Bloodied goon: You crazy motherfuckers... We'll be doing this world a favor by killing animals like you...!
The man directed his knife towards Jargen's chest, straight at his heart. As the blade pierces the skin, Jargen screams. The other men grinned, enjoying the suffering of those who had killed and injured so many of their own. As the blade goes even deeper, Jargen can't help but scream so loud his own vocal cords give out. The men laughed as tears streamed down his face. The full moon cast its cold glow onto the ground beneath, as if it was apathetically witnessing the bloodbath. Though, for a brief moment, its glow was interrupted. A winged shadow zooms overhead, blocking its light but for a mere second. Then, a thunderous shockwave echoes at the entrance of the alleyway. Dirt and dust are kicked onto the air, as the ground beneath their very feet shakes. The man stabbing Jargen turns his head back to see what is happening.
Bloodied goon: What the fuck...?
Two glowing grey eyes emerge from the dust. A humanoid entity within performs two wide arm motions, clearing the dust around itself and creating spheres of grey energy around the torsos of two of the thugs, one of them Jargen's attacker. With a thunderous snap of its fingers, the spheres collapse on themselves, collapsing with them the torsos of the men as well. A cloud of blood and guts splatters the streets. The remaining six men scream and attempt to escape, only to find their feet wouldn't move. It was as if shackles bound them to the ground below.
Silhouette: Be glad you screamed as loudly as you did...!
The entity approaches them, walking towards Virno. Strangely, it was... An old man.
Old man: And you must be Virno von Virtus...
He senses the magical amulet beneath his bandages.
Old man: You haven't put it to use yet... Let us start by addressing that. You know you're no good without a weapon.
He casts a familiar glyph out of his hand. Virno could feel his insides moving... Just like when Sadduccee did when he first met him. But this time it was different. He felt a strong grip around his heart, like the cold hand of death was gripping it. The grip got stronger, as his heart beat faster and faster. He felt an agonizing burn in his chest. Virno screams.
Virno: STOP...!
He says, as he coughs up some blood.
Old man: Hmph. Not enough of a threat, am I...?
Rel tries to rush to his aid, only to find his limbs immobilized, too. The man conjures a sword of grey energy, preparing to slice Virno in half.
Old man: I suppose that if this is to be your end, it must be because you don't have what it takes.
As Virno sees the man preparing to strike, he hears a voice inside his head.
Disembodied voice: This madman is going to kill you...! Do something! FIGHT, COWARD!
Virno's fight-or-flight instincts go into overdrive, as his own life starts flashing before his eyes. During what felt like an eternal moment, beneath the wraps covering his chest, he feels a brief warmth that quickly vanishes, leaving behind a space around his neck. Glowing grey energy courses from beneath the bandages covering his chest onto his right hand, quickly assembling into the shape of a blade. Once they settle, the particles vanish, revealing a silver sword underneath. He instinctively uses it to block the man's attack at the last second. Sparks fly, as the old man's sword is deflected.
Old man: Good...!
He dispels the blade while extending one of his hands towards Virno, to help him rise.
Old man: My name is Ballo. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance at last!
Jargen tried to speak, but no sound would come.
Punjo: Don't trust him, Virno!
Virno swats the hand away, choosing to get up on his own instead. As he stands up, Ballo notices two large purple splotches around Virno's ribs. He seemed to be having difficulty breathing.
Ballo: Look at you... How many times have those ribs been fractured...? Yet, still you stand. Whatever makes you rise, hold onto it, Virno. You will need it for what is to come...
Virno rises, enraged.
Virno: SHUT UP. You know nothing about me..!
He tries to take a swing at the old man, but his blade was redirected by an impenetrable force.
Ballo: If you can still muster the strength to swing that sword, then swing it at your enemies...
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He opens one of his hands, with the arm extended towards one of the criminals. The shackles around the man are released. He runs towards the exit of the alleyway, only to find it blocked by an invisible wall of grey energy.
Ballo: And where are you going...? The only way you're walking out of here is by defeating this young man. Do your best, I promise I won't interfere...
The man turns toward Virno, rushing him, desperate for survival. Between the overwhelming pain he was experiencing, the mysterious elder standing beside him, and the man approaching him with murderous intent, Virno did not know what to do. He couldn't make up his mind. The voice inside his mind, the same one from his dreams, seemed more agitated than ever.
Disembodied voice: MOVE! RAISE YOUR SWORD AND SLAY HIM, LEST HE'LL SLAY YOU...!
Virno's heart was beating faster and faster. He was sweating profusely.
Disembodied voice: If you die here... What will become of your mother? Your friends...? Everything you have fought to protect thus far will be destroyed!
Virno's grip fails him, causing him to drop the blade as the man gets dangerously close to him. The clang of the silver falling onto the stone below echoes throughout the alleyway.
Disembodied voice: Fool... In the end, you were weaker than even your father...
Suddenly, it was as if Virno's world came to a full stop. The curse's words had resonated within him. As the man goes to drive the knife onto Virno's side, he misses. His forearm flies off in the direction of his swing, cut cleanly by Virno, using the same blade that he had just dropped.
Virno: You keep painting this fucked up picture of my father... But I see through it. If there's one thing he wasn't was weak!
His burning will had called the sword to materialize in his hand once more, mere moments before his opponent managed to stab him. The aggressor was now screaming in agony, clutching his bleeding arm.
Rel: Virno!
Punjo: How did...?!
Ballo: Do you finally feel that, young man...?
His heart was pounding heavily and his sides were aching. As he felt the warm blood of the man in front of him drip down from the blade of the sword into the back of his hand, he was starting to come to a realization.
Ballo: The power to protect is a blessing bestowed only to a few. It is no shame to fail to protect when you are powerless to do so...
The shackles around the other men are released. They begin moving toward Virno.
Ballo: But to refuse to protect when one has the means to do so...
Virno grabs his sword with both hands, ready for battle.
Ballo: There isn't a drop of honor or kindness in that refusal...
For most of his own life, Virno only knew a distant, unloving father. He had always thought the distance between them was a product of Charles' disregard for his son... But in the last few days, he had started to understand. His father's choices were finally making sense to him. He recalled what he taught him.
Virno: There is only cowardice. Only cowards turn their backs on duty...!
One of the men get in range of Virno's sword. Moving like the wind, he becomes one with the blade. It had been too long since he felt the grip of a true sword. All the sparring lessons he had with instructor Pocna overrode his own brain's influence, granting his movements a deadly, mechanical precision. A masterful cut rends the man in two, splitting his legs from his torso. This was no ordinary sword he wielded. Virno relentlessly moves onto his other target.
Virno: All those years... You weren't running. You weren't hiding. You weren't living your life without giving mother and me a second thought...
Another attacker prepares to slice Virno, but he expertly dodges, driving his sword straight through the man's heart.
Virno: ... You were fighting. Not for your own sake, or for the sake of wealth and fame... But for ours. Fighting something far beyond anybody's ken. Letting go of what you loved, pushing us away, however much it hurt you... Just to keep us safe. That was your duty, wasn't it, father...?
The remaining men give up, making a run to the end of the alleyway, desperate to escape. It was in vain. The barrier keeping them inside was still there. They scream and beg for mercy.
Virno: ... I understand it now. I understand the burden of sacrifice. We can paint this world however we like, we can try our best to make it seem like everything we do is necessary and justified in some way... Much like Jargen and Punjo believe like they are merely slaying pests. But I know what I'm doing. I know I'm killing people. People just like you... And just like me.
He moves towards them with no hesitation, ready to take their life from them.
Virno: In the end, appearances matter little. It doesn't matter what others think of you. It doesn't even matter what you think of yourself...
He grabs one of them by the neck, driving the blade into his belly, slicing it open.
Virno: ... What matters is that you do what must be done. Your duty. And, my duty...
He lets go of the man, slowly walking towards his final target. The last bandit drops to his knees.
Virno: ... Is to protect. To protect mother. To protect Faya. Rel. Punjo. Jargen. What I have left... I must protect.
Bandit: Please, I beg of you! I will turn myself in, you can take me out of the slums and straight into the city guard's barricades! Please, just don't kill me...! I have a family, a wife and a small daughter, I-
Without hesitation, Virno drives the sword through the man's open mouth and down his throat. The man's horrifying screams are quickly drowned out by the blood flowing from the internal lacerations caused by the sword, making him choke.
Virno: The women you raped and the men you killed had families, too...
He drives the blade deeper inside.
Virno: ... Your family is no more valuable than theirs.
As he pulls his sword out, the man falls to the ground, motionless. Virno stares at the corpses around him, taking in the deaths caused by his very hands. Ballo swings his right arm in a wide motion as he snaps his fingers, releasing the shackles around everybody's feet and lifting the barrier at the entrance of the alleyway. Jargen stands up and dashes toward him.
Punjo: Jargen, don't...!
Surprisingly, no mysterious force stopped him. He grabs the man by the clothes, holding him up. His voice was but a whisper, but it was audible.
Jargen: He's just a kid... What have you done...?!
Virno's attention shifts from the corpses to Jargen. He walks towards him.
Virno: Jargen... I'm not just a kid. I know what I signed up for... I will shoulder this burden, no matter how much it comes to weigh on me.
Jargen looks at Virno, stupefied.
Virno: C'mon. Let that guy go... If it wasn't for him, you'd have a knife through your chest by now.
Rel felt a chill down his spine, witnessing what Virno had just done...