Silence

The men dressed in black stood with jaws dropped at the sight that just occurred. A bright light stole away their target and exuded a great force on them that forced them to stay still. They were unable to move, unable to speak, only able to watch. Only when the light vanished, did the men feel themselves relaxing.

"My, my lord, what was that?" One man stammered. "My lord?"

The man turned to look at his lord in confusion. The man he had sworn his allegiance to always had one expression on his face. It was lukewarm, a gentle insincere smile plastered all over his face. Yet now, that man had lost his smile, staring blankly at where the light once more, tears trickled down his expressionless face.

"…There's no one left. No one." Matthias wiped his tears away with his sleeve and turned to face his subordinates. "Gather." He coldly ordered.

"Yes, my lord!" Each man knelt down in front of Matthias and awaited his orders.

"Ben. You've acted without my orders; how should I punish you?" Matthias smiled innocently and asked with a naïve expression.

"M-my lord, he disrespected you, he, he de-deserved to die." Ben nervously reasoned. "Lord, you've already granted him an extra year of life. Yet, he so ungraciously spoke to you like a criminal! Such a man does not deserve your kindness!"

The only reply Matthias gave to him was a cold stare. He finished his chant and created a flaming spear. "Die."

The spear pierced through the begging man's chest. It went in through the front and came out through the back. Ben didn't even bleed. His heart cauterised by the intense heat, the lack of circulation, his cause of death.

"L-lord." Ben managed his utter before he kicked the bucket. His face the very depiction of disbelief.

The remaining men who were all kneeling before Matthias displayed shock but none dared to question Matthias.

The smiling man twirled the spear of fire around in the air and glanced over at his servants. "Do you know why I killed him?"

The servant he glanced at nervously spoke. "He overstepped his boundaries and acted without consulting my lord."

"Correct." Matthias clapped with that same smile on his face. "And you are about to die because you've seen too much."

The kneeling men finally realised what was about to happen, but by then, it was too late. Matthias had already finished chanting the spell that he had secretly been chanting. Sharp lances of earth shot up from the ground and pierced through the men. Most of them died with a lance in his chest, but the others died under Matthias' flaming spear.

He heartlessly watched the brutal execution, blood splattering onto his baby face. Matthias didn't even bother to dodge and watched on indifferently. After the gruesome execution of his loyal subjects, Matthias gazed deeply at the sky where Dylan had disappeared.

"Have you gone to see her?"

***

"Dylan, your phone finally came!" Sherry reported as she took her shoes off at the entrance of Janine's apartment.

"Wow, about time. How long has it been since you ordered that thing?" Janine's voice echoed.

"A really long time." Sherry laughed. "It got mistakenly shipped to Austria a few times."

"That actually happens? Hahahahahahah! Your luck is really too bad."

"Urgh, whatever. Where's Dylan?" Sherry looked around and didn't see Dylan anywhere. Even Fir was nowhere to be seen.

"He got dragged out by Charlotte."

"Really? Then can you set his phone up for me? I need to leave soon."

"Why? Where you going?"

"My parents are leaving today. I need to take them to the airport."

Janine raised one eyebrow. "Already? They're not staying for Christmas?"

Sherry shook her head. "No. They did ask me if I wanted them to stay, but I told them to leave. They never liked staying in one place for too long, no point forcing them."

"Then are you going to take Dylan back? Poor kid's been abandoned at my place for too long. You should take your boyfriend back."

Janine had expected for Sherry to blush and deny it but instead she just smiled and shook her head.

"He's not boyfriend, we're just friends. My parents don't like him living at our place either. It's best he stays here until he gets a house."

"…Did something happen?" Janine asked after sensing something amiss.

Sherry paused before shaking her head. "No, why?"

"It's nothing. I won't be seeing you off." Janine plopped back onto the couch and lazily said.

"Okay. Bye." Sherry waved her goodbye and left.

"Damn, you might really get rejected now, Dylan." Janine muttered to herself once Sherry was gone. "Argh, whatever. It's better to get it over and done with. Once his heart is broken, he'll move on. At most, he'll cry for a few days. When the time comes, there's nothing a bit of vodka can't fix."

***

Later that day, Sherry dropped her parents off at the airport. She got out the car and gave them one final hug before they departed.

"(Have a safe trip.)" She said.

"(Say bye to your boyfriend for me.)" An teased with a smile.

"(Ma, he's not my boyfriend. We're just friends.)" Sherry denied with a sad smile.

Ping frowned. "(Why are you lying to yourself? That's the worst thing you can do. Listen to what your heart says, Shi Ming, or you will regret it.)"

"(Don't reject him just because of us. We don't blame you for sheltering him anymore. You can do whatever you want.)" An added.

"…" Sherry remained silent.

The couple sighed and said their farewells.

"(That child, seriously. Why is she so slow when it comes to romance?)"

"(Who does she take after? I chased after you as soon as I laid my eyes on you.)" Ping kissed An's forehead and said.

"(Oh, you.)" An giggled and playfully slapped Ping on the chest. "(She's not that dumb. She'll eventually see how much he cares for her.)"

"(Humph, if he makes her cry, he'll pay!)"

Ping and An chose to stand by the sidelines and watch how everything turned out. From the looks of it, it was obvious that they already approved of Dylan. To have gotten on their good sides after only 2 meetings, Dylan's charisma was really something to be feared.

-----

Author: I don't really have anything to say. Hmm, Dylan, strip!

Dylan: Wha-, hey! What does your boredom have to do with me?

Author: You've haven't stripped in a while. Gotta give some fan service. Oh, and make sure you say the magic words too, then I'll give you back your shirt.

Dylan, shirtless, red faced, impeccable abs bare: P-Please review the story. Author is sad because the rating doesn't show.

Author: Hey! TMI

Dylan: Shirt!

Author: Grrrrrrr, here you go.