Withered Will

Albatross had only realized that something was wrong when the warm liquid hit her stomach, and by then, it was far too late.

She had always stopped drinking when she felt herself being overwhelmed by the amount of Aether accumulating in her body. Though she had suspected that there might be something wrong with the tea, Theodore himself never had a problem drinking them. This led to Albatross concluding that it was the difference in their ability to manipulate Aether. Since Theodore had brewed the tea for himself, it would of course be tailored to his needs.

However, the one she drank on this day was different. With just one sip, she could feel herself being filled with Aether to the point of bursting. When she realized that Theodore had not touched his own mug, her worst fears were confirmed. Albatross could only curse her own foolishness.

Now, gazing upon the aftermath of that mistake, Albatross found herself slumped against a wall. From her hands, blood dripped to the floor, faintly warm from having just been spilled.

She had done it; she had plunged that knife of hers into Theodore's throat. She knew that a knife wouldn't have been able to cut through a mage's robes, making the neck the only apparent weak spot for a quick kill.

It was only when she had plunged the knife into him did she realize what she had done. Though she had stolen, cheated, and poisoned before, this was the first time she took someone's life directly. Not only that, but it was the life of a ten-year-old boy, a child, no less.

Albatross broke away her sight from her bloodied hands and turned towards Theodore's still body. Theodore had claimed that he was the reincarnation of the Demon Lord, the very being that sowed chaos into this world and caused so much pain and bloodshed for so many. Yet, Theodore himself was so small, much smaller than Albatross. She recalled how easy it was for her to hold him, how his weak and small frame was completely powerless against her.

She could hardly believe herself, how she had just gone ahead and murdered a small child. Was it because he knew her secret and had to be silenced? Was it because he claimed to be the Demon Lord, the one responsible for the suffering she went through? Those were certainly reasons, no doubt, but Albatross was still shocked by the extent of her cruelty, by how decisively she went through with it. Albatross had never thought of herself as a good person, but to go so far... She couldn't have imagined it just the day before.

Albatross felt something within her breaking. The fatigued that had built up within her over the nine years she survived in this city suddenly came flooding out, hitting her all at once. Feeling quite miserable, Albatross curled up into a ball. She was tired, so very tired, to the extent that she was surprised by just how tired she was.

Albatross had let her guard down. Even though she knew that mages couldn't be trusted, as she spent time with Theodore, she felt that he was different. Within him, she could not see the ravenous desperation that plagued everyone within the city. From the master to true apprentices to the apprentices-in-name, everyone stole, deceived, and betrayed one another to climb the ladder of power, to gain even a bit of favor from those more powerful than they. In this city where there existed a large disparity of power, the only ways to escape oppression were to either gain power or gain the favor of someone in power. In this city, Albatross knew that she couldn't afford to trust anyone.

Theodore, however, Albatross thought differently. He was new to the city and had been immediately placed under an elder. Albatross thought that he had not tasted the desperation everyone else suffered in this city, she even thought of him as a bit naive. In other words, she looked down on him. And due to that, she thought that she could lure him into a false sense of security with her. She believed that she would have a chance at controlling him and, vile as it might be, planned on seducing him as he got older.

On top of that, there was the Aetherglow tea Theodore would brew daily. The Aetherglow herb was a regulated resource that only the most favored apprentices had access to and even then, only a rare few had the pleasure to acquire as many as they pleased. Theodore, unbeknownst to the person himself, was one of these rare apprentices. That was the other reason why Albatross thought him to be naive. Had he known how rare these herbs were in this city, he likely wouldn't have shared it with others so readily, much less an apprentice-in-name like herself. Even so, she happily partook in it, hoping that it would accelerate her training.

And so, In her desperation and her underestimation of Theodore, Albatross got careless and paid the price.

Curled up in the corner, Albatross was done. Her will was broken and she saw no way out of this situation. Her only desire at this point was to reunite with her family on the other side, if there was even such a thing. That being said, she would rather not have a painful death.

Her eyes once again turned towards Theodore, trailing towards the knife stabbed into his neck. She thought about going out on her own terms, about where to plunge that same knife into herself for the quickest result. Yet, when she looked over, she found Theodore's hand over the knife, pulling it out.

Albatross's lips parted, but she couldn't utter a word. She watched in shock as Theodore rose from the floor and crawled up onto his two feet.

Theodore cast his gaze down upon her, his eyes bloodshot. He opened his mouth, seemingly trying to speak, only to cough out a small amount of blood. Even so, his composure remained unshaken and he appeared imposing in the eyes of the shocked Albatross.

Eventually, Theodore cleared out the blood in his throat and once more began to speak.

"A mere knife cannot kill a Demon Lord," he declared.

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End of Chapter 47

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