Those he left behind

Lacquer gathered his men with a promise that he shall lead them all the way to victory but now for the very first time Lacquer did what he has always regretted in the past, putting his family first and like it cost his son before, now it was his subordinates that was abandoned.

The Tidelodians, unbeknownst to their leader's surrender continued on as planned and before the twilight came they decided to have a little fun and like Sabre's men act as they wished knowing that they had Lacquer in their side, no one believed that the explosion killed him, after all he has faced much worse but still survived to tell the tale and it would take more than that to defeat the one true ruler.

A bunch of men went to the village with a little trouble in mind like running away from restaurants without paying and betting ridiculous amount and threatening their competitors if they lose, after all who would so stupidly clash against the followers of the Star Saint himself?

As the group of men entered the festival expecting chaos dealt by Sabre's men instead they saw the merry making go forth even more smoothly than usual. 'Has Sabre betrayed us? They thought to themselves and then in all the confusion they saw a familiar face, Lucas the Bandit. This was the one day where even a known convict like him could go down from the ruins of Milgras and join the celebration and they came to him expecting that he would greet a fellow outlaw with a sort of comradery but then Lucas looked at them with the same condescending look he has when he first started in the illegal work.

"Comrade!" The leader of the men greeted him still.

"Well well if it isn't Arat the pup", Arant the leader of the bandit group among Vengeance became annoyed by his mentioning of his nickname. Truly this suited him for he clung towards the powerful closely like a dog, may it be foe or friend and this would give him a sort of security.

Arat used to be called much worse but since he had been under the most powerful for so long, he had learned their ways and trained under their wing so in a way like the parasite Arat was, he still thrived and became strong enough to get the hesitation of those who would not think he was worth the trouble and from there he slowly shook off the embarrassing nickname. There are still however those who call him so but among all that did, Lucas was the lowest one in all of them but he was also the bravest with his only weakness being his ill daughter who would remind him not to get into trouble.

"Call me that again cur! I dare you!" He held Lucas by the collar and sneered at him.

"Hoho, you must have another master if you can bark again" Lucas was unwilling to back down knowing his daughter would be safe now and there was nothing Arat could threaten him with now, Blade promised after all and a knights word is as trusted like the word of a doctor.

"Sure do, and you wouldn't talk too bravely if you knew who he was" Arat knowing the impact that Lacquer had, he was than willing to call him master.

Lucas clenched Arat's hands tightly making him let go, unafraid of Arat's warning.

"You fool! Lacquer Tidelode would pummel you to the ground"

Lucas stopped his counter attack and looked at him intently.

"You are part of Vengeance?"

Arat smirked pompously seeing Lucas backdown "One of the commanders even"

Arat thought that Lucas would back down and tell him his much needed clarification of what has happened here but instead Lucas subdued him and before his goons could help, high ranked knights arrived to Lucas' support and Arat could barely believe his eyes. Knights following a bandit? Has the world gone insane?

Then with him still pinned to the ground he saw a pair of lavish boots adorned with golden fillings and the bottom of a tunic made of rare cottons dyed with the expensive shade of violet. Arat knew immediately that whoever this woman was she was high ranked and as things are, she should be much wealthier than Lacquer and if things do not go as planned he saw to it to conquer this woman as a sign of his might and to feed off her riches.

Zyderine of course was disgusted by this sick man's lewd thoughts and found it fitting to summon Leo by her side, if high knights won't scare him surely a magic beast from the Zodiac realm shall.

"What do you have here Lucas? I have no time for lowlives"

"This is Arat the Pup, he is a well known lowlife that likes to stick closely to people of power, he claims to be a sub commander of Vengeance" Lucas said as he loosened his hold on Arat to let Zyderine speak with him. Arat happily raised his head hoping he would see a beautiful lady and although he was not disappointed, the snarl of a chimera terrified him to his core.

"You are a Vengeance?"

Arat was unresponsive and continued to look to the ground but Zyderine used her magic to bring Leo closer and as the lion-goat-snake hybrid growled Arat shrieked.

"Y-yes your highness"

"A sub commander?"

"S-sure"

As Leo breathes down his ear, Arat's confidence was short lived.

"N-no! O-only Sabre and Lacquer ruled over us, w-with the exception of a hunter kid taking half our army"

Zyderine and a number of the high knights were aghast upon Arat's revelation and like the leech he was, there was not even a hint of regret betraying Vengeance in a heartbeat.

With Arat's betrayal he was allowed to be free under the promise he was never to show his face on Gilgaras ever again despite Lucas being strongly against it, even an insect like him could cause problems if left free after all but Zyderine was true to her word and as Arat told her everything, she granted him freedom.

Zyderine oblivious to the fact that not only Spade but also Rexcarius knew this put it upon her to deal with this problem. Now suddenly all the puzzles seemed to fit, why the sudden surge of petty criminals and the negligent guards, why Sabre has not been seen since yesterday, and who poisoned her and everyone in the palace.

Would she be able to beat Sabre in a fight? That was the question wandering her mind and something was clear to her now, like Spade would say, physical strength matters no in the fight of life, as long as you are always one step ahead then you shall win. She might not be strong enough to match the captain of the infantry but she sure is much more clever than him.

First she looked for weaknesses inside his brigade and knowing what to look for, she found quite easily the aides of Sabre and when one was revealed, the others would be ratted out and in a matter of two hours almost all of Sabre's soldiers were caught with the help of the high ranking knights who were much more motivated knowing that both Lacquer and Sabre would be out of the competition when all is over and it could be anyone who takes their place.

With their supporters gone and the guards who turned a blind eye caught, the crimes of the petty criminals were hastily stopped and as for the remaining Tidelodians, Ria Limnoula and Zyderines army dealt with them with ease having the full force of the palace in their hands and none of the powerhouses like Sabre, Lacquer and even Perseus. Not many have died due to a request coming from Spade which was easier on the army's conscience knowing they were fighting with retired veterans and measly villagers for the bandits among them ran under Arat's orders and the soldiers were caught before they could fight back and just like that the eventful day was over leaving only one man.

Sabre had been hiding from the castle patiently and as daybreak came and the night fell, he went on his way. He had felt a bad churning of his gut since the earthquake caused by Meteorite earlier but he chose to ignore it and have faith on his comrades, faith that was wrongly put upon and as he walked the Palace it was dark as it should be with no servant nor knight on sight. He kept hoping that Lacquer would be there, the seeds of doubt that Lacquer's power has hidden however was starting to sprout with his absence.

Sabre felt like the character of a horror story, knowing deep in his heart that something was wrong but he still kept walking, he has gone so far and as he saw the only well lit room in the palace, the throne room he took a deep breath and opened the giant oak doors and to his surprise it was not just the king there but everyone.

By the right side there stood Zyderine and many high knights, over the left was Spade, Crystal, Alfron, Ria, and Myrtle, and at the very center was his Majesty wearing an extravagant red kingly robe looking at him with disappointment.

Sabre looked confused as he looked sidewards, behind him, all over but still he coud not see him, he could not see the man whom he thought to be his hero and in the time he needed it the most he was alone with the world seemingly against him.

"So did fear win over love Sabre?" Rexcarius spoke with his cold voice, no longer with the impish tone he would quite often use to mock him playfully, no longer with the trusting look he had before, now all that was left was a cold stare from his king, something that every knight hopes to never witness.

Sabre rubbed his eyes still couldn't believe what he saw and then he saw his aged hands shaking, his head was turning and his legs felt as if it was carrying the whole world, with all his confusion he could only utter the name of the man who has forsaken him. "...La..quer..."

Rexcarius only looked to his children in reply to his words that seemed to ask where he was, longing for his master. Then Sabre felt the weakest he had ever felt, this was the first because then he always had his powerful commander who he knew would never be defeated and yet now he is told that his god was defeated by mere children? Absurd absolute poppycock! How could this be? He felt agitated by it all and then he looked at Spade and his confident smirk said it all.

Now all of Sabre's rage turned into surrender as once again he had felt the awe and fear he had the very first day he went to war, the heavy feeling like being in a scary story, knowing that something is about to go wrong but never know what it is and when it will come and then he looked at Spade once more whom he never acknowledged but now was forced to as he defeated the undefeatable and made his impossible prediction come true. What did he do? Sabre could only stand in surrender pondering that over and over again as knights captured him and as he walked theses walls towards the dungeons he never once predicted that it would be him locked up there one day and he worried what would come of his family? his status? everything he has worked to achieve? over and over again he thought where he could have one wrong and what led to his defeat, his only regret was ever underestimating the likes of Spade Escroc, the man with no natural magic skills, unfit body, no notable social status and yet managed to disrespect the king, escape prison, manipulate Lacquer, and send all his enemies who all had the upper hand to the ground.