Chapter 17: Chapter 17 - coming home
Sulter was stupefied at the sight before him. The thin line that was formed wasn't something a human should be able to do. "....you…made a connection with space ?" He muttered as the invincible force began to wrap around him. Slowly becoming more visible to the naked eye.
"...what…What exactly is your power ?" He asked with a baffled tone. He had never felt this sort of way before. He held this human with much regard now. He only wanted to know more about him. "Answer me…"
"...I can't say the whole thing since eyes are watching…." Michaelo answered, referring to the soldiers from the king's court.
Sulter clicked his tongue when a red dome surrounded them both. "Alright….now can you reply ?"
Michaelo chuckled. "I don't control space….but position. I can change positions with anything and anyone. It is called CONTROL OVER MATTER".
"...such a power exists in the human world ?" He asked as his body slowly faded towards a small hole in the air the location of where his pet died.
"Hah…" Michaelo chuckled. "It would surprise you…the powers of humans are not to be underestimated"
"Hmmm….this is good information….I shall come back stronger and mightier….expect me…Master…."
"Michaelo….Michaelo Jun".
"Jun?" Sulter repeated with an amused expression. He laughed out loud when his presence was just about to disappear and said "That explains it".
Michaelo felt relieved as the pain and fatigue broke out in his body. He felt an immense pain rile up in his chest as he coughed out blood. His vision began to turn blurry when he heard the voice of his wife. 'Oh...such a lovely tone' and with a short sigh of relief. He fell unconscious in her open arms.
She patted his head lightly as beads of tears streamed down her eyes. "You did it….you really did it". She muttered in between her mellow tears as she slowly lowered down to the ground. The saying went,"Great power doesn't come without a great risk", and she was the only one well aware of what he had to pay to gain that strength.
A few minutes passed when Alex walked up to them with slow steps. 'Monsters! F*cking Monsters! How the f*ck am I supposed to explain this to the King ?' He pondered with a nervous expression.
"....Ma…Ma…Master Rachael…" he managed to call out on getting close to them.
"Call the Calvary….we're retreating to the mansion," she said without waiting for any of his remarks.
"..un….understood" he bowed and turned around to walk away when he noticed the blood thirst in the air. He froze on the spot as cold sweat dripped down his back.
"....was the King aware? That the gate to Hades was weakened in this area ?"
He pondered his thoughts before uttering any word because he was well aware that the wrong statement would cost him a head. "....how…could he be aware ?" He replied as strongly as he could.
She remained silent for a while before dismissing him. She bit down on her lips as she stared at Michaelo's face. "Just how far do you want to push my husband…..uncle"
'Well…..at least the kids couldn't have experienced an event worse than this….' She thought while trying to calm her nerves.
******
The night was long and monotonous, but the moon couldn't possibly stay up in the sky for too long. The sun had finally shown its face, warming the hearts of many who were alive to see another day and closing the stories of many who couldn't live to see this day.
The Jun's residence was a mess. Most of the guards and maids were nowhere to be seen but the few that were located were all locked up in the storage room of the main mansion.
The Jun Kids all sat on a table setting at the veranda of the Main Mansion as the maids left, served them some food while the guards left, and cleaned up the parts of the mansion that were destroyed. Well, all except one.
It was a gloomy atmosphere, and a wearied expression exuded on their faces while Jerome stood and watched them from the small fence.
"....why so gloomy ?" He asked with a sigh.
They slowly turned their gaze at him and with an annoyed expression, looked away with a sigh.
".....we nearly got killed by our uncle," Morganna said, pondering on the series of events that occurred.
"....honestly….It was so tiring….I felt I could die with a single slip up" Rebecca nodded her head
"At least we survived" Raffaelo pinched in as his expression slowly wrinkled. "I hope father and mother return safely".
They remained silent in contemplation when Jerome burst out laughing. "Don't ruin the atmosphere you bunch of chicklings !"
"Chicklings ?!" Fiona repeated feeling hurt…probably for another reason.
"Your dad is the strongest person I know. He's definitely coming back safely"
Raffaelo pondered on his words. 'True….father was extremely strong…but after the King sent him on countless missions…he began to age quickly and suddenly he died two years later…..I still don't understand how….' He thought as a small sigh exuded from his lips. 'Bit this time…..' He stared at Rebecca, gaining her attention.
She raised a brow, confused, and his solemn expression slowly turned into a smile. "Yeah….they'll come back safely" he nodded his head. 'Rebecca's safe'
Gloria was still unconscious and was sleeping soundly on a couch in the room leading to the veranda.
"If anything…you guys should be excited," Jerome said, folding his hands.
They glanced at each other before Thalia asked. "Why ?"
"You were able to fight back against your uncle….that's no easy feat for chicklings"
"Chicklings ?!" Fiona repeated in a fit of rage.
"Ha ha ha….why do you keep repeating it?" Jerome chuckled, staring at Fiona.
Her cheeks bloomed red as she twirled her hair. "I…I don't know what you're talking about"
Her siblings had wry smiles on their faces, all thinking of the same thing 'Don't make it so obvious'
Jerome chuckled.
'He's right though….' Raffaelo thought slowly, staring at his palms. 'Thanks to Phillip….I've been able to learn a lot of things….'. He slowly closed his eyes, then opened them as he looked around the veranda.
He was able to see their flow of mana and how much mana they had. Their pulses, the flow of blood and even the flow of neutrons from the brain. He could tell each of them from the other.
It wasn't just subjected to what was before him, it saw through objects and the maids as well.
'This will surely come in handy'
"Mister Jerome….you mentioned our father….did he send you here ?" Morganna asked, her gaze not leaving him for even a minute. She seemed to have grown a deep resentment of the things that had unfolded. Not only were they betrayed by their family but even those she thought were special to the family.
"Not to worry…" Jerome chuckled, nodding his head at the same time as he said "It's good to be cautious…but if you don't have the strength to back up that kind of resolve…it'll be meaningless"
Morganna remained quiet, still staring at him. His remark made her reconsider her line of thoughts. He had a point; a basis without some kind of backing doesn't mean a thing in this world, and someone like her, who's an advocate of peace, would find it even more difficult.
"Not all peace is tranquil" he continued. "I noticed….that you're the only one out of your siblings that possesses neither a mana circle nor a mana star….you will need to get one at least if you want to promote peace…."
Her siblings couldn't take their eyes off her. Jerome had a point and it was something they wanted her to consider.
Morganna slowly stood up from her seat. "I'm done with my meal". She muttered slowly walking into the room of the building.
"You think she'll change her mind ?" Rebecca asked when Morganna left.
"Well…I'm sure she will; it worked on me, didn't it ?" Thalia replied, sipping her cup of tea.
Raffaelo glanced at his sisters as memories of his past life flashed through his line of thoughts. He could still remember how persistent she was in not learning either magic or the Sword even though she was well aware of the dangers she was going to go through as a member of the Jun family.
'Well she's smart…she's not someone I need to worry about'.
They continued their conversations for a little while longer when they heard the sound of horses marching towards their gates.
Jerome turned around first as his lips curled into a blissful smile
"It seems they've finally returned".
The excitement that followed was in no short of words as Raffaelo and the girls turned towards the gates.
A guard quickly rushed up and opened it up revealing Rachael as she led the tired-looking Calvary into the building.
Their expressions slowly twisted into worry, noticing the unconscious body of their father lying limply on their mother's back.
"....seems they had a bit of trouble as well…."