Chapter 35: Evil

"You are in the presence of the Devil. Little God, run." 

Giovanni's words pounded in Zagon's head like a drum. He immediately recalled their first meeting. 

"You are in the presence of a god. Little human, bow." 

These were the words he said to Giovanni and those words were just thrown back at him. Zagon's eyes slowly widened after recalling him stepping on Giovanni, who then proceeded to count. 

"Looks like you remember." 

Zagon looked up after hearing Giovanni's voice. He was greeted by a boot to the face. Giovanni forced his head into the ground and stepped on his face. 

"You see, I have a motto in life. Return every disrespect three times over." 

Zagon struggled to force his foot off his face, but Giovanni's strength suddenly increased. His punches just bounced off his leg. 

(He created an armor around his leg using Essence? How does he have such great control?!) 

No matter how hard he tried, Zagon couldn't make Giovanni lift his foot. 

"...." 

Giovanni silently looked down on Zagon struggling. His face was once again void of emotions. 

Kelz couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her brother, who she was resolved to kill even if it meant dying in the process, was being treated like a baby by an outsider who was supposed to be dead. 

(This doesn't make any sense! We knew of the possibility of Gustav being revived, but why is he this strong?! He tried to explain it but I still don't get it!) 

She recalled the time she spent with Gustav before his death. 

(…Wait, the signs of him being abnormal were there.) 

First, was when he drank the concentrated God Essence. 

(While Raphael and others were enduring agony, he was unaffected. He also didn't seem surprised by this.) 

Second, was the strength he showed fighting against Julius and the guards Drax brought. 

(He was far stronger than Julius who was a Mid-Class Warrior, yet his regenerative abilities were low.) 

Third, was the fight against Drax himself. 

(While I was distracted, I had trouble against Drax but he was able to hold him and Julius off long enough for me to escape. He impressed Drax enough that he had to take his body as a sample. This meant his strength was comparable to a High-Class warrior like Drax. 

Kelz started to wracking her brain to come to a satisfactory answer. Her eyes slowly widened. 

(He always knew how to manipulate the Essence in his body! That's why he could boost his strength at will! The reason he had a low regeneration rate was because he focused most of the Essence on boosting his physical abilities, and the rest to heal! Add that to the fact his body, which was far past its prime, had returned to peak condition of a youth…!) 

A look of terror stained her face. The current person in front of her was truly able to rival a Lord. 

(Father said there were people in the past who could do this, but they could only be counted on one hand in the last thousand years. Anybody who can do that can only be described as…) 

"A monster." 

Kelz mumbled under her breath. 

"?!" 

Her eyes widened and her body flinched when she looked in front of her. Giovanni's cold eyes were locked on her. He lifted his foot of Zagon and leaped back. 

"That's 36 seconds." 

Giovanni looked away from her and turned to Zagon. 

"I've repaid your disrespect threefold. Now all of our grudges are settled." 

"Like hell it is!" 

Zagon roared with veins standing in his neck and head. 

"No, it's over." 

Giovanni clapped his hands together as if dusting them off. 

"Now, I'm gonna kill all of you." 

"….What?" 

Everyone froze in place. Giovanni spoke without a change in expression. 

"Why are you all surprised? Isn't it logical my next step is to kill all of you?" 

"Why, we're allies Gustav!" 

Giovanni looked at Kelz. 

"Allies? I don't know you." 

"Huh?" 

Giovanni started walking towards her. 

"I don't know you, but I do know he's fighting a civil war and you are his enemy and twin. However, how do I know you won't attack me once I kill him? You might not think you would, but actually seeing him die could cause you to act without thinking." 

He stopped when someone stood in front of her. 

"For example, like what he's doing." 

Zagon shielded Kelz behind him. 

"This is between the two of us. There's no reason for you to target her." 

"Familial bonds are a hell of a thing. You were trying to kill each other minutes ago." 

"That's our business. Only we are allowed to kill each other." 

Giovanni looked at the confused Kelz behind him. 

"You see, this is why you need to die." 

Her eyes widened while Zagon's narrowed. 

"He acted to shield you because he directly experienced how dangerous I am and knows I can severely harm you. That is familial bonds." 

He pointed at her. 

"Killing him will ultimately lead to killing you." 

He pointed at the warriors behind him. 

"Once I killed their leaders, these warriors will act to avenge you and I'll be forced to kill them and so on. In the end, I'll be forced to kill everybody or die. So why do this the long way and not get straight to the point?" 

He pointed to the ground. 

"I'm gonna destroy this place and everyone on it." 

A wave of shock spread across the battlefield. The being who was like a monster became evil incarnate in their eyes. 

"What twisted logic to reach at such a conclusion." 

Kelz mumbled. 

"The thoughts of the dead have no meaning to me." 

"We swore to be allies, you died protecting me, and now—" 

"You're wasting your breath, Kelz." 

Zagon cut Kelz off. 

"This guy doesn't have any memories of the last 42 years." 

"What?" 

"You called him Gustav Fernandez, but he calls himself Giovanni. He's different from the one you knew." 

"Wait, so the reason I died was because of you?" 

Giovanni frowned. 

"I gave my life for another? That doesn't make sense unless…" 

"You had reached your answer." 

A voice came from behind him. He turned around and looked at Raphael and his siblings. 

"You had reached your answer, Gustav." 

"….And you are?" 

"Your eldest son and former right-hand. These are my siblings, your children and soldiers. At the time of your death, I took over this regiment as its new leader." 

"Children? Regiment?" 

Giovanni was visibly puzzled. 

"Gustav!" 

Damini and Gina stepped out from behind Raphael. 

"Are you really Gustav?!" 

Giovanni looked at them in silence before answering. 

"I took the name Gustav Fernandez and used it during the war where I killed the real Gustav Fernandez. So yes and no." 

Giovanni looked at Raphael. 

"So you're telling me I found my answer? To what question exactly?" 

Raphael shook his head. 

"I don't know. When you adopted me and Roxanne, you said you were in search of an answer. One day out of the blue you said you found the answer. After that you changed and became more jovial." 

"The fact you don't know the question is convincing." 

"…You believe me?" 

"You're on the right track. Despite 40 years passing, my core won't change, so I can more or less predict how my life went." 

He looked back at Kelz and Zagon. 

"Luckily for you, my desire for information is greater than my desire to destroy you." 

He turned back to Raphael. 

"You have the floor. Answer my questions truthfully and I'll believe we're family." 

He narrowed his eyes. 

"Fail to convince me and I'll send everybody here to hell. Just in case you're thinking of attacking me when my guard's down…" 

Blue light gathered around his arm. He swung it behind him. A light flashed and Kelz and Zagon were swallowed up in an explosion that rocked the district. Giovanni locked eyes with Raphael, ignoring the destruction behind him. 

"I would advise you to choose your words carefully for the sake of you and your siblings, My Eldest."