Daryl heard his magicom ringing as he was standing near the main table, pressing his finger on it once he saw that it was Leo.
"Leo, have you and your men neutralized the threat?"
["Affirmative, not a single casualty has been reported"]
Daryl lightly sighed in relief as he put a hand on his chest.
["But get this, we also managed to come across the person that appeared on our radar!"]
Daryl's eyes slightly widened in surprise "Did you really?...How does the person look like?"
["He's a young man that is probably around his twenties. He has deep black hair with a rather emo looking hairstyle if I so say so myself"]
Daryl heard Leo's chuckle on that last detail "Anything else?"
["Yes, he's also armed with a katana, wields it with masterful skill"]
Daryl got slightly on edge as the reported young man was armed.
Leo sensed Daryl's worry so he quickly responded ["Do not worry he didn't use it against us, in fact he has helped me and the knights neutralize the threat"]
"He...did that?"
["Indeed. A group of our knights reported that the same young man helped them in eliminating those monsters. They were curious whether we sent them or if he's with the P.W.A.B"]
The 3rd king was surprised that the young man helped; part of him was relieved to know that he wasn't a threat but rather a savior. Though he did his best to restrain his high hopes.
Daryl put a finger on his chin as he was still a bit uninformed about something regarding the young man "I suppose that's good to hear. Though, how can you be so sure that he's the same person that appeared on our radar?"
["Oh, forgive me! Shortly after we finished our battle, I decided to have a conversation with him regarding his appearance. He stated that he arrived East of here in the middle of the forest"]
Daryl was surprised by the young man's cooperation "I didn't expect that to happen"
["The feeling's mutual. At first I thought he would be a bit unwilling to answer, given his age, but he quickly cooperated with me. So I rewarded him by booking him a room in the luxury hotel Royal Gold for what he has done tonight"]
"Well isn't that nice of you" Daryl teased the 2nd king, who responded with a huff.
["Well I wouldn't call myself a king if I didn't reward a citizen for their valiant efforts"]
Daryl lightly chuckled to Leo's words "Back on the main topic...are you confident that he won't dissappear on us once morning arrives?"
["Absolutely! I trust my gut that he won't do such a thing. Plus he seems like the type of person that'll accept a thanks"]
Daryl hummed as he put his hands behind his back "Hope that's the case. Nevertheless, we'll keep the security around the hotel tight. Wouldn't hurt to take extra measurements"
["Understood"]
"Also, did you inform Ky and Dr.Paradigm about this?"
["Yes, and it got a similar reactions to yours, though Ky took it with a bit more optimism"]
The 3rd smirked at that detail "As expected of Ky"
"Alright, well if that's all then I think it's time to say goodnight. We'll have a meeting with the rest of the Illyria council about everything that's happened tonight"
["Alright, have a goodnight Daryl. I'll see you tomorrow"]
"Goodnight, Leo. Rest well for tomorrow"
Daryl made the magicomm disappear with a simple finger gesture.
The 3rd king let out a long, frustrated sigh in response to tonight's fiasco
"Why can't we just catch a break for once?"
...
Morning time:
In Aiden's luxurious hotel room standing in front of the luxurious designed cabinet inside the luxurious designed bathroom, the young man was staring at himself in the mirror.
Part of him had a hard time believing that he was standing in such a grandiose place without any blood being spilled throughout the inside.
"My life is definitely moving a bit too fast right now. Though I'm not complaining"
That didn't mean he could let his guard down.
Ever since his meeting with the 2nd king of Illyria, the hotel has been under top notch surveillance by the king's knights.
How the future even had royal knights as a legit profession was an answer he needed to get later on.
Anyway, the young man was aware that these people were wary of him. He couldn't blame them since they were first hand witnesses to him slicing and dicing those demons to rotten shreds.
Which decreased his chances in escaping undetected.
Aiden lowered his head to the sink as he contemplated his current situation.
"Now is not the time to plan an escape. I need to see how my 'stay' here plays out"
That's when Aiden's perked up as he remembered about the new weapon he received last night. Right now he had the luxury of properly inspecting it.
He extended his left hand out and in an icy blue light, the weapon appeared in his hand.
The three rods of the nunchaku were cool to the touch with snowflakes pouring off. He was well aware that it had the ability to summon ice, but he obviously didn't know HOW to summon it.
"I wonder how I can function your ice abilities..."
"I'll be more than happy to tell you, master!"
Aiden flinched back in shock as he heard the deep voice come out of nowhere. He looked around the bathroom in a frantic pace.
After about a few more seconds of looking around, he turned back to the mirror "Is... anyone here?"
"My apologies for startling you, master! I wasn't expecting for my presence to cause that reaction."
Aiden heard the voice with much more clearance. And it sounded familiar. As if he had heard it before.
"Okay...apology accepted. So who are you?"
"Oh, forgive me! My name is Cerberus, a pleasure to meet you, master"
Wait, did he just say his name's Cerebeus? "You mean you're the Cerebeus that I fought before?"
"Indeed. The black void has managed to drag me into a forest of sorts. I wished I arrived next to you, but due to unexplainable reasons, we were sent in different parts of that forest. Which lead me to search for you"
That was strange. Cerbeus tried to find him. What for?
"Why were you trying to find me?"
"After you killed me, I let me soul manifest itself to serve under you after you displayed the power of a true warrior"
"So your soul manifested itself into a weapon..." Aiden muttered as he looked down on the nunchaku "That tells me that you're a devil arm"
"You guessed correctly. I assume you've heard of them before?"
"Yeah, while I underwent demon hunter training"
Cerebeus understood with a grunt
"Alright, with introductions out of the way...I want to know how to use your ice powers"
"It would be my pleasure to tell you, master..."
...
The three kings of Illyria were currently inside a mechanized horse carriage. The strange looking vehicle heading to the hotel where their new guest was residing in.
Inside, Ky was having a conversation with Leo and Daryl regarding said new guest.
"Alright gentlemen, remember this is a private discussion we're having with him, not an interrogation. We don't want him to feel pressured"
Leo huffed at him offensively "How dare you think of me as a man that would make their guest feel overwhelmed. The conversation I had with him last night would tell you otherwise"
"I'm not too sure about that, Leo. Our positions as kings will possibly overwhelm him" Daryl added in
"Then we'll act like we aren't kings, but more as...associates" Leo suggested
"Look, all that I'm asking is that we make him feel comfortable: give him a warm greeting, make ourselves look welcoming, and perhaps throw in a bit of humor" Ky said, Leo responding by lightly slamming his fist against his chest
"That I can excel at!" He exclaimed
Daryl subtlety rolled his eyes at Leo "Don't worry, I understand what we have to do, Ky"
Ky sent a thankful nod to his two friends as he turned to the window of the carriage with a hopeful glint in his eyes "Let's all hope this is the start of a good friendship"
...
After Aiden had the telepathic conversation with Cerebeus, it was now time to start the morning.
He took a bubble bath in the luxurious bathroom and it was a relaxing experience. One that he so desperately needed to alleviate his tense muscles.
After taking his bath he dried up and put on his sweater, pants, and boots. He decided to leave his coat in his room as now wasn't the appropriate time to wear it.
Once he finished, he exited his room and walked down the luxurious red carpeted hallway, making his way down to eat breakfast.
After descending down the elevator, Aiden walked through the luxurious dining room.
The young man heard some murmuring going on between the patrons as he walked past their tables. They were curious as to why the 2nd king of Illyria booked him a room on his tab.
But the murmuring didn't bother Aiden as he just wanted to eat a good breakfast. Plus, he didn't hear any hostility in their tones.
He grabbed a plate from the stack of plates near the buffet and served himself some fruit, meat, and a dessert. He then took a seat on the nearest empty table.
The young man then grabbed the utensils to dig in. He felt incredibly relaxed as he was eating his food. The bubble bath he took most likely creating that feeling along with the friendly vibe the patrons were emitting. A couple nearby gave him a friendly smile as Aiden waved at them.
"Nice place so far. I can see why Leo brought me here"
After Aiden finished his food, he dapped a white handkerchief over his mouth when a male servant of the hotel approached him.
The servant sent him a respectful bo "Forgive me for interrupting your breakfast, sir. But the three kings sent me to tell you that they would like to meet you in one of the private rooms. Said that it was urgent"
As soon as the nearby patrons heard the servant's message, they immediately started murmuring to each other, their curiosity peaking even higher as to why the three kings of Illyria wanted to meet with the raven haired youth.
Aiden stood up from his chair in response, knowing well the meaning behind this message "I'm ready to meet them since I'm finished here. Do you know where their private room is?"
"Of course, would like me to lead the way?"
"I would be honored too"
The servant bowed to him in return and began making his way to the private room, the raven haired youth following right behind him.
...
The servant opened the door of the private room for Aiden, the young man walked in and saw Leo, along with two other blonde gentlemen, standing around a large round table.
The young man smiled to the 2nd king "Leo, good to see you"
The man grinned back at him "The feeling's mutual, Aiden. I hope the hotel is to your liking?" He asked with a raised brow.
He nodded "It is. Thanks for booking me here. I definitely needed the comfort of a bed"
Leo waved a hand at him dismissively "I should be the one thanking you for helping our knights in protecting the kingdom. This is simply a reward for your valiant actions"
The young man bowed in response "Then I am grateful for your generosity"
The two other kings were rather surprised to see such good manners come from the young man. But it wasn't enough to write him off as harmful.
"Ah, where are my manners! Gentlemen, this is Aiden. The brave young man who helped our knight" Leo introduced Aiden to the other kings with a gesture of his arm.
Ky put a hand on his chest as he sent him a curt bow "It's a pleasure to meet you Aiden, my name is Ky Kiske, the 1st king of Illyria. I am thankful for a brave fighter like yourself for aiding our knights in eliminating the threat for the safety of Illyria"
Daryl also put a hand on his chest as he gave a curt bow "It's also a pleasure to meet you as well,Aiden. I am grateful that you helped us in eliminating the threat before any casualties could pile up"
The young man got a bit flustered to the thanks he was receiving,a natural reaction to say the least "Don't thank me too much. I was doing it for the safety of the people as well" He responded as he took a seat,the three gentlemen following suit
Daryl interlocked his fingers as he looked at the young man with a serious expression
"I'm sure you know as to why we called you here,Aiden" The 3rd king got straight to the point,not bothering with trying to at least know a bit about Aiden
The young man stayed silent as he knew what this meeting was about from the very beginning. The 3rd king taking the young man's silence as a 'yes'
"This is regarding to the attack of the creatures that happened last night. But before we get into that, let's first wind back as to what was happening before"
"Yesterday our sensors picked up a unknown rift opening on the forest East of here.We were immediately alarmed by this sudden appearance so we informed our knights that were patrolling the streets to keep an out eye on anything suspicious.We also sent two members of the P.W.A.B along with a group of knights to investigate the area where the rift opened,in hopes of quickly finding what it was.Skip to half a day they informed us that they found a set of footprints heading East,straight here to Illyria"
Aiden just listened silently to the information of yesterday, knowing that HE was the one who appeared on their radar.
"We we're worried by this as there was a chance that whatever appeared, was wandering through the city, doing God knows what. The unknown nature of this being further worried us as we didn't know what it's behavior was."
"Nonetheless, we stuck to our guns and sent the warning to our knights to keep a lookout on the people who looked new to the kingdom. Ky, Leo, and a professor of ours joined the knights for an extra set of eyes as we were officially waiting for your arrival"
The 3rd king then looked down on his enclosed fingers, his eyes etting shadowed in darkness "That was until a multitude of rifts started appearing all over the Eastern part of Illyria..."
Daryl then rose his head up, his sharp blue eyes piercing into Aiden's "You know what those rifts were..."
Daryl left out a piece of information intentionally as he knew what the young man in front of him encountered...and slew.
"When our knights reported that they were under attack by these grim reaper looking monsters, the HQ went immediately into a state of panic. And part of me doesn't blame them for reacting in that manner. But me and the other kings had to quickly mitigate the panic so we could lay down the appropriate measures. Our first step was to immediately report to all of our squads about the attacks and the locations of the rift openings to exterminate the threat as fast as possible" Daryl explained, briefly remembering the scared faces of most of the council members.
Daryl's serious face then turned to a small, gracious smile "But even though our desired outcome was a success, it was all thanks to your sudden intervention. Without your help who knows how bad the situation could've gotten. And for that, I would like to say on behalf of the kings of Illyria, our military, and the kingdom are in your debt for your aid"
Aiden sent a dismissive hand wave to the gratuitous king "I may have been a big help, but the fighting spirit of the knights and me teaming up with Leo helped in the elimination of those monsters. And for that, they should also receive a large amount of gratitude as well"
The three kings eyes slightly widened to the humble attitude the young man was showing.
Leo giving a hearty laugh in response to young man's humbleness "I am flattered to hear that, Aiden. For a young man such as yourself, you're being a literal gentleman"
"You can thank my parents for that" Aiden replied
Ky lightly cleared his throat, bringing back the attention of the two sudden friends "Forgive me for interrupting this heartfelt bond I'm seeing, but we would like to know how you arrived here, Aiden. No one causes a rift opening of that caliber right out of the blue"
Daryl chuckled to the reminder "For a second there I thought all of us would forget about asking the most obvious question"
"I...suppose the three of you deserve to know why I appeared here" Aiden declared as he slightly leaned back on his chair, looking at the three kings with a neutral expression.
"Well to put it briefly, I was zapped here after the activation of a ritual circle" He gave his answer which was met with curious reactions from the three kings.
"What do you exactly mean by demon?" Leo asked as he crossed his arms with a cocked brow.
The young man exhaled a small breath as he was readying himself to hit the three kings with the truth. His reddish-brown eyes staring directly into them
"The monsters that attacked the kingdom last night...were demons from hell itself"
The room went into a deadly silence. The three kings turning to eachother with faces of confusion and bafflement.
"Are you seriously telling us that those monsters were literal demons?" Leo asked in a skeptical tone.
"I know it sounds very...unreal, but its the truth. And it's my job to make sure they're all slain" Aiden informed the three kings of what his specialty is.
Ky slightly lowered his head as he put a finger on his chin.
The 1st king analyzed Aiden's reddish brown eyes and deepened tone of voice. It screamed that he was dead serious about those monsters being actual demons. No slight hint of humor behind those words and no intention of making this meeting a time for jokes.
"I think you may be telling the truth..." Ky spoke as he looked at Aiden.
Leo and Daryl turned to Ky on instinct "You're making this sound like you're connecting a piece of a complicated puzzle" Daryl mused to the thinking Ky.
Ky turned to Leo as he remembered a detail about the 'demons '"Leo, do you remember how those things appeared before we fought them?"
Leo eyes widened in realization to Ky's question "Yes, I remember! Those things appeared from the ground in some dark red pools, almost looked like blood"
"Hmm, you two did mention how those things appeared on your reports" Daryl recalled.
That piece of information on how those things appeared did convince the three, to a significant extent, that those 'monsters' were in fact actual demons.
Still, that didn't mean that all of their questions were answered by the young man, who now claimed to be an expert in slaying them.
That's when Aiden broke the uncomfortable silence that infected the room "I know that what I said before sounds unbelievable and I don't expect you gentlemen to believe me straight away. But trust me when I say this: I am not your enemy and we're all on the same side of this matter"
The three kings looked at the young man with skepticism. After his claims about demons actually existing, they didn't know whether they should put all of their trust into him.
But his valiant actions last night told Leo and Ky a different story. Sure they barely knew him, but their longtime analysis skills told them that he was the type of person to fight dangerous threats for the safety of everyone, even throw himself to protect someone.
While having the willpower to pull through.
Leo was the one to break the silence as he spoke "Well I'm certainly glad that your not being desperate on trying to convince us on this whole demon existence subject. But right now we need to know more about these things, if you wouldn't mind of course"
Aiden exhaled, nearly sounding like a relieved sigh "It would be my pleasure to gentlemen. Okay, let's rewind back 2,000 years ago on Earth, back when the demons made their first appearance..."
The young man told the famous tale of the great demon knight Sparda, a powerful demon swordsman who turned against his own kind in order to save humanity from the enslavement of Mundus; The ruler of Hell.
As the young man told the tale about the demon knight, the three kings couldn't help but feel rather inspired by Sparda's noble action of helping humanity. His actions reminding them of two certain individuals that became apart of Ky's life.
Once Aiden finished telling the tale of Sparda, Leo was again the one to break the silence "That was an amazing story, Aiden. Though I'm betting my money that tale was based on an actual event rather than a myth"
The young man nodded in response "It is, but throughout those 2,000 years the event slowly turned into a mythical tale with its own moral of the story. The existence of demons were also turned into an object of religious belief rather than a topic of already existing creatures"
"Well all takes of folklore always have a origin based on real historic events. Nonetheless, it was still a fascinating story. Or should I say a historic event" Daryl said to Aiden
Ky looked at Aiden with a soft smile "I'll say, Sparda's tale made me take a trip on memory lane. Hus actions reminding me of my wife and father-in-law"
The young man looked at the 1st with a curious face "How so?"
"Well the both of them turned against their own kind; the Gears, during the Crusades-"
"Wait a minute, the Crusades?" The young man abruptly interrupted the 1st king.
"You sound like you never heard of the Crusades?" Daryl asked, the skepticism returning.
Ky and Leo were confused now. Did Aiden not know of the century long war that almost caused the total extinction of humanity? Or did that rift he went through cause some sort of amnesiac effect on him?
Aiden's stomach dropped as the three gentlemen who he was getting well acquainted got wary of him, again. He dreaded to think that he has lost their trust.
Despite that, he put a hand on his chest and gave a curt bow to the three kings. "Then I should apologize for not telling you gents sooner, though I can't really find the appropriate words to say this..."
"We will give you some time to choose your words, Aiden." Ky assured him in a soft tone.
Aiden eyes slightly widened to the 1st king's comforting tone. It sounded so...fatherly.
Like Sparda's.
He moved the thought to the side and heeded his advice. He closed his eyes as his mind was finding and arranging the appropriate answer to say for this current situation.
The kings just stared at him in silence, waiting for the young man to tell them the reason as to why he didn't know anything about the Crusades.
After a minute of silence, the young man opened his eyes and exhaled once again. "To put it bluntly. I come from the year 2019"
The three kings eyes widened, but only by a slight amount.
"Is that true now?" Leo asked, though his tone wasn't filled with shock.
The raven haired youth response was a silent nod.
Surprising for Aiden, the three kings seemed to take this a bit more well as he saw that their eyes didn't show any skepticism. Their postures looked a bit more relaxed.
"You three sure don't look too surprised by this..."
Ky chucked nervously "I don't know how to put this... but we know of some individuals that have the power to time travel at their own free will"
"And one those individuals have helped us in various predicaments" Daryl added in.
Aiden's went agape in awe and shock. "Do these individuals really have the power to time travel at free will?"
Ky nodded "It sounds unbelievable at first, but we've seen one them literally send a couple of people to the past and future. When they were brought back, they all stated that the sender returned them back to the present"
The young man let the information sunk in before he began chuckling in utter disbelief. "It's rather ironic how the both of us are discussing a topic that we are not sure truly exists" Aiden lightly joked to the realization.
The 1st king also chuckled as well "You do have a point"
"Ahem" Daryl brought back the attention of the two gentlemen "If you two don't mind putting this conversation to the side..." The 3rd king looked at Aiden with a neutral expression "We would like know the details regarding your introduction of these demons"
"My introduction...to them?"
Aiden knew where this question was heading, and it made his arms shiver uncontrollably.
"Well it's not like you all of a sudden stumbled across these things like they were an ice cream stand. So we'd like to know how is it that you came to witness their existence" Daryl clarified
The young man's face quickly turned solemn as he slightly elevated his head down. The answer of how the existence of demons came into his life was something he didn't want to EVER think about.
Though right now that didn't seem to be a choice.
The three kings quickly took notice of his upper body tensing up with his face slowly turning fearful.
The three of them knew the meaning behind that response within an instant: they're asking him to dig up a very bad memory of his for an answer. Or more accurately, to satisfy their curiosity
"You don't have to answer, Aiden" The voice of Ky made Aiden raise his head to see the 1st king sending him a smile that was filled with nothing but comfort.
The young man was surprised by Ky's gesture. His paranoid mind persisted that these men were the kind of people that would pressure whoever they were talking to get answers, but the look Ky was giving him told the exact opposite.
"Aiden, trust me when I say that I've seen that look on so many people, myself included, whenever I looked into the mirror. It is the look of us trying to forget a certain part of our lives. The part that we hope to never experience again" Leo added in as he related to the trauma Aiden was infected with.
"I agree with what these two are saying, Aiden. You don't have to tell us your past if it will make you suffer internally" Daryl added in as well.
Aiden was taken back by the amount of compassion the three kings were giving him.
A tear rolled down his cheek as a warm and comfortable feeling swelled in his heart. "I...don't know what to say, but thank you for understanding gentlemen" The young man gave them a curt bow of gratitude, the tear falling and hitting the black fabric of his pants.
"Just tell us once you're mentally prepared, alright?" Ky said in the same comforting tone.
Aiden simply responded with a nod.
Daryl rolled his left sleeve up, revealing a watch under it as he looked down on the time "Well it looks this conversation has reached it's end, you're free to go now."
"And don't worry, Aiden. I'll tell you all about the crusades and the gears at my office. You can by tomorrow once you're well acquainted with the kingdom"
Aiden nodded as he stood up from his seat and gave his goodbyes to the three kings.
Once Aiden walked out of the room, Leo turned to his friends with a deadpan expression "Now what was that you said about his attitude again?"
The 3rd king shrugged "He seemed well mannered enough"
"Well he gives me the impression that he treats everyone around him with respect"
Leo gave Ky the 'I doubt it' brow.
The 1st king added in with an eye roll "Unless they have a really unsavory attitude, of course"
"While that may be true, I still can't help but feel a bit...uneasy to what Millia and Zato could react once they find out who he is."
"Then we may have to introduce them first to him, hopefully that'll be easier for him to handle the conversation with our cold cutting assassin" Ky lightly joked
"Hopefully that doesn't turn into an unsavory memory..." Daryl muttered with a smirk.
...
"Why do I feel like someone is sending me their sympathies for a future encounter" Aiden, now wearing his black coat, wondered as he was walking down the bustling streets of Illyria.