I Won’t Go Out This Way.

His eyes now attuned to the brightness sprang open, scanning his surroundings for any familiar figure.

And just as he expected, he had found a couple of them. All having twisted expressions as they seemed to relish in his suffering.

'The tea must have been poisonous.' Tega thought, struggling fiercely despite the wounds he had.

But even that realization was pointless since even if he knew the tea he had drank was poisonous, he couldn't go back in time to stop himself from drinking it.

While Tega was trying to undo his bindings, he heard a man say. "You probably thought the tea was poisonous right?"

Having an unsettling grin creep across his face when he saw Tega struggle, the man's face held amusement as his smile revealed his pitch black teeth.

The man in front of him was the same guy who had yelled out when Lauren first barged into the town hall although now he looked slightly different.

Unfazed by his spooky look, Tega replied. "Yes that was what I thought but hearing your reply I guess I should say it's the mist we inhaled when we were talking with the town head."

Sparing a quick glance at the man's strange garb, Tega looked away after finding out it was similar to those of a certain Earthen tribe.

Shocked that Tega wasn't startled after seeing him, the man almost lost his mind when Tega found out it had something to do with the mist.

"Well, that is not entirely the case." The man said. Masking the surprise he previously felt, he added. "Both the mist and tea are nontoxic but that changes when they enter a body at the same time."

"When mixed together, they become toxic. Causing its victim to feel tired, dizzy, and sleepy. He explained, tilting his head akin to a bird of prey.

"And since it doesn't fight the immune system you can only call it a sleeping drug!" He laughed—a sound that started strong, then cut off as if it was only half-meant. "Didn't expect you to figure it out, but what does it matter? You're as good as gone, anyway."

His expression neutral, Tega thought—taking deep breaths to calm himself. 'Nothing I can't handle.'

The odds were stacked against him, but he'd faced worse. If he could delay them, just for a few minutes he might find a way to loosen his bindings.

Noticing Tega's increased struggles, the man leaned in closer, his nose less than a centimeter away from Tega's.

His blackened teeth shone whenever he grinned, he said. "You cursed ones… you're the stain on this sacred land. Burning you is the least we can do to protect ourselves."

"No hard feelings, right?" The man added, his eyes squinted. "The only way to get rid of the evil that plague you is by immolation… or so the priest said."

Seeing this as a chance to weasel his way into the man's head after hearing his last words, Tega replied. "'So the priest said'. You aren't even sure."

He had a mocking tone and squinted his eyes till they were mere slits.

"The priest just wants to ruin this land." Tega laughed, lying easily. "Burning me would only make others of my kind direct their fury on your entire lineage."

To make his lie more believable, Tega let out a deranged laugh when he finished talking. Unbothered by the attention he was receiving.

If there was anything he learnt from spending time with Lauren it was how to lie smoothly and sound confident even when doubting himself.

That aside, his goal was to make the man in front of him tell the town head all the bullshit he spouted. Stalling a little more time.

Weak-willed, the black tooth man almost had a breakdown as he yelled. "No! You're lying! The priest has no reason to lie to us!"

Surprised by how dense the man was, Tega played along. Chuckling, he added. "Think I'd waste my last breath lying to you?"

"If you think it's to save my hide, that's not my aim. My goal is to make sure you all have sleepless nights knowing my people are coming to kill you all." Tega continued, having a menacing grin while forcing himself to remain conscious.

He increased the pitch of his voice, making it seem like he was yelling and successfully attracting the attention of everyone at the town square.

Using their hesitation to his advantage, Tega let out a deranged laugh as an unsettling grin etched itself on his face. "Go ahead, burn me! But just know you'll be the reason why the Cursed visits this forsaken land!"

"No! No! No!!!!" Having an obvious breakdown, the man in front of Tega clenched his head tightly as he rambled. "The priest has no reason to lie to the King! He has no reason to betray us!"

"Oh really?" Tega chuckled, keeping his head low for a more dramatic effect.

He spoke in a tone so quiet that it forced the rowdy villagers to shut up if they wanted to listen to him clearly.

After he had gotten their attention, Tega continued in the same quiet tone. "What if the priest had made a deal with the Cursed king… My king. Wouldn't that guarantee his safety since we're known to keep our word."

He made sure he was unspecific to increase their internal conflict or better still split them into two sides, those who trusted the priest and those who didn't.

"For some strange reason, this looks surprisingly beautiful." Tega muttered, having fascination in his eyes and a light grin on his face.

Unaware that he would slowly become more like Lauren due to this incident, Tega enjoyed the chaos he had caused while having his hair flutter in the wind.

Finally coming back to his senses, Tega tugged against the ropes, each movement slicing deeper into his wrists.

He could feel his thoughts blurring, his body slowly getting heavier.

'The poison is still in my bloodstream.' Tega realized his expression was ashen. Forcefully pushing that thought down, he focused on the bindings, feeling for even a slight gap in the knots.

——

While Tega was trying to undo his bindings, the figure of a masked man could be seen chained to a tree.

"Ugh…" Soon regaining consciousness, Lauren let out a groan. Wondering how he had gotten here.

"What do you want?" He asked, noticing his bindings and the people surrounding him.

"Oh nothing much, just wanna delay you a little like the town head said." Their leader spoke up, taking huge strides towards Lauren. He was a bully man over two meters tall and made completely of muscles.

Amused, Lauren asked, staring at the man in front of him. "Do you think these ribbons could hold me?"

Not surprised that Lauren had referred to the chains as ribbons, the man squatted beside him and replied. "No but the toxin would."

Grinning, the man mocked. "Why do you always wear a mask? Did you have your face melted off?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Lauren chuckled, his mind taking a quick stroll down memory lane.

"Why do I need you to tell me when I could just see?" The man taunted, placing his huge hand on Lauren's face.

Annoyed, Lauren spoke through gritted teeth. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Disregarding Lauren's warning, the man proceeded to take off Lauren's mask. But before he could get it a centimeter away from Lauren's face, his world suddenly blanketed into darkness as a sudden weightlessness assaulted him.

'What happened?' That was the man's last thought before he took in the sight of a headless body not too far away.

"I have a face inferiority complex, you see." Lauren said calmly, readjusting his mask before dusting his sleeves.

"I should really ask questions before killing them all." Lauren complained, face playing after seeing the corpses lying around him.

"Uh…?" Falling face first after deciding to make his way back to town, Lauren's expression instantly darkened as he realized the toxin finally took effect.

'I'll get there even if I have to crawl.'

——

The crowd shifted uneasily, a few glancing over their shoulders as if suddenly wary. A murmur ran through them, and Tega knew he'd struck a nerve.

But the town head's voice cut through, restoring their focus. "The Cursed only seek chaos! Purge them all!"

'Shit!' Tega cursed, staring at the damned town head who had managed to restore order.

Done with scolding the black-toothed man who had caused unnecessary panic, the town head faced his people and said. "Like I said, the Cursed only seek chaos! We should purge them all lest they ruin our land!"

"Purge the Cursed!!"

They chanted in unison, hyped by their leader's speech. The torchbearer drew closer, his steps slow, savoring the moment.

With his fists clenched and mind racing despite the sluggishness creeping in. 'Not like this,' Tega thought, glaring at the flames. 'I won't go out this way.'