A Tough Decision

"Young master..."

Knock knock.

"Ale..."

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Ale! Are you in there?!"

BAM BAM BAM!

Rudy started banging on the door frame, yelling Ale's name at the top of his lungs. It was his submarine, made and controlled by none other than his mana.

Yet, there was this small part of the artifact that he had lost complete control over. It was absurd. He couldn't believe something like this was happening.

And the eerie silence in response to his loud yelling only made things worse. His gut feeling told him to cut everything apart and just smash right in. But the little bit of sanity at the back of his mind stopped him from doing so.

"Mr. Rudy? W-what's wrong? Why are you shouting?"

Kevin appeared soon after, shocked and surprised by all the yelling and door banging. His room was just down the corner, so it didn't take him long.

He had only left the room for five minutes, giving his young master some privacy along with a nice bath. What could possibly go wrong in such a short time for Rudy to be acting like that, he wondered.

"I lost control."

Bam bam!

Rudy banged on the door once again as he replied to Kevin's questions. But, of course, that wasn't enough for Kevin.

Unlike Rudy's teammates who chose not to interfere or ask more questions and simply trusted Rudy's decisions, Kevin was different.

He wasn't Rudy's companion, nor did he serve Rudy. His only concern was his young master, whose peaceful and calm bath was being interrupted by this seemingly unruly man in front of him.

"What's happening? All this commotion?!"

"Mister butler?"

"Did something happen?!"

"Is the young master okay?!"

More people started to appear one by one, all of them concerned about what was happening.

"Control over what? Your mind? Mana? The submarine?"

Kevin asked, bewildered by the whole situation.

"No. Yes. Well, a particular part of the submarine, this room."

Rudy pointed towards Ale's room and explained.

"I lost control over this part. It's as if it's not there, like there's a hole."

"And the young master is still inside?" Phil asked, confused.

"Yes. I've been calling for so long, but there's no answer."

"So why are we still waiting outside? Let's just cut the door down and go in?" Gary suggested.

They really did prefer using their swords more than their brains. But, of course, with strength like theirs, the brain was unnecessary.

"But what if it's just the young master...?"

Kevin paused for a moment, pondering, making others curious about what he was thinking and why he was so calm.

"What are you suggesting?"

"Well, it's just... it's the young master..."

"Yes...?"

"It's just him, you know... Maybe he's up to one of his antics again."

"An...tics..?"

Rudy asked, a little taken aback. It was true that Kevin was the one who knew Ale the best among all of them. And since it was Kevin, they couldn't disregard his remarks either.

"I did leave him unscathed just a few minutes ago. Maybe he's doing another one of his crazy experiments inside? Would it really be okay if we just barged in?"

While the group stayed quiet, contemplating the information Kevin had just given them, the person in question, the center of all this trouble, felt a sword piercing his heart from front to back.

"Kugh!"

Cough cough!

*Gasp!*

The stabbing pain of something going right through his heart made Ale's mind go blank for a few seconds.

He almost choked up with the sudden attack from the sword. But as he looked down, he saw not a drop of blood coming out of his chest.

The pain was momentary, lasting only for a moment or so. The sword that disappeared into his body left only a small hole in his dress. But that was all.

Ale placed his palm on his chest, inquiring the wounded site one more time. But no matter whether he touched or softly rubbed the area, there was no pain whatsoever.

"This isn't what I remember."

It was different from the past he remembered. In the future he knew, the methods he had to use to gain control over this sword were gruesome, cruel, and inhuman from a certain perspective.

Ale had to sacrifice a lot, including his emotions and rationality, just to be able to yield a small portion of its power. Yet, as he paid close attention to his heart, he could already feel the sword lying at rest inside him.

"Are you serious? You're really giving in? Just like that?"

"Hey..."

"Is this a joke?"

"Since when were you this easy?"

Ale tried to rile it up, but there was no reaction. The sword rested inside his heart with peace and calm, as if it was destined to be there.

"Haah... This is crazy..."

Ale brushed his fingers through his wet hair, ruffling it, trying to get rid of the remaining water. As he looked around, he could sense deep nostalgia within him.

Back at the Submarine.

"Let's break it."

"Yeah, it's taking too long."

"I agree."

Surprisingly, Kevin was also the first one to suggest breaking the door after a five-minute silence from everyone. He couldn't bear the thought of his young master getting into trouble or being harmed while he simply waited outside.

As Phil raised his sword, ready to slice the heavily constructed door in two, a small clicking noise came from inside the room.

Creeak!

Ale emerged wearing nothing but his bathing robe, water droplets dripping down his hair, a towel resting on his neck. The tired, or rather, droopy look on his face was different from his usual vibe, which was cheery and bright.

The aura Ale exuded resembled that of a weary and battered warrior who had fought on the battlefield for decades and had finally returned home. There was a certain sharpness etched into his being that was hard to ignore.

"What's wrong?"

He asked, his voice sounding deeper and more tired than usual.

"Young master... Are you alright?"

"Ale... You look tired. Is everything okay?"

Both Rudy and Kevin quickly caught on to the changes and expressed their concern. Ale glanced at the two of them simultaneously before dropping his eyes slowly to his chest.

"Except for getting stabbed in the heart, everything else is fine."

He sighed and answered, pointing towards the small cut in his robe. For some reason, his clothes were damaged, not only in the world inside the sword but also in real life.

"...what?"

"Stabbed?!"

The two looked in shock between Ale's tired expression and the cut on his chest as they tried to wrap their heads around what they just heard.