“Jack, I don’t mind that your naughty, but I do hate that you’re sloppy.”

Said a slightly old man in his Late 50s, he sat on an extravagant couch covered with blood, blood of whom he slaughtered, the Knights, Mages and members of the Imperial Guard, all their dead, lifeless bodies mutilated and minced on the flood boards, right before the fireplace which was the only light of the wooden cabin.

In front of the said old man, was somebody of the same age as him, he had blonde golden hair, and donned the Imperial Uniform over his body, unlike his guards that accompanied him, his sword was sheathe and instead of cowering or shivering in fear, he held his composure and replied back to the sitting man.

“Look, Liam, end this nonsense.”

“What nonsense, Jack? The only nonsensical thing that is happening is you, and your guards, pointing their swords in front of me.”

The old man looked back at the man donning the Imperial Uniform with a smug face, as if he didn’t have an inch of fear, his legs and arms were crossed in front of his enemies, he was smirking at the men who were in fear.

He was the Empire’s most powerful Mage, Liam Fretz, nicknamed the ‘The Devil’s Mage’, a master of both Mana and Aura, Grand Mage, and the mage whom unified all of the Western and southern part of continent for the Empire he served, he Brought about the apocalypse to his enemies, and he laughed, he laughed and chuckled as he killed millions.

“You’re crazy.”

“I AM crazy? When have I never been crazy Jack?”

‘Jack’ wasn’t the man donning the Imperial Uniform’s real name, instead it was Silvestio Alnus Argustioz, the emperor of the Argustioz Empericus, the Unifier of the now Argusto Continent, and the man whom risen to the throne with help of his ‘close Friend’ and ‘Ally’, Liam Fretz.

“Liam, you’re already weak, stop fighting, I don’t need forgiveness, but I do thank you…”

Unlike the guards near the Emperor who were shivering in fear trying to protect the Emperor, the Emperor acted as an Emotionless but still logical Tyrant, very opposed to the maniacal and genocidal Mage, both committed atrocities of their own during the Great war of Unification, yet they shrugged it off as a past memory.

“Hueh…hueh…”

The old man on the couch, Liam, started laughing like a mental person in front of the guards, the Emperor who looked closely at the laughing Liam, soon noticed pockets and drops of blood from his mouth and nose, he was dying, yet instead of fearing it, he was laughing.

“Truly a crazy person, Liam, I do thank you for the Throne and Unification, but I do am sorry for this betrayal, I just can’t…”

The Emperor looked at Liam whose body was still inclined and hunched forward towards the Emperor and his guards, the Emperor gave a look of disgust and dislike towards Liam who was still laughing maniacally.

“Leave somebody such as yourself alive… the man who can destroy my empire, take my throne, and burn my people, I just can’t let such a man like you live… I fear you more than the rebel leaders hiding in the mountains.”

This sentence made Liam temporarily stop laughing, and instead converse with the Emperor in a now, more civilized tone.

“…’Liam, once we unite the Continent, what do you plan on doing?’…”

Liam immediately replied with a past conversation with the Emperor before the Great war of Unification, this shocked the guards and even the Emperor, who now looked at him with extreme detestation.

“I dunno? Maybe have a wife? Kids? Make a farm? Live life ‘Normally?’...”

Liam said with a depressed tone, making the guards and knights around the Emperor shift their emotions towards Liam, but then it immediately backfired, as Liam added.

“Or maybe… become a king? An Emperor? A GOD!? HAHAHAHA! Kaugh~~~!!!”

In the middle of Liam screaming, he coughed up blood making him stop in his sentence, weakening his body, and him completely using his abilities both as a Mage and Sword master, he was now nothing more than a crippled and dying man.

“Liam, you were of good use, I do hope you accept my gratitude.”

The Emperor said before turning around and walking towards the door, still guarded and enveloped by his Imperial Guard, but before leaving, he stopped by the doorway and turned around and gave a glare towards Liam, he then added.

“Don’t forgive me, but appreciate me, without me, you would’ve been nothing anyway.”

“Huehuehue, Jack, my boy… I won’t appreciate you, but I do forgive you… I forgive your ignorance and insecurity…”

The Emperor and Liam conversed before the former leaving the small wooden, secluded and desolated cabin, but before completely leaving the Emperor gave a forced smirk towards Liam, who stared back at him with a perplexing and expression of Betrayal all on his face, even if he was maniacal and crazy, he was still human, he had emotions, he had memories, he had a past, and the sad part about it, was… Why?

Liam who sat crippled on the extravagant couch, right beside the fireplace, shifted his expression from betrayal and perplexing, to grief and depression, tears soon left out his eyes, as he noticed the knights and guards holding torches outside, the torches light being seen from the inside, they were going to burn the cabin down to the last ash.

Liam who now couldn’t do anything but wait, started crying, for the first time in his life, he cried, in grief, anguish and depression, he gripped his couch's arm rest with the last ounces of strength he had left, and uttered whilst crying.

“…Mom… little sis… Liam’s coming home… hehehe…”

He then noticed the cabin’s temperature rising from the inside out, he then added, whilst crying his entire heart out.

“Little sis… Liam’s got chocolate… straight from the capital… y-you said you wanted it… right?”

Entering a conversation with himself, he was mentally unstable and crazy, he was a war criminal with unidentified motives, yet he cried, opposed to his usual and crazy personality it was like a very different person, he sat on his couch, with barely any strength left, crying.

The fires soon sat inside the wooden cabin, slowly engulfing the wooden room, Liam watched as his wooden floorboards slowly set theirselves ablaze, although he made them using only earth magic, he was still the one who built it, so he cherished it as much like a child.

“Damn… Silvestio, you could’ve atleast stabbed me…”

He commented his old “friend’s” earlier actions, he seemed to be really adamant in assassinating Liam when he was the mastermind of it all, but then again, in terms of both popularity and abilities Liam was the above Silvestio.

Liam held the support of several nobles and was popular among the masses, although he committed several war crimes and made his enemies experience hell, to those who willingly surrendered to him and were peacefully annexed were more or less under his direct benevolence.

Silvestio on the other hand, only joined one offensive and that was the eastern offensive which became a very stalemated but bloody war, unlike the western and southern part of the continent which was disunited and very divided, most of them willingly surrendered to Liam who only marched with his army and exhibition of both might as a general and an Archmage.

Silvestio’s war had the most casualties in terms of warfare, the eastern kingdoms of the continent created a league to combat the growing Imperial threat, therefor acted as one united force that outnumbered and outperformed Silvestio’s army, though he was cautious and smart with his moves, the generals of the Eastern League were already several moves ahead of Silvestio, but even if he received such casualties, he still became the victor of the war.

“This… After so many years… I’m still as crazy as ever… but then again…”

Liam looked on his ceiling and gave his last sigh, breath, and sentence.

“I was never normal to begin with…”

The cabin soon erupted in flames that burned Liam inside the cabin, Liam’s body slowly became ash, even though he was a mage, his mana was now nonexistent, making the flames easily burn him, unlike his usual defenses for fire magic.

Liam then died inside his wooden cabin, secluded from the world, with the name ‘Mage of the Devil’ that his ‘Friend’ kindly announced to the world, as an ‘Attempted assassination’ towards him, he only retaliated subsequently.

Thus, making Liam’s legacy as the Sword master, and Field marshal, along with the only Grand Mage of the Empiricus go down in flames, as a follower of the devil, a Crazy monster who wasn’t supposed to live:

“The Mage of the Devil”.