The Grand Duelist

Chapter 111: Return[3]

Abyssal Flame Master didn't know where to go...

The sun had long disappeared from the horizon, yet there was no darkness due to the vibrant neon colors that decorated the city around him. But these lively colors did nothing towards Abyssal Flame Master's gloomy heart. He just sat on the bench and kept staring at the skies.

It has been several hours since he arrived in this park and sat on this bench, yet he had never moved a muscle. He kept on staring at the starless skies above him. His thoughts, unknown.

"Young man, are you good?"

A voice suddenly awakened him from his trance. He turned his head towards the source of the voice, but then he felt his neck muscles ache. Since he had been keeping that same position of staring at the skies for too long, it was obvious that he made his neck sore.

A bitter smile escaped his lips as he said to the elderly man who approached him from behind.

"I'm good, sir... I just need some time alone." Abyssal Flame Master said.

"I see..." The elderly man nodded his head and gave a languid smile. Afterwards, he sat beside Abyssal Flame Master and asked, "Whatever problems you might have, I hope that you don't give up on your life."

Abyssal Flame Master was astonished by what he heard, "Did I look like a suicidal man to you, sir?"

The elderly man didn't glance at him, but his voice turned somewhat bitter as he said, "Those eyes of yours, reminded me of that brat whom I fed for several years back at the City of Sibu. When I first met that young man, he had that confused, lifeless look in his eyes like what you have right now."

Abyssal Flame Master turned silent. He didn't know what to say. He swept his gaze at the elderly man and found that he looked quite sickly. His movements were slow, and his fingers kept on trembling. His eyes were jaundiced and it looked like the elderly man could die any second.

But the question was, why was he here? Shouldn't he be in a hospital?

"Uh... Sir, are you okay?" Abyssal Flame Master asked in hesitation.

The elderly man chuckled, "I may not be okay, but at least I look better than you, young man. You look more like a cadaver to me than a living human being."

Abyssal Flame Master was taken aback. He was just asking the old man about his health, but he didn't expect that he would be roasted instead. However, when he took his smartphone and opened its frontal camera...

He saw that he indeed looked like a drug addict that was in the middle of withdrawal.

How in the hell did I become like this? He was a young man whose age was at mid-twenties, yet why does he look like a man that was at the end of his life? Abyssal Flame Master whispered to himself, but he himself knew the answer to this question.

It was simple.

It was because he didn't care about his own well-being anymore.

He spent every hour of the day in the world of Victory. He'd only wake up when the alarms of the Gaming Capsule that monitored his physical condition went off. When that happened, he'd merely satisfy the physiological needs of his body and as for food...

He couldn't care less, he ate whatever was the cheapest and the most accessible which were most of the time, starch crackers.

Now that he had a closer look at his body. Abyssal Flame Master suddenly felt afraid. Afraid that he may become sick and die alone on a hospital bed without someone caring for him beside him. He was afraid to die alone, and he was afraid to die while he was still so young.

He had a lot of ambitions and dreams! How could he let himself die that easily?

Abyssal Flame Master, No- Jason, revealed a bitter smile and said.

"Sir, thank you so much for your words. I realized that I should really take care of myself from now on. After all, I still have a healthy body. A healthy body that everyone who are sick desires for even in their dreams. From now on, I'll take care of myself."

"Thank you, kind sir..." Jason gave his sincere thanks.

"Hahaha..." The elderly man chuckled upon hearing what Jason had said, "You do not have to thank me for that, young man. Caring for one's health is common sense."

Jason received another roasting and he was rendered speechless once again. The atmosphere turned somewhat strange for Jason didn't reply to what the elderly man had said, and the elderly man didn't continue speaking.

But after a few minutes of silence, the elderly man shattered the tranquility and said...

"Since you stayed here for several hours..."

"I guess it's safe to say that you do not have a place to stay?" 

Jason raised his head and nodded. He didn't find any reason to lie.

"I see..." The elderly man nodded, "How about you come and go with me? I have a lot of bedrooms in my house. You can temporarily use one of those bedrooms and don't worry. I won't charge you any rent."

Jason was taken aback by what the elderly man had said.

But he soon shook his head and said, "I am afraid, but I will have to refuse your offer, sir."

"Oh?" The elderly man was surprised that he was refused.

He suddenly remembered the image of a young man who kept on asking for rejected pieces of bread several years ago.

At that time, he made a similar offer to that young man and was flatly refused, saying that he had his own mansion to stay and he only needed bread so he wouldn't starve.

The elderly man suddenly wondered about what excuse Jason would say to him right now.

A light smile escaped on his lips as he stared at Jason.

"I really am sorry sir, but I have no problems with my accommodation. Everything was just a misunderstanding. I am not homeless. I only came here to get a breath of fresh air..." Jason revealed an amicable smile.

"All right." The elderly man replied. He stretched his hand out and handed over a card, "Our meeting here can also be called as a stroke of fate, it may be a mere coincidence but if you need some help in the future. You should pay me a visit."

Written on the card were the words, Reynaldo Fahrier, Chairman of the Pro-NPC Alliance.

The Pro-NPC Alliance? Jason flipped the card around and several lines of words were written.

A Selfless Philanthropist, The Greatest Supporter, The Father of the Revolution. 

Jason quickly turned around to ask some questions, but the old man had already disappeared.

"Heh... The Pro-NPC Alliance, eh?"

"But with that demon haunting me... NPCs are probably..."

"Haist..." Jason deeply sighed, but he didn't throw the business card...

He kept it in his pocket and left the park.

As for his destination?

He still doesn't know...

...

Joseph and Alice walked out of the cave and what greeted them were several dozens of people.

All of them armed with crude and primitive weaponry, yet Joseph who had an idea about the levels of these people understood that they could never be underestimated despite their usage of such weapons.

Alice glanced at Joseph and she was about to step forward when Joseph halted her with his left hand.

"Let me handle this..." He mumbled before stepping forward.

Alice quickly understood her role as she stood imposingly at the entrance of the stone cave. The dried tree branch on her right hand shone in an inhibited light that pulsated like a heartbeat. Those who dared to stare at her instantly became afraid at her when their gazes met with her.

"City Chief... Haven't we talked about this already? I am currently in the process of experimenting on those two sisters, I am trying to find a way to cure their affliction. In fact, I have already achieved significant results towards those experiments of mine..."

"In other words, I have already cured them of their curse."

Joseph spoke in a calm and languid voice.

But the City Chief wasn't the first one to reply.

Instead, it was a young woman who looked to be at the same age as Julie and Hulie. 

"You are lying! The Creator said that the Curse of those condemned can never be cured apart from dying! You are obviously lying! Release my friends, you fiend!" She pointed her trembling finger at Joseph.

It was clear that she was afraid, but for the sake of her friend, she mustered her courage and spoke up.

An adult hurriedly shut her mouth up, but everything was too late.

Joseph had already heard what she said as he replied.

"Friends? I have never heard those two mention anything about friends. Are you really a good friend of them or are you just pulling my leg? I really hate when people lie to me so openly." Joseph's eyes narrowed into slits when he reached the end of his sentence.

"Hieeek!"

The young woman cried out in fear, she hid behind an adult and never came out again.

Afraid that Joseph's gaze may kill her from a distance. 

"City Chief, mind explaining to me about what is going on? It is really rude for you to come at this time. I was about to have some hot pot with those two sisters and tell them some stories regarding my Tenebrous Heaven. They actually like it, it seems."

Joseph lightly chuckled at the end of his sentence.

Throughout the entire ordeal, his figure looked leisurely and calm. It was as if he was calmly walking in his backyard.

But...

"I wonder if he will be okay... He's awfully sweating too much." 

... Alice who saw the cold sweat that drenched Joseph's back had different thoughts in her mind. Even now, she was secretly formulating a plan on how she could protect this entrance while the two sisters escape towards the secret entrance that they made for the sake of emergencies.

Alice was really thankful that Joseph didn't manage to convince her of stopping the creation of that secret entrance. If not, everything would've been so complicated right now.

"With all due respect sir, but let me correct you. The Creator has responded to me and he said that it was impossible for anyone to remove the Curse of the Condemned unless another god intervened and directly purged the curse out of someone's body." The City Chief revealed a meaningful smile.

Joseph furrowed his eyebrows.

Unless another god intervened? Didn't we already make it clear that I am the God of Fighting? Is he implying that he already knows my secret and he wants me to surrender willingly and peacefully give Julie and Hulie to them? Never! That will never happen under my watch!

Joseph forcefully calmed himself down as he revealed another languid smile.

"Just what do you mean about that City Chief? Haven't you experienced the might of my avatar enough? Do you want me to summon that avatar of mine again, or do you want me to personally fight you?"

Joseph's relaxed smile turned somewhat murderous and angry when he reached the end of his sentence.

"Watch out!"

Alice suddenly screamed a warning from behind. 

A whistling sound could be heard as an arrow flew towards Joseph's direction. But before it could even touch his body. It suddenly crumbled into dust, disappearing into nothingness.

"What child's play... Are you purposely mocking me by this level of strength? That is your last chance, if you dare to attack again, I will go all-out..."

"I'm even afraid of myself when I go all-out. Trust me, you do not want to see that scene." Joseph laid down an ultimatum, but on the inside. He was currently on the process of calming down the tumultuous beat of his heart as he inwardly screamed.

Fuck, that was close! If not for Alice's warning then I would already have an arrow sticking out of my skull! Fucking hell, that was so scary... Alice, I really have to thank you after this for saving my life. But I can't be too happy, yet. The danger still hasn't disappeared. I must do my best on intimidating these guys so that they will willingly retreat.

"I apologize for the misunderstanding sir, but we did not come here to fight. We came here for nothing but a single goal, and that is to retrieve the two sisters and have them ascend to the Tenebrous Heaven of the Creator..."

"If you keep this up, then we will be forced to do some actions. Please understand that I am only here by the orders of the Creator." 

The City Chief even bowed his head, his actions garnered the anger of the residents. But not towards him, but to the persistent Joseph who kept on blocking their path.

Joseph knitted his eyebrows, How are they so sure that the twin sisters still have the curse? I personally checked their bodies and I found no traces of the Curse! Could it be that they are just pulling me on my leg so that I'll be distracted while they flank Alice behind me?

Joseph momentarily glanced left and right.

He sighed in relief when he found that there were no enemies sneakily approaching Alice for an ambush. Although he felt somewhat strange that he still checked for something as trivial as that.

Yes, trivial... 

No matter how strong these NPCs are...

Joseph believed that Alice was far powerful than them.

If Joseph wasn't so sure about Alice's strength, then there was no way in hell that he'd let her guard such an important place!

Joseph inwardly shook his head and removed these thoughts from his head.

Afterwards, he stared at the City Chief and dropped...

"Knowing that I am a god, similar to the Creator. Will you still dare to attack me?"

... a bombshell.

Everything turned silent. Even Alice who kept on murmuring to herself about her plans was rendered speechless when she heard what Joseph had said.

But before everyone in the surroundings could reply to what Joseph had said...

The City Chief was the first one to react as he laughed out loud in amusement before saying.

"Will you stop lying to us?"

The City Chief's words almost stripped off Joseph's tough facade, but he managed to keep himself in character as he raised an eyebrow and replied.

"Oh? What do you mean by such words? You are still doubting my strength? I don't really understand why you do not believe that I am not a god."

"No, you are lying! You are not a god!" The City Chief's amusement transformed into anger after hearing Joseph's insistent attitude, "How dare you to blaspheme the very god that you are worshipping! You are not a god! You are but a mere vessel! There's no way that a god can descend on this mortal world without damaging it!"

Joseph was taken aback by the words that he heard from the City Chief. His mind quickly spun, simulating all sorts of scenarios that he could possibly use in order to refute what the City Chief had said.

But ultimately, he failed on finding the perfect rebuttal for what the City Chief said made sense.

It was definitely impossible for a god to descend on the mortal world without damaging it, that was common sense in the world of Victory.

That was also something that Joseph had read on a book about the Lore of Victory, so he knew that this time would come ever since he acted that he was the God of Fighting Tryndamere.

And so, he had prepared contingency plans that he could use if things went awry, of course, it couldn't be counted as a rebuttal to what the City Chief had said.

"I see... that actually makes sense, City Chief. I applaud you for that. But I'm sure that it is only recently that you acquired such knowledge, am I right?"

"If not, then you would've already revealed this lie of mine a few weeks ago." He didn't refute what the City Chief had said which astonished everyone including the residents and Alice.

"So you are finally admitting that you lied? Heh... Thankfully, the God of Everything that Moves and Exists is merciful and on the account that you are serving as the vessel of the God of Fighting on the mortal world..."

"The Creator is willing to redeem you from your sins of deceit as long as you peacefully surrender and hand over those sisters to us."

The City Chief's anger disappeared.

He was now happy that Joseph easily admitted that he had indeed lied about being the God of Fighting, Tryndamere.

But his anger flared once again when he heard Joseph's words at the very next moment.

"City Chief, are you sure that you are a devout believer of the God of Everything that Moves and Exists? Are you really a believer in that so-called Creator? The Compassionate God?"

"How blasphemous! How dare you question my faith?!"

"Of course, I am a devout believer of the Creator!"

A light smile surfaced on Joseph's lips. He stared playfully at the City Chief and said...

"Then, let me ask you one question, City Chief..."

"Do you hate me?"