Pawns

Inside the dark forest not far away from Talbot's house, a man is running deeper and deeper into the woods. His breathing is erratic and uncontrollable, but he is running away very fast. His duty was to guard the house, but something happened, and now…he is running away. He stopped to take a breath, resting his back on one of the trees. His chest felt heavy as if it is pushed from the outside. Combined with his panicked breathing, the man could not run for some time. Before, he halted the carriage which was supposed to be filled with royal soldiers that would transfer Princess Flare back to the palace, but instead, two people came out.

When one of the guards went inside to inform Talbot, one of the men that came out made a mad dash inside, and before anyone could alarm Talbot, the other just killed three of them with his bare hands and a rope, leaving only him. His swiftness frightened the man, so her ran away, fearing for his life. Suddenly, something just pulled him upwards, and then, he is hanging in the air. There's some kind of thread that is tying his hands together, and despite looking very thin, the thread is strong enough to lock his arms. The man tried shaking his entire body to break free, but he failed. Then, he heard someone sighing.

"Hmm…Mmm…"

"Mmm…Mmm…"

"Zzzz…"

"Srngh…srngh…"

The man, suddenly just, slept there, which of course puzzled the man who is hanged.

"Ah, oh!"

"Oh-oh!"

"Forgive me, I was absorbed in thought that I dozed off," Boyd apologized to the man he just hanged.

"Now, what did I chase you for?" Boyd murmured and again, started thinking.

"Hmm…Mmm…"

"…"

"Zzzz…"

Again, he dozed off. Trying to take advantage, the man tried to swing his body around, in the hope that the thread would break. However, what he didn't know is that the thread is connected to Boyd's wrist armor plate. His swinging kept tugging his arm until he woke back up.

"Bargh! Why are you disturbing my sleep!" Boyd suddenly yelled.

The hanging guard stopped moving.

"Ah, oh-oh!"

"Yes, now I remember what I was about to do to you!" he laughed.

Then, nothing. There's no more laughter, just silence. For a moment, the hanged man was puzzled, but a few seconds after, he felt something terrifying just from Boyd's presence. The man began screaming in agony. He felt like something is crawling underneath his skin in his legs, clawing its way up to his waist. His screams frightened all the animals in a radius of 50 meters, which shows how much pain he is in. Suddenly, it just stops. The painful clawing just stops. He took a look at his legs, nothing is there, not even a single drop of blood.

"I'm surprised a slaver like you couldn't withstand a tap like that. Ah, kids these days," Boyd chuckled.

The hanged guard didn't take this lightly, since he nearly died.

"Do you know what will happen to you when the word gets out?!" he shouted.

Boyd just ignored the man and walked back, leaving the man alone for a while.

"When my friends find out about you, you'll be slaughtered!" he threatened Boyd.

However, Boyd didn't even bat an ear. Instead, he came back with a body in his hand.

"…No matter, all of them will end up like this one," Boyd responds and throws the body towards the hanged guard.

Immediately when the guard looked at the body, he couldn't even talk. Words couldn't even come out of his mouth as he stutters in fear at what he is seeing. The body is one of his comrades, and there is a large wound on his chest. Three of his ribs protrude through his flesh, and a bit of his dead heart is visible. His eyes clearly show signs of fear, and gradually, even his trousers are turning wet.

"You've been abusing your slaves all this time, particularly the women. It was obvious when I overheard you talking about groping m'lady when I was in the carriage."

"It would be a big mistake if you think that you can leave here alive, just because you gave up and displayed fear," Boyd's tone suddenly changed.

The man was about to beg for his life, but when he heard Boyd's menacing tone, his voice couldn't even reach his throat.

"…You were determined to rape someone and release your stress on your slaves, it's clear from how you talk and how you were limping with one leg outside the house."

"Therefore, it would be a logical explanation that you would expect the same, but don't worry, I'm not into same…gender romance," Boyd chuckled sadistically as he took something behind another tree.

Immediately when the guard saw what he pulled out, he screamed in terror.

"Ah...!"

"You! The readers! I'm not doing anything weird, so erase those foul thoughts!" Boyd suddenly shouted.

He pulled out a mace that still has fresh blood on it.

"No thanks to you, my old habit came back, but no matter, it will pass…but your death won't be quick."

Boyd then approached the man with the mace in hand.

"…S-sto…stop! No! No! No! No!"

"..." Boyd remained silent, and cold towards the man pleading for his life, very contradictory to how Flare usually sees him - and he is just staring at the man with his mace already lifted.

"Don't kill me, p-please! I will be…"

Without even a shred of remorse, despite being unable to see his face, Boyd just smacked the mace at the guy's stomach with full force. The blunt weapon kept on hitting the man's stomach. When he was hit the second time, the hanged man could hear his ribs cracking as he vomited blood from his mouth. He continued screaming for help until…he dies, with his stomach split wide.

____________________________________________

--Image--

https://ibb.co/yhXv1qC - Boyd brutalizes one of Talbot's men

____________________________________________

* * * * *

Weiss jumped up to the sky with his cudgel in hand, trying for a downward strike directly on Talbot. However, the earth golem managed to block the attack for Talbot, and then it pushed Weiss away. While Weiss is in the sky, the fire golem charged forward, spitting fireballs out of its mouth. Weiss managed to avoid all of it mid-air. Once he lands on the ground, the earth golem lunged forward to strike him. Again, Weiss dodges it, but when he rolled, the lightning golem shoots a bolt of lightning, which directly hits him. Weiss is blasted backward, but he still manages to stand on his two feet. Quickly, he charged forward, but the water golem immediately summons a wall of water to block his path. Once it finished, the fire golem then burns all the water away, turning it to steam. It was hot enough to burn the grass on the ground. Weiss immediately rolled backward, dodging all the lightning bolts.

Flare is watching as she limps out across the hallway. She is begging both of them to stop, but her voice couldn't be heard by either of them. Weiss is using a dagger and a cudgel compared to his usual broadsword, which puzzled Flare. However, the matter came to clarify itself once Weiss came face to face with the lightning golem, which is the nearest golem to Talbot. Since Talbot kept using its range attacks, Weiss targeted it first. Quickly, he just strikes the cudgel directly on its head, effectively destroying it. This move frustrates Talbot, but the lightning golem is still standing.

"Tsk!" Weiss groaned in annoyance.

Despite temporarily disabling the lightning golem, Weiss intends to destroy it. However, when he was about to give the final blow, the earth golem blocked his attack using its hand, while the water golem shoots a powerful jet of water which blasted Weiss away. The fire golem is prepared to incinerate Weiss with flames, but Weiss manages to stab the dagger to the ground, stopping his motion. The fire golem missed its attack, so Talbot uses it to try and punch Weiss. Weiss bends his body backward, avoiding the attack, and then jumped upwards to avoid a jet of water from the water golem. The lightning golem then shoots a bolt of lightning, and Weiss quickly jumped to the side. He managed to close in on the earth golem and immediately strikes its head, temporarily disabling it. The fire golem lunges upwards and tried to strike Weiss from above, but the boy managed to dodge it. Weiss quickly smacked the water golem from the front, but instead of damaging it, the cudgel passed through its semi-solid body and got stuck.

"Got you!" Talbot muttered.

mmediately, the lightning golem shoots another bolt of lightning which shocks both the water golem and Weiss. The boy was blasted 5 meters backward, while the water golem is destroyed. While Weiss is still dazed, the earth golem immediately dashed toward him and smashes both its arms to the ground. The ground shook a bit, but when the dust clears, Weiss is not there. Flare could hear Talbot grunt in annoyance. His eyes focused on his surroundings, trying to search for Weiss, whom he called a brat. Talbot's house is not far away from the nearby trees which lead to the thick forest, so he thought, that maybe Weiss had fallen back into the forest. There is a 15-meter radius from his house to the trees, except for the front since it's connected to the main road.

However, his guess was wrong when he saw Weiss, standing in front of the myriad of trees, looking at him from afar.

"Trying to run away, aren't you?!" Talbot shouted.

"Run? Huh, never thought of it," Weiss answered.

Right after he said that his circuits began lighting up. They're green in color, and it shows on the right side of his face. When that happened, suddenly, the ground begins to shake. At first, it felt like mild tremors, but then it got rougher.

"What did you do, brat?!" Talbot shouts, confused by the event.

"…The best technique to take out a summon is to take out the summoner, and the best method to take out a golem is to use a blunt weapon and strike its head."

Weiss didn't answer Talbot's question, but suddenly, he just jumped upwards.

"They are not blunt weapons, but they charge like one," Weiss smirked.

Flare noticed that Weiss is enjoying the fight, and he just called out for some serious help. As the ground shakes more vividly, suddenly, some of the trees just crashed to the ground, and…

"…R-r-r…" Talbot murmured, couldn't finish his sentence.

"R-r-rhinos?!" Flare squeaked.

Weiss called for help from a herd of rhinoceroses that was nearby that seemingly appeared out of thin air. It seems he'd already set it before he and Boyd went to Talbot's house. The rhinos charged forward without fear and hesitation, and Weiss is riding one of them. Talbot was taken aback by this and immediately used his golems to attack the rhinos. The lightning golem shot bolts of lightning, the flame golem spits fireballs, the water golem shoots jets of water and the earth golem intends to use its brute strength to overpower the herd of rhinos.

However, the huge rhinoceroses don't give up that easily as they continue charging forward. One of them got struck by the lightning attack, but it quickly got back up and charged forward. The earth golem managed to catch one with its bare hands, but the rhino kept on charging, despite being slow. When the earth golem tried to slam the rhino to the ground, another rhino changed course and charges straight towards the golem. The golem managed to slowly lift the rhino it is holding, but before it could fully raise it, the golem got smashed into pieces by the rhino that charged through it.

"…" Talbot choked.

His golems are smashed into pieces, and one is charging toward him. Talbot immediately pulled out a dagger and prepared to take the rhino head-on. However, suddenly, the rhino just stops, lunging Weiss who was riding it, towards Talbot at high speed. Talbot is bewildered by this, but quickly he raised his arms higher and blocks Weiss from getting a front attack.

"You're undoubtedly the craziest brat I've ever known!" Talbot jeered.

Talbot used Weiss's momentum to toss him away, but Weiss managed to get his footing and rolled, minimizing his damage. For some reason, Weiss is smiling.

"…You, you damn brat!" Talbot howled, charging toward Weiss.

Immediately, the two of them exchanged blows with one another. Sparks of splinter appeared everywhere when the two daggers collide as they parry each other. However, Weiss had the upper hand since he has two weapons, and Talbot is not used to close combat. It is clear how he desperately tries to block Weiss's attacks. Talbot tried to slash Weiss's stomach, but then, Weiss just stops Talbot's dagger. He parried it, yes, but he also grips Talbot's dagger between his palm and his dagger, making Talbot unable to pull his dagger at the moment. Immediately, Weiss smacked Talbot's head with his cudgel. There's a small crack sound, but Talbot is still standing. With all his strength, Talbot managed to pull the dagger away from Weiss's grasp and tried to stab him again.

"…No, Weiss isn't prepared for that!" Flare said to herself, until…

The sound of something sharp piercing through meat could be heard, and there was blood pouring to the ground. However, when Flare took a good look, she was shocked to see it. Talbot's dagger pierced through Weiss's hand, and Weiss is now gripping Talbot's hand despite it! His strong grip prevents Talbot from pulling his hand away as Weiss pulled him closer to his face.

"Finally…got you…!" Weiss sneered, and his face is dead serious.

Immediately, he thrust the cudgel into Talbot's stomach. The cudgel directly hits Talbot since he could not defend himself, and he is still fazed by Weiss's actions. Talbot spat out blood from his mouth once the cudgel hits him.

"Now, it's time for you to learn about frailty!" Weiss groans.

It's clear that Weiss is furious about Talbot's actions of betraying Flare, but even Flare doesn't know why. At that moment, a sentence played inside Weiss's head, from a man he could not forgive nor forget.

"…When you are strong enough to take on the clan's name…come find me, and we'll have the battle of the ages…" a voice played inside his head.

Once he heard that voice, his grip became stronger, and his eyes turned more focused.

Again, Weiss thrust his cudgel, this time slightly higher, and broke several of Talbot's ribs. Talbot coughed more blood from his mouth. Weiss pulled his cudgel back and struck Talbot repeatedly four times. One to the face, one to the left side of his body, one uppercut, and another one to the other side of his face. He pulled his cudgel back again and strikes Talbot's shin. Talbot quickly pulled out a throwing knife from his belt and threw it toward Weiss's face. Weiss avoided it, but since he could not evade it in time, the knife stabbed through the upper part of the right side of his chest.

"HUARGH!"

"HUARGH!"

The two of them shout as they attacked each other with just a single arm. Weiss managed to strike the cudgel to the left side of Talbot's neck, while Talbot managed to plunge the knife deeper by punching it. Weiss grunts in pain when that happened and released his grip. The cudgel fell to the ground, but…nobody even made a move to take it. Instead, the two of them are just standing there, taking long breaths as they face each other with concentrated eyes.

"…Why?" Talbot asked.

Weiss didn't answer as he takes his breath, tired of using that heavy weapon.

"Why would you save her? I thought people like you would just abandon her as any others would do…" Talbot wheezed.

Both of them are tired and injured, and Flare is slowly limping toward them since she stopped at the door when the rhinos were charging. Now, the rhinos are just sitting there, eating grass like nothing happened.

"…Still don't get it yet?" Weiss asked, getting Talbot's attention.

The judicator looked up to face Weiss with his injured face.

"People like you, those who kept running from their problems, are cowards!" Weiss responds.

Weiss took a peek at the limping Flare as if to double-check on something.

"She's far stronger than both you…and me! She's stronger than we could ever be!"

"A coward is enough to deal with another coward!"

"I'm enough to take you on, old man," Weiss retaliates.

This answer angered Talbot. Immediately, he tries to pull the dagger from Weiss's hand, but Weiss didn't let go.

"SHUT UP!" Talbot shouts.

"…You…you don't have the right to call her like an uncle…" Weiss hissed, and he grips Talbot's knuckle harder.

"You…"

"YOU…" Weiss groans.

Weiss's eyes gaze on Talbot, bloodshot red.

"YOU DON'T HAVE THE STRENGTH TO SHOULDER SOMEONE AND THEIR PAIN!" Weiss bellowed and punched Talbot's face with his other hand.

With that one powerful punch, Talbot's entire jaw got dislocated, and it knocked Talbot out entirely. The man stumbled to the ground, but the dagger is still stuck in Weiss's hand. Weiss didn't say much, but he didn't remove the knife or the dagger, instead, he just walked away, and stopped in front of Flare. Once he did, Flare opened up her mouth, trying to say something, but the words couldn't come out.

"…W-Weiss…" she called, but she couldn't continue her sentence.

Flare couldn't even look at him in the eye. Weiss approached her and puts his hand on her shoulder. Flare was surprised to see it, but Weiss just smiled sincerely. His eyes tell her that she has nothing to worry about, and the words that come out of his mouth are…

"Come on…let's go back…" Weiss cooed.

"…T-t-that's not even fair…" Flare muttered.

Her eyes are wet, and she is shaking.

"You can do that, after you bandage me, okay?" Weiss jested.

Flare couldn't even reply, but she just sniffed.

…..

"What's going to happen to Talbot?" Flare asked.

"Don't know, but Uncle Boyd told me to not kill him. I don't know why, but we'll bring him with us to the port," Weiss answered.

The two of them are resting their backs on a wall, with only a piece of hanging white cloth separating them in the middle. Weiss didn't remove both the knife and dagger earlier to prevent further blood loss. Now, his wounds are bandaged, and he is not wearing any shirt. When Flare was bandaging his chest, she noticed traces of removed tattoos on his back. It looked like something important, but she didn't ask when she saw Weiss smile at her. His smile indicates that he will tell her about it sooner or later, so she didn't push it further. Right now, the two of them are silent. Flare couldn't figure out what to say to Weiss, and Weiss is just silent.

"…I-I'm-I'm…" Flare tried to apologize

.

"You should have just told us," Weiss interrupted, but he said it gently, compared to his usual rough self.

Flare didn't say anything.

"You always look calm and collected, but you're hurting, aren't you?" he added.

"I…may have gone too far…," Weiss, for the first time, tries to apologize to Flare.

Immediately, Flare interrupts.

"No, no, that's not it…" she responds.

Weiss turned silent.

"…I-I realized that I was weak and powerless, and an incompetent, failed royalty. I've been living too long in my own safe space, that when I got out, I just…turned powerless…"

"…I am inferior, compared to my father and my brothers. So…why?" she asked.

"Why are you trying to help me?"

Her eyes turned wet, and her hands are shaking. Her tone implies that she is disappointed with herself.

"Why would you come?"

"Why do I have to go through all this?"

"Why would you go so far?" she kept asking questions and at the same time trying her best not to cry.

"…Looks like you got the talk with Talbot, didn't you?" Weiss inquired.

Although he could not see Flare, he could see her shadow. Flare nods.

"All of what he says is true. It seems to me like you've been putting your father on a pedestal for you to worship and follow," Weiss answered.

Flare held her legs together.

"…But, at least for me, I understand why he does it."

Flare's eyes opened a bit. She was surprised by that answer.

"Backed off to a wall, some people will have to do very atrocious things so that others will not suffer in the future. It's the same thing that happened to every other human being, be it me, you, or Uncle Boyd," Weiss continues.

"So, just accept it as it is, okay?" Weiss tries to comfort Flare.

"Learn from your father's mistakes…and change for the better. This land needs it…" he added.

"It's one of the reasons why Uncle Boyd accepted this job."

This caught Flare's attention.

"…This land, needs a beacon of hope for years…and Boyd hoped that you might be the one to be it…" he smiled.

Flare kept silent.

"…But, now, we have another matter to attend to…"

Suddenly, Weiss just slides close to Flare. Both of their shoulders touched each other, only separated by the thin hanging cloth. At first, Flare became flabbergasted and tried to push herself away.

"Don't bother telling me to stop," Weiss uttered.

"I'm not very good at this…" he chuckled.

His awkwardness relieved Flare a bit.

"…Don't try to shoulder the burden by yourself, and don't be a stranger."

Weiss looked up, didn't care whether or not Flare is hearing him.

"Weep and ask for help. Lean on us with a runny nose as most sheltered noblewomen do…"

Hearing this, Flare's eyes went teary, but she is trying to hold it back.

"Cry when you feel like it. Laugh when you feel like laughing…"

"When you're tearing up, crying alone with an ugly face, I'll give you a good cry with an uglier face and cry with you," Weiss comforts Flare.

Flare began weeping, letting out soft cries, and steady streams of tears are flowing down her cheeks. She is holding her legs tighter. Her knees are squeezing her chest.

"Don't define yourself to be weak, it's sad, you know…" Weiss chuckled a bit.

"When you realize that you are weak, you'll strive to become stronger."

Flare cried a bit, surprised by the answer.

"You'll become stronger. I believe in that."

"…But then, if I would do that, I'll end up leaning on you the entire time," she sobbed.

"There's nothing wrong with it, and I am weak. I'm a jerk, dense, and angry-looking, but somehow I still expect others to give me a shoulder," Weiss chuckled and smiled a bit.

"As long as we are moving forward, we can lean on each other."

"It's how it should be…"

"It's better to live true to yourself than to throw yourself away…"

"…Just let it out," Weiss finished.

When it does, Flare just cried next to him, and Weiss remained quiet. Flare just released everything inside her heart, about how hard it was, how weak she is, and how everything went to ground because of it. Weiss didn't say anything, but he just smiled, as if he was relieved that Flare had opened up to him. He slips his hand through the cloth and pats Flare on the back, comforting her at the same time. However, he does it awkwardly, simply because he doesn't know how to do it.

"(Be strong…if you fall, I'll give you a shoulder. I'll freaking carry you if I have to)," Weiss thought, but he let the thought remain in his mind.

Flare could feel his hand, and to her, for some reason, it felt warm and comforting. She smiled behind her tears, and said;

"...Thank you…"

From afar, someone is standing, watching them while holding a body in his hand. Quickly, he carries the unconscious body by his shoulder and walked away. He kept his range to see it, but he remained far. The man circled through the house and puts the body in the carriage. He sighed and looked up to the sky. He sits next to the unconscious man, but his helmet prevented anyone from seeing his expression.

"…Hmm…Mmm…"

"…Mmm…Mmm…"

"Ahahahahaha, they've become more mature just now," Boyd chuckled.

"…Hmm…"

"Should I climb up the roof and eavesdrop on their moment?" Boyd asked himself.

"Why not? I'd love to see bonds emerging…"

"Ahahaha…Ahahaha…" he laughed alone.

He turned his head to look at the unconscious Talbot.

"…When people turn into sinners and degenerate into demons, the only one that can turn them back is a human."

"I have no right to end you, nor does Weiss. A demon cannot help another demon to turn back to a human," Boyd uttered, unaware that Talbot is awake.

"Lawless fellows like you and me have nowhere to go when we've lost our honor," Boyd added.

Talbot just listened to him. It's unknown whether or not he is hostile or friendly, but he is not attacking.

"That was good acting back there, I could see whatever you told Flare was clear on her face…"

"But that's not the entire truth, isn't it?"

Boyd pulled something out of his satchel and puts it in front of Talbot's face. Immediately at that moment, Talbot's eyes sprung to life, and there was a bit of…sadness in his eyes.