Reckoning Amidst Chaos:The Sword's Reflection

It doesn't matter what you chose. You are the sword of this team, and if you decide that there is an enemy you wish to cut down, if you decide to point your blade at someone, then I will be the shield that follows you into battle. No questions asked, you just give us the word"

Edward smiles. "Alright then. Mrs. Muriel. I, Edward, of the kings of men. Swear on my name to avenge you and your family! I will not let what happened here go unpunished! Rest and know peace knowing that I live to do this deed"

"I thank you Edward of the kings of men… now…I can finally let myself…die"

The light from her eyes fades and her head falls

"Now, you really are a corpse*laughs softly*Rest in some sort of peace"

Edward turns around to face the others "Alright guys. Let's go hunt us a bastard shall we"

[Present moment]

[Raid of the Voices of Baron's territory]

"That's how we came across her and why I ended up crossing swords with you. I'd like to say I did this solely for justice and for her… but I would be lying. I also have my own reasons for wanting to kill you. They just pale in comparison to hers"

"Come on men. We don't have to be unreasonable about this. Why don't you just…um…um. How about you just tell me what you want. That's it, just tell me what I can give you and ill do it, that way we can clear out this whole mess"

"Ho? And what if I told you that I wanted you to suffer? *runs his katana down Baron's neck and chest* That I wanted you to feel the pain she felt? That I wanted to break you like you did her…What if that's what I wanted? Could you give it to me?"

"What the hell is up with this kid! Why is he so calm about this?... all the things he's saying…doesn't he even feel a little hesitant about taking a life? He hasn't spent that long in hell so that couldn't be what changed him, right? No! Its almost as if *gasps* that's it"

Baron grabbed unto Edwards katana, struggling to get a good grasp of it

"So, that's it huh?"

He said as he held unto it firmly, even when he started to bleed he didn't let go. He moved it slowly and painfully until the sword was pointed it to his head.

"I finally figured you out kid" He put on a wide grin and smiled

"You see you say this is for justice…but you probably just can't wait till you cut me down and gut me like a fish. You think I'm scum? Trash? Useless? You really do need to take good look kid. What your staring at is your reflection. You see I figured you out, and using someone else's death as an excuse for you to do me in… Oof, gotta say, that probably makes you just as trash as I am"

"Shut up"

"You can't help it can you? You, just get excited by the sight of blood, don't you? It's the only time things make sense in the world isn't it?"

"Shut up!"

"Your probably always fighting the urge to kill someone aren't you? Always looking for an excuse to draw blood but trying to subdue it because you might have to much fun?"

"I'm warning you"

"And what about your teammates huh? I bet every second that goes by your probably itching to take one out. How long do you think it's going to be before you stab one in the back huh… a couple more weeks? Months? Ha, ha, ha, ha"

"When a person dies in front of you the world just seems so quiet. As if all the senseless noise everyone made before was sucked into a void! And in those brief few seconds its almost like you experienced true peace! And you can't get enough of that can you!?"

"Shut up, Baron!"

"Come on kid, admit it! You know the real reason you want to kill me! and its not because of some whore! You just hate the idea that you might stoop to my level, you hate the fact you might be worse than this someday, you hate looking at anything that will remind you of what you are deep inside! So, you hide behind words like vengeance and justice, but really? You are just as sick as I am on the inside. Well you don't got to be scared kid. Trust me! you can't get any lower than me"

"Shut up! Damn it, damn it, damn it, I said. SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Edward forcefully frees his sword from Baron's hand with a violent swing to the right. He changes the position of his hand and prepares for a swing to his

"Haa, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. That's it you do what you've always known how to do damn it! Because for the longest time…No, probably from the moment you first killed, probably from the moment you first drew blood"

With an outstanding amount of force, Edward, swings his hand across Barons face

"You were already…a monster"

Barons jar splits in half perfectly

"Your mouth is way to big for your body"

He glares at Baron as blood spews from his mouth

"You… you don't know a damn thing about me"

Edward takes a few steps back and throws his back on a tree. He drags his back against it and sits on the ground. There he watches to make sure Baron dies

"Muriel, I hope you were watching? Your vengeance…is complete"

Wind whistles across the leaves and there's a small rustling in the trees

"Is this a good time?" A figure asked appearing above Edward in the trees

"I don't look busy, do i?" Edward replied

"Well, not to disturb you but… there are some stranglers who got away in the confusion. What do you want us to do with them?"

"I don't care what you do. I don't care how you do it, but…none of them. Make sure none of them survive"

"Are you sure?"

"Did I stutter? Make sure none are left alive"

"Alright then. Ill let the others know"

"Wait a second! Cayafaz, you saw. Do you think…I did…the right thing?"

"Whether or not you did the right thing isn't for me to decide. Like I said, you're the sword and I am the shield. You cut down our enemies and ill protect us from whatever the enemy might bring. Whether or not that is wrong… doesn't matter in this equation"

"I see. Alright then, Ugh" Grunts as he gets up as Cayafaz gets down the tree

"Let's finish the rest of them. Great-shield" he walks past Cayafaz and taps him on the shoulder

"Following your lead" he turns and follows Edward behind

The two get back to the camp site and alongside Ethan, Isabel, and Maya. They slay the rest of the Voices of Baron. The battle was well fought, but a battle filled with countless number of dead and slain. Many were killed, and many killed by Edwards hand. After the battle. Edward sat on his mountain of corpses surrounded by the other kings of men on all sides. As his body was touched from the light that spread through the fires, he looked to the emptiness above him with the blood of others all over his face and clothes and said to the emptiness

"Muriel, are you satisfied? Is your family satisfied?... No doubt they must be. This blade…has taken the life of everyone who went against you, who crossed you, who wronged you, who marked you. My blade has satisfied your rage and quenched your thirst"

"Indeed, I know now... I truly am the blade, I am the sword that will cut down any and every enemy or threat. I will annihilate those who go against me and against what I try to defend. For what those who have good cause try to defend and those who stand in their way. I am…No, We, are the ones…Who will erase them"

Everyone nods in agreement

"I like the way it sounds" Said Cayafaz to Edward, but Cayafaz also thought

"That's right, the sword that erases the enemy is what you are and I will be the shield that defends that blade in battle. After all, if the sword is broken the shield is powerless to stop the enemy and can only keep them at bay for so long. As the sword of this team, I refuse to let you die until our work is done"

The Kings of Men, after only defeating two teams from the top five prisons, have claimed the title of the strongest among the other survivors in hell, but have the kings truly met their toughest challenge yet. They are confident of their power, but little do they know that something strong grows in the dark, something evil and powerful, something that thirsts for blood, it desires the kings of men…it hunts for them but for the time, the kings of men, are safe. The kings of men will soon truly have their strength, hope, and faith in one another tested. For the time being the kings of men move to another location.

Upon moving to their new location, they discover the gate. After travelling through the skies for several days, the final gate, the gate to their freedom, the gate of their escape, is now within their sights... but only because of how big it is. The gate massive sized gate, as big as several sky scrapers put together and could be seen for several miles out and was also several meters wide. It seemed some had managed to make it to the gate's location, but the numbers were less than when the games had started.

The kings still wished to avoid meeting with people in case conflicts would arise. So, a less suitable apartment building, without light or water, was what they chose to stay in. They found an apartment that still managed to have a working door and decided to stay there for the time being. Inside the apartment, they found small pieces of furniture which they broke and used to start a fire at the center of the room. Gathered around the campfire, they sat down and said nothing to each other. After all the things they've been through, after all the things they could discuss, the kings of men seemed to be speechless and lost in their own thoughts.

Edward in particular seemed to be the most lost in his head, the words of Baron replayed in his mind like a bad mixtape. Over, and over, and over, and over, the words kept playing in his head. He kept on thinking about it as his eyes stayed laser focus on the fire. From a young age watching things burn always seemed to calm him down, so he liked to watch the flames dance as he tried to forget. The burning embers rising, the wind that made the fire move, the sound of crackling as the furniture burned and the smell of smoke. This calmed him down but didn't make him forget…since that failed, he decided to speak

"You know…This might be the first time since we were sent to hell, that we had this much quiet… first time we've had this much silence and space to ourselves, but yet we aren't talking. We've been through so much… we've been in so many battles… We have a lot to say to each other…yet we aren't talking about anything"

Cayafaz lifted his head and asked "Is that so? Then if were on the topic of our battles, I feel we should talk about just how many people it is we've killed and why we've killed them"

Edward was so shocked by what Cayafaz said, his eyes widened. So much that they looked like they would pop out of his head

"Why talk about that of all things?"

"I don't know…I felt like we lost something along the way…something important. Have we perhaps forgotten why we took up weapons to fight? I just can't help but ask myself some questions. I can't help but think about the lives taken to preserve our own"

"You know you can't compare us! They were scum!"

"Yes, but aren't we scum too? Isn't that why we ended up here to begin with? In hells eyes all of us are trash and scum no matter what for. There's no measurement to wrong in this place all evil is evil. So why did we take their lives from them? Did our lives somehow manage to hold more value in a place were all evil is equal? Did we do it in defense because we wanted to live? And if we did, why do we want to live so badly? Do we wish to continue to struggle? To suffer? Until we eventually become the people we've killed?"

The irritation and disgust towards Cayafaz questions are visible on Edwards face. Hearing these questions, he can't help but think of the words Baron said to him before he died. Lost in his own world all the other questions from Cayafaz just sound like muttering in the background…Besides one

"All of this gave rise to a question that's been inside of me for a long time. What gives our lives…Any value?"

Edward snaps out of his trance after hearing the question and after a brief minute of silence, he answers unconsciously

"What makes our lives valuable? I guess I don't have the answer to that question. I can't determine for myself what makes another individuals life valuable. But, I do believe that a person's value should be determined by themselves. How much value your life is worth is something only you can determine when no one else wants it. Maybe that's why we struggle…that's why we try our hardest and fight our hardest each day tying to survive for a reason we ourselves can't see clearly. Maybe it's all just because we want to know what our lives are worth"

After saying all this. The kings of men seem to be in better spirits than when Cayafaz started to ask his questions. Edward realizes he spoke without really putting much thought into his words. Tired of the conversation he stands up and walks towards the door. About to turn the nob and open it, he stops mid-way

"Cayafaz. I don't know what it is or how hard it must have been…but everyone sacrificed something to get to this point. Either they did it willingly or it was taken by force, everyone's sacrificed something… I think we at least owe It to what we lost to keep living till we can't anymore. Don't you agree?... Why don't you ask yourself and see if you find an answer?"

He opens the door and steps outside. Maya gets up off the floor

"Where are you going?!"

"Going to run for a bit, check the surrounding area, see if there are any enemies nearby"

"I-I'm coming with you!"

"That's fine. Your welcome to come. If you can keep up"

He jumps off the balcony and falls. Maya runs out after him

"Wait!" She follows him off the balcony and the door shut's behind her

"You think we should have let them go?" Isabel asked Cayafaz

"Edward is our strongest. I'm not to worried about him, anyone dumb enough to take him on must be prepared to die. Not to mention, Maya is with him. maybe she isn't as strong as Edward but she is decent backup. The two of them should be fine. Besides, with their speeds how long would circling the area take?"

"Ehhhhn, I guess your right" Ethan said

Just then, there was a knock on the door

*Knock, knock, knock*

Ethan got up to answer it with a little excitement in him

"Their back already? Did they forget something?" Cayafaz thought to himself

"Guess you were right Cayafaz, they are fast"

*Knock, knock, knock* Came again on the door "Hold up, hold up, I'm coming. Geez" Ethan said with a smile as he reached for the door knob

"I know he's fast…but even for Edward, that's too fast! Wait! Ethan! Don't open that door!"

"Huh?"

Ethan said slowly turning his head back to Cyafaz. When suddenly a hand burst through the door and grabbed Ethan by the face pulling him to the opposite side. The sudden burst of wind caused the fire in the apartment to go out so the room and the door were dark. Cayafaz and Isabel readied their weapons prepared to fight but they couldn't see into the area Ethan was snatched. Despite everywhere having darkened, the door was the darkest part of the room, so dark that they couldn't even see outside

"Ethan!" Cayafaz called out but received no answer

"Ethan!" Isabel screamed but received no answer

Suddenly they heard a groan of pain coming from the door and a figure walk into the room

"Ethan?" Isabel asked as she broke a cold sweat

"Gu-Guys…"

"Ethan!" Cayafaz screamed again

"Guys… we have to…run!"

At that moment. From outside of the building, what could be seen was the floor where the kings stayed on fire and the rest of the building going up in smoke