STRIKING SPEAR

"Shut up, you skinny scoundrels!" Ballu bellowed. "Stop right there!"

"We're not stopping. Catch us in your dreams, uncle!"

Ballu ground his teeth so hard it hurt his head. "If I catch any of you, I'll skin you guys alive!"

"That is only if you catch us!" their voices became more and more distant by the second.

Visible frustration showed on Ballu's face, for he knew that he would never catch up with those four thieves. They were too nimble, unlike him who embodied a distended belly and limbs. But the thought of wasting away Nawaz's money didn't allow his feet to rest.

"Hehe, lots of money for gambling!" the four thieves were exhilarated and further increased their pace.

Zentzu and the guard walked out of the library. Lirzod came out seconds later. Zentzu glanced at the guard who nodded and stepped ahead as he tightened the muscles of his right arm that held the steely spear. Lirzod's attention was on the guard's grip rather than on the fleeing thieves. The ceiling in that street was at the height of three meters at best. How could one be able to throw a spear in such a tight space and make it go the distance? It seemed anything but an easy feat.

The guard put his left leg forward and stood a bit sideways to his right and extended the spear-holding arm to his back and the other arm to his front in a smooth fashion. His pupils fixated on the thieves and appeared to be zooming in on them. Before one could blink twice in succession, the guard thrust forward his spear-holding hand—his other free arm providing aim and balance—and though it seemed like he held the spear with his whole arm, by the time it was about to be released, both the thumb and index finger gave the last jolt making the spear whip ahead, whistling through the air.

The spear nearly chafed the ceiling as it hastily darted and caught on to the thieves in no time and punctured its way through one—the one with the money in hand— of their stomachs, forcing him to bite the dust on a dime.

The three other thieves were terrified as they came to a screeching halt, and upon turning back and looking at the source, despair dressed them like a cerecloth. "C-Commander!" Their limbs shivered, and their hot feet turned cold in a matter of moments as they watched with eyes agape at the incoming commander.

They had no idea that the commander was in the library. They were too busy planning how to steal from Ballu.

Now, they stood motionless, brains gone blank.

Ballu already stopped, and he was panting. Nevertheless, he was quite content with how one of the thieves was dealt with, and he waited for the commander to reach the thieves first.

Zentzu, Lirzod, and the guard bypassed him and got to the thieves.

The guard coldly said, "You fools dare to steal right in front of Commander's eyes?" He pulled the spear out of the guy who lay on the floor and was dripping blood out of his mouth as well. He howled in pain as the guard forcibly fetched the spear. "Stop whining!" He put his foot on that guy's stomach and tightly pressured it.

Ballu, who was watching, felt like butterflies were flying in his stomach. Yes! Put more pressure! (Those fools dared to steal from me. They deserve the harshest beating of their lives—one that would be scary to even remember.)

"Hey, that's not a minor wound. Why are you entertaining yourself when he might die if not treated soon," Lirzod told the guard, also suggesting him with his eyes to get his foot off of the thief.

"Eh?" the guard shoved aside his words. "This is our job," he brought the bloody spear in between, "just stand there and take note."

Zentzu stood still, his hands that held a book were resting on his back. He coldly stared at the thieves, and they were too terrified to even talk. He glanced back at Ballu, who stood just a few feet away. "What punishment will satisfy you?"

"I would love it if they just get off this ship," Ballu said, "but there's no guarantee that they will not steal from someone again. So, instead of kicking them out... they call themselves as Jewel Juniors, don't they? Please make them Jewelless Juniors," he bowed a little, "that's my request, Commander Zentzu."

"Very well," Zentzu said, looking at those thieves, "I don't see real remorse in their faces either. Let's take away their jewels."

The three thieves, who stood frozen like ice blocks up till the point, got jolted out of their stances. "C-Commander, Commander, no… please, no. Anything but that!" one of the thieves came closer and knelt down and touched Zentzu's feet. "We beg you! We won't ever steal from anyone ever again!" The second one also came forward, and it seemed like he was going to do the same, but he suddenly took two steps to the side and ended up coming behind Lirzod.

A knife stopped at a touching distance to Lirzod's throat, startling both the guard and the commander. The guard was about to take a step forward.

"Stop! Stay right where you are, or I'll slit his throat like that of a chicken," the thief shouted. "If you don't want that to happen, then listen to us. Listen to every word without any question!"

The two other thieves—who were crying till then—began to snicker before even the tears on their cheeks dried up. "Hehehe, nice job. Now, no one can stop us." They came to Lirzod with smiling faces. "We will escape out of this, thanks to you, baby. Don't play any tricks, or you'll end up hurting yourself. I'm sure you don't want that either."

Lirzod blew air through his nose. "You think you can escape with your lives intact as long as the guard is still holding the spear? He'll puncture you all with holes again!"

The thieves turned their heads toward the guard. "Put that spear down!"

The guard seemed to be in a daze. He still couldn't believe that Lirzod uttered such words. "You fool!" He raised his voice, fixedly looking at Lirzod.

Lirzod didn't reply and put up a blank face.

"Put the damn spear down!" another thief shouted, his voice commixed with concern and chagrin.

The guard glanced at the commander, and after noticing a slight nod, he let go of the spear. It was picked off the floor by one of the thieves who then rashly tried to swing it as if he was showing off. "Che, spears are only good for throwing," he looked at the spear as if he had no use for it, "this seems useless at close range." He tried thrusting it toward Ballu as if he was practicing. "I wonder if it can pierce your family pack."

Ballu ground his teeth as that was all he could do.

"Hehe, what's with that look?" the thief poked Ballu's stomach with the tip of the spear. "Look down, or I'll test this shitty spear on you."

Ballu was forced to look down even though his intestines were gassing up.

"That's right, uncle," the thief sniggered and pulled back the spear.

The thief's actions also riled up the guard, but he could only swallow all the soreness and stand still.

"Seems like the spear is at least making them listen," the thief sneered as he joined the rest.

"Of course," another thief said in the process of picking up the sack of silver coins, "though it can't cut like a sword, it can still be used to scare people. And we have to take it out of that guard's hand just to be safe. If he shoots at us while we are giving them the slip, another one of us will go down."

"That's right." Holding Lirzod as a hostage, the three thieves took quick and short steps as they made more distance.

Lirzod, who appeared unruffled till then, showed signs of jitters. (What are they doing? Aren't they going to do something to try and save me? Are they hopeless without the spear?) He could feel the sharp edge of the knife touching his throat at irregular intervals. "Hey, isn't there a rule that killing is prohibited on this ship? So, you guys won't do it, right?" he asked the guy who held the knife at the throat.

"Shut up. Speak again, and you will see your blood!" the thief used his crass wordage to dispirit Lirzod.

The guard glanced sideways and spoke without moving his lips as much as possible. "What should I do, Commander? Those guys are nuts. They left their team member to die."

Zentzu took his time to reply. "They seem to know that there's no need for them to worry about their friend. After all, if he dies, you will be in trouble."

The guard's face stiffened a bit. "It was part of the job."

"Job or not, you could have gone for his groin, but you chose to go overboard," Zentzu sighed. "There's no need for us to do anything. Let's just watch how the Geragorn conqueror deals with a couple of thugs."

The guard was surprised to some extent. He seemed to have forgotten who Lirzod was. (That's right. If he's exchanged blows with someone like Geragorn, then taking care of those three should be a piece of cake.) He looked at Lirzod, who appeared to be moving his eyebrows in a weird manner. (Is he trying to tell us something? Or, is it some sort of routine before he lets loose his muscles?) He watched every movement of Lirzod in detail.

(Why are they not responding to my signals?) Lirzod was frustrated a bit.

(It sure is a strange routine. I can't comprehend it at all.) The guard was utterly puzzled.

All of a sudden, a largish figure went past the guard, scuttling toward the thieves, startling everyone. It was Ballu.

"What's he doing?" the guard frowned. Zentzu, however, quietly stood rooted at the spot, his expression as calm as the waves of a still sea.

(Even if no one helps me, I still have myself!) Ballu ground his teeth, his face varnished with vehemence. "Give me my money back, buggers!"

"Stop right there!" the thieves tempestuously yelled out en masse.

"Haaa!" all they got back as a response was an unrestrained bellow that bore a resemblance to detonation, and Ballu shortened the distance between them more and more.

"We'll kill this guy!" the thieves desperately howled as the pacing back of their steps dwindled.

"I don't give a damn about him!" Ballu roared as he closed in on them. "Give me my money."

"Shit! He's crazy!" the guy holding the knife shouted. "Free the damn coin."

The guard holding the coin sack wasted no time in throwing it toward Ballu, who totally ignored it and instead unleashed his mighty fist on the guy that held the knife.

A crunching sound and a geyser of berry-red blood poured out into the air as the thief crashed to the ground, his senses already blackened out.

The bowels of the other two thieves loosened upon seeing it.

"Fatty!" one of the two threw a punch at Ballu, but Ballu caught the fist with his hand as if it was nothing.

"Yes, I'm fatter than you," Ballu's voice was hoarse. "But you've mistaken on one thing. I'm not your uncle. I'm your grandfather's grandfather!" He squeezed the thieve's fist, the fracturing sounds of it were dominated by the ululation of the thief. "And that's precisely why you are gonna get trounced." The second thief came in for landing a quick punch, which startled Ballu, but before his fist reached Ballu, he got shouldered by someone.

It was Lirzod who speared his shoulder into that thief's belly, thereby pushing him away.

That thief grimaced a bit and glared at Lirzod. "You..."

At that moment, the thief felt like someone was standing behind him. He was hesitant whether to turn or not, but his heart had already imagined the worst.

"As you said, a spear surely can't cut like a sword, but..." the breathy voice of the guard was heard by the thief, "it can definitely deliver a crushing blow!"

A speedy slash of the spear socked the skull of the thief, resulting in a neck fracture. The thief crumpled to his knees and shrieked in an insufferable soreness.

Hands placed on his back, Zentzu reached the spot at his own pace.

"Should we take their jewels, Commander?" the guard asked.

Zentzu briefly looked at Ballu. "They are yours. Don't kill them, but feel free to do whatever you want with them." Saying that he began to walk away, "You can sever any body parts you want. It should serve as a good life lesson."

"Yes, Commander," Ballu brandished a barbarous grin. "I'll start with their jewels."

"No! Don't leave us with him!" the two thieves—the ones that were still awake—wailed relentlessly, hoping that the commander would take another look at them. "Anybody but him, please!"

The guard hurriedly exchanged a few words with Ballu, telling him to also take care of the one with a hole in the stomach, before catching up with the commander who was responding to Lirzod's question as to why he let the big guy handle the thieves in the manner he did.

"I know those guys deserve some punishment, but taking their family jewels is too much." Lirzod asked, "Why don't you stop that big dude?"

"Those thieves have gone too far," Zentzu replied with composure. "They should be made a lesson."

Lirzod pressed his lips into a straight line and turned his head back.

"Now, which great-great-grandson should I start with?" Ballu scanned the faces of those thieves and toyed with them as he pointed his fingers to and fro. "You, or you?"

The thieves cried out louder than kids and begged him to let them go. They caught his legs, but he pulled them up by their hair and slapped them hard.

"I'll go with this little life first," Ballu focused his gaze on one of those thieves. "You were the one who mistook me for an uncle, weren't you?"

"No, no, that wasn't me! No, no, no!" the thief howled his heart out as Ballu worked himself over that one.

As time passed, the blubbering of the thieves resounded throughout the street.