Zaroth sprinted out of the academy toward the castle as fast as possible, his body was still in a lot of pain as he had almost died not too long ago, but that didn''t matter at the moment.


    As he ran, the rain soaked his hair and clothes. It was heavy, yet the smell of fire and ash still lingered in the air.


    How many people had died because of the Demigod?


    How many had perished because of the Crimson Sun attack?


    That didn''t concern him at the moment, there was only a single person that was on his mind.


    David? They weren''t that close, but he doubted that there was anything that could pose a threat to the man.


    Midnight? Impossible. Zaroth honestly couldn''t imagine a scenario where she could be killed — not with how powerful she''d become since they met.


    Roran, Zack, Lily? His friends were no doubt fine, they were all strong so they could handle almost anything.


    But there was one person who couldn''t. One person who was vulnerable — who wouldn''t be able to defend themselves if the worst had come.


    "Please be okay! Please be okay!" he repeated endlessly as it seemed that his words were the only thing that gave him strength to push forward.


    As he ran, some of the people still fleeing the chaos stopped to look. Some, who were rushing toward the heart of the destruction in a desperate attempt to help, froze mid-step when they saw him.


    Zaroth was the champion of the tournament, and his appearance was unlike most, making him easily recognizable.


    However, Zaroth did not pay the gazes any attention as he ran forward, Sёar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And soon the castle entered his view,


    Zaroth''s eyes widened. It was in a worse state than before not only that but he was able to see that the inside of the castle was on fire and due to the roof it had yet to be extinguished by the rain.


    "FUCK!" he cursed as he forced his body to move even faster.


    *****


    Now that they were far from the capital General Hadrik couldn''t help but throw a glance at it.


    It had been a hellish journey — the kind that would haunt a lesser man. He''d crossed a treacherous ocean and witnessed unimaginable horrors.


    Then he lost the best of his men during the assault on the castle — right in the heart of enemy territory.


    Still, he did not regret it one bit as he gazed at the beautiful woman next to him, her crimson eyes were calm as her orange hair had gotten wet by the rain.


    "No point in staying here any longer." Solara remarked as she started to move away from the capital.


    Hadrik silently began to follow her, there was no point in checking for enemy soldiers around them as they were most likely too busy dealing with the destruction in the capital.


    "I know that it is a bit too soon to ask… but have you planned your next move, Princess?" he asked.


    "Yes. When I return home I will spend a few days or even weeks to relax," Solara spoke as she shifted her gaze to Hadrik and curled her lips into a menacing smile,


    "And after that, I will invade this empire with all of our forces and slaughter each and every one of these pigs."


    *****


    "Did we win?" Roran spoke as he approached Lily, who was lying on the ground tiredly.


    "I think so," she answered with a smile.


    Lifting her head a little she saw that Zack was with him.


    "And you?" she asked.


    "The man has been dealt with." Grace appeared in view as well as she answered with a smile.


    Seeing them all alive… a weight began to lift off Lily''s chest.


    "Hey what are you doing?!" Lily asked getting a little red as Roran scooped her and picked her up in a princess carry,


    He threw her a friendly smile, though it looked a bit menacing as there was still some blood on his teeth.


    "There is no way that I will leave my lady laying on the floor."


    "I''m too sober for this," she mumbled, turning her face away, trying to hide the blush rising in her cheeks.


    Zack and Grace just smirked at the sight.


    *****


    Midnight slowly got up on her feet as she gazed at the pale corpse before her.


    She looked a bit different than before, she was taller, her hair had gotten a bit longer, her crimson eyes more menacing.


    Gazing at her palm she made it into a fist feeling her new powers.


    "So this is what it means to be of an ancient blood." she muttered under her nose.


    *****


    Looking at the badly beaten body of the salesman, David didn''t feel any better about the situation,


    He could only grit his teeth as he took a step forward and stepped on the man''s head making it explode like a tomato, ensuring that he was dead.


    As brain matter flew everywhere, some getting on his cheek, David didn''t seem fazed until he gazed at the body of his sister that he had left laying on the cold floor.


    Before he realized it his eyes had begun to tear up.


    "Don''t tell me that your purpose in life is now gone as your sister has died." The Spectral Warden as always spoke not caring about David''s emotions.


    Usually he would curse at the fucker behind him, but he didn''t have the strength for it at the moment.


    As such he approached the body of his dead sister, took her in his embrace and began to cry silently.


    ''It''s all my fault,'' he blamed himself endlessly in his head.


    *****


    "It seems that the plan worked." hearing a faint voice Sofia shifted her gaze from the dead body of Amara.


    "Vera." Sofia muttered as she saw her friend. "It is thanks to you that I managed to do this." she exclaimed.


    Not saying anything Vera approached her as she put a hand on Sofia''s shoulder,


    Sofia gazed at her friend for a few seconds. As usual, the white mask she wore concealed all her emotions.


    "Did you do it?" Sofia asked. "That… horrible thing you mentioned before?"


    At the question Vera''s shoulder trembled. "Yes." she answered shortly after.


    Silence returned as the two women stared down at the lifeless body of Amara.


    *****


    A mesmerizing fox with orange fur, and white eyes like the moon themselves, looked at the ruined castle from a distance.


    It was all… bizarre. The way everything had happened so fast.


    But at the end of the day the world was unpredictable so all one could do was to try to adapt.


    With a grunt the body of the fox disappeared and a person appeared right where the fox stood.


    Putting a black hood over their head, hiding themselves in the darkness, they muttered, "Nothing more to see here."


    *****


    Elysia didn''t know how to feel at the moment.


    "FUCK!" she shouted in fury, though it was drowned by the rain.


    Where the body of the Demigod should have been, there was only a small empty crater — and the body of a middle-aged man.


    "I was too slow!" she cursed herself for failing to collect or at least destroy the body of the Demigod.


    After a few seconds, she took a deep breath to calm herself down.


    "Still… I don''t regret saving Zaroth," she whispered to herself as she gazed at the night sky.


    *****


    Looking at the body before him, Zaroth''s mind went blank.


    His worst fears had become reality. He had failed yet again.


    Before he realized it, Luna was next to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder.


    "Don''t touch me!" he commanded as he slapped her hand away.


    Taking a few steps toward the body of Althea, Zaroth collapsed to his knees. He gently picked her up and placed her head on his thighs.


    She had closed her eyes, and there was a large wound near her heart. While he had been battling the Demigod, somebody had entered her room and slain her.


    "How?" he whispered as tears began to fall from his eyes.


    "How could I slay a god and still be the one that has lost?!" he shouted with fury in his voice.


    "Who?! Who had the audacity to take someone from me again?!"


    Luna gave her master a few seconds of quiet before she answered.


    "The castle was up in flames, and a lot of bodies were burned to a crisp. I can confidently say that it was Solara Virelia, the Princess of the Crimson Sun Empire — the one that was locked up here, below the castle."


    Zaroth remained silent for a few moments as he gazed at Althea''s lifeless body.


    "I see…" he spoke with no emotion in his voice as he got up on his feet, carrying Althea in a princess carry.


    Taking a few steps forward, he gazed through the hole in the wall toward the horizon, where the Crimson Sun Empire was located.


    "This whole thing started when they attacked this castle, didn''t it? Not to mention, the princess they so desperately adore is the one who killed Althea."


    A few seconds of silence passed, the sound of raindrops echoing, before Zaroth turned and looked at Luna. His eyes were empty — hollow.


    "Then we have our new goal. My new desire. We''ll burn their empire to the ground."


    *****


    Far from the realm of mortals, in a place untouched by men, a towering figure of bone knelt silently.


    Two green suns flickered in its skull-like face.


    Its movements were restricted, as well as its thought patterns.


    And yet… in that moment… it felt something.


    A certainty.


    A shift.


    It had made the right choice.


    And now…


    It had begun.


    [End of volume one: The Birth of the Geniuses]