"E-Er... Thank you, sir..." the knight said awkwardly as Darc dumped the bandit leader onto him. The nervousness wasn't because of the dark elf but more so of the fact the bandit leader was foaming in his mouth and had pissed himself.

With no care for the knight's plight, Darc went back to the battlefield, to the spot where he had taken away the bandit leader. Passing through some of the knights disposing of the bodies, he found the place untouched.

So there's seven this time, Darc thought to himself, looking at the bodies. Two were drowned in a puddle of their own blood thanks to his blade while the other five were mangled beyond recognition by his stakes.

Crouching down, he inspected the bandit he stabbed from the nape. Rummaging through his cape, he found a metal plate named 'Jack'. Darc took note of it and put the plate back.

Standing up, he went over to the five corpses full of holes. Given the state of their bodies no thanks to him, there wasn't much to find. Three of them have nothing on them of note; two of them have the same metal plates as the previous - were these bandits with plates adventurers? The first one was engraved 'Mitch' and the second one had a hole in it with only the words 'A' and 'w' surviving. He'll name him 'Andrew'.

Turning his body around, he went to the last bandit he killed with a slash to his neck. He was the one who bravely tried to save his commander as Darc was about to take him away, quite admirable. Rummaging through his belongings, he found a handkerchief roughly made with 'To Daddy' on it.

"..." At the bitter irony once again, the dark elf... no, the half-dark half-light elf could only stare at it for a long time.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Today, he pulled out his leather journal and wrote:

Jack

Bandit A

Bandit B

Mitch

Andrew

Bandit C

A Loving Father

It was a bad day.

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"Grr! Just you wait, puppet king!" Doug gritted his teeth. "I will have my revenge!"

The accursed new king must have colluded with dark forces to have defeated his forces and captured him in the most absurd way possible. The noble had been thrown into this cell in chains, disheveled and unbathed, ever since.

"Your corrupt judges may have been twisted of their right and wrong thanks to your honeyed words, but I will never yield to your evil!" the noble hissed, shifting uncomfortably from his restraints. "My followers are loyal and righteous, you will not deceive them like the rest. At any moment, they will mount my rescue and-"

CRANG

Suddenly, the cell door was smashed open, breaking Doug's thoughts out loud. Shooting his head up, he saw a tall man dressed in black. He almost thought Grey's company had come to his rescue when he saw his garb and aura as anything but. Sealing the coffin were his dark elf ears and the same piercing eyes being the last thing the noble saw at his mansion.

"Y-You!" Doug pointed his trembling finger at him. "W-Why are you here!?"

"I'm your executioner, Doug von salt waters," Darc stated coldly. Never mind how he seemingly butchered his family name, evil magic coalesced around his hand, and out with it came a wicked blade of darkness approaching with every step.

"W-What!?" the noble squeaked, backing to the wall instinctively. "D-Do you have any idea what would happen if you killed me!? The kingdom will-"

"I don't care about your backward ideals," the dark elf snapped, raising his blade. "You lot are always stubborn in your views."

"No! Wait!"

SLASH

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"There is one thing I will make it clear, your majesty," Darc stated.

"What is it?" the king inquired, his eyebrow raised in confusion.

"The noble's mine and I'm not doing it in public. I am an assassin."

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And that is for the children you hurt, Darc mused as he dismissed his Cherished Armament. He had enough of those delusional relics for a lifetime.

As the blood on the disappeared blade dropped to the cellar floor, Darc pulled out his notebook and crossed out the name 'Doug von salt waters'.

Doug von salt waters