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After about twenty minutes of trying to convince Palmo he'll be alright, Ryker managed to finally make it outside out of the shop. News was out about how citizens from the other towns and villages of Norad were losing population at a rapid pace. Hell, even the city of Selphia was having its population threatened. Not to mention recently, Martin himself has gone missing. As much as Ryker found Martin irritating, he couldn't help but worry if he was okay. He didn't tell anyone, but the main reason he sits by the trees at the town entrance is because he hopes he'll be able to scout out Martin in a way. "Maybe I should go check the mines..." The albino thought aloud to himself. His walking slowly turned into a jog which eventually paced into full-scale sprinting. He slowed down as the mine entrance came into view, "MARTIN!!!" Ryker screamed. No response. Ryker walked into the mines, cautiously looking around, "MMMAAAAAAARRRRTTTIIIIIINNNNN!!!!!!!" Ryker screamed again, all he got back was his echo.

The halfling sighed and ran deeper into the mines, still calling out for the apprentice blacksmith. Ryker was concerned that there were no monsters like there usually are, but shook it off guessing that Martin must have taken care of them. As Ryker went a bit further he found a thin train of blood going further ahead. Slightly nervous but also deeply concerned, Ryker put his hands on the hilt of his blades and crept forward. He ended up coming across a hole in the ground leading to a lower level of the mines. There was a rope that Ryker assumed was put there by Martin. He climbed down it and continued following the trail of blood. When he reached the end of the trail, he looked up and gasped in shock. At the end of the trail was Martin, lying limply on the ground, breathing heavy. His eyes were half-lidded and tear-stricken. He had a thin line of blood that went from his lips to his chin.

Ryker, wide-eyed with shock, quickly went and kneeled to Martin's side. He placed a hand on Martin's arm, "H-hey, are you okay?" He asked in a low voice. Martin weakly looked up at Ryker, "I-it... h-hurts..." He strained. It was then the halfling noticed a deep wound on Martin's shin. Starting to panic, Ryker swallowed and tried to calm himself, "Okay... okay... alright. I got you, okay? I got you. Agh, uh... uhm. Ah shit what do I do?! What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" His anxiety was getting the best of him, tears welled up in his eyes as memories of his past resurfaced. The more he looked at the grey-haired man's suffering, the more helpless he felt, the more he panicked, the more he got scared, the more he remembered. "I don't know. I don't know what to do. I don't know... I don't know... I don't know... I don't know... Why am I so useless? Useless, useless, useless, useless, useless. That's all I can ever be!" Ryker sobbed, tears flowing down his cheeks as he sat there helplessly looking at his rival in agony.

"Why? Why couldn't I just be useful. I don't know what to do... WHY?!" Ryker sobbed into Martin's chest, incoherent mumbling that sounds like repeated apologies. A while later, Ryker had stopped sobbing and, still resting his head on Martin's chest, listened closely to his rival's heartbeat, slowly running his fingers through his hair. Martin's breathing had steadied now and his eyes were closed. His heartbeat was alright. Just then, Ryker heard footsteps approaching. Sitting up, alert, he quickly stood up and drew his blades, his fear and anxiety still present. From the shadows the footsteps came from. They got closer. Closer. Oh so very close. So close, Ryker knew whatever it was, they were right in front of him. It was Alice! Ryker sighed in relief and sheathed his blades, "Y-you scared me, Alice!" He scolded, his voice quivering. "Sorry," Alice apologized, she then noticed Martin, "OHMIGOSH! MARTIN ARE YOU OKAY?!" She quickly kneeled down to Martin's side.

Pulling out a healing herb and some bandages from her bag, she wrapped up his wounds and, placing his head on her lap, plucked the leaves from the herb piece by piece and fed it to the young man slowly. She kissed him on the forehead and smiled. "T-th-thank... y-you..." He whispered, "Shhh, you mustn't talk, you need to rest! But... you're welcome. It's what friends are for!" She smiled gently. Ryker stood there, his feeling of helplessness getting worse along with the added feelings of embarrassment and shame. Alice just came here and already knew what to do, while Ryker had a panic attack and couldn't do anything. Ryker bit his lip and hung his head in shame as Alice stood up, doing her best to hold Martin in her arms. Ryker wanted to offer to carry him for her but he kept quiet. 'You should've been done that, fucking retard.' Ryker thought, 'This is why no one likes you! You're lazy, you can't do anything, even if you tried, you're stupid, worthless, a big fucking crybaby. You can't do ANYTHING right!' Ryker felt that lump in his throat as the tears welled up again, 'Why don't you just kill yourself already? No one would care. No one would even bat an eye... If anything, people would celebrate your death. You deserve it, you worthless piece of shit!' Alice looked over as she heard Ryker's stifled cries.

As if reading his mind, she attempted to soothe him, "Hey hey, it's alright," She reassured, "Don't feel bad, it's not your fault. Not at all. You weren't expecting this to happen and that's okay. You don't need to feel worthless about it!" Ryker wiped his tears, and inhaled sharply. He hadn't even noticed that his lip started bleeding from how hard he was biting it. Alice pressed up against Ryker with Martin in between then, "If it makes you feel better, I was actually gonna ask you to help me carry Martin. He's too heavy for me!" She chuckled. Still not saying a word, Ryker silently nodded and took Martin in his arms, holding him so that Martin can rest his head on his chest. Closing his eyes to take another deep breathe, when he opened them he noticed Martin also opened his eyes now. Not completely but they weren't as heavy as when he first found him lying on the ground.

"R-ryker...?" The apprentice blacksmith murmured, "Yeah?" Ryker's voice cracked. Martin exhaled a rather hollow laugh while he smiled weakly. Ryker held the other man closer to his chest as Martin closed his eyes again, falling asleep. "It's okay. He'll be alright once we get him to Simone." Alice smiled warmly. Ryker nodded and they started back to the town.

Simone looked over at Ryker and Alice with a warm smile, "He'll be just fine! The wound isn't too serious, it'll heal. All he needs now is rest." She assured them, Ryker sighed in relief, "Thank the heavens for that!" He exclaimed. He looked at Martin who was asleep. The halfling couldn't help but smile at how peaceful his rival looked. He looked so much younger as well, it was almost adorable. No, it WAS adorable. Ryker stroked the side of Martin's face, cupping his cheek as he sat down on his bedside. "Get better, boulder brains." He chuckled. As if Martin heard him in his sleep, he growled and shifted his sleeping position to lean more on his good side. The apprentice carpenter stood up, "Well, uh, I'll leave him to you, Simone. I should get going." Simone nodded, "Alrighty, see you later~! I'll be sure to try and examine what kind of monster caused those bitemarks. They're not like i've seen before..." Ryker exhaled softly, "Yeah..." he replied.

The albino halfling left the hospital and sat down by the tree near the lake. He was glad Martin was going to be okay, but he still felt pitiful. "Not to mention I'm a little worried about the children. They loved to wander around and sometimes go outside into the forest. Right now, it's extremely dangerous. Then again, most of them are being kept inside by their family members, so it should be alright... right? Besides, I'm sure Martin just got ambushed by a Pom-Pom or an aggressive Woolie while having his head in the clouds like a true boulder brain. Nothing to worry about... right?" He said to himself aloud. He sighed and leaned against the tree, "It's fine. No need to get worked up!" He laughed. Ryker let himself doze off into a peaceful nap, not wanting to go back home just yet. Well... maybe he should have...

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 Ryker woke up around 14:38 (2:38 PM). He was prepared for Martin to come after him next probably. He got dressed and headed out the door. He didn't feel like eating, at least not for a WHILE after what he had witnessed last night. He walked to the center of town where the big Sakura tree was. The tree had a bloody M near the base of it, Martin. There was a chopped rope, Ryker wondered why exactly there was a rope there. He thought maybe Martin could have hung himself after... eating Ares, but then again why? No, he wouldn't be able to write the M then, it would've had to have been Ares that got hung.

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“And just who’re you two?” A rather young and teenage male voice asked in a demanding tone. Both men turned around quickly, ready to draw their swords. They saw a rather short, blonde boy who didn’t look any older than fourteen. “Who are you?” Doug growled. “A local.” The other male growled back. “I meant your name, asshole,” Doug growled back. “I asked you first, bastard.” The local young man also growled. They both continued to glare and growl at each other before they realized something. “Hey, wait, you have silver eyes!” They said in unison while pointing at each other. “Are you… a dwarf?” The young man asked slowly.

“Y-yeah. Obviously, you are 'cause you look like the stereotype with that short stature.” Doug teased, putting his hand out to show the obvious height difference. The difference wasn’t much, probably only three inches. “Shut up… Dou…ggie?” The silver-eyed dwarf guessed the other's name. Doug’s eyes lit up, “Wait… Zaid?” The blonde nodded, “Zaid.” He agreed. “Zaid!” Ryker grinned, completing the trio of punctuation. He then pushed Doug forward, closer to Zaid.

The two dwarves hugged each other, “You jackass, I thought you died. Now you made me look like a damn liar.” Zaid laughed. “Woops~” Doug chuckled. “Are you two familiars?” Ryker asked, putting a hand on his hip, “We’re brothers, yeah.” Doug nodded as he practically lifted Zaid off the ground, “Aah!” Zaid squealed gleefully, kicking his feet as he laughed.
The redhead put him down, “So what’re you two here for?” Zaid asked, pretty much clinging to Doug’s arm like a little kid. “Yeah about that, we’re looking for people that can fight in a war. No, not the Seches Empire again.” Ryker rubbed his eyes, “We have a decent amount of warriors in Sharance. Micah, Gaius, Raven, and then Me.” Zaid informed as the trio started walking through the town, “Are they busy?” Doug asked, Zaid rested his head on Doug’s arm, his arms still wrapped around it, “Busy with everyday life, heh. So no, not really.”

Doug gave a quiet cheer. They first went to the Sharance Tree to get Micah. They found the young man tending to his crops. Some of them looked ready to harvest but Micah preferred to wait until the final day of the season so he can harvest everything he’s grown the whole month. He heard the sound of footsteps and automatically thought it was Karina, “Ah, nothing much today just some grass and dishe- ah, Zaid… and… Wait, who’re they? Woah the redhead has silver eyes like you, Zaid! Is he a dwarf from your clan?” Micah was a hyper one at times. He switches on and off from calm to hyper every now and then.

“Yeah, I know. This is Doug. He’s my older brother by a year.” Zaid smiled broadly, not even embarrassed at how he appeared rather vulnerable as he clung to his brother’s arm, “I thought he was gone, man. Turns out he’s been living in Selphia, and I’m an uncle of three kids. Oh, and that’s Ryker. He’s a carpenter from Rigbarth. Doug visits Rigbarth a lot, so they’re friends.” He exclaimed, also getting hyper. Ryker could see why he and Micah were such best friends. Similar personalities. He wondered if Doug would get jealous. Or if he’d join in on the hyperactive squad. The taller dwarf grinned, “You look like a wooly.” He blurted out. He realized what he said, but didn’t take it back. Micah giggled, “Cause I’m half wooly,” He turned into his wooly form, “and half human.” He turned back into his human form.

“YOOOO THAT’S DOPE!!” Doug cheered, ‘Hyper Shortie Number 3’ Ryker smiled sleepily to himself as he moved a white curl from over his eye. “But like, serious time,” Zaid said, getting serious. The other two muttered ‘serious time, serious time’ as they also got serious. “What the fuck.” Ryker blinked. They huddled together, Doug explaining everything to them and Zaid helping to get Micah to understand. When they unhuddled, Micah gasped, “Wow, that’s terrible. I’ll help! Let’s get Gaius and Raven, then get to Selphia as fast as possible!” He pumped a fist in the air.

The two dwarves did the same, “YEAH!!” They cheered in unison. “And these are grown men. Older than me…” Ryker said to himself, laughing. “Shut it, alibino skyscraper.” Zaid teased, “Alibino.” Doug teased at the mispronunciation, “Alibino.” Micah parrotted in the same tone. “Oh c’mon, both of you!” Zaid pouted. They both snickered. Ryker shook his head, sighing, "Let's go get Raven and Gaius." The other three nodded in agreement.

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“So you’re telling me…” Gaius pondered, “That your friend, Martin, got bit by some… thing that’s unidentified and ever since then he’s turned into a bloodthirsty cannibal. He murdered your friend’s twin brother, Ares, and ate his insides, hung his corpse, and then dipped. Now, you think he’s on his way to… Selphia City?” He looked at the trio. They all nodded in agreement, Gaius rubbed the back of his neck, “Ah, well. Shit. That sounds mega fucked. All right then, I’ll help.” He gives a wispy smile as he goes upstairs, Micah followed after him.

They both came back downstairs a few minutes later with a red-headed girl with them. “This is Raven, my little sister.” The dwarf introduced. Raven stared then waved at them. Ryker cleared his throat, “All right, we should head back to Selphia now.” He pushed a curl out his face. Again, they all nodded, then headed out.

Back at Selphia, they waited for Frey and Alice to return from Alvarna. Lest had already returned from Kardia with Raguna, Ivan, Mist, and Zavier. The children were playing outside with Volkanon who was cheerfully playing hide and seek with them. Within a few hours, Frey and Alice returned. With them, Kyle, Barrett, Max, Jake, and Daria. “Oh, great, more humans.” Jake huffed at the sight of the other men (and women), he then noticed Doug and Zaid, “And… dwarves.” He noted. “Stop being an ass, Jake.” Kyle snickered, “Whatever…” The half-elf scoffed. “I got back early so I already got some others here in Selphia to join us as well,” Lest said, “Forte, Dylas, Kiel, and Leon.”
At their names, the four of them gestured a greeting.

“DARIA?!” Micah exclaimed at the sight of the blonde woman, “Hm? MICAH?! What’re you doing here, assistant?” She grinned. “That’s what I’m wondering for you!” Micah laughed, “Enough chit-chat,” Lest announced loudly, clapping his hands. “We are about to enter a highly dangerous battle. From the reports that have come in, Martin is a force to be reckoned with. He is still approaching the city and we’re going to stop that fucker with everything we’ve got!” Everyone clapped loud and cheered, “LET’S FUCKING DO THIS!!” Frey hollered, making everyone cheer louder.

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Everyone was put into seven squads of three. Four squads were posted in each cardinal direction of Selphia as a lookout. The other three squads were search parties that were to seek out Martin. Stationed north was Raguna, Mist, and Kiel. Stationed east was Kyle, Barrett, and Jake. Stationed south was Gaius, Raven, and Max. Stationed west was Alice, Leon, and Forte. Then, the search parties consisted of Lest, Doug, and Zaid as Team A. Micah, Ryker, and Zavier as Team B. And Frey, Dylas, and Ivan as Team C.

The first thing Team B did was head to Rigbarth (requested by Ryker) to add Simone and Cecil to the fight. With Simone being not only the mayor of Rigbarth but also a doctor and Cecil being an intelligent young detective, they would be great additions to the team. Team C went to check on other smaller villages to ask if they had possibly seen Martin (and check to make sure no one got hurt). Whereas Team A went directly to search for Martin in the woods that surrounded outside civilization in Norad.

“Stay alert.” Lest instructed in a soft but stern tone. Both dwarves nodded in understanding as they looked around frequently at their surroundings while walking. A few miles away from Selphia, the sun was almost ready to set. They all froze in their tracks when they heard a snap of a twig followed by the rustling of leaves. “Shhh.” Lest soothed his squad members quietly, “Stay still,” he whispered. And lo and behold, the rustling started again. But there was no wind.

Their eyes all went to the tree ahead of them to the right. Zaid gasped sharply, slightly thrown off guard at the glowing eyes in the tree. No face was visible, not even a body. Just eyes. Glowing hazel eyes illuminated dimly in the dim lighting of the world as the moon slowly rose. Calculating and rational, Lest stayed still, letting his eyes look in every direction as he thought of a plan. “Scatter.” He whispered roughly, immediately they all sprinted in different directions. Doug going left, Zaid going right, and Lest going north. The thing in the trees immediately followed after Lest (as he was the closest to it), “Oh, Prince Lestivan. How beautiful of a young man he was. Though not a royal by purpose, he had proven himself worthy. Oh, how wonderful Prince Lestivan was. So strong, so intelligent, so… perfect. Such a shame, a prince so young, a prince so lovely, died a death so tragic.” It grinned, speaking in a poetic tone. “W-what?!” Lest gasped, stumbling a bit as he looked back. The rustling of the leaves stopped but Lest kept running, all the way until he just barely managed to stop himself from falling off the cliff.

Panting, he drew his sword and right when he was going to turn around, he felt a force against his back as if someone pushed him. Next thing Lest knows he’s falling. Falling down a deep hole in the earth with no chance of getting back up. He was in so much shock he couldn’t even scream as he fell. He hit the ground with a hard snap, it was then he screamed. He screamed at the top of his lungs in sheer agony as his body jolted and shook uncontrollably. Tears blurred his vision as he desperately gasped for air. His spine had snapped, along with his pelvis.

He could taste iron in his mouth, and could even smell it as his blood pooled around him. Despite the pain, he did his best to evaluate his situation. He fell into a pit of sharp rocks, his torso was pierced through his back, and he could see his own blood, and even pieces of his insides, dripping off the tip of the rock as he realized he was stabbed deeply. He flailed, coughing and choking on his own blood, sobbing as he desperately tried to get off the rock, fighting to remain conscious. He couldn’t budge himself, he felt too heavy as the blood was leaving him, weakening him. His broken bones made it more painful to move.

He fell with so much velocity that when his body hit the tip of the rock, his momentum caused him to fall all the way down to the ground, at the shaft of the rock. There was just no way he was getting out. “FUCK!!” He cried, sobbing loudly. He looked up ahead at the top of the pit where he fell at. It was so small from where he was. Dread overtook him as he started screaming again. He was going to die here, no one could possibly help him. No one could even hear him. The pit was so deep underground, not to mention pitch-black dark.
Before he died, he whispered an apology to Frey, for not being able to keep their promise. To be together, forever. He thought of his children, and how they’ll now have to grow up fatherless.

If only he could have been better. If only none of this ever happened. He wouldn’t be here now, dying. His lungs collapsed, causing him to start suffocating. Tears streamed down his face as he struggled to breathe, scratching at his chest in a desperate need for air. ‘It hurts,’ his mind thought, ‘It hurts, it hurts, I can’t breathe, it hurts. Everything hurts. Why me? Why now? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?!’

With one final failed attempt to inhale, his eyes dimmed a dark shade as his muscles started to stiffen. His arms stopped, dropping to the ground as he stopped flailing. He was still, a single tear fell down his tear-stricken face as he uttered a single final word, “Sorry…” The last bit of oxygen he had left in his lungs left him in one shuddering exhale as everything faded to black.

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Zaid slowed down after running for he doesn’t even know how long. Panting he looked around, it was silent. Not even the birds and bugs made noise. He didn’t like this at all. He hummed in amusement at the thought that perhaps he was why everything is silent. But then a part of him is still on edge, thinking there might be someone else nearby. What if it’s the thing? He caught his breath and hid inside a bush, he was small enough anyways. A few minutes later, he heard the sound of rustling leaves coming from above. He didn’t dare poke his head up, who knows what that sound might be.

Slowly, the noise got quieter and farther away. Once it was out of earshot (and as a dwarf, he can hear 3x better than the best-hearing human due to his pointy ears), he slowly crawled out of the bush. The creatures in the forest came back out of hiding as well, chirping and buzzing and making their usual sounds. The dwarf hummed again, looking around before going back the way he came. Halfway there, he heard the rustling again, it was fainter this time but it was definitely very close. Zaid stopped in his tracks, his silver eyes looked everywhere they could. Once more, everything in the forest had gone silent. The birds flew away and no longer chirped, the bugs stopped buzzing and hid inside their homes.

He was being followed.

He went to put his hand on the hilt of his sword but was tackled to the ground before he could. “Get the hell off me, ya bastard!” Zaid grunted, swinging at whatever it was that tackled him, “You seem pretty fond of these arms of yours, can’t ever just sit still can you…?” A low male voice huffed. “Martin?!” Zaid looked shocked, the gray-haired male grinned, “Hello, little one.” He chuckled, “Fuck you, I’m thirty-eight, bitch!” The blonde growled. He managed to get a good punch in Martin’s face, causing the young man to jerk back.

He quickly recovered, clearly pissed off as he grabbed Zaid’s arm a tugged, “You wanna hit, huh?” He gave a black smile, “Ok, then. I can fix that.” He said cooly as he tugged harder on Zaid’s arm. The dwarf whimpered, not wanting to give in to the pain. With his other arm, he dug his fingers into the dirt as he squirmed underneath Martin. “L-let go, dammit-” He strained through gritted teeth. Martin hummed in reply, twisting the smaller man’s arm and tearing it clear off. Zaid gasped, his body shaking.

He didn’t want to look, but his body betrayed him, making him look anyways. He sucked his teeth as he looked at the mangled socket, fishing and spurting out blood. His whole arm, from the root where the shoulder ended was completely gone, tue bone stuck out awkwardly as the joint was forcefully yanked out rather than fractured like normal. He swallowed hard, holding back a scream. “You bitch!” He cried, trying to come off as angry (for he was). Instead, he came off as frightened (which he also was). Martin hummed waving the torn limb in the dwarf’s face before biting into the flesh. “Hm, are all dwarves this sweet tasting?” He cackled. In a rush of adrenaline, Zaid kicked and kicked until he thought of a smarter way to get away; roll. He mustered up enough strength to move himself, almost causing Martin to fall over but the man quickly caught himself, standing up.

Just then, Doug appeared. Not thinking of Martin at all, he ran over to his younger brother, pulling him onto his lap, “Zaid! Zaid! Are you all right?! What happened?! Say something!” He pleaded. Zaid shifted a bit, he could barely move his arm when he pointed at the former apprentice blacksmith. Doug looked up at the ash-haired young man with a scowl, “You motherfu-” He was cut off by Zaid tugging on his vest. He looked down at his brother, who shook his head quietly. He was warning him. Doug slightly nodded in understanding and looked back up at Martin, louring at him with deep contempt as Zaid passed out from blood loss. “I think I’ll take it slow with you. You seem fun.” Martin grinned as he turned to walk away. He stopped a few feet away and looked back, “Oh and your precious Prince Lestivan is dead.”

All the color drained out of Doug’s face as he heard those words, “N-no! You’re lying!” He cried. Martin hummed then he chuckled, shaking his head. He pointed over in the direction that Lest would be in, “The young prince, oh such a lovely young prince, fell into the chasm over there. Lots of sharp, deadly rocks and boulders at the bottom. Such a shame the young prince stumbled inside for now he’s dead.” He giggled as he bit into the limb he had in his hands, the blood squirting a bit from his giggles.

Doug scrunched up his face in disgust as he watched. He took a deep breath before grabbing the unconscious Zaid and running away, “How cute. They’re scared of me.” The young man mumbled, a cocky smirk on his face. He walked away, humming a song as he ate the arm he had, seemingly overjoyed.

Everything was going according to plan…

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When Doug had got to the entrance of Selphia, Raguna, Mist, and Kiel had all immediately flocked to him, asking him what happened. They got Zaid to the clinic as fast as they could while Doug explained everything that happened.

He told them how they had to split up and that he ended up finding Zaid with Martin and how Martin tore Zaid’s arm off (and is a fucking cannibal). When they asked where Lest was, Doug started sobbing, explaining that Lest was dead. He fell into the chasm north of Selphia and died. Kiel hypothesized that it was probably Martin who pushed Lest since Lest has always been known for having a really good balance. They all nodded in agreement. Later that evening, while Kiel and Mist kept watch of north Selphia City, Raguna stayed beside Doug as they walked around the city.

“Where do you think he’s going now?” Raguna pondered, “What do you mean? Isn’t he still going to arrive in Selphia?” Doug questioned. Raguna hummed, “No. He probably changed his mind and rerouted. After all, if he really still wanted to come here to Selphia, he could have just followed you. But you said he went east. Meaning he went further away from Selphia. I doubt Martin would miss the opportunity to get inside Selphia when he was so close to the city if he really wanted to.” Doug hummed, “Yeah, that makes sense.” The redhead murmured. “So where then?”

Raguna hummed, closing his eyes as he crossed his arms, “Definitely not Kardia Village, it’s all the way in the mountains of northern Norad. Rigbarth Town is pretty far but not too far, but either way, it’d be pointless for Martin to go there when that’s where he started. It’s either Sharance Town or Alvarna City. I’d think he’d go for Sharance since it’s closer than Alvarna. Besides, they have fewer fighters in Sharance.” He said bitterly. “What about Fenith Island and Trampoli Village?” Doug tucked his hair behind his ear, it was obvious he was really stressed.

“Uh, well. Those are quite far from us. Too far, in fact, it’s all the way on the other side of the kingdom. So they should be fine.” The brunet hummed, patting Doug on the back as the redhead nodded. It was then the dwarf remembered something he had forgotten a while ago, “Oh hey, Raguna?” He called softly, the Kardian warrior hummed in reply, “Uh, well… Just how strong were you when you were… y’know, still the known heir to the throne of Norad.”

Raguna pursed his lips, looking down at the concrete as both of them walked, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He murmured softly. “Well, talk has gone around ever since you entered Selphia that you’re the long-lost Prince Ragnarok who was thought to have been executed by the Seches Empire during the war…” Doug replied softly, “I don’t think so. I probably just look like him. But I am not him. I’m no royal.” Raguna looked up at the starry sky wistfully.

As the two sat down next to each other on the edge of the fountain in the heart of Selphia, Doug looked pensively at Raguna. “I think you are him.” The dwarf whispered, “You look like the Queen. Everyone knew Prince Ragnarok looked like his mother. I think you are him.” Raguna shook his head, “No…”

“Yes!” Doug protested, “You are him!”

“I am not.”

“Then who are you?”

“Raguna.”

“No, you’re not! You’re Ragnarok!"

“You haven’t a shred of proof.”

“But I do!”

“What is it then?”

“You look just like the queen, just like Prince Ragnarok did. Your name is only a few syllables different,” Doug did his best to explain it, “Think about it. Rahg-nuh-rock. Rahg-uh-nuh It’s too similar. You are him!” Raguna was still in denial though, “No!” The redhead pouted, “You’re coming with me and we’re going to speak to Prince Arthur. He’ll know! He’ll know! And so will Micah!” Raguna sighed defeatedly, he knew he wasn’t getting anywhere with Doug so he let himself be dragged off the speak to Arthur…

“Is something the matter, gentlemen?” Arthur asked. He then noticed Raguna, “Ragnarok…?” He gasped. “What?” The brunet scrunched up his face, confused. Arthur stood up and went up to Raguna, staring deep into his big pale blue eyes as he ran his fingers through the man’s ash-brown hair. He noticed his hardly visible freckles, and the permanent scar on the bridge of his upper lip that he’s had since he was born. Arthur took his glasses off, shaking his head in disbelief, “I don’t believe it. Ragnarok… Ragnarok, you… You’re alive.” A tear fell down the younger’s face.

“I’m not…” Raguna protested softly. “Oh, but you are him,” Arthur replied. He then pulled a photograph from the inside of his poncho and handed it to the taller man, Doug peeked over as well. In the photograph, was the entire royal family. King Gilbert, Queen Nadiana, Prince Arthur, and Prince Ragnarok. Looking closer at Ragnarok, Raguna had to admit the prince did look exactly like him, he even had the same scar as him! “N-no. I’m not… _’m not a royal!” Raguna stressed. “You’re seriously in denial. Just accept that you’re the lost prince of Norad.” Doug pouted.

Raguna trembled, “N-no. I… I…” The picture was enough to defog all his old memories. As they rushed in, he clutched his head, trembling. “But… I…” He gasped. Raguna dropped down to his knees and screamed at the top of his lungs, severely overwhelmed by the sudden rush of memories. Arthur and Doug kneeled down to support him, Arthur holding him in his arms and Doug rubbing his back soothingly. Raguna sobbed, clutching Arthur’s shirt tightly, “It’s okay, just let it all out.” He reassured.

“I was supposed to die.” Raguna sobbed, “I was a threat to the Seches Empire because I was an Earthmate that was in the royal family.” He buried his face into Arthur’s chest, his grip tightening. “They locked me in the dungeons and tortured me for months before they stabbed me in the stomach a-a-and broke my arm and they… and th-they sliced me so… so… so many times with a hot dagger, then they tossed me in the middle of the woods in Seches, and left me to die. It hurt… so much…” He gasped, desperate for air as he went into panic mode.
“It’s okay, Ragnarok. You’re… well I’d like to say you’re safe now, but that’d be a lie. The most I can say is, you’ll be all right. The war with the Seches Empire is over and has been over for years now.” Doug gave his usual goofy grin and stupid chuckle. Raguna peered up at Doug from where he was and couldn’t help but give a big smile when he saw Doug’s goofy look. His body calmed down and stopped shaking as he shifted in Arthur’s arms and nuzzled his neck, humming softly.

Arthur wiped his brother’s eyes gently, “If I may ask, are you okay now?” He asked gently. Raguna took a deep breath, “Yeah, I feel… odd. I don’t really understand it, but it’s fine.” He grinned. “The prince is back!” Doug cheered, bear-hugging Raguna. “Oomph-” Raguna grunted as he got tackled into a hug. He laughed uncontrollably as he hugged the small but powerful man back.

“I’m back!” He too cheered.

Chapter Text

“Don’t worry, sweetie. You’ll get better soon, okay? So be a big boy and show me a smile.” Ivan encouraged reassuringly as he bandaged a little boy’s leg wound. The boy wiped his eyes, “Okay.” He took a deep breath and smiled brightly at him. Ivan smiled softly, a tone of mystery in his pretty features, “See, Roy? You look better when you smile.” He praised him, patting his head, “Now run along, you should go back to your mother now and let her know you’re okay.” The man instructed, “Yes, sir!” Roy got up and ran (although limping) over to his mother, tumbling into her arms as his injured leg gave out. For a child, he was rather tough.

Ivan adored how gentle and affectionate Roy’s mother was to her son. Family was such a beautiful thing to him. Frey and Dylas approached him from behind, “Is that all for the survivors?” The twin-tailed princess asked with a soft smile on her face, “Yes, actually. It is.” Ivan replied. Dylas moved his bangs out of his face, “Good, we gotta get movin’.” He looked up at the sky. It was getting dark and they were far from Selphia. But they knew they couldn’t stay here or they’d just put the people here in danger. Frey and Ivan nodded and the trio bid farewell to the villagers and headed out. It would be a long walk back to Selphia but they had to go back.

Meanwhile, back in Rigbarth, Micah, Ryker, and Zavier were talking with Simone. “Mayor Simone, where’s Cecil?” Micah asked, “Ryker said we need to recruit you both.” Simone crossed her arms, “Ah, well…” She started slowly, “He’s at his house. He’s trying to investigate the whole thing with Martin. Do you think you could provide him with any new details you know? I’ll finish up here and meet you all by the town entrance in two hours.” She went to change the towel on one of her sleeping patients' foreheads to keep their fever down…

Ryker knocked on the front door, “Cecil?” He called out. No answer. “Cecil!” Ryker called louder. This time he could hear some clattering from the inside and shortly after the door opened. A short, red-haired young man poked his head out the door, “Hm? Oh! Ryker! Hello, hi. Come in!” He smiled, opening the door and moving out of the way. The trio entered the house as Cecil closed the door behind them.

“Who are they?” He asked, looking at Micah and Zavier. “I’m Micah, a resident of Sharance Town.” The blonde half-woolie introduced himself, “Names Zavier. I, uh, I’m from Kardia Village.” The brunette also introduced himself. “Oh, well hello, Micah and Zavier. Nice to meet you, I’m Cecil. I’m a detective… and Martin’s little brother.” The redheaded boy spoke softly. Zavier and Micah gasped briefly as their eyes widened at the news, “You’re…” Zavier looked a bit disheartened, “Oh…”.

Cecil hummed, “Don’t worry about it. I already know the entire situation. I’ve been doing some research as well. Still can’t figure out what attacked Martin in the mines but what I do know is that it’s not an animal. Nor was it a person. There’s no trace of it being anywhere in the mines. Regardless, Simone had the mines sealed off, I’m the only one with clearance to go in.” Explained the young man.

Zavier lazily nodded his head in understanding. “We’re gonna need you with us, Cecil. Prince Lest is dead, Zaid is in critical condition, Martin is on the loose. We don’t need to lose our intelligence if we want to win this.” Ryker spoke militantly, “I don’t know who Zaid is but that’s fine. I understand the situation entirely. It’s late though, so I’d prefer if we wait until dawn to leave.” The small detective started planning things out as he spoke, getting his things ready for the leave tomorrow morning. Ryker hummed in agreement, “We’ll be at the Inn for tonight.” “Alright, have a good sleep.”

×××

Cecil had decided to stay up a bit longer. He was so close to figuring it all out. Eliminating conclusions that he found evidence was impossible, he found he only had one plausible conclusion. His eyes widened in both fear and shock as he gasped, “No… way… It…” There was a brief gust of wind that came from the window in the next room over. Alerted, Cecil went to investigate it (though thinking it was just an open window). He entered the room and saw… nothing but a normal room. He closed the window and sighed, “Guess I’m getting a bit paranoid, ah?” He chuckled.

He went to turn around and was immediately struck by a taller figure. A piercing scream could be heard throughout the house but there was no one to help him as he was home alone. The tall figure came out of the shadows, revealing itself. It was Martin. Cecil sputtered up blood as he cried in agony, hands covering the slash wound on his abdomen desperately. “Sorry, little brother. But I can’t have you prodding into my business anymore.” Martin cooed, crouching down and stroking the redhead boys hair. Completely ignoring the agony Cecil was in.

“Martin…” Cecil croaked, reaching for him. The grayette hummed with a wicked smile, gently holding his little brother’s hand and kissing it softly. “Don’t worry, little brother. I won’t kill you. This will just keep you out of commission for a while. It’s okay though, I will take care of you, my precious baby brother.” He kissed Cecil’s forehead and stood up, picking the boy up and gently placing him on the bed. Ever so gently, he dealt with the wound he inflicted upon the young detective and bandaged it. He tucked him in bed and walked out the room, closing the door and shutting off the lights.

The former apprentice-blacksmith went to the room that had all of Cecil’s work on his case and picked up every one of the files. He went over to the fireplace and threw it inside, burning it all to ashes. Feeling his work was done, he left again without a single trace….

Chapter Text

Ryker was the first to wake up. Well, it’s not like he got any real sleep anyways. He’s had a bad nagging at the back of his mind that leaving Cecil alone was a bad idea. He glanced over at Micah and Zavier who were still asleep and got out of bed. “Might as well go see if the kid is awake.” He muttered to himself as he pulled his clock over his hair and tied the laces of his boots. He left the Inn and went to the otherside of the town by the edge where Martin and Cecil had lived together. “Hey, Cecil. You awake?” He called as he knocked on the front door.

No response.

Ryker was about to knock again when Fuuka had said, “He’s at the clinic.” As she ran by. Ryker blinked a bit, “Cecil… is… Holy shit-” He immedietly went for the clinic. He threw the door open in a panicked frenzy, “Where’s Cecil?!” He shouted. Simone shushed him softly, “He’s alright. I’ve already patched him up. He’s resting now.” She reassured, “Go up and speak with him if you’d like but lower your voice. His hearing is sensitive right now.” Ryker nodded, calming himself a bit before going up the steps.

When he got upstairs, he could see Cecil lying in one of the patients beds near the end of the clinic, “Hey buddy, are you okay? What happened?” Ryker sat down on the edge of the bed, delicately stroking the boy’s pinkish red hair. “He was there, I saw him. He was there. It was… It was late night, yesterday, I… I didn’t know… ” Cecil groaned, a bit of fear in his voice.
“...Martin?” Ryker guessed. Cecil nodded slowly.

The young man was silent for a while before speaking up again, “That bastard… He did this on purpose… Don’t worry, Cecil. Just rest up.” He gave a wistful smile before leaving the room. He met back up with Zavier and Micah back in the Inn, “Where’s Cecil?” Micah asked, “In the clinic. He was attacked by Martin last night. Fucker could have killed him if he wanted to, I bet he did it to keep Cecil from figuring out what he really is.” Ryker explained, clearly upset.

“Ay, man. The fact of the matter is, the kids okay. He’ll heal in due time so let’s just prioritise the mission. Let’s just pick up whatever documents Cecil had in his office room and head out. We’ll look at’em back in Selphia.” Zavier proposed. The other two nodded. They went to Cecil’s house to get the documents but instead, they found nothing. Then, Micah found a piece of scrap paper that looked singed. His face went pale when he looked over and saw a pretty large pile of ashes in the fireplace, “Guys… We can’t find it because… It’s all been burned.” The blonde said quietly.
Ryker went over to the fireplace and kneeled down, “There’s a few scraps but they’re unreadable. Ugh, dammit. Martin knew we’d come for the evidence so he burned it all.” He groaned.
“No.” Micah shook his head, “The paper is stale and the ashes are light. If Martin would have burned the documents, it’d have been recently. No, I think Cecil himself burned them.” He calculated, “But why?” Zavier asked with a blank look of confusion.

Micah let the singed paper fall on the floor, “Because he found something that wasn’t meant to be found. Whatever it is, whatever Martin has become, it was enough to scare Cecil into burning the documents for no one else to find.” The atmosphere grew heavy with ominance and suspicion but none of the three boys showed their worry. It was a long silence until Zavier shuddered, “Guys, my intuition is telling me we should leave before something bad happens to us and it’s never been wrong before…” He hugged himself, rubbing his upper arms worriedly.
“Same here.” Ryker said, “Yeah… Come on…” Micah agreed as the three of them left the village and went back on their way to Selphia.

×××

Meanwhile back in a house located in an abandoned old village somewhere lost in the vast forest of Norad, a young man was seated comfortably in a rocking chair, holding what appeared to be a younger male in his arms affectionately, “I will see to it that you are my most lovely doll of all.” He cooed, “And you will be my perfect and obedient little dolly, isn’t that right?” His gray eyes showed malice as his words were laced with venom.

“Yes, Master.” The young male murmured. “Good boy, you know your place.” The young man holding him grinned fiendishly, “I’m getting a bit bored, why not we… spend some rather romantic time together? I mean, why shouldn’t we? I want to cherish you like you deserve, of course.” The grayette wasn’t suggesting, rather stating his intentions. He stood up, holding the young man in his arms like one would hold their baby and went over to the other side of the room. The young man gently laid the quiet bundle in his arms on the bed, caressing his face gently, “You’re getting better with your behavior. You’re more calm… I’m sure you remember the consequences of refusing me, now don’t you?”

His voice was soft but the boy knew better than to take it as a form of weakness, “Yes, Master.” He answered in a shaky voice, “How cute. You’re scared~” The gray-haired male snickered, leaning over the shorter male. The latter looked up and was met with amber eyes, “Master, no…” He murmured, “No… no… please, Master, no… please…” The boy panicked, going into distress as the former took off his shirt and went over to the drawers in the kitchen, pulling out a rather sharp kitchen knife. He went back to the bedroom, brandishing the knife in his left hand, “Well, now. Why not do a bit of lovemaking together? What do you say, my sweet?” He grinned devilishly, crawling on top of the smaller young man.

The nameless boy sobbed, begging for mercy. “Shhh, it’s okay, baby. There’s no need to cry. This is love, baby, this is love.” The amber-eyed male cooed, stroking the younger’s hair. The blonde sobbed, “Please… I don’t want you to do it… It hurts… I-mmph” His voice cracked as he pleaded with the youth who cut him off by pressing his lips against his, “Shhh, shhh. Hush now, baby. You’ll be okay.” He hard be whispered in a soft voice, “You’ll be okay…” The other’s soft features slowly turned into a sadistic smile as he cupped the boy’s head delicately.

He pushed the sharp tip of the knife into his chest and cut long, deep marks down to his waist. The blonde screamed in agony as the older dug his fingers into the open flesh, opening it further. “You’re so cute~” The young man squealed gleefully as the boy squirmed, his body shaking in pain as he sobbed miserably. “I love you.” whispered the young man, gently kissing the smaller male’s neck as he cut more deep gashes into him, “I love you…”

Chapter Text

Ragnarok was out in the woods that surrounded Selphia, it was a moonlit midnight when he got the feeling that something was wrong. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, carefully and calmly looking around. The sound of moving wind could be heard but the wind itself was not blowing. Which means…

Ragnarok drew his sword, stance ready, as he listened for any audio ques that could decipher what the source of the sound was.

Nothing.

Nothing but silence. The silence was deafening and could drive a man to insanity if it lasted long enough. Ragnarok shook his head, sheathing his sword and passing it off as an animal. He sighed lightly before he felt something touch his shoulder from behind. “What…?” He gasped, quickly turning around only to be met with a blade through his chest. He doubled over in pain, spitting up a gush of blood.

“Sorry…” A soft voice whispered as the wind picked up slowly. The voice was so quiet and gentle, it could have been passed off as the wind itself.

Ragnarok attempted to look at his killer, but his vision was too blurry. Whoever it was, they aggressively pulled the blade from his chest, the sound of it being sheathed could be heard as the brown-haired prince fell to the ground, gasping for air as he bled out. “I’m really sorry,” The voice said a bit more clear. It was a male’s. He sounded quite young as his voice was rather high-pitch, “I don’t want to hurt anybody… But Master is making me… I’m so sorry… Please forgive me God for what I must do…” He pleaded forgiveness as he put a boot on Ragnarok’s throat, putting all his weight down, suffocating the prince.

The prince could faintly make out the details of the boy’s face as he could feel the boy’s tears falling on his face. His eyes widened with shock when he realised who it was but it was already to late, his lungs gave out and he suffocated to death. Right before Ragnarok died, he heard the boy say one last thing.

“I never wanted to do this, I’m sorry…”

Chapter Text

No one knew that Ragnarok was dead, not yet at least. It was early morning, Leon had said he’d go out to look for him. He had eventually stumbled upon the prince’s corpse. Shocked, he went to kneel down beside the corpse, letting his head fall in mourning for another lost ally. His ear twitched a bit as he felt something approached. He turned around but that ended up being a fatal mistake as he felt thin fingers wrap around his neck, the pressure slowly building. “Leh go off me-” He grunted, trying to wriggle free. Despite the person behind him having such small hands, they had a deathly grip.

Leon unconsciously opened his mouth wide, choking on nothing as he struggled against the strangler. “I’m sorry… So sorry… I don’t want to do this… I’m sorry…” The voice belonged to the same hooded boy from before, not that Leon knew.

“Please…” The boy strained, crying as he committed yet another murder, “Just die already… Just die… Die… Please… Just die…” His voice was very quiet. It made Leon sick to his stomach hearing the boy’s tears. He was the one doing this! Why should he be crying?! The boy squeezed harder, digging his nails into the flesh to close the throat further. Leon tried getting up, he could tell the boy wasn’t tall enough to grab him standing, but it was no use. He couldn’t stand. Whoever this child was, he wasn’t just some mindless killer. He was smart…

He noticed Leon trying to push himself up so he stepped on the beastkin’s leg, the front of his boot pushing painfully into his knee joint.

Leon wanted to shout but he couldn’t, he had no air in his lungs. The boy squeezed harder, drawing blood where his nails dug under as he watched the man struggle and struggle, his movements getting more and more sluggish until they eventually ceased all together. The boy let go of Leon, checking the pulse. It was gone. Leon was dead.

The young child bowed his head, pulling his hood further over his face. “I’m sorry…” He murmured before running away. He went to where he knew Selphia was, “Kill them all… Kill them all… They all must die…” He chanted to himself.

Meanwhile in Selphia, Barrett was having an anxiety attack, “We’re doomed. We’re gonna die. It’s coming. It’s coming for us. We’re all gonna die. We’re all-” He gasped, “Shhh, baby, shh. It’s okay.” Max soothed, holding his boyfriend in his arms. He placed a gentle peck on Barrett’s lips, “We’re going to be just fine, alright? Don’t worry.” Barrett shook his head, “No, Max, you’re not listening to me. I feel it. There’s something approaching. Something dangerous. And it’s not Martin, at least I don’t think so…” He sobbed cuddling into Max’s warm embrace.

“It’s alright, honey. Just calm down, okay? Breathe for me, breathe.” The blonde instructed gently, guiding Barrett into doing breathing exercises. The brunette slowly relaxed, coming down from the high of adrenaline. “There you go. That’s my sweet baby.” Max cooed, kissing Barrett’s face a few times affectionately. Barrett looked into his lover’s eyes, “Don’t leave me, okay? Don’t… Don’t leave…Please… Max, I need you…” It wasn’t like Barrett to act like this, it was concerning to Max.
But he understood. He pulled him closer to his chest, holding him tightly and burrowing his face in the crook of Barrett’s neck, “Don’t worry, Barrett. I promise, we’ll be together. Forever. Until the end.” He whispered, running his fingers through Barrett’s long brown hair.

Barrett nuzzled Max as he clung to him, “I love yo-Ah…” His face contorted in a look of shock and agony. Max’s soft expression faded to one of fear and worry, “Barrett…?” He said, he jolted a bit when he felt something warm flood his hand. He looked at Barrett’s back where his hand was.

Blood.

And a barbed arrow. Barrett’s breathing become more laboured as he whimpered in pain, “Wh-what… Guh-” A sharp pain pierced his waist. Another arrow. He let out a broken sob, it hurt like hell.

The hooded child appeared in front of the couple. Max looked up in fear at him, holding his hurt significant other in his arms. He pushed himself further against the wall he was leaning against fearfully. “It’s okay… I won’t take him away from you. You can die together. Like lovers should…” The young male murmured, the blade of a knife somewhat visible from his sleeve. Max whimpered seeing the glisten of the blade as the boy slowly approached him.

The body put a finger to where his lips were, “Shhh, it’s okay. I won’t make you suffer. It will be fast, okay? Please, don’t cry. Don’t scream. It’ll be over before you even know it happened.” His young voice reassured. He raised the knife and kneeled down in front of the two men. It was then, Max could see his face under the hood.

“W-wait… Y-y-you’re…” The boy swiftly slit Max’s throat before he could continue. Blood bubbled up in his throat, leaking from the corner of his mouth as blood gushed from his throat. He slumped over as his eyes dulled, losing their life. The boy then stuck the knife in the side of Barrett’s neck, causing him to jolt from the shock. His body also went limp, his eyes dulling as the smaller pulled the knife back, “Sorry…” He said his usual apologies as he killed.

He let go of the dagger, scurrying away as the blade clattered on the ground. He went to where Mist was patrolling, drawing his sword and dashing towards her. “Hey, Mist! Look out!” Kiel hollered, pushing her away. Though the child didn’t seem to care either way, he slashed at Kiel, slicing a deep gash across his chest. He then quickly spun around, swinging the blade as he moved. The blade went right through the middle of Mist’s face.

He retracted the blade and ran off to a different part of the city again. Shortly after, Doug and Alice had checked to hear what the commotion was. People were crying as people were slaughtered all in the city. “What the hell’s going on here?!” Doug growled. He drew his sword and Alice readied her axe. “Hey midgets, think you could lend me a hand over here?” Dylas grunted as he narrowly dodged a fatal blow to the chest.

Doug quickly ran over, swinging at the child. He missed but not without cutting a but of the boy’s cloak. Alice tried hitting him from above, swinging her axe down upon him. He looked up and kicked Alice’s arm, throwing off her trajectory. She yelped as she fell a different direction and quite nearly hit Doug instead, “Watch it with that axe, girlie.” Doug cried, “Sorry!” Alice quickly apologised, “I’m still getting used to the weight-”

“Just die… All of you… All of you must die…” The boy said. The trio had him surrounded. “Enough! Who the hell are you? You’re definitely not Martin. Martin isn’t short like you. Nor do you sound like him.” Doug demanded. Alice glanced over briefly, remembering that Doug had encountered Martin in the woods a few days ago. The boy was still. He said nothing. His head was bowed a bit as the wind kicked up, whipping his cloak around him. The hood made his face too dark to see.

After a long silence, Doug got pissed, “ANSWER ME!!” He shouted, taking a step forward. The boy seemingly turned his head to the direction of the dwarf before looking back in the original direction he was facing. He slowly raised his hands to grab the hood and pull it down. When it was off, he opened his eyes which were pink. His hair was short and blonde in a bob cut. His bags were a bit messy and his eyes lacked pupils. He had a scar in the middle of his face that was stitched and went over one of his eyes.

All three of them froze in place.

“No…” Alice gasped.

“That… That’s not really…” Dylas tried denial.

“Lest.” Doug said with anger. Not towards the boy, but towards something else, Alice could only guess he was blaming Martin.

The child standing there was a young Lest. He undid the fastening of the cloak, letting the wind pull it off of him. He had stitches seemingly all over his body. Wearing high-waisted brown suspenders and a white button down that wasn’t button all the way, stitches could be seen on his chest. The boy was barefoot, a broken chain could be seen on his left ankle.

“...MARTIN!!!” Doug shouted angrily. He knew it was his work. Only that bastard would have the heart to do something so cruel. Because he knew they wouldn’t be able to hurt their own prince. And he was right.

They couldn’t.

Chapter Text

Doug was shaking with anger. He hated that bastard even more than before. Why? Why did it have to happen like this? Alice pitied the child. As much as it hurt to even think about, they’d have to kill him. Lest was dangerous, a serious threat. She put the pieces together, already realising that this child was responsible for multiple deaths of the army. Leon, Kiel, Barrett, Max, Mist, Ragnarok. That’s six men, all murdered in a row by this one child.

It was a sad sight to see. The three of them would be in denial if they said he wasn’t irresistably adorable and had the most innocent expression on his little face which only hurt more. Lest doesn’t completely understand what’s going on but he still feels bad. Dylas gripped his sword, “Listen, the faster we get rid of him, the easier it’ll be to get rid of him.” Doug and Alice silently agreed. Their only issue was Lest’s agility. Even in life, he had been known for his insane speed, he was small, lithe, and a fast-thinker. It’s not a good combination to be up against…

They had tried and tried for hours. They were getting exhausted and they haven’t even scratched Lest, who was standing there unfazed.

“Damn… we… huff can’t… even huff…” Alice panted. She was the most tired out of al three of them as she had the heaviest weapon, a large battle axe. “Ugh, where’s Ryker when you need him?” She groaned, leaning on her axe.

Doug looked around, “We’re not doing anything. We’re trying to attack at different times which isn’t working. Both of you, come here.” He waved his hand in a gesture for Alice and Dylas to come closer. They huddled together and Lest sat down elegantly on the edge of the cities water fountain which was turned bright red from his killing spree.

“Listen, he’s fast. Faster than all of us. He’s also tiny. We gotta pin’em down. Alice, you go for a strike. He’ll obviously dodge it so I’ll sweep the legs and then Dylas can grab him, from there, Alice, you strike again.” Doug explained, using hand gestures as he spoke. Alice frowned, “I can’t murder a child. Even if he did kill about eighty people in the city.” She whined. Dylas sighed, “Fine, you do it, Midget.” He said, referring to Doug. The redhead rolled his eyes, “Alright, I’ll do it. And for your information, furry, I’m a normal height for a Dwarf.” He corrected. “Okay, wingless fairy.” Dylas shot back, “Dylas? More like Dy-More.” Doug stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry.

"
“Aren’t you two supposed to be grown men?” Alice questioned sarcastically, “Whatever, let’s go. I got my part covered. And remember, don’t make the plan obvious. Please?” She then stood up straight, lifting up her axe. She then ran after Lest and swung at him with her axe. As planned, Lest swiftly dodged.

Dylas went to grab him but Lest was able to weave his way out of the older male’s grip. So, they started the plan from the beginning. Alice swung again and Dylas attempted to grab Lest who dodged yet again. Getting pissed, Alice sung a third time and this time Doug tried to grab him. Lest was able to kick Doug in the throat and bounce off of him, causing him to fall right into Dylas’ arms who was positioned ready to grab him again.  He wrapped his arms around the blonde’s chest, squeezing him tightly as he threw himself to the ground to further pin him down.

Doug sheathed his sword, pulling out his dagger. He looked down at the child struggling below him as he kneeled down in front of him. “Sorry, Lestivan. You’ll be able to rest peacefully from now on, alright?” The child looked up at him, his pink eyes looking directly into Doug’s blue ones as the dwarf raised the dagger in a ready-to-strike position. The child looked up with fear, making Doug hesitate. “Do it already, Ginger.” Dylas growled aggressively.

Doug glanced at Dylas with a hurt look. He really didn’t want to. He closed his eyes, thrusting the dagger downwards. The sound of steel piercing flesh could be heard, followed by a long agonised whine similar to that of a puppy. Doug opened his eyes slowly to see what he’s done. The blade in his hand was deep in the side of the base of Lest’s neck. He opened his fist that was closed around the handle before moving his hand away. He felt himself tear up, he ran his fingers through Lest’s hair softly, “Sorry, Lest. But it had to be done.” He murmured.

Alice got down on one knee, her battle axe secured on her back. She looked at Doug, reading his expression. She reached a hand out to touch his shoulder reassuringly. He looked over at her to see her smile softly and give a light nod. The three of them all stood up and took a few steps back. Lest layed there like a hurt puppy.

Later that night, they held a proper funeral for all the pople that have died thus far, including Lest, giving them all a proper burial. Frey was obviously the most hurt as that was her brother. Her twin. Her other half. She had wailed that she could feel a piece of her die with Lest and Raven did her best to soothe her.

It was a rough night for everyone. Their numbers were getting smaller, they lost some of their best men and Martin still had yet to try with them. It all only made everyone more worried…"