Eight Years Ago, Forsted.
Current Time Noon, Training Grounds inside Mikla Household.
Leight, 13 Years Old.
Inside, the grandiose house. There spotted a training ground. Made of pure marble and clay, the slight cracks which represents the decades they existed. Was still maintained by the Mikla household. So to say they do not have enough funds to replace another one instead.
*Whoosh* In a heavy strike Leight barely dodged at the sight of a large man, that is his father. Barely maintaning his compusure as he gritted his teeth, while the latter looked at him in pure calm, maintaining full focus on the battle.
The sword his father stroke is enough to create shockwaves equivalent of that with a heavy greatsword swing. Hegro Ausuddi Mikla looked at his son, huffed as he swing his sword once again.
"Too slow." A harsh comment, followed by another shockwave, clashed with Leight's sword with his father.
"Ghkkk!!?" He desperately held his stance, barely holding on as a massive force push him down greatly. Supporting another hand in the wooden blade, to reduce the latter's burden.
Hegro increased his forced. Unfazed by his son's condition, only waiting for his time to surrender. Leight's left leg gave up, on the brink of losing his stance.
*THONK* *SWOOSH* Thus the blond boy's sword gave away. Flew into the air as it's echo resounded in the stadium. With only Hegro's sword within Leight's neck.
"....I surrender..." He raised his hands, his eyes closed. Unable to look at his father, who was mostly disappointed and slightly happy that he improved. Though what was noticable just now was just pure disappointment.
"You've improved. You're sword play still needs more polish." He raise his sword, and then sheathed it with it's scabbard. Giving Leight a slight pat in the shoulder.
"You've done well." He offered his hand, gesturing Leight to hold it to help him stand up. To which he obliged.
"...I though you were disappointed." Leight looked down at the marble floor. His hair covering most of his vision, as it fell alongside with it.
"I am, however. You made progress, and that's what's important." He patted his head like a proud father would.
"You're mother is waiting inside. Go take a break for now, there is still many to learn." Hegro saw the blond woman quite far away from his vision. Waving her hands, he smiled.
As long as they had each other, he feels like they can overcome everything. Perhaps to him, that is all that matters.
He knew it better, he wanted his son to not make same mistake he did decades ago.
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Hours Later, Hegro's Personal Room.
"Mr. Hegro, I think it's time to take your medication." A violet haired maid reminded Hegro out of concern. Hegro hasn't been sleeping much lately. The growing anxiety can be felt even by her, she looked at her master. His eyes showing noticable eyebags beneath his eyes.
"....Give it to me." She nodded, grabbing the jar filled with white pills she recently bought outside. Going outside isn't as safe as she thought, fully monitored by those hidden in the shadows, watching every people's movement.
She opened the jar. Picked his pills and then gave it to him.
"The same as usual huh...." Hegro grunted, his head aches as he used his hand to ease it. Whilst taking the pills the violet haired woman gave it to her.
And swallowing it immediately. He breathe a sigh of relief. As he laid back at his personal chair.
"You did a pretty good job, keeping your lover and your son about your condition." She sat in front of Hegro's opposing seat, resting her hand within the said table.
"....I'm just...just nervous....that's all..." The burden, he supposed wanted to keep it himself, was now currently sharing it with his son. His hair unkept, he quit drinking alchohols years ago. He couldn't find cope with it.
Talking with the violet haired maid, does the job. Albeit temporarily as she is not there all the time. Though that's just the small part, most of the time. He vents it with his wife in the pretext of wanting to change this kingdom, albeit a half-lie and a half-truth, comforting him.
"And now, you're venting it all on me huh..." She twirls her violet hair. Her stern face betrays the true concern on the inside, she sighed.
"Keeping everything to yourself isn't good, Mr. Hegro. Unfortunately, I'm not your therapist. Though I'd like you to ask someone else, you only have me for now." She lands her hands on the table.
Hegro smiled. Having a friend to vent his problems are good, as long they, along with his wife can persevere. Maybe the path he so wanted to take for his family won't be so hard at all.
"....Thank you."
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Mikla Household. Nighttime, Training grounds.
"Don't do the things I regret Leight. It isn't worth the risk, and this is for your own good."
*Swoosh*
He's taking a rest.
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Present Day.
85D 17H 51M.
"Do you know the words "The courageous persevere and the foolish falls" Leight?
The battlefield, the once grassy plains plains turned into an almost wasteland. The malformed entity they fought minutes ago was dead. Only one of them though.
"The sheer ignorance I made in the past. Is probably the result of today's path." Hegro said, taking a break from the earlier spar he and Leight did earlier.
They continued attacking relentlessly killing everything they see. Even if they are heavily injured, they still kepy going. Only when their ribcage is exposed, is the time they go berserk in fear of their life reaching it's end.
"The foolish hid at the backs of the couragous, while the ones who are at the front sacrifices themselves for the foolish. Unequal isn't it?"
'Damn it!' Leight thought, the tables have been slowly turned, they are barely holding on to their defenses. Klover, gritted his teeth from behind the three, frustrated and afraid of what might happen next.
Very few ran away from the battlefield. Holding their very life deeply.
"The foolish never strives to become better, they only rely on the strongest before them. If not, an envy of not becoming the couragous angers them so."
"Ah!!! No help me!!!" After the shriek full of fear, a crunching sound occured. Small streaks of red blood spurts to the ground, another sound. This time to bones of the victim truly crack. Revealing it's insides in full view.
The attention peaked the trio, not too far away.
"...oh god..." The said body of a human, was crunched by the malformed entity's sharp mutated teeth. And then followed another and the final crack, as the person's life faded away.
"You cannot save everyone, save only those who are close to you." Leight became angry at those words, every living being deserves to live.
"But they have their own lives too right!?? Isn't it unfair for them to die horrible deaths!"1I'll just summarize this one, Leight in his younger days is a delusional hypocrite. And he still is today, though much more mellower.
"One day, you'll know when the time comes..."
The human was finally dead. In the hands of the horrible entity that was in the process of swallowing him awhole.
"You'll come to value your life as well. Foolish as it is...
And then the dead body was gone, the moment it was swallowed. Wriggling at the insides of the monster, as it's belly carved a face similar of that of the said human despair expression that was eaten.
"No..." The blonde man raised his hand. He's so far at the once alive person. It's skull exploding into pieces.
Yet he feels he's so close to saving him.
'Maybe you'll come to know your true ugliness. That lies deep within us.'
"...tch!!" The urge to save him. Or atleast retrieve the body... But he held it off, his lips quivering in indecision.
"....you have to let go Leight." Sharon held his hand. In reassurance and worry, she squinted her eyes. Still clearly tired due to mana exhaustion...
"....I know...." He stopped running towards the now swallowed human, his face contorted that of an ugly person
"I don't like that look of yours...."
"Fuck! Another one is coming! Prepare yourselves!" Klover reminded the two, those things are getting harder and harder to kill. No, they became smarter.
Atleast, that is what Klover assumed. They protect themselves when the other had fallen. Some even abandoned the fight with the others adventurers and knights just to protect their kin.
Small beads of sweat dropped from his face. He awkwardly smiled, this isn't going to be easy.
"Keep holding on!" The leading knight yelled in desperation. They were slowly losing, and Leight knew that. Expecting some casualties or even deaths to occur, well the latter already happened.
"¥$¶∆€}=℅¢=[^¶•]!" Their roars resonated once more.
"Shit!" The trio strengthened their position. Another four more anomalies appeared before them. Spilling black blood everywhere, as dissonance within their malformed bodies kept rotting.
".....Another round huh...."
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8 Years Ago, Forsted.
The Royal Auction, Current Time - 8:43 PM
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen!" The presentator of the stage wore a black suit. With a long black hat and red shirt underneath it. A small ray of light directed the man in black, presenting him to it's bidders.
"Another year, comes another batches of slaves we worked so hard to capture!!!" He clapped, the nobles too. As an echoes resounded the large and slightly dark isolated room.
"Right now- No, let's skip the introductions for today. But, for now you can only call me the "Black Trader". As for today, atleast. I'm the main host of this auction!" Another claps, of that of satisfaction resounded the room once more.
"Things are going extremely well, for we have captured a special slave. That, I expect will surprise all of you!!!"
"""Ooooohh!!!""" They are thrilled. For them, slaves are only seen as objects, a sex slave, a doll for their own convenience or as a worker and many more for their mansion.
"But for now!!! Let's start with the first one first! The special object to you all will be very last!"
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"This is... the first time you're here now right...?" Currently sitted at the vip room, the two blonde males look at the audience clapping.
"Yeah..." Leight doesn't like the feeling of this place. Not that it was hostile. It's that he can see the malice in the nobles eyes once they saw the slaves.
"...by the way, why are we here?" Leight looked at his father, questioned as to why he was brought here along with him.
"You'll know soon. That this world isn't as easy as you thought it would."
"Here is our first merchandise!!! A wolf demihuman male!!" The lights directed at the man suddenly disappeared, instead it's ray fell over at the small wolf boy. Currently hand-cuffed, wearing only rags and a small gray collar. It's lifeless eyes wandering over the audience looking at him. Either in disgust or malice.
"Tch... just a demihuman boy huh... Pass!!!" A fat noble, looked at the boy in disgust and content. It's ugly face, further amplified as his expression turned into that of a disgust. He spat.
"Well, if it isn't it the "Royal Pig" Igre El Solomon. What brings His Majesty's son onto this place?" The man in suit greeted the son of the current king with as much respect and with the most lowkey sarcastic way possible.
"My idiot of a dad told me that I can do whatever I want for the day, since I fucked those bitches senseless just recently too and I ran out of it. And here I am, be grateful for my presence you mere nobles!" His large body stood up as sweat was stuck on his fat body. He smirked at those beings greeting at him with fake utmost respect and gratitude. Though it is not noticed by him.
"I see, I see. Well if that doesn't interest you, for today, we'll only present the finest of girls for you to savor!" Though some of the nobles were dissatisfied at the "Black Trader's" sudden change. They couldn't go against the son of His Majesty himself.
"Hmph." Igre sat. Satisfied.
The man in suit cleared his throat.
"Please apologize for the sudden interruption, but for the day. We'll favor His Majesty's Son for the moment." Receiving a small grunts from the audience, The "Black Trader" bit his lip in frustration.
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"....disgusting..." A harsh quiet comment at the top of the vip room came out of Leight's mouth. He already knows how humans reproduce as his father always taught him.
'Only do it with someone, who you truly love...'
"I'm sure you already know the "Royal Pig" right? Then you haven't seen the worst of him yet." Hegro glared at the mass of lump at the other vip room.
"Then....!" He doesn't know what to say.
"Be quiet. They are watching us." Hegro quitely reminded him. He looked at his surroundings, finding some people in hood looking at him as if it was a warning.
'Why am I even forcefully invited to do this anyway?' He shook his head. He wasn't going to provoke them any further. Right now, he only has to play carefully.
"Let's just watch, instead of complaining. Keep your opinions later." Hegro patted his son's head.
"....yes father..."
To be completely honest. He was in conflict with himself. Things ain't easy, atleast that's what his father said.
"....here...comes...the..ist...slave.."
Seemingly, Leight was in his own world. To be the hero of his dreams. Does it have him too to see the ugliness of this shit-hole world? He knows, yet he vehemently denied it.
"A knight must protect it's people, it's race matters not." There came honor, from the words he read. The words that's always stuck in his head.
".....who.....li....bid.....th.....se....d......me....dise!?"2Means "Who would like to bid with the second merchandise!?" Yet his thoughts kept drifting further and further. To the point where his attention is only by himself.
'Leight.... have you ever heard of the words "The Foolish Prevails and The Courageous Falls?'
"....jus....ip.......alrea....dy!!!"3Meaning "Just skip it and show me the real stuff already!!!" Unbeknownst to him the "Royal Pig" complained rather loudly, but it wasn't enough pull him in the river of thoughts.
It doesn't make sense to him. Aren't they, the couragoeus supposed to punish those who oppose their morality!
'There is a reason I gave up my childish fantasy.... Maybe that's the reason why, I want to encourage you to st-'
"And HERE IS THE SPECIAL MERCHANDISE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!" The sudden yell snapped him out of his thoughts, his heart rate rose sky high as the dimly lit room became extremely lively.
"For months, we have captured this demi-human... And you know!! It's an elf!!!" The "Black Trader" hyped the audience, knowing that it's an elf. As an elf is an extremely rare one to find.
"Ooohhhhh...!" Their enthusiasm of finding something so exclusive, to the point where they could barely resist to raise their hands to offer a price.
"Now, now although you may find these supposed merchandise special. I'll just say it in advance, in case you didn't know.... The merchandise you are waiting for is.... fucked up in the head this time." Although the audience was left speechless. They still couldn't let this chance to be left in dust.
"Without further ado!"
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"Without further ado!" The blonde duo, looked concerned. They still couldn't do anything, yet. Leight, especially. As they wait for the red curtains to finally open.
Revealing a green haired girl, looking below the wooden platform. Trapped in a cage that's one meter per square long.
And they noticed something. She was smiling, whether it be that of an ecstasy or pure madness. Horror dawned the two. Covered only in rags with recently small injuries, compared with that of a slight scratch albeit slowly bleeding out of her system.
"I present to you, the elf.-" The rays of light finally showed the girl's full features. Her yellow eyes looked at the hungry nobles in curiousity, her grin widened further.
'New people!!!' She thought. Her eyes lacking a certain glow, that represents the liveliness of person, instead that of a madness.
As the audience finally knew her name....
"Leafa!"
