6 Chapter Six - And Your Fear Is...

With a burst of fire from his feet and surrounded by fire along his arms and legs, Cyrus shortened the distance between him and the giant in an instant, yet the punch he threw missed and he got punched in return. He rolled on the floor, but quickly regained his footing and launched himself at the giant once more, this time barely landing a punch on the left side of his face, chipping away a bit of the rock. He used his own opponent as a platform to jump backwards and dodge another punch before jumping back at the giant and throwing yet another punch. A light explosion behind his elbow gave his attack some more speed and the hit broke more of the body.

"Don't think you're anything special for this!", the giant shouted, slamming his fist down on the boy, throwing him directly down onto the floor.

He tried stomping on him, but Cyrus dodged with a light explosion from his right palm, quickly getting up and throwing a kick at the giant's leg. The kick was strong enough to crack the stone on his leg as well as make him lose balance for a bit. As he fell down, the General turned himself and landed a punch on the boy's body in order to get some distance between them, but Cyrus quickly nullified his opponent's plan. Each punch chipped another bit of stone, each kick created more cracks and the giant's hits were growing somewhat weaker, albeit not much to be noticeable to anyone.

"You're getting it, kid."

"Enough!", he responded as he landed a punch straight on one of the crack's the giant had on his chest.

The crack opened and quickly closed, not giving Cyrus time to see what was inside, but he noticed, amid his rage, that the giant's body was a bit shorter than before. Each time a bit of stone was chipped away and replaced, the size would diminish every so slightly. Every time Cyrus was punched down or hit, he'd regain his footing faster than the last time and dodge more and more of his opponent's attacks with increasing ease.

"That's it, kid, keep going!", the boy's opponent cheered him on, "That's the will of a true warrior!"

"Shut up!", the boy roared as he landed another punch, yet this time breaking off quite a bit from the giant's left shoulder.

Cyrus jumped at the giant, who's height was now less than fourfold that of the boy, attempting to hit him in the head due to basic logic. Head goes off, man dead. The giant, predicting this, managed to grab hold of the boy with his left hand, squeezing him quite hard. Try as he might, he couldn't release himself from the General's grip, although it was helping him in not being outright crushed.

"Well, that was disappointing, to be honest. Just when things are getting better, you go and ruin your chances. It was a fun fight, I'll give you that, but just like everything, it has to end. I was really expecting you to find out if I had a weakness or not, but as it turns out, I am the invincible General with no weakness!"

"Be quiet!", Cyrus shouted with quite the heavy tones of pain in his voice, "Enough talk about being invincible!"

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A couple of moments after the dust had settled around the boulder that hit the establishment, it was easy to see that the attack hadn't connected with it.

"Don't…", a voice spoke while the boulder trembled, "Don't take us knights for ants!"

Together with his two friends, Roger managed to move the boulder out of the way, having kept the woman safe. His shield, however, was dented and his right arm broken from the impact of the stone. Claire hurried to the man, yet that same glow around her hands wasn't helping him as much as it helped Cyrus the day before.

"Don't worry about me, he needs your help.", the knight spoke and the woman shook her head.

"Look outside for yourself.", the woman said with a smile

"He's… breaking parts of the General?"

"Did he find out his fear?", the princess whispered her question, "Or is that raw power?"

"That kid's no stronger than me, so it's most likely the first.", one of the knights said, "He must have found out what that General is afraid of."

"How's your arm?", Claire asked.

"It hurts, but the pain's leaving. Thank you.", Roger answered.

"Smooth knight in silver armor, huh?", Jill giggled, "Dashing like that to save the damsel in distress, what a hero."

"Why did you protect me?"

"It's part of the Royal Guard's code. We exist to protect the innocent. And… your Highness told me what happened to your village. As part of the Royal Guards, protecting you once could never be enough to pay back for everything the ones before me have done. The suffering we caused and everything we've done, it's unforgivable."

"You didn't do anything, Roger. You don't have to apologize for anything."

"I'm really loving your flirting and all, but he's in danger!", Jill shouted.

The boy had been grabbed by the giant who was squeezing him hard.

"I'll be borrowing this!", the princess said as she left the establishment with Roger's broken shield.

"Princess!", the wounded man called, but the woman didn't let him get up.

"Trust them."

"They're kids!"

"And one of them is actually wounding a General.", Jill sighed, "Come on, man, you should know at least your princess better by now, right, mister caretaker?

Roger sighed and nodded as he could do nothing more than watch. The giant laughed heartily as he enjoyed the boy's painful screams while he tried to free himself. He pointed his right hand at the boy, slowly forming a boulder out of thin air and quickly making it grow

"Farewell, kid.", the giant said before getting hit with a shield on his head.

He looked back at the girl wielding her sword, ready to attack the stone giant, and he simply moved his right hand towards her. The boulder grew some more before starting to spin at a rather fast speed.

"Guess you'll live to see your friend die, huh?", the giant said before noticing that Cyrus was trying to reach his right arm with his legs.

"Get here, you big idiot!"

"You want to give my arm a hug? Go ahead, little kid, see what good that does."

The General moved the boy closer to his arm and he clamped it between his legs, the left one below the arm, just before the elbow, and the right one above. The giant laughed as the boy shouted while putting as much strength as he could muster into his legs and the unthinkable happened. The boulder fell on the floor and the stone arm was disconnected from the body at the elbow with a loud breaking sound. Cyrus began pushing his arms to their respective sides and broke free from the giant's fingers, gaining some distance from him.

"How…?", the giant gasped before shaking his head and rebuilding his arm and fingers with the rocks on his body, "Enough!"

"I think so too!", the boy shouted back while leaning forward, "I figured out your weakness, dumbass!"

"As if!"

"Cyrus!"

The boy ignored the girl and began running at the giant with the help of a burst of fire behind him, quickly shortening their distance. He jumped and pulled his right leg backwards and the giant responded by protecting his left side with his arm, but the kick was powered by an explosion on the boy's heel, breaking through the stone arm and hitting the giant straight in the face, cracking it some. He punched the boy away, but not even half as far as before, yet it was enough to rebuild his arm at the cost of more of his size. This size reduction sacrificed power and resistance in favour of speed, which helped him dodge more attacks, but his own were weaker and weaker as more pieces of stone were chipped away.

"You're getting smaller and smaller, General, are you alright?", the boy asked with a chuckle.

"If you found my weakness, then tell me what it is! What am I afraid of, Cyrus?!", the giant, now the size of a regular man made of stone, shouted his question.

And the boy answered by landing a punch straight on his face before moving his hand a bit back and opening it, grabbing hold of the General's face.

"You said your weakness is your one fear.", he began talking, using his right leg to trip the General while pushing his face, thus leaning him back, "The fear someone who claims to be invincible has!", he continued as his opponent was falling back, no longer standing on ground, "Your fear!"

The boy released the General's face and clenched his fist as hard as he could. The General saw the kid's face, that of pure anger and rage mixed with the smile someone has when their victory is all but assured.

"Your fear is to be defeated by someone weaker than you!"

An intense explosion behind Cyrus's right elbow drove that clenched fist into the stone man's cracked face right as he made contact with the ground, breaking the stone layer that covered it while leaving a small crater on the ground and spreading a weak shockwave around himself. The boy with fire on his body slowly stood up, leaking blood from the wounds on his knuckles and legs from all the punching and kicking, his chest rising and descending with each slow but deep breath. He let out a loud shout and raised his hand, clenching his fist and preparing to hit the passed out General,

"Cyrus!", that familiar voice called out.

As soon as he heard her speak, the flames on his body disappeared and he wobbled back before falling on the floor, completely passed out.

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The moon descended and the sun rose, peering through the half-covered window of the infirmary. Inside that room were a few villagers that had gotten hurt during the previous night's encounter, as well as some familiar faces. The soft hum of Claire filled the room, together with that comfortable warmth of a new day, as she waited for the sleeping boy to wake up.

"Still asleep, huh?", Jill sighed, "Do you think he'll spend days in that state?"

"The doctor said he was physically exhausted from pulling out so much magic from his body, but it was nothing too serious.", Claire said, feeling the boy's left hand tug at her right.

"Does he do that often?", the princess asked while taking a bite out of one of those loaves.

"Back when he was a young child, yes. I remember the day I told him I was going away to college. He started crying, not because I was leaving, but because he wouldn't be able to hold my hand to help him sleep better."

The thought of a very small Cyrus crying, as well as a sleepy Cyrus holding onto Claire's hand, made the girl giggle.

"What a baby.", she whispered softly.

"Shut up, you royal-pain-in-the-ass."

"You're awake!"

"Claire, you're suffocating me!", the boy gasped as the woman gave him quite the bear hug.

"I was so worried, Cyrus…"

"I can say the same thing about you. I… thought you died."

"Roger saved her just in the nick of time.", Jill explained, "A knight in silver armor, coming to the rescue like a hero, huh?"

"You've already said that, Jill."

"What do you have there?", the boy asked as he looked at the girl pointing at the bag on her hand, "Yes, that. What is it?"

"Cornbread."

"Why?"

"The nice old lady gave me this bag and told me it was for the both of us."

"Where's mine, then?"

The girl's eyes quickly unfocused on the boy's and darted all over the place while guilt was setting in.

"She actually told me it was just for me", she muttered before hearing the boy sigh with a chuckle.

"You idiot."

"I can give you some of this one, but I've already…"

The boy took the piece of bread the girl offered and took a large bite out of it before handing it over to her. The two women laughed at the scene and the door to that room opened, followed by a few footsteps and a new person appeared with a bandaged face and his left arm held tightly against his chest. A fairly normal-looking man you'd see anywhere and everywhere.

"I see you're finally awake, kid."

"General!", Cyrus exclaimed and the man laughed.

"Not anymore, kid. I lost and that means I'm no longer a General, so call me Peter."

"You aren't a General because you lost? Is that a rule you Generals have?"

"A stupid rule that was placed as a joke when we joined his side. With the powers we got and that vague condition for defeat, we were nigh invincible. He told us, back then, that we would never lose, but in case we did, the other Generals were free to hunt down those that had lost."

"In other words…"

"I'm as good as dead. I'm departing in a few minutes, see if I can bring some booze with me and spend the last few days drunk out of my mind. I'd suggest you leave the village too, kid."

"What?", Claire asked, "Why should he leave the village as well?"

"He defeated a General, those news are bound to spread like wildfire. You are no longer just a simple person of this world, you know? You're nothing short of a big shot among everyone!"

"You're saying he's going to be chased wherever he goes, then?", Roger asked, having been in the bed next to the boy's, "Can't you…"

"I'm afraid not. I am sorry for not being able to help any of you after the troubles I've caused."

"You don't sound so… arrogant anymore."

"Getting my face pummeled into the ground may have cleared my head, as well as giving me a splitting headache for many hours."

The man wished the boy the best in his endeavors that were soon to start and left the room that now had a weird mood going on about it. After a while, Cyrus looked over at the girl that was eating the bread and she offered him the rest.

"You're not too shabby in a fight, you know?"

"Was that a compliment from mister grumpy?"

"Relish them because they're sparser than the Generals."

"And?", Claire asked with a smile, which confused the boy, "What else do you have to say to the one that saved your life twice?"

"I have no recollection of that happening.", he answered.

"Idiot", she muttered and he chuckled.

"But if that were to happen, then… thank you."

"Well, if that were to happen, then you're welcome.", the smug girl answered.

"What are you going to do now, your royal pain-in-the-ass?"

"Huh?"

"You went against a General, didn't you? Do you think they'll let you go back like nothing happened? Or did you not think about the consequences of your actions?"

"I… I didn't. I have no idea what will happen and I'm fairly sure I've endangered the lives of my family for my selfishness and I know for a fact that that stupid captain is going to snitch and tell everything that happened yesterday."

"Because I sought revenge against the Generals, your family's in danger, huh?", the boy whispered and the girl laughed as normally as she could.

"Are you that self centered? It's because I decided to go against the General that they're in danger."

"Don't use my own lines against me!", he complained and everyone laughed

"Your arm", she pointed out..

The boy looked at his right shoulder, seeing that obvious burn mark that covered his shoulder and a small part of his right arm.

"I watched my whole village burn down. You want to know the funny part?", he asked and the girl prepared herself, though not in the way one would think, "A few weeks after I recovered, my magic awoke. I was blessed with the element of fire."

The girl choked on the piece of bread she was eating and Claire patted her on the back while the boy glared at her.

"What's so funny about that?"

"You said it was a funny part and I was waiting for a punchline, I'm sorry!", she answered quite honestly and he called her an idiot, "Then again, that would explain your red eyes."

"Well, I should go get my belongings and leave, I assume."

"You should rest.", Claire demanded, "You're in no state to leave."

"Unfortunately, he should.", the doctor said, entering the room, "We've already had complaints about him. Specifically from people that never really liked Cyrus."

"But this is too sudden!"

"Even so, I have to go. At least until this dies down."

"You're going to be chased throughout the entire world, kid.", the retired General said while peeking into the room, already holding quite the jug of wine, "And there are only two ways you're getting out of this. You either die, or…"

"Or I kill the other Generals."

"That's the kid that defeated me. I'll be rooting for you!"

"What makes you think you can kill the other Generals?"

"I've defeated one and I know what to look for in ways of defeating them, so it's worth a shot.", the boy explained, "I'm going through with this, Claire."

"I'm sorry, but could you please talk in safety?", the doctor asked, "They are outside the main door. You can leave through the back."

The group nodded and they sneaked out of the infirmary from the back door. While sneaking, Cyrus was hungry and took a loud bite out of the apple Claire had gotten for him, which prompted the woman to give him a light tap on his head. Soon in the house he had spent twelve years at, the two teenagers were packing the boy's clothes and some food into a large bag.

"I should return to the rest of the squad, your Highness.", Roger spoke and the girl scratched her chin for a bit before getting close to him and touching his neck with the outside of her right hand, "Yes?"

"The Royal Guard knight known as Roger just died.", she declared, much to everyone's surprise, "The man standing in front of me is the… simple man named Roger."

"Your Highness…"

"It's Lily, mister Roger. Well…", the princess whispered in his ear before leaning back, "I will not allow you to die at the hands of your fellow knights. Your arm may take too long to recover, so please, enjoy some time off. Orders from your previous boss, alright?"

The man nodded with a soft smile while Claire scratched her chin and Jill sported that usual smug smile on her pink lips.

"I'm done!", he affirmed while holding quite the large yet slightly tattered bag.

"Are you sure you've got everything?", Jill asked.

"No, but in case I forget something, hell to it."

"I really don't want you to go, Cyrus, but I can't stop you, can I?", Claire asked and the boy gave her a hug as a response, "Promise me you'll be safe!"

"I will.", the boy answered, "Maybe."

"Watch his back, alright?", Jill asked and the princess nodded her head before the two of them left.

The duo managed to walk past the small mob in front of the infirmary and stood in front of the main gate to the village, having one last hurdle in front of them under the form of a man wearing golden, broken armor.

"Move out of the way."

"Princess… tell me you aren't betraying your kingdom. You're taking that brat with you, right? All that happened yesterday was just a ruse, right?!"

"The princess told you to move out of the way, soldier.", Peter chuckled.

"Who are you to order me around, you low-life scum?!"

"This is the treatment a retired General gets, huh?"

"I intend on leaving the village, captain. I told you before, don't block people's paths."

"You can't…", the man started and was interrupted by the girl moving her left hand to the left button on her shoulder that tightened her cape onto her shirt, undoing it.

"Princess…?", he called out as she moved her hand to the right button and undid it, tugging at her cape.

"What do you think you are doing, you insolent girl?!"

With a swift motion, she threw her cape to the left, having unsheathed her sword during that movement, pointing it at the man while keeping her body sideways. As the man tried to say something, the girl glared at him, told him to "move out of the way" and the second blade from the sword jumped out, fitting into the bottom blade with that satisfying "clink". Seeing the princess challenge him with such conviction made the man angry. As he was about to take a step towards the girl, that familiar boy dashed towards him from behind the princess and with just as swift a motion as her, he jumped and kicked the helmet off the man's head. The man could barely react to Cyrus' attack and finally noticing the age getting to his body, he fell back and the duo walked past him without a word. The princess that used to try doing everything by herself now had someone she allowed to help her.

"Where did you get that?", he asked, noticing she had a paper bag with cornbread loaves inside.

"Emalia.", the girl answered and the boy expressed confusion, "That's my name. Emalia. A pleasure to finally properly meet you, Cyrus."

She moved her right hand towards him and he tapped the back of her hand with the back of his left hand before looking at her with a confused expression on his face.

"Wait, why are we acting like friends?!", he shouted and she started laughing, leaving him even more confused.

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