Chapter 451 - 451

No person should be described as unimportant. After all, all creatures exist in this world for a reason, to some known and to others unknown. Life is precious and that is why it should be viewed highly. No one actually can live forever and for that reason life is valued. In Theseus' case though life had no true meaning if it did not involve Allias in it. Meaningless days and nights, filled with lifeless words. Waking up was simply a chore. That was why Theseus wanted to search for him, he wanted to find him, bring him home and finally be able to live again. To do that though he had to get rid of all of the things that could hurt him. 

They had been reckless, many times. Always barely getting away with dying but this time, this time the general didn't know, he couldn't predict how Allias was or where he was. All he could do was hope, hope and try, wait for the moment he would leave the palace gates thinking of finding his love. 

That's why the man that had just been captured was on his knees in front of him, restrained and beaten up. This insignificant elf, this backup character in his story had brought his world upside down. He ought to pay more attention to people, he thought as the man whimpered in front of him. Ea was by his side with Ares, explaining things he didn't really pay attention to while he could  only look at this man, wondering how he actually managed to separate him so easily from Allias. A love that had lasted for thousands of years, a fate that could not be overwritten by anyone was almost ready to break by some unknown lord and a woman who had been tricked. 

Maybe the fates were cruel in such a way. Playing wicked games, making sure that the moment you feel you're at the top of the world you crush land on top of sharp stakes. Whoever was deciding his fate, Theseus despised him. It was obvious they loved playing with him, fixing his broken heart just to break it again. 

Lord Kronos. That was the man's name. He was old, looking like he was in his sixties meaning that he was at least four thousand years old. Elves could preserve their appearance but that needed a large amount of magical power, to keep the glow of youth was not an easy task. The one who could do it though always chose it. No one liked being wrinkly, with his hair falling off while everyone around him was beautiful. Lord Kronos looking that way meant that he was weak, with no real aptitude for magic. His eyes were pitch black, while his hair, gray with only a few black hairs in them, was at the base of his neck in a small ponytail. He had wrinkles around his eyes and  spots on his pale hands. He brought them close, uniting his palms and begged, his trembling voice grabbing Theseus' attention. 

"Please your highness, forgive me." he  cried and Theseus clicked his tongue, fed up with people begging after they had made a mistake. He had planned to kill the king, was he really stupid enough to think that he would be able to get away with it if he said he was sorry or begged for his life?

"Where is Allias?" The general asked and the old elf stared at him with wide eyes. His whole body was shaking, the sound of the chains moving with his trembling body. 

"I…I don't know. Please, I am begging you to spare my life." he repeated and the man sighed. 

"I want to know what happened to the king!" Theseus shouted, scaring him and making him fall back. "How can you not know?" he asked him. "This was your plan all along."

"Things did not go the way we wanted them to. We…we went after the king but he killed all of my men, you found their bodies, you must certainly know. After that I have no idea what happened. I had my men search for him but he is not in the elf kingdom." he said. 

Theseus knew all that already, he knew Allias was somewhere, with someone and that he was dying! That was all he got and now, now that he had the horrible man who caused all of this right in front of him he couldn't really get any new information out of him because he too was an idiot. 

"Are you working alone?" Theseus asked him, his eyes strict, showing him that he shouldn't lie. He shouldn't even dare to think about it.

"I…."

"Are you working alone?" the general repeated. 

"There are more. Two of the lords in the south and one of them in the north. The two others you already know. They are the ones who you injured while they had you imprisoned." Theseus took in a deep breath, disturbed by all the foes that ran freely in Allias' land. He needed them out, all of them orelse the king wouldn't be able to return. 

"Ea take him away. You will tell him everything. Every little detail, their names, their hideouts. All of it. Then there will be a trial. Ares you will go out with your men today, tomorrow we will trial them. If you are being honest we will make sure you are not sentenced to death, if you are lying though…" Theseus warned him, meeting his eyes. "I will personally make sure you have a very unpleasant death." he said and moved his arm, signaling one of the guards to take the man away. 

He breathed out, sitting on the cold throne, rubbing his forehead as he tried to think. 

"A trial is a good idea." Ea announced. "They will see that you're trying to be just, also that you're active. That's good." he complimented him and the general gifted him a bitter smile. 

"Nothing is really good Ea." he said as he sat back on the throne. He hated the view, the huge doors, the windows, the snowy scenery. Again he felt as if he was stuck in time. 

"I will get ready to leave." Ares said. "Don't worry, we will find them all by tomorrow, I swear. Tomorrow you will be able to leave and look for Allias." his brother told him. The prince grabbed Ea and kissed him, making the small elf blush. "See you soon." he greeted him and hopped down the stairs, leaving the throne room. 

"Are we sure the people we have here are trustworthy?" Theseus asked. 

"Yes, after everything that happened, even if they weren't they are too scared to actually do anything. The ones that were under Ares have been exiled and the ones you…well…"

"I killed them." the general said, his expression cold.  "I should feel bad but I don't. Every single one of them had done something, they played a role in this. Maybe I am truly a horrible person but I can't feel bad, I can't feel anything actually. I've put everything on hold." 

"I think that's fine, for now. Just think that soon all will be over. That's the most important thing. I will go to make the arrangements. We have to set up a proper trial and I need to study a bit. We don't really have that much time." Ea explained and Theseus nodded, letting him leave. 

The general did not remain alone for long. He heard footsteps and his eyes turned towards the door that was slowly being opened. A red haired head appeared first, messy, looking like copper as the sun hit it and then Mark was fully into his view. He was the second person that had been affected by Allias disappearance the most. He hadn't been looking that well and he would usually walk around during the night, unable to sleep. 

"Hey." Mark greeted him, getting close to the throne. He looked at the small stairs with his warm eyes and a few seconds later he was sitting on the floor, feeling the cold of the marble spreading on his tired body. 

"Hey." Theseus said back, as lifelessly as him. 

"Do we have any news from Allias?" he asked and Theseus shook his head negatively. No news, no words, no letters, nothing. Just emptiness and imaginary thoughts. 

"No, nothing. Tomorrow though I will be starting my journey. I will look for him." he said and Mark's eyes widened. 

"I will come too." he announced. 

"No, it might be dangerous." the general said.

"I don't care. I talked about it with Asmodeus too. I want to look for Allias. He is my friend, I miss him and I am worried about him. After the letter…"

"How do you know about the letter?" Theseus asked him. 

"Ea told me." 

"Of course he did."

"I know how much you love Allias, I am sure you're in a lot of pain right now but believe me, so am I. At the moment he is the only family I've got. He is my best friend and I…I…" Mark said, tears flooding his eyes, forcing him to stop talking. He wiped them with the edges of his sleeves, taking a deep breath to calm himself down before he continued. "I feel partially responsible for what happened. I too became accustomed to not fearing death, not thinking about it. I want to bring my friend back. Because I haven't slept in days and I am so fucking tired. So you can say whatever you want but I…I will come." Mark announced, trying to sound as confident as he could. 

Theseus looked at him. He had never really bothered with mark. He knew him as the last exorcist, the man who was Allias' friend. This was probably the first time that he was properly paying attention. He could see it in his eyes, the pain that sprung in his heart, how broken he felt and helpless, just like him. He missed the king, his only friend. He closed his eyes, giving up  as he spoke. 

"Fine, but I will not be babysitting you. We are leaving tomorrow night, no delays." he said and Mark smiled, shaking his head with confidence. 

"Yes!" He exclaimed.