Angelos Odyssey

2-2

I can’t look at him. I can’t look at his home, either.

“Why not?”

“This is a graveyard. You’re living in a graveyard.”

“And I can bring them back whenever I want. This is my world, my rules. I have all the company I need. You’ve sent me gang members, warriors, heroes, and terrible human beings who still remember who you are.”

“Can you bring back Maeda?” I ask.

Amegdion pauses and crosses his arms again while tapping the sole of his foot against the ground.

“I’m afraid we’re not that close. It’s been years since I’ve seen you, and here you are already asking me for special favors.”

that “I didn’t mean to kill him.”

“But you did, and it may not be reversible. We can talk about bringing him back later. As for now, you’re on your way to your first contract, right?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“You got me really excited when the bodies started rolling in. You were on a respectable streak, and then you went to Isamael’s Ring. Of all places, I expected more from you there. But, instead of sending me more souls to keep me company, all I got was Maeda Senzang, the weaker of the two Senzang brothers.”

Amegdion steps closer to me and says, “You’ve disappointed me, Tavon. There is another like you out there who you’ve already met. Samazoshi. Do you know how high his body count is?”

“I don’t want to know. That guy’s a monster.”

“Do you think you’re any different? Zoshi’s killed hundreds, but he has no interest in working for me. There are others, like you, who work for me, but none of them have come close to your number. If you’re going to defeat Samazoshi, you’ll need to aim higher.”

“No.” I shake my head. “My goal’s not to kill people.”

“Oh really? Then what is it?”

I look at him and say, “I just want to be the strongest fighter on Earth. I’d rather not kill anyone if I don’t have to. I don’t think that murder makes you more of a man.”

A black aura shoots out of Amegdion’s body; he takes another step toward me and raises his voice to a growl, “I don’t care about what you think, moron. I rescued you because I saw potential that needed to be unlocked!” Amegdion clenches his fists and continues with a cold stare, “You’re going to keep killing, Tavon. That’s what you did, and that’s what your old man did before you.”

think“We’re not the same person.”

“Don’t push your luck.” His aura suddenly burns brighter. “Do you know what I am?”

“No. Not exactly.”

“I am a god, Tavon, and I can remove your head faster than you can blink. There’s something I want you to do for me, and, if you don’t do it, there will be consequences.”

god,“You want me to kill more people.”

“Exactly. If you don’t,” he gestures toward the field behind him, “you’ll be receiving regular visits from all of your old friends. If you make me wait, your buddy Isaac’s going to pop up when you least expect him. I can send Naizo, Stolor, and any of the others you’ve left behind, and, if that’s not enough to motivate you, I have plenty of disciples eager to take your spot at the top. You’ve made your mark and established your legacy in this place, and now you must own it. That’s the only way you’ll catch up to Samazoshi. If you can catch up to him, then you’ll be prepared for the real challenge.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll find out. Just do as I say and don’t disappoint me. When you reach Zannica, I’ll be expecting you to send me some new souls. If you do this, then we can talk about bringing back Maeda. If you let me down,” he finishes by drawing an invisible line across his throat with one claw.

“Hmph. I’ll see what I can do, but I’m not going to be the same person that I used to be.”

“Then don’t,” he says. “If you’re not going to give me a repeat performance of what happened in the Citadel, then send me more powerful warriors. Challenge yourself, Tavon, and that’s how you’ll become the ‘strongest on Earth.’ Can you do that?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “I think I can.”

“Good!” he exclaims while reaching out to try to bump fists with me, “Then it’s a deal. Feed me a strong warrior, and we’ll discuss your future as my disciple.”

“Fine,” I say as I return the gesture, “but I want to do this my way.”

Both Amegdion and the realm around us starts to blur as he nods his head and replies, “Very well.”

Amegdion’s world dissolves before my eyes; I feel static throughout my body and a sharp pain in my head. I close my eyes, and, when I open them again, Grandmaster Jia is standing before me once more.

-

Grandmaster Jia stares at me with cold, dead eyes.

“You are a fool, Tavon. You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as the rest of us. You made a pact with a god who has the mind of a demon, and I hope you die before your reach your first target.”

Jia begins to walk past Titus, but, before he exits through the door, he turns his head slightly and says, “This world doesn’t need another Zunaga. Kindly throw yourself off the ship.”

Sygdom and Hadrian confront him outside in the lobby, and, while the door remains open, I hear Sygdom address the old man. “Grandmaster,” he says while bowing respectfully.

“Sygdom,” Jia replies with a curt nod. “The ‘Lord of Decay.’ Do you plan on kidnapping me as well?”

“No,” Sygdom responds with a wry smile. “I’m surprised that you didn’t stop us before we even boarded the ship.”

“Ah. While that is something that I could’ve done, it would’ve very likely resulted in the deaths many people, myself included. Once this exhibition match has concluded, I only ask that you refrain from killing anyone else. If you don’t rein in your men, there’s nothing stopping the Association from designating you as a person of interest, i.e., a ‘target.’”

could’ve “Understood.” Sygdom bows again. “And a good day to you.”

Grandmaster Jia doesn’t respond and walks away while grumbling to himself. Sygdom and Hadrian enter the room, and Sygdom eyes me up and down without any clear expression.

“So, you’re the ‘Knight Killer,’ or, ‘Knight Murderer?’ Which one would you prefer?”

“Neither,” I tell him. “All I did was fight to escape because I wasn’t given a choice.”

“That sounds like blame-shifting,” he responds curtly. “Okay then, if neither works for you then you’ll just be a nobody. Do you know why we chose you for this fight, Mr. Nobody?”

I shake my head. “Not really. For fun?”

Sygdom guffaws and says, “That’s one way of putting it. ‘Fun’ and also because my men need to see something foul put out of its misery. In fact, I think the whole world would like to see it. You see, Nobody, no matter where you go you’ll always be known as the man who killed dozens of heroes just to save his own skin. Whether you like it or not, everyone will know you as the ‘Knight Killer.’ You’ll be hated, harassed, and followed until someone finally manages to kill you. Right now, you are the lowest of the low, and so there isn’t really anything you can do, is there? Your fate has been decided for you: fight or die and then fight and die.”

and “He’s not ‘foul,’” Raiko speaks up on my behalf.

When Sygdom looks at him, I step in front of the kid instinctively.

“Raik’s not involved in this,” I explain. “He just prefers to be honest.”

Sygdom smiles while raising his nose up at me. “You’ll slaughter over a hundred men and yet protect one kid who claims you’re not so bad. Were you really left with no choice?”

really “Yeah,” I reply. “I was almost scapegoated for something someone else did, and they surrounded me. I wanted to live.”

“For you to have made it so far, you must be very strong. Hmm…”

Sygdom nods to himself and lowers his eyes to the ground as he thinks. “Hadrian,” he says while glancing behind him, “come stand over here.”

With a nervous frown, Hadrian moves to stand at Sygdom’s side.

“You know what we are, don’t you?” he asks me.

“The Maeja.”

“That’s correct, and do you know what it is that we do?”

“I’ve only caught rumors about you here and th—”

“We’re slavers. We buy, kidnap, and sell. We sell humans, nonhumans, and demons. We started off as a gang the size of Noboros and grew to become an empire. Sometimes people like to refer to us as ‘sky pirates,’ and that’s fine with me.”

Sygdom puts one hand on Hadrian’s shoulder, causing Hadrian to flinch in response. The Lord of Decay continues, “This man here claims that he’s stronger than you,”—his smile gets wider—“but I think he might be lying. The two of you were friends, right?”

“Yeah,” I admit without looking at Hadrian, “we were. Not anymore, I guess.”

“Because he sold you out, is what I can gather. Tsk. Tsk.” He frowns. “Betrayal is never easy. I’m sure it’s not something he’s proud of, but he’s got his eyes set on a prestigious position within our organization.

“Tell you what,” he says and pats Hadrian’s shoulder again, “if, during your fight with Artemis, you show us all how strong you really are, then we just might switch the two of you out.”

As Hadrian turns pale, Sygdom grins while continuing as he takes his hand off Hadrian’s shoulder, “There is nowhere else for you to go, Mr. Nobody. You’d be much safer if you served me, and so I’ll give you one chance to save both you and your little follower there. Give us a good show, and you won’t be a ‘Nobody’ anymore, all right?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Think about it,” he says and bows before he nudges Hadrian and says, “c’mon, you. We’re going to see if you were telling the truth.”

As Sygdom leaves, Titus follows behind him and, while closing the door, explains, “We gave Artemis time to say goodbye to his pupil, so the boss thought it was only fair to give you the same opportunity. Make it quick, then we’ll come and get you when the stage is all set.”

“Got it.” I nod to him as he leaves.

After Titus shuts the door, I sit down next to Raiko. The kid looks at me with concern, and his voice shakes when he asks, “You really took out all those people, didn’t you?”

“We’ve been over this.”

“Yeah, and you said it wasn’t up to you, that you didn’t have no choice. How’s that make you feel now? Is everyone really gonna hate you?”

“Most likely,” I sigh. “Word travels fast. If we make it out of this, I’ll always be a target. Being a Death Officer makes things that much worse, because it means I’ll be going after some really important people. They won’t hate you, though.”

you,“How do you know that?”

“Because I’ll make sure of it. No one’s going to harass the people close to me.”

“Hadrian’s a wimp for not backing you up, yo.”

I chuckle, “He’s probably just doing it because he knows we can’t beat them. The ‘Lord of Decay’ doesn’t sound like an opponent either of us can handle right now, so he’s looking out for himself. I’d suggest you do the same if our situation becomes desperate.”

“Nah,” he says. “I’m not going to turn my back on my friends like he did.”

I smile.

“That’s a good way of looking at it. I won’t, either, and I’m not going to team up with a bunch of slavers just to make it through another day.”

Knowing there’s not much time left, I offer what advice I can to my student and tell him, “I think that, even if someone has made a lot of mistakes, that doesn’t mean that they have to give up on being a good person. Just because you f****d up doesn’t mean that you have to define yourself that way. If I’m going to keep fighting, I have to keep fighting with my own goals in mind and know that everything won’t be perfect. If the road ahead of us seems impossible, we have to find a way to make it possible through our own efforts.”

“That’s why you’re Tavon,” he says and smiles along with me, “you keep going no matter what.”

“I do, and there’s no reason to stop.”

I stand up and look toward the door with the understanding that, today, my life could end. But that’s no different than any other day.

“I’ve already given you enough speeches about striving to be better, Raik, and so I’m not sure what else to say that I can’t teach you on the battlefield. Just know that you’re a good student. You’ve got a lot of potential that needs to be brought out, and, if I lose here, then I won’t be able to do it. That’s why I’m going to fight for you; I’m going to fight for you, Kagiso, Baraka, and Aaliyah—and that bird on your shoulder, too.”

The yellow chick perched atop Raiko’s back chirps back at me.

“The world might hate me, but I have to believe that I can change that. If I can get past this and make it to my target, I’ll be on my way to becoming the strongest man alive. Let’s go. I’m going to give it my best shot.