Apollo''s Pov.

    I expected things not to go according to my plan and I was also prepared that chaos would happen, however, who would have thought I would see Alphonse, grandpa''s older brother here.

    At first, I really thought he was an ordinary enemy I needed to gain information but I was wrong. The thought that he was familiar to me stems from the thought of his tainted mana, so at first I smiled in satisfaction however as I studied his mana even more I found out who he was.

    Grandpa''s older brother and a man who must be killed according to the imperial law.

    "Ugh!"

    I groaned as I felt the bindings of the oath, it squeezed my heart as if telling me to obey the order given by the previous emperor. I steeled my mind and tried to gain control until the system forced the oath''s bindings to weaken.

    At that moment I knew I must kill Alphonse to make the oath sleep, if not I fear I might go crazy.

    I felt conflicted but every time I did so the oath would suddenly spike up causing my breath to seize for a moment.

    Should I ask for help? But this was supposed to be a secret mission. I don''t want anyone to find me since I won''t be able to move freely.

    In the end, all I could do was let the oath extinguish Alphonse while my emotion was swallowed leaving me nothing but an empty feeling.

    [Creator! Creator, you have killed Alphonse!]

    "Yes I know"

    I said while feeling I was half awake and half asleep.

    I thought the system could handle the oath''s power but it seems I underestimated it. My senses just completely returned though the only thing I could see was a smoke of deadly air.

    I then waved my hand and Veritas was cast. While the dark smoke continued to bind the poor soul my eyes landed on the single object that wasn''t destroyed by the miasma.

    "Sir Alphonse why betray the tower"

    I sighed, "If he is important to you why leave him" I thought so while the deadly haze began to surround me.

    "Not good, now I wonder how should I deal with this"

    I pondered until I thought of my demon form, it has a skill similar to this. And since demons are immune to poisons this should be fine.

    "Yup, why not"

    I said while preparing to activate the skill, soon a black-like liquid flowed through my body while immediately rearranging the bones and cells of my body. As all my features turn monstrous I finally execute my plan. I opened my mouth widely and strongly draw my breath to suck the miasma.

    Fortunately, I was successful although it was a bit painful.

    [Notification Alert!

    The memories seem to be corrupted!

    The system is initiating a cleansing!

    Cleansing failed!

    The affected area is bigger than anticipated,

    and can only clean some notable parts of the soul]

    Jeremiah reported that the memories are incomplete and may seem mixed up. Although I was a bit confused about what was happening. The memories of Alphonse began to flood in, at first it was manageable until a sudden pain made me wince.

    "What is going on" I said to myself, a bit confused until I realised how the soul I am trying to memory search is being tainted.

    "Hold a sec I know this guy"

    I exclaimed as my mind searched the man''s face inside my memory.

    [He is an ambassador from a kingdom who often does business with Nero]

    "Didn''t the report include his background"

    [It did and there wasn''t anything suspicious about him]

    While Jeremiah and I felt confused another wave of pain hit me as the man spoke again.

    ~Hey how about becoming my friend~

    Alphonse didn''t dare to speak, that is when I heard his thoughts.

    {I must contact someone, this man is dangerous! He can control anyone just by speaking with them. I mustn''t say anything!}

    Hearing those thoughts made me stare in respect towards this man.

    Wait could it be that he was forced into joining?

    As my thoughts fly everywhere the scene continues to unfold.

    ~You are interesting~

    ~However you are too weak to be useful~

    Alphonse steeled his mind as he felt each word that was coming from him was a spell that could affect his will.

    However, every time he passes another hurdle of mind control the more it intensifies. I could see how brave he was and how his thoughts would go back and front towards grandpa and the tower.

    "What''s going to happen"

    I wondered until a spell landed on the enemies and blasted them out. Amidst the chaos, a silhouette can be seen dragging a body with him while three spirits take turns to ensure their escape.

    ~Brother you good?~

    ~Alger!~

    I can''t help but be surprised when I saw a young version of Grandpa.

    "What now?"

    I questioned while looking at the situation. It doesn''t seem like Alphonse will be tempted to join. However, I was wrong, as soon as the smoke returned my eyes were blinded for a second. The memories of Alphonse were filled with comparing and negativity. It was a time when grandpa and him were being compared endlessly.

    The people of the Delmar house were the most toxic of all, his mother Latina didn''t like her husband''s bastard getting more attention than her son. So he put heavy pressure on Alphonse driving the young mage into madness.

    "No" I spoke as I saw him kneel after failing to cast a spell that Alger was able to do.

    ~ It''s not working well~

    He said weakly as he let his body fall to the ground.

    I too felt his pain, he wanted to be more but people around him were whispering words that would only drive him into a pit.

    I continued to watch until his mother came with someone. It was a person with a different wave of mana, I immediately recorded this inside my memory.

    ~Son, mother brought someone who can definitely help you surpass that bastard~

    She said though my heart began to squeeze knowing things wouldn''t go better.