Chapter 266 A past long forgotten (1/2)

When Alex heard the old man call himself his grandfather, a memory of the past triggered in Alex's mind. The face of the unknown person that killed his parents, that face that use to be so blurry, got clearer in his mind, and the killer he had forgotten was the man in front of him. He could finally remember what happened on that day.

...

Eight years ago, in Alex's fake memories his childhood was happy and normal, one you could see anywhere in the world, but the truth was of course different. Alex who was known at the time as Dalvir Greyhound was part of a family that ruled over the legendary Shadow Mercenaries. In truth they were the true Shadow Mercenaries, while the current Shadow Mercenaries were simply a facade. The Greyhound family simply gathered people who they considered usable and trained them, to be adequate servants. The Shadow Mercenaries was in truth what their family was called when the Granado Empire was beginning to expand its borders.

They weren't part of the Empire or any existing nation at the time, but they rendered their services to the highest bidder. Following their example, a lot of other people decided to that as well. In a world where fighting and killing was normal, they thought how about gaining money as they offer their skills. That was when the mercenary system was created. The people took the name Mercenaries from the legendary family called the Shadow Mercenaries.

...

Alex at a young age was groomed to become the next leader of the Greyhound family that controlled the Shadow Mercenaries. He was trained not to show any emotions, even though deep inside he wanted to play outside and be like every other kid out there. He wanted friends, he wanted to go to school normally, and he didn't like training, since it hurts so much.

Everyday he would get battered and bruised. He would almost always cry in front of his father, yet his father was unperturbed and kept on training him.

The only reason that he was able to endure such training was because of his mother. After practice his mother would always help him sneak out and play. It was the mother and child's little secret and it always made Alex happy. Of course Alex's father Richard Greyhound already knew about these secret outings of the two. Yet he allowed it, since he too didn't really like doing this to his own son.

...

There was a time Alex dreaded more than training, and it was a visit from his grandfather. Every time his grandfather visited he would beat Alex up. He did this to see Alex's improvements, but every time he did so he would always leave disappointed.

...

Then one day his grandfather came to the house and did the usual spar, but this time something different happen. Alex's grandfather Richter, didn't stop even though he already won. It was obvious to his parents that Richter was planning to kill Alex.

Of course the two blocked the old man's path.

”Father why are you doing this?” Alex's father screamed at the old man.

”This thing is a failure. You were already mediocre, but you still had uses to make the next generation so I allowed you to live, but this thing isn't worthy to be a Greyhound, so he must die. I hope you and your wife will create a better offspring next time.”

Alex's mother who was hugging Alex trembled in fear. Everyone in the Greyhound family knew that Richter Greyhound was the strongest monster that the family has ever produced. He was even stronger than the first Greyhound, who was told in fairy tales.