Rise of the Crusader

127 Finale

Sitting across a table, Raphael was in a state of his own, completely unaware of what was going on in the psychic domain.

In front of him was a chessboard, and after moving the white pawn forward, and tapping the chess clock, he waited for the person in front to make his own move.

It wasn’t even up to two seconds after Raphael moved the pawn to the center of the board, and a move was made. With the queen in play, Raphael’s pawn was taken away quickly.

Taking that pawn brought a smile to the person’s face, however that smile soon turned into a frown. A cold smile to be precise, as the moment he placed his queen in the middle of the board, Raphael took his queen away.

The bishop was now standing in the queen’s former position, and with a smirk on his face, Raphael stared at his alter ego.

“Interesting, but have you forgotten.” The look-alike said, and then made a move.

The bishop that had just been placed in the middle of the chessboard was then taken away, and a knight stood in its place.

“I am you... And you’re me.” He declared.

“Check!”

.....

However, despite the knight onto the king, Raphael wasn’t panicked. Not even in the slightest, he stared at the chessboard, and after a few seconds, he made a move.

The threat that the knight possessed was soon dispossessed, and the game went on quickly.

A few hours passed briefly and there was still no winner. A deep frown was on the faces of the two men as the game became very frustrating even for both sides.

Suddenly, the lookalike voice rang out.

“Why haven’t you fulfilled the promises you made, what’s stopping you?” He asked in a rather curious tone.

“It can’t be that you have become soft, have you, or perhaps you have forgotten. Or is it because of that woman who is always around you?”

“Have you lost touch of who you really are?”

Raphael moved a piece forward and replied, “It has nothing to do with any of that.”

“I have a couple of things, I must deal with first.”

A sneer appeared on the lookalike faces when he heard Raphael. “This is just an excuse, Raphael. You and I know that, and it is best you come to realize it.”

“You’re letting a lot of people down, Raphael.” He blurted. “Soon enough, they will begin to ask questions, and when that happens, you will pay a very hefty punishment.”

There was an eye twitch from Raphael. He was, however, able to keep a straight face.

“It’s best you get rid of that fear that you have and hurry up with it. It isn’t just you who would be affected by their wrath, but the people around you also.” The look-alike’s voice rang out.

“Only a stupid person won’t be afraid. It’s me against the world, after all.” Raphael replied.

“I’m going to fulfill my promises when it’s time. Not now, I have a lot on my plate as it is.”

A grin appeared on the face of the look like when Raphael spoke.

“There is not much time left.” The lookalike said. “Hurry.”

With that said, and he disappeared from the area.

Raphael already realized that his look-alike had already disappeared from where he was, he, however, still buried his head in the chessboard in front of him.

After a few seconds, the chessboard was flung away by Raphael. He stood with his hand balled without a tight fist and a bone-chilling frown on his face.

Raphael then took a deep breath and after regaining his composure, he opened his eyes.

As Raphael’s opened his eyes, he was back in the psychic domain. He stared at the tube he was in, and then at the people who were around him.

Seeing, those who were on the floor, Raphael raised an eyebrow. He then stared at Atticus, Leilani, and Lucien with a questioning gaze.

And while he hoped to get an answer from them, he was greeted with a smile that could be considered to be a creepy one by the three of them.

Whether it was Atticus, Leilani, or Lucien, they stared at him like he was some priceless jewel.

The fourth tube soon opened, and Raphael stepped out of it.

He walked towards the three in front of them, and as they saw the look on his face, they were quick to discern the message this time around.

“They weren’t able to pass the training,” Leilani said, taking a step closer to Raphael.

Meanwhile, Raphael’s mouth opened slightly when he heard Leilani. He then felt Leilani seizing him from head to toe, and for some reason, Raphael took a step back.

“Hahaha!” Leilani burst into laughter when she saw how Raphael had reacted.

“It’s not like I’m going to eat you up, or maybe.” Leilani paused, staring at Raphael again. “I just didn’t expect you to be the first person to pass the training.”

Gus couldn’t help but let out a hiss after Leilani spoke. It glared at her as though the words she had just spoken were displeasing.

Leilani continued. “Even though many have said you possess a frightening potential, I still didn’t take it seriously. After all, what sort of talent haven’t we seen?”

“But now I’m starting to see why they boasted about you that much. You really do have some skill, lad.”

Leilani spoke with a rather amused smile on her face. And a second after she spoke, she took a step forward, this time around, directly appearing in front of Raphael.

Atticus and Lucien glanced at each other and then shrugged their shoulder. The both of them then moved their gaze to the other tube, and as their mouth opened, their cheek raised.

“You know Raphael,” Leilani stuck close to Raphael. “In a dangerous place like this, I really need to be protected and pampered.”

Leilani’s index finger was placed gently on Raphael’s chest. She was about to speak when a loud voice rang out.

“How dare you!!!!!!”

A second after the voice sounded, a black-haired figure appeared beside Raphael.

It was Elisa, and as she stared at Elisa, killing intent was evident in her eyes. Despite being in front of her instructor, Elisa didn’t hold anything back, and she exuded a frightening amount of killing intent from her body.

“He is mine... Back off!” Elisa blurted.

A smile, however, appeared on Leilani’s face.

She stared at Elisa and then at Raphael, after a few seconds she laughed.

“I was just fooling around, Elisa. I have no such intention of taking your man away from you.” Leilani said. “But, I must say, going to the length of using your powers on me, says how much you’re really into him.”

Leilani stared at her palm as she spoke. And with a smile on her face, she moved back to her previous position.

Elisa turned towards Raphael who had a neutral expression on his face and then heaved a deep breath. She slowly held his right hand and stared at the tubes in the area.

Raphael only glanced at her hand before shifting his gaze to the tubes as well.

His thoughts were unknown.

“Melinda and Becky still haven’t let go of that issue,” Elisa mumbled, staring at her friends who were on the floor.

Elisa had her idea of what the psychic domain was even before she ventured here. She had a sister, one which whom she was very close with and had, in fact, told her about the psychic domain.

“Martha, Naomi, and Dwayne.”

Elisa called out the names of the people who were remaining.

“How was it?” Suddenly, Elisa turned towards Raphael and asked in a low voice.

Raphael didn’t reply right away, he instead paused for a bit, and it was only after a few seconds that his voice rang out.

“It was fine.”

“H-” Before Elisa would complete her words, she saw the change in Raphael’s expression. She immediately went quiet, and continue to stare at the people in front of her.

After a few minutes, Raphael’s eyes suddenly moved toward Aliyah. He stared at her for a brief moment and then shook his head, seemingly disappointed.

To Raphael, the psychic division training wasn’t difficult. There were several ways to complete the training, and he had simply deployed one of them.

Even though they had made it seem like defeating the inner demon was the only way out, that wasn’t it. It was of course the best solution, but it wasn’t the only way to pass the training.

Instead of conquering the demon, Raphael had come to accept it. He didn’t deny his action, nor did he think it was wrong that he hadn’t made a move yet. He accepted that he was scared.

And that was it.

“Since I’ve done mine, I believe I can leave, right?”

Even though Raphael had asked a question, he didn’t wait for the instructor’s response before he moved. He broke free from Elisa’s grip and walked out of the psychic domain.

...

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