9 Our Heroes! Not!

"Hurry it up Morey!" William's voice echoed through the tunnels as they rushed towards the station. Turns out that not only do they have tunnel systems throughout the kingdoms, but also a railroad system. The entrance to the underground railroad turned out to be in the very back of the colosseum, secretly behind one of the "Compact Waste Rooms" that was hidden behind a large trash bin that was never used, and after that they still had to open up an entrance that was hidden within the wall.

Morey wondered why they even hid it at all, it seemed like such an inconvenience. Well, it wasn't his place to judge anyways.

The station for the railroad was a large stalactite cave with the roof covered entirely in sparkling minerals reaching down to the floor. The floor was smoothed out into a road where any stalactites blocking it were cleared out completely. Morey was sure that at one point it was polished, but now it was a dull grey color from what he guessed was from the lack of maintenance and the number of dirty boots stomping over it without a care.

The station itself was relatively simple, much like a loading station in a roller coaster. There were multiple iron poles lined up to the seats that people would climb aboard, along with a railing that kept anyone from walking into the railroad. The carts themselves were comparable to the trams that he rode back at home. It was honestly a bit underwhelming.

Morey looked for a sign of power, but saw none. He wondered how the carts even moved. Gravity? Magic? Some other power sources? All he could see was a lever that was placed in the cart, which he could only assume was the input for forward and back

William didn't bat an eye as he jumped on one of the carts and signaled Morey to hop on. The boy decided not to question it much and hopped on as well.

Maria had stayed behind with Jewel, insisting that she'll meet up with them later. William didn't object, a little girl dealing with that kind of disaster a second time was not something both parents wanted again. Morey was also relieved that Jewel would stay behind, but for a different reason, he wouldn't have to deal with the hair pulling gremlin during the battle.

As soon as both warriors were on the cart, William tilted the lever forward, activating the ride. Unlike most roller coasters, which required a build up to the top of a drop in order for the cart to speed up, the cart went from zero to a hundred in a matter of seconds.

Morey's body was knocked into the chair by the forces of the cart's speed. The air blew on his face, stinging his eyes and pushing his head back. He could barely keep them open without them getting immediately dried up. The howling of the wind, the rocky road making the cart jump constantly, and the sheer speed of the cart brought some unwanted memories of rollercoasters back into Morey's head. Thankfully there were no drops, meaning that there were no risks of too much nausea...

He was not afraid of rollercoasters. He just had a little motion sickness. Anyone saying otherwise was just asking for trouble.

"William…" Morey sputtered, his head was already spinning and he felt his breakfast rise up, "Is there a way to slow down?"

William didn't even register him, much to Morey's annoyance. He was too busy staring off into the distance, his expression unreadable, which was strange since he tended to make himself out to be an open book, while wearing his emotions on his sleeve. It was a bit unsettling, but then again, a disaster was coming and it seemed to have rattled even the optimistic knight. Now was the time to focus.

Morey really wished he could do that, but the bile was starting to rise up to his throat, and he wasn't sure how long it will be until he his breakfast decides to do a revisit, so he decided to do the next best thing. Grit his teeth and hold it in.

The ride was relatively quiet, besides the sounds of Morey gagging throughout it. Thankfully, nothing came out. So he had that going for him.

At least, that's what he thought until the carts slowed down considerably. That was enough for his stomach to lurch and finally, after the long ride to the village, the cart made a complete stop.

Morey too busy debating on whether or not to spill out his guts that he didn't realize the cart stopped until William said, "We're here."

The boy, who was gagging on the side of the cart, looked up from his place of misery at the entrance. The station looked exactly the same as the one they came from, just as dusty and unmaintained as the last one. Taking a look around their location, Morey also noticed that they were in a dead end. The rails stopped where they were, and now that he thought about it, the rails back to the coliseum also ended there. Besides connecting the village and the coliseum, there were no other routes to use to get there without walking through the treacherous jungle.

There was no way this was a coincidence, but questioning it now was not a good idea. It wouldn't matter anyways. Why?

Because Morey planned on leaving in a week.

Of course, he forgot to tell his trainer, William, his plans. He was going to tell him the day before, just to keep the month more relaxed. But now Morey was at a crossroad.

Should he leave now?

Morey had no attachment to the village, in fact, he finds them quite annoying with the way they looked at him with scorn and fear as if his greatest sin was existing.

They reminded him too much of the many people he dealt with back home.

Those that tend to act without thinking of the consequences. Kick a bull, they'll deal with the horn. Play with fire, they'll get burned. Mess with him, he'll make sure they'll never do it again.

They don't show open hostility once he deals with them, but he always could feel the glares they gave him, the whispers of disgust at the kind of person he was.

No, he's still like that. Nothing had changed.

Of course, if he actually cared about people's opinions, he would've just let them walk all over him, and he did try that at one point, but the consequences of letting his guard down, along with his kind of reputation ended with him all alone and more damaged than before.

That wasn't something to think about here and now, maybe after this battle he could talk it out with William. He was an understanding guy. It would be better to let him know at the very least a week prior and after he helped out. He owed him that much.

Morey swallowed the content that was building up in his throat, and tried to focus on the task ahead. There was a disaster heading to the village, along with a stage four dragon.

There were five different stages of a dragon. Regardless of the stage, they are incredibly powerful. The most common ones are stage one and two, maybe three if the dragon lived long enough. Four and five are usually hidden underground sleeping, making them incredibly rare to see. But if one is unfortunate enough to run into a dragon in that stage….Well, they better pray they didn't wake it up.

Morey already knew first hand how powerful a common dragon was. He wasn't sure what stage it was, be he was sure it was going to be much smaller than the one they're going to deal with if even William is shaken.

Speaking of William, he was leading Morey out of the station and was currently walking through a cave not speaking a word besides giving basic directions, or calling out to Morey to make sure he was keeping up. The cave had flickering lanterns placed all over the ceilings. The stalactites here were cleared out, and there was a sign of more wear and tear than in the coliseum station.

After a long and quiet walk through the cave, a rusted iron door was found at the end. William pushed it open revealing a wall, and before Morey could ask what the wall was, William grabbed it, and slid it to the side, revealing the village walls only a short walk from there.

The entrance to the station near the village was also hidden.

Now Morey really wanted to ask him about it, but once again he was cut off when William suddenly turned to him, grabbed his shoulders, and asked, "Morey, we're almost to the village, so I need you to do something for me when we get inside."

"Uhm...ok what?" Morey asked hesitantly.

William looked ahead to the village gates and sighed. "Look Morey, you and I that we're different...and well…"

"C'mon Will, no need to sugarcoat it. Just say it."

"Morey, I need you to smile," William plead.

"What?" the boy asked, confused.

William sighed as he continued, "Listen, the village guards are nervous enough dealing with the threats heading here, they don't need more things to worry abo-"

"Wait," Morey interrupted, realization dawned on him, "Don't they treat you like crap?"

"Well yes but-"

"And you know why?"

Well it's because I'm a seeker…"

"Right, so…." Morey drawled, "You know I'm one too."

"Yes that is correct," William responded.

"So…" Morey continued, "They don't like seekers?"

"They don't dislike us, they're just cautious," William argued.

"Cautious while they give you glares behind your back along with other gestures that I won't copy right now," Morey retorted.

"Morey, please understand," William pleaded, "People are just afraid, I'm begging you, whatever happens, don't escalate."

"Why?" Morey asked, "If you give someone an inch they'll take a mile. No way I'm going to be all smiles while I know they don't want me around."

"Morey, I'm not asking you to bend over backwards for them, I just need you to not escalate anything when things get tense," William then took his arms off of Morey and flashed a reassuring smile, "I've been living here for almost two years. If they'd want me dead, they would've done it by now?"

"I guess... But still, I'm not going to act all happy," Morey asserted, "I'm not gonna let them walk all over me."

William sighed, "Morey, they won't walk all over you unless you let them, at most I'm asking you to just roll with the punches."

"Roll with the punches?"

"Yes, just agree to disagree if someone tries to instigate anything. If you escalate they'll think they're winning," William explained.

"Either way they'll think they're winning." Morey argued.

The older man sighed, even deeper than before, "It doesn't matter what they think."

"It will for them! If I let them talk down to me they'll think it'll always be ok to talk down to me!" Morey barked, "I may be considered to be an outcast, a jerk, and even stupid at times but I will never put my head down to those kinds of people."

"Morey…" William said unhappily.

"I can't let it happen again. You can't please everyone, big fucking deal, I won't cater to them. They don't deserve it."

"Listen..." William said tensely.

I try to understand! I try to figure out what I've done to them personally that warranted that kind of treatment, but I'm not going to be smile for them, I still have my pride-"

"PRIDE BE DAMN!"

They both went quiet. Only the sound of the trees rustling were heard, and even then it was still eerily quiet. No animals could be heard whereas before Morey was sure he at the very least heard a couple of birds. Nothing. William's shout drove everything sentient away.

"I…I'm sorry for yelling," the knight mumbled.

Morey didn't respond.

"Look," William continued, "I know how it feels to be antagonized, I know that it all seems unfair, and I know that being aggressive might work in the short term. But contempt just leads to more contempt. It becomes a disease that infected everyone around you, and...well, people get hurt, or worse."

The knight shuffled uncomfortably where he was standing, but he held his gaze on Morey as he put a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Morey, it's not worth the effort to escalate. If someone says a lie that spreads to the world, marking you as a monster, you don't prove them wrong by acting like the thing they labeled you for. You fight for the truth, for dignity. Not pride, never pride."

"But I-" Morey began, but then pondered for a moment before finally relenting, "Fine, I understand."

"Really?" William asked, genuinely surprised. "Just like that?"

"You have a point William. There's no point in fighting a fruitless battle. You've never strayed me wrong before and...I trust your judgement." It was the least he could do for him.

William was taken aback by the words that came out of the rambunctious boy's mouth that he had to take a step back. "Oh, Um… Well, good. Don't worry," he said, a bit more cheerful, although his enthusiasm took a noticeable dive, "As long as we're respectable, they'll have no reason to instigate anything."

Morey nodded, although he had way less enthusiasm than his mentor, "Fair enough I guess, so...should we get going?"

"Huh? Oh yes! Of course," the knight yelped as he ushered the boy toward the village.

It's been a little over a year since Morey has seen the village. Almost nothing had changed in the outer walls. The same black wall stood loomed over them. The large gate at the front also stood, except there were more guards there than before.

The guards were initially unnerved upon their arrival, but when the duo got closer, the guards lowered their weapons and instead gave an uninterested wave.

"Hello!" William greeted, "Let's do our best in this fight! Best of luck!"

One of the guards gave an indifferent grunt in response, while the rest pretended not to hear.

Morey's eyes twitched while William gave an uncomfortable laugh as they walked into the village.

The village itself hasn't changed much either, besides the complete abandonment of all the houses and buildings inside. The inhabitants must have evacuated early as soon as there were early signs of disasters. Other than that the place was virtually the same as when Morey first got there one year ago.

As soon as they got inside they saw a crowd huddled up in the middle. The people in the crowd were clearly the guardians of the village if the chain mail and thick leather clothing they had on were any indication.

Among the crowd were three figures in the center of it. All of them sporting a robe that made them stand out in the crowd. The robe itself was pretty simple in design, only having one solid color, green. Other than that, the three figures were similarly equipped as the others.

The tallest of the three was a black haired man in his early 20s, no signs of facial hairs on his sharp chin. He wore his cape over his shoulders, revealing the armor underneath the cape. His eyes were constantly narrow, and his face was currently in a scowl, making those without capes be constantly stiff around him. The cigar in his mouth was on the verge of snapping in half from the clenching of his teeth.

The man beside him seemed unaffected by his companions scary face, and was instead sporting a shit eating grin beside him. He held a large parchment, which Morey assumed to be a map, and was sporting a simple brown cap where strands of brown hair peaked out of it that said FLEX in yellow letters. Unlike his companion, he had stubble growing around his chin and cheeks and had his cape wrapped around his body. Whatever he was saying seemed to only upset his companion more.

Before the sharp eyed guy blew a fuse, a third person was then introduced. An imposing woman, although not as scary faced as the cigar guy (or Maria), she still had a stern look on her face. Unlike her peers, she had red hair that was tied to the back into a ponytail. She also held her cape over her body, mostly likely for modestly, Morey would assume. She held an exaggerated posture that reminded him of a businesswoman.

As William and Morey got closer they were able to listen in to the conversation. The village warriors moved away from their path, allowing them to approach the trio.

"I can't believe you Carlos!" Cigar face yelled.

Olha, au I'm issayin isse dat dere is a perfectly heasonable explanation for why we're behind," Stubble man, who Morey assumed was Carlos, attempted to explain.

"And what is it?" Cigar Face growled.

"Jaja! Weu, a couple of friends bought issome cervejas! I couldn't just issay no! I have a heputation to protect!"

"And because of that we're fifteen minutes behind schedule!" Cigar Faced barked, "You stupid, irresponsib-"

"Now, now Carter," Ginger Girl lectured, "You have to understand the situation, people were panicking, if anything thanks to Carlos, there was more order in the evacuation since most of the adults were hung over, while the children were not as scared as before. Not to mention that morales among or warriors are much higher than before."

"Ja! La beleza Ellie, you are auwayse a beacon of light wherever you go, fank you!" Carlos sang as he attempted to wrap his arms around her.

Keyword being "attempt."

"AAGH! MERDA!" the capped man yelled as he was engulfed in an electrical shock, courtesy of the red haired girl, Ellenor.

"A man who bends over backwards to superficially impress me is not a man in my eyes. You were almost half a man, but of course you always make yourself seem like the fool," She snapped as she shut off the device, making Carlos collapse to the ground.

"Ell, we need him conscious, you know? For the fight," Carter sighed.

Ellie only shrugged, "I'm sorry, my emotions get the better of me, whenever I see this worm I just think about… a real man," her voice became softer, much to Morey's, and probably Carter's, discomfort. She continued despite not realizing that William and him were right behind them, "William, oh...now there's a real man. Strong, stern, and oh so humble."

"Ellie," Carter said, trying to get her attention when he saw who was behind her, she ignored him.

"A true man whose heroism shows no bound."

"Ellie!"

"And don't get me started on his sweet, sweet, a-"

"ELLIE!" Carter shouted, clenching his teeth so hard the cigar finally fell off his mouth, "Enough for the love of god!"

"Jealousy is unbecoming of a man." She lectured, "If only you were half the man he was, oh dear!" she swooned, "If at least you had his bod-"

"He's right behind you," Carter explained, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Yes, sure he is! Or maybe you can't handle being compared to him," she taunted until William cleared his throat.

As soon as Ellie turned around and went face to face with the man she was admiring, all her bravado vanished.

"W-William? When did you get here!" She screeched, dropping all the papers she was holding and jumping behind Carter, "A-and...how much did you hear?"

"Eh...well..."

"And you cau me da shameless one! Jajaja!" Carlos, who jumped back up as if he wasn't just electrocuted, laughed as he picked up the papers the stammering woman dropped. "You do know that he isse married? Jajaja!"

"I-I can still admire someone!" Ellie attempted to defend.

"Ah yes! You werre admiring his essweet, essweet a-"

Before the man could finish his sentence, Ellie swung her baton at him. He ducked underneath it and jumped out of her reach, still laughing, as Ellie furiously attempted to catch him.

"Ellie! Enough!" Carter roared, grabbing her by her skull causing her to screech in annoyance, "You too Carlos!"

"Is this normal?" Morey asked.

Everyone paused for a moment, and looked at the source of the voice.

Carlos was the first to react, "Weu, weu, weu! El amiguinho has a voice! Welcome to hell! E ai garoto?"

"What?" Morey asked, completely perplexed at the group in front of him.

"He's doing well Carlos! We're all good! Don't worry, we didn't hear much of the conversation, heh…" William chuckled awkwardly, "Can we...erm just move things along now?"

Carter cleared his throat, and walked up to Morey, letting go of Ellie, "So you're the new apprentice? I expect exceptional things from you, especially if you were under the tutelage of Mr. Arc himself," He paused, before slapping himself in the face hard, making Morey jump from his sudden action, and exclaimed, "Goodness! Where are my manners! I'm ashamed of my behavior! Forgive me! My name is Carter Grant, One of the squad leaders of the Lost Jungle Platoon and one of the Sergeants in the Anhanga Service currently under Lieutenant Bluno in the Defense Corps. I pride myself in the preservation of lives of those that reside in our beautiful kingdom."

"Um..Yeah," Morey said unsurely, "Wait, you and that horny ginger girl over there don't have accents. Why is that?" Said "horny ginger girl" glared daggers at him.

"Ah, Morey! That's a bit…" William began before Carter cut him off.

"No it's fine, he's new here after all, no?" Carter asked, William awkwardly nodded before he continued, "Unlike what we learned about other seekers and their world, the four kingdoms have more open borders for everyone. My father wanted to start fresh away from Chrynerotis, so he went to Cloud Nine, where not only did he meet my mother but it was the place of my birth, unfortunately there were some.... unsavory activities going on over there. We moved here when I was young. That's why my tongue is native to my father's homeland and a bit from Cloud Nine. As for Ellie, well, our stories are more common than you think."

"Except," She added, fixing up her posture and getting out of Carter's back, "My parents were both native to Cloud Nine. They got chased out during the Cloud Rebellion when I was twelve. Many families were, so don't be too surprised over the mixed dialect.I'm Sergeant Ellenor Stewart, I dream of myself to become a capable soldier that prides themselves in bravery, humility, and honor," she said as she took a bow, "I'd say it's a pleasure, but I also pride myself in honesty."

"I see," Morey said, "And you're native to this kingdom?" he asked as he pointed to the capped man.

"Dat's hight. Dis very village isse my childhood home! I'm a Lieutenant from de essame brigade and lead dis platoon. I'm First Lieutenant Carlos Silva! "

"Damn, I was hoping that Carter guy was the leader," Morey whispered to William.

"Morey! Be polite!" William scolded.

Morey only shrugged as he introduced himself, "Hello, name's Morey Anderson, I'm a seeker and have been under the training of William. I...uh...hope to meet your expectations."

"A bit of a rude start, but he seems respectable," Carter observed. "Hopefully in battle you'll do well."

"Jaja! Weu, you werre both too late for de party!" Carlos laughed, "Au that we can offer is some of the leftover booze! Jajaja! Not that it would be a good idea a day before the battle! It'sse best to hest up as essoon as you can, de moment de first monster isse spotted, the battle wiu begin!"

"You buffoon! at least go over the plan with them!" Ellie yelled.

"Eh, I'u leave it to you, you explain better anyways. Ta bom? Everyone!" The soldiers stiffened, "Good night!" the Lieutenant said as he walked away. Many of the soldiers followed after him.

"No! Not ta bom!" She yelled as she pursued him, "Get back you-! And he's gone!" The female sergeant complained as she heard one of the doors slam shut.

"Eh leave him, he has to know what he's doing." Carter said.

Morey looked at Carter, "You have that much faith in him?"

Both sergeants shuffled uncomfortably, which told him all he needed to know.

"That's besides the point," the male sergeant interjected as he rubbed his temple and pulled out the map he had rolled up, "The evacuation is nearly complete, so now we were focusing on fortifying range fighters up in the wall since there are many monsters that are capable of flight."

'Why am I not surprised,' Morey thought glumly.

"Thankfully," Carter continued, "There's usually few in these events, so they won't be a problem as long as the archers and summoner's do their jobs. There is a good choke point in the front of the gate, so most of the close quarter combatants will be placed there. Scouts will be called back before fires become too uncontrollable and then be used for running supplies. Afterwards it's just outlasting them, then it should be easy enough."

"But," Ellie added, "The real problem is the dragon. It's scales make it nearly impossible to penetrate with traditional arrows. Only specialized bolted arrows can actually damage it, but those are incredibly rare, so we'll have to rely on the both of you. Instead of helping with defenses, you'll be on standby."

"No," William said sternly.

"I'm sorry?" Ellie responded.

"We can't stand by and watch your soldiers fight until the dragon comes. And we don't know if the dragon will catch up with the eruption monsters which will cause even more mayhem. I'm sorry, but I can't wait for the dragon to come."

Carter cut in, "So then, what's your plan then?"

William smiled, "Morey and I will take the battle to them."

Both sergeants raised an eyebrow. Morey groaned, 'this is gonna suck.'

Later that night after the conversation with the sergeants, the duo retired to one of the rooms available in the village. William sat on one of the beds while Morey paced around the room.

"William?"

"Yes Morey?"

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean what's wrong? You threw us in the fire!"

"Would you rather those guys be thrown into it?"

"Well...no but-"

"But what?"

"I-" Morey paused and pondered for a moment. They were the only seekers around. But death wasn't without its consequences, even if they can revive. All their progress would go up in smokes, and Morey knew that this enemy was incredibly powerful. That only made it all the more terrifying to deal with. These aren't the classic zombies he was dealing with. Dragons were in a whole other league. Not only was Morey at risk, but so was William.

But that only gave William all the more reasons to go fight this desperate battle. There was no way he was going to turn his back on the natives of this world. Especially if they're in danger.

He was a damn fool.

"I'm gonna go get some air," Morey muttered as he opened the door out.

"Morey…" William said solemnly, but by then Morey was already gone, "Don't be long."

As soon as the boy got out of the room, he was surprised to feel how hot it was outside. The heat wasn't suffocating, but the air still felt thick to breathe.

He ignored it and instead opted to explore the village, No one was around to bother him, most having fallen asleep, resting up for the battle tomorrow.

Morey looked at the gates, they were right there. All he had to do was walk through them, and this would not be his problem anymore. These assholes can deal with it themselves. Why should he stick his neck out for-

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"Please! You're strong right!"

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"You're not so bad after all!"

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"He's not a monster!"

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"I want to believe you but..."

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Morey shook his head, trying to clear out those thoughts. He can abandon Will, but would now be a good time? No, of course not! William gave him too much for him to just up and abandon the man. He's done more for less for fuck sakes!

In a time full of lonely nights, brutal training, and terrible caregivers who never gave him the time of day he never once felt any form of kindness. And the fights, don't get him wrong he loved fighting, but it was the only thing that made him a bit happy during those times, and winning was the only thing that kept those bastards from beating him down. But at best, it was only superficial, it was all wins for survival, not happiness. He was just a means to an end.

He never regretted not helping spoiled people. He never regretted beating up people who tried to do the same thing those two "caregivers" did to him. Yet, they would look at him like he's the monster. A monster for trying to protect himself.

And here? There should be less of a reason to help out these people, it should outweigh the debt he owes William, and yet…

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" I know how it feels to be antagonized."

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"Contempt just leads to more contempt."

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Morey turned around and walked away. Away from the gates.

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He was only going to help him out just this once. Just. This. Once. After that, he'll leave, and never have to think about it again. Besides, it'll be a good way to test the strength of his new tools and abilities. That was it.

Now that Morey thought about it, he wondered what sorts of weapons natives use here. It's clear from his meeting with Maria that natives have quite a few tricks up their sleeves. Maybe he could poke around to see what ways the military works here.

His thoughts were interrupted by the loud belch of someone above him. He looked up and saw a familiar figure laying atop one of the village roofs.

"Still out for a nightly esstro'u?"

Morey sighed, and here he thought he might have had a quiet night. "Sort of...Uh, I just wanted to clear my head," He answered.

The lieutenant sat up from his spot and eyed him over, "Say...you're de apprentice, falou? Uau, what are you still doing around here?"

Morey tilted his head, "What are you talking about? So what if I stick around?"

Carlos said nothing for a moment, instead staring at him with an unreadable expression. Then out of nowhere barked out a laugh as he said, "Jajaja! De jeito nenhum!"

"What?" Morey asked, more irritated than before.

"I don't believe it!" the lieutenant laughed, "I don't believe dat you'd esstick around for the fight! Jajaja!"

"What? You're saying I would run away?"

Carlos kept laughing, "Deus! You're a strange one garoto!"

Morey looked at him unamused.

Carlos calmed down enough to say, "Dose eyes, I've esseen dose eyes on many esseekers before. You wanna know what dey do before de battle?"

Morey shook his head, suddenly feeling very uneasy.

"The lieutenant took a swig from one of his bottles, then slammed it on the ground, "Dey either end up dead, or dey run away! Jajaja!" he jeered, "And you wanna know de best part is?

The boy pondered for a bit until he answered, "What?"

"Their deaths!" he laughed, "Were au caused by de handsse of William!"

"WHAT?"

"Shocking, falou? You should already know dat man is a monster in de battlefield," Carlos continued, "But when not in battle, he's a man who never hurts esso much as a bug in hisse yard, but a demon? No hesitation to cut dem down."

"Why are you telling me this?" Morey growled.

The drunk man shrugged as he began to rummage around the pile of bottles, "It's just such a strange thing to occur. I've known Wiu and Maria for a long time. I've esseen my fair esshare of young esseekers attempting something esstupid against him. Whether dey leave once dey effeel dat William isse useless to dem, or attempt to essteal his essoul fragments as a last object of use he may offer. Maria may deal withe you first if you'rre lucky! Jajaja!" He found a bottle and began chugging it down continuing afterwards, "And yet, you're stiu here. For essome heason you stuck around, and you're not someone who wants to be a hero, far from it from de way things look. You're not a saint, falou?"

Morey didn't respond, allowing for Carlos to jeer on, "You're an enigma, garoto! Jajaja! Wonder what mayhem wi'u come from you! A man fighting his fate! Now dat's something worth drinking!" the drunk lieutenant laughed as he let out another belch.

The boy pondered on what the man on the roof just said and asked, "What do you mean by fate?"

"Olha," the Lieutenant began, "dere are many definitions of fate, de most ridiculous one is de concept dat everything is prewritten, and dat we have no freedom in what we do. Dat one is often used by those who want to believe dat de way de world isse da way dat it'sse suppose to be. Like kings who want to hemain in power, or a lazy bum who doesn't want to work," he took another swig from his bottle, "Ahh! Da one I was talking about isse de branching theory!"

"Branching theory?"

"Sim!" Carlos confirmed, "You see, we are often given choices in many fings droughout our lives, dus branches are formed, whether you can choose a hed shirt or a green shirt, somefing so mundane may be of little consequence in ourre lives may alter many fings in de future. But there are certain parts of our own person, such asse talents, personalities, and situations we arre born in dat lock us in certain paths dat no matter which branch we take, we ourselves wiu find ourselves hight dere, not out of any outside force, god, or universal intervention, but because that isse how we are as a person. We are locked in dose paths without realizing it, and even me telling you won't change much! From de looks of it, you being here means dat your fate was either defied, or maybe I was hong in my guess after being so comfortable before! We'u find out soon! jajajaja!" The bottle clinked against each other as the drunken man gave off the loudest and heartiest laugh, "Garroto, itsse late, you should head back if you heally wanna stick around for de battle. jajajaja!"

Morey wasn't sure how to respond to the lieutenant, but decided it wasn't worth the headache and decided to head back.

The walk back was too quiet for the boy's liking.

Upon opening the door, William, who was already in bed, jumped out of the sheets in shock, "Morey?! You're back?"

The boy looked at him confused, wondering why he did such a reaction until he remembered the chat he had with the lieutenant, "I went out for some fresh air, that was all."

"I-I see! Well…. Good! That's great! I was wondering when you'd be back!" William laughed.

Morey knew that was a lie, but at this point, he couldn't really blame him.