Achlys blood emerged from a wound in her hand, as it suddenly fused with the power of Malice, her own MP, and Darkness together into a red lightning, one of the various characteristic magic spells that Night Elves employed to defeat their foes viciously.
As Planta and everyone else saw her unleash the first attack, the ray of red lightning quickly reached Jeremias, impacting his body with great thundering power.
CRAAAAASSSSHHHH!!!!
He felt his entire body being torn into pieces by the impact alone. His arms began crumbling apart into black pieces of stone, his legs tore themselves apart, and even his face started crumbling. His last human-like eye looked into the distance at the Players that had come to end him for good.
"No…!"
"It can't… end like this!"
"Not like this… After all I've gone through…"
"After all the things I've sacrificed!"
His resolve to continue living was like that of a cockroach, his very will trying to remain alive somehow. Memories of his past resurfaced within his head, the wicked mind of a man willing to sacrifice everything to become a wasteland of death and miasma had rather humble beginnings.
Jeremias remembered, those times when he was an orphan child, he could never remember any father, and his mother had died when he was only two years of age. The orphanage of the Kingdom sheltered him and helped him grow.
But growing in such a harsh environment was dangerous and filled with suffering every day, the amount of food he could get was minimal as there were tens of children in that orphanage, sometimes he was bullied out of the moldy piece of bread they gave to him.
Through the years, he slowly grew alone, and desolate. He disliked people and the world around him. He found them all despicable, a cold and ugly world filled with pain and hunger. However, his life changed one day when someone arrived.
An old man with a long white beard was looking for children with magical aptitude to become his disciples. Amongst the many he found and recruited, he greeted him, Jeremias.
"What an exceptional magical power… Would you mind coming with me?"
"Who… are you?"
"My name is Merlinus, they call me a Sage, but even at my old age, there's always new things I want to learn and investigate. Raising new apprentices and teaching them the way of magic is a way for me to repay the Kingdom for everything it has done for me."
"…"
"So what's your name?"
"Jeremias…"
"Will you accompany me, Jeremias?"
"Where?"
"To my Magic School. There'll be a room for you, food four times a day, a bathroom, and warm water in the shower."
"R-Really?"
"Come on, let's go. As long as you help me with my research of magic, I'll give you even more than that."
The old man extended his hand towards the young Jeremias, his darkened eyes suddenly gaining some light of hope.
Perhaps this world wasn't so bad as he thought…
He was sheltered by the magician and the Association of Wizards, and taught magic with many other children. He was well feed and even taught how to properly communicate.
Over the years, the young Jeremias grew up, gaining confidence with his amazing magical talent and researching the creation of magic tools with fellow researchers and Merlinus.
He had changed from his younger self so much he was almost unrecognizable. He began to realize that with magic, he could change the lives of people, through magic tools and magic items made with alchemy and magic, he could change everything.
Jeremias worked day and night for the children in the orphanage, for all those on poverty so he could make their lives easier, so he could bring them food and shelter, so he could make the kingdom prosper and the gap between the rich and the poor to not be as wide as it always has been.
However, his research for new ways to produce clean water, or to boost the growth of crops and produce several amounts of food more, and other things were often well received… only by the nobles, and for the nobles only.
Merlinus told him since he was a kid that he could work to improve the Kingdom and its people. Having experienced all of those horrendous things, he didn't wanted the same thing to repeat once more. With magic, he wanted to make a change.
However, he quickly realized that these things… were not exactly for all the people. They were not being made for everyone, they were not being made to improve people's lives or anything. It was only for a few selected families that accumulated most of the Kingdom's profits.
Only for them, all of this institution, all of his research, all of it only for a handful of people with gross amounts of money, nobody else. They didn't cared about the poor or the starving, they never cared about the ones at the bottom of the barrel…
"But Master Merlinus, if we could simply mass produce these as easily as I told you we could, it is completely possible to resolve the water shortage problems! Clean water for everyone, for free!" Jeremias said, arguing with his master.
"Merlinus! I've told you many times that our work is for the nobles, we are doing this for the Kingdom's representants, the most important people there is. You cannot simply invest the money they give to us into making things for the poor! For those nobody cares for!" Merlinus angrily said.
His master… had suddenly changed.
Or perhaps… Jeremias finally saw his true nature, his true face.
"You promised me that we would be able to improve everyone's lives… the orphanage children… All those people…!" Jeremias cried, but his master looked at him with anger.
"Jeremias… That you once were a cockroach doesn't mean you remain as one." Merlinus said. "Before you get us in further trouble, stop with your nonsensical ideas!"
"B-But…!" Jeremias tried to argue more, but he could not.
Anger and resentment which he had forgotten long ago began to swell once more within his heart…
