Chapter 20. His uncontrollable fury

The day after black werewolves had attacked the Viste Bizaar, Darth assumed they would no longer show up and eradicate the human world since he valiantly decreed them to stop.

It was morning, and the sky above him was a beautiful sunny day, all cloudless white skies, yet the atmosphere was as if something was wrong. He couldn't help but feel that something was different this time around. It was strange and complex for him to tell what it was until he walked out of his room to check Hera.

He surveyed the entire room only to see that she was already gone.

Darth was confused, very much so, until he went directly to the terrace, and there he saw her standing, who seemed to be in a gloomy mood.

Slowly, he strode and halted beside her while his hands rested behind his back.

He was about to enunciate something when he suddenly heard sobbing from her. His confusion only grew.

Soon as he glimpsed at her face, he saw tears streaming down her cheeks as she let out a silent cry. But then Hera quickly wiped her tears off and stared at the sky.

"My father always said we were never to fear such cowardly creatures as dragons and werewolves," Hera stated out of the blue. "If the red wolgan will come, he will surely rattle his sword and slay them one by one. So there's no need to feel dread."

"It has been from the past, but not now," Darth protested, endeavoring to show that he was not affected by her remarks. "This generation is different. It's a new age when all life must stand against the forces of darkness. I've read of this, of a time when the monsters invaded the world." he paused briefly before adding solemnly, "It's called a Bloody Age."

Unhesitantly, Hera swiveled around to face him and said, "You were right."

Silence lingered for a moment after that, then she spun around again and stared out towards the horizon, seemingly deep in thought.

"If you don't mind me asking. What makes you say that?"

"Because I'm more scared of my father's death than monsters or anything else."

Darth looked pained for half a second, clearly shocked and confused. "Your father's death?"

She nodded as she felt a qualm of pain. Suddenly, she teared up and looked down at her feet, ashamed. When she eventually looked up again, her eyes had unshed tears. "I have never been so afraid in my entire life like this."

Those words compelled Darth to strode closer to her as he patiently waited for her to persist.

"My father was arrested because of me."

The pain is visible in her eyes, and the sound of misery can be heard in her sobs.

Meanwhile, Darth stayed hushed, obviously not knowing what to say, although he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. However, when he opened his mouth to speak, a single word seemed to freeze on his tongue before tumbling out of his mouth like a frightened animal. "What?"

A choked laugh came out of her mouth. "He was accused of a such crime he never did. It was my fault. I caused this. I rejected Cayden's proposal, and this is where it led to the current situation. The Emperor would do anything to wreck my father, and they sent me a letter this morning saying that if my father would not apologize to court immediately and apologize to the Emperor, the consequences would be dire. And I can see their point; I know he has every reason to hate me; I know he doesn't want me anywhere near their family ever since I rejected his son."

His eyebrows furrowed together as the blast of anger rose deep within him, but he concealed it.

"Are you talking about that bastard who kept forcing you last time?"

She nodded. "He was the son of the Emperor, and he'll do everything to punish anyone who dares to stand against them. Even if it means destroying someone's life."

She looked down at the ground again, wiping off her tears, which made Darth finally see the woman beneath the facade of sadness. She looked broken and shattered.

He bit back a curse in his mind when he heard a small whimper escape from her parted lips, but he managed not to voice it out. He then found himself stepping closer to her until he pulled her into a tight embrace, hoping he could somehow provide her with some amount of solace.

After a moment, they broke apart, and she gave a weak smile. She still seemed sad, but it was no longer visible in her eyes.

Darth was surprised at how easy it was to make the woman in front of him crack under a simple touch. However, he doesn't understand why he wants to give those stupid people a punishment for making this woman cry.

As if reading his mind, she gave him a reassuring smile. "Thank you," she said, "For understanding. For everything."

He smiled slightly, then lifted his head to scan the clouds. The night sky above his head glimmered brightly. It looked calm compared to earlier. He wished that the night sky could bring tranquility to everyone else; unfortunately, his wish was the opposite of that feeling because there wasn't even a shred of hope in Hera.

"Please, take a rest and don't go out," he stated as he faced her again. "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" she queried with curiosity lacing her voice.

"I have an important matter needed to accomplish," he stated, and she quickly nodded. "I shall take my leave."

Darth went inside. He halted for a moment when he reached the hallway toward the living room. "Amiro?" he called out, and soon he heard footsteps approaching him.

The footsteps grew louder until they stopped behind him. He turned around slowly, noticing Amiro holding a tray of food with a syllabus in his hands, which he put down on the table near the door before he bowed deeply.

"What can I do for you, Your Highness?"

"I order you to watch her while I am away," he stated firmly. "And don't allow her to go anywhere. It's too dangerous outside."

"As you wish, your Highness." Amiro smiled, but soon as he realized something, he didn't hesitate to ask him further. "But what about you, Your Highness? Where are you going?"

"No questions, Amiro. Just do what I said. Prithee, prepare yourself because we will have training this week."

"I'll take heed of your words, Your Highness."

Darth left the room afterward without glancing over his shoulder to see Amiro. He planned to go to Emperor's residence to find Cayden.

With each step he took further away from his residence, he felt himself becoming angrier by the minute. Every step he took seemed to weigh heavily on him as he recalled how Hera shed tears and cried her heart out.

He couldn't decipher now why he was being affected by her emotions. All he knew was that he was starting to feel sympathy for her, which wasn't something he had not felt for anyone before. If there was one he was sure now was the person who brought out the soft side of him, it was Hera.

Through his power of teleportation, he found himself standing at the empty spot of Castle Alkyrie. He immediately wandered the living room until he caught a room where the name of the man he's been searching for was written on top of a large blackboard.

He entered through the enormous wooden doors, finding Cayden lying in a bed beside the table where two chairs were placed.

"What are you doing here?!" Cayden hissed upon seeing the sight of him. His dark hair stuck up at all angles due to sweat, making him look like a madman who had just lost his patience.

But before he could speak any further, Darth then let out a flame tossing it across one of the chairs to frighten him. Before Cayden could jump out of his bed, Darth walked toward him and choked him with his right hand; his eyes' color became tangerine, flickering in a fire as an indication of his anger.

Cayden could not breathe or talk as Darth held him in place using just one hand. Honestly, he couldn't comprehend how he managed to pull that off, and that terrified him.

"You think it's fun to torture Hera?!" he yelled, tightening his grip on his throat. "Didn't I warn you to stay away from her?!"

"L-let m-me.... let me go!" he voiced out forcefully.

"Don't ever imagine living your life in peace anymore, Cayden. I will always remember what you did to her!"

"W-what the h-hell are you t-talking?! he shouted, trying his best to fight back, but it didn't work because he was already losing air.

"You can fool anyone here in Renenxia, but not me!" he screamed. "You know what I mean, so do not ever transgress my words if you don't want me to burn you down!"

Darth released his hold on him, letting him fall on the floor and coughing violently. After a few seconds, Cayden regained his breath and glared at Darth.

"I'm giving you a warning, Cayden. You will regret the outcome if you ever pull that stunt again," he said calmly, this time, yet full of authority. "One more tear that will shed from her eyes; I won't hesitate to make your blood run cold like what I did to my greatest foe."

In a split second, Darth let the strong wind soar to the entire room after delivering his threatening words, which caused Cayden to close his eyes, shielding his face from the inevitable blow. Soon as he opened his eyes, Darth wasn't there anymore; he was gasping and shaking all over his body in shock.

For a moment, he was wordless, petrified of what had just transpired. And before he could regain his senses, one question had been running through his mind.

Who is he?