Chapter 4: The Whole Armada Empire is in Flames! {Original Abellion's Flashback} (4)
The week that followed Abellion's desperate plea to Personia was unlike any training he had ever undergone. Gone were the careful, methodical Ghostaker lessons focused on peace and guidance; in their place was a brutal, crash course in destructive, primordial magic. Personia, despite her profound reluctance, honored the request. She knew her time was short, and Abellion's burning desire for strength might be the only chance he had to survive the coming tournament with his honor—and perhaps his sanity—intact.
The training took place in the deep, forgotten dungeons beneath the manor, away from the prying eyes of servants and his family. Personia's instruction was precise and agonizingly careful. She wasn't just teaching him spells; she was showing him how to channel pure, chaotic demonic energy through his frail human vessel without being consumed by madness or having his soul ripped apart.
After a week, Abellion finally learned the two skills. It was a miracle of dedication and sheer willpower, combined with Personia's detailed knowledge of the human body's spirit pathways. She taught him the proper counter-measures and spiritual anchors so he would not get affected on the madness. He learned not only the mechanics of the spells but the mental discipline required to hold back the tide of chaotic energy.
He raised his hands in the flickering torchlight of the dungeon. His fingers, once soft from noble life, were now calloused and stained with the residue of dark magic. "Finally!" The original Abellion smile greedily while looking on his hands. The smile wasn't the innocent grin of the boy who had just mastered a new trick; it was the sharp, avaricious expression of a man who had acquired stolen treasure. He can finally activate the "Whirlwind of Flames" which was the hardest to learn of unlike the "Flick of the Demon King".
The "Flick of the Demon King" was a simple, yet devastating technique: a quick, imperceptible pulse of concentrated demonic energy that could shatter an opponent's internal mana pathways or cause sudden, fatal organ failure. It was subtle, fast, and left no tell-tale visible trace of dark magic, making it a perfect assassination tool that even the Holy Church would struggle to recognize.
The "Whirlwind of Flames," however, was spectacular, terrifying, and unmistakable. It summoned a massive vortex of crimson and black ethereal fire, capable of incinerating everything in a fifty-meter radius. It was a signature ultimate move of the Demon King, a power that demanded colossal energy and left obvious, devastating evidence.
"I can finally proved to everyone I am not weak and I'm the strongest," Abellion whispered, the words echoing with dangerous ambition.
Personia just sighed but she smile wanly. She was immensely proud of him for succeeding where even fully trained battle mages would have failed, but terrified for his future. She had made him a weapon, and now he was eager to use it. She consoled herself with the single promise he had made. Because even there's a chance of Abellion being discovered to have the skills of the demon king, he promised he will only use the "Flick of the Demon King" which even the Holy Church couldn't even recognize.
She can't help but trust Abellion because she knew Abellion is not clumsy and he is smart enough to not use the "Whirlwind of Flames" unless his life is in danger which she just hope it will not happen. She had given him a silent exit strategy, a way to win without revealing the true, terrible cost of his power.
Abellion stepped toward the shimmering figure, his greed for power momentarily forgotten, replaced by his equally powerful devotion.
"Thank you Personia"
The original Abellion hug Personia tightly again. This hug was different; it was an embrace of both gratitude and farewell before he stepped onto the global stage. And then continue "I really! Really love you."
Personia accepted the cold sensation of his body passing through hers. She saw the sincerity in his eyes, but it was a feeling she could not mirror. Personia look on Abellion with the sadness of her eyes "You know I don't can't feel the emotion of love Abellion because I'm dead." Her ghost form was incapable of the human emotion he offered.
The original Abellion shook his head and said "I promised to you already right? I will find a way even if not I will wait even it takes a thousand of years for you to get reincarnate."
Personia just sighed because it's impossible but she let Abellion rambling about his promise, talking about a future that would never come for them. She was a fading soul bound by cosmic law; he was a living human bound by immense, tragic potential. Then she just smiled at him, offering the only comfort she could—acceptance of his devotion.
A voice called down the dungeon stairs, shattering the intimacy of the moment.
"Young Master Abellion, Lord Abrellios called you it's lunctime." It was a female servant from the main house, her voice echoing nervously.
"All right, tell father I will join them just wait a minute."
The servant nod because she knew he is talking to ghosts again. Abellion had gained a strange reputation for staring intently at empty spaces and holding full conversations with thin air. It was a known eccentricity that his parents had, to their credit, always indulged.
The original Abellion then finally arrived to the Dining Hall on the main floor. The table was set with exquisite silverware and crystal, but the atmosphere was thick with unspoken tension. He saw his parents and Yulen already seated, trying to appear normal.
His father, Abrellios, cleared his throat, unable to look his son directly in the eye. His father ask him "Are you sure you want to join on the tournament son?" It was a last, weak effort to offer Abellion an out, an honorable way to withdraw before the public humiliation.
The original Abellion look on his father in distant manner not like looking to his father. His week of training had cemented his growing resentment. The original Abellion spent his week grew distant to his parents because he realize they didn't expect nothing because they just accept he is weak. They hadn't tried to find a solution; they had only worried about damage control. They loved him, but they had effectively abandoned him to his fate. He even secretly blamed them for him to be exist that's why he look his father not as a father but as a stranger, he just nod and said.
"Yes." The word was flat, final, and devoid of any filial warmth.
Lutiana, the Saintess, saw the coldness in his eyes. Lutiana saw how her son look to his father and hers on the past week. She had been watching him since he heard their conversation five days ago. She knew the cost of their cowardice. Then she finally find the courage to ask "Are you alright Abellion?"
The original Abellion stop eating and look his mother and then drop his spoon and fork onto the polished table with a sharp clatter.
"No."
"I don't want to eat anymore, I lost my appetite."
The original Abellion stand up and walk away to the door and look back to his parents after a second he close the door. He looked back not to say goodbye, but to imprint the image of their worried, guilty faces onto his memory—a new fuel for his growing hatred.
The dining hall was plunged into a stunned silence. His parents finally understood the gravity of their inaction. His parents finally realized that he is starting to hate them which is Lutiana's nightmare came true.
Lutiana slammed her hand down on the table, tears of pure frustration springing to her eyes. "What did I say Abrellios? If you just try defend him or try to threaten those damn nobles this wouldn't even happen!" She was heartbroken, realizing that her duty to the Empire had cost her her son's love.
Abrellios just sighed he knew his wife is right but because he feared of the retaliation of the nobles he didn't do anything on the rumors. He had chosen political safety over his child's emotional wellbeing, a decision he instantly regretted.
Yulen, who had silently witnessed the entire exchange, felt a crushing wave of guilt. He had been the catalyst for the original Abellion's entire tragedy. Yulen look on his adoptive parents and then said to his thoughts 'Was it a mistake for me to bring Abellion back to his family?' He had acted with the best intentions, but his regression knowledge had only accelerated Abellion's pain.
'No it was all my fault from the start that it come to this, it's all my damn fault that he felt inferiority and jealousy towards me.' Yulen hadn't meant to overshadow him, but by being the perfect student, the perfect disciple, he had unwittingly destroyed his brother's self-worth. Yulen finally realized it's all his damn fault.
---
Johan, now Abellion the Dark Lord, appeared, casually leaning against the dining table, the scene freezing around him. He waved a dismissive hand.
Abellion cut the scene and said to the readers "All right that's enough we will skip the other unnecessary scene to the the tournament." He wasn't interested in drawing out the domestic drama. He was here for the action and the explanation.
"And sorry for this," he added, nodding toward the messy breakdown he had just narrated.
---
The scene shifted again and it's Abellion and his family arriving at the Grand Coliseum. The colossal stadium was a breathtaking sight of stone and divine light, packed wall-to-wall with tens of thousands of cheering, roaring spectators. The noise was deafening—a chaotic symphony of anticipation, drunken shouting, and the sounds of gambling.
The Hero Abrellios, The Saintess Lutiana, Yulen together with one of the heroines and lastly Abellion appeared on the coliseum where it's full of shouting and cheering. They were escorted to the Imperial Box, a position of honor, but the crowd's reaction was divided and vicious.
"DEFEAT THAT BASTARD!" A voice boomed from the stands, clearly aimed at the fighter.
"WIN YOU BASTARD I BET ALL OF MY MONEY TO YOU DON'T YOU DARE DISSAPOINT ME!" another drunken voice yelled, placing all its hope (and money) on another fighter.
The girl with Yulen and her name is Melina, ginger hair and brown eyes look on the coliseum in awe, and fyi she is the first heroine of the novel. She was from a common background and had never witnessed such imperial splendor.
"Wow, thanks for bringing me here Yulen even i'm a commoner you really bring me here but why you are with your parents and your sibling Abellion?" she asked, overwhelmed.
Yulen replied "They are here to cheer me and Abellion also wanted to participate." Yulen still spoke with the easygoing affection of a devoted brother, despite the cold shoulder he'd been receiving.
Yulen look on Abellion but he just ignore Yulen even earlier including 3 days ago. Abellion stood at the edge of the box, ignoring the entire family unit, his focus fixed on the dusty, red earth of the training grounds.
Yulen sighed and then Melina ask him "Are you alright Yulen."
Melina look on Abellion and saw that he ignores his parents including Yulen then she whispered to Yulen "I thought you and Abellion have a good relationship?"
"Something happened" Yulen sighed and then continue "I will tell you later." He couldn't bring himself to explain that he was the reason for his brother's misery.
"All right" Melina replied and just nod, she look on Abellion again but he just ignore them and it seem was focused on something.
Personia, a luminous specter only visible to him, stood right next to Abellion, watching the sad spectacle of the family's disintegration.
Personia beside with Abellion ask him "Why are ignoring your family Abellion?"
The original Abellion replied through telepathy 'I don't need to give damn about a family who couldn't even defend their own son.' His words were sharp, carrying the bitter residue of him. Loyalty was paramount; his parents had failed the loyalty test.
Personia sighed she agreed Abrellios and Lutiana are terrible parents but if Abellion continue to grew distant he will regret that decision soon so she decide to speak and said "If you continue to ignore them, you will grew distant to them and after that you will regret that decision you made. I know your parents are terrible on parenting but they are still your parents."
The dark power within Abellion, the chaotic energy he now commanded, reacted violently to her peaceful advice.
'ENOUGH!'
Personia shocked because this the first time Abellion shout to her even she didn't hear him shouting to everyone including Yulen and his parents. He had never raised his voice at anyone, not even his cruelest tormentors. Now, he was shouting at the one person who cared for him.
'I don't need your damn advice alright?! So just shut up and watch!'
Personia look on Abellion because she can't recognize him anymore, her ethereal face etched with sorrow. The pat child she help and cared of is now full of anger and hate. The power he had acquired had corrupted his heart far faster than she had feared.
'Just what should I do on you Abellion?' Personia cant help but ask herself what should she do to comfort him. She was powerless to save him from the villainous path he had chosen.
The booming voice of the arena's master of ceremonies sliced through the tension.
Then the announcer speak up "THE NEXT FIGHT WILL BEEEEE!!!"
The crowd roared, hanging on every word.
"ABELLION VON NAZARIC VS KAZINIR ELMONTE!!!!" The time for talk was over. The stage for the first tragedy was set.
---
The scene of the coliseum abruptly froze—the announcer mid-shout, Abellion fixed in his hateful stare. Johan, the narrator, took center stage again, nodding to the readers.
The scene shifted again and it's Abellion "Hi Abellion here or should I just say Johan."
"You know, I could spend another ten thousand words on the fight, the drama, the aftermath, but let's just get to the point. The original Abellion's story is over, and I need to start mine."
"Kazinir is one of the minor villain of the novel and the reason why Abellion become one of the minor villains so blame that guy because he is the reason why the original used the Whirlwind of Flames that he was disqualified after being discover that he have that skill, but how did they know?"
"Simple, really. It's because of his parents and Melina one of the survivors on the destruction of the village the Demon King Personia did." The Demon King's devastating fire magic was unique, and the memory of it was burned into the mind of the only survivor—Melina, the first heroine.
"When Melina saw Abellion using that she was terrified and her ptsd come back that she called Abellion the Demon King. It was a dramatic scene, total chaos. The crowd was stunned, the Holy Church was up in arms, and the Hero's son was revealed to be a user of forbidden demonic power."
"Welp, because of that the original was disqualified and was cast out. He lost the tournament, his reputation, and his status. But did you know that's not the reason why he was cast out from his parents? It's to protect him on the nobles after like 10 years Abrellios will get his son back to the empire since they would forget it ofc. His parents, in their own terrible, passive way, thought they were saving his life from certain execution by the Holy Church. They sacrificed their relationship with him to buy him time."
"But ofc the fate was cruel Abellion vowed revenge to his parents, Yulen and including the people who ridiculed him. He didn't see it as protection; he saw it as the ultimate betrayal, the final act of abandonment. He became the villain they always rumored him to be."
"He had one last act of self-destruction before embracing the dark side. He also cut ties with Personia, he say hurtful things to Personia so she wouldn't be with him that Personia's soul was destroyed because of sadness, regret, loneliness, and after a year of him being cast out too that cause her loneliness. He convinced himself that if she couldn't love him, he couldn't let her fade away while watching his descent into evil. It was his final, twisted act of self-sacrifice—breaking her heart to save her soul from watching him become a monster."
"Well talking about tragic love I gotta agree that was the right thing to do but wrong at the same time y'know but cant blame him he is beyond saving just like what happened to me. He was consumed by the shadows of his inadequacy, just like I was by the pressure of the family war."
"After like 20 years Abellion came back as one of the cult members of the Evil God Cult, what's worse is that he killed his own parents just like what I did to the them, but you will see it after I will tell you fully my side of my story after reincarnated as Abellion, after this of course. That act enrage Yulen and fight him. The final boss fight of the first arc."
"Motherfucker the original had the cheat codes already and even have the divine powers of one of the most powerful evil god but got killed by Yulen ofc with his good old plot armor of, he won but come on seriously he was killed in the fraudest way possible I literally laugh at that time lol but what happened to me I got karmad lol. I laughed at his predictable defeat, and then I became him. The universe is a harsh mistress."
"That's why the protagonist didn't regret killing Abellion even they were used brothers in the past and their past life. Abellion had become pure malice, and Yulen had to put him down. It was a clean slate for the Hero."
"So yeah here ya go I just summarize it because It will rather take long and I don't want the chapters will be spent on the original Abellion's flashback but me only me alright?"
"The story of the original Abellion ends with the new me taking over, right before everything started and before Yulen can even bury him. Now, we can move to the actual conflict—my rise, not his fall."