Chapter 24 - A King's Worth

"If you wish for revenge, you need to become stronger. Stronger than anyone you know. Stronger than anything the world has ever seen." The sister lightly patted the unstable Marcus on the back, cautiously minding her words as she held out a small white circular object from within her pocket. "Take this," She whispered, handing it over to Marcus.

"W-What is that…?" Marcus slowly looked over, his vulnerable mind still in shambles. Easily swayed and manipulated by those around him.

"It's the first step in gaining unspeakable power." She held it out in front of him, "The first step in killing all those who wronged you. Simply take this pill and we shall start from there."

Marcus slowly reached out his hand and grabbed the small white pill held temptingly before him.

"If I take this. I can rip apart those bastards that killed my sister and destroyed my family?" He muttered in confirmation, staring dazzlingly at the pill which now laid in his hands.

"Yes."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Marcus slowly shifted his vision from the mysterious pill and glanced up at the sister, standing calmly before him.

"As The Caretakers of the Throne Room. Our loyalty to our King is undeniable. We would rather end our own lives than harm our leader." The sister gave a small bow In response.

Marcus glanced back down at the pill, slightly hesitating as he tightly clenches it in his palm. If he does take this, it would lead him down a path of no return. A path where ethics and morality would no longer matter. A world where the strong survives and the weak is disposed of.

If that was the cost of revenge, so be it. Marcus closed his eyes as he threw back his head, tossing the pill in his mouth and swallowing it without hesitation.

"If the universe despises me so much, then I shall no longer play by its rules. From now on, I will pave my own path. A path filled with blood and tyranny. A path where hesitation and naivety will cost the lives of thousands." Marcus slowly opened his eyes as he felt a sudden burst of power escaping his body, his mind finally stabilizing with one clear goal. Grow stronger and rain death upon those who wronged him.

With a glowing dark blue light resonating from his body, Marcus stood up, and slowly flexed his body. It felt different, but not stronger. Familiar but not exactly.

"What was that you gave me?" He turned around to look at the twins standing in awe behind him.

"That was a small portion of the previous King's power." the girl replied with a bow, "The portion of the power in which he used to train us. I simply returned it back to its rightful owner."

"I see," Marcus muttered, opening and closing his hand before raising it up and drawing a circle in mid-air.

"[Open Gate: Hell's Training Field]" He commanded instinctively, the spell somehow engraved in his head as a 2-meter gate opened before him, a powerful aura exuding out around all 4 sides of it.

"So this is the training…" Marcus frowned as his eyes stared beyond the gate, already anticipating the creatures in which he would encounter within.

"Although slightly different to the training gate we went through, our last King had mentioned that the training field was divided into 3 different modes. Basic, Difficult and Hell." The brother explained, his spine-tingling as he tried to walk a few steps forward, "Once you enter, you will not be able to leave until you've cleared the mission within, more so in the hell mode. In all the other modes, once we were faced with a situation where death is inevitable, we would be expelled from the gate and back here. But those that entered the hell mode gate, only 2 of the 10 that entered managed to come back out alive. There is no eject function." He said with a slight worry in his tone.

Marcus looked back at the brother with no emotions in his eyes, "If I die, so be it. It simply means I am not strong enough to be your king. However, if, no, when I do return prepare for a bloodbath."

After saying these words, Marcus looked straight back at the gate and took a step forward without hesitation, his body disappearing through the gate. The gate entrance closing shortly behind him.

*Ding!*

[Welcome to Hell's Training: Survival

Reward: Exit]

——

"Is he going to be alright….?" The brother suddenly broke the silence after the gate closed behind Marcus, leaving the two siblings to stand on the red carpet by themselves.

The sister didn't reply as she continued to stare at the spot where the gate had once been.

"Sister. Did we go too far? Is this really a good idea…?" He asked, hesitantly.

His sister slowly turned around, her crimson eyes staring into his. "Brother, we've waited so long to finally get this right. We've waited over 50,000 years to exact revenge. Now that our King has made an appearance, we can begin our slaughter once more. With the same world that brought millions of our people to their graves appearing within our grasp once more, and a King who wishes of bloodshed, once he returns from that gate, there'll be nothing that could stop us. If we let this opportunity slip by, there will be no other chances. This is not a time for hesitation." She explained, walking closer to him and patting him on the shoulder.

"But, he's going to find out we lied to him eventually." He muttered, hesitation still present in his voice.

"Brother, do you know what mission awaited him beyond that gate?" The sister smiled, "When he comes back out, mere familial connections would be the least of our problems."

"How do you even know if he'll make it out?" The brother blurted out with eyes of desperation, "We've waited over 2 thousand years. Did we just send our only method to freedom to his death?"

"...Are you questioning our King?" The sister frowned, staring into his eyes.

"You know what? Yes. Yes, I am!" The brother, hit his sister's hand off him, "The king I gave my loyalty to was like that of a God. No, he was a God. This, this feeble mortal who stood before us didn't even have one-tenth of our King's power! How are we meant to place our trust on someone weaker than us?"

"Brother." The sister creased her eyebrows, "Is your loyalty truly that limited? Was that all you could see?"

"What do you mean?"

"A king's power is not limited from within himself. His power originates from the loyalty of his subjects, their submission, their combined strength. A King's power grows as their entourage increases. As the King's loyal subject, I have placed all my trust in his words. His words are my law." She gave a confident and sly smile, placing a hand across her chest. "I will gladly hand over my life to the man that brings me hope and grants my dreams.

"Those weren't even his words, they were yours." The brother rebutted with a frown, "Pretending a nightmare crystal to be a viewing crystal. Manipulating him when his mind was unstable. Is that how you treat the one you place your utmost loyalty to?"

"I was simply persuading him down the correct path. What good is a useless King? No matter how powerful, nor intelligent a King is. His worth becomes useless the moment his ambitions die. A peaceful and passive king is not a king at all, he is simply a man with a title. A burden to his kingdom."