I Refused To Be Reincarnated

His soul throbbed as Julius' accusatory tone crashed over him with the force of a tidal wave... because the boy was correct.

What was he doing with the person he had hated for many years? Even after his death, Gaston's shadow loomed over him for months before he drew a new page. Yet, here he was, standing in the same room after he had revived him with his own two hands.

'Did I make the right choice?'

A surge of doubts jolted his frame as he bit his lips.

He genuinely didn't know.

The world exhibited so many vibrant colors, but ironically, they divided people between black and white. What if Gaston truly believed in this stupid deck and his desire to make this alliance work was genuine? He couldn't discard him because of mere doubts. Gaston had one chance to prove himself, and he hoped with every fiber of his soul he would embrace it.

He massaged his temples, enduring Julius' furious gaze, and exhaling powerfully.

"I'm sorry, Julius... We'll need powerful fighters to ensure our freedom and security. Gaston is a nightmarish bastard. I'm the first to call him that, but we'll need him. So, understand the situation and look past your emotions, please."

"Big brother..." Julius tightened his fingers around his gladius' pommel, his eyes spitting fiery Qi into the room. "I'll never accept it! Move aside or fight me!"

He saw the determination and anger in his little brother's eyes. Yet, eyes narrowing into slits, he shook his head.

"Listen well. We created... I created a few issues I need to fix. Selene, Ossian, and the beast emperor allied by my fault. The three of them are archmages now. Do you want to see them conquer the world while we tremble in fear?

Do you want us to pray every day for them to miss us when they enslave thousands of summoned? Because I don't! We need Gaston to resist them."

He snapped his head toward Gaston, noticing Shepard's decomposing face on the way.

"Tell something to convince him. If he really wants to kill you, trust me, he'll succeed."

Gaston smiled in response and faced Julius' rage with indifference.

"You grew up a lot. You should be an anomaly as well. But strangely? I don't think you have any apparent flaws."

He rolled his eyes at the fool who spewed his card bullshit again and gripped his neck in annoyance.

"Alright, alright. I lied to you eight years ago. I didn't kill Theodor. When I went to see him in his shop, he was sitting behind his counter, already dead from old age or sickness. But he left a note saying he wished you a happy life learning magic."

His fingers trembled around Gaston's neck before he pushed him back.

'Who would believe you?! We all know you tortured him to death, you crazy bastard. I should kill you this second!'

Of course, Julius didn't believe him either. Instead, he decided he was done listening to their bullshit.

The ground cracked under his feet as a blur of black and red flashed before their eyes again.

The icy sheen of the boy's gladius reflected the sunlight as it cleaved the air horizontally to behead Gaston once and for all.

However, a swirling smoke ball engulfed Julius' head without warning.
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Before anyone could understand what happened, Julius inhaled the smoke through his furious huffs and collapsed to the ground with a muffled noise.

"Ah. I'm glad someone understands one of the most basic rules in human dialogues: it's useless to reason with someone enraged."

Gaston's snicker echoed through the room as he smirked at Shepard's smokey fingers.

"Shut up and explain this story about the three archmages allying before he wakes up."

His mentor's voice cracked, and his shoulders trembled in terror, making him remember the time he had accompanied him to Vivian's tower and...

'I forgot to tell him.'

His palm met his forehead.

"Ask Gaston. He'll explain everything later."

He turned to Elena, ignoring his grumbling mentor, and pointed at the sleeping Julius.

"You've seen him. So, what do you think?"

Adjusting her position, she leaned forward and tucked her fingers around her chin.

"He's good-natured and honest. I even find him likeable and would love to work with him."

His brows twitched as his lips twisted.

"But?"

"His energy manipulation is impressive. I won't take that from him. But I didn't feel a trace of mana in any of them. He's not a mage."

Her brows creased into a hesitant frown.

He jumped on the occasion, pushing his arguments to convince her now that he noticed the crack in her desire.

"You want to join the trio because they have the highest chances of defeating the magus, correct?"

He raised his fingers one by one to emphasise his point.

"Look at us! Gaston will become an archmage in a few years without any help. Julius has the potential to do so, too. I even believe he can become the equivalent of a magus! Shepard is also a fine candidate, but he'll need some help. Besides them, we have a talented boy named Arun.

I believe he'll become one, too."

He raised a fifth finger.

"If you include me, we're five already. We only need a few years!"

A tense silence descended on the room as his words hung heavy.

Even Shepard observed him in disbelief.

Yet, Gaston decided to speak again, causing a surge of killing intent to course through his frame.

"We also have three anomalies. I made one useless when I was younger, but I can fix it. So, we're actually six. Seven if you join us."

"You're the only anomaly, bastard. Stop lying if you want your allies to trust you!"

He roared, clenching his fists not to slap the smiling nightmare.

"I'm not lying. I'm the Devil. Nathan is Judgement. That's why he has no empathy for anyone, not even himself."

Then, Gaston pointed his finger at him.

"And you're the fool."

"I'm your grandpa! Get the hell out if you can't stop talking about that shitty knowledge you found in a shitty cave inhabited by a shitty acolyte."

He grabbed Gaston by the shoulder, shoved him out of the room and huffed as he slammed the door shut behind him.