Chapter 837: The Boy Who Desired Magic

Within the depths of a massive castle that stood tall in the Eastern Kingdom's Capital, now known as the heart of Jared's domain, the vast throne room rang with silence.

No one was present there, save for the young man who sat on his throne.

At first glance, it would seem as though he was sleeping, thanks to the way he drooped his head, resting it on his hand while sitting on the golden throne. However, upon closer inspection, his lips could be seen to be moving.

Was he talking to himself? No... there was someone else present.

Or rather, something else.

"Even now... I can't forget how we met." The young man whispered, not bothering to look at the ghost that hovered beside him.

"If it hadn't been for you back then..."

The young man on the throne, Jared Leonard, was recollecting his miserable past—back when he had been the poor Inept called Lewis Griffith.

He had always loved Magic since he was little, and watching others perform it fuelled his desire to one day utilize Spells himself. He read all manner of books provided for in their little town and he impatiently awaited the time when he would Awaken.

"You can do it, Lewis."

"You're our joy."

His parents had encouraged him every step of the way, and they had supported him in his journey to become the greatest Grand Mage in the Eastern Kingdom—no, ultimately the world.

Unfortunately...

"It appears Lewis is Inept. He won't be able to form any Mana Core or use Magic. I truly apologize, but your son... will never be able to become a Mage."

Those words remained etched in his soul and even now the mere thought of that day stung his heart.

The trauma from the revelation caused him to remain silent, unable to utter a single word. His dreams had been shattered, and his hopes had been dashed like they were nothing.

Nothing made sense anymore, and at that point—when he had been at his lowest—he looked up to his parents for their support.

"What? Are you serious? Then why have we been feeding you all this time? Why did we bother raising a deadbeat?!" His mother had said.

"If only you'd had more children for me! Curse your womb, woman. How will I be able to revive the Griffith name if your seed is inept!" His father had replied.

Apparently, he had been born into the lineage of a fallen noble family. The Griffiths suddenly lost their ability to use Magic, thus they were excommunicated from the Noble Hierarchy. Since they were mere Viscounts, no one cared for their little family.

Still, the Griffiths never gave up. They kept trying, for generations, to revive their fallen family and reclaim their place in the social hierarchy.

What they needed wasn't merely a Magic User, but someone with immense, indisputable talent that would pave their way into the luxurious and respectable life they had once enjoyed.

And they all thought Lewis Griffith would be that person.

"My brothers also gave birth to useless children, and now you. Aren't you all useless? Shit, even incest isn't working..."

The Griffiths had done their best to keep their family lineage pure. They had squandered the small fortune they had in trying to do anything to restore their Magic abilities.

Unfortunately, everything ended up going down the drain. All their efforts were null.

"Useless child." After receiving a lot of harsh beatings from her husband, his mother stared at him like some kind of animal.

No, something even lower.

"Why were you even born?" She had said.

They got ready to leave the Capital that very day, and after a few days on the road, they arrived at their destination.

He remembered dreading every second of the journey. The harsh words of his parents had damaged him irreparably, but he knew that even more would come from the townspeople he had looked down on.

He wasn't wrong.

"Pfft! Even Jared is Inept? Looks like there's no hope for your branch too, Lista.

"Better luck next time. Buahahaha!"

"Cheeky kid. You would think he had some talent to support his claims. So he was Inept all along."

"Look at his face. Such a disgrace!"

"Why did they bother bringing him back? Should have just left him in the city. Tch."

He remembered wanting to scream at the hypocrites for criticizing him when even they were mostly Inept, but he had no courage to do so. Even his parents didn't bother responding to the taunts and insults of the crowd.

They merely directed their glares at him.

"This is all your fault, Lewis."

"Tch. Useless son. Didn't you say you would make me proud?"

It was at that point that something broke inside him—something he had never been able to repair.

Ever since then, he had despised his name and everything his past stood for.

He ran away from this town merely a few months after the incident, unable to bear the indiscriminate torture and starvation he was put through.

They all shunned him. They all treated him like dirt. First, he felt shame, then self-pity, then self-loathing and finally despair.

However, everything changed when he mysteriously found the Ancient Cavern of Dark Secrets. It was there he met the remnant of Merlin's Soul, and he gained access to the hidden knowledge no one possessed.

And so, as he grew and learned under the tutelage of Merlin, the Dark Apostle, his despair slowly transformed into something else.

It turned into pure rage.

Enough to let him slaughter every single person who had doubted him and insulted him. Killing his parents felt particularly satisfying. Those who didn't wrong him were spared from immediate death.

He had needed subjects to experiment on, after all.

After learning all he could from the cavern, performing all sorts of atrocities in isolated research, he travelled the world and went to other sites all over the world where he encountered more materials from the other Dark Apostles. He learned Spells, though he remained incapable of using them.

Although, unfortunately, only Merlin's Soul survived whatever skirmish happened so long ago, but that didn't matter now.

As long as he could learn more, he had been more than willing to continue.

When his journey around the world came to an end, he enrolled in Ainzlark Academy at fifteen years old—the standard age at the time—and gained access to more mainstream knowledge and information, thereby strengthening him further. Soon, he became dissatisfied with the limited amount of knowledge he could obtain.

The limits were frustrating, and even modern Magic at that time had not advanced enough to satisfy him. To make the advancement he had desired, there was something he'd had to do.

Something no one else had been willing to undertake.

"Dark Magic... I'll do it."

Whether it came about by human sacrifices, experimentations, or whatever vile means—he was ready to do everything it took to reach it.

The very peak of Magic.

He'd made allies in his past life, thanks to the knowledge and manipulative tricks that Merlin taught him. He had also been able to bring a lot of them to his side, and anyone who stood in his way was eliminated.

Finally reaching the limits of his mortal life, he decided to undertake the risky venture of Reincarnation. He had studied this his whole life, in addition to Merlin's guidance as well.

And he finally perfected it!

"In my next life, I'll finally do it. If I don't do it by that time, then, I'll just have to keep trying. Again and again! Until I have everything!"

Magic. The world. Everything.

"I want them all!"

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[A/N]

Here's the link.