The spear struck the ground next to Sigurd.
"AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH"
A scream of pure, animal rage shot through the mountains.
"You are dead, you thralls! Do you hear me!?" The same voice roared.
A boy came running through the mist; he rushed at Sigurd and tried to catch him with a right overhand.
Sigurd stepped aside casually and hooked his foot behind the boy's ankle. Ragnar crashed into the snow, crying out as pain shot through his body.
"So," Sigurd said calmly, looking down at him. "You are the son. Ragnar, was it? I heard quite a bit about you."
"RAAAWWWRRR!"
Ragnar swung at him. Again and again.
"And you are Sigurd! I heard it."
And again.
Each time, Sigurd stepped just out of reach, until he slapped the boy aside.
Panting, Ragnar scrambled for his spear. He yanked at it with too much force, lost his footing, and fell hard onto his back.
"Your… It was foolish of you to come here…" He struggled up. "Taking over the North? That dream stops today."
A boot slammed into his chest.
Ragnar flew several steps through the snow.
Eric stood over him.
Using his spear to pull himself upright, Ragnar glared back at them.
"Hmm, that spear…" Sigurd murmured, his eyes lingering on the weapon. "Oh. That's… your father's, isn't it?" He chuckled softly. "How ridiculous. I wondered why he didn't have it with him. It turns out it was with his son all along. How like you, Halfdan?"
He turned to the corpse still kneeling in the snow.
"Of course you would limit yourself for a stupid child. Utterly ridiculous."
Tears burned Ragnar's eyes as he screamed and charged again.
Then—
A fist struck from the side.
All three of them froze.
Halfdan.
Alive.
"Run, you idiot." He roared.
"But—" Ragnar tried.
"For once in your life, listen to what I tell you," Halfdan snapped. "Or at least use that empty head of yours." His tone was firm and very clear.
Ragnar was shaking, and water in his eyes completely clouded his vision.
Eric lunged for him.
With the last of his strength, Halfdan swatted Eric aside.
"RUN!!"
Halfdan struck the ground with the hammer to create a mist as big as possible.
And Ragnar ran.
Eric prepared to fight Halfdan again, his smile grew beyond what his face should be capable; it was truly the face of the happiest man on the planet.
A soft hand rested on his shoulder.
"No, Eric, I will finish this; you go after the boy," Sigurd commanded.
"But—"
"No."
Eric sighed deeply, his smile disappearing. "Fine."
A thunderous voice cut through the mist.
"You think I will allow that?"
Halfdan stepped forward.
"Do you really think you can stop us?" Sigurd replied coolly. "Do you think you could even stop me at this point? Perhaps had that boy run at the first word you told him, there would be a chance, but he doesn't have it in him— not to flee, nor to stay behind. Ultimately, he will get caught… but it is a blind hope of the father, I guess."
"We'll see—"
Halfdan's sentence ended abruptly.
His left arm spun through the air.
"Your left side is open," Sigurd said, his long sword levelled at him.
Halfdan smirked, "You've improved."
Eric sprinted after Ragnar.
Halfdan moved to stop him, but Sigurd deflected the blow effortlessly.
"You should think about yourself first."
…
Yes, fate was rather cruel that day. To some. I guess, for others, this was the best day of their lives. And on that day, fate still had a few comedic scenes it wanted to play. For, as fate would have it, in all the mist and panic, Ragnar could not tell where he needed to run, and by chance, the direction he chose ended at the edge of the cliff.
Though he was not aware of that just yet.
…
"Those damn bastards, may the gods curse you, no, I will curse you," Ragnar screamed as he ran through endless mist and rubble. "I will—I will kill you, both of you."
His legs gave out. Blood soaked into the snow beneath him; his wounds were far from healed; in fact, they were far worse than they were before. The adrenaline had carried him this far, but now, his body was slowly shutting down.
—ᛖᚡᛖᚱᛚᚨᛋᛏᛁᚾᚷ ᚹᚨᚱ× ᚨ ᛋᚨᚷᚨ ᚠᚱᛟᛗ ᛏᚺᛖ ᚾᛟᚱᛏᚺ—
'CLANG'
Sigurd parried another strike. "You can't do anything anymore."
"Shut it."
"The poison already affected you too much, and you spent most of your magic reserves."
"Shut up"
Sigurd blocked the attack.
"Struggle all you want, but nothing will change."
"Oh, for Odin's sake, would you shut your mouth already…" Halfdan groaned. "Yes, that is true; my body will give up on me soon."
He tried to hit Sigurd again, but he stepped back in time.
"But, till then, I will fight."
Sigurd exhaled slowly, the air echoing slightly through his helmet. "…Very well, I guess I already returned the stab to you; might as well let you have the death your way."
Sigurd pressed a hand on his stomach.
Darkness swallowed the battlefield—
Then vanished…
Halfdan… or what was left of him, lay motionless.
Half of his face was melted. His legs did not exist anymore. His entrails lay spewed across the snow, and the small doll made of hair fell on the floor while dispersing into the mist.
All reflected in the eye of the snake, and slowly disappeared in its fiery iris as the man turned.
"Goodbye… Old friend," he said quietly, disappearing into the mist.
Ragnar felt his heart was stabbed a second time; he may not have seen it… But he knew; this time—
—His father was dead.
"Hooooy!"
A cheerful voice rang out behind him.
Ragnar squinted his eyes, looking at the mist.
Did it come from there? Who could it be now?
Something slammed into his butt, and he was sent flying.
"I'm here."
Ragnar's eyes widened.
The red-haired man.
No, impossible. How?!
Ragnar ran.
"Kekekekeke," Eric licked his lips. "Yes, make sure to run, make this fun for me, kiddo."
Ragnar ducked into the ruins of a house, pressing himself against a broken wall.
Breathing hard.
Damn freak, how will I escape that bastard… Dad… Why? We could've fought together; we could've killed both of them.
Wait…
I have the chance now.
Yeah, he doesn't know where I am. I have Dad's spear; all it takes is one proper stab.
He heard rumbling behind the wall; he took a quick peek.
Eric stood there—his back turned; it was a perfect chance.
He inhaled deeply. Yeah, I'm going to do it.
Thor, grant me strength.
He clenched his spear, and he prepared to rush. He turned around the corner and—
"Boo."
Eric was right in front of him.
Ragnar screamed, axes flashed, and pain exploded across Ragnar's chest as an X-shaped wound was carved into him.
He collapsed, scrambling backwards.
Eric giggled, licking the blood from the blade. "Mmmmm, you taste good. So—What should I take? An Arm? An organ? It's your choice."
Ragnar scrambled away in panic.
"Run, run, little piggy." Eric sang.
And Ragnar did just that, making his way through broken houses to avoid the view. Finally, he reached the wall, the wall that had a massive hole in it. He found his way to safety.
Freedom.
Ragnar ran out as quickly as he could—but
'SCHLK'
An axe buried itself in his back.
Ragnar fell.
Eric approached slowly, chuckling.
"Kekeke, it was a fun hunt, kid."
He put his foot on his back and pulled the axe out.
"Such a shame this has to be your end."
He looked down; the boy was shaking and mumbling something. "Hmm?"
He pulled him up by the hair and held him above ground. "You've got something to say, ha!?"
Eric was about to say a lot more; he was about to revel in the successful hunt and the fun day, and he wanted to make this boy despair a little more before he would kill him and take away an organ or a limb he would eat later.
However, he was left stunned.
Stunned by the amount of rage he saw in that boy's eyes.
They were blood red; his teeth were starting to crack under pressure from how hard he was clenching them.
Yes, all of that could've been due to all the injuries, exhaustion, and pain. But Eric felt it wasn't; it wasn't so much something one can describe, but once you lock eyes with someone, you stare into their soul. And Ragnar was dead, replaced by pure rage and bloodlust.
That's what Eric saw; that's what left him stunned. He had destroyed countless villages and made life far worse for some people compared to this boy. He had taken a lot more away than he took from this boy; many were angry. Furious. Many wanted revenge, and yet, none came even remotely close to this boy in front of him.
As he stared at him, the moment seized Eric, and emotions simply overtook him. He jammed his fingers into Ragnar's left eye.
Pulled.
Ragnar screamed in agony. He held his hand to his face.
Eric picked Ragnar up again and hauled him to the edge of the cliff.
"If your eyes do not lie, you will survive this. Your rage will carry you; this will be your test, kid, kekekeke. Make sure to remember, I am Eric Bloodexe; can't wait to see you again, kekekeke."
He let go.
Ragnar fell down and disappeared into the clouds.