Mildly put, Aiden was scared.

  The idea of Ted dabbling in demonic mana since the town of cannibals in his former life was a very worrying thought. It meant that his brother had either been intentionally keeping secrets from him or that he had really not been paying much attention.

  Considering the kind of person he had been at this point in his past life, the latter didn’t seem very important. In truth, anything Ted would’ve told him short of him dying or Aiden himself dying would’ve gone over his head.

  A sigh slipped from Aiden’s lips as he pushed a low hanging branch out of his way as he pushed forward.

  He was a different person from who he had been in his past life. Eleven years changed a person after all. There was also the fact that in his childish grasp of emotions he had not really considered Ted a friend at the time. A brother, yes. But not a friend. The events with his ex girlfriend having wanted his brother over him had still been more than active in his brain. Fresh and clear injuries had messed with his childish mind. And he had let them.

  But still, he was more than certain that Ted had mentioned nothing.

  And why would he have? He thought, moving through the dark forest, eyes picking out anything that stood out in front of him. You hated him and he knew it.

  It hadn’t even been his brother’s fault. If he was being honest, if he had a younger brother that hated him because his long time friend and girlfriend had made a move on him and failed, he would also not be in a hurry to start sharing secrets with him.

  Still, hate was such a strong word.

  I didn’t hate him, Aiden told himself, ignoring Valdan’s attention on him at the back. I just didn’t like him very much at the time.

  It was more than possible to not like someone that you loved. But Aiden knew that he was just making excuses, creating justifications for his stupidity at the time.

  Stupidity or not, though, it was difficult to believe that his brother had been dabbling in demonic mana this soon. It was like waking up one morning and realizing that your brother had been a satanic worshipper for most of his teenage years, engaging in blood sacrifices and all that while sharing a room. It was, in its own way, possible. But it still left you blindsided.

  There was also the question of how deep Ted had gone in dabbling in the demonic arts. Aiden hadn’t paid Ted much attention since returning to the past because he had been under the belief that he still had time. In his past life, Ted had not become the [Demon King] until they had been about four years on Nastild. That was time. So, Aiden had assumed that whatever had happened to Ted had probably happened in a year or two.

  Just how long would he have taken to become the [Demon King]?

  It didn’t make sense. Even if it took a lot to gain titles, Aiden doubted it took actions performed over four years to get the title. Lord Naranoff had spoken to him about the people-given title while he had been in the Naranoff manor, but Aiden knew all that he needed to know about titles.

  All titles were actually given in one way or the other, by intent or not. Some titles were like smells. They worked on an instinctual level. On Earth, Aiden had read of tribes that had a habit of killing animals and spilling their blood at the edges of their compounds or displaying their corpses to ward off animals of the same species.

  Be it system given, people given, or given based on acts performed, titles were given. You just needed to know what you had to do, how many times, and how often.

  It begged a new question.

  If it actually did take a long time of dabbling in demonic mana to become the [Demon King] then how long would it take and how often did a person have to dabbling in demonic mana?

  And if it actually did not, in fact, take a long time of dabbling in demonic mana to become the [Demon King] then exactly when had Ted become the [Demon King], and how long had he been hiding it before he was discovered?

  Aiden frowned. His hand took hold of a branch that was in his path, something he could’ve ducked his head slightly to avoid and he bent it. When it did not bend like the others he had come across, proving too rigid, he broke it with a flick of his wrist.

  Speculations, he thought in ever-growing annoyance. That was what it all was. Speculations.

  He had no solid evidence to back it up. Speculations were all he had to go with. Had Ted really started dabbling now? Was Ted’s use of a [Basiliker] just a coincidence that had nothing to do with demons in the early stage?

  What were the chances that he was just being paranoid?

  In his short-lived life as a spy in the Order, Aiden had learnt a few things. One of those things was the fact that it was very easy to see things that supported your hypothesis when you already had a hypothesis you were working with. He knew that Ted would become the [Demon King] so he was working every angle he saw in the direction of Ted becoming the [Demon King] simply because it was related somehow.

  And what about you? Aiden asked himself suddenly stopping, hand firmly rested against a tree.

  Ted had become the [Demon King], and in doing so he had found a way home, even if it was not a way he had succeeded in following before being stopped.

  In this lifetime, Aiden had learnt a few things that had made it made sense. At first he had thought that Ted had found a way because being the [Demon King] had given him power and access to the kinds of people and knowledge that had shown him the way. And while that was true, it was truer than Aiden had thought.

  In this life, he had learnt that demonic mana was actually dimensional mana. What this world interpreted as demonic his interface interpreted as dimensional. If he was to trust the interface, didn’t that mean that demons were arguably nothing more than dimensional beings, and that being the demon king simply meant being something of a dimensional king?

  If all that was true, then Ted had quite literally come across powers that put him in the perfect position of finding a way home. It made sense that Ted would take such a power if he found a way to—if he knew that was what it was. Holding dimensional powers definitely sounded like one of the surest methods of finding a way to cross from one dimensional plane to the next.

  Aiden’s frown only served to deepen. Unlike most people, in his past life he had not possessed a deep seethed hatred for demons. Why? Because Ted had been their king. And he certainly hadn’t blamed them for Ted becoming their king. He hadn’t thought that some level of brainwashing had happened. Ted was too… self absorbed for that.

  Back on Earth, the word charismatic had often been used to describe Ted. But at home they had known more about Ted. Charismatic meant being able to make people like you, but to Aiden and his family, being able to make people like you was simply just a form of manipulation, intentional or not.

  You smiled just the right way at just the right time, you laughed when you had to, said the right words, even had the right looks. When someone did it intentionally, it was called manipulation. When someone was born with it, it was called being charismatic.

  Ted had been born with it, but Aiden was no fool. Ted was also manipulative about it. He just never used it on those who mattered to him. He never used it on his family or his friend. But Aiden had seen him use it on more than a few girls when he was trying to get laid. He’d even tried to teach Aiden how to do it before Aiden had started dating Tasha.

  It didn’t make his brother evil, though. Like most boys that went through puberty and ended up being handsome and wanted by the other gender, Ted was simply human.

  Then again, Aiden remembered watching an anime where an invading creature had quite literally said that the closest things to demon that it had been able to find had been humans.

  Aiden ran his hand through his hair in frustration. His hair was dry and really not nice to feel. When his hand came away, he was blessed with a glimpse of red.

  What about you? he thought, staring at the red hand.

  He had dabbled in demonic mana, a crystalized form of it, in fact. He had even drawn on it for power when he’d used the teleportation center. Now his hand was black. And sometimes his enchantments left behind traces of bluish-black mana when he used them. the color of demonic mana.

  Why aren’t you worried about becoming the [Demon King]?

  The answer was simple. It was because Ted was the one who was going to become the [Demon King] just as Drax was going to become the [Hero].

  Not if you stop Ted. And if you do, then what happens?

  Aiden wasn’t sure how he felt about this specific line of thought.

  “Are we really going to keep ignoring it?”

  Valdan’s voice dragged Aiden from his revelry, and he turned his head to the side, almost looking at the knight. He stopped himself from looking back at Valdan at the last minute before he started walking again.

  “Ignoring what?” he asked as he moved around a tree, making sure to head south.

  “The strong, pungent, smell of blood,” Valdan answered.

  Aiden had been covered in it for so long that he had simply grown accustomed to the smell of dried blood that covered him.

  “I ran into a mishap on my way to you,” he said.

  “One man could not possibly have caused all this blood.”

  “So, you do know what I am talking about?” Aiden mused, remembering the adventurer named Jaderd that he’d killed. “Did he escape you or did you spare his life.”

  Aiden felt Valdan hesitate. It was in the silence that followed his question.

  “He was defeated.” There was a touch of shame in Valdan’s voice. “He had surrendered and was no longer a threat.”

  Aiden sighed as they kept walking. “Enemies die, Valdan. It is their duty to die. The only enemies that live are the ones that you cannot kill or the ones that you have a use for.”

  “Not all soldiers are killed during a war, Aiden,” Valdan pointed out. “I would assume that your world had wars with each other and didn’t kill everybody.”

  “We did,” Aiden confirmed. “And we didn’t kill everybody. But that is because that is different. The soldier you face on the battleground is not necessarily your enemy. They are simply a tool of your enemy. The man who has directed them to go into battle is the enemy. You kill the enemy not their weapon. You destroy their weapon if it is a means to killing the enemy.”

  “What is it with you and killing, Aiden?” Valdan asked with an exasperated sigh.

  “What’s with you and not killing?” Aiden shot back, eyes still fixed on their surroundings as they moved forward.

  “Life is sacred,” Valdan answered without missing a beat.

  Aiden couldn’t help the amused snort that left him. It was like talking to a comic book hero designed to represent absolute good and redemption. It was as if he was the aged knight and Valdan was the na?ve nineteen-year-old.

  As far as he was concerned, all life was not sacred. And he told Valdan just as much.

  “All life is not sacred, Valdan.” It was as simple as that. “Some people have turned the life given to them into something so perverse that their ownership of that life is no longer sacred. You know this.”

  Valdan was silent once more. It was proof that he couldn’t argue with Aiden on the matter. Still, he wasn’t done speaking. When he spoke again, however, there was something in his voice.

  “But everyone deserves a chance at redemption,” he muttered in a voice so low that he could’ve easily been talking to himself. “Don’t they?”

  Did they, though? Aiden wondered.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  If everyone deserved a chance at redemption, would the devil also deserve a chance at redemption?

  “Perhaps,” he answered. “Some people do.”

  They fell into a solemn silence after that. It was pregnant with something Aiden couldn’t quite place. It was thoughtful. He could feel it. But he wasn’t thoughtful, which meant that Valdan was thoughtful. The concept of killing and taking lives was messing with the mental process of a knight whose duty was in taking lives when their king sent them out to do so.

  Then again, maybe that was where the problem lay. Maybe that was the disadvantage of knighthood or perhaps the purpose of it. Knights had the power to end lives, however, they were absolved of the responsibility of it. They did not kill by their own will but by the will of the one who sent them.

  They were not left contemplating the philosophy of the right to take a life because they left it in the hands of someone they trusted, someone whose job was to do that contemplation.

  Aiden frowned. Now he’s got me thinking, too.

  “You knew,” Valdan said after a while. “You already knew.”

  “Knew what?” Aiden asked even though he knew.

  “You knew what was happening here,” Valdan clarified. “You knew what I would discover. You said it yourself, that when I found of what was happening that you wouldn’t need to motivate me to kill those men. And if you knew, then that means that the queen knew. It is why she sent you here, isn’t it? Because she knew you would do what had to be done.”

  Aiden nodded slowly as he sensed something in the trees and raised a quiet hand to signal Valdan to stop. “I knew.”

  The absence of sound behind him told Aiden that Valdan had stopped at his command.

  In a hushed voice, Valdan asked. “Why are you covered in blood, Aiden?”

  “Because I went to have a conversation with the town chief and he was in on it,” Aiden answered. “He and an army of men and women. All unnatural predators of my kind.”

  “[Cannibals].” Valdan said the word with disgust. “How many of them did you kill?”

  Aiden’s eyes moved to the tree, searching for what had made him stop. “All of them.”

  “A number,” Valdan pressed.

  “I lost count.” Aiden’s eyes settled on what had made him stop. It rested up in the trees, looking at him. “All I know is that they were enough to give me a title.”

  “So it was a massacre,” Valdan said. It was not a question.

  Aiden couldn’t disagree with that. “It was necessary.”

  “Will there be more of it?”

  That was something Aiden had to think about. He had no revenge he needed to enact on an enemy that was yet to hurt him. No personal vendetta that needed this level of… necessity.

  “No,” he answered. Not on this side of your world.

  He couldn’t make the same promises for the other side of the world.

  “If I may ask,” Valdan said. “Why have we stopped walking but you have no intentions of reducing your voice.”

  “We are stopping not to be a real threat. This is caution not stealth.” He pointed to the trees in the direction of the reason they’d stopped so that Valdan would see it. “As for the reason we don’t need the stealth, it’s because we were spotted before I spotted it.”

  Valdan’s eyes went to the trees and he moved beside Aiden very slowly.

  “We can take it,” he said.

  Aiden was very much aware of it as he looked at the [Basiliker] that was smaller than the one Valdan had fought watching them from the trees.

  However, being able to take it wasn’t what was on his mind. What was on his mind was if the creature belonged to Ted or was just another [Basiliker] out and about that he had been unaware of in his previous life.

  Not for the first time, he wanted to scold himself for not knowing a lot about his earlier life on Nastild. Even if there was no way he could’ve known that he would come back in time.

  Still, understanding why he did not take note of every detail in his past life did not make it any less annoying.

  The [Basiliker] dropped from the trees like a snake falling off a branch but did not hit the ground the same way. There was no heavy or muffled thud. There was no thud at all. The creature’s arachnid limbs landed first before the rest of its body settled graciously on the ground. It was a beautiful display of stealth.

  Valdan’s hand went for the hilt of his sword. Aiden drew his free first.

  The [Basiliker]’s eyes stalked the blade of Aiden’s sword, ignoring Valdan. Aiden had a feeling the creature was weaker than him. Valdan took a step to the left but the creature ignored him. Curious, Aiden took a step to his right, in the opposite direction Valdan had taken. The creature tracked him.

  Interesting.

  It didn’t care about Valdan.

  He looked past the creature to the area around them. His eyes settled on an elevated platform with an entrance, and he smiled.

  “Cave,” Aiden said. “What you fought is a demon, Valdan, and before the town chief was no more, he told me of a demon in a cave.”

  “The man I spared told me the same thing,” Valdan said. “Right before I had to deal with that one.”

  Aiden moved to the side once more and the creature’s eyes continued to follow him. “He also told me that it promised him demonic mana.”

  Valdan looked at him in surprise. “That’s why you asked me if the creature spoke to me.”

  Aiden nodded, moving again. “The demon we are looking for has the ability to communicate.”

  “This one does not,” Valdan pointed out. “Which means that it is not the creature we want.”

  “Exactly.”

  [You have used skill Detect]

  Aiden felt the creature squirm under the use of his skill and lean away slightly. Its level was the perfect explanation of its reaction.

  [Basiliker Lvl 31]

  Interestingly enough, his interface did not categorize it as prey. He wondered why.

  “Valdan,” he said.

  “I’m listening.”

  Aiden stood up straight, assuming a casual stance. “It does not have what it takes to fight us. I think it’s a look out or a deterrent. Someone inside that cave may or may not be trying to stall.”

  “Certain?”

  “It’s level thirty-one,” Aiden explained. “Creatures of this level know better than to fight stronger opponents. Unless they are in something of a pack, they would normally avoid a stronger opponent, speak less of two stronger opponents.”

  “It’s stalling,” Valdan said in understanding. “To the cave?”

  Aiden was already moving. “To the cave.”

  The creature hissed at him as he moved past it, but ultimately, it was like a barking dog, designed to seem intimidating when it was not.

  Aiden ignored it and moved from a walk into a jog. It was never advisable to jump to conclusions, but he was more than happy to make that leap in his current situation.

  This [Basiliker] was Ted’s familiar and Ted was in the cave ahead of them.

  What the hell did you get yourself into, brother? Aiden thought as he sprinted towards the cave ahead with Valdan fast behind him.

  Behind them, Aiden heard the creature scramble as its many legs carried it away. Looking back momentarily, he made sure that it was not coming after them. It was not. Was it trying to return to the cave before they got there?

  Also, whatever Ted was doing, was he sure he wanted Valdan to see it?

  The answer to his questions came quickly. The creature was most likely heading to the portal, and he did not want Valdan walking in on Ted doing something that could put him in a compromising situation.

  So, he raised his hands and weaved an enchantment.

  [You have used Class skill Enchanted Weave]

  …

  [You have used Weave of Lesser Speed]

  He felt mana fill his entire body from his heart a moment before he began moving so fast that the trees around him warped into a blur. He vaguely heard Valdan call out to him but did not pay it much attention.

  In only moments, he was at the entrance to the cave.

  “…It doesn’t work that way.” Ted’s voice slipped from the cave with a strain, as if he was doing something strenuous. His voice was followed by the sound of sparks and a muffled explosion. “You cannot have my brother.”

  Aiden darted into the cave very quickly.

  “Your brother will hold you back,” a second voice echoed into the cave. This one sounded leisurely. “You want to return home, do you not? Come with me and I can show you the way.”

  The voices were drawing closer, getting louder. Aiden was almost there. Holding up his sword, he drew an enchantment on the tip with his finger.

  [You have used Class skill Unarmed Engrave]

  “How about you follow me and teach me instead?” Ted was panting between words now, and the sound of sparks was dying out.

  Aiden allowed [Dash] to carry him all the way to the end of the path. As he did, he activated the enchantment he cast on the tip of his sword.

  When he came to a stop at his destination, he took in the sight waiting for him in the fraction of a second. Three creatures at different parts of the cave were evaporating into black smoke. A [Dirt Wyrm], a wyrm with a penchant for burrowing through rocks and mountains on Nastild, stood in front of Ted. It was as wide as a full-grown man. Its massive mouth was currently open, displaying lamprey teeth.

  Aiden didn’t stop to think as he took in sight. Whoever Ted was talking to was nowhere in sight, likely obscured by the [Dirt Wyrm].

  Swinging his sword as he activated the enchantment he’d cast on it, Aiden allowed the tip of its blade to strike a spark along the ground.

  [You have used Enchantment of Lesser Gas]

  From the tip of the blade, green gas spilled, shooting forward as if it was fired from a weapon while it was acting on the force of Aiden’s swing. It reached forward, spilling uncontrollably and engulfed the entire front of the [Dirt Wyrm]. Unfortunately, the floor of the cave was far too moist so the spark he had hoped the tip of the blade would ignite from coming in contact with the rocky ground was nowhere to be found.

  “Fuck,” he swore under his breath as he activated another skill.

  [You have used Class skill Walking Canvas]

  He was about to weave an enchantment to life when he saw a creature appear beside Ted. It was so small that it only managed to stand halfway up his leg. Its scaly skin was bright orange and it looked like a massive lizard. It leapt forward and landed right in front of the gas that Aiden had created. Turning around, it struck its tail that looked as if it had a rock attached to the end of it against the ground.

  The action ignited a spark, and the entire cloud of gas exploded in a wave of fire.

  A terrifying shriek filled the air and shook the walls of the cave as the [Dirt Wyrm] wailed in pain.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” a voice came from around them.

  “Stop playing games, Damis,” Ted called out. “Fight if you’re going to fight or leave if you’re going to leave.”

  Aiden looked at his brother. “Damis?”

  “A demon.” Ted made a nonchalant gesture. “He’s actually a good guy. Fun, too. Unfortunately, he found out you were coming and tried to kill you.”

  “I’m trying to kill you, too, human,” the voice echoed through the cave.

  “No, you’re not.”

  For all his brother’s seeming nonchalance, there was something hidden in his voice just at the edge of it. It was not bravado. Curiosity? Aiden couldn’t be sure.

  “We have to put that thing down,” Aiden said.

  Ted frowned a little. “It’s a summoned beast from a level one hundred and twelve summoner. Do you think it’s feasible?”

  Aiden turned, grabbed his brother by the wrist, and started running. “I do not.”

  Ted did not resist or struggle, running along with him almost immediately. Having his brother following, Aiden unlocked one of his soldier’s belt and caught the rock that fell out of it.

  Without looking back, he threw it into the cave as they ran. He retrieved another and threw it immediately after. Then another.

  [You have used Enchantment of Lesser Madness]

  …

  [You have used Enchantment of Lesser Lightning]

  …

  [You have used Enchantment of Lesser Water]

  Aiden didn’t stop running when they were outside the cave. Instead, he dragged his brother along, charging into the trees away from Valdan.

  Only after they had run for maybe five more minutes did he stop. He brought them to a tree before releasing Ted’s wrist and looking back.

  He saw nothing. No one had followed them. Not a living thing and not a summoned beast.

  Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. What the hell had Ted been doing getting himself in front of a demon that was over level one hundred? Had it offered him demonic mana?

  He had stumbled on the both of them fighting but it was clear that they had only gotten into a fight because the demon had decided on killing him. In his last life he definitely had not been present for the encounter so what had the single difference led to?

  Aiden rounded on his brother with no small annoyance. “What were you doing inside there?” he asked. “How did you learn of the cave?”

  Ted flicked him on the head with a finger. It was an odd sensation because Aiden could’ve stopped it but didn’t.

  “Why are you covered in blood, Aida?” Ted asked in a very strict tone. He leaned forward, sniffed the air between them. Even in the darkness, Aiden saw his brother’s frown deepen. “Why are you covered in so much human blood?”

  And just like that, Aiden was a young boy answering to his older brother. The sensation washed over him heavily and he had to shake his head to dispel the sudden compulsion. It wasn’t magic, just a forgotten instinct brought to life by Ted’s strict tone.

  “How did you know of the cave, Ted?” he pressed. “I only just found out that it is supposed to be a town secret as well as the creature that you saw inside.”

  Ted met his gaze. His frown was still on his face, but his eyes seemed contemplative. He was thinking about his answer. Aiden liked to believe that he knew his brother well enough. And if he was correct, then Ted was wondering if he should tell the truth or lie.

  “The truth!” Aiden hissed. “Don’t you dare lie to me, Ted.”

  In the end, Ted let out a sigh. “Déjà vu,” he said

  They were two simple words that had Aiden’s mind reeling. On Nastild, déjà vu was the effect of time magic. And those two words had just given him an answer to one of his questions.

  While Ted had not come back in time, not really, he was under the effect of whatever combination of spells had brought Aiden back.

  “How much do you remember?” Aiden asked, searching his brother’s eyes. “Do you remember why you came to the cave?”

  Aiden had been in time chambers enough times to know that the effect of time magic cast worked on a varying scale. On Nastild, time and space magic were avenues of magic that were truly considered magical, in the sense that they were still being studied and not fully comprehended.

  For example, in a time chamber, there was a link, a singular person upon whom the time spell took effect. However, those within the chamber still fell under the effect. What it meant was that those directly related to the purpose of the spell first got a sense of déjà vu when the spell took effect, then, over a period of time, they regained the memories, like recalling an old friend.

  According to the master of the Order, there existed people present within the effect of time magic that got the same level of déjà vu but didn’t regain their memories because they were ultimately not related to the effects of the spell. However, he had called it all speculations. According to him, time magic of the level used within the time chambers were only theoretical when it came to applications in the real world because there was no one who wielded an actual time spell capable of doing to the world what time spells did within time chambers in the aspect of turning back time.

  But that was before Aiden had learned of [Sages] and how they were practically walking cheat codes on Nastild.

  It begged the question of if Ted was an affected member that would remember things over a period of time or just a person that would have the déjà vu at odd moments through the period of time that was turned back.

  Aiden knew for a fact that a part of him wanted the former because it would help answer a lot of questions and speed up a lot of processes.

  Ted would know which frost mountain he was looking for exactly, whether it was on this side of Nastild or the other, as well as what exactly the key he had been talking about was, as well as other places to level up quickly that Aiden was not aware of.

  But it also made Aiden aware of something else. If Ted was experiencing déjà vu, then wouldn’t that mean that the [Sage] in Bandiv would also be experiencing déjà vu?

  Ted suddenly snatched him by his shirt and pulled him in. When he did, it shook Aiden from his thoughts, forcing him to look at his brother. When he did, he saw something dark in Ted’s eyes.

  Realization came to him a little too late.

  Earlier, Ted’s eyes had been contemplative, calculating on if he needed to make a decision. Aiden had mistaken it for his brother’s dissonance between lying and telling the truth. Now, he knew what it had really been. Ted hadn’t been contemplating on the truth, he’d been contemplating on something else.

  He’d been contemplating on Aiden.

  And just as Aiden had gotten the truth out of his brother, his brother had also gotten the truth out of him.

  “Tell me something, brother,” Ted said in a very ominous voice, his grip on Aiden’s shirt tightening. “Are you the Time Mage?”

  The Time Mage, Aiden noted. Not a Time Mage.

  Just how much did Ted know?