Chapter 03 : The Sword Or The Staff

"So, what did you do ?"
"Well, I told her father that..."

"VESTAN!! ARLEN!!"

Two knights clad in sparkling red armor were casually talking when they suddenly heard their lord call for them through the wooden door.

They immediately unsheathed their swords and opened the door, expecting to fight against whatever was being kept inside the secret room, but instead... they found their lord crawling on the floor, covered in blood.

Even when his broken leg failed him, the duke was still carrying his unconscious son on his back.

"My Lord !"

Both knights were about to rush toward their liege to help him, but he stopped them before they entered the room.

"Do not come any closer!" The duke shouted.

The guards were confused, but they obeyed and stood still behind the door.

"This place only accepts the pure-blood descendants of Vermillion. You'll die if you enter carelessly."

The knights were taken aback by their liege words ; they just avoided a sure death. Although it was located within the Vermillion manor, the secret chamber was extraordinarily well guarded : the knights would be startled if they knew the abominations roaming the darkness of the first room.

They didn't notice it in the heat of the moment, but everything beyond the wooden door was pitch black. If not for the Duke's bright attire, they would not even have seen him.

"argh... When I reach the door, do not waste time and bring my son to Mirthal as fast as you can." the duke said, while painfully crawling on the floor.

It was a disgrace to see the high-lord of a prominent elf family crawling on the floor, and yet both knights were only filled with admiration when they witnessed their liege's struggle to save his son.

Before getting there, he sprinted as fast as he could until his broken shin spurted out of his leg. Even in this pitiful state, the Duke gave his all to make his way through the darkness of the first room.

"My lord, if the young master alright ?" one of the knights asked, when he saw the Duke's son bathed in his blood.

"...He is still alive, for now." Both knights got sweat running down their spines when they heard their lord. They dare not imagine what the Duke will do if he loses his only son.

The knights knew how much their lord loved his son, but Angelus was also adored by everyone in the territory. The young master dying at only eighteen years old would be a disaster for the duchy. Even they started to get anxious about his condition.

After a never-ending effort, the Duke finally escaped the darkness of the secret room and crossed the door. He was exhausted he couldn't move his arms anymore.

"By the four main gods..." The first knight who lifted up the unconscious Angelus to carry him to the shaman was astounded when he saw his face. Or rather, what was left of it.

"HURRY UP!!" shouted the Duke.

"Y-yes !" Vestan came back to his senses and dashed out of the place with Angelus on his back.

Meanwhile, Arlen was examining his lord to take care of his leg before he lose too much blood. The Duke was in a pitiful state ; not only his leg was broken, but Alren noticed multiple blueish bruises all over his body.

"My Lord, may I know what happened inside the secret room ?..." Arlan carefully asked, curious to know what could have caused such injuries to a 4-stars blade master.

"There has been a problem with the ritual. I do not know what my son gained from the Million Pandora Box, but it will either be a great blessing or a terrible curse for the future of our duchy."

Under this ominous augury, the Duke, aided by his loyal knight, slowly followed Vestan's steps.

He was on the verge of collapsing, yet all he could think about was checking on his unconscious son.

___

Just next to the manor, there was an imposing tower in front of which everyone had to bow when entering the Vermillion estate.

This building was entirely made of high-quality materials that are scarce on the outer continent, such as marble, black steel, and volcanic stone.

Despite its luxurious look and unusual shape for an elven construction, this tall tower was a church of Arthemil. It also served as the home of Mirthal the Wicked, the Duke's personal shaman.

Contrary to his nickname, Mirthal was a gentle and refined elf who spent most of his life taking care of the Vermillion family.

People called him the Wicked because of the bad reputation he got in the military, especially during the Century War against the northern human kingdom of Brinhir. In reality, he was everything but wicked with those he cared for.

"Urgh..." When Angelus woke up, he found himself strapped on a table with a bunch of needles planted on both of his arms. The needles were linked to translucent wires, through which he could see his blood flowing out while another liquid was flowing in.

He had bandages and patches all over his head and his body. Only a small part around his right eye was left untouched.

"Stay still, young master." Noticing that Angelus woke up from his slumber, Mirthal came closer and put his hand on his forehead to reassure him.

"Where... Where am I ?..."

"Inside the church. Vestan brought you there on the verge of death four days ago. Do you remember what happened in the secret chamber ?"

"I... don't." Angelus lied.

Even if Mirthal was trustworthy, he felt like he shouldn't tell anyone what he saw during his ordeal, not even to his father.

Before opening the box, Angelus didn't know the souls would be this violent when they get released. If not for his mental fortitude and the natural resilience of his body, he would have died by now.

'Did my father and all my ancestors also experience this hell ?' Angelus thought, happy to have survived the Pandora Box trial.

Many people called him and his father 'arrogant nobles' because of how they revered their family heritage, but both of them were just proud to be direct descendants of Julius Sanguinus Vermillion, also called the Bloodthirsty Demon.

Since his youth, carrying the same bloodline as the first Vermillion patriarch filled Angelus with pride and confidence. However, only by passing the Pandora Box ordeal did one become a true Vermillion. Now that Angelus survived, he couldn't feel happier about it, but his pride also shattered when he looked at the state of his body.

'What a shame... I'm sure father didn't end up this injured after his trial.' he thought.

He was also a bit annoyed to have missed this year's Olympiades, but it was nothing in comparison to receiving his family's legacy.

Mirthal was checking the young master's pulse and the condition of his body when suddenly, the door burst open.

"SON!" The Duke was in such a hurry to see his son that he stumbled upon the chair right next to the bed.

Arlan, who escorted him, helped his liege to stand up before the Duke rushed toward his son and tightly hugged him. The Duke had watery eyes, and from the black circles under his eyes, he probably didn't sleep a single second during those four days.

Only a loving parent would wait so long for his child to wake up.

"My Lord, please refrain from squeezing your son to death." Mirthal scolded the Duke, but he also had a warm smile after seeing his lord so happy to see his son alive.

Thus, he made a small hand movement toward Arlan and they both left the room, giving intimacy to the worried father and his injured son.

"Father... I'm sorry for the Olympiades..." Angelus weakly said, ashamed to have missed such an important event.

"Ahahah, you just escaped death and that's what you are worrying about ? Who cares about the Olympiades, you life is more important to me." the Duke smiled.

"Father, did you also went through this pain when you were young ?"

The young lord thought about what happened inside the secret chamber. For him, the only reason why he has been injured so badly was because he wasn't strong enough.

He blamed himself for ending up in this state, but he didn't think for a single second that his trial has been different than his father's.

"Hm... Yes, but your ordeal seemed much harder than mine..." The duke didn't tell his son that throughout Vermillion duchy's history, nobody else endured the might of a million souls for more than an hour. Even he when he was younger did not bear the pain for more than thirty minutes.

He didn't want to give unnecessary concerns to his injured son.

"After witnessing your ordeal with my own eyes, I am sure our estimed patriarch blessed you from Heavens. No matter what you got from the pandora box, you'll need to seriously train from now on if you don't want to get devoured by your new power."

The duke wanted to know which soul merged with his son, but he knew it was too soon. The soul manifests itself progressively after the ritual ; it may take a month, a year, or even a decade. It depends on the person and the soul that chose him.

Even the Duke, who was considered a genius when he was young, manifested his new power only a year after he passed the ordeal with his father.

"Yes, father."

"I planned to enroll you in the Empire military after your twentieth birthday, but now that you obtained your soul, we may have to hasten the process... Joining the military will be beneficial for you, it will give you the experience you need to control your new power. However..."

The duke sighed, before adding.

"When she was pregnant with you, your mother wanted her child to become a renowned mage in the Emperor's court. At that time we fought a lot about it, but in the end, we decided to let our child choose his own path when he pass the ordeal and becomes an adult." The Duke had a sad face every time he thought about his deceased wife.

"For now, you just have to rest and listen to Mirthal, but once you have recovered from your injuries, you'll have to give me your answer. Do you understand ?"

The Duke felt bad to force his son to take such an important decision in just a few days, but after what he saw in the secret chamber... the duke knew he had to send his son to learn about the world and get some experience, or else he would never be able to control his newly acquired power.

If he joins the military, the Duke will send him to the Crimson knight order, which is the pride of the Vermillion duchy.

However, if he wants to follow his deceased mother's wish, he may have to join a mage academy and travel far from the estate.

"Yes, Father." Angelus nodded.

His father didn't know yet, but Angelus had his own plans in mind for a long time already.