Using the skins he ordered, he drafted a set of disguises.
Unlike his siblings, Elias lacked the talent for magic. Neither did he possess any supernatural offensive ability.
The dearth of any combat ability precipitated him to search for alternative ways to fight.
Elias apportioned his time in understanding the mechanics of tools, the human body’s constitution, chemical synthesis, and many more.
Elias sat down and stayed in an ascetic stance. Closing his eyes, he contemplated his situation.
Correlating with his past life. What had currently changed the most?
The experiences he faced, the techniques he studied, the skills he honed, the battles he fought, what had they all changed in him?
His body that endured countless battles and forged into an unshakable physique was now gone.
His weapons, treasures he collected traveling across the world were now gone.
A weak man with a frail body and a lot of enemies, that was his current condition.
The memories he had, how had it changed the current him from the past him?
Did the current Elias have an edge because he knew about the events that were going to happen?
No, he barely remembered anything from this back into the past.
Did the memories grant him the knowledge to create weapons that could kill his siblings?
No, creating something requires tools and time. No doubt Elias’s siblings spread their spies through the Kingdom. Every move he made, every tool he bought, it was being monitored.
He could now move freely as others considered him a fool who spent his time goofing around. If he suddenly behaved suspiciously, they would seize his freedom, and he would have no power to resist.
Elias stood up from his stance. He undressed his attire over the waist.
The scars which he saw while bathing was now healed.
Picking up the hammer, he moved closer to the table then settled his right hand over the table.
He gripped the hammer and raised his left hand.
… So, what was the thing he currently had, which his past self lacked?…
With one swift stroke, he struck his forearm with the hammer.
His arm lacked the power to break his hand in one strike, so he struck again.
This time, bruising appeared, his skin swelled.
Once again, he struck. He felt his bone crack.
Mercilessly again, and again he struck.
Blood spattered everywhere. He heard his own bones cracking, yet his expression remained indifferent.
What was once forged could be forged again,
His body would heal at an unprecedented rate. Every time his tissues would get torn, bones would be broken, they would reform, this time only more resilient and more robust.
Unlike the frail body he had, his family members had trained since young, dedicated their time on the battlefield. No weapon or strategy could simply overturn their efforts.
Only through pure effort, blood and sweat could he be able to catch up with them.
…. No matter how cruel the methods, he would go through with it
…. No matter how much pain he felt, he would not back down.
…. No matter how much his body cried, his heart would not yield.
.. As the essence that separated the present Elias from the past Elias was the “Adamant Will to Succeed” and “The Unyielding Heart of A Demon”...
That night, from his head to his legs, his entire body reformed. He only stopped after his body showed signs of not being able to heal rapidly.
*****
“Lance, Lance, hurry.”
On a sunny day along a busy street, a scowling woman called her assistant.
“I have ai..” Lance tripped on the street while running. “Ouch,”
“What a useless man, hurry,” Rose pouted.
“Here, here I have arrived,” Lance said as he saw rose crouching down and examining a corpse.
Lance took out a notebook and a pen. “So, what did you find?” he asked.
“Dusty and torn clothes,” “Ew, is that puke?” Rose glanced sideways, “A bar.” She lifted the corpse’s head and saw the light red mark.
“Smell of Wine,”
She frowned, “Check if there are footprints.”
“You know, he is a commoner, right,” he continued while yawning. “Why are we even investigating this?”
Rose stood up. Walking near Lance, she stomped his leg.
“Argh,” “Argh, my legsssss.”
‘What a Brute woman.’
Lance thought as he took out his glasses and wore them. Lance had black hair along with blue eyes. He was around 5’11’ with a decent triangular face.
The moment he wore his glasses, his surrounding turned bluish.
In front of him was a girl named Rose. She had pink hair along with a curvy body. Both were wearing a black uniform with golden stripes having the Kingdom’s emblem near their chest. They tied a sword to their waist.
On the ground, Lance saw the footsteps brightened up.
“Hey, did you find something?”
Using his footsteps, he analyzed, 'The footsteps originated from the bar around the corner. There is a sudden change in his path. Feeling an urgency of puking, he must have entered this ally, and then someone choked him.’
“Hey, answer me.”
Lance sighed, “Definitely the work of the Rebels,”
Rose raised her chin, “I thought Keth Aazumuth wiped out all of those Rebels.”
Lance removed his glasses, “Apparently not. A small group seems to have escaped. We recently discovered one of their locations,”
*****
Rays of sunlight entered Elias’s room. The blood-spattered around the floor reflected the sunlight. Amidst the room rested Elias.
As the sunlight embraced the room, one could see the bruises present in his upper body, especially around the chest area. His arms looked firm, while the rest not so much.
He stood up but fell on one of his knees.
“Still not healed. To think this body could not even handle one full restructuring process.”
He trudged as he walked. The bones in his right leg were still fractured.
He coughed blood as some internal injuries had not healed.
“Not yet enough.”
The bloodstains washed away as he took a bath in the shower room attached to his room.
While washing his face, his gaze fell upon the mirror where he saw his own blood-red eyes.
They sparkled like a gem.
“Another one of the problems.”
Returning to his room, he rested on his bed and slept until nighttime.
When he woke up, the bones in his body had made a full recovery. There was still minor swelling on his skin. His stomach grumbled
He changed his clothes,
He wore black gloves in his hands, which were composed of Silk and Grim Panther’s Skin. The cloak covering his body was entirely made up of over 100 Grim Panther’s Skins. The skin’s compressive ability gave him the ability to add layers of coats without making it too bulky. It was also extremely light.
The mask on his face comprised two layers. Elias made the outer layer from Ghost Bat’s skin while he made the inner one from Grim Panther’s Skin.
He made the violet cowl around his neck from dipping a white wool cowl in the Charred Wines. Now it had a furry look with a mixture of White and Violent.
His boots were along with the inner shirt, were covered by the Panthers skin and dipped in charred wine. The outer look was completely black except for the violet cowl and his red eyes. His inner was a mixture of black and violet.
After that, he set out,
His attire made it easier to travel in the night. To collect information, Elias traveled around various bars and listened to their whisperers.
“Cheers!”
A group of 5 jolted their wine cups and celebrated.
“To think we would earn so much just by revealing the Rebels’ location” One of them laughed.
“Sheesh! Quite down! We are not supposed to mention that,” One of them tried to calm the others down. But as most of them were drunk, they kept on babbling.
Elias silently listened as he feasted on his steak a few tables away from theirs.
Places like this bar are where the whisperers traveled.
Out of the whisperers he heard throughout the night, he just listened to the most intriguing one.
‘Rebels’ were a group of people who raised their arms against their own empire. Each one of them had their own reason for Rebelling.
Elias did not care what their purpose was or what they wanted. The sole thing he cared about was what they possessed.
‘Resources’ and ‘Information’
They were the key points required to win the upcoming inheritance war.
Now, he had summarized a way to obtain both.
*****
“Sir, we have captured him,” One soldier reported. He dragged a man covered in chains.
“I see.”
They sent troops of knights to capture the Rebel.
The one who led those knights was a bulky blonde knight. His name was Neric.
“Scatter and search this place.”
Neric ordered the soldiers he brought. The higher-ups had located the Rebels’ base, hence sent Neric to capture him.
They were present somewhere in the dead forest, inside a 2 floored wooden house.
“Send a message, ask for reinforcements.”
“I already did,” The knight holding the chains answered, “Although we captured the Rebel, it was too convenient.”
Neric stepped forward and grabbed the Rebel by his chest, and picked him in the air.
“Right, it was too convenient,” He glared into the Rebel’s eyes, “Now, tell me, what was the purpose of luring us here.”
“I… do… not... Kno” The man who Neric held up, quivered, his face sweated,
He had black hair, a while clock covered in blue stripes lay under the chains.
“tsk,” Neric threw him down the floor. “Interrogate him.”
“Yes, Sir”
As Neric turned around to scout the place, he heard a stir of continuous cries.
“I… swear… I don’t… ‘t… know.”
“I.. swear I don’t know.”
Neric turned his head to look at the Rebel. The Rebel tugged his hair, eyes bulged. He looked like a feeble mad man, yet Neric’s instincts stirred.
“I.. swear I don’t know.”
“I swear I don’t know.”
Every time he spoke, his voice turned more and more hoarse.
The knight holding the Rebels’ chains kicked him across the floor.
“I swear I don’t know.”
As the Rebel babbled, his body stopped trembling, his voice changed.
“I swear I do know.”
The Rebel stood up, his facial muscles flexed. He brewed a smile.
“I swear I know.”
Neric’s faced turned pale. He drew his sword.
*****
Elias traded the location of the Rebel from those 5 with few gold coins.
He moved out to head there.
Along the way, he felt his butlers following him from the shadows.
Elias was not swift or powerful enough to escape their sight, so he ignored them for now.
His Blood Red-eyes were the Symbol of The Royalty, which helped him pass through restricted places.
*****
The Rebel cried out in laughter, “I wonder what happened to your knights.”
Neric had felt the presence of his soldiers dissipating, which was why he decided to scout the house himself.
He was confident the only people present in the house were his troops and one Rebel.
The situation was perplexing, yet he did not rush to attack.
The presence of others was fading, but that did not mean they were dead yet. Neric took a deep breath.
“You laugh, ignorant of the weight placed in a knight’s sword.” He continued, “For today, you shall know, damnation.”
