"Young Master, your hands!"
Jerman couldn't believe his eyes. He could see dried-up blood that wrapped around Bell's hands, his black gloves were no longer distinguishable, the skin of his knuckles was ripped open, and occasionally, drops of blood would splash on the grass below.
And worst of all — there was a giant gaping hole in his left palm. All the flesh and bones in that hole were gone. You could've looked through it as if it were a window.
Despite remaining at the car while Bell was off to god-knows-what, Jerman had kept his senses dialed at a hundred percent the entire time.
He was trained to never ease off or rest while on duty and was prepared to rush to his Young Master's side if he was to hear something terrible in the distance.
Contrary to what Bell believed, although he would listen to his commands even if it could lead to danger, once Jerman was convinced that there was truly danger, he'd wipe his mind clean of any instructions and would transform into a weapon with the sole purpose of saving his Young Master's life.
But no. There was no sound. He hadn't noticed anything different.
And yet — Bell looked like he had been through a war.
Jerman couldn't make heads or tails of it.
About to question if the one responsible for this was still alive, prepared to dash into the forest to avenge his Young Master, Bell raised his index finger and gestured for him not to say or ask anything else.
"...Heading home?"
"Yeah," Bell answered, his voice more tired than normal.
As they drove, Jerman couldn't help but notice through the mirror that Bell was asleep. This was a first. He never rested in the back of the car, and if he wasn't looking out through the window, he would be reading a book.
'What happened there? How do I explain the state of Young Master's hands to the leader?'
He began to stress. Forget his motto. Right now, forget being fired from his job, he was seriously in danger of being tortured by his leader.
Once they arrived at the Agnus manor, Bell got out of the car and looked back at Jerman.
"Tell your leader that I do not permit him to punish you for what happened to me today."
Then he walked away.
"..."
Stepping into the mansion, Bell was greeted by the sound of a plate dropping and shattering on the floor.
"Oh my gosh! Bell, what happened to you?!" his mother, Tiara, asked as she rushed over to his side and grabbed his hand, pulling it up to where her face was. "Who did this?! Who dares—"
"Don't worry, Mother. They've been dealt with," Bell reassured her.
A part of Tiara's mind was set to ease, but the rest, the majority of it, they were still on fire with loud sirens blasting sounds nonstop.
"We need to take care of this wound. What if it… what if it…"
She began to tear up.
Even though her husband was a war general and Bell's four older siblings were involved in dangerous things, she never wanted to see any of them being hurt. Especially not while the blood was still so relatively fresh.
"Let's take you to the hospital," she said as a teardrop trickled down her face.
"I'll be fine, Mother. I just want to wash up and head to bed. I'm tired," he muttered.
She could see the tiredness in his eyes.
She wanted to shake her head, refuse him, and force him to the hospital where he could receive immediate treatment, but a part of her was scared that forcing him to do something he didn't want to do was going to push him away from the outside world again.
Reluctantly, she could only watch with a broken heart as Bell made his way up the stairs.
* * *
It was a rainy day. The streets were less busy than normal, and the people outside were either in a hurry to find shelter or were treading carefully with an umbrella over their heads.
Maya was returning from stalking one of the city officials whom she was tipped off about potentially being corrupt.
She wasn't sure if he was yet, as the day hadn't presented her much evidence of it, but she was going to follow him a few more times to see if the tip was nothing more than a wild goose chase.
Entering the warehouse where her crew of beggars was based, she was confused to see why a few of the children had a worried and panicking expression on their faces.
"What happened?"
The children, just noticing her entrance, rushed over to her side, and they all began to talk over each other.
"Boss, Emily disappeared!"
"Emily is gone! I've been searching for her for hours, but I can't find her!"
"Have you seen Emily, boss?"
"Emily's missing!"
Plus three more voices.
"Slow down," she told them. "One at a time. Did you guys say that Emily is missing?"
""Yes!!"" all of them replied.
"Are you sure?" she asked the oldest kid in the group.
"Yes, boss. We were traveling as a group and planned to regroup by the bookstore after four hours. We waited and waited, but she never joined us. Then-then we-we uhm… we tried to look for her but… but we couldn't find her."
"Where was the last place you guys saw her?" Maya asked, heading to the locker in the warehouse where she stored her daggers.
"I'll guide you there," the oldest kid said.
"Alright. The rest of you," she began to address the entire warehouse, "stay here until I permit you to leave. This might be a one-time thing or… or our crew is being targeted. Protect each other."
""Yes, boss!!""
"And I better not hear that any of you caused any trouble."
She put the daggers behind her back.
"Guide me," she said. Her voice seemed normal, and there weren't any movements that suggested she was panicking, but underneath the hair that covered the top half of her face, she opened her heterochromia eyes. A blood vein was forming on her forehead.
* * *
"Rain," Bell muttered as he woke up after a long ten-hour nap.
He didn't like the rain. Despite being inside, just the sound of it alone was making his muscles tense.
It brought up bad memories. Bad… bad memories.
He could hear the sounds of bottles, bodies being tossed, and words that cut deeper than a knife.
Although he didn't have plans to head out today, as he still wanted to recover his body and mind from the trial in the forest, now that it was raining, just the thought of heading out made him uncomfortable and sent chills up his spine.
There was a soft knock on his door.
"Could I come in?" a masculine voice on the other side asked.
"...Yes."
Once the door opened, entering the room was a tall man. With broad shoulders, a 6'5" frame, the iconic Agnus black hair, which was kept at a short length — a habit from their time serving actively in the military, the signature red eyes that every member with Agnus blood has, multiple rings on his fingers, and a tailored black suit that had golden engravings here and there, it was none other than Alistar Sebastian Agnus.
Bell's father and the current Duke of Agnus.
Every step he took out in public commanded attention. Jaws would drop in awe like trees bowing in a hurricane.
Grabbing a chair from Bell's study desk, he sat down and faced the bed where his son was seated.
He was a man of few words, so Bell wasn't surprised to see that he just sat there for a bit without saying anything.
Forget thinking before you talk. The Duke would think ten times before he talked once.
"You're hurt," Alister finally muttered.
"It's getting better," Bell said as he showed both of his hands, which he had cleaned and wrapped in bandages himself the night before.
"How did it happen?"
"..."
"You can't tell me."
Bell nodded.
More silence.
"Need my help for anything?"
"No."
"Okay."
The Duke stood up and left the room.
It was a brief conversation that was barely a conversation, one that felt like it didn't mean much, but just the fact that Alistar had taken time out of his currently extremely busy schedule to return home and check up on his son demonstrated his love and affection for his child.
On his way downstairs, he was stopped by his wife, and immediately, he burrowed his head into her shoulder.
Luckily, she was also a tall woman herself, standing at 5'11," so he didn't have to strain his neck too hard.
"How did it go? Did he tell you anything?"
"No."
Tiara sighed. It didn't matter who asked him the questions. Getting any information out of Bell's skull was like trying to fish for a shark on the moon. Before the incident, he couldn't keep his mouth shut about what was going on with his life. Now, they knew nothing.
"Are you tired from work?" she asked.
"Yes. I just want to stay home and cuddle with you. Can I?"
"No," she chuckled. "You know how important the things you're dealing with are right now. The safety of this country depends on it."
He sighed and nodded, agreeing with her words.
"Let me get a kiss before I head back to work then."
She gave him a peck on the lips.
"Another one?"
Peck.
"One more?"
Peck.
"How about ano—"
"Get back to work," Tiara rolled her eyes while playfully punching him in his chest.
Alistar had no choice but to start dragging his feet towards the door. Before he left the mansion, he took one final look in the direction of Bell's room.
"Good luck," he whispered.
In Bell's bedroom.
After his father left the room, Bell had opened his drawer and pulled out a needle that contained a certain amount of toxins.
In this world, star energy was their version of mana. It was the fuel used to activate certain skills and abilities that was granted from unlocked stars.
Once Bell had become Godless, his body no longer accepted the existence of star energy, not because it's volatile but because mere mortals are unworthy.
But for what he wanted to achieve, he needed his body to be able to survive the damage that star energy would do when it entered him despite being Godless. Or at the very least, temper enough so that he would have time to complete the rest of the steps that were required.
The first step was already finished. It was the Archaic Code.
Injected the toxins into his body through his arm, Bell clenched his teeth as he sat down in the lotus position.
This toxin was going to simulate just a single percent of what star energy would do to his organs.
'Breathe. Breathe.'
"Hnn…" he grunted.
'Pain is temporary. Pain is a creation of your imagination. Pain is nothing.'
"Hnnnnn…" he grunted harder as the toxins began to turn his skin purple. His entire body was shaking, but he refused to scream or faint.
His eyes turned red, tears were dripping down his face, but he continued to endure despite the antidote resting beside him.
'Endure!'