Chapter 3: Consequences Part II

“Ruthven I want a full report on what happened outside of the wall before I issue your punishment.” Captain Gen said sternly.

“Pardon me for asking, but I want you to tell me what Fram told you before I start. That makes it easy to fill in the gaps.” I explained

“Fram informed me you were leaving your station. That was all he said to me.” Captain Gen told me.

“Devils in the details huh?” I joked. “Well when I was on patrol and about to make my last round I saw the gate had been closed. I checked with the front gate because the bell hadn’t been rung. Fram informed me that there had been a demon sighting over in the Northwest part of the forest and that he hadn’t rung the bell because it hadn’t advanced any further. I of course assumed that to be the case and told him I would check it out. I told him to tell you I was leaving my station.”

“Since I didn’t know what was going on I figured it’d be best to leave all of our defenses at the wall and go by myself. When I entered the forest I engaged in combat with an imp and killed it and then was confronted by a Greater Oni. I fought it off and killed it and then ran back to the castle as I figured it would be under attack.” I explained to Captain Gen.

“Since you broke protocol I have to punish you or I’d be setting a bad example as captain. However, in the same position I would have done the same thing so I’ll lighten the punishment. Your punishment is going to be three laps around the wall and a scolding. Alternatively if you don’t want to do all three laps I have another suggestion for when you finish the second lap. Also just to make sure everyone knows you’ve been punished, I’ve ordered every unit to line up along the top of the wall to watch you run in about five minutes. Once you see the first person on the top of the wall you may start running. Every time you complete a lap I’ll reward you.” Captain Gen said with a cold smile on his face.

If there was one thing Captain Gen loved above all else it was giving out punishments. This punishment didn’t seem like it, but it was cruel. One lap around the wall was roughly six miles. Running eighteen miles would be harder than hell for a normal soldier. I was not even sure more than one percent of them could even do it. I probably couldn’t even do it even with a break each lap. During punishments like this walking was permitted for a minute every time you passed the front gate and your total time around the gate was graded by Captain Gen.

This would already be a very difficult challenge, but if he had tasks at the front gate as well this would be increasingly difficult. I didn’t have enough time to grab water or any food either. This would exhaust me. Unless my curse actually paid off. Maybe it could help me out. I don’t know if regenerating would help me, but I know running faster would. However, I couldn’t run that fast with everyone watching. It was bad enough that one stand owner saw me running as fast as I was last night. I kept watch on the wall to see when the first person would show up so I could take off.

Once a minute had passed I saw the first person on the wall. I grabbed my gear and removed it. The grappling bracers were difficult to take off since they snapped on and tightly clamped. I had to mess with them for a few moments before I figured out how to take them off. I then tossed my sheathe to the side and gently set down my bag. I started jogging along the side of the front wall. As I was jogging the top of the wall slowly filled with people until there were people entirely filling the top. I focused on my breathing so that I could use my energy conservatively. I breathed in through the nose and out through the mouth slowly. Even though it was helping me avoid getting winded my nostrils were on fire from the constant intake.

I rounded the second and third corners without much problem. As I was running along the west wall I started to get tired. After I finished my first lap I was going to use my regenerative powers to heal myself so I could do the next lap. Due to the heat I was drenched in sweat and beads were collecting under my chin which I wiped away on the spot. The first lap was already taking a toll on me and I wasn’t prepared for the second yet. Especially not on a mostly empty stomach.

When I rounded the fourth wall I noticed a table with a large quantity of food and water. As I ran by the gate I heard Captain Gen call out “Ruthven nice job. You finished your first lap. Come over here and eat before you head out again or you won’t be able to finish the race. You have five minutes.” Captain Gen said that same sadistic smile. Honestly it made me wonder if he had poisoned the food. I didn’t think he would have poisoned it, but who could say for sure.

I started controlling my ragged breathing so I could properly eat. My throat was dry and cracked and I needed water badly. I chugged one of the glasses of water before I started on the main course. It took me two minutes before I was able to even eat without winding myself. They had set out a large home cooked meal. I saw something too familiar to mistake. It was my favorite pork sandwiches, along with seared green beans which were seasoned with garlic butter and salt.

There was a whole loaf of fresh baked bread and raspberries off to the side. As far as drinks went there were only three glasses of water which was good because I wouldn’t be able to keep anything except water down. I quickly ate enough to fill myself, but not enough to make myself uncomfortable. After I finished I once again had the urge to puke which I held back. I drank more water to try and settle my stomach

“Thirty Seconds” Gen said looking at his pocket watch.

“Did Mira make all this for me?” I asked him.

“She may have.” Captain Gen said to me still glancing at his pocket watch.

“What was my time for my first lap?” I asked while I got ready to finish my last glass of water.

“Forty eight minutes and sixteen seconds.” Captain Gen replied with a confused look on his face. “Times up get going Ruthven.” He said without a shred of remorse.

I got up from the table and started running again. Since I had already healed myself I was in a good enough shape to heal myself already. I didn’t actually say anything to Captain Gen about my lap around the wall, but I was surprised I got forty eight minutes. It typically took me an hour and twenty minutes to do a lap. This curse has only been helping me so far. Inferos did mention there were negative side effects, but I had yet to see them.

As I ran around the first corner I remembered several things that bothered me. I originally writ off the massive amount of people in the street, but now that I’m thinking about it there shouldn’t have been that many people. It does take a lot of people to repair the gates because of how heavy they are, but it doesn’t take anywhere near hundreds of people. They were all probably busy grabbing snacks to watch me run. Captain Gen did say they there would be people watching.

What was even weirder was that none of them had said a word. I looked up at them as I was running trying to look for Mira. It was pointless trying to find her in that crowd though because all off the people on the top of the wall formed a shadow that blocked out the sun. I truthfully couldn’t make out any of the figures on the top of the wall. Regardless she was probably up there somewhere watching me. So were the rest of my unit.

As I rounded the second corner I started to taste a heavy amount of blood in my mouth. Did my body fatigue quicker after I used my regenerative abilities? That would be problematic if it were the case since almost no soldier can endure this kind of punishment. When I rounded the third corner I decided I would use my one minute walk. During this time I decided to use my regeneration. After the minute passed I felt a lot better because I had not only regained my breathe, but I had completely healed my tired muscles and sore lungs.

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I could only manage a jog for the last two turns because my body was now covered in sweat and I was super dehydrated. I felt nauseous. Even if could do the third lap I’m fairly sure that I’d end up collapsing from fatigue. My stomach now also hurt because the food had repeatedly smacked against the walls of my stomach from all the time I had been running. After I made it around the fourth wall and finished my second lap I heard everyone start cheering. I looked up at the wall in awe. The cheering made me feel great and I felt like it might actually be possible to finish the last lap.

I heard several people start calling my name out. I even heard a group farther down the wall start chanting my name. I smiled through my pain because even though I had just ran twelve miles, I felt great.

“Fifty eight minutes and twenty four seconds” Captain Gen said clicking his pocket watch shut. The sound of the crowd faded into the background as I focused on Captain Gen.

“What’s the surprise this time?” I said panting. He probably had something to make this last lap hell for me. The food was helpful, but it was honestly a double edged sword. It gave me the energy to run, but also gave me another reason to slow down.

“What do you think the surprise is?” Captain Gen asked nonchalantly.

“To be truthful I don’t know. I was half expecting the food to be poisoned honestly.” I told him.

“Quite honest aren’t you?” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t poison your food Ruthven that’s cruel.”

“Yeah, and me running eighteen miles almost non stop is not.” I said sarcastically.

“Is it eighteen miles or do you want to make it twelve?” He said trying to drop a hint.

“You’re honestly going to let me skip the last six miles?” I asked in amazement.

“If you agree to do a fight I’ll let you skip the last lap.” Captain Gen said.

“Who would I be fighting?” I asked trying to hide my concern.

“You’ll be fighting Marcus. If you beat him you can reprimand him however you see fit, but if you lose you would be giving up your title as the Vice Commander. You know that if you lose a duel versus anyone below your rank you must give up your title to them.” Captain Gen said.

“You expect me to fight in this state?” I asked him with disbelief.

“You are the Vice Commander for a reason. If you can pull this off you will strengthen your grip on the Defense Squadron. It is honestly not a bad trade off is it? Besides Marcus should be easy to defeat for you.”

“Honestly Captain this is bullshit, but I’ll do it. However, if this ever happens again you can find yourself another Vice Commander. It should be easy for you.” I mocked. “Tell Marcus to get his ass out here.” I said trying not to lose my cool. Captain Gen made a gesture and lots of people started filing out of the kingdom to watch the fight.

Marcus probably goaded the Captain into letting him fight me, because he thinks If I am worn down he can become the new Vice Commander. However, he had something coming if he thought he’d win a fight against me. I knew Marcus was strong, but if he chose to fight me with swords he would have already lost.

After a few minutes I finally spotted Marcus. He slowly made his way over to me. I used the last bit of energy I had to regenerate. I was not going to be able to last in a long battle. However, I didn’t plan on giving this fight up if it costed me my life. Marcus was now within talking distance.

“Marcus I don’t know what the hell you are thinking, but I would strongly advise you to leave here before you humiliate yourself.” I told him.

“Are you looking down on me?” Marcus asked angrily.

“I recognize your strength Marcus, but I don’t plan on losing this fight even if I die.” I told him. “Could you really say your resolve is the same? If not, do yourself a favor and leave.”

“Like hell I will. I finally have a chance to shut you up.” Marcus said callously with a glare. He made a look at me like I were some stray dog that had just pissed on his boots.

“Marcus are we fighting with fists or swords? ” I asked.

“Sword fight.” He responded abruptly.

“Very well.” I said. This would be an easy victory for me. I walked over and picked up sword and strapped the sheathe through my belt.

“Captain tell us when to start.” I slowly drew my short sword from its sheath. Marcus pulled the broadsword that he always used. Even though I was using a shortsword which was only about four feet in length he was at a disadvantage. I was more skilled at sword fighting than he was and my blade was also weighted so it wouldn’t be easily knocked away by a heavier weapon. To top it off if Marcus tried doing an overhead attack his sword would be broken because it had a nick in it around the tip from repeatedly hitting objects like trees and rocks during training.

Captain Gen waited for the crowd to get settled. They were surrounding us entirely, and were roughly eighty feet away from where we were fighting, to give us enough room. Captain Gen pulled out his golden embroidered pocket watch and waited till the second hand hit the twelve and it started a new minute. He then shouted “Fight.”

Marcus rushed directly at me and swung the sword diagonally up from the left. With my right hand I quickly guided the blade up against my forearm and the glanced the broadsword off of my arm. I followed up by turning and slicing in a counterclockwise direction. Marcus was barely fast enough to block it and stumbled backwards. Marcus regained his footing at slashed horizontally at waist level. I blocked the attack by switching the blade position so that his broadsword contacted my blade right above the pommel. Which caused the blade to slide downward and stick into the ground.

Marcus recognized that he needed the sword out of the ground so he stepped on my foot and shoulder checked me. I fell backwards from the force. I leaned back while falling and placed my palms on the ground so I could use the momentum from me falling to flip backwards and land upright. Marcus pulled his blade out of the ground and then ran forward to do an overhead attack on me hoping for a fatal blow. I took this opportunity to attack the nick of his blade and broke his sword.

“You bastard.” Marcus Yelled at me. “You took advantage of me.

“No, Marcus you never paid attention to your own weakness. If you had your blade wouldn’t have ever been in that sorry state. I know your strengths and weaknesses Marcus because I trained you.”

I ran forward and flipped the blade around once again to do a slash downward across his chest. Marcus fell backward trying to dodge my attack as he could no longer use his weapon. Once he fell onto the ground I pulled the sword up and pointed it at his throat.

“Marcus do you accept defeat?” I asked him blatantly.

“I can beat you in a fist fight.” Marcus said trying to deny his loss.

“This is your last chance.” I said pissed that he was too stubborn to accept his defeat.

I threw my sword to the side and raised my fists. Marcus stood up yelling “Die!” as he swung at me with the broadsword. I caught the blade between my hands and kicked him in the stomach. I ripped the sword away and tossed it to my left. Marcus decided to dive for my sword and I firmly planted the top of my foot in his gut. This caused him to flip over my leg and land on his back. I picked him up by his collar and punched him as hard as I could in the face. Blood trickled down from his nose from the impact.

Marcus started crying and says “I’m sorry Ruthven don’t hurt me anymore. I’ll do whatever you sa-.” Before he could finish his sentence I punched him in the face again. My knuckle scraped across his teeth and it cut me, but as it did several of his teeth were knocked out. I felt my right hand pulse. My curse was going to activate, but I wasn’t even concerned. I was angry beyond belief. I couldn’t focus on the curse. The only thing I could think of was beating the hell out of Marcus and enjoying it. I let go of his collar and with all of my strength I slammed him in the jaw with a right hook. I followed up with a uppercut from my left hand. Marcus’s body went limp and he was about to fall onto the ground.

I grabbed him by one of the straps on his leather armour and pulled him upright. Then placed my hands on his back and shoved my knee into his gut. After that I dropped him with an elbow to the back. When he hit the ground I lost sight of what I was doing and I was no longer in control. People watched in horror as I ruthlessly beat his face to a pulp. On the final hit I heard a wet crunch. A couple seconds later I felt someone yank me back and my senses returned to reality. I looked down at Marcus to see his whole face was bloody and his skull was smashed in. He laid there in the grass amongst his own blood and for a couple more seconds his body twitched while he continued breathing raspily.

Captain Gen was the one who had pulled me away and he yelled at me “Ruthven learn some damn control. You damn near killed the kid.” He said angrily. Someone came up to check on Marcus’s condition.

The female who had been checking him looked up and said to Captain Gen “Actually sir he is dead.”

At that moment my blood froze over at the thought of what I had done. The people who had been watching the fight stared at me with fear and disappointment. I didn’t want to be there any longer staring at Marcus. I turned around and started walking away from the scene. People moved away from me to create a path. I heard people whispering about me and saying I looked like a monster. Each time someone said something about me it stung, but I couldn’t face reality after what I had just done. I had killed Marcus. I couldn’t stay here any longer.

When I finally broke free of the crowd it started raining. The water soaked into my hair quickly and then started permeating into my skin. As the rain water rolled down my arm and the blood slipped off my gloves, each drop that hit the ground made me cringe. As I walked away from Marcus I knew I had done something that was unfixable. However, in the midst of that battle I realized something. Even though I had killed Marcus it felt good beating him down. That thought alone scared me. Was I a monster now because of this curse? Would it get worse? What did the clock mean? These thoughts plagued me as I left.

“Ruthven.” the Captain Gen called out to me from behind. I didn’t elicit a response and instead kept walking. Captain Gen continued yelling at me, but none of his words got through because I honestly wasn’t even listening. I was actually scared. What if I did become a monster. There’s no way Mira could stay with me. I could not face her after what I had done to Marcus. Although he did try to kill me I should have punished him some other way or let him serve jail time. Instead I had killed him. There was now blood on my hands and there was no way to cleanse it.

I walked down Main Street and continued homeward. Once I reached my house I walked up the steps, opened the door and gently shut it behind me. Mira had wasn't home yet thankfully. I could not face her after what I did. I would probably be arrested for killing him by the end of tonight. I was exhausted and right now I didn’t want to think about Marcus. I headed upstairs and after taking my cloak and armour off I pulled my shirt off and went to bed.