Rise of the Crusader

Edgar placed his leg on the other, with a smile then on his face as he stared at Raphael and Aliyah.

“Hmm” About every forty seconds, Edgar would write a few words on the book he was holding on to, before gluing his eyes back at the duo in front of him.

“Aliyah McAllister, Raphael Queen,” Edgar muttered. “Desire becomes surrender, surrender becomes power.” Edgar blurted.

Raphael raised an eyebrow when he heard Edgar, “What do you mean?” Raphael asked.

“Good question. The both of you have been observing each other ever since you got in here. You might as well go get a room.” Edgar said, “My words hold the meaning that, if you two decide to pursue whatever this is, one of you will have to surrender to desire, and that desire becomes your power.”

This time around, Raphael and Aliyah glanced at one another, their gaze only lasted for a second before they turned back to Edgar.

“Just saying, I don’t see the two of you together anyway. I’m going to start this session with Aliyah.”

“The McAllister family was a family with high prestige, and about fifteen years ago, they welcomed a girl into the household. The girl was born on the day of the full moon, and that very night, either intentionally or not, she enslaved her mother, aunty, and even the nurses who handed her birth.”

.....

Aliyah’s eyes bulged, and she clenched her hand into a tight fist.

“Let’s skip to five years later, and she had the whole household under her command.”

Edgar’s eyes were fixed on Aliyah, the entire time. “Aliyah, I want you to tell me how you felt when you ordered your mother, father, sisters, and relatives to kill themselves.”

There was, however, no response from Aliyah, and instead, she was glaring at Edgar. If looks could kill, then there was certainly no doubt that Edgar would have been shredded into pieces.

“I can boldly tell the both of you that we have all day, and if we don’t get this session over with, none of us will be stepping out of this room,” Edgar exclaimed.

“I might as well call it weeks or months if you don’t get an answer. The academy has given me full permission over this session.”

Aliyah dug her nails into her hand so hard that she began to bleed. The glaring continued on, and a few seconds after, there was a tinge of killing intent in Aliyah’s eyes as she stared at Edgar.

“When you watched how life slowly slipped away from your parents, how did that make you feel?” Edgar was unbothered by any of the changes that occurred in Aliyah, and he asked his question.

The atmosphere became cold, and It seemed to be as though Aliyah was going to make a move on Edgar when she suddenly heaved a deep breath.

“It felt good.” Aliyah’s voice rang out.

“I don’t regret any of my actions. My father was a cruel, sadistic, lecherous man, and so were my sisters and relatives.” Aliyah stated.

“The McAllister is no saint like you consider them to be, it was a family whereby father sired dozens of illegitimate, incestuous children with his own daughters. The male born in the household were killed while the females were wedded to my father at the age of five.”

“My sisters were sadists who also wanted me to experience the trauma they once faced, and so when I enslaved them and killed them, I took great satisfaction in it.” Aliyah’s eyes glowed.

Edgar flashed a smile when he heard Aliyah, he wrote a few words into the paper he was holding on to, and then stared back at Aliyah. “Are you certain that you don’t have any regret for what you did to your family? After all, you single-handedly erased every member of your household.”

“I...” Aliyah paused, “It was either me or them, and I chose myself. The only regret I perhaps have is the fact I didn’t properly kill them.”

“I should have ripped out every piece of bones and fleshes in their bodies, blistered their lungs before deciding to end their lives,” Aliyah said in a rather regretful tone.

Raphael glanced at Aliyah when he heard her and as both of their eyes came in contact with one another, Raphael’s lips curved into a smile.

“Ah-Ahem!” Edgar’s voice rang out, and he pulled the both of them out of their state. As Raphael and Aliyah returned their gaze back to him, Edgar shook his head.

“Aliyah, what do you...” Before Edgar could finish his words, Aliyah interrupted. “Enough with me, what about him,” Aliyah said.

Edgar’s cheeks raised, as he stared at Raphael. “Raphael, what do you have to say? I’m also very curious about the skeletons you have in your closet, you know.”

“I have told you so many times Edgar, there are no skeletons, no abusive childhood or suffering that explains my personality. I am simply who I am.

Edgar snorted, “Then how did you explain why your eyes are purely and simply full of evil?” Edgar asked.

“Don’t you think that it takes one to know one, Edgar?” Raphael said with a sneer on his face.

“Oh really,” Edgar shook his head, “Okay fine, I’m going to listen to you and assume you really don’t have any history that explains your personality. Therefore, I have a question for you.”

“What’s your take on good versus evil, and why do you think evil exists?” Edgar inquired.

Raphael tilted his head slightly when he heard Edgar before then saying, “I have no take on either of them as I find them bothersome. But for the other question, I think I do.”

The truth is the bitterness of an evil person is like an epidemic, the extent of its influence could do far worse than hurting and killing a lot of people.”

“By destroying the innocence of a person, a monster can be birthed. It could be by tormenting or breaking them too far that it simply drove them to madness. And sometimes the victim can turn into a far more horrifying monster than its progenitor.”

“So, to you, humans are the causes of the majority of their problems?” Edgar asked, and receiving a slight nod from Raphael, Edgar placed his hand on his chin.

“Alright. But that was rather intense, Raphael, it makes me even more curious about your childhood.” Edgar muttered.

“Anyway, let’s move to my next question.”

“Do either of you gain satisfaction in killing others? Does it perhaps make you feel better about yourself? And if you had the choice not to ever kill anyone, would you take it?” Edgar asked.

“Raphael, you go first.”

Raphael thought deeply before saying, “I won’t take it. Life’s greatest lesson is learned through pain, it could as well be death. Anyone I’d kill, I’d kill for peace, no one has ever died for no reason.” Raphael said.

“Interesting. What about you Aliyah, what do you think?”

“I...” Aliyah abruptly paused as her wristwatch and Raphael’s wristwatch suddenly received a message. Aliyah clicked on the message and, reading the content, her eyebrows furrowed.

Edgar was still pondering about what the both of them saw when suddenly Raphael stood from his seat. “I will be leaving now. I have some urgent matters to attend to,” Raphael said, and without wasting any more time, he left the room.

Aliyah also did the same, giving Edgar a slight bow before dashing out of the room also.

A few seconds after Raphael and Aliyah left the room, a voice rang out.

“He’s like the devil, isn’t he?”

“No, he’s worse,” Edgar responded.

The message that Raphael and Aliyah had received was a mission notification. And unlike any other one in which they would get the chance to prepare themselves, this one they didn’t as this was of urgency.

Raphael went to their dormitories, he and Gus changed into their costumes and headed straight to the alley.

“Let’s go!” Dwayne was already there waiting for the both of them, and quickly the three of them left the academy.

....

On top of a rooftop, Gianna sat on a bench, and in front of her was all sorts of delicacy. Gianna ate from different plates, seeping juices every now and then, and after about five minutes, she rested her back on the bench.

“I’m so full!” Gianna exclaimed, rubbing her hand on her stomach, and an expression full of joy could be seen on her face.

Suddenly, a portal appeared on the rooftop and three figures stepped out of it. Seeing, Raphael, Aliyah, and Dwayne that just appeared, Gianna’s eyes squinted.

“The academy must be joking, right? Why would they send year-1 students for this sort of mission? They might as well just dig my grave.” Gianna blurted.

A light frown appeared on Raphael, Aliyah, and Dwayne’s faces when they heard Gianna. Raphael was already considering going back to the academy when Gianna’s voice rang out.

“Anyway, let’s get this over with. I’m going to inform you three about the plans, but before then you need to meet someone.” Gianna said.

“You can come out now.”

Gianna’s voice appeared to be directed to someone on the rooftop, but apart from Raphael, Dwayne and Aliyah, there was no one else on the rooftop.

It was about a minute after Gianna spoke, and a man appeared on the rooftop. The man was putting on a blue shirt and black pants, and as he laid eyes on Raphael, Dwayne, and Aliyah, he nodded his head.

“The three of you, I will like you to meet one of our informants in Guardian Academy, Dante Kingston.” Gianna said, “Dante will enlighten you on the details about the mission at hand, and once that is understood, the plan will be made.”

Gianna waved her hand at Dante, “Hurry up, I have other things to do, you know.” Gianna ate one of the fruits on the table as she spoke.