Part 1 - Truth and Lies
“End report.” Reaver forced out as she gave Ubel a death stare.
Ubel wasn’t offended by the stare and merely started changing up his plans.
“Hmm, those fox-kin did better than I expected. With three core necromancers dead and another heavily wounded, there will be more strain upon our enemies to control their army. At most their side has regular necromancers and necromancy initiates, so they’ll be forced to divide up the uncontrolled undead or keep them in storage somewhere. Add in the information we’ve gathered and our attack will go much more smoothly.”
If we had a few more of those priest bombers to change into bombs this battle would be so much easier. Ubel sighed inwardly as Reaver yelled at him.
“Those fox-kin died!”
“They didn’t die in vain. They effectively traded their lives to remove three kill on-site targets which in turn makes for three useless bone mechas. I’d make that trade any day of the week since fewer people will die thanks to their sacrifices.”
“You strapped bombs onto them and sent them to their deaths!” Reaver grabbed Ubel by his uniform’s collar, giving off a dangerous air.
Ubel's expression remained unchanged despite being pulled up from his seat, unnerving Reaver.
“I merely offered the choice to them as a last resort. They all agreed to it without hesitation. Blame me all you want, but weren't you the one going on about making sure they came back alive?”
The words hit Reaver hard, yet Ubel didn’t stop.
“You had the chance to pull them back, but you didn’t. You could have disobeyed my orders, yet you didn’t. Blaming me means you can’t live with the choice you made. If you wanna throw all your hatred at me, fine. I’ve lived with it all my life. What's one more person to millions of others? Now if you're done with your tantrum get back to work. if not, get out. I’m busy making shit into gold.”
Hands shaking, Reaver looked into Ubel’s dead fish eyes. She stared into the abyss with barely restrained rage.
She threw him down onto his chair.
“This isn’t over.”
“It never is until you're dead, and even then look at where we’re at. Now go send a message around camp. Tell them to get ready to welcome our scouts when they return as heroes. It’ll raise morale for them to know that they killed off a few core necromancers.”
“You're a monster.”
“And you work for said monster so what does that make you? Now chop chop. I want to wrap this up so we can focus on putting the finishing touches on the assassination.”
…
A little time later the scouts who risked their lives out in enemy territory entered the village. Despite showing downcast expressions, they were given a hero's welcome by all those residing inside thanks to the info Ubel had spread.
The village threw a party to celebrate the scout’s safe return. The celebration lasted through the night yet in the morning Agate was right back at making bombs.
“By tomorrow I’ll have these done for that bastard.”
Agate lazily spat as he worked on the core in his hands. Bishop stayed silent as he shaped the required formations, but Agate kept on talking.
“Ya know brother… I’m sorry I snapped at you. Perhaps I should’ve thought longer before putting you on the spot. So I’ve been thinking... how about we kill that shit stain Ubel after this is all over and seize control of the army.”
Bishop opened his eyes wide and looked over at Agate, who was staring at him while scratching his head with a smile.
“If you wanna live this way I guess I could take a step back and live under Urist. But that Ubel I cannot stand— meaning he has to go. What do you think? I think it’s a fair middle ground. We’d do a much better job than that snob who only sits around on his ass.”
Bishop put on a thoughtful expression as he stared into Agate’s eyes as if hoping to find something. Yet the only thing he saw was the harsh reality of a dancing, scheming light glowing brightly within.
Your words are tempting like honey but as usual, your eyes give you away, brother. For this new life I… I must harden my heart, even if it means cutting off my past. I hoped that you would think to change, yet now nothing can save you from death… not even me.
Bishop put on his best smile and laughed.
“Haha! What a novel idea, brother. Maybe we could pull it off, but we’d need to plan for it correctly. How about after this campaign is over we move on it. I mean, after showing off your bombs I’m sure a lot of support will come to you, asking you to take a high position in the military. We can work our way from there to overthrow Ubel, and then when the heat dies down we’ll kill the bastard!”
Agate immediately brightened up, “I knew you’d turn around! Listen here, we’ll…”
…
After finishing up their work, Bishop headed to his room to find one of his handlers, Vesi, laying on his bed. She was reading a book on knife tactics, looking as languid as one could be.
“I’m just here to remind you to think abou-”
As she was talking Bishop began undressing, taking off his robe to reveal his chiseled body. Without minding the woman lazing within his bed as if it was her own, Bishop threw his robe towards the side and poured himself a drink. The robe fluttered through the air and gracefully covered Vesi’s head
“I know it was all a sweet lie for my brother, but I don't half-ass things. Now get out of my bed, I need to sleep.”
Vesi threw the robe off, huffed, and climbed out of his bed.
“I was just checking, asshole. If you wanna share a bottle over it later, just give me a call.”
Bishop gave her a look.
“Thanks for caring. Now get out of my room, flat chest.”
A vein twitched on her forehead as she pushed past Bishop.
“This is what I get for trying to give a shit... I’d fight ya if… Whatever.”
Bishop watched her storm out and slam the door.
Instead of getting angry, the dwarf silently walked towards his bed, and numbly fell onto it.
He buried his face into his pillow and took a deep breath. A sweet scent invaded his senses, and for the first time in a long time, Bishop started to cry.
…
The night passed, morning came, and afternoon arrived.
“Here’s the last of them,” Agate smirked as he passed Ubel the finished crystals.
Ubel smiled and took them without batting an eye.
“Thank you for your contribution to the war effort, Agate. With this, I’ll be able to convince the other dwarfs and the fox-kin that your previous actions were all a misunderstanding. After all, actions speak louder than words.”
“Cut the shit, just make sure you pay me when we go back.”
“Of course! You can go relax now. Everyone else will handle the rest.”
“Humph.”
Ubel watched Agate leave with a slam of the door, and the moment the door closed, his face became expressionless.
Tonight is the night you die.
Part 2 - Assassination
Night overtook the day while Agate was relaxing in his temporary house with a bottle of wine Old Crimson had given him. The area around the house had been quietly and secretly evacuated under Urist's orders, so this section of the village was completely silent.
Wind mages, supported by Bishop’s formations, set up a sound barrier that allowed the Earth mages to move away the surrounding houses and create a wall of earth to set the stage and block any watchful eyes.
Within minutes the area was ready and all the heavy hitters came out to play, slowly surrounding the house Agate was in.
Urist stood with an expressionless face, his spear leaning against his shoulder.
“You all know why you're here. We’ll be killing a demon dressed in dwarven skin. He plans to tear down the delicate peace we’ve built with care, for he does not cherish the lives of his fellow countryman. He’s a danger to us all, and has already caused irrefutable damage. We must end him before anything worse happens. Preferable, we will capture him alive, extract his knowledge, and kill him quickly. However,if you are in any danger do not hesitate to kill him. Stick with the plan and we’ll be done quickly.”
Urist whispered as a wind mage relayed his message to the rest of the group, who nodded or gestured to show their acknowledgment.
“Since you all understand, let's begin the operation.”
Bishop activated his formations without a word, instantly locking down the house before them. As he worked, Ice mage Acar, and water mages Aqua, and Vesi began chanting, sending mana into the sky to create a massive ice lance above the house, intent on smashing it apart.
The stronger fighters, Urist, Valkus, and Snorri, stood alone while the weaker fighters teamed up in twos or threes with Reaver’s animals filling in the gaps between groups.
With the preparation done, Urist waved his hand and gave the signal.
The ice lance instantly dropped from the sky and smashed into the house with a thunderous sound. Wood and stone shot out from the place of impact, harmlessly bouncing off of a barrier before littering the ground. Most of the house had been reduced to mere rubble. yet the foundation, although fractured and shaking as if it could fall apart at any moment, could still be seen.
“Isn’t that overkill if we want him alive?” Zen asked as he turned to Bishop, who merely shook his head with a grim expression.
“That isn’t enough to kill him. It’ll wound him, sure, but we’re far from done with this fight.”
The ice lance, having stood motionless for a few moments, abruptly began to crack at the top before half of it exploded into chunks.
Bloody and with a broken arm Agate roared in fury, surrounded by shattered ice. Instead of his bejeweled robe, Agate wore a jewel covered armor that shone with a mixture of lights.
“WHO DARES ATTACK ME?! I SHALL FLAY YOUR SKIN FOR TEN DAYS AND TEN NIGHTS!”
Agate scanned the area like a wild beast until he noticed that he had been surrounded. Instead of panicking, he gave off an evil chuckle.
“So you shit stains actually have a backbone? Huh. I wonder what shape it’ll be when I pull it out.”
“Phase Two.”
Urist motioned, and like clockwork, the melee wielders began to move. The magicians cast their spells, covering the moving dwarfs in shields of ice and water as Urist enveloped them in a layer of origin fire as an added form of protection.
Snorri took the lead and activated her Slayer art. Her tear tattoos flowed along her body, running down her arms and legs. As they moved their color changed from black to cyan and the ink gathered together to shroud her body spots.
“Slayer art - Speed.”
Her long brown hair spread erratically as she launched herself forward and up like a bullet.
“Slayer art - Iron.”
When she was right above Agate her tattoos changed once again, this time turning gray and transforming into triangles. The shocked Agate opened his eyes wide as Snorri sent an axe kick down right on the top of his head.
Despite trying to shield himself with his gems Agate was smashed down into the remaining base of the ice lance, causing it to crack and shatter from the impact.
“Slayer art - Speed.”
Without hesitation, Snorri changed modes and kicked off the air.
As the melee combatants charged in, Urist looked slightly dazed for a moment before he shook his head.
Damn, was she going easy on me when we first met?
“I’LL SKEWER YOU AL— GAH!”
Agate screeched as Snorri interrupted him with another kick, sending him flying straight towards the far off earthen wall. However before he came anywhere near the wall the Champion Quake smashed forth with his axe, smacking Agate towards the right.
“Urk! WHY ISN’T MY MAGIC WORKING?! YOU ALL SHOULD BE DEAD!”
Quake whistled as Zen the Brawler gave Agate a fierce uppercut towards where Helga's summoned creature was waiting to bat him away.
“Bishop wasn’t kidding, that’s some armor we have to crack. I wonder how many hits it’ll take. I’ll have to get him a drink for shutting down that annoying magic too. Fucking mages and their projectiles.”
Unfortunately, Agate didn’t hear Quake, and a strange game of ‘ball’ took place as the dwarfs batted the helpless Agate, who had no way to counterattack with his magic sealed, around.
“IF YOU DON’T STOP THIS NOW I'LL BLOW UP THOSE CORES! I HAVE THE ACTIVATORS RIGHT HERE! YOU THINK I’D BE A DUMB FUCK AND NOT KEEP THEM?!”
Agate expected that the dwarfs attacking him would stop after hearing his shocking words, but instead, they kept hitting him around like a toy, with each hit cracking both his bones and armor.
Agate's bloody expression grew dark under his helmet.
“Fine. Burn, you fuckers.”
Agate pulled the gems out of his armor in mid-flight and laughed evilly.
“If only I could see the expressions on those fucker’s faces as they’re being blown up. You have no one but yourselves to blame for this!”
Agate sent his magic power through the gems, causing them to glow brightly before he crushed them into powder.
Smiling from ear to ear, he waited for the explosion to come only to receive a kick, then an axe, and then a greatsword to the face.
Nothing changed but the attacks continued breaking his armor.
“WHAT? IMPOSSIBLE, WHERE IS THE EXPLOSION?! GAH!”
While he was bewildered by everything he tried failing him, Snorri once again smashed Agate into the ground. Finally, after hundreds of attacks, Agate’s armor broke apart.
Urist grimly gave the order, “Phase 3.”
Part 3 - Goodbye Brother
Valkus and Helga’s summoned Angel, Balsker, dashed in wielding their flaming weapons. They had no hesitation and cut off Agate's limbs on the spot while Urist controlled his flames to sear the wounds shut.
Agate’s limbless body fell to the ground as he screeched like a madman in utter agony.
“IT BURNS IT BURNS IT BURNS. WHY ISN’T MY MAGIC WORKING, WHY DIDN’T THEY EXPLODE!? HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO ME?!”
Bawling his eyes out, Agate threw a pain induced tantrum, not understanding how everything could go so wrong. Lost in anguish, he almost didn’t hear the footsteps coming his way. Tears flowed down his cheeks as terror overtook him. In his irrational state of mind Agate tried to wiggle away from his impending doom.
He only got a few inches before he got a kick to his side that flipped him over onto his back. Agate’s blood grew cold as Ubel, Urist, Kist, and finally, his brother Bishop came into his sights. The fear and pain on his face warped into pure hatred.
His voice, hoarse from all his screaming, smoldered with utter fury and hatred.
“So it was you, brother. Now it all makes sense.”
Ubel pushed up his glasses and cut in.
“Yes, your brother was a big help in taking you down. He tampered with the formations on your robe so that you couldn’t use your crystals effectively. He told us about your secondary detonators, allowing us to change the crystals’ frequency. It was thanks to your brother that your assassination was pulled off without a hitch.”
Trembling, Agate looked at his brother, “Why did you do it brother? Were all the things you said about joining me mere lies!?”
All eyes turned to the expressionless Bishop who slowly opened his mouth.
“Urist, Ubel. I’d like a little time with my brother. Alone.”
“Since you’ve been of great assistance I’ll give you five minutes. Remember that we need him alive for a bit, but you can end him afterwards if you wish.”
“Thanks for the time but I doubt I’ll need that much.”
The dwarfs gave the two some space, and soon Bishop stood over Agate, alone.
“Sound Barrier.”
Bishop cut off the outside noise with a formation, effortlessly picked up the fuming Agate, and leaned him against a large shard of ice. Bishop sat down next to Agate, not saying anything for a good minute until Agate broke the silence first.
“We could have been happy, Bishop. We could’ve easily taken over this place. When did you become such a coward?”
Bishop, still expressionless, stayed silent.
“Nothing to say? After all I did for you, you betray the one brother you always knew. For what? Some snobs that are going to treat you like a dog? You're a bandit Bishop. Always will be. But now you're trying to be a better person? With how much blood is on your hands? With my blood on your hands? You’ll never be normal.”
Bishop, after being berated by his brother, finally began to speak.
“I’ve grown tired, brother. I’ve been tired for a long time. I had to wipe your ass every time you got in trouble. I had to kill those who wished for your head. I killed and killed for you, all in the name of owing you a debt.
“I can never wash away the sins I’ve collected, but I can atone for all the heartache I’ve caused. You could’ve too, if you weren't such a selfish prick. So brother, this is goodbye. I hope that in your next life you can have a happy family.”
Bishop got up from the ground, disabled the sound barrier, and began to walk away.
As he left Agate screamed after him.
“YOU BETRAYED ME YET CAN’T BRING YOURSELF TO END MY LIFE? FUCKING COWARD, YOU WILL NEVER BE BETTER. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE A BANDIT! YOU’RE NOT MY BROTHER YOU’RE A FAKE, A FAKE WHO HAS LOST HIS BITE. A…”
On and on Agate roared at the top of his lungs, berating Bishop at the end of his life.
Bishop ignored his ranting and came to a stop before Ubel.
“One last selfish request. Please allow me to bury his corpse back home. I wish to drink with him from time to time.”
Ubel patted his shoulder.
“It’ll be done. Now go rest and gather yourself. The day after tomorrow we will be finishing this war.”
“Understood.”
Bishop left, never once looking back.
Urist, feeling crushed by guilt, turned to Vesi, “Vesi, can you do me a favor?”
“What?”
“Since you’re close to him, will you walk him home?”
“I… I can do that. Even if he’s an asshole.”
“Thank you.”
With them gone Urist turned to Ubel, “I’m calling them over to see this.”
“Sure. It’ll be good for them.”
Those that had been wounded by Agate’s actions during the battle were quickly called over. Even the legless Tänzer was brought over to watch his final moments.
Ubel and Kist walked over to the raging Agate. Since he wouldn’t shut up Ubel kicked him in the stomach to knock the wind out of him.
“I’m going to make your death painful. For all the trouble you caused I’m going to make you scream like a pig in your final moments. Because of you, I had to delay my plans for a day. Your life will never amount to the time you’ve wasted. Kist.”
“Yes?”
“Do it and make it painful. I want him a slobbering mess before I end him.”
“Understood.”
Agate finally managed to gain his breath back as Kist's hand descended upon him like a shadow.
“N-No. Don’t do it. Come on, just chop off my head. Anything but tha—”
Pain.
Pain, utter pain. Agate felt nothing but pain as his memories were taken, shifted through, sorted, and erased. One by one his screams became louder and longer, sounding more and more like that of a pig’s. The screams went on for minutes before they suddenly cut off.
When that happened Kist pulled his hand away and held his aching head.
“Fuck, this thing is a monster! An utter monster! How could Bishop let this psycho live?!”
“Will you be alright?”
Ubel asked. Kist looked at him with bloodshot eyes filled with bloodlust.
“I-I’ll be alright. I just need to erase what I saw. Fucking unholy abomination.”
“I’ll take it from here. Go rest.”
Ubel motioned a few people over to take Kist back to his room and monitor him in case something happened. With them out of the way Ubel unsheathed his knife. He kicked Agate to the ground and sat on his chest.
Ubel took a good hard look at Agate's face. His eyes were hollow, his face was distorted in horror, and his breathing was shallow.
“Just another corpse to the pile.”
Ubel mused as he stabbed his knife into Agate's throat, twisting it for good measure.
Edited by: KuroYousei
