the bravery of a cowardly knight

Over the past hour or so of walking the three travelers managed to escape the clutches of the forest with almost no interference aside from a few furry dog-like humans, Liliana and Sebas called kobolds whom Willem just shot down with his bow before the two could notice

"Sebas why is your eye black?" Liliana asked. Breaking the silence as the three of them walked the carpet of grass on the plains of Koroth well out of the Forest and now on their way to Lunaria City

"I made a deal with the devil…" Sebas muttered under his breath his entire body sore from getting punched by Willem over and over again in training

"what was that?" Willem asked front in front of the two his eyes narrowed at every slight sound as his mind was used to the mentality that almost anything that moved wanted to kill him in the forest

"Nothing!!!"

Willem had begun teaching/torturing him in the ways of Kali, a brutally efficient martial art that was employed in the military training. Escrima, hand to hand, and knife work were the main teachings of the art.

As for Sebas's first official lesson, Willem ingrained the value of blocking and predicting the opponents moves (punched him over and over again until he got the basic idea to block)

Suffice it to say he was a long way off from being able to use a sword properly.

"We should rest here" Willem announced suddenly stopping the other two

"why here?" Sebas asked while taking off the bag on his back and setting it down next to a big stone that could be used as a chair "Wouldn't it be better to keep going as far as we can?" he asked either way

"Yeah we're going not going to get to uncle's territory like this" Liliana said with a pout

"I hear rushing water nearby," Willem responded lying through his teeth "you and Sebas can go play in the water while I hunt for lunch" he continued

Liliana brightened at the mention of playing in the river. Willem figured she was sheltered by the castle too much and needed at least a good time outside

Leading the two to a small flowing river, the two adults watched as Lilian splashed around the water, her face dawned a smile that would put that sun to shame.

Willem turned around with his excuse of hunting and was about to begin running when Sebas grabbed his shoulder his face etched into a grim expression that didn't suit the go lucky idiots face Willem was getting accustomed to

"what is it?" he asked and Willem was about to feign ignorance when he cut him off "you're a terrible liar I think the only one who would believe that would be Lilian," he said in a whisper as to not alarm the child playing in the river

Willem sighed.

Even in this life, he was a bad liar.

"I saw a glimpse of a beast following us, it had a head of a man but the body of a lion with the fur made out of spiked quills and a stinger like tail. Do you know what it is?" he explained silently, seeing a light in the knight's eyes he pressed the question.

Sebas's face grew ashen. As a look of horror began to take form

"AH- manticore!!!" he almost shouted but stopped himself and instead hissed out in urgency "they are dangerous. They can kill a man with just one of those quills coated in venom and even an elephant wouldn't last a second of being stung by the stinger it has for a tail" he whispered urgently half wondering if they should run

"do you have a container of some sort?" Willem asked

"I have a few empty vials that used to contain potions- wait! that's not the point!!" he said halfway through the process of pulling the vials out of his bag "we should run!" he said

"no, I will take care of the manticore" Willem silenced him with his grim expression "and before you try to go against me remember, I am at least 30 times your age I have seen things you wouldn't even dream of," he said taking the vials from the knight's hands

"but its a manticore!"

"thirty minutes"

"huh?

"If thirty minutes pass and I'm not here. take Lilian and run" he explained before breaking into a run disappearing in an underbrush

"you better come back, you bastard…" Sebas said turning back to Lilian

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Willem had always had a knack for figuring things out ever since he was a child and even as an old man. But this time in this new world it helped him a lot. specifically in deciphering one of the unique abilities his body had

Mainly Immunity to poison.

For whatever reason when his body ingests something poisonous or venomous it makes his healing factor accelerate and a boost in his five senses with an additional boost in strength the more he ingests

And the downside?

It was intoxicating like alcohol.

While some people wouldn't even consider that a downcast at all. Willem certainly did. He'd heard stories of families torn apart by alcohol and children beaten due to its influence. And he promised himself never to be like those people

So when he came upon the manticore it's ugly head rearing its way out of a bush with a stinger behind it prepared to strike made a shot straight for the heart not giving it the time to even begin attacking him

The arrow pierced its body right where a normal lion's heart would be. The beast staggered for a moment it's human-like face glaring at him intensely before the eyes faded into white and the beast stopped moving and collapsed around the earth.

In a moment of stupidity unbefitting of a scout ranger, Willem walked up to the dead body and started touching its quills seeing if he could harvest it and use the poison in some way or the other when an old ghost from his past decided to whisper in his ears

"No plan survives contact with the enemy and if it seems like it's going too well. odds are, something terrible is bound to happen"

And with that ghost of his superior whispering in his head, the chimera's tail plunged right into his chest

His vision faded to black

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Sebas POV: the unexpected bravery of the cowardice knight

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Here I sat behind a tree with the princess hiding from the bandits that attacked me and my old battalion wondering what could have possibly gone wrong while the elf left us to kill the manticore

Actually no.

I knew what went wrong.

I was an idiot.

If only I hadn't left the other troops while they were fighting the undead back then. They would have actually stood a chance with me helping them and we'd never be in this situation in the first place

I pull the princess closer to me. Putting a finger to my lips to send a quiet message to her, and bless her little soul she nodded immediately in the cutest way- no stop! Focus!

At the moment we were hiding in a forest just behind the bark of a tree big enough to hide the both of us our breaths ragged from running all the way here

"come on little princess…" a voice that was undoubtedly female called through the forest a sadistic pleasure in her voice "we don't need to end this in blood. just show yourself and both of you will live"

I shuddered hearing the footsteps of other men behind her. Searching the tree's and scouring hiding spots

It was only a matter of time before they found us.

Maybe i could distract them and let the princess run away!

Yes!

A good idea and a good way to die…

…

…

…

Why won't my damn feet move?!

I'm scared, aren't I?

In a move that surprised me, the princess jumped out from our hiding place leaving me the only one covered by the all-mighty tree's protection

"you only need me right?" she asked putting on a brave face from what I can see "here I am. Just take me and leave Sebas and mister hero alone!!!" she exclaimed

Sadistic laughter.

"Are you that stupid child?" the voice asked merciless venom in it "we were never sent to capture you, we were sent to kill you," she said as I heard multiple people take a step towards Lilian

My blood froze at the word.

Kill Lilian.

That kid that was a ball of sunshine, that kid that had wept with me as I mourned my fellow soldiers, the kid almost everyone loved,

And they were going to kill her.

"are you going to let your weakness

"And now that your alone with your charge what do you plan to do?" the elf's words echoed in his head "let the princess die because of your weakness?"

Lilian screamed.

That broke me out of fear and before I knew it I was standing over the corpse of a headless man

"I won't let you touch her!!!" I howled keeping my sword at the ready

"Tche! looks like someone's trying to play hero" the necromancer called clicking her tongue in mild annoyance "take care of this pathetic knight" she ordered the bandits who came rushing at me

Heh.

You guys are so slow.

The elf could decapitate you and you wouldn't even know it until your head was already rolling on the floor.

But me?

I'm just a coward knight protecting his charge.

I raised my sword to intercept another before ducking as an axe flew by my head and jumping back as a spear almost gouge my eyes out.

As expected. you have nothing on him.

In quick retaliation, I brought my sword up slicing through the arm of the bandit holding the axe and using my body as an axis turned pulling all the force into one blow

"ahh!!!" blood erupted from the sword-wielding bandit's chest

Pathetic.

The elf wouldn't even consider you an enemy

"Sebas!!!" my charge screamed

and as I turned. I felt time slow as my will faded

A spear making its way for the princess's head.

And I could do nothing.

Despite the training with the elf I was still weak.

"no." I acted.

I would make it

"no!!!" I screamed as I pushed the princess out of the way of the spear and felt it enter my chest piercing my lungs and exiting out my back as I fell onto a tree

"Sebas!!"I heard her scream as blood started to spurt out of my mouth

"Awe how cute." that bitch's voice rang out again in mock compassion "such a noble sacrifice but all of it was for not" she ended with sadistic pleasure as more bandits started to approach us

I guess I failed.

This is how I die.

How the princess dies.

"hey you guys doing some weird stuff in here?" a familiar voice called out I snapped my head to the side seeing the familiar figure of an elf

Wait was he…

"man you guys started *hic*the fun without me!"

Was he drunk?!