Death's Door 183 Volume 6: Chapter 15: Patron

Mrakus addressed his long-time friend and ally, the man who concocted this elaborate plot in the first place.

The man who Mrakus regarded as his brother.

The Shadow.

Shadow: "Well done"

Mrakus: "By now, I was starting to believe none of Chronos's victims was going to take action. But this man…he proved to be quite exceptional"

Shadow: "You really have struck a gold mine this time, huh?"

Mrakus: "Indeed, I have"

Shadow's face adorned a mischievous smile.

Mrakus: "But brother, if the plan succeeds, this version of you will be erased from existence. Are you truly fine with it? This entire plan was the result of your ingenuity, wouldn't you at least want to be around to witness it come to fruition?"

Shadow: "It is but a small price to pay. Besides, even if this version of me is gone, my legacy can still be passed on"

Saying that, Shadow handed Mrakus a small orb, filled to the brim with swirling dark substance.

Shadow: "I put all of my memories and experiences inside that orb. If the plan succeeds, I ask that you give that orb to the next version of me, provided I am still alive at that point"

Mrakus: "Brother, must you go so far?"

Shadow: "I have no choice. For the sake of the freedom of our kind, sacrifices must be made. I am sorry to have demanded so much of you, Mrakus, but you are the only one who is in the position to make sure this plan succeeds"

At first, Mrakus used to think the Shadow was a madman, but over time, he came to respect the man's fine capabilities and his ability to make complex, yet elaborate plans.

Mrakus may have been more powerful than the Shadow, but Shadow was easily the wiser of the two.

Mrakus: "Is it truly prudent to rely on one man?"

Shadow: "That is why; everything has to be arranged so that he has the highest chance of success"

Even if there were more people in that man's current situation, finding a man of his caliber was a mute goal.

After witnessing hundreds of Chronos's victims lose their minds, Mrakus knew that for a fact.

Even then, putting this much burden on a single man's shoulders was too much.

But under these circumstances, they did not have a choice.

Mrakus: "He has gone further than anyone else before him…Still; I wonder…Can he really pull this off?"

Shadow: "Only time can tell"

With how absolute the power of gods is, even the 1% chance of success was better than nothing.

Shadow: "For now, I want you to observe him, and aid him in any way you can, without attracting the attention of the gods. By now, he may already suspect that you are manipulating him, but he will not be sure of the reason. Make him believe that your goals simply align with his. This way, he is far more likely to make everything come to fruition, without jeopardizing our cause"

Mrakus: "He already accomplished so much, far more than his predecessors combined. He is not going to stop now. I am just afraid of the possibility of him losing"

Shadow: "It is fine if he loses, as long as he is not destroyed for good"

Mrakus: "I understand"

Shadow: "Also, I know this is tad bit too much to ask but…."

Mrakus: "Go on"

Shadow: "Could you also make sure that my past version is safe? Back then, I was nowhere near what I am now, and with the way he is changing history, there is a chance I might be erased from existence"

Mrakus: "I will make certain that does not happen"

Shadow: "Thank you, brother"

* * *

Elven Kingdom.

"Your majesty, you seem to be in good health, for someone who, as far as our kingdom knows, has passed away"

Currently the Elven King's body was sealed inside of an enormous bluish-white crystal, with only his head protruding out of it.

Due to the injuries and mutilations caused during the raid of Elven capital, Elven King's life force started to quickly fade away.

With his mana points stolen, his body could no longer keep functioning, and he was growing closer and closer to death.

Which is why, the Elven Arch Mages put him inside the giant mana crystal, to heal and keep him alive.

To say this was a crude way of maintaining the king's life would be a massive understatement.

As far as public knew, the Elven King had passed away, with his daughter taking over the throne.

But in reality, the Elven King was still pulling on all the strings, so to speak, since he no longer had real hands.

Elven King: "If your expertise was not necessary, half-blood, I would have executed you just for being in my presence"

Among elves, this man was known as the human-kin, due to the fact that he was by no means a pure elf.

He was known as Favio the Warlock.

A fruit of a twisted union between an elven woman and a human man, he was what most elves regarded as an abomination.

His ears were nowhere near as long or as pointy as those of pure elves and he was of larger build than them. With his long hair covering his ears, he was near-indistinguishable from humans.

While most elves looked delicate and fragile, there was almost nothing soft about him.

Unlike elves that lacked facial hair, he could grow a beard but never a moustache for some strange reason.

Even his face was nowhere near as fair and even shaped.

By human standards, he was a very handsome male, but by elven standards he was the most hideous one.

A single diagonal scar covered his face, from the forehead to the chin, crossing across his nose.

But the parts that stood out the most were his eyes.

One was green, like that of a normal elf, but the other eye was brown, the color of a human.

Due to his heritage, he was abandoned to die outside the village he was born in, but unfortunately, someone found him.

Years later, when he came back to the elven lands, the elves were disgusted with him and tried to chase him away at any opportunity.

No longer having a home to return to, he traveled across the distant lands and became known as the sage or a warlock.

That was a story from around 800 years ago.

Most elves were hoping he would be dead by now due to his human heritage, but the elven blood was too strong within him, allowing him to keep living with barely any signs of aging.

In his countless years of travel, he acquired power and wisdom that many could not hope to fathom even within their entire lifetimes.

In terms of magical ability, he was not inferior to any elf.

In fact, except for a select few, none could hope to take him on, one-on-one.

In terms of knowledge… there was none who could hold a candle to him.

Even Lukalis, the traitor, who was once his student, considered his expertise superior to her own.

A man like him was exceptional, to say the least.

Reluctantly, Elven King needed to gain his cooperation.

Due to his elven blood, even Favio would not be able to refuse the king's direct order.

Elven King: 'But how did she resist my control? She is an elf as well…'

That was essentially how elven royal house stayed in power, by overpowering the wills of their subjects with the power of blood.

The blood based domination was not absolute, of course.

Someone with an absolute will can always break free from the king's control.

Unbeknownst to the Elven King, the man before him arrived of his own accord, not because of the Elven King's order.

But as long as Elven King thought he was in control, all was well.

Just looking at his attire, Elven King could feel rage boiling within him.

Dressed in all white robes, Favio gave off the aura of a saint.

It was no secret that he was a worshipper of a different deity than the rest of the elven kind.

For elves, only a single deity existed, the Mother, also known as the Spirit of Nature.

Favio, on the other hand, worshipped another deity, with his moon-shaped necklace affirming his faith in her.

It was no wonder that he was known as the 'Heretic' among the elves.
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And now, this heretic was here to receive his mission.

Favio: "All right. Then let's get to the business…What it is you desire your majesty?"

Elven King: "I will give you two tasks, complete either of them, and I will make any wish of yours come true. Riches, women, land, anything you can think of will be at your disposal. But if you fail and come back empty handed, you shall be hunted down and killed like an animal you are"

Elven King already sent out his elite warriors and most powerful head-hunters with the exact same missions, but he still chose to summon Favio.

Favio: "Fair enough, so what are the two tasks?"

Elven King: "For my first task, I have sent out my elite troops to find a certain object, it has been over a month, and more than half of them returned, barely clinging to their lives. I would like you to find and retrieve this object"

Favio: "And the object in question is?"

Elven King: "Heart of a Dragon. It is the only thing that has the power to restore my body to its former glory"

Favio: "Indeed. Power contained within Dragon's heart is truly immense. Your body would not just be restored, but enhanced beyond your natural limits"

Elven King: "Exactly. With your experience, tracking down dragons and hunting them should not be an impossible task"

Favio: "It might be difficult, but I can manage"

Elven King: "As for your second task, I want you to hunt down a certain human hero"

Favio: "A hero?"

Favio feigned a surprise.

Elven King: "He is known as the Knight of Death"

Favio: "I have never heard of such a title"

Elven King: "You have not? You fool! That man… That man took everything from me!"

Elven King's rage ended up almost shattering the crystal that contained his mangled body.

Realizing this, Elven King immediately calmed down.

If the crystal broke now, he would die on the spot.

Elven King: "My soldiers also have the task of hunting him down, but I know you can do it sooner. I want you to find that hero and bring me his head"

Favio: "Are there any specific traits he has?"

Elven King: "I don't think so…No wait! His eyes! They are like yours. One eye was red but the other one was white…"

Favio: "Is that so…."

As the conversation continued, Favio listened to everything he could learn about the mysterious Knight of Death…

* * *

Favio: "Hey buddy"

Favio greeted his best friend and pet, Gray Wolf, Timid.

As far as Favio knew, Timid was the only creature that did not hate him, for some reason or another. Resting his head in the soft spot of Timid's fur, Favio sighed.

Favio: "All of them are fools, lost within their meaningless battles, unable to see what really is going on"

Favio: "Rather than a war between kingdoms, this is a war between the ones who carry the wills of gods….or at least something like that"

Elves worshipped the Mother, while humans worshipped Primary Gods, but as for Favio, he worshipped Noiluna, the moon.

Favio: "Still, taking on a dragon will not be easy. Most of them are in groups; led by at least one Dragon Lord…it might take months of tracking to isolate a weak one and ambush it…not fun"

Timid may not have been able to talk, but he sure could listen.

Favio: "Other elves can waste their lives to retrieve the dragon heart, too boring of a task for my tastes…"

Favio: "I am far more interested in this Knight of Death fellow. No matter how many futures I peer into, I can't see anyone who even remotely fits his description"

Favio's green eye briefly flashed red before returning to normal.

Favio: "Not even my goddess has all the answers, it seems! How frustrating!"

Favio: "I wonder…Did another champion of gods join the fray? Finally, things are heating up and becoming more and more fun!"

Even Timid, with its limited ability to communicate, could only lower his head a little at how hopeless his master was.

Favio: "But whatever he did to the king is priceless, ha ha ha! I mean, he pretty much turned the fool into the eunuch king!"

This was another aspect of Favio that disgusted most people who ever met him. He was a pure sadist.

But rather than inflict suffering, he simply loved to watch the continuous pain anyone ended up in. Simply put, he was an observer, the admirer of the art of pain.

Remembering the Elven King's current limbless and cockless condition made it very hard for Favio not to burst into laughter.

Favio: "The idiot declared a war upon human kingdom because a hero cut off his balls! I am telling you, this guy is amazing!"

The more Elven King told him about the Knight of Death, the more fascinated Favio became.

What's more, it seems like his old protégé, Lukalis is an ally of this Knight of Death.

It was almost like hearing a fable, a tale of someone admirable.

From what he heard, Favio came to the conclusion that this Knight of Death was the ultimate sadist, the type of person he had been looking for all these ages.

Suffering is beautiful.

It kept the victim in a state of constant pain, unable to feel relief or heal their souls, breaking them non-stop. A fate that many prefer death over, such was the art of pain.

That was partially the reason he travelled so much, to witness all the carnage, atrocity, and suffering around him. He wanted to enjoy it all to his heart's content.

While he did enjoy the pain, he almost never inflicted it, not because of his moral standards, but because he saw act of causing suffering as a greatest works of art.

And he was no artist. Anything he could try to do would simply be a sloppy imitation. Not worthy of anyone, not even him.

Now, Favio had the chance to find the ultimate artist of suffering.

Favio: "He even killed most of the king's offspring right before his eyes, not to mention the goblins invading and countless missing women…it simply cannot be a coincidence! This is a masterpiece created by none other than that man!"

Favio: "*Drooling* I wonder what he is like…and what kind of agony he will create next…I can't wait to see it!"

It was safe to say, this half-elf was not right in the head, in more ways than one.

Favio: "Oh, I wish I could stay around and see the war in its finest glory, but I cannot miss my chance to meet the ultimate artist I have been searching for so long!"

Yes, his goal was not the prize he would get at the end of the quest, the prize itself was irrelevant. What he wanted the most was the quest itself.

Favio: "I can't wait to meet you, Knight of Death!"

Chapter end