't know the answer to, the king is just assuming he is alive because, after all, he is the hero. What kind of hero would die for something foolish like this?

Still, the body didn't respond.

"What's wrong? I said stand."

The king apathetically repeated the command, but the hero didn't move. The siblings cold-heartedly stare at the hero, assuming that he is dead. Nobody seems to help him, and despite being of royal blood, or a hero, he is treated worse than a dying pig.

"This is wrong..."

Theo whispered to himself. Upon Agatha hearing his words, she reacted immediately to stop his impending intent against the royalties.

"Theo, don't do anything reckless or-"

Before she could finish, Theo stood up from kneeling and screamed. Pointing his fingers at the guy who pushed the hero down the stairs.

"THIS IS WRONG! He got pushed by that ugly guy over there!"

"Ugly!?"

The second prince got offended that he grits his teeth and looked fiercely at the commoner, his other siblings laughed at him mockingly which makes his blood boils hotter.

"Theo..."

Agatha said before she sigh and holds her head in stress.

"Then?"

The king abruptly asked as he looks down at him. His cold voice freezes Theo on his feet.

"Then...? What do you mean, then? Aren't you supposed his father? Why aren't you doing anything? Don't you care for your child?"

Theo is very confused about their behavior, despite being ignorant, it is common sense for him that a family will be the one that supports one another, not the one that is on each other's throat.

Slightly, the hero's finger moves, slowly gaining consciousness.

"Indeed, I am his father. Indeed... I care for my child. That's why I want him to stand up on his own and walk with his two feet"

"Huh?"

The king responded coldly.

Theo didn't get his logic that he kept scratching the back of his head from the mysterious itch. He turn his head towards the previously unconscious body and saw Albert trying his best to push himself up from the floor, alone with all eyes looking at him. His body is shaky all over as if a stick ready to break from the weight of the world.

"I want him to fight back on his own when he is getting hurt, to stand up when he falls, to become someone who protects than get protected. After all, more important than being my son is the fact that he is also the fated hero"

The king added as he looks at his struggling child trying to stand up. Despite all he said, that logic didn't reach Theo.

"But... It's like you are not treating him like a human. You are just treating him as a tool!"

Theo argues with the king. The king only smirked at his argument before talking.

"Certainly, he is a tool that will protect humanity and it is a responsibility an ordinary person like you could never hope to imagine. The world and the future lie on his shoulder. It is his fate to do it, it is a thread of destiny made by God"

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Theo can't help but open his mouth from the shock, now that he can't think of anything to refute the king's immoral beliefs. Theo looked at Albert who kept on falling despite trying his best to stand up.

Theo could imagine the weight of pressure that the Hero is carrying on his back, everybody is expecting something great from him and he kept on trying to reach their expectation despite it breaking him and his freedom.

"He is a slave to his duty, bounded by his social role. The earlier he accepts it, the better"

"That's not fair!"

"Nothing in life is fair."

Theo dropped to his knees defeated by the king, he had no way to argue with him. He finally hit a wall that he couldn't ever break, his limits as a kid against the experience of a king.

He does not understand why he felt defeated when he thinks he is on the right. He just falls over, frozen in place, silenced by the thoughts inside his head.

"GWaaahhh"

Then he heard somebody screaming from their throat. He look forwards and saw the hero with a wooden sword in hand trying to attack the second prince. The second prince easily evaded and stole his wooden sword and hit Albert on the head.

"Woops!"

Albert falls to the floor and the second prince continues hitting him with the wooden sword. The hero folds himself like a turtle leaving him open from pain. His other siblings simply averted their gaze with cold sweat on their cheeks. Noticing that nobody would make a move, Theo stood up, he must do something or his conscience will eat him alive.

"STOP!"

Theo screamed in a threatening tone.

"Huh...? Hold thy tongue, commoner, lest thou shalt feel the same torment as this pitiable hero."

The second prince said pointing the wooden sword toward Theo.

"I... I will never simply accept this"

Theo said towards the king. The king stares at him without much of an expression except with a pressuring gaze.

Theo tried to walk forwards but Agatha hold his hands to prevent him from doing whatever he is trying to do or prove.

"Theo, stop. I could heal the hero later but please, stop. I don't want you to get hurt"

Agatha said worriedly all while tightly holding Theo's hands. Theo shakes her hands off without looking at her. When her hands lose their grip, she slumped down to the floor and is obliterated emotionally by how Theo treated her. No matter what she says or does, he does not simply just obey Agatha all the time, which frustrates her more.

"Theo..."

She whispered solemnly to herself.

When the second prince saw Theo approaching them, he jumped from the stairs down to the floor, then walked toward Theo.

Because of this, Fifth, despite enduring the internal torment so far finally gave up and shouted.

"You're majesty!"

"Leave them be, it is a fight among kids"

But no matter how you look at it, the second prince is much older than Theo. Fifth held himself back and bite his lips.

The two, Theo and the second prince were brought face to face just a meter apart from each other.

"Prostrate thyself and implore forgiveness, lest thou shalt taste the true agony."

The second prince threatened Theo.

But Theo didn't understand a thing he just said so he responded with a mix of a street insults.

"Huh? ...You look like shit"

The prince gets stiff in disappointment at how lowly Theo's insult could be. It felt like his insult is directed at a seven-year-old commoner that irritates the second prince.

The lowly and unsophisticated insult affected the second prince deeply that he swang his wood sword left and right directly hitting Theo on every impact.

Fifth tried to make a move to stop the two now that he saw that Theo is one-sidedly being beaten by the prince, but Agatha blocked his way with her arms signaling him to stop. Fifth look at Agatha's distraught face in confusion.

"HAHAHA, Fool!"

The second prince said, but he noticed that no matter how hard he tried to swing the wooden sword, the boy is not falling over. So he applied more force to his arms so that he could hear a creek from the wood.

"Theo!"

Fifth shouted, but is taken aback later when he heard Theo laughing along with the prince.

"HAHAHAHA, My mom could slap harder than you!"

Theo said with hysteric laughs.

'I don't remember who's my mom though '

While his thoughts flow like this.

Nerves swell on the prince's face and his face is popping red in color. He used more force, this time, applying mana to his arm and sword. But then, Theo caught it with his left hand like nothing.

"Is that it?"

Theo said with a crescent wide mocking smile. His face looks inhuman and the prince pulled the sword from his waist in an immediate panic.

"You are a fiend! Begone from hence with the power of my blade!"

He thrust the sword toward Theo's chest yet he catches it with his right hand piercing his palm and misdirecting the attack to his sides.

"Ouch"

He said silently, then he bring his face closer to the prince's, his terrifyingly confused and angry eyes looks directly at the prince's and he couldn't think of anything but the word 'monster' inside his head.

"Do you think you are going to get away unharmed after what you've done?"

Theo asked while smiling intensely. The prince continues to shake uncontrollably and he loses his grip on his sword. He falls backward and continues to crawl away from Theo. The prince's bladder started to leak urine into his pants.

"MONSTER! He's a monster! Father, help me! Execute him!"

He screamed for help, but nobody moved an inch for him.

"No one is going to help you"

Theo said while he pull the sword, stuck in his right hand. Blood continues to drip from his palm.

"Just like how nobody helps your little brother when he is in pain"

Indeed, even if his life is now in danger, his siblings drank tea from a white cup, and the king covered his face from embarrassment, knights do what knights should do and that is to keep silent while the maids serve the tea and clean some parts of the room tidy.

The prince looked up at Theo with a sword in his hand ready to thrust it into the prince's lower body. His eyes are imbued with fright.

"I am sorry, I am sorry. I won't do it again I promise! No, no, NOOO"

And then Theo thrust the sword, and a sound of 'clank' could be heard as the prince loose consciousness with bubbling liquid in his mouth.

"Better keep your word, or else... "

Theo looked at the prince but he is already asleep with a bubbling mouth.

The sword was pierced towards the floor under the second prince's crotch. It doesn't thrust too deep that it immediately falls after.

Theo turned his back away from the second prince and walked away. He noticed blood on his shirt and he tried to wipe it off with his right hand.

"Huh? Oh no, huh? MY SHIRT!"

The blood only spread further.

"Pfft! Hahahaha"

Agatha laughed at his confused looks. When Theo finally gets near her, Agatha immediately heals his wounds all while Fifth, the king, the hero's siblings, and the knight stare at him silently, either in admiration or anger.

They looked at the throne seat and saw the beaten hero looking at him, he waved his hands to say hello but the hero averted his gaze.

The king, after clearing his throat then declare.

"Very well. I shall give the saintess the permission to promote this child as her holy knight"

Agatha's eyes sparkled with joy as she heard the king's words. Fifth immediately kneel properly before talking.

"Gladly, your majesty. I will notify the church about it and prepare the papers."

The king looked at Theo with an arrogant smirk.

"He fought my foolish son without a weapon and won. I bet, in the future, he will become one of the most valuable warriors in the kingdom"

Agatha became overjoyed by the king's declaration. But then the king sigh, he talks in a rather serious tone.

"But I have one condition..."

Now in the present, Theo moved away his arms blocking his line of sight as he looks at the ceiling.

'I am supposed to teach the hero... huh. '

Theo is also promoted to become the hero's current teacher. He then heard knocks on the door.

"T-Theo. I am here"

It was the hero's voice. Theo immediately dashes through the door after picking up the wooden sword. He opened the door and met the child hero.

"Yo, hero."

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