January 19, 2009 – Monday.
Around 10 AM, Yukiko woke up, finding Vincy watching the TV. She noticed that Taro wasn't home, wondering where he could be.
"Oi, where is Taro?" Yukiko asked.
"Oh, Taro? I don't know," Vincy replied.
"Māttaku, did he forget to leave a note again?" Yukiko sighed.
"No, this time is different," Vincy said with a sad voice, "he's not coming any sooner."
"What do you mean...?" Yukiko asked quietly.
"He may not come for months, but I don't know where he went," Vincy responded, closing the television.
Yukiko looked at the window, worried about him.
"Meh, don't worry," Vincy said suddenly, "that's TaroAbodo we are talking about!"
"You are right," Yukiko agreed.
Then, Vincy stood up from the couch, putting his hand on his chest.
"Besides, I'll deal with his daily routine, it's not a big deal!" Vincy added, grinning.
"Did you even cook before?" Yukiko asked, unimpressed.
"I didn't, but it's not that hard... what could happen?" Vincy responded confidently.
After a few minutes, Vincy froze while looking at the cooking book, unimpressed expression on his face. Then instantly, he closed the book, turning back to Yukiko.
"Yeah... let's order pizza..." he said.
"Yappari, hontōni baka," Yukiko whispered, facepalming.
Meanwhile in the Azure Kingdom, Taro began wandering around the town. He was invisible with Enzo's magic, not wanting to terrify civilians or knights around him. He visited different places: bakeries, stables, and even the quest board at the bar. All of these places looked in the medieval style.
Each quest had its own objective and its difficulty rating with stars, from one to five stars. Their rewards depended on the difficulty, the harder it got, the more knights got rewarded.
"These quests seem useful to–" Taro said. "Wait, I can talk...?!"
"It seemed that I was right, your inability to speak was Armageddon's curse fault," Enzo replied.
"Then how could I speak again?" Taro asked, surprised.
"Our kingdom has a domain that can remove temporary curses, yet it cannot fully remove the powerful ones."
"This means... as long as I'm in this kingdom, I can speak freely, but not outside," Taro said, hand on his chin.
"True. And who knows, we may find a solution to restore your voice for eternity," Enzo added.
Then, Enzo decided to guide Taro to his room in the tower. The room wasn't too big, yet it had many different books of magical spells with various usages. In addition, some of his books were about history and famous knights, potions brewing guidance, and more books.
Taro began reading some of these books, sitting on a chair. Meanwhile, Enzo started floating around, trying to find something. After a few minutes, Enzo called Taro to let him pick up something. They found a map with a blue shard mark at the end of it.
"What is this map, Enzo?" Taro asked.
"This is the reason why we came here: the Azure Shard, one of the strongest orbs that can be obtained and cannot be destroyed by anything," Enzo answered.
"This looks amazing," Taro replied, "but how long can we go through this journey?"
"Apparently, for like a month at most," Enzo responded, hand on his beard.
"That's not going to be easy at all," Taro said, shocked. "Guess I have to prepare myself before I go..."
"Now you mentioned that, would you like to see your father's house?" Enzo added.
"My father?!" Taro repeated, surprised.
"Right, I did not tell you earlier..." Enzo responded.
"Enzo... what else didn't you mention?" Taro asked, smiling faintly.
Meanwhile in Abodo's house around 1 PM, Vincy and Yukiko began cleaning the house, just like how Taro used to two days a week. A few minutes later, the bell rang.
"Ooh, must be the pizza!" Vincy shouted.
When he opened the door, it was Ema, holding a tray of cupcakes with different flavors.
"Hey there, Vincy," Ema waved. "I baked some cupcakes for you guys!"
"Not the pizza... not even a pineapple one," he replied, unimpressed.
"What pizza? What do you mean?" She asked, confused.
"Nothing, just enter," he said, pointing inside with his thumb.
Yukiko welcomed Ema, thanking her for the cakes.
"So, where's the silent boy?" Ema asked suddenly.
"He's absent for a while... maybe for months," Vincy answered.
"Why? And where did he go?" Ema asked again.
"Who knows, he can tell us when he arrives back," he responded.
Seconds later, Ema began checking the fridge and the cabinets.
"Don't mind me," she said before she could check.
She noticed that there were not many meals and ingredients. Then she picked up a tiny paper, writing the shopping list for Vincy.
"Hey Vincy," she shouted, giving him the list, "take this and buy what is written here."
"Alright, see ya!" Vincy waved.
"Hold up, do you have enough money?" Ema asked.
"Yeah, I can handle this," Vincy responded.
Then, she put her hand on Yukiko's shoulder with a thumb-up.
"Now, Yukiko," she added, "I'll teach you cooking in three weeks."
"Really? Will I cook perfectly just like Taro?" Yukiko asked, amazed.
"I don't know about that, I never saw him cook before," Ema said, "but I'll make sure you impress him. In exchange, you can teach me some Japanese..."
"Isn't your father Japanese?" Yukiko asked, surprised.
"Yes, but I know nothing," she stared away, depressed, "I know some Korean, but that's not the point..."
"Daijoubu, Ema-chan," Yukiko comforted Ema, "I'll help you with that, thanks for teaching me cooking."
Then Ema looked behind, and a yellow sharp iris appeared from one of her eyes.
"That idiot, why did he pick the long way...?" Ema whispered.
"Nani nani? What happened?" Yukiko asked.
Apparently, Vincy picked another way to another supermarket, it was not closer than the other one. Ema could spot him with her {Falcon Eyes}.
In the dark realm, Armageddon was sitting silently on his throne.
"May I enter, Your Majesty?" Someone said from behind the front gate to the throne room.
"You may..." Armageddon allowed.
It was Valdar, his right hand and his spy. He entered and crouched for respect.
"How was it going?" Armageddon asked.
"I fulfilled your order, and two of the Dark Lords have arrived," Valdar answered.
"Who didn't arrive yet?" Armageddon asked.
"Zero the dark Bladian, Your Majesty," Valdar mentioned.
I see,Armageddon thought, his mission was the hardest by far.
"Very well," Armageddon added, raising his hands, "let Malice and Obsidian enter."
A few seconds later, two dark figures approached Armageddon.
"You know the reason of summoning you here?" Armageddon asked.
"We know, sire!" Both of them responded.
"How do you feel? Are you feeling ready for that mission?" He added. "Ladies first...!"
"My apologies, sire," Malice responded, "I need much longer before I can go."
"I see..." Armageddon muttered, "and you, Obsidian?"
"I'm ready to crush who gets in our way!" He roared, smashing his fist with his hand.
"Very well, then prepare yourself..." Armageddon ordered, grinning.
Obsidian was a big, muscled creature, while Malice was a dark lady wearing a coat-like outfit with crow wings. Obsidian left the room after Armageddon's order, leaving Valdar and Malice behind.
"Valdar, make sure to watch everything there from the back, without letting the enemy... or Obsidian himself notice," Armageddon ordered.
"Count on me, Your Majesty," Valdar responded.
"Malice, make sure not to let him die while watching from the back," he added, looking at Malice. "Varnok was just a pawn, but Obsidian is my precious piece."
"As you wish, sire!" She responded coldly.
Then, both of Valdar and Malice left.
How interesting, dying after killing your brother, Armageddon thought. Isn't it beautiful, my loyal dog Varnok?
Then, he began laughing hysterically.
In the Azure Kingdom, Taro and Enzo reached his father's house. The house was small and made of wood and hay. Then, Taro stopped the invisibility spell and opened the door. It was only two rooms, one for the bed and a few decorations, and the other one was the restroom.
"Sleeping here must've been tough for him," Taro said with a sad voice.
"True, he never cared about his living situation... that was until he travelled to the Overworld," Enzo said. "He used to tell me lots of stories about his new life."
Taro sat on the bed, then asked:
"Enzo, when did my father pass away?"
"I don't remember very well, but it may have been around 1997 in the Overworld," Enzo responded, hand on his hat.
"Understood..." Taro said, "I was six years old."
Then, Taro noticed two pictures with modern frameworks on a table facing the wall. He held them quietly, cleaning the dust with his hand. One was of a black-haired kid and a woman standing, they were Taro and his mother together. Meanwhile, the other picture was a hooded man with an innocent grin on his face, he looked familiar to Taro.
"I knew it, it was not a dream... it was a memory," Taro said, smiling. "I wished that kind man was my father, and it was actually him. Why didn't I know him before that day...?"
"He never wanted to leave a trace behind him like a picture in your house, not wanting to leave you two victims for the dark creatures," Enzo said. "Before he passed away, he went to the Overworld one last time to see his ill son, then he used his power secretly to stop his disease for a decade or more."
Taro smiled while looking down to the pictures, then began:
"Enzo, there was a man wearing a suit waiting behind that day, and when he knocked on our door to tell about my father's death after. That person was you, am I wrong? Nobody could know all these details unless he was there, you were disguising, right?"
Enzo smiled, then shifted into that person with a suit that Taro described.
"TaroAbodo, Haru's second version," Enzo said, "smart, gentle, and courageous. I expect nothing less from his son. I regretted how I could not recognize you since we met again for the first time."
"Mother... he wasn't shy, he was cautious," Taro whispered. "He didn't dream of becoming a knight, he was one."
"Not just a regular knight, young fellow," Enzo replied, "in fact, the sixth legendary knight."
Taro looked at Enzo with a smile, saying:
"Thank you for everything, Enzo. I could've never reach this far without your help and guidance. Now, I have three reasons to defeat Armageddon."
"Three reasons?" Enzo repeated quietly.
"First, to end the darkness," Taro replied. "Second, not letting anyone else experience what Varnok had. And finally, for my father. Not to revenge, but to honor his death."
Then instantly, Taro stood up and headed toward an ancient wardrobe in the same room. He found his father's outfit, it looked more like an adventurer than a knight-themed one, yet it was comfortable and better than knights' armor. He changed his outfit entirely to wear it, from the scarf to the shoes. Then, Taro added:
"Starting from his own path!"