CHAPTER 35: 15 YEARS OLD

"You useless fuck!! Run!!!"

The young man who seemed to be in his late teenage years shouted, his golden, orb-like eyes widened in sheer panic. He didn’t even wait for his friend and dashed outside with full force.

In the very next second, he escaped the conical building they had been experimenting in and ran as fast as he could. As someone experienced with these experiments, he already knew it was a lost cause.

"Damn it! How can someone be so bad?"

He cursed, glancing sideways where a young man with bluish hair was running with a horrified look plastered on his pale, handsome face.

He ran as if his life depended on it...well, it actually did, because the next second, something exploded inside the conical building and the whole ground around it shuddered as if struck by a violent earthquake.

The two of them finally stopped after sprinting for a good distance and turned around. The conical building, made of dry bricks since it was only their temporary laboratory, stood at the side of the Royal Palace of Moonrise Kingdom.

There was clear, empty ground around it, so the architecture stood out even more. Now, it trembled before their eyes as black smoke rose from the open roof. Slowly, the bricks began to collapse in on themselves.

Aegon and Xavier straightened their postures, saluting the falling building. Their eyes burned with deep sadness, as if they were watching an old friend die.

"You have supported us enough. Our relationship was only till here, but worry not. The tales of your valor shall be known throughout songs," Xavier declared dramatically, his voice carrying all the emotional weight his heart was apparently feeling.

Aegon didn’t say a word. He just stood there in saluting position until the building completely crumbled away. Was he sad? Perhaps. But more than sadness, he was angry at this so-called friend of his.

Before he could say anything, dust rose in the distance and he cursed, "Damnation! Xiu was in the palace? Why didn’t anyone tell me about that?"

"She was?" Xavier muttered before he turned around, panic flashing in his eyes. "My brother from another mother, please handle your mother otherwise we’re both done for."

With that, he prepared to bolt, but Aegon grabbed his collar and held him back, making his eyes go wide in disbelief. The young man pleaded desperately, "My brother, I wanna live!"

"Shut up! You think I don’t wanna live?" Aegon fired back, then pulled out a whistle he always wore around his neck. Blowing hard into it, he waited only a second before his shadow stirred awake and materialized before him.

"Hecte, please handle Xiu for me, okay? I’ll definitely compensate you!" Aegon pleaded, almost looking guilty.

"Yes, Boss!" Hecte sighed, her voice dripping with helplessness. She seemed utterly fed up with his antics, yet she never once refused his orders.

"I’ll definitely compensate!" Aegon repeated, feeling sorry for her, but right now his life was more important.

Then, without hesitation, the two of them ran off toward the Moon River at full speed. They didn’t talk or even look back as they dashed across the open fields, only stopping once they reached the downward slopes that led to the Moon River.

The Moon River cut through the Capital City like a silver blade, but near the palace there were hardly any structures around it. Only further upstream did it cut through the city blocks.

Aegon and Xavier only stopped when they were sure of their safety. They hunched over, panting heavily with their hands braced against their knees, then turned to glance at the distant palace.

"Phew! I thought I was going to die tonight!" Xavier sighed in relief.

"Oh, but you are!"

Before Xavier could even process the words, a solid punch landed squarely on his face, sending him tumbling backward. He didn’t hesitate to retaliate either and began fighting back.

Thus, the two of them fought a heated battle, though Xavier received the majority of punches from Aegon. After all, Xavier was a mage through and through, unlike Aegon who had been diligently practicing to walk the Body Pathway if possible.

’The boost from the Blazing Sun Holy Physique is really insane.’

He was just fifteen this year, yet his body was already on par with, if not better than, Xavier who had already crossed eighteen.

The fight finally ended only when Aegon was satisfied, shoving the poor crown prince of Moonrise Kingdom down onto the soft grass. Both of them collapsed there, catching their breath.

"Man! You need to pull back your punches," Xavier grumbled, massaging his swollen face. A soft glow enveloped his hand, slowly healing the bruises. "It isn’t supposed to hurt this much, remember?"

Aegon kicked him once again and retorted, "Have you been spending too much time with Cali or what? Why are you so dramatic?"

"I’m a natural-born actor," Xavier said with a cheeky smile, which only made Aegon want to beat him up more. "Hold up! Don’t you dare raise your hand again!"

"Then don’t make me angry," Aegon sighed. "Seriously, how can someone like you even exist in this world?"

"I know I’m special, but you don’t need to praise me so much."

"Your face is really itching for another beating."

"Fuck off!"

"Seriously though, how can you not understand basic things?" Aegon said through gritted teeth, frustration clear in his tone. "Even a goddamn pig would have learned by now, but you? You don’t."

Ever since Xavier discovered Aegon’s talent in soap-making, he had been pestering him nonstop to teach him how to make explosive soaps. For Aegon, it had been relatively simple after some practice, but for Xavier? It was a thousand times harder.

Not once had he succeeded. Time after time, his attempts exploded, nearly injuring both of them in the process. That was why Xiu always scolded and punished them whenever they tried again.

Sadly, Xavier refused to give up, so Aegon came up with a different idea. Instead of explosive soap, which seemed beyond Xavier, he invented an explosive ink.

One only needed to write on paper with that ink and it would turn into a paper bomb.

’And this guy failed even in that!’ Aegon still couldn’t believe it.

"You won’t understand it. It’s simply because I’m too special for these mundane things."

"Come here for a bit."

"Why?"

Still, he slid closer to Aegon, only to receive a solid kick on his knees.

"Special, my ass! You’re just dumb! Are you sure you’re the legitimate son of Aunt Sansa? How can you be so stupid? It feels like I’m teaching a hamster...except they’re cute, unlike your ugly mug."