Volume 1 Chapter 8: Part 4: You Need To Die

"Do you really have to go?" Irene says as she gives Onyx a tearful look. He's all dressed up with armor and a sword. Giving a wry smile, Onyx pats her,

"I have to. It's another training expedition." Walter and Vargar asked Onyx to go on another expedition. Instead of dealing with orcs, they ask him to deal with kobolds.

"If it's another training expedition, why am I not going?!" Irene screams out in denial! Onyx was the only one going while she was stuck staying at home.

"Remember last time? Walter doesn't want us to go together as there's too much risk involved." Having the two heroes go on such an expedition would be dangerous as they might lose both if something like that happened again.

"But that's the point! What if there is another monster attack?! With the two of us together, nobody can beat us!" Even Irene understands why Walter wanted to do this. But that's why she wants to go with him.

Remembering what happened before, Irene doesn't want another one of these instances to happen again. She's afraid. Afraid that Onyx won't be coming back.

Onyx continues to console her, "You don't have to worry. This time it is only kobolds. I won't be gone for too long." Hugging her tightly, Irene felt a lot of warmth coming from him. But that warmth is why she doesn't want him to go.

Not now. Not ever.

But there is no stopping him.

"Promise me you will come back. Promise me you will come back alive." Irene says as she puts up her pinky finger.

"..." Onyx takes a moment of silence as he looks at her finger.

"If you can't promise me, I'm coming with you!" Irene shouts out. But Onyx quickly stops her from coming,

Onyx quickly reacts as he takes her pinky, "No way! You don't need to come! I promise I'll survive."

"Promise me you will come back?"

"...Yes."

Irene doesn't catch the sudden pause as she continues, "And whoever breaks this will be punished. They'll have to listen to EVERYTHING the other has to say."

Her eyes turn dark, and a suffocating aura forms around her as she stares at Onyx. Everybody quickly backed away from the two, scared she would do something to them.

Can I move back too? And what do you mean everything? What are you planning to make me do?! If the people around felt a dark aura: what is he feeling right now? But he can't move back at all. The vice grip Irene has on his shoulders locks him to the ground.

"...I promise." With Onyx promising and the pink promise added on, Irene became content. Well, slightly. Enough to let Onyx go. She kisses him on the cheeks,

"Have a safe trip." Onyx smiles back and waves at her until he can't see her.

...

"When is he going to come back?" Irene walks back and forth as she waits for Onyx's return. It's been a few days since Onyx left on the expedition.

Even when she trained with Walter, the king could tell Irene was out of it. He told her to focus on herself.

But how could she? Irene is still worried that something horrible happened to Onyx. The day of departure is still stuck in her mind.

Onyx's expression was just too odd. Even when he answered her question, Irene knew it was just an excuse to cover it up.

She looks down at the necklace Onyx made for her.

He promised me. He promised me he'll come back. Irene kept telling herself this for the past few days, creating hope and ease for herself.

Her childhood friend isn't a liar. Onyx has always kept his promises. Especially towards her.

But that hope she had was quickly destroyed by what came next. What's going on? Irene notices a bunch of knights running. The expressions they have on their faces are worry and disbelief.

Irene's heart starts to beat crazily seeing them run. At any moment, it might explode from her body. She grabs one of the knights, "Where is everybody running to?"

The knight's expression is pale as he explains, "The expedition party came back! But there's only one person who arrived!" The moment Irene hears that her heart drops into the pits of despair.

Irene quickly pushes the knight away and dashes off, following where the others are going. The only thought she has right now is to pray.

Pray that the one who came back is none other than Onyx. But when she sees who it is, there's nothing she can say.

The person isn't Onyx.

And because of that, nothing else matters to Irene anymore. She grabs onto the guy's collar and begins to shake him around!

"Where is Onyx?!" Irene's eyes become pitch black as she snarls! She can't take it anymore. Her emotions explode. The only thought she has on her mind is to figure out what happened to Onyx throughout all of this.

"Irene, let go of him. If you keep holding him like that, he won't be able to talk." A female trainee says as she grabs onto Irene's arm. Irene held to the knight really tightly. Much less speak; the guy can't even breathe! He's even convulsing from her grip.

Irene drops him to the ground without a care about his injuries.

"Now, talk. What happens to Onyx? Why are you the only one who came back?" She isn't the only one who wants to know. The other knights and trainees are worried too. There were 20 people on the expedition, and only one came back.

What the knight said next sealed the deal, "Everybody besides me is dead!" The whole courtyard becomes silent and shocked.

"....No." But the damage of his words on Irene is the worst.

...

"Are you alright?" Vargar asks Walter.

"Mmhmm, I'm fine," Walter says to Vargar. He looks out the window at the sight of Irene and the knights mourning the deaths. It has been a day since they received the news about the knights and Onyx.

Walter didn't wait and instantly held a funeral for everybody today.

"Vargar?"

"Yes."

"Is this really the right decision?"

"..." Hearing his words, Vargar stays silent for a moment. But then he sits down on the sofa, "It was the best decision for the kingdom."

"I see." Walter can only chuckle at his friend's words. It's Vargar's turn to ask,

"Are you sure it's ok not to tell Irene about this?" Vargar knows the death of Onyx will affect Irene more than what's happening now. The moment it sinks in, that's when everything will snap.

"We've made a promise to him. And he's right. Do you know what would happen if we revealed the truth?" Walter can already tell what Irene will do when she finds out. He sighs and looks outside again,

"Everything went smoothly because of him."

Vargar nods, "Yeah. Everything went well because of Onyx."

...

"What do you mean die for the kingdom?!" When Onyx heard these words, his face turned blank from shock and confusion. Die for the kingdom?

Does Walter mean to give his heart and soul for the kingdom? Or does he mean the literal thing?

Walter explains, "Onyx, do you know the assassination attempt and the expedition are related?"

"!" Onyx's expression turns blank. But he asks, "What do you mean?"

"Onyx, the reason why the assassins attacked you was that the first attempt failed. Remember what happened during the expedition. Don't you remember before you guys fought the chimera, a camp of humans was destoryed?"

Onyx nods, "Yeah. Wait, so the two groups are related to each other?" Never did he expect the two to be connected.

Vargar and Walter nod their heads.

"Why are they targeting me?" That's the thing Onyx's confused about. Why would they target him? He didn't do anything wrong?

Vargar narrows his eyes, "Even you should know about it now. Did you really forget the information you gave me? Think about it for a second. Remember what that captain said."

Onyx thinks about it for a bit. And it clicked!

How are you able to use magic?! The captain of the assassin kept saying that. And that's the thing,

Only a handful of people know Onyx can't use magic. And the only people who knew he could use magic were; Walter and Vargar.

Onyx processes the information for a split second as his eyes turn wide.

"The Holy Land." Walter and Vargar nod their heads.

"But why? Why would the Holy Land do this to me?!" Onyx raises his voice out of disbelief and anger. He just can't believe the Holy Land will do this to him. He has never done anything wrong or tried anything weird to garner such actions.

"It's not because you've done anything wrong. It's because you're the hero of darkness." Vargar sighs. Walter continues,

"Onyx, The Holy Land has a belief that the light element is the ultimate element. Anyone who can use light magic is treated as the superior being from The Holy Land's perspective."

That's why. Onyx felt it was odd that the priests from the Holy Land would treat Irene so well. Now it makes sense,

"Then-"

"Let him finish," Vargar says with a dark expression. And Walter continues,

"And because the dark element is the direct opposite of light, their views on it are just as skewed. They treat anyone with dark magic as heresy and a challenge to their belief.

And you, the hero, are considered the symbol of darkness itself. The Holy Land saw you as the number one threat to their religion."

"Then why did they choose to teach me?" If they wanted to kill him: why send a priest to teach him?

Walter massages his temple, "You're still a hero. So they still have to keep face for you. However, that doesn't mean they won't do anything underhanded. Said what the priest did."

The priest was sent here to teach Onyx and Irene magic. Albeit not knowing any dark magic, the priest used any excuses possible to prevent Onyx from ever learning it. Probably to stop the child from becoming a threat and to keep tabs.

Hearing all of this, Onyx clenches his fist tightly. Furious about the injustices he faced. All of it made sense to him now. The reason why Irene was taught so much magic while he got nothing.

"We can use the assassins to tell the-"

"They're dead, Onyx."

"Huh?!"

"The assassins were killed the moment we interrogated them." Vargar has a dark expression, remembering how the assassins died. The Holy Land may look saintly, but inside, they're vicious.

"...I see. But why do I have to die?" That's the part Onyx can't make heads of.

"The Holy Land will keep targeting you until you are dead. And with these last two attempts failing, they'll go all out." Walter says.

The Holy Land will never stop.

"And that's why you need to die. Onyx, even though I will do everything in my power to protect you, I am not willing to sacrifice the people of my kingdom."

The first time, they tried to kill Onyx covertly. But this time: The Holy Land decided to kill him in broad daylight. What would happen next time when Onyx walks out?

Will they kill innocents just to get to Onyx? If a citizen was killed, Walter wouldn't stand for it. It would be an all-out war with The Holy Land.

But that's something Walter didn't want to have.

If the Espoir Kingdom goes to war with The Holy Land, they have to account for everything. How many casualties would they have? Will they have enough supplies to last? There are too many variables to account for.

The Holy Land will not care how many people died from killing Onyx. But not for Walter. All of his citizens are considered family to him.

And Onyx is family to him as well. And that's why this is a tough decision for Walter to decide.

But to risk one for a million. Even if Onyx is the hero, that doesn't matter to Walter. All of his citizens are equal. No matter what class or skill they have.

This decision was something Walter decided on.

And he isn't the only one who understands this. Onyx makes a weird expression as he realizes what'll happen if a war breaks out. That's why,

"I understand. I will die then."

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