It’s been 3 years since I entered this war. At the age of 15, I am the second most respected warrior in the army of the Aenis Kingdom. I entered this war for one purpose, hunting down the man who killed the child I loved as my own.
That goal has entered my sight. The winter of the second campaigning season has ended. Our army has reached deep into enemy territory, just 30 kilometers from the capital or so. The land has turned from poor outskirts to rich cities.
Progress was slow last year, sieges lasted for up to months. Well-supplied cities were a struggle to attack, but once you are in the walls it turns to heaven for looters, rapists, and slavers.
“The city gates have fallen! Attack men!” Cleon shouts to the army waiting behind him.
Magic attacks cease. The few mages that give up the chance to retreat off the walls are the ones with family in the city. At this point, the city can’t be saved.
Shattered wood and bent frames lay on the ground as I entered the walls of the city Brundisi. Each street had a shield wall and barrier magic blocking passage. This formation quickly crumbled before the might of an army.
The organized defense turned into a disorderly retreat. It was slow male soldiers getting trampled at first, next it was civilians. Women, children, and the elderly, were all forsaken by their own army soldiers once survival was on the line.
Their army was neither their savior nor their ally.
I had no desire to capture civilians or hunt down stragglers. I found a small house on the outskirts and entered to rest. With simple fire magic, I lit up the fireplace and illuminated the house’s interior.
In the corner of the room sitting on a rug was a girl, about 15 years old I imagine. She had blond hair and pitch-black eyes. She was very thin, unreasonably so. It must have been the siege, poor kids are deprived of food first.
In the other corner of the room was the decaying body of a middle-aged man. Based on the knife he was holding, it must have been self-destruction. He knew if he ate she would starve more, so to prevent himself from taking her food, he took his own life.
She was holding a knife of her own. While the deadly weapon made me hyper-aware of her movements, I understood she wasn’t a threat. She was trembling violently.
“I’ve gotta find myself some ass.”
“Spare the good ones and the virgins, they’ll be good money.”
Two men spoke while passing by the house we were in. This only further drove home the position she was in. Tears filled her eyes, and in a final act of desperation, she lunged at me.
I suppose when cornered, even weak little girls will fight. The fight she provided, was a weak one. She stumbled as she got up and moved slowly.
“That’s enough of that.”
I held my palm up and cast magic. The blade of her knife shattered into pieces and the startle from this made her lose focus and trip. Laying on the ground she returned to her natural state of flinching for the inevitable. But, the inevitable didn’t come.
“What’s the fuck is going on in here huh?”
A low-level soldier broke into the room with one of his comrades. They looked at me for a second and then at the girl. The men allowed a disgusting look to creep onto their faces.
“Ahah good job kid. Now, step aside and let the adults have their fun.”
The men walked up to the helpless girl, eyes glued onto their perceived prize. The disgusting depravity that emerges as the norm when you strip people of their legal protections.
Was… was I just going to let this happen?
I owe this kid nothing. This is a fact, and it’ll probably happen to thousands of others inside these walls. What makes this girl special? Why should I save her and no one else? Ah, this pondering is useless.
Crimson paint splatters on the walls and onto the girl's tattered clothes. She looks up, her eyes horrified and relieved. Hands belonging to the man who entered first fell to the ground.
“W-What the fuck! What are you doing!?” he screams falling to the ground.
As he crawls to the wall in hopes of escaping me the man he was with attacks me from behind. His attack lacks substance as well. I flick my finger directing an air blade at his neck. His veins are sliced open and he falls to the ground bleeding out.
With his hands missing and his partner dead, the soldier came in turns to confused pleading.
“Why… why did you do this!? Please, if it’s about the girl you can have her. Just spare me.”
“I suppose I did this on a whim.” These are the parting words I gave him. I finished him off with a stab to the heart.
The girl still looked horrified, but she also had a glimpse of hope in her eyes. It seems she was waiting to see what I would do before making her mind up regarding the proper mood.
The big guy that I killed with magic had some chains and a collar in his possession. Low-level grunts are unlikely to know who I am too well, but if I go out where officers are in sight, then I should be unbothered.
I hold the girl down and put the collar and cuffs on her. I want to get out of here quickly if possible. I pull her up by her collar, pour some water into her mouth, and then start towards the front gate.
“A-are you going to make me a slave?” her voice shook. She had a classic Amidonian accent.
“Temporarily.”
“What does that mean?”
“Just keep your mouth shut for now.”
As expected I get some questionable looks, but they disperse rather quickly. Once we get outside the walls I grab a horse and move to an empty location.
Once everyone was out of sight, I pulled out a map and handed it to her. I grab a coin purse with about ten thousand of this country's currency in it and hand it to her. I finish off by destroying the chains I put on her.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t know… just, take this money and follow this road. When you get to the capital, hire a team of adventurers. Make sure the leader is a woman, preferably an all-female party. Don’t be alone on the road surrounded by men.
Get out of this country. Flee to the northeast, the Kingdom of Assyricum is entirely neutral in this war. You will be safe there. Make your move out of the capital within two weeks, the battle for the capital will begin soon.
Make sure you register as a client at each adventurers guild. The adventurers themselves have no problem selling out, but if you are an official client, then you will have a great deal of protection. Shady men will try and keep their dealings with you under the books if they have bad intentions.
I am technically a lower 2-ranked adventurer. Throw my name around if needed.”
I finished my speech there. She will likely face struggles from here on out, but she can figure it out on her own.
I still don’t know completely why I’m doing this. Perhaps I’ve learned from Lucanus the true nature of inaction and its consequences.
“Why… why are you helping me like this?”
“It’s just as I told that man. It’s a whim.”
“I see.” her eyes teared up and her body relaxed for a moment. The horse I put her on seems to be used to her by now. “I am Olivia, could you please tell me your name?”
“I’m… Cassius Scipio.”
“I promise you, Mr. Scipio. When we meet again, I will repay you. You saved my life, if I continue to live, my life will belong to you.”
“I don’t want your life. We probably won’t meet again anyway.”
“Even if it is improbably, I still will pray for it.”
With that, I smacked the rear of the horse and it started moving down the road.
…
“My Lord, the scouts have been killed. We have been encircled overnight.”
The news came in at the crack of dawn, but by then it was too late. In a single night after we took the city, the Amidonian military managed to encircle us without being spotted. It only stands to reason that our spies have been killed as well.
“This situation is bad. They used up every crumb of food while themselves from our attack. Defensive works have been demolished as well.”
Sieges in this world only happen when you want to keep the town you are attacking intact. If it’s irrelevant to you whether the buildings remain standing, then you adopt a tactic seen in my world's version of war.
Like in Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Leningrad. You level it to the ground. With magic as your bombs.
“We will reclaim the initiative! Destroy the walls from the inside out! Attack from all directions!” Cleon barked.
I’ve never seen him this shaken before. An attack from all directions without any fineness isn’t like him. This must be a truly bad situation.
I exited the headquarters with haste and found Ozias standing outside. The man carried a grin I had never seen before, looking me in the eyes with his dead gaze he spoke the words,
“The spider unit has come. Follow me to the east, your battle has arrived.”
“Did you just say?”
“Yeah, come on.”
This is it.
Remember when you came to this world. Remember Cassius, remember Julius, remember Claudia, remember Marcus.
Remember the feelings of watching that kind and lovable boy grow up. Remember being a part of that happy family. Remember the warmth in your heart listening to them chat by the fire. Remember their bond, and how they would do anything for each other.
Remember.
Remember.
Remember who it was that took them from you. Remember who it was that put you through the pain of losing the one you thought of as your child. Remember who destroyed that family.
Remember it. Envision it, their bloody corpses lying cold on the ground. Remember the look in that man’s eyes.
Remember the final words of Cassius.
I remember it.
‘Don’t let him…’
“I won’t let him, Cassius… I won’t let that fucker get away with it!”
Clouds rushed through the sky, forming a circle in front of the walls. A tornado was conjured and sent towards us. The brick wall was ripped from its sturdy foundation.
A mage from the Royal Guard responded with a counterspell. Booms and crashes could be heard all over the walls. Explosions resonated deep into my soul. Men around me fell down left and right. Some take cover from shrapnel, some experience the horror of shell shock.
“Let’s go.”
Ozias and I sprinted to the east wall. A tornado ripped through the path to my destination. But, a mere tornado was not about to slow me down. Some men would evade, and I jumped into it.
My robe whipped violently in the extreme winds. But with focus and sturdiness, I walked through the unnatural disaster with ease.
The final cloud of dust passed behind me and I found myself on a downward sloping hill. At the bottom stood six people. I recognized their armor immediately.
In front there stood a large man who wasn’t holding a weapon, judging by his build he must be Albanus the sturdy. Next to him was a short and lanky man with daggers. Blandus the crafty I imagine. Three more men stood behind him. The archer, the battle mage, and the support.
The other five weren’t relevant to me, my eyes were drawn away from them quickly. The one I set my gaze on was the swordsman. He had not even drawn his weapon yet, his hands remained underneath the green cloak with a spider embroidered on it.
“Contractions.” The female support shouted with her staff pointed at me.
I lost control of my leg muscles due to this and crumbled to the ground. Ozias jumped to my side, put his hand on my shoulder and spoke,
“Dispel magic.”
The debuff applied to me vanished instantly. I didn’t know he had an ability like this. She tried one or two more spells and resigned.
“He is immune to weakening magic!” The woman relayed to her comrades through her helmet.
“You take the five up front,” I told Ozias as I pulled my daggers from my sheath. “King Spider is mine.”
The man in the back must have heard this. He locked his sight on me and brought one hand to the pommel of his sword.
“Just don’t get killed, he is the real deal.”
“I know.”
Focus, physical enhancement, endurance, I cast every strengthening spell I could onto myself. Holding back my rage, I ensured I was properly prepared.
Ah, I can’t hold it back anymore.
“Nnnnnraaaaagh!!!” I scream as I leap in.
Ozias follows behind to cover me. It was Albanus who put himself in my way. The man is empty-handed, he throws his hands onto my shoulders and starts pushing.
After getting shoved back for a few moments I regain footing. This was the strongest man in Amidonia, huh?
I grab him back on the shoulder and grip him hard. With every ounce of might in my body, I push him back. His armor creaked and bent, and his footing grew uneasy.
One final push and his feet come off the ground. He is thrown not just backward but into the air. Sparks fly up after his head collides with a sharp rock on the ground.
Ozias tries to crush his skull while he lies incapacitated but is forced to jump back when an arrow flies toward him.
Blandus moves behind him and throws a dagger at the back of his neck while he is busy. The dagger cut a wound open on the right side of his neck.
Ozias turned around and swung his open palm at the man, but he dodged. The way they are avoiding Ozias’ touch altogether, it’s as if they know about his abilities. No, it makes sense these guys would be well-informed by now.
As much as I want to jump in head-on, I’ll need a plan.
The terrain is rough, we are on a much steeper hill than I imagined. At the bottom lay the Tiber River. A river that flows far and fast. The sun was low in the sky and behind me. On this planet, the sun rises in the west.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Ozias can probably handle the other five on his own. What I need to do is separate the King Spider. In a one-on-one confrontation, I can win.
“Ozias, on my signal.” I got a nod in response.
I build up water in the palm of my hand, one wouldn’t realize it from how densely it was packed, but I could fill a creek with this volume. Preparing to complete the spell I create fire in my other hand.
I throw the spell and combine the effects. The result is a massive cloud of steam that covers everything around us.
Ozias and I both leap into it and search for our respective targets. We move at roughly the same speed. I found my target instantly. Unlike his counterparts, the man had not moved for cover. He simply waited, hand on the hilt of his blade.
I throw my shoulder into his hips. Due to the surprise nature of my attack, I managed to throw him where I wanted.
I initiated a freefall alongside him. Bouncing off the steep slope towards the riverbed. The dry wind turned into mist once I got close enough above it.
Managing to get my arms up in time, I fell into the sharp rocks tearing up my forearm skin. The damage was not significant, but my arms were now dripping blood.
The king had as graceful of a landing as I, but with armor he was able to avoid serious damage. He had to remove his helmet which was dented and protruding into his head. A trickle of blood ran down his temple.
He was old, probably in his 50’s. The cruel look in his yellow eyes spoke to his years of experience in war. He had thin stubble for facial hair, which added to his aged appearance. His hair was gray and his face wrinkled.
It was only once he removed his helmet that he drew his blade. It would seem he has acknowledged me as a threat.
I could hear nothing aside from the violent river beside me. Attempts to speak would likely be futile. I don’t need conversation anyway. Nothing I hear from him would change my desires.
The man walks with force. His feet are heavy and crush rocks beneath him. The walk turns to a jog, then into a sprint. With absolute calm, he attacks me with his silver blade.
I keep my eyes on the blade until… Damnit! The reflection of the sun blinds me temporarily. The milliseconds I take my eyes off of it are enough for the blade to reach my neck.
I throw my daggers out in front of me and stop the blade. Wasting not even a moment, he drops the sword down and stabs toward my heart. I have to throw myself back to avoid this.
The assault continues with slashes and stabs at me. Every time he maneuvers his blade, he catches sunlight. His strength and speed are exceptional, but that is not what makes him dangerous.
Every slight movement in the blade is a masterclass in fencing. He takes no time to ponder, no time to consider. A relentless pursuit of my neck by an unchained hellhound.
He switches from a two-handed to a one-handed style. The fine maneuvering of his blade takes a hit, but his momentum is hard to overcome at this point.
He drops his blade low, centimeters from the ground. Flowing like water, he swings the blade up to my chin.
The blade moves slowly when attacking from this angle, but speed isn’t everything. The timing was immaculate, I had no opening to counterattack. But I know his next move.
I don’t move my body out of the way, just bend my neck. That is enough to avoid the blade's tip by a hair width. Next, he flips his wrist, drops his left hand down to his leg, and slams his right arm down.
My blade can reach him first, my daggers are shorter than his sword, but I am faster. I take my first step in.
Hm?
SHIT!
Inside of my blind spot, I can sense him drawing a dagger from his leg. Before I react, he manages to throw it at the bottom right of my abdomen.
I shift my body to the left and barely avoid getting hit in a vital spot. Once again, I don’t know how I could have sensed that, but I managed to avoid getting killed.
He re-grips his blade with two hands and finishes slamming it down. The dagger digs into my body as I take the force of the blade into my two weapons. His attack doesn’t end there.
Digging his right foot into the ground, he roundhouse kicked the dagger that’s been lodged into my stomach. The hilt of the blade was now lodged into my body. I was thrown onto the surface of the water and my body skipped to the other side.
I can’t mentally keep up with this guy's techniques. He doesn’t even need to think about his attacks, his intuition overcomes my strategy with ease. This is the man called Amidonia’s strongest warrior.
I launch myself to a distance with wind magic and use the extra time to survey my surroundings. In the peripheral of my vision, I take in Ozias’ situation and… he is losing?
It is not just the king spider that has reached this level, but the rest of his squad too. I can’t rely on him for help. I need to use my trump card—the combination of moves I prepared just for him, just for the man who killed Cassius.
Remember the spell that killed Claudia, the one that seals off all magical attacks. The counter spell that even reversed Marcus’ blade. Truest Counter. I will use that spell against him.
Still sitting on the ground, resting my body on my left arm so I don’t twist the knife forward, I lift my right palm and prepare a spell. He sees this and sprints at me with his full speed.
First spell: Focus. Hone your concentration to the limit. You are in pain, use that to sharpen your focus. He is running at you, but he is in slow motion.
Second spell: Manhattan. Your original and greatest attack. You have a few moments before he arrives. Construct it, the most unstable element plausible. If you design a blast radius too narrow, he might just dodge it.
His blade is mere meters from your face. You must activate it now. Sending a pulse of magic through the element, the spell activates.
An explosion so wide and fast it can’t possibly be escaped from where he is standing. So hot and full of energy it cannot be withstood. The only possible choice from here is obvious. He will activate ‘truest counter’.
As expected, the spell is cast. But not by the man in front of me. Rather from the top of the hill. The one who casts the spell is not King Spider, nor any member of the spider unit.
With a bang, all was revealed to me.
The one who robbed me of everything did not reside in The Republic. He resided next to me.
He was named Ozias.
…
King Spider was dead. His body lay charred in the center of a grand crater. I had gone through quite a bit of mana and was gravely injured.
Ozias had used the truest counter spell to kill Alexander the Precise. With no support from The Republic's greatest mage, the other members began to fall one after another.
Like autumn leaves, they lost their color and then returned to the ground from where all things came. The fierce battlefield turned into a graveyard. All emotions turned to melancholy, all colors turned gray.
My mind was in disarray. Everything I had thus known was flipped upon its head. I saw the signs, but I didn’t think it could be true. That I had trained and suffered for years, all under an illusion. An illusion of who my enemy really was.
I didn’t think it could be true that all this time, the man who took everything from me was right in front of my eyes. I was humiliatingly oblivious, I was made a bitch. Turned into a pawn, made to satisfy some desire I couldn’t even comprehend.
Ah, all those people I killed. Their deaths were all unnecessary, were they not? I butchered them like cattle for what? For an illusion.
Since leaving the estate in Actium: I have suffered, pushed myself, fought, and put my life on the line. All for nothing. I was an idiot.
*Blech*
I vomited blood. Ah, during that confrontation the knife shifted further. A vital point was struck. I might die here.
Ah, this death is truly fitting, isn’t it? In my old world and this one, I caused others to suffer. I took from others and gave nothing. I hurt people pointlessly. I was a leech, a murderer, a parasite, and every other evil thing on these planets.
I am getting lightheaded.
I know I can’t beat Ozias.
So I will lay here and die.
I just wish-
…
*thump*
Did I pass out?
*thump thump thump*
Why is my heart beating faster?
*thump thump thump thump thump*
Why is my mana building up?
*thump thump thump thump thump thump thump*
Why is my wound closing? Who is casting this spell? Why does it feel like someone else is controlling my body?
*thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump*
“Get up.”
*thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump*
“He’s coming this way.”
*thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump*
*GASP*
In an instant, my body reflexively fills itself with air. My wound was still there, but it had closed up enough to let me start moving once more.
I sat up, my gray robes were soaked in blood, my blood. I was light-headed, but that feeling ceased once I saw who was in front of me.
“Ozias… O-OZIAS!!” I screamed like a wild animal, sharing the only thought in my mind. “You fucking bastard, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!”
My mind collapsed to the deepest depths of madness. Before now, revenge was a sick temptation that I could not avoid. Something I found disgusting, but I couldn’t fathom seeking anything else. An addictive drug, an apple on a tree in the preeminent garden.
All inhibitions were lost. I was an animal. With adrenaline flowing through my veins and focus sharper than ever I leapt at Ozias. The daggers in my hand moved like bullets toward the neck of Ozias.
He was as tired as I, but still, his clumsy movements were refined.
*Crash*
The river was picking up steam. The sun had reached above the castle. Sweltering heat boiled the sweat and blood on my skin. My throat was parched. My screaming was so violent, it felt like my vocal chords ripped themselves apart.
Still, one could hear my sharp blades cutting through the air.
The gap was closed. Both in poor conditions, we exchanged attacks. I was stronger than ever at this point, as strong and fast as him. With the shape he was in, one successful slash of my dagger could be the end of him.
He wielded many dangerous techniques. He could instantly kill you with a touch, counter any spell, or attack under the right circumstances. He was immune to negative status effects caused by support magic. He knew many other magical techniques.
Frankly, Ozias had ascended beyond human.
So did I.
Ducking and dodging slashed from my dagger, I slowly pushed him back. I needed to conserve enough mana for two spells, but I had a bit to spare. Adding in magic-assisted movements and magic bullets I pushed his back to the river.
He did not enter the disadvantage willingly. Trying to spin me around, he launched numerous wind spells to my left then lept into the zone I dodged out of.
With a kick to my right abdomen, I was thrown into the gushing water. Despite only being in the water for fifteen seconds I got thrown down a waterfall. The drop was created by my spell that killed King Spider.
Momentum carried me out of the water and onto the part of the crater that was still dry. Ozias lept down willingly.
I dragged myself to my feet and stared at Ozias who was standing across the crater. The waterfall was far away enough to hear each other's voices.
“You bastard…”
“That’s it, Cassius. Brew more hatred for me… give me more.”
“Why… why did you kill them? Why did you keep me around? Why did you train me?”
“Why you ask?” He smirked when being asked this “Let me ask you this Cassius: what do you think it feels like to be at the top?”
“For a bastard like you, wonderful I imagine.”
“That’s what you would think… but, once I reached these heights, I lost my greatest pleasure. One that makes the finest women feel boring.” He continued to reminisce. “Battle with an equal. The kind of battles which are sung of in epics. The kind of battles that make the heavens shake.”
“You… you tormented me… just so you could have an opponent…”
“Torment? It was a win-win was it not? If I left you alone, you would have never reached my level. Pairing you up with a boy destined to crumble to war's horrors, and an unloving father who sends his child to war, giving you powerful opponents and challenges. Look what it made you. You killed the leader of the strongest unit of any human country and were given a chance to kill me. In return, I was granted this very moment. Now, come capitalize on the opportunities I gave to you.”
I finally understood it, his master plan…
A master plan? That wasn’t this at all. There was no elegance, strategy, or logistics. He was an animal like me, training an ultimate warrior just for the fun of fighting him. Ozias, the ugliest hedonist.
With that last provocation, I began the preparations.
“This mana you are building up…” he pondered while staring at me. “Cassius, don’t try it.”
I had no intention of listening to him. My greatest attack spell, Manhattan. I had just enough mana to cast it once more alongside another spell. This spell was going to be exceptionally difficult since I didn’t have the focus spell cast on myself anymore.
Once he understood that I wasn’t going to cancel it, he started running at me. He lifted his palm and pointed at the element I was crafting in front of my own hands.
We were 10 meters apart when I finished casting the spell. A massive explosion flew toward Ozias at speeds no normal human should be able to comprehend.
“TRUEST COUNTER!” He screamed with green mana surging from his hands. He needed to such mana to counter this, it took a physical shape.
I responded by casting my own spell at that exact same moment.
The instant, the fraction of a millisecond it took for these three spells to collide felt like an eternity.
I found my life flashing before my eyes.
I remembered the bruises and harsh words from getting bullied in high school. The bitter taste of getting rejected by a cute girl. I remembered skipping my graduation ceremony, knowing that no one wanted me there. I remember getting my online degree and winning an impressive award along the way. I remember contemplating graduate school with my parents.
I remember my parents dying and leaving me all alone. I remember the empty days when I would sit in my living room, just finding ways to kill time until I died. I remember contemplating my life while walking up that steep bridge. I remember freefalling towards the cold fresh water.
I remember being born into this world and meeting Cassius. I remember his journey to the capital, meeting an elven prince. I remember him studying hard to become a great warrior mage. I remember him comforting Octavia when she was forced to live with strangers in an unknown place.
I remember him bravely defending Octavia from assassins, and then comforting her when they learned who sent them. I remember him going on a hunting trip with his family, and his cute hiccups in the carriage.
I remember… that day.
I remember waking up and falling into the depths of hatred and despair. I remember training hard every day, forcing myself to think about that moment when he died for motivation. I remember meeting Aquila and learning a new way to cast magic.
I remember bounty hunting, almost getting killed, then being scolded by Octavia. I remember the way she changed so quickly in such an amazing way.
I remember leaving and meeting Ozias for the second time. Joining the army, and meeting Lucanus.
I remember fighting through the mountain pass. I remember that village where I killed a woman to “put her out of her misery. I remember meeting Cleon and being assigned to guard the princess during her negotiations.
I remember fighting two of the temple guardsmen and barely emerging victorious. I remember gaining the teleporting spear and studying it. I remember investigating murders in a small village and learning true courage from an old man living there.
I remember fighting at Carrhae’s ravine and losing my eye. I remember Lucanus’ suicide, and accepting the blame for it. I remember gaining a new eye and mastering my greatest spells.
All of that, leading up to this moment.
“ABSOLUTE COUNTER!” I shout in return. Silver-blue magic emerging from my hand.
Ozias returned the spell to me with his counter-attack. I returned it once more to him. After that happened, there was no way for him to stop it. The mass of energy and white fire engulfed him, and he was blown to the back wall of an even greater crater.
Unlike the king spider, he wasn’t instantly killed. A testament to his absurd durability.
I approached him, sheathing my blades. He was going to die in minutes, there was no point in being guarded.
I found him on the ground, his skin charred, his eyes hollow, breathing ragged, and blood pooling on the ground into a large puddle. He stared straight through me, but he could clearly see me.
I knelt down next to him and grabbed him by the neck. It was over, there was just one thing I wanted to know.
“You never answered my question. Why did you kill my family?”
“Why else… I did it for the money…”
His voice was raspy. His body was barely functioning at this point. Still, he built up enough strength to grab my hand.
“Why aren’t you killing me? You have the contact you need.” I asked him indifferently.
“I am not so petty that I would seek revenge,” he responded.
I began to feel a weird sensation in my hand an odd and disgusting sensation. Ah, he was flowing his magic through it. What is he doing?
“Is this…”
“That’s right, feel it, Cassius. The sensation of death…”
The sensation he must have experienced when his wife died, he is forcing my hand to feel it. A few seconds of this passed and it stopped.
Ozias looked me in the eyes one more time then laid back his head, letting go of my hand in the process. With one last deep breath, he closed his eyes and died.
I had succeeded, I had won…
It was all finally over. My revenge, my pain, my journey, my life. I felt… nothing. No happiness, no relief, no euphoria, just emptiness.
No, there is still one more. On cue, he arrives.
“What is going on here!?” Shouts King Cleon.
“Ah, the Spider Unit has been destroyed, and Ozias is dead.”
He is with his royal guards. They were at ease, it seems they don’t yet realize that I was the one who killed Ozias. That’s perfect.
I slowly approach him with my daggers sheathed at my waist. My head is fuzzy and I am completely out of mana and energy. Still, I have just enough strength to complete my mission.
With a single fast stroke of my dagger, I slit the throat of Cleon. Droplets of red water fly through the air before me. Landing on the ground at my feet.
“It was you who ordered the hit wasn’t it?”
*Crack*
A spear was shoved through my shoulder and the king was pulled away from me. They couldn’t stab me in the chest without the risk of harming the king.
I made no attempt to resist. Fighting an entire unit of the Royal Guard in my condition was impossible. I had no intentions of running away either.
Cleon didn’t respond, he wasn’t able to. After stumbling backward and holding his neck, he collapsed. The king died and the entire unit turned to me with their weapons drawn.
I’m tired.
I’m in pain.
I’ve accomplished my mission. Even if nothing changes, that means it’s finally over.
I know that all of my struggles to this point have been for nothing. But that doesn’t matter. Even if he isn’t here to see it, I have fulfilled Cassius’ final wish.
I didn’t let him get away with it.
Now that my mission is over, it is time to accept my fate…
All that is left is to close my eyes and accept wait for a blade to plunge through my chest…
Hm?
What?
Why is it happening again?
My body… I’ve lost control of it again.
A spear barrels towards me. I am making no conscious movements to resist it, but still, my legs push me out of the way.
“His eyes have changed color!” One of the Royal Guardsmen shouts.
Why does shit like this keep happening?
The stabbing pain continues to shoot up my side as my body forcefully sprints away. Even in this condition, no one is faster than me.
Magic attacks I dodge blow up behind me. Arrows fly by my neck, but none reach me.
An hour later, the men have been shaken off. Regaining control of my body, I slump onto the ground and pass out beneath a tree. Perhaps a monster will attack me as I sleep, but I do not care.
…
My eyes open, but my surroundings are strange. I must be dreaming lucidly. The ground is grass, but there is not a tree, mountain, hill, or rock in sight. Most of all the air feels, ethereal.
In front of my eyes is a sight I had not seen in many years. Five to be exact. The sight of a silver-haired and silver-eyed boy. Ten years old to be exact. A familiar sight, I was beside his side every hour of every day for ten years.
Something was strange about him. I don’t know exactly what made it so, but he gave off an impression. He gave off the impression that the one I spoke to was not a figment of my imagination. The boy spoke to me in a melancholic tone,
“Hello, Arthur.”