A Story of Evil

King Jubilee materialized right in front of pentagon. With a person standing in the shadows and walking out as soon as he recognized that the one who just came was the Void King.

"My liege, how did your mission go?" Cain said, holding his trusted sniper riffle in his hands.

"Ahh Cain, I'm glad to see that you've waited for me."

"Of course my liege. It is with great honor that I serve you to my utmost best." The boy said, slinging his gun at his back.

"Still as punctual as ever I see. Anyway, the mission went great." King Jubilee never told Cain about what mission this was. Unlike Sol, Cain was left in the dark of a lot of things. Only trusting the king because of all the good done by Jubilee to his family.

"Should I take your things inside my liege?" Cain respectively said.

"Nah, it's fine. I didn't bring much." The king said, beginning to walk towards the walls of Pentagon.

"By the way, Sol and Alice already arrived. You'd be seeing them again in a few days if you wish."

"I see…"

"You don't look so happy about it kid." The Void King remarked, noticing the change in Cain's tone of voice.

"My liege is it possible for me to refrain from seeing them?" At this the king stopped walking and gave a glance at his new attendant. 

"Oh? That's a bit surprising. You don't want to see your best friend?" 

"Of course I do my liege. It's just that I don't want to be a hindrance to him again. The next time we meet, I want us to be on equal standing. With me being able to assist in fights." Cain said in reply, holding on to the strap of his weapon.

"Well, you need to continue training then. Cause believe me when I say, there's a mound of corpses you need to stack before you reach either Solomon or Alice." King Jubilee said, finally placing his crystal on the wall of Pentagon.

"I understand my liege." Was the short and respectful answer given by Cain as the, the doors of Pentagon finally opened up. With both of them heading inside.

…

…

…

Sol and Alice walked on one of the fully developed areas outside the domains. It was still uninhabited but, the facilities worked perfectly fine. With assistants temporarily being on every building in order to aid Sol and Alice in their needs.

The wind was warm and welcoming. The red hot sun was filtered by the barrier, giving just enough radiance on the skin. It was quiet and calm. With the rustling of leaves on the branches being the most audible thing around.

It was just the beginning of a peaceful day. Yet, Alice was already looking around and playing wit her fingers. Unable to vibe with the surroundings as she tapped her partner.

"Hey Sol don't you think this is weird?" Alice asked, getting the boy to glance at her and ask:

"What is?"

"Come on. We've been fighting for five months and then BAM!" Alice hit her palm with her fist. 

"There's no action at all! We're just strolling merrily like there's nothing to worry about at all. This is so anti-climatic."

"Alice, of course there's a lot to worry about. But just as King Jubilee said, we're still kids. We may be champions of the last culling and, while also being the first and last of our domain. We may also be the youngest knights in history. But that doesn't exclude us from enjoying the things we should."

"But I want to train! I want to hold a sword and slice something up. Even a target dummy would do at this point!"

"That's still considered to be physically straining Alice. Besides, we don't have something like that here. This place is both serene and safe and, I don't think Queen Lilia would be very happy if you go around in a rampage."

"Well what do you have in mind then?"

"I suggest we take the king's word seriously. He said that we should rest and, I think nothing is wrong with that."

"What's your idea of resting then?"

"Reading a book?" Sol suggested. Thinking of the library that was just within the same garden they were walking towards. However, Alice didn't like the suggestion that much. Squinting her eyes and voicing out her distaste.

"Ugh. You're gonna bore me to death boy genius. I like you better in the battlefield."

"It's not like I asked. Anyway let's just continue to the garden. I'm sure there'd be something you can do there."

"I don't have a choice on this do I?"

"Nope. I don't think so. Not unless you want to go against the king's orders."

"Fine. Resting it is then." Alice replied, sulking as the two continued walking towards the garden.

Just when Alice thought she wouldn't enjoy herself, she smelled something being baked. She quickly grabbed on to Sol's hand, forcing the boy to run with her as the girl followed the scent like a huntress. Moving efficiently through the thicket trees which she found to be a shortcut. Getting both her and Sol's face and body filled with twigs and leaves as the girl finally began enjoying herself.

They only stopped after reaching a crossroad. With both of them catching their breath as Sol remarked his partner:

"Look at you. Earlier you were complaining about life. Now, just because you caught whiff of freshly baked bread you go dashing like a hound."

"You got a problem with that boy genius?" Alice said, her breathing paced but nevertheless fine.

"Not one bit. Anyway, let's hurry before the bread goes cold." Sol said, picking up the pace as he and Alice began a contest on who can reach the bakery faster.

"That's more like it!" Alice said, being a hundred percent determined to beat Sol.

Sol made use of his [Spatial Awareness]. Finding the best routes to take and speeding himself up exponentially. Sliding over an overgrown root. Grabbing on to a vine and swinging up a branch. Leaping from tree to tree. Any normal opponent would've bitten the dust by then. However, Alice was nowhere near normal.

The girl used her flicker to catch up. Timing it when she leaps in the air and, when no obstacle is in sight. Getting the most out of her speed dashes without missing a heartbeat.

It was a close match. In fact too close as both of them came out of the last thicket of trees seemingly at the same time. With both being high up in the air. And, upon landing both claimed:

"First!"

"What do you mean first? We bot saw that my feet landed first." Alice said, justifying herself.

"Well that is what you would've seen if you were blind." Sol said in reply.

"That doesn't even make any sense."

"Yeah, just like your claim of victory."

Instead of heating up any more than that, the two went on laughing. With Alice giving it out in a heartfelt tone while Sol only chuckled a little bit. It wasn't a serious competition after all and, with the smell of bread finally in front of them, their focus was entirely shifted.

"Okay, if the food here tastes good. Then I'm not complaining anymore. I'm gonna rest and fill my belly."

"Let's both hope for the best then." Sol jokingly commented as they finally entered the establishment.

With that the relaxing day of the two finally set off. With Sol and Alice indulging themselves in pastries and sweets. Sol was also glad that they offered coffee and a variety of the books in the shop. Asking for nothing more as he also decided to settle down there.

With this they finally got to settle down for once. Without even trying, the two gave in to their wants. With Sol reading through book after book. Picking up more facts about the updates on Ether.

Meanwhile, Alice took a bite of all the pastries offered by the shop. With her stomach seemingly limitless despite her slim frame. 

They then continued to the spa. Relaxing their muscles and joints. Almost falling asleep in the warm waters in the process. They even went bug catching after that. With Alice accidentally killing a rare insect along the way.

Time flew by and it was nearing nighttime when they finally finished. Walking back to the temporary house assigned to them, with a fully satisfied disposition. But the day was far from over. As soon as they returned to the cabin where Lilia was, they awaited the announcement for that night.

After all, it was finally time for King Jubilee to reveal some of his secrets to the public.