The Father's Treasure

The declarations made by the knight fell like a lightning bolt on Demitri, rendering all his senses numb.

He stood dumbfounded with his head bowed with dolour and remorse, rooted to his place.

Demitri never imagined his decision would impact others in such a way that even if he wanted, he would not be adept enough to do anything for his redemption.

He never wished for his only friend and trusted compadre to be executed in his place; Evander was not even aware of the consensus taken by him after witnessing the gravity of the situation.

He was the only one who stood by his side through thick and thin after the demise of his parents, as he did not even have any relatives who could take responsibility for his well-being.

He and Evander were commoners who crafted their way towards high society, having no one else to rely on except each other.

Evander's execution, along with the inhuman massacre of his servants and the demise of his wife, put a heavy weight on his heart, and even breathing seemed unbearable for him.

Demitri fell to his knees with his head still bowed as if resigning his fate into the hands of the knight who stood glaring at him with a scowl and clenched fists.

"So you accept it was your selfish desire and the existence of your dammed daughter that brought everyone else to the doom's gate. It is high time that you both pay for the sins commenced by you with your filthy blood," said the knight while gritting his teeth in rage and clenching the hilt of his sword.

Demitri, who was lost in anguish and guilt, suddenly came back to his senses as a pair of amber orbs flashed in front of his eyes.

"You have every reason to curse me for everything that has happened but not my child, as it was my selfish desire to keep her alive," said Demitri.

"If you want to condemn, then it should be the emperor has been blinded by his obsessiveness to protect the throne, for which he deemed my unborn child as cursed because of a single prophecy and pushed everyone to a place of no return for his selfishness," said Demitri as he stood up to his feet.

"So you still do not own up to the sins you have committed, very..... well..., then I shall make you pay for them by slitting your and your sinned daughter's throat right here and now," commented Idarus as he unsheathed his sword and pointed in Demitri's direction.

"Young man, I understand that you have been profoundly agonised by events of the past, but believe me, this much resentment will consume all your rationality, and in the end, you will be left with nothing but an empty shell," he took a pause and then again continued.

"For the sake of your mentor, who was not only my comrade but also a brother, I shall spare your life, and we will never encounter again. My daughter and I would abandon this region with the first indication of dawn. Afterwards, you can report to the royal palace about our presence," pleaded Demitri with the minutest of hope.

"Enough!!! Do not deviate from the sole reason why all things went downhill in the first place. Your daughter is the root cause of all the chaos, and tonight, I shall foremost kill you and then end her life," hollered the knight with fury while swinging the sword in his direction.

Owning to his keen reflexes, Demitri immediately grabbed a shovel from behind and defended the strike.

Idarus took several powerful strokes but could not impart a scratch on him.

Soon, both of them engaged in unceasing combat, unaware of a pair of curious eyes perceiving the entire scenario from the small window of the house.

Mellisent gawked at the event with wonderment while stretching her calves as she stood on a dingy chair.

The occasional clanking of the sword sent a shiver down her spine.

She wondered why that odd man was warring with her father. She heard the bits of their conversation, through which she deduced that the man with that giant sword was enraged at her father.

She witnessed how her father defended himself with the shovel and internally prayed for his victory.

Suddenly, she saw her father stumbling on his feet and falling to the ground while hitting his back.

She saw him reflecting the attack with vast trammel and heard a loud crack as the shovel he was shielding himself with broke into two pieces.

Mellisent immediately jumped from the chair and dashed for the door; she turned the knob and bolted out of the house towards the backyard.

Demitri, though with the splintered weapon, effectively shielded himself even though he was shoved to his back, flat against the ground.

He estimated that it was a matter of a few seconds before he could get aid from that pesky shovel, as it was like a twig in front of that massive blade.

Abruptly, Dimitri heard a loud shriek and a cold shiver ran down his spine.

At once, both he and Idarus momentarily stopped in the midst of their combat.

It was his daughter's frightened call for him. He wondered why his daughter never listened to him and now was heading for the lion's den.

"I wonder if the heavens are on my side today as the lamb itself came on her own for the slaughter, I shall hastily slay you right now, commander, so that I can soon get rid of her and get done with my business right here," spitted the knight as he attacked again with a new profound vigour.

"You will not touch a single strand of her hair; I would not let you accomplish that!!!" stated Demitri as he applied more pressure to protect himself. He knew he did not have much time before that battered shovel shattered.

Demitri holloed at the top of his lungs for his daughter to hear, "Melli, my child, you recall the trunk which is kept beneath the bed, drag it out, open it and bring 'Father's treasure' from it!!!"

He waited for his daughter's response while he kept pushing the knight back, but even after a few moments, he could not hear her voice.

"Are you even listening to me, chipmunk.....? Go.... leave for it right this instant and bring it back for your father!!!!" he shouted again in hopes for her to listen.

Mellisent, who was horrified and shivering throughout the whole ordeal, came back to her senses and, with great effort, uttered while stuttering, "Y..e..s ffaa..th..er." Pivoting on her heels, she hurried towards their dwelling.

She entered the house and immediately sprinted in the direction of the bed.

Mellisent dragged the massive body of metal from below the bedding and unlatched the trunk. Inside, she saw a gigantic sword enclasped inside the sheath made up of quality metal.

The entire weapon was about 160 daptolo and 5.6 abastus, which was even lengthier than her self.

She pulled forward all her strength and lifted the sword, and she dragged it out of the hut while huffing.

Unfortunately, as Mellisent reached the backyard, the scene unfolding in front of her eyes caused her to drop the sword.

She yelled a deafening "faaaaaathheeerrr!!!!" after sighting her father's bleeding head while the knight's blade inched towards his throat.

She dashed towards them and picked up a cobble from the sidelines, and aimed it towards the knight's face. It hit straight at his left eye, which caused him to lose his concentration while he staggered a bit.

Mellisent ran in his direction, jumped at him and bit the exposed part of his wrist with tremendous pressure while dangling against his arm.

Idarus winched at the piercing pain against his skin and flicked his wrist, promptly causing Mellisent to fall a few inches away from them while hitting her head on the surface.

He turned around and glared at her with hatred that ran deep inside his veins and marched in her direction, intending to slit her throat.

He raised his sword high towards the shivering and paled body of the child as frail as a leaf and took his aim, but before it could hit his target, his blade was faced with obstruction and a loud clank.

Standing in front of him was raging Demitri with his sword drawn out and ready for the strike.

He trusted his daughter to the side while his sword collided with that of Idarus. Demitri combated with agility like the martial artist he was.

Demitri pushed back Idarus with impeccable swiftness causing him to stumble backwards while clenching his teeth.

The clattering of two huge swords could be heard in the dead of night amidst the distant melodies of the ongoing festivities inside the village.

Both blades shimmered under the luminous veil of the moonlight, which would have enchanted the onlookers.

Mellisent shut her eyes tightly while bringing her feet close to her chest and covering her ears with her palms as the clanging of swords reverberated inside her head.

Demitri and Idarus both clashed with each other with the purpose of ending each other's life. Idarus pierced his sword at Demitri's side and aimed for another fatal attack.

The once commander, who did not want to stain his hands with the blood of his comrade's accomplice, knew that if he did not put an end to his life right this instant, the person would not bat an eye before slitting his throat and ending his daughter's life.

With melancholy seeping deep in his bones, Demitri dodged the attack aimed at his heart, spun on his heels and slit Idarus's throat with a single stroke.

The sword fell from Idarus's hand while he fell to his knees; he clasped his throat tightly while blood spilt in between the gaps of his fingers.

He coughed while the thick red liquid dripped from the side of his mouth and spoke with considerable strain, "Y...ouuu haav..e mana...ged to saa..ve your..sel..f thi..is tim..e buttt th..er.e w..ill com..e a time wh..en y..ou wil..lll pay f..or your sin..s," saying this Idarus took his last breath while his soul departed from his body for an unknown journey in the abyss.

[ Measurement Used;

1 daptolo = 1 cm

1 abastus = 1 pound ]