You know, I've always wondered…
"THE TIME IS NIGH, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!!"
"COME—WHILE HE'S AT HIS LAST BREATH!!!"
How do I keep getting myself into these over-the-top situations?
"You're surrounded!"
"There's nowhere left to run!"
"Surrender now, you damned heretic!"
Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm just unlucky… or cursed. Maybe both.
The young man with hazel-green eyes exhaled sharply under his tattered hood.
He scanned the ring of black-armored knights—hundreds of them—mounted on musclebound warhorses that snorted steam into the cold air. Their weapons caught flashes of lightning overhead: spears, swords, bows, javelins… even tomes etched with runes.
"Not my lucky day, huh?"
Cuts and burns crisscrossed his arms and legs. Two arrows jutted painfully from beneath his shoulder blades.
Ignoring the pain, he glanced around again—then noticed the setting.
"Tch… a ruined church cemetery? Really?"
"Is it to your liking? Oh, dear me… how the mighty have fallen."
Her voice was pleasant, poised… and laced with venom.
The knights parted to reveal a woman in curved, obsidian armor, hips swaying like a predator closing in. A crimson-eyed black snake coiled around a golden sword gleamed on her chestplate.
"For our second date? A bit dreary," I said dryly. "Maybe a few candles could lighten the mood."
"Re~ally? I think it's the perfect resting place for a disgusting non-believer like you. Don't you agree?"
She removed her helmet. Golden hair spilled to her shoulders. Her ruby eyes sparkled with a sadistic glee so intense it bordered on madness.
"Meh. Forty-five out of a hundred for originality… but you nailed the mood. I'll round it up to fifty."
It had to be her. Out of everyone, it had to be the red-eyed, blonde, holier-than-thou freak.
"Ah~! Praise from the once-renowned Champion of the West. I'm honored!"
Still smiling, she continued.
"Since I've earned such high marks, I'll give you the mercy of Her Grace and the Lord's benevolence. One. Last. Chance."
I tilted my head, curious where her sermon would go.
"Surrender your life willingly, and you'll be granted a death so gloficent, it will be sung for eternity~!"
"Ahahaha~"
I cringed inside. Yeah, I wasn't slipping out of this one.
"Sure," I said flatly.
"Aha! I knew you wouldn't—wait, what…?"
"Let's do this."
She blinked.
"That is… if you're willing to come get me yourself."
I smiled, sharp as a blade. "Or is the little church girl too afraid?"
A vein throbbed in her temple.
Perfect. Her pride was the lever I needed.
"Think about it! What could be more magnificent than killing me yourself? In the name of your precious Grace and Lord?"
Her anger flashed, then cooled into a mask.
"Are you provoking me… or calling me a fool?"
"A little of both."
Several knights stifled laughs.
"ENOUGH! I WILL NOT BE MADE A MOCKERY OF!"
Thunder boomed.
"Too late for that," I muttered.
She closed the distance—just far enough to stay out of my reach. Her sword cleared its sheath in one smooth motion, the point pressing under my chin.
"Say your last words, heathen."
(Well… shit.)
I sat down in the dirt, making every soldier tense. She narrowed her eyes.
Memories of my comrades flickered—laughter, arguments, shared victories and defeats.
(An eventful life it was…wonder how pissed they'll be about this. Especially the girls.)
I reached over my shoulder, yanked out an arrow, and tossed it aside.
Her lips curled. "Hmph! Already despairing? How pathe—"
"Tell this to your Lord and Grace," I cut in, my voice rough.
She tilted her head, intrigued.
"Tell them that…"
The world stilled. The soldiers leaned in.
"…they can shove their moronic mercy up their asses for all I care."
Lightning split the sky, striking the church ruins. The flash blinded everyone—except me.
Swish.
Stab.
When the light faded, I was on my feet—her blade buried to the hilt in my chest, my hand locked around her throat.
Gasps.
Her eyes widened in horror as she saw my crazed grin—blood on my teeth, complete lunacy and madness in my gaze, no life left in either eye.
(So… this is what death does to a man like him?)
Her breath quickened, a shudder running through her body.
"It's so… heavenly~," she moaned.
I leaned close, lips brushing her ear.
"Checkmate."
My other hand gripped the hilt. Together with her own locked fingers, I twisted the blade. The sickening crack echoed through the cemetery.
---
Somewhere deep in a dark forest, far from the chaos.
Two armed men and four women raced through the thick undergrowth, trying to shake their pursuers.
"Hey—wait! Don'tcha think we've lost them already?!"
The shout came from a freckled, blue-eyed girl with pale skin and long ginger hair tied into double braids. She wore a tattered ranger's outfit, clutching a bow with a snapped string. Bruises and cuts marked her from their wild escape.
"Keep moving! We can't waste the chance he gave us!"
"NOW MOVE IT!" roared a pale-skinned man with sharp light-brown eyes and long hair tied into a frayed ponytail. His white combat robe was ripped and scorched, its few armor plates cracked. A battered tower shield was strapped to his left arm.
"Wha—?! But we can't just—" the ranger started, only to be cut off.
"DAMN IT!!"
"WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE HIM BEHIND LIKE THAT!!! LET'S GO BACK—"
The protest came from a tan-skinned man with short, messy red hair and a scar down his greyed-out left eye. His rustic armor was missing plates, battered from battle.
The ponytailed man stopped dead, and so did the rest. Six in total.
He strode over to the redhead and punched him square in the jaw.
"DID YOU THINK I WANTED TO LET HIM GO ON HIS OWN?!"
He grabbed the man's collar, shaking him.
"If there was another way—I would've taken it without hesitation!"
The redhead clenched his teeth, eyes burning with helpless anger.
"Then I say we go back and drag that fool out of the hole he's dug himself into," said a haughty elven woman with waist-length white hair and piercing violet eyes. She clutched a cracked staff, her tight, torn purple combat dress revealing long, pale legs.
The two locked eyes, the air between them charged.
"You heard his orders—we have t—" the ponytail man began.
"Oh, believe me, I've heard you bark long enough," she interrupted, her tone icy. "And I told you before—I don't take orders I logically don't agree with. Are we clear?"
They stared each other down, the tension thick enough to choke on—until another voice cut in.
"Whoa, hey! We don't have time for this bullshit right now!"
A maroon-haired rogue with short curls and sharp golden eyes stepped between them. Her armor was stained with mud and blood.
"It was fight or flight. He knew the risk," she said firmly.
The two glared but stayed quiet.
"Besides…"—her tone softened—"he promised he wouldn't do anything stupid this time. Said he'd catch up." She forced a crooked smile.
The elf and ponytail man kept staring at her.
"That's right! He wouldn't go back on his word," piped up a petite blonde cleric with garnet eyes, her robe torn and filthy. "We just have to believe in him like he believes in us!"
The redhead let out a bitter laugh.
"Yer right… He may be a little rat sometimes, but he always came through. No matter what."
The ranger nodded, trying to convince herself.
The elf and ponytail man exchanged one last look—then both exhaled sharply, letting the standoff drop.
The rogue clapped her hands.
"Good. Now let's hurry before—"
A beam of light tore through the sky in the distance, punching a hole in the dark clouds. The ground trembled as deafening explosions followed. Rain began to fall through the gap as if the heavens themselves were weeping.
They all froze.
And they remembered his words.
"I'll lure them away while you guys make a run for it. I'll catch up after I'm done. Trust me."
Those had been his last words—spoken with that infuriating, confident grin.
But there'd been a quieter whisper as he passed them.
"If I'm going down, I might as well go out with a bang, right?"
At the time, they'd all thought it was just another one of his grim jokes.
But, Now…
"ARRRRRGH!!!"
BOOM!
The redhead slammed his fist into a tree, snapping it in half.
The ranger dropped to her knees, staring toward the distant light in disbelief.
The blonde cleric crumpled like a doll, mumbling prayers before falling silent, her gaze vacant.
"THAT FUCKING DUMBASS!" the rogue shouted, kicking a tree over and over. "WHY DID I LET YOU GO?!"
The ponytailed man stood frozen, nails digging into his palms until blood ran. His thoughts screamed—If only I'd had the courage—!
"I refuse."
The voice snapped them all out of it.
It was the elf.
She trembled with rage, her magic flaring. "There's no way he's gone. I'll only believe it when I see it with my own eyes."
She marched toward the blast site, but the ponytail man grabbed her shoulder—
SLAP!
"Don't you ever touch me! Because of you, he's—" she hissed, her voice breaking. She turned to find the redhead and rogue blocking her way.
"Move."
"Hell no."
"Absolutely not."
Her head lowered, voice shaking. "Why… why won't you let me go? Can't you see he needs our help?!"
The redhead's jaw tightened. "Going now won't change anything. As much as I wanna run to him—"
"He wouldn't want us to throw our lives away," the rogue finished bitterly.
The elf's magic spiked, swirling like a storm.
"If you won't understand, you leave me no choi—"
Thunk.
She collapsed—knocked out cold by a sharp blow to the back of the head.
The ponytailed man stood over her.
"Take the others. We've drawn enough attention. I'll carry her."
The two obeyed silently, lifting the other two grief falled girls.
As he hoisted the elf onto his shoulder, he whispered so only she could hear:
"Thank you… for making me realize my indecision. I won't let it happen again."
She stirred faintly, lips barely moving.
"…Zac..."