It was blurry... His vision.
But it meant nothing compared to the weakness in his tibia muscle as he struggled to hold on despite his swaying body on the galloping animal.
The ache...
He could barely keep his eyes open, clutching onto the saddle while applying pressure with his other palm pressed against his gut.
This was the consequences of soul binding with Unguis Draconis. The price he had to pay for immortality during battles – Unguis feeds on his soul energy, in exchange for exceedingly abundant abilities.
But just like humans, the seeker's soul is as fragile as glass. And Unguis Draconis is the strongest weapon in the entire history of seekers... Too strong to be merged, too strong for Val's soul.
So, in the process of binding, Val's soul took several cracks. Which was why his wounds stopped healing, and why he became so weak after the battle with Mundus.
He exerted himself.
And for what?
A king who betrayed him...
By the time Astheimoth's towering walls rose before him, night had become day... almost mid-day.
The large gates of the kingdom were closed.
He furrowed closely, looking past the dizziness that swept over him for a brief moment before his eyes captured the imagery of silence.
... That's strange.
Usually, the gates would've been wide open, waiting to receive him and his armies, then from the gates to the palace, the people should've already been cheering and celebrating their return.
This was why it seemed so strange.
What was going on?
Slowly, the gates creaked open reluctantly, revealing two watchguards who froze upon seeing him, watching in awe. Their faces turned pale with eyes still on him as though they had just seen a ghost.
One of them dropped his spear in the process.
"C-Captain…?" His voice trembled.
"Hah...". Val swayed in the saddle. "Why are... the gates closed?" He managed, pushing his words through the pain in his chest.
Was the kingdom under an attack?
They stared at him like men staring at the dead returned.
And then suddenly, the watchguard who was too in awe to speak shook out of trance. "SOUND THE ALARM!!!" He ordered in panic.
Eyes wide open as Val moved past them on the horse's back.
The sound of the return horn echoed through the empty streets as Val passed through the gates. At this point, his breaths were already shallow.
But not one person showed up.
Not one.
The kingdom he had bled for stood completely empty and silent.
No cheers.
No welcome.
Nothing.
But that was the least of his worries. He didn't need their cheers, hypes, or validation... he only wanted to see his family. He wanted to return home and tell Hannah that he was back safely... To hug Johan. He just wanted to see them.
They were the only thing that mattered to him... They were the reason he never gave up even when he lost everyone to Mundus in a strange land.
They were his push... His hope.
He had already gotten to a distance when he heard their low, shaky voices calling out to him from behind.
The guards from the gate...
"Wait!... Captain!" They called out, rushing towards him with panic in their eyes.
"They told us not to let anyone in," One said, trying to catch his breath. "By order of the King."
Hah...
Of course, Hezekiah.
"…Why?" Val tried to hold composure, struggling to keep his eyes open. "For what reason?" He asked, causing the other to swallow hard as he hesitated to speak.
"The verdict court convened this morning." He mouthed to the captain who instantly felt cold.
Verdict Court?
What was Hezekiah up to?
The verdict court was like the heavenly gods who had the final say.
They made every lawful order as inclined by the king, and passed judgement based on the seriousness of an offence. In other words, if an offence was not a threat to the King and the kingdom, they would not interfere.
"Sir, they… they accused you of treason, sir," the guard breathed out.
He couldn't even mouth the words. "They said you sold the kingdom's war plans out and you sided with the enemy." He managed, taking his eyes away from the captain who stared in disbelief.
Val trembled as his grip tightened painfully around the reins of the saddle.
So this was his plan.
To accuse him of his own crimes after handing out the lives of a thousand men freely to death in a pathetic way...
After destroying his life.
His watched his brothers die like criminals all because they wanted to protect this kingdom and their heartless betrayer of a king.
Val gritted through the pain.
"The King released a journal," The guard said quickly. "And the court signed and sealed it this morning".
"HEZEKIAH IS A LIAR!" Val screamed in frustration, holding his gut. "THESE ARE ALL FALSE ALLEGATIONS!" He trembled, still on the horse as the guards watched him in pity.
"Captain... everyone believed it". The guard's voice shock relentlessly. "They all protested that the king arrested your family."
It was then Val's heart began to pound.
"When?" He demanded, fear overwhelming him.
"…Today." The man said running his hands through his hair in regret. He couldn't believe he had even a single thought of doubt for his Captain.
"Th-They were taken to the execution square."
Everywhere spun. Val was losing consciousness, but had lost his mind the moment his family got involved.
Whenever someone was taken to the execution square, the next verdict was death, no amount of power can refute otherwise.
Not even the intervention of the king once it had been decided.
Before the guards could even complete their words, the horse had already drifted far away from them.
Val rode in full force, ignoring the pain that clenched his heart like the piercing of a thousand needles.
He was in pain.
With tears in his eyes he whimpered silently.
... please.
Please stay alive.
Please...
~~~~
The execution square was located at the center of the kingdom, and if one were to walk for a mile they would get to the verdict court, before the valley of blue waters and the garden of nobles, after which the king's quarters comes to view.
Now, from the gates of Astheimoth to the execution square, you'd have to go through market squares, several houses, and the residents of concubines.
Still, Val rode relentlessly. Even as he moved, not a single person came to view.
No one.
Everybody was gathered at the execution square, so loyal to witness the death of his family. They were so pressed to watch the pain Hezekiah sought to bring to him that they even abandoned their businesses and daily lives just to be there.
Nobody wanted to miss it.
The same people he fought for.
The same people he had put his life on the line for over and over again.
They have now become the ones who turned to betrayed him. They all sided with Hezekiah and his lies. All of a sudden, everyone believed his accusations even though he had proven to them severally where his loyalty was.
He had never asked for anything in return. He never questioned the king's orders even if he knew that Hezekiah's father was responsible for the the massacre of his kind.
He still served the king even though he knew that they killed his family and left him with nothing.
He still fought for their peace!
And yet, this same people...
He heard their chants from the gates of the execution square. The entire kingdom was present and the place was crowded.
From that distance, he couldn't see anything, and the horse couldn't move any further because people blocked the way.
What was even worse was that the horse revealed his arrival, causing heads to turn towards his direction as whispers and gasps filled the entire place.
Slowly, the crowds began to part, all eyes staring at him as though he was a disease.
These eyes that once stared at him in adoration and admiration now looked at him in disgust, raining curses on him.
"Betrayer!" Someone yelled from the crowd.
Another yelled. "Traitor!"
"You will pay for your sins!"
"Terrible!"
"Worthless seeker!"
"Shame on you!" One spat.
"Death awaits you!"
"You killed your own army!"
"Liar!"
The insults only multiplied as he struggled to go through them. He was so focused on getting to his family and fighting through pain that he didn't realize when someone from the crowd jumped on him, dragging him from the horse's back.
"GET HIM!"
Before he could get words out, the entire crowd began pouncing on him, pulling him down from the animal roughly with so much force that he fell from the horse's back, hitting the ground so hard.
Val grunted in pain...
He was so weak.
"... No, no... Please". He managed.
At this point, everywhere spun, and he was unable to move.
Still, he struggled to stay alive.
He needed to protect his family.
If he needed to fall to Hezekiah's feet and beg for their lives, he will. He just needed them to live.
From where the king sat, he could hear the distraction from the crowd. He wasn't aware that Valentine was alive.
He was so confident that Mundus had killed him and wanted to wipe out the family of Valentine, which was why he published a false journal, accusing the captain wrongly.
Hezekiah just wanted to get rid of the bloodline of seekers that he didn't care if he was killing a child or an innocent lady.
At first, he was skeptical about Mundus killing the Captain because that seeker was like a parasite.
He always came back alive.
Still, he wanted to believe that Val couldn't face a warrior from hell.
Valentine is dead. Was what he told himself.
But when he saw him among the people from high up where he sat being dragged and beaten mercilessly, he became uneasy.
He's alive...
He knew that Val would expose him. He knew that the people might see through his lies once Val opened his mouth.
So, he hastened the execution of Val's family, giving the scaffold a go ahead.
By this time, the people had dragged Valentine so close to the execution podium. He could now see his family clearly.
Both Hannah and his little boy were in chains like criminals. His family were being treated like crimals because of him.
Hannah was on her knees.
Her hands were bound behind her back, her dress torn and stained with dirt, and her body was bruised, Yet, she still looked for him.
Even when her hope should have been dead, she still looked at him like her hero.
Valentine cried like a child, taking his head down. He couldn't look at them. He tried to take his head up to beg. To kneel before Hezekiah.
He was now willing to accept defeat.
He was willing to apologize.
He was wrong.
He didn't want to retire anymore.
But the moment he raised his head again, the sharp blade of the scaffold's sword came in contact with Hannah's throat causing Val to scream from the weakness in his gut.
"NOOO!!"
Val didn't feel the ground when his knees re-hit. He couldn't hear the crowd cheering. He didn't see the guards restraining him as he screamed, clawing forward on hands drenched with blood and tears.
"MAMA!"
Johan screamed his mother's name as he sobbed weakly.
His son...
... His boy.
His world had ended again.
His hope...
His world...
His love...
The only woman who accepted him for who he really was.
Instantly, Hezekiah rose, directing his words towards his little boy. He was passing a verdict on a child of three.
He didn't even give him time to process the death of his wife. Rather, Hezekiah judged his son as he would a seeker. Tagging a child criminal for the sins he knew nothing about.
"Wa-wait... Please... Your majesty...". Val cried out with a hoarse voice but Hezekiah continued regardless, raising his voice.
He didn't even look Val's way. He sought to break Valentine.
"For crimes of treason against the crown," The King aired, "as an accomplice for conspiring with foreign immortals, and for the betrayal of Astheimoth..."
"Ah... Hah... Please". The captain of Astheimoth began begging on his knees, crying like a slave... "Please don't kill my son. He's only a child... Please. Spare my boy, your majesty".
But he was completely ignored. Silenced by those who used to bow to him. "Shut up, traitor! Do not interrupt the king!"
They all awaited the king's verdict.
"Your sentence is death by beheading." Hezekiah pronounce and Val screamed with all his might.
"HAVE MERCY YOUR MAJESTY!!"
He cried, struggling like a mad man.
And at Hezekiah's words, two guards rushed towards the child who was chained and in tears still staring at his mother. They lifted him up and dragged him towards the chopping wood.
"HAH... PLEASE". Val screamed. "NO! PLEASE!"
It was then the crowd began to mumble softly at the king's orders. All their yelling and protests to murder Val's family began to soften.
They watched in silence as the strongest man they knew wept and screamed on the dirty floor like a child.
Such punishment for a child?
It was his father's crimes, not his.
The little boy struggled weakly as he cried, calling out his father's name.
"PAPA!"
"Papa, I was good... ".
"...I was good to mum". His tiny voice broke val as he wept weakly, begging the guards who held him.
"PAPA SAVE ME!" He cried, keeping his eyes on his father.
Roughly, they turned his neck and placed his head on the cold wood, making sure that his eyes remained on Val.
With a hoarse voice Val yelled. "CLOSE YOUR EYES, JOHAN!
"DON'T BE AFRAID, SON!" He sobbed. "PLEASE... CLOSE YOUR EYES".
At this point the entire square went silent. And as Johan obeyed, the scaffold's sword when down, detaching the boy's head from his body.
Instantly, his body dropped limply, and the head, on the other side of the wood.
His boy...
Not a single sound was heard at the square... just Val's bitter cries.
There was nothing left for him.
There was no one left for him.
Everything was gone.
Everything he worked for was dead. His bloodline was over, his family had been murdered.
He couldn't protect them even though he had been protecting Astheimoth all his life.
He couldn't save his son, or his wife.
He couldn't save his army or his parents.
He couldn't even protect... Himself
Val whimpered weakly.
What was he living for?
Everyone watched him quietly. Suddenly they were beginning to feel it.
His cries were beginning to get to them.
This was the same man who delivered them from the hands of dungeons and monsters.
The same man who saved them when barbarians invaded their kingdom to enslave the women and take away their children.
Their hero.
He had proven to them countless times and again, and yet, just because some journal was released... An allegation hadn't proven true, they turned against him, murdered his family and broke him completely.
They were beginning to realize what they had done.
But it was already too late.
Val was already broken.
He was exhausted... Too exhausted.
He was tired of everything. He was tired of always loosing everyone.
He was tired of always watching his loved ones die.
The people were beginning to mumble now. They had begun speaking up and Hezekiah noticed this.
He once again became uneasy...
He had come too close to getting rid of this seeker, he couldn't lose it now.
Silently, he gave an order to the scaffold. It was a nod.
A nod that meant carry on.
Before anyone would realize what was going on, the scaffold barged towards their captain who was already so weak and soulless.
A man who wasn't even fighting back anymore.
Right before their eyes, he picked up Valentine's weapon with lifted lips. As though he had always wanted to know how it felt like.
Roughly, he held the captain from behind pushing him forward as he guarded the sword directly into his heart. "Attain enlightenment, Captain".
Unguis Draconis pierced straight into Valentine's heart.