“Leben?”

Peck's heart was beating so fast that it was the only thing he could hear. The one who appeared before him looked exactly like him, but with purple hair and eyes, and a strange symbol in his eyes. The same one claimed to be the monster Peck was trying to defeat.

“You can take any form you want, so... you imitate me, you steal my appearance...”

“I am the creature you say I am, but I wasn't born out of nothing, I didn't meet you in that place, I was with you from the time you were a baby. I was always there. I have been waiting for the moment when I could take possession of the body. Now, at last, I seem to be able to”.

Peck thought that if he looked at Sen, the fears would go away, as they always did. When he looked at her, she had a cold look on her face and turned to Leben.

“Sen? What's wrong?”

She didn't answer. She bit her lip in frustration.

“Tell him, go ahead” Leben said. “There's no need to hide it any longer”.

Peck looked at Leben.

“Did he eat me to steal my identity?”

Leben sighed.

“I don't want you to die with so much uncertainty”.

“Die?”

The word shattered Peck's confidence.

“Peck" Sen said. “Today will end all the nightmares and the moments when you lose consciousness and your memory problems”

“Oh? Have you decided to destroy me?”

Sen didn't answer.

“Well, that's fine. Peck, you created me when you were a baby to save your life from a monster. I've lived inside you ever since, but a wizard put a seal on my powers. This caused you magical problems as a child”.

“A wizard... Who?”

“His master”. Leben pointed to Sen.

Confused, Peck looked at her friend.

“I don't intend to hide it”. Sen looked at Peck with her usual compassionate eyes. “Yes, it's true. My master sealed your power, but he couldn't help you because he was threatened”.

“Threat? From who? From Leben?”

“An... an Augen from Cerveau”.

“Wait, I don't want him to remember that”. Leben interrupted. “Well, he won't. The reality is this, Peck. You've always been strong. When we had that conversation in the puddle and I started possessing your body, I trained you, worked on your latent power, but all the ability went to me. I've used your body many times, so you've always been healthy, I've taken care of you, and I've replenished your strength by stealing mana from others”.

This gave Peck a clue. This comment allowed him to draw a conclusion.

“I created you... and you steal mana...”

“Everyone hated you, didn't they? For no reason. I blocked your memories, but you created me, my influence couldn't overcome your desires, those memories tried to come back to you in the form of hallucinations”.

Leben's words provoked a stony silence.

“If you manifest in this form now, I can remove you without harming him, can't I?”

Sen replied.

“Don't count on it. I'll be back in him”.

“A sorcerer who could destroy an entire city for crying out loud” Peck said. “Ah”.

“Did you find out the truth?”

Peck could remember bits and pieces of the past.

The hatred for him.
He created life.
Leben steals mana.
Peck suffered hallucinations.
Peck created a monster that didn't exist before.

Finally, Peck remembered what had happened in Sen's library.

Peck remembered the book.
The title...

“Hell's Gate”.

Peck stole the attention as he said it.

Leben just smiled and nodded at him.

“I'm a Hell's Gate user... I'm a Hell. That's why you...”

Peck took a step back, incredulous at what he had deciphered. His gaze shifted to Sen, her whimper confirming it.

“Yes, you are a Hell" she said.

“In your name, I have caused the greatest carnage in this place. Each time you fell asleep, I took control of your body. I fought her again and again and again and again. She always won, but in time it hurt her. I bet she slept less than an hour a night, that's why she was so exhausted that day. She didn't sleep to protect Batoru from you. That's why she befriended you”.

“That is not true! That's not why I did it!”

Sen tried to take Peck's hand, but he pulled away. Peck doubted Sen.

“What do you want to achieve?” Peck asked Leben.

“Revenge... against those who took what you loved most. If you remembered, you would suffer, so I suppressed your memories. Now that you know, let me finish the job. A peaceful life is not for you now that you know your nature”.

“Peck, don't trust him”.

“And I can trust you?”

Peck didn't know what to do.

“Sen, did you come with me to contain the monster?”

“I didn’t. I told you it would be impossible not to develop feelings of affection for each other during our time together”.

“Am I the enemy of all Batoru?”

“You are not my enemy, Peck”.

He still didn't know what to do. Sen looked at him hesitantly, with desperation and fear of what to do.

“Peck, I know a spell that can solve this; it could make Leben part of you, but without him handling you; you would have all the control”.

She spoke desperately, as a last resort.

“Why haven't you used it yet?”

“Because there's a chance it might go wrong, and I was afraid that might happen to you”.

“Use it” Peck said. “Do it”.

“Peck? You know, if it goes wrong, Leben could be the one who dominates”.

Leben's face broke into a smile at that.

“I like the idea. Let's do it”.

“Peck, listen to me, we could find another way”.

“Maybe he'll erase my memories again” Peck said. “Sen, if this all ends today, if this spell works... we could have more peaceful days, like we've had these last two months, couldn't we? But it hasn't been peaceful for you because you've had to worry about me”.

“Hey, Peck. What are you thinking?”

“Sen... I don't know if you did it for Batoru's sake or for mine, but I do know that you were very good to me. If I've caused you so much trouble and this spell can fix it, it's okay, right? If I win, I'll be your ally. If I lose, I'll be gone, and you could eliminate Leben with no regrets, right? You'd just have to kill me”.

The world stood still for Sen. There was no doubt in Peck's faint voice. It seemed the right thing to do, and he was willing to pay the price. Peck, the same shy boy, was ready to die.

That possibility was so real that it hurt Sen like a knife in the chest. It made his eyes water because she knew it could happen.

“A spell that could bind me to him or give me dominion”. Leben thought. The same mischievous grin remained on his face. “Hey, Peck, have you thought about if Sen is acting? Is she pretending to care so you will do this?”

“Shut up!”

Sen scolded Leben. The desire to make him disappear was more than she could resist. She was about to use his magic on him.

“That's enough”.

Until Peck spoke.

“I created you, but you've been manipulating my mind the whole time”. Peck turned to Leben. “You've made me doubt everything... you've made me kill people...”

“It was your wish, Peck!”

Leben was furious at the way Peck was blaming him.

“I did it for you!”

“But... I don't feel good knowing that I hurt so many people like that...”

Sen's eyes widened in surprise.

“It is true that I hated them, but if I am a Hell, it was my magic that made them hate me and hurt me. In truth, they were not to blame... and I, or you, killed. When I was able to make a friend, one who wasn't affected by it, you want me to doubt her too. Are you doing it for me too? If you're doing it for me and I'm not happy, what do you think is best for me?”

“The best thing is that you don't suffer the cruelty of this world! If you knew what I'm hiding, you'd start something bigger than you can imagine! I have trained and learned to be strong enough to take that revenge!”

“I don't even know against whom this revenge is directed. Nor do I know if my power has had any effect on them too”.

“It didn't! You were innocent!”

“But I don't know because you won't let me know. I don't know anything about my life, and that's because of you. If this spell lets me know, I have to check. If I lose, you've won. What difference does it make?”

Sen was taken aback by Peck's attitude.

Leben growled at Peck in annoyance.

“Then let's settle this”.

“Yes...”

“Peck, wait!”

Sen tried to stop him, but Peck's gaze was determined.

“Use the spell on him and end this!”

Leben insisted.

“Sen” Peck spoke again. “I want to regain control of my life and be your friend”.

“How can you agree to this...?”

“I told you... I want to repay you for what you did for me. This is my chance. The best thing for you is for me to win, you said I had a chance here... so I'll do my best to win”.

“You're not... you're not afraid?”

Peck's eyes had been lowered for a while, but when he raised them to look at Sen, he smiled. That confused Lebem.

“I am not afraid, because this is the first time in my life that I've had the chance to do something right. That makes me very happy...”

Shaking off his doubts, he moved forward to be close to Sen.

“I know what can happen, but it's okay. It's okay because I'm going to win”.

“You will win?” Leben said from a distance.

Peck looked at him.

“Yes, this time I have a good reason”.

“Because of that one over there?” Leben pointed at Sen. “I'm the one who helped you!”

“I feel so bad knowing what you did, I feel good with Sen's help. Even though I was distraught and suffering, you never let me see my memories, scary as they were, the truth is, I was terrified of not knowing anything about myself. Even about my parents... if I defeat you, I can find out what happened to them, can't I?”

“They're dead! Dead because of that monster! You have no father, you have nothing! Only me!”

“I thought they were dead, but if I look into my memories, I might find out something important...”

“What the...?!”

Peck suddenly began to cry.

“I'll be able to find out if Mum and Dad loved me”.

Sen felt a pain in her chest as she heard Peck's words.

“Of course they did" Leben said.

“I will see for myself”.

Peck took a deep breath.

“Sen, use the spell”.

“Where do you get your courage?”

Said Leben to Peck.

“I've already told you. I want to repay Sen for her help. I want to do something right with my life. And I want to know about Mum and Dad. If I have the chance... I can't waste it”.

“This girl has influenced you. You came so close to obediently giving in. You have no chance”.

“I will do my best to win, and I think I can”.

Peck's words reminded Sen of what she had advised him long ago:

‘Trust and believe in your efforts’.

“Sen, use the spell”. She looked at her friend again. “I will win”.

He smiled one last time.

In the midst of a thousand thoughts and uncertainties, she knew she could no longer hesitate.

She made her decision.

“All right”.

---

Next chapter arrives on Monday!