The Supremacy of Peculiar Dolls

Chapter 14: One Latest History

The twins have already gotten themselves immersed in the dream world. Soft snores could be heard, which relieved the adults, including Yeomso. They were about to discuss an undeniably serious matter on which the kids should not even eavesdrop, though it was about them. It was Yeomso’s request to want to know more about Kouki and Hiroki, logically, since he was their guardian and they even called him Father at the moment. He missed the chance because of Kai Stewart’s death, hence he asked from Valentin Bauer instead.

           “We found them in that state,” Valentin recalled the memories a few years back. “A state where this country began. It was said that it was once called the richest state, but I doubt it’s still labelled as that now.”

           “What’s the real name of the state, Mister Valentin?”

           Hideo was practically the same as Kouki and Hiroki. They were founded by The Defender due to the cruelty of Humans like Stawarski, and they were also cured by The Defender. From a wolf, Valentin transformed Hideo into a Human, a very strong Human, while Kouki and Hiroki have been recovered from an experiment. Kouki and Hiroki’s case was still vague, but Hideo could say they were victims like him too.

           “It’s Malacca,” Valentin said, eyes drooping due to sleepiness and slow breaths which depicted his exhaust. “It’s a small state, yet it was popular once before. I heard this country had a war, and that state was one of the sacrifices.”

           Yeomso covered his gaping mouth in astonishment. The story was quite dark, and it was about a successful state, therefore he could relate the reason behind the sacrifice Valentin had mentioned. Deep inside, he was grateful for the system The Dimension underwent. It was much safer and secure than the ancient Earth’s. As long as he became The King of Capricorn Valley, he never ever thought of seizing other Zodiacs’ Valley to make it his. They lived their lives happily, without too much conflict.

           Except for the problem that Zodiac named Hebi caused, the till he had to go to The Earth.

           “Valentin,” Yeomso was hesitant to proceed, but Valentin’s anticipating blinks calmed him a little. “When did you actually find Kouki and Hiroki? You were taking care of Hideo when you had to get split with your friends. I haven’t seen any Kouki or Hiroki since then. Plus,” he glanced at Hideo for a moment, “Hideo doesn’t seem to know Kouki and Hiroki either.”

           There was a noticeably awkward silence overwhelming them, till Yeomso and Hideo frowned to each other. Confused by the sudden change of mood, they expected Valentin to immediately reply, as if the answer was already engraved in his mind. Instead of replying, Valentin gestured his hand to Hideo, asking for help. “Please help me to get up,” he requested, and Hideo did not find it difficult to fulfil.

           As the one who inquired, Yeomso quietly watched Hideo assisting Valentin out of the tree root network. Judging from Valentin’s behaviour, he could say that The Farmer was avoiding the place. Once both of them were outside the network, Valentin gestured his hand to Yeomso, inviting the latter to join them. Yeomso did not wonder much and followed the signal undoubtedly.

           “Honestly, we don’t know. I can only say it was before we found Hideo and his family,” came the answer, which perturbed both Yeomso and Hideo. “It had been long ago when we heard about a group of black magic users torturing kids. They had become victims, and the wizards there were especially cruel despite the ages. Too bad that we arrived late – most of the victims have passed away. Only those twins are alive, and we took them out right away.

           “We wished to reverse the effect of the magic, yet it was to no avail. The twins can’t even grow up,” Valentin kept on lowering his face, believably to hide his frustration. “We were pitiful of them for not being able to do many things, even crying. Their stiffened faces could eventually smile after a few years with us.”

           “Years?” Yeomso accidentally ogled at Valentin. He took a glance at the petrified Hideo, “They are only five years old.”

           “It’s the best memory they could recall. They were five even when we found them,” Valentin casually peeped over the tree root network to watch over the mentioned Kouki and Hiroki. “Since we couldn’t reverse the effect on them, we failed to discover how old they are.”

           Yeomso slowly scratched his head as bewilderment began to take over his mind. Somehow, Valentin’s revelation subconsciously explained how the twins could describe stuff a five-year-old kid did not usually know. He had already expected Kouki and Hiroki to be geniuses of The Earth.

           Hideo’s expression told them that he was about to ask something, so Valentin and Yeomso shifted to him. He was taken aback by the sudden attention he had gained, but then gulped his anxiety in. “Why did you get out of the network to talk about this? I mean, it’s about them; vague and incomplete. What’s the danger of them knowing all that?”

           “It’s what they have told us, not what we know by ourselves,” Valentin corrected Hideo. “We haven’t found any proof of originality. Basically, Kouki and Hiroki are normal five-year-old twins who were saved in a torturous place. All that I’ve just told both of you is the stuff they told us. Nothing of those were, I mean are, proven scientifically or logically.”

           Kind of acceptable. How could little kids like those twins have lived longer than their physical looked like? Did black magic really exist in the first place? The more Yeomso inquired his curiosity out, the uglier the fact he was told. Even Hideo as an Earthling seemed confused and uncertain of Valentin’s revelation. From their expressions, they could not choose which to believe.

           “I guess you can’t understand as much as us,” Valentin judged their faces and let out a half-hearted laugh. “It’s true, but I can’t force you guys to accept everything I’ve just said. It’s up to you whether to believe or to ignore it – it’s totally your right to opt out. All I can say is that I’ve divulged literally everything that I know, and what I’ve gone through before I was caught by Stawarski,” he raised both palms, giving in to Yeomso and Hideo’s unbounded perplex.

           Hideo patted Yeomso’s shoulder, firmly. “Then Mister Valentin, we have to find Mister Karl Schwarz and Mister Sobong Yong Saeng. Am I right?”

           “Yes, exactly,” Valentin looked up to the dark sky, inhaling the freshness of air into his weak lungs. “It’s the best way I could come up since I was the one who was left to be the bait, so Kai, Karl and Yong Saeng could run away.”

           Yeomso’s unconscious chirping attracted Valentin and Hideo to shift at him. He bit his lower lip, thinking hard before voicing his mind. “Then, one final question,” he asked while putting up his index finger. “During the incident when you were caught by Stawarski, where were the twins? Since Hideo didn’t recognise them, can I assume that the other six Defenders have taken them away?”

           They could witness how wide Hideo’s gaping mouth was. There was a hole in Valentin’s entire story. None of those revelations told them about Hideo and the twins bumping into each other somewhere, as if either one of them did not exist in the first place. The story would make sense a little if Valentin did so from the beginning.

           “We took care of these three altogether but in different places,” Valentin curved a small smile, full of sincerity. “In order to avoid effects against them, we separated them. Who knew what would happen if two black magic victims reconciled, right? Therefore, another four of us looked after Kouki and Hiroki, while we took care of Hideo and his family here, in this village.”

           “Another four Defenders, you mean?” Hideo subconsciously glared at Valentin, not in rage but more to drive the latter to reveal more and more of the reality. “What’s their names? We should know them too, just in case if we happen to bump into one of them.”

           The Bauer did not immediately reply to Hideo. He seemed to be thinking cautiously before he answered, “As long as they aren’t Bushida Tadao and Gushiken Toshiro, you will be just fine.”