Chapter 32

I opened my eyes. Sunlight entered from a window nearby and was shining straight into my view. It made me sit up onto my bed.

I stared blankly into the room around me. My mind was foggy, as if I have lost all memories from recently.

"Good morning, Roland." A woman called out my name gently.

I turned towards the direction of the voice and saw a young lady in her 20s. She was readjusting her short brown hair, to prevent it from blocking her lake blue eyes. Looking at her made me feel nostalgic, in a way, probably because something in me gave me a sense that it has been a long time since I last saw her face.

"Kate…" I mumbled.

"Yeah, Roland? What's wrong? Are you sick?" She ran over to me and placed her palm on my forehead. Kate was looking at me worriedly, as she locked her eyes onto mine.

"Nah, I'm fine. I just feel like I had a long dream," I said. Kate's expression turned curious. Knowing what she was going to ask, I added, "I can't recall it though."

Kate giggled. As she stood up, about to go return to what she left unattended, I caught her and pulled her into my embrace.

"Roland…." Kate was confused.

"I'm sorry. I just feel like I missed you."

X

After a short while, Kate returned to her house chores. I sat back down on the bed, trying to clear my mind.

A breeze entered the room from a window and gently caressed my face. I looked outside the window and found myself frozen, staring at the buildings and the people on the streets.

A tear subconsciously formed in my right eye. "Hah?" I rubbed it off. Then, both my eyes got soggy. Before I knew it, two streams of tears poured down my face.

"Humans? A city of humans?" Words came right out of my mouth. Something within me felt that I haven't seen any humans in a long time, but I just don't understand why.

Kate ran over to me. "Roland? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Probably just caught something in my eyes," I said as I wiped off the tears. "I just feel like I missed this peaceful view."

"Well, that's to be expected. All you have been doing is going on missions lately." Kate said as she stood up. I continued sitting there, admiring the view in front of me.

It was like a heavy cloud covered my mind. I felt like I haven't been home for at least 2 weeks, but at the same time, I was home all along.

I was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Coming," Kate announced.

I stood up and walked towards the door too. Kate opened the door, and we were met with a man with grey-ish skin. He didn't look all that old, but he was emitting an unusual aura around him, giving me a sense that I looked nothing but a little kid in front of him.

"Ahh, good morning, Miss Kate," the man said. He glanced over at me, then quickly turned his attention back to Kate. "Miss Kate, I brought the vegetables you wanted."

"Good morning to you too, Mr Amir," Kate replied. "Roland, can you help me take the vegetables in?"

"Ahh… Just a question, who are you?" I blurted out.

“Mr Amir has been here for a month or so now," Kate said. "But, you probably never met him because you’re always busy on missions.”

My mind was still foggy. I couldn’t remember anything, so I decided to accept what she said. There didn’t seem to be any reason that she would want to lie to me anyway. “Nice to meet you, Mr Amir,” I said as I offered my hand.

“Nice to meet you too, Mr Roland,” Amir said, accepting my handshake.

Amir's hand was rough, to say the least. It was the hands of someone with a lot of experience in the world. I looked up at him. He had a warm smile on his face, but it felt like he was hiding many secrets too. My mind started to wander.

"Roland, the vegetables, please?" Kate said, probably because she noticed I was frozen as I stared at Amir.

"Ahaha, okay," I replied. I pulled back my hands. "See you next time then, Mr Amir."

"Nah, call me Amir. I insist." Amir started acting friendly. I decided to follow along in the act.

"Not unless you call me Roland," I said.

"Okay, Roland. See you."

X

I spent the rest of the day with Kate. She told me all about our neighbors, updating me on what has been happening during my supposed mission that I had recently returned from. For example, Mrs Rahl, who I also couldn't remember, had apparently given birth to a pair of healthy twins.

Kate also asked about my latest mission. I had no idea about it, so I could only tell her, "sorry. I can't talk about it yet."

Kate pouted. Suddenly, her face turned pale. She stared at me blankly, not saying anything at all.

I looked back at her. Then, with both my hands, I squished her cheeks. "What is it?" I said with a warm, relaxed smile.

Kate's face turned glum. "Do you remember… Mr Shen?"

"Mr Shen?" I asked. Mr Shen was one of our neighbors, and weirdly enough, I realized he was the only person I can remember so far, besides Kate, that is.

"Something happened…. when you were gone. Mr Shen… he… he is…. no longer with us…." Kate's voice had a tone of trauma and sorrow. Her blue eyes filled with fear as words stuttery came out of her mouth.

I subconsciously got closer and pulled her into my embrace, patted her head, trying to comfort her. "Don't worry. I'm here now." I said.

X

Kate took a while to calm back down. Something must have happened when I was not here. It was best I avoid raising that topic in front of Kate for now, so I thought that maybe I could ask around the neighborhood, or even Mr Amir.

It was then, I heard a knock on the door. I answered the door to find a tall man in the King's Royal Army uniform. He had a yellow badge with yellow and red stripes on the right bicep area of his clothes, showing his high position in the army. I recognized him immediately. "Romeo," I said. "What's up?"

My voice echoed around the house. Suddenly, Kate shivered with fear, curling her body up to get as small as possible.

Looking at Kate's frightened face was enough for me to stitch together the pieces. Without a doubt, I swung a punch into Romeo's face.

"Ughhhh," Romeo fell straight onto the ground.

"What the heck did you do to Kate?" My eyes were locked onto him.

Romeo has always abused his power and influence in all kinds of ways, ranging from theft to rape, and even to murder. He has influence in the Royal Army, and together with his noble blood lineage, he can be said to be one of the most powerful people in the nation. I just never thought that he would be so daring to stand up to one of his superiors from the army.

Romeo glanced over at Kate, then a realization came to him. He stood back up with a grin. "Oh, sorry. I didn't think that the cute little missy over there was one of your ladies. I only wanted to have some fun with her, but another man got in my way. So, I did the responsible thing and disposed of him for you."

"I'm pretty sure I warned you to never approach my neighborhood," I said, holding back my anger. "You not only came, but caused a disturbance too."

"Heh. You should be thankful for what I did for you. Did you think that I still have to follow your orders anymore?" Romeo proclaimed with a smug face. "The one you are looking at right here is now a Reaper Squad Leader," he added, patting himself on the chest.

"You really don't know how the Squad Leader system works huh?" I walked closer. "Squad are ranked based on the power of their leader and how experienced they are. So, there are reasons for someone to be ranked as the leader of Reaper Squad One, you know."

"Don't be so full of yourself, Roland. As you said, experience as a leader matters, that's why my squad is only ranked fifth. But, the leader of Squad Two is just a small fry against me. I already beat him in the Leader Duels a week ago. So, how strong can you even…."

I didn't wait for him to finish. Listening to him made my ears sore. Within half a second, I dashed right in front of him and gave him another taste of my fist. This time, with much more strength than the one before.

Romeo was flung onto the street. Passersby gathered around us. Mr Amir also happened to be among the crowd.

Romeo managed to get back onto his feet once again. He had an even bigger smile, probably because he thought that the punch was nothing. "Heh. Roland, is that all you…."

He annoyed me. His whole existence angered me. This was what I was willing to do to anyone who dared to try to lay their hands on Kate.

I teleported right in front of him. "You’ve really underestimated the difference in power between the first and the second," I said. "I'll show you what the true power of the first is."

I formed a fist, and with most of my strength, I punched right into his abdomen. Blood gushed out of his mouth. Then, with my other hand, I landed another punch. This time, launching him above the ground. Lastly, a chopping kick to finish it off, blasting him back down to Earth. With this combo, several bones should have been broken, as a warning to him and others who might want to mess with me in the future.

"Hah hah hah…" Romeo seems to still have something to say. "That's not bad. It's a little weaker than I anticipated though," he proclaimed as he struggled to stand back up. "Hey Roland. Have you heard of Sunfire?"

I was shocked, not by the fact he could still talk and stand up, but by his sudden question. "Sunfire?" I asked, thinking I might have misheard him.

"Yea. Sunfire. If you don't know what it is, I guess I'll let you find out now." Romeo raised his hand into the sky.

I instantly rushed toward him. I knew what Sunfire was. I even saw Sunfire in action. But, I just didn't think that someone in the empire would know about it.

Sunfire. An extremely powerful spell. The root of the spell was about trading your soul to the Sun, and in return, the area around you would be set ablazed into a crisp.

"Embrace the cataclysm! Behold, the…" Romeo was chanting the spell exactly. I don't have much time.

"Phantom Translocation!" I cast, bending the space between me and Romeo, and basically teleporting right in front of him. Then, with both my hands, I twisted his neck. I didn't want to kill him as it just brings unnecessary trouble, but I am responsible for guarding my land.

Romeo fell flat onto the ground. There wasn't any breathing. He was dead. Everyone around us gasped at the cold body on the ground in front of me.

A man then ran up to me. He had the Royal Army uniform on too. "Sir Roland, the king is looking for an audience with you. His Majesty ordered Sir Romeo to get you, but..."

"Okay. I'll be there soon," I replied as I walked back to my house.