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It hurts when you can never get your friend back after you lose them to death. There won't be another chance to make amends with them. Having been betrayed by them, you may have another chance to make things right or make it worse that you are already dead to them.

- Alessio Amaryllis

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"Come in..." Queen Guinevere said before I slowly opened the doors to her room, walked in, and bowed to her, despite what happened three days ago. She was facing the huge window and seemed to be watching the sun setting down from the horizon. "It is quite surprising how you would come to me after what occurred between us a few days ago, but I suppose I should let that slide for now… And what matters right here and now is the plan that we both agreed upon," she said, waving her glass filled with wine. Fortunately, she doesn’t seem to be drunk at the moment and doesn't want to slap me either, but her tone of voice is still the same nonchalant as before. Her gaze then looked at me as she asked, "Have all of the people in that village been fully evacuated here?"

  I nodded to her. "Fortunately, for both of us, yes. And all of the knights were able to return early as well, so they would be able to take a couple of hours of rest for themselves, and no one else would be there in the village except for sir Garett and I, and our enemies tonight… And I suppose what happens here right now is just between us?"

  "Of course. As promised and as we talked about before, I will make sure His Highness, King Taro, will not be able to leave this kingdom tonight, even if he is able to find out about what happened to you later on. Even if it may seem cruel to be doing so, he needs to understand... Though it does make me wonder," she said before turning to face me. "Are you entirely sure you will not regret this decision of yours in the future?"

  "Does it matter at this point?" I said with a straight face. "What happens to me tonight, whether I die or get captured by them, it’s not important… As long as this kingdom, its people and its ruler are safe, then there’s nothing for me to regret about."

  "Is that so?" she said, raising a brow. "Then let me ask you a better question…"

  She places her wine glass on top of the nearby table before she begins walking around with her gaze still focused on me. Only when she stopped did she ask me this new question, "It would just be a pity for me to see them like that, but would you not care how they would react to your sudden disappearance if they were ever to find out?"

  I suddenly became silent with my one hand clutching my onto my sword tightly.

  "Well, the way you stand up for the King before, and your interactions with him throughout the years you have served him, despite the attempts you made to kill him in the first several months you came here before, you two seemed to have such a strong bond which no other ruler and general ever had before," she said, walking back to the table and wiping her finger on the lips of the wine glass. "And that lady… Are you that blind to see how much she cared for you as well? Is it worth it to leave them all behind?"

  From the tone of her voice, it seemed as if she was drawing from her past and her experiences. I suppose that’s one thing, but... I took a deep breath before finally giving her my final response. "I am no one’s hero, nor am I a monster, Your Highness. But because I care for this kingdom and its people, and how much I truly loved the two of them, that much is the reason why I do what I must and not be afraid to risk my life for them all."

  The Queen’s eyes widened in fear, slowly moving back, and with her shaking hand, she accidentally pushed the wine glass off the table, immediately breaking it as it fell on the floor. I noticed the tears that slowly formed in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks before gritting her teeth in anger and covering her face with her right hand, while her left was holding on tightly to the table’s edge. After taking a few deep breaths to calm down, but still avoiding eye contact with me, she then said, in the most calm tone she was able to manage, "I believe that was enough talk for today, don’t you think? If there’s nothing else for you to report, you can take your leave now… Just please go…"

  "Yes, Your Highness." I said, giving her my last and final bow before finally taking my leave. And as I closed the door behind me, I could have sworn I heard her cry louder.

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As the cold and third evening finally came upon us, we found ourselves in an empty tavern in an almost completely abandoned village, where Garett and I began playing the waiting game with our weapons prepared and a bit of food on the side as well. I could hear the ticking sound of the grandfather clock nearby, and every tick it makes, increases the uneasiness and lingering feeling that I have. However, Garett’s distraction of sipping tea loudly and intentionally seems to have broken me away from those deep thoughts… But after staring at him for a few seconds, it made me ask him a question…

  "After all these years we’ve been together, here I thought I knew you that much, but to be honest with you, I have never seen you drink tea before. Why is that?" I asked.

  "Oh? So you noticed that just now?" He said, placing the teacup down just to pour more tea on it. "Well, I very rarely drink tea, and I only do this on occasions like this one... Now that I think about it, have I or my father ever told you that my mother was a water element kitsune and my grandmother was an ice and fire element kitsune? A literal one of a kind as well!" he said with a smirk before grabbing his fully filled teacup. "But I suppose that’s a story to be told for another time… Because for now…"

  And so the long fight began... After immediately pausing, he drank his tea in one gulp. Then, once he turned around, he opened his mouth once again, but fire came out instead. Quickly burning and revealing the invisible men who were behind him and mine as I immediately ducked down. The tavern’s walls were already on fire, and the men were already dead on the floor as I stood up and looked at Garett, who chuckled loudly and seemed to be satisfied and became excited at what he just did just now.

  "Wooh! Now that’s more like it! Man, it’s been quite so long since I ever did that! Ha! Ha!" Garett said with a smirk and pulled his axe from behind. "... Are you ready, Al?"

  I pulled my sword from its sheath and took a deep breath, "Ready as I’ll ever be."

  Without further ado, the two of us began fending off the adversaries who were invading the tavern's entrance and stairs leading to the second story. At the same time that they all raced at us, Garett blocked the blades of their weapons, and I quickly attacked them from underneath. And as soon as some of them started to drop like flies, more continued coming, but we didn't let it bother us; we carried on. Filling the burning tavern with bodies that began piling up as the place began to collapse on itself.

  "Remember how we were just mercenaries and we fought together like this? Those are such good memories and good times!" Garett exclaimed before kicking one of them in the stomach so hard that they flew and hit some of them on the entrance before it was blocked by the fallen debris. "But it's getting too hot here, so let's take this fight outside!" He then grabbed one of our opponents on the floor and threw it out the window. We then ran and jumped out from there only to be met with the two new foes.

  "Well, well... Look who decided to finally show up! Took you all long enough, I thought you two decided to cower away." said none other than General Haco himself. And standing beside him was the Masked General from before who didn’t help him that much during their attack on the kingdom. But seeing him now in person and up close, even if I don’t show it, the uneasiness and lingering feelings suddenly came back to me.

  "Well, I was about to say the same thing about you, Brutal Bear. But I must say, I’m quite surprised that you’re still as cocky as ever, even after you almost fully lost that arm of yours last time." Garett said, clenching tightly onto his axe. "My dear brother, Al, may have done it brutally last time, but if you let me do it, I’m sure I can make it as quick and painless for you. Free of charge and in addition to removing your ear as well!"

  "Why you little—" Haco immediately stopped from his tracks as soon as the other General raised his hand in silence and glanced at him before looking at me directly.

  I gripped my sword tightly as he carefully put his hand on the grip, unaware of the glow that my stone was starting to give off under my crimson cloak. Then, in a split second, he quickly dashed over to me brandishing his sword. I was just in time to react and block it before being pushed back and farther away from Garett. And he kept going after that. While I was already attempting to prevent his sword's blade from touching my neck, I could still feel him exerting further energy to press it against mine.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Garett called out my name as he was ready to come toward us, but Haco's sudden attack stopped him in his tracks and they started fighting. As the Masked General continued, I turned to face him and cast Tempus Bane in my head. I then gave him the hardest push I could muster before turning around and moving backwards. And as soon as I looked at him again, despite the spell's ability to slow him down, he had already regained his balance and started racing for me, and I felt compelled to fight back as quickly as I could. We moved from place to place in such quick succession while our sword’s blades constantly clashed multiple times, and for the duration of the battle none of us were able to cut the other. And his fighting style… Why is it so familiar to me?

  We struck each other's swords hard till we finally backed away from each other, and to stop ourselves from going any farther, we stabbed our swords into the ground. He next raises his blade toward me, stands across from me in the distance, and casts Magic Adrenaline on himself before casting Elemental Bane on me. I soon realized that I was no longer able to use my fire elemental spells and had to rely on my stone’s powers.

  However, in order to cast the spell Elemental Bane, he needs the... I paused in the middle of a thought and squinted my eyes until I saw the recognizable, brilliant purple stone on his white tie. Another realization strikes me as it happens, but this one sends shivers down my spine and through my skin. That’s impossible… N-No! He couldn’t be…

  My hands began to shake as I started to sweat profusely more before he rushed straight towards me. He was meant to be stopped in his tracks when I cast Halt on him, but I soon found that he was still capable of walking slowly. I was at a serious disadvantage at this point because I couldn't even use my fire elemental spells and, unlike my enemy, I had not even fully mastered the powers of my stone until now.

  What should I do? I thought as I began to walk back, keeping my gaze fixed on him. However, as soon as his foot touched the ground again, the earth trembled briefly, giving him the opportunity to attack me by making me lose my balance and focus on him. Although I attempted to avoid his blow in midair, his blade slashed into my shoulder, causing me to cry out briefly in pain before falling onto the ground. Before I could manage to stand up, vines sprouted from the ground and immediately entangled both of my hands and feet. I then struggled as hard as I could but eventually stopped as soon as I felt the cold blade of his sword next to my neck. And as I tried to look up at him, I felt it make a small cut before he slowly raised his sword above his head. But…

  Is he... Is he hesitating right now? W-Why? As I focused my gaze on him, I noticed that, despite his mask, I could still see his recognizable purple eyes, which increased my certainty that he was the person I was thinking of earlier. However, remembering the past and the tragedy that once occurred in that village causes me to have doubts about the current situation. Though, I won't be able to know the truth about his identity until I remove that mask of his myself. But am I truly ready to learn the truth of who he is?

  As soon as he was about to land his blade on me, he abruptly stopped and looked to the side, only to be greeted by Haco, who had been thrown at him. Garett then dashed to my side, kneeled down, and began burning the vines that had entangled me.

  He then assisted me in standing up and asked, "You okay, Al?... How did you get beat up this easily?" But he noticed my injured arm right away. "What— Al! Your arm!"

  I instantly shook my head and said to him in a reassuring tone, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. But we need to focus more on defeating them." before looking back at the two.

  As the Masked General shoved Haco aside and stood up, Garett flexed his neck and cast Magic Adrenaline on the two of us. Before we swung at him, I quickly cast Tempus Bane on him. Garett quickly counters the Masked General's pushes and blocks against my attacks, and I do the same when the enemy begins blocking Garett’s attack. The cycle of striking each other back and forth continues after a while. This seemed to enrage the masked man, who thrust his sword to the ground at the first opportunity possible, scattering sharp rocks everywhere and striking Garett. I, on the other hand, was able to climb on one of them, jump, and attack the enemy.

  Only then when he finally stopped and moved away from me after he drew his sword from the ground. The sharp rocks were still everywhere, but they stopped increasing. I then noticed that Garett was on the ground, unconscious before seeing the blood dripping from the Masked General’s shoulder and a small amount from his back, but despite this, he stood up straight and removed his white cape as if he were not in pain. In that brief moment, I believed I had a fighting chance against him. But that was where I went completely wrong. When his stone began to glow purple, he dashed towards me with his attacks, and that's when he went all out.

  He used the element fire on his sword in one slash, and I was able to avoid it, but what followed was unexpected. He started summoning large walls of rocks from behind me to keep me from moving backwards, though I was able to use it as a wall for a brief moment to avoid his blade and the ice shard summons from above us.

  However, I already knew my energy and luck was running out.

  I can't keep up with his pacing and attacks any longer!... If he keeps doing this, it won't be long before I— No— My thoughts come to a halt as he is finally able to pin me down on the ground after causing me to lose my balance yet again.

  His sword stabbed into my shoulder, where he had previously left a wound, as he kneeled down with one foot on my chest. He began pushing it deeper into my wound and even began freezing my blood inside my body, causing me to scream in pain. My entire arm became numb from the freezing cold within a matter of seconds, and my breathing became unsteady. In a desperate attempt to end the pain, I clutched my sword tightly and struck it against the side of his head, where some of his golden mask was damaged. He finally removed his mask, making a noise as he moved away from me.

  When the freezing finally stopped, I still attempted to remove the sword's blade from my wounded and frozen shoulder with my free hand before gently attempting to stand up. He eventually began to speak when I turned to face him, and I stood there immediately frozen to the spot as his instantly recognizable voice established who he truly was. But even then, I had my doubts. I was uncertain about a lot of things or what was happening right then, or I was just keeping my mind and heart closed to the truth, not wanting to accept it just yet, even though it was already there right in front of me.

  "After all these years of waiting and hoping for the day I would finally reunite with you, things have to end this way, old friend," he muttered, caressing his bloodied head before turning to face me. "Truly, Fate can be so cruel at times, don’t you agree?"

  I stepped back from him a bit, my hands shaking. I had a lot of questions in my thoughts, however, I didn’t know where to start.

   "All these years, I thought and believed I had lost you too… But seeing you here right now with my very own eyes makes me still doubt things, and makes me question how you are still alive to this day." I said as those were the only words that came out of my mouth.

  He stared at me with those purple eyes of his for a short moment before he answered me with, "Honestly, I pondered that exact question myself before," and then started to circle the area. "I asked why I was the only one who survived that day, why not my daughter and the other people," he paused before turning to face me again and continued, "Why didn't you rescue us when we needed you the most?"

  I bit my lower lip as I clenched my numb, frozen arm and then hesitantly replied to him. "Even though you gave me a gift, the very stone that could help me predict Time itself— it was foolish of me not to use it for your sake and for others… When I arrived in the village that day, it was already too late. Despite my best efforts, calling out your names repeatedly, I was unable to find you or your daughter anywhere… I— I'm so sorry, Valerio… I truly wished I could have done more for you as you did for me before."

  He suddenly fell silent for a brief period of time, before turning to face me once more after taking a quick glance around at the blazing homes and buildings, the bodies of his soldiers, and the unconscious Haco and Garett on the ground. "That's acceptable, I suppose… But there's still that question I had, which kept me from forgiving you right away and may have contributed to my loss of composure when you finally showed up."

  Sweat was still streaming down my face, and the situation was getting worse for both of us. I know that delaying the inevitable won't help, and that what I'm going to say to him will only make matters worse. But I still said it after taking a gulp in fear. "It's about how I unintentionally saved the King of Ivory Moon when I couldn't find you at that time, isn't it? That's how I earned the title and reputation of the Bloody Traitor, and that's why you went ahead and tried to kill me when you first saw the opportunity."

  "You saved him?" he repeated in a monotone voice, clenching his sword tightly.

  "It was out of pity, and I didn’t know that he was the King when I first saw him—"

  "Then why didn’t you kill him when you had the chance? When you finally knew who he was and the tragedy he caused..." He abruptly cut me off. "You were so close, you had all the time you could have done it, but why didn’t you do anything, Alessio?!"

  I kept myself silent as he stared right at me, soon realizing the answer himself.

  "Ah, I see now. No wonder Garett and Endellion had a very hard time persuading you to return to the kingdom during the ambush I held last time," He remarked, staring down at the ground. "At first, I thought that the King tricked you or worse, threatened you to stay with him, that's why they both failed miserably… But now that I realize it, I truly wish that wasn't the true reason why you were so weak during our battle earlier…"

  "Things don't have to end this way, Valerio," I remarked, shaking my head and clinging tenaciously to my frozen arm, starting to slowly melt my frozen blood once I was able to use my fire element once more. "I truly don’t want to fight you…" I added.

  "Well, that's unfortunate. I don't want to fight you either, Al. But if this is the path you choose for yourself..." he paused, clutching his sword tightly and igniting flames on its blade before pointing it at me. "Then I won't hold back on you once more."

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