Chapter 103 - The Underground City Was Raided

"That's right," Hecathe nodded his head as he confirmed it. 

"Then you want to be my enemy instead?" Raven questioned. 

They had this argument in the morning as well but Raven was not this vocal at that time. Now that the boy had some alcohol in his system, it seemed that there was nothing stopping him from saying anything that came to his mind. 

"I wouldn't go as far as to say that I want you as an enemy," Hecathe responded as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, "You're strong and you're abilities are certainly a bit terrifying. Why would I want such a strong enemy? It's not like I'm trying to make things more difficult for myself." 

"The underground city was raided." 

Hecathe took a whole few minutes to process this sudden sentence that had been stated as if it was nothing. 

"What...?" Hecathe muttered in disbelief as his eyes widened ever so slightly in shock, panic, and confusion. 

The topic had been changed without any warning signs...

"Did no one tell you?" Raven side-glanced back at Hecathe as he asked and although the boy was still drunk, it didn't look like he was lying or trying to trick the man.

Hecathe gulped as he wondered why this boy was suddenly saying all this. 

"Alphius ran away from home and everyone thinks he already knew that there was going to be a raid. They thought that since it would be dangerous for him to actually leave, he would try to trick them to believe that he had run away when he was really just hiding somewhere in the underground city." 

Hecathe felt his muscles tense up and every word that the boy spoke was like a red flag. 

Along with the shock of hearing all this sudden news, there was one single question that haunted Hecathe's mind. 

Had Raven found out...?

"So they went ahead with the raid but... Alphius had really run away from home this time. He really went out of his way to put himself in danger and may it be consciously or unconsciously, by choosing to run away, he saved himself as well."

Hecathe gulped as he decided that it was better to act clueless in such a situation. After all, he was still not sure whether Raven actually saw through him or not. 

"Why are you telling me all this?" Hecathe asked as he tried to sound as calm as possible, "Do you know him by any chance?" 

Raven nodded his head and this further shocked Hecathe who would have never guessed this boy to personally know Alphius. 

"He was a friend," Raven sighed as he responded, "But our friendship came to an end. When everyone suspected that Alphius was informed about the raid by someone, their eyes turned to me. Since I was that bastard's friend, they believed that I was the one who betrayed them." 

Hecathe's eyebrows creased together and he took a closer look at Raven, suddenly starting to notice that there was something familiar about this boy. 

"Who are you?" Hecathe questioned in all seriousness and secretly tried to call any mutants that could be around to help him. 

"I... Was disappointed," Raven simply ignored Hecathe as he continued and completely turned around as he took calm and steady steps towards Hecathe, "I had been loyal to them... I had abandoned my friends! My family! And my self-respect! I had abandoned my pride for them because I thought that was going to make them trust me! Because I thought that was the right thing to do!" 

Hecathe gulped as he unconsciously stepped back when he saw the boy slowly starting to lose his mind all over again. 

"I wanted to make him proud! But my old man was really not easy to please. Just when I thought I was finally going to be in a position where he would be proud of me... Some bastard just had to go and kill him..." 

"Marvin..." Hecathe muttered in disbelief as he suddenly recognized this boy. 

"You finally recognized me," Raven responded as he slowly took off his half mask and Hecathe gulped as he saw the face of the enemy that he had tried to run away from. 

If Alphius was the villain, Marvin was the hero...

The hero who was destined to put an end to the villain.

He was the reason why Hecathe had escaped from the underground city. It was because Hecathe knew that the hero would not be letting him live that easily. He knew that the underground city was not going to be safe so he ran away to Ocasia but never would he have imagined meeting this boy here as well... 

It seemed that life was truly trying to play a joke on Hecathe. 

Were the heavens having fun laughing as they played with the strings of destiny and fate...?!

"Why... Are you here?" Hecathe certainly sounded as if he was on his guards when he questioned. 

"If you think I came here for you then you are right," Marvin sighed as he replied. 

Hecathe gulped as he wondered how he had managed to get himself in this situation. 

Was there really no running away from it...? 

Was the hero always supposed to surprise the villain like this...?!

Was this it? 

Was this their fate? 

"I'm sorry..." Marvin muttered and for a minute there, Hecathe felt as if he had misheard the boy. 

"Eh?" Hecathe tilted his head slightly in confusion as he took a closer look at the boy and waited for him to continue. 

"I threw you away... I wasn't ready to understand you... I thought you were the one who was in the wrong... I doubted you... And tried to kill you as well," The last part was said so emotionlessly and casually that it had managed to slightly offend Hecathe. 

"I'm sorry for all of that," The boy added in a volume that was barely above a whisper. 

Hecathe breathed out a sigh of relief as he heard this but he still refused to completely trust this boy as he asked, "Is that why you are here? To say sorry to me?" 

If it was Alphius who had received Marvin's apology like this, Hecathe was sure the boy would have been happy enough to ascend, however, unfortunately enough, it was Hecathe who heard this apology that was meant for Alphius and as a result, he felt nothing for the boy. No happiness, no sadness, no forgiveness... Just simply nothing.

Marvin shook his head as he spoke, "I couldn't do anything for Alphius when he was alive. I was not a friend to him but an annoying asshole instead." 

"Well, it's good that you know," Hecathe dead-panned. 

"And now he's gone..." 

"..." 

This time, Hecathe indeed felt a little guilty. 

"He is never coming back and I missed my chance to properly apologize to him." 

Hecathe gulped as he nodded his head and stayed on his spot, listening to the boy. 

"I am really sorry to him... In his time of need, instead of believing him and standing by his side, I was there pointing a gun at him, ready to shoot." 

"Well, we have already established the fact that you were an asshole," Hecathe commented as he shrugged his shoulder and by now, he had already realized that Marvin wasn't even paying much attention to Hecathe's side commentary. 

"I was sad and angry... When the old man died, I was overcome with grief and my hunger for revenge made me go blind. Some bastards told me some things and I... Like a stupid child, I believed all of it." 

Hecathe raised his eyebrows as he suddenly heard something that interested him. 

"Hey, can you go back and say more in detail? About who exactly was the bastard that told you those things...?" Hecathe asked but it was of no use since Marvin was ignoring him. 

"I shouldn't have done that..." 

Hecathe, "..."

Hecathe would have never guessed Marvin to be such a useless emotional person. 

"I didn't even ask you about it... I'm really sorry..." 

Hecathe rolled his eyes as he started to get a bit tired of hearing this boy continue his (not really) pitiful story. 

"By the time I could think straight, I had already shot you... and regret was the only thing that I could feel"

Hecathe clicked his tongue as he casually looked at his watch and wondered how much longer this one-sided conversation was going to take. 

"So I came back the next day and you were alive..." 

Hecathe repeated this one line in his mind as he slowly realized there was something in this story that he had missed. 

"Wait! Go back!" Hecathe exclaimed as he questioned, "You shot me and killed me...? And then you found me alive the next day...?" 

This story was not quite adding well with Hecathe so he just had to question the boy. 

Marvin nodded his head with a bit of guilt as he spoke, "I killed you and the next day, you were still there alive and well." 

"..." 

Hecathe immediately understood that this was something important...!