Madness
Chapter 40's

Marcus.

No one knows for sure the name of the skinny, cheeky kid.

From the age of 12, Marcus was sold by a man claiming to be his parents to help out in Johan's union.

When he saw the thin young man, Johan had already seen something in him.

The boy was quiet. More to do than talk. At first he seemed to be a passive child. But upon seeing the look in his eyes, no one would doubt that the two pairs of eyes were actually speaking.

Throughout his teenage years, Marcus has accompanied Johan on the battlefield. It is he who will prepare the needs of Johan everyday, ranging from his clothes, where he lives to the needs of 'eat'.

Without much question, the dark brown-eyed child will look for bodies that are still fresh and drain their blood to be handed over to Johan.

Never once did he ask why Johan told him to do it. He did it, because he had to.

During his service to his master, teenage Marcus finally gets to know someone named Nathanael. He was a war general even though he was still quite young.

Nathanael caught Marcus' attention. The young man would usually stand in a corner, listening to Nathanael share his war strategy with his trusted core troops.

The longer Marcus' admiration for Nathanael grew. He learned a lot in silence. Listen to a lot of things and try to apply them in his own small group.

Much of what he learned indirectly from Nathanael, led Marcus to slowly become a leader in the small group of young people in the union.

His mindset is sharper than that of a group of children his age. Making it often wins in betting or other things.

Until one night, Marcus sees Johan holding onto Nathanael's bloodless body.

Nathanael appears to be dead. Her pale skin did not appear to be drained of blood at all. His face looked clean, but his chest was decorated with a striking red color.

There was a long knife sticking out of his left chest.

Feeling that someone was watching him, Johan turned his head and saw the figure of teenage Marcus standing in the corner. The boy did not look afraid, but curious.

"Marcus. Come here." Come here."

Slowly, Marcus approached his master. As the boy approached, Johan's two blood-stained hands clasped his shoulders tightly.

"Marcus. Can I trust you?"

Marcus' head nodded steadily.

Smiling, Johan rubbed the teenager's head.

"good. Now please clean her body and make sure that no one knows about this. I'll be right back."

After Johan left, Marcus slowly undressed the man who looked stiff in front of him.

Carefully he cut off Nathanael's clothes and immediately enveloped the man's plain body with a piece of black cloth that was in the room.

The young man began to clean the blood around the man's body.

When he swept the wet cloth around that plain chest, he suddenly felt something slightly throbbing.

Slowly, Marcus placed his ear on Nathanael's chest and immediately got up in surprise. This man is still alive!

Although weak, but Marcus can clearly hear the heartbeat and short breath of the man in front of him.

His heart started pounding hard, especially when he heard that Johan had entered the room.

Turning around, Marcus noticed that there was a sizable covered bowl that Johan was carrying.

His eyes began to wonder as the old man began to place himself at the side of the still unconscious man.

As Johan's hand was about to touch Nathanael, Marcus suddenly said.

"Master. What are you going to do to him?"

Hearing Marcus' hoarse voice that he rarely heard, made Johan turn his head.

The young man looked to be standing stiff. His face looked furious and both of his hands clenched tightly at his sides.

The old man smiled in anguish.

"What do you think I'm gonna do to her?"

Marcus' hand was clenched even more tightly.

"Master will take his blood?"

"What would you do if I took his blood?"

Intentionally, Johan challenged the youngster in front of him. He wanted to know what Marcus would do.

Marcus' eyes seemed to be moving. Inner rebelled. He looked at the man who was stiff. A man he greatly admired.

Staring at Johan back, Marcus said steadily.

"I'll kill you."

Both of Johan's eyebrows shot up high.

"Marcus. You should remember that I am your master. I bought you."

Marcus' lips thinned at the statement. Both of his eyes are squealing.

"I'll keep killing you, if you hurt him."

"Why did you choose him over me, Marcus? I've been keeping you all this time."

Silently, Marcus looked back at Nathanael who was still motionless. The time to survive is running low.

The young man looked back at Johan.

"He's a good man. Good and smart people. The world still needs it."

Chuckling, Johan stared intently at the youngster in front of him.

"So you mean, I'm not a good person?"

"You drank the blood of the dead bodies. How should I think you?"

Smiling back, Johan nodded his head.

The old man patted the young man on the shoulder in front of him and turned back to face Nathanael. Prepare to start the ritual.

Seeing that the old man was sticking to his intentions, Marcus' reflexes restrained Johan's hand.

"What are you going to do!"

This time, the look in Johan's eyes looked at him sharply.

"If you don't want this man dead, then help me lift his back."

Marcus looked at him. "You're not lying, are you?"

"Have I ever lied to you, Marcus?"

Slowly, the young man released his grip. "Never."

"Then, help me quickly."

Suddenly, Johan's right hand pulled the knife that was stuck in Nathanel's left chest causing a fairly strong burst of blood. It also automatically makes reflex movements in Nathanael's mouth that look open and emit a soft sound.

Without further ado, Johan directly directed the large bowl he had prepared earlier.he seemed to force something inside to be swallowed into the young man's throat.

After making sure everything came in, Johan again gave orders to Marcus.

"Let him. Careful."

Marcus rested Nathanael's back carefully on the bed. A drop of shiny black liquid flowed in the corner of his mouth.

Not long after, Nathanael's body began to tremble. At first slowly but for a long time the vibration began to get out of control. As quickly as it came, as quickly as it did the symptoms stopped suddenly.

The man's skin that was already pale, slowly looked more paled. Gray pulse lines began to appear more clearly scattered on his body.

Marcus' eyes bulged as he saw the open wound on the man's left chest slowly begin to close. Which in the end leaves no trace.

The young man looked at Johan. Eyes wondering.

Seeing the many questions from the youngster in front of him, made Johan just pat her shoulder slowly.

"Clean body. I'll rest for a while. When I wake up, we'll talk. How's it?"

Without a word, the youngster nodded and watched his master pass away, walked out of the room and closed the door.

Looking back at Nathanael, Marcus again placed his ear to the man's chest.

This time, he could hear clearly the beat of his stronger heart and Nathanel's regular breathing.

Marcus's face showed admiration seeing a miracle in front of him. Slowly, he began to purge the remnants of blood from Nathanael's body.

Finished cleaning the body of the man who was still unconscious, accidentally his foot kicked a long knife that Johan had thrown on the floor.

Putting a bowl of dirty water on the floor, the young man grabbed the expensive-looking knife. Its handle seemed decorated with various precious stones.

Marcus' eyes squinted, as he looked at the row of small inscriptions in his knife eyes that were still covered in bloodstains.

Taking a wet washcloth, he slowly cleaned the blade and his eyes glared when he could finally read the writing there.

His heart was beating hard. He feels very angry at this moment.

Taking back the bowl he had placed earlier, the young man brought with him the long sword to report to his master. This should be dealt with further immediately.

A few decades later, on his 38th birthday, Marcus faces Johan in his tent. At that time, they had just won the war in one of the locations in Europe.

"Marcus. Come inside."

The young man who had grown from being thin and squeaky, had turned into a strong man with a firm posture. The young man was seen standing in the middle of the room.

Johan's gaze stared in admiration at the youngster in front of him. This young man in front of him had become Nathanael's shadow. His ability to do analysis and strategy, not inferior to his own mentor.

"What do you want, Marcus? As I promised you, this is our last battle."

Stiffly, Marcus nodded.

"Yes. There's actually a request from me."

"What is that, Marcus? Say."

Marcus looked at Johan. "I want to accompany Mr. Nathanael."

A smile rises from Johan's lips. The old man nodded once.

"I expected it. Are you sure of this decision?"

The young man nodded steadily. "Yes. I've thought about it carefully."

The old man sighed softly. He was also convinced by this young man in front of him.

"alright. Then we'll meet again tonight."

After that, Johan and Nathanael also took their own way of life.

Nathanael and Marcus then intend to start their business from scratch. Seeing that there is an opportunity to do business in the shipping world, the two began to plan their strategies from the beginning.

They were both seen sitting in one of the newly opened restaurants in the city they were living in at the time.

"So, what do you think is the best company name for us?"

Nathanael asked Marcus, his left hand looking busy doodling something on the paper in front of him.

The cold man asked looked pensive. He is also still confused because personally, he is not too concerned with the name 'name'.

Realizing that the man in front of her did not make a sound, Nathanael raised his face.

Silent for a moment, the man finally asked.

"Actually, what's your last name, Marc?"

When did Nathanael start calling Marcus by his small name.

"Corentine."

Just this time, Marcus told someone his last name. Both of his parents had died in the war, and the one who had sold him first was actually his step-uncle.

Marcus is the only surviving descendant of Corentin in his family.

"Corentine. What a good name."

The man in front of him nodded and went back to doodling something on the paper. Then he smiled.

While still smiling, Nathanael showed a scribble on his paper.

"How about we call it NAMAC Inc.?"

"NAMAC Inc.?" Marcus asked.

He still did not understand where the words that sounded so strange came from in his ears.

Chuckling, the man in front of him explained with origin.

"Nathanael Axelle and Marcus Corentin. What say?"

"NAME Inc. Yep. I like it quite a bit." Marcus nodded once.

His heart was elated because it turned out that Nathanael considered himself equal to the man. He didn't care about the name at all.

"good. From now on, we are the official owners of NAMAC Inc. I'll register it later. I hope we can work well together."

Nathanael extended his hand to Marcus, who was then greeted by the cold man very tightly.

"Yes. I hope we can work well together." Marcus smiled very faintly.

And since 1805, a company called NAMAC Inc. was officially established in the city. Like the feet of an octopus, it slowly began to expand into various other business lines making it one of the giant companies in the world, in less than 50 years.

The two men were very solid partners. Both have a watered-down brain and a knack for doing business. But at the age of 100, Marcus suddenly sells his share to Nathanael for no apparent reason.

Appreciating Marcus' decision, Nathanael bought his share and made N. Axelle became sole owner of NAMAC Inc. until now.