5 THE STORM AND HELL BEGINS

The door opened revealing a 40-year-old man with brown hair, white skin, yellow eyes, 1 meter 80 cm tall and a normal physique.

joseph: are you kuro?

The boy could only nod since he hadn't seen the man for years.

joseph: come on

The man stepped aside to let Kuro pass and close the door behind them.

joseph: follow me

they both walked to the second floor, kuro following jospeh reaching a room, since apparently the second floor of the premises is his home.

joseph: from now on this will be your room, so you can do what you want with it. Today I will not open the bar so you can rest and make yourself comfortable, tomorrow we will start early so rest as much as you can

without further ado, joseph left him alone and then walked to the first floor.

being alone kuro decided to open the door... being surprised to see the room since it is totally clean, besides having all the new things or so it seems.

so he entered the room and then closed the door.

I walk towards the bed seeing its wooden base along with the new mattress and the sheets, in addition to the pillows.

There was also a brand new desk with a chair along with a bookcase which had some books on magic. finally a closet so that he could put his clothes.

before doing anything else he decided to get sebastian's gift by putting the box on the bed and then sitting on it and starting to open it.

causing a big smile to appear on his face, in addition to some tears beginning to flow down his face.

Inside the gift there are several things, these being a few sets of totally new clothes, in addition to a pair of equally new boots, these being suitable for his new job.

kuro: no doubt he had to return the favor to sebastian and carmen one day for everything they have done for him so far, in addition to helping the orphanage.

so he began to arrange his clothes in the closet that he has in his room, in addition to approaching the window that there was, which lets in sunlight and is covered by curtains.

Going through the curtains he saw that the window overlooked the main street that led to the bar.

before he could do anything else the door to his room was opened by joseph.

joseph: the food is ready, do you want me to bring your plate here or come with me next month

kuro: I prefer to accompany him to eat than to do it alone

So they both left the room and then walked to the dining room, which is on the second floor, so they both began to eat together a delicious soup with potatoes, carrots and a little meat.

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the next day joseph was in charge of waking up kuro to start his work day.

joseph taught kuro everything he needed to know, since he would be in charge of keeping the tables clean, delivering customer orders, washing what was used, since joseh would be in charge of cooking and serving beers for customers so if he needed help with something kuro would do that job. since the bar has two functions.

During the day it is a restaurant receiving families, children, women and men who wanted to try the delicacies that Joseph prepares.

At night the chaos began as the knights of the empire attended the bar to drink beer and forget about his horrible day at work. precisely these are the best customers, but the worst people, since their beer consumption is too much, being 60% of the local profits.

Being already drunk, they usually begin to bother Kuro without him being able to defend himself as the night progresses and these more drunk people tend to be more cruel towards Kuro, who can only put up with this so as not to get Joseph in trouble.

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Thus the days began to pass where both began to strengthen their relationship beginning to be more like that of a father and a son.

but even so kuro was still bothered by the gentlemen who used to go to the bar, which began to receive more customers than usual since people used to go just to bother kuro, but the worst came at night since they began to humiliate to kuro and spending more and more with the boy.

Kuro knew perfectly well that this would happen sooner or later so he was prepared for everything they did to him ........

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but he wasn't prepared for what was to come

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a new day began in the kingdom so kuro and joseph were already working to open the bar and start working.

As always, Kuro received looks from people along with one or another insult or humiliating comment for him. although he was already used to this kind of behavior from customers.

so he continued with his normal day like every day he has done since he came to work with joseph.

the day went on like any other, arriving like this at night, just the worst moment of the day and when everything gets complicated.

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Without a doubt, this day is getting weirder with each passing minute.

since like every night the gentlemen began to arrive asking for food and beer as usual. Being a quiet night at the moment, but Kuro knew that at any moment the humiliations would come.

the local bell rang so a new client arrived at the local, so kuro went to serve him...surprised when he turned around...finding the man he never wanted to meet again. ....Captain Cold.

although he was not the only one to be surprised by the presence of the captain, since most of the gentlemen who were in the premises began to get nervous, making the atmosphere begin to get a little uncomfortable.

The captain didn't even look at Kuro so he walked towards the bar counter.

joseph: good night captain cold, it's an honor to have you here tonight, what do you want to drink?

cold: I've been told that the food and beer at this place are some of the best in the kingdom, so I'd like a bit of both.

joseph: I'll bring your order right away

The man left the bar for a moment to go for the cold order, bringing with him a plate with an appetizing steak with a mug of beer.

while this was happening with joseph, kuro was serving the other customers, who were behaving without bothering kuro, which was surprising him.

cold: do you know that they also told me something else about this place?

joseph: i have no idea captain

cold: ......they told me......that the entertainment in this place.......is the best

Just as he finished speaking, he turned around and then put his foot on Kuro, who ended up falling to the floor along with some dishes, but that was not the only thing that happened, since while Kuro was picking up the broken dishes, he began to feel a liquid that began to go down his head.

Captain Cold took his beer mug and then began to base it little by little on Kuro's head.

cold: wow.....looks like I spilled my beer.....so clean it up...scum

the nightmare had returned after so long ... but the worst thing for kuro is to see again that smile with which he destroyed his dreams and now it had come back to destroy his happiness.

with a smile he started to clean everything again... While trying to stay calm and not disrespect the knight captain, Kuro could only smile.

cold: but what's up guys, why so serious ..... we're here to have fun and forget about our day

When he finished speaking, he took the plate he was eating from and then crashed it on Kuro's head, causing his hair to be stained with the sauce and fat from the steak, as well as a few drops of blood that began to fall from Kuro's head. kuro, since the plate had caused a wound in it.

After that action by Captain Cold, the laughter began to sound around the place.......but these are more forced than anything, since although many of those present did not finish accepting Kuro. what captain cold was doing is going out of line, because so far the only thing they have done to kuro are humiliating comments or looks of contempt .... but going physical and even causing him harm is spend too much

cold: come on boy, clean everything and also treat that disgusting wound.....although not as much as this dump

Those last words had made Kuro's patience explode, so he was willing to do anything to defend Joseph's bar and himself, not for nothing had he taken care of him and given him a place to sleep, in addition to a job.

but before kuro did anything....someone had thrown his beer at captain cold dousing him with the drink.

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being the cause of this....joseph

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joseph: I'm sorry captain, but I can't allow you to humiliate my worker like that, so I kindly ask everyone to leave the bar, it closes early today

everyone's face went from laughter to surprise, since no one had ever faced the captain like this, because many knew the problems that this would cause.

cold: ...okay....let's go guys....but first....how much money is it for what was caused

joseph: don't worry about the money, the amount is going to the house today, so leave the premises as soon as possible

Given Joseph's words and how serious he was, all those present began to leave the premises, the last being Captain Cold.

cold: "this humiliation is going to be paid by both"

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the place was empty so joseph closed the bar and then went with kuro and help him walk to the second floor where he took him to the bathroom.

joseph: first take a bath and then I'll treat your wound

At Joseph's words, Kuro entered the bathroom and then opened the shower and began to feel the water fall on his body, besides he could feel the fat and blood go away along with the water.

after a few minutes he was already clean so he came out of the bathroom finding joseph in the dining room on the second floor with a first aid kit so he went to him so that he could start treating his wound in the head.

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Silence reigned between the two, since neither of them dared to say anything about what had happened in the bar and especially with Captain Cold.

kuro: why did you do it sir joseph?

joseph: the what, defend you?. I would give my life for you....after all I love you as my son....

kuro: the feeling is mutual, since I love him like my father

joseph: before continuing I have to tell you something, so pay close attention....years ago I was an adventurer of this kingdom

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Being an adventurer in the kingdom is much more difficult than being a knight, since the latter protect the people inside the walls, the king and the high-ranking people.

On the other hand, the adventurers do the dirty work, since in the empire there is a guild of adventurers, which is in charge of giving work to the people who decide to be one.

These people vary, from men or women who have great strength or agility, to magicians with great power.

But why are these people adventurers and not knights?

The reasons vary or are too many, the most frequent is because they were not accepted as knights, either because they did not pass the tests or because they were not what the knights wanted. For their part, the magicians were rejected because they did not show enough magic to belong to the kingdom.

others simply decided to become adventurers.

but this is not an easy or simple job, much less recognized.

Since their jobs are mainly to exterminate monsters that are causing problems outside the kingdom, kill groups of assassins or any other threat which endangers the kingdom or its image.

for the same reason it was common for adventurers to form teams to carry out the jobs they had taken.

although not everything is simple in their lives, since death is in every job they do, so they know how they go to work, but not how they return. But what other option do they have since many of them do not know how to do more things, so this is their only option to be able to eat or even to feed their families.

Others, however, only do it for fun or for the experience of being an adventurer, since if your achievements are known by the king or captain cold, they think about accepting that person to be a knight or magician of the kingdom.

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Joseph: At that time I was a strong young man full of desire to know what this world had in store for me in the future. And believe me, I never would have expected it, since I met a woman in the guild. she was strong, beautiful, but above all cold with everyone who came close to her. we were both strong so the guild gave us a difficult job so we could do it together. and that was how during the mission we began to be closer.

in the end we started a relationship where we both loved each other. Some time after we started our relationship, she confessed to me that she was pregnant, so I was the happiest man in those days.

but I can tell you for sure that destiny is a mystery and nobody knows what it has planned in your life until it is time.

one day like any other I went to work, while my wife stayed to take care of our son. the day was very normal since I had taken a simple job to be able to return quickly and be with my family......

When I got home, I noticed that something was wrong, since it was very quiet, so I started walking around looking for my wife or son, but I didn't find anything. until I went to the kitchen where I found a trace of a fight in it, what confirmed to me that something had happened was a letter that I found on the table telling me that I would pay for what I had done.

an address was noted in the letter so I quickly went to her ready to do anything to protect my family.

when I arrived it was a house far away from the kingdom so I could only trust me to protect my family. The house was surrounded by several assassins whom I successfully exterminated and without much ruin, so I infiltrated the house to be able to look for my family.

I found them in a room, my wife was gagged and tied to a chair, while a man had my son in his arms, who was crying.

With the rage spreading through my body I decided to kill everyone and leave with my family safe and sound from that place.

that's how a fierce battle began.......and I didn't plan on losing.

The battle was the most difficult that I could ever have had throughout my life, so I was tired, as well as wounded by all the enemies I had already defeated.

but I was sure of one thing and that was that my family was safe and I was about to leave that place with them.

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but it would have been for them.

when I was leaving the place I was surrounded by a group of assassins so I was prepared for the battle and I was sure that I could defeat them.

until a magical attack hit me from behind making me fall to the ground wounded.

before I could do anything I was surrounded by some knights of the kingdom for what I had naively believed that they would help me against the assassins .... but it was the opposite, since they themselves put a pair of handcuffs on me so that I would not did nothing.

Of all of them, the only one I recognized was Captain Cold.

he himself told me that the people he had exterminated were knights in disguise, since they were carrying out an infiltration mission to end a group of assassins who wanted to attack the king.

so I was interfering with his mission, in addition to having killed several knights. so I was classified as a traitor to the kingdom, so he would be arrested by captain cold and taken to the dungeons of the kingdom.

The truth is that I didn't care what happened to me, as long as my family was safe.

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but the only thing I knew about them that night was seeing them crying and then I fell unconscious.

When I woke up I was in the dungeons of the kingdom being interrogated by some people, when Captain Cold entered.

He told me that he was there as the only responsible and witness of what happened that night. but that didn't matter to me since the only thing I wanted at that moment was to know if my family was okay.

Captain Cold told me all about his mission and how it had been successful despite my intervention so they would spare my life and all the crimes I had committed.

but the only thing I wanted to know is if my family was okay.

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but apparently they had been poisoned by their captors and despite having done everything to save their lives they couldn't do it, plus I had been unconscious for a week because of the poison I had in my body.

That day I just wanted to die, since I couldn't protect my family, much less put it to safety.

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From that moment my life had no more meaning so I began to drink until I was tired and without knowing what was happening around me.

I lived like this for a while. until one day I received a mysterious letter, in which I had important news for me.......my family was alive.

The moment I read the letter, happiness returned to my life, so at that moment I wanted to go and find out everything that was happening, but that was the only news I received from them.

So I decided to open the bar to get information from the drunken gentlemen about my family...but none of them talked about it so I decided to bribe them to investigate what had happened to my wife and son.

the only thing I managed to learn is that they had long ago escaped from this realm. after this captain cold came to the bar and warned me not to do that again.

Since that day I promised myself not to let that man insult my family again, that is why I protected you from him, since you are a son to me.

That story had made Kuro think, since he himself planned to protect his family and thanked Joseph for considering him his son.

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before they could continue with their talk they began to hear how the windows below began to break.

joseph: must be them ... come with me son

The man took Kuro to a safe place until he took him out of the bar where he gave him a bag of coins along with a sword.

joseph: take this and flee the kingdom, this place is no longer safe for you. please promise me that you will survive and live a quiet life

after those words, joseph took kuro out of the bar so that he could escape, while he would stay to buy a little time for the boy or rather for his son.

so he went down to the bar where he found everything destroyed, besides some knights and captain cold in the middle of them.

cold: treason to the kingdom and insulting the captain of the knights are enough crimes for your public execution

joseph: it's the least I expect from a scum like you

Before the man could continue speaking he was hit by a gentleman so he fell to the ground with a bloody mouth.

cold: it's a real shame that the owner of this bar is a traitor, but what infuriates me the most about all this is that you have protected a nobody like that boy

Joseph: I don't expect someone like you to understand what it means to want to protect the most important thing in your life.

cold: I wish you would have done it with your real family

After finishing speaking, the captain got up from his seat and then began to hit Joseph while he was on the ground.

cold: leave no trace

Finishing speaking, he left the bar and then the gentlemen present made a path with the drinks from the bar to later gather them all in the body of Joseph, who is unconscious on the floor.

they threw a flaming torch into the pile of drinks.

so an explosion was present, which made the second floor fall, in addition to starting to burn down the entire bar.

All this is seen by Kuro, who is hidden in an alley with a blanket as a costume so that they would not recognize him.

Giving a last goodbye to that person who earned his affection as a father, Kuro decided to go to the orphanage to warn of the situation, in addition to informing them that he would have to leave the kingdom for a while until it is safe for him to return.

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Hiding in the alleys of the kingdom without anyone seeing him, he was able to reach the orphanage, although somewhat tired from having to hide, since the knights that he had brought began to patrol the city in search of him. the safest thing is that he did not find his body in the bar.

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He didn't know why, but even at dawn there was too much light, but the only thing that mattered to him was getting to the orphanage and knowing that everyone was fine, knowing that his family was fine.

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but it was all over for him....he looked up from the ground panting from the effort he made to get to the orphanage....but when he looked up....when looking at the place where his home and family is...everything....absolutely everything....was covered in flames.

that building where boys and girls lived without a father, or a home.......the one you could call home...right now it is being consumed by flames.

the shock was so much that he couldn't move...he could only see how the fire began to consume that place, which he considers his home.

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he forcefully grabbed the necklace that carmen had given him as a gift when he left, about to jump to help put out the fire he stopped when he saw many people outside the orphanage recognizing everyone, so he understood that they had left in time before the fire started.

so he began to investigate with his eyes to make sure everyone was okay, besides he wanted to know if carmen and sebastian were safe ..... until ....

x: MR. SEBASTIAN AND MR. CARMEN HAVE NOT LEFT YET!

Those screams of a hysterical woman made him realize that his loved ones were still inside that fire, so he was about to throw himself into the flames to try to help his family.

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but before he could do anything ... captain cold arrived at the place with a group of knights, who were there to "help" and "save" those who still could.

so if he went out and drew attention they would capture him instantly causing him to miss out on joseph's sacrifice and above all, the time he was striving to get ahead and have a future.

Without being able to do anything, he began to cry and lament inside an alley in the kingdom where he collapsed because he couldn't help his loved ones.

but he was sure of something and that is that captain cold was behind all this... he was the cause of everything.

"I hate it! I swear on the deaths of my loved ones that I WILL KILL YOU!

after that promise, kuro still emotionally shattered began to walk towards the alleys of the kingdom in the direction of the slums to be able to rest a bit, since in that area of the kingdom, which is called the red zone. place where the worst people in the kingdom live, but above all where various crimes are usually carried out, which never come to light.

Arriving at a hotel in this neighborhood, he decided to pay for one night to be able to sleep and rest a little.

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but as soon as he paid for the room and went upstairs to be able to sleep... he couldn't do it... since the events of the day began to come to his head so he couldn't even close his eyes... .....so he started going through the things he had with him.

the room is small, but it has its own bathroom, a desk with a chair and a bed for one person.

so kuro placed on the desk the things that he had with him being these.

Carmen's necklace with a water stone, the clothes that Sebastian had given her and what little he was able to salvage from the bar, the sword that Joseph had given her and which he began to review.

taking it in his hands now he could see how beautiful it is having a black sheath and some embedded red stones, so he unsheathed it being amazed by the beautiful black edge of the sword, so he decided to leave it on the table.

beginning to check that bag that joseph had given him. emptying it on the table causing several coins to fall on it, so he began to count it...... being a total of 30 gold coins, 100 silver and 495 bronze, since he had paid 5 coins of bronze for spending the night. but there were more things in that bag, these being two permits, one for merchant and the other for adventurer, but they were not from joseph but from him. so maybe joseph had taken those permissions out for him.

The truth is that these were great for him, since with the merchant permit you can enter any other kingdom without paying a toll or anything like that, while the adventurer permit would help him easily register in the guilds of the other kingdoms. Plus these are silver with your name and rank engraved on it.

finally the cape with which he could disguise himself and not be seen by the knights or captain cold.

Now that he thinks about it, he still has one last hope left.

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the father of the church and who may be able to help him.