Chapter 18: Aftermath

  Without thinking Teus blurted the words out his mouth.

  “Y- you’re alive!?”

  The captain turned around as his gaze met the child’s. His demeanor was nowhere near the same amount of imposing as it was earlier when they first met. Indeed, he still had the aura of dignity surrounding him and commanded respect. However, the pristine condition that the armor had brandished from before, was no longer present. He looked as though the battle had hit him hard. There were cuts and tears throughout his entire outfit.

  He seemed to be breathing heavily, he looked injured. And blood dripped from cuts across his face and arms, although nowhere near as bad a state as the old man. That being the case, his next words still effortlessly cut through the air as he addressed Teus.

  “Of course I am, don’t ever expect a little dragon like that to topple the heroes of the kingdom.”

  He continued to walk towards the boy.

  “I must admit I am surprised though. It seems that the dragon actually decided to make you its master. I know I gave you a hint…but I would have never expected you to have awakened the core so quickly after that…”

  He knelt down next to Teus as he observed him closer, taking note of the wafting smoke rising from his body. He gave a soft smile as he continued.

  “You might not be a worthless peasant afterall!”

  Teus frowned at the comment as the captain continued to inspect him. Past the obvious blue cuts that seemed to be receding and his peeled skin, he analyzed the rest of his body thoroughly.

  “He actually fought Kuravana and lived to tell the tale…amazing! Maybe this kid could be of use to the kingdom when he’s older, if properly trained of course.”

  As the captain was looking at Teus’ beaten body he noticed that the cracks along his body, although dark saphire and lacking a glow now, were all receding to the same point, an area around the back of his neck. He gently flipped Teus to lay on his shoulder to see the seal that Galmarion had put on him.

  The captain’s eyebrows shot upwards out of shock as he instinctively dropped Teus’ body.

  “Gah!”

  Teus yelped as he hit the ground again. Only to be met with a cold and serious glare from the captain, as if he just saw something terrible.

  “Oh no! It’s about the mark, isn’t it!”

  Teus tried to ask him a question.

  “Hey, so I got this-”

  “Answer me carefully, child…”

  The captain was quick to cut him off. Tension grew as Teus laid helplessly in front of the Beast Breaker.

  “...What did you make into your sealed weapon?”

  Neither of the two broke eye contact as Teus nervously gulped down a lump in his throat. The captain stared into his eyes, waiting for an answer, one that he expected quickly.

  Teus raised his hand to point his finger into the sky.

  “Uh…It’s up there. I used my scarf as my sealed weapon to blow up Kuravana. Now it’s exploded.”

  The captain’s head swiveled to behind him, he saw the floating pieces of burnt thread dancing in the air one last time. He turned back to Teus with a grim expression, before whispering to himself.

  “...I see, so he doesn’t know.”

  A voice roared from behind the captain.

  “Back away from the child, noble!”

  Through the dust and mist, the two turned their heads to see the old man shuffling towards them, using his sword as a crutch to stand on.

  The captain wiped the dust off of his pants before straightening to his full height. Without a second thought he immediately placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. He met the fierce glare of the old man before he responded.

  “Ah, you’re the thief from earlier. I had a feeling the two of you knew each other somehow.”

  Teus coughed before interjecting.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “Wait! You guys aren’t gonna fight are ya? I thought the main problem was Kuravana!”

  The captain did not even bother to look back at Teus for an explanation.

  “While we were on our search for that dragon. This man noticed that Raud held a scarf that belonged to you. After a brief, but heated, verbal exchange a physical conflict ensued. Being the opportunist that he was, Kuravana seized the moment, took advantage of that chaos and tried to eat us. Then the real fight began. We momentarily joined forces and fought Kuravana. Once it proved too much trouble the dragon decided to retreat. Though Kuravana wounded us all terribly and the only one able to chase him down was him…”

  He continued to look the old man in the eye.

  “...Does that sound about right to you?”

  “Sure does…!” The old man grunted.

  “I’ll be the first to admit it. You’re a huge part of why Kuravana was defeated today.”

  The captain looked downward at Teus’ barely moving body.

  “And you…I wasn’t here for any of what you did. But judging by that explosion earlier and how things looked by the time that I arrived. It appears you also were a great help unto the kingdom. For that, you have my thanks.”

  Teus felt awkward.

  “Is this guy right now…Praising us for the good job that we did? I’m not mad or anything, but something feels off about this.”

  The captain continued, his voice took on a deeper tone.

  “Which brings me to my next point….”

  A dark expression formed across his face as he looked at the two.

  “According to the will of the king…Both of you are to be put to death.”

  Teus grit his teeth as he looked at the captain.

  “You gotta be kidding me!”

  The old man held a stoic expression, as though he were only waiting for this phrase to exit the captain’s mouth from the start. The Beast Breaker continued.

  “You are both lowly peasants that came in direct conflict with the authority of Beast Breakers. Helpful or not, when my comrades arrive, you will certainly face the consequences of your actions. It’s not as though you’re nobility with connections to defend yourselves, the kingdom is bound to see you as disposable for the sake of an example…”

  His eyes flickered to the old man.

  “For you, the merit you displayed today might make it possible for you to receive a slap on the wrist if you were to play things right. But the boy…”

  Both of the sword wielders looked at Teus. He stared back with a twinge of unease.

  “...Because of the mark on his body, they will certainly kill him on the spot, nothing can be done about that.”

  The old man’s eyebrows furrowed at the mention of that.

  “Shoot! He already saw it. I came too late…”

  Teus interjected in an exasperated frenzy.

  “Hold on a minute! You just said that we were helpful. It’s not fair to kill us after that! How do we deserve to die!?”

  The captain directed an icy glare Teus’ way.

  “Peasants like you don’t decide who deserves to die and who doesn’t. Remember that.”

  Teus’ blood boiled as he grit his teeth.

  The old man’s voice cut across the area.

  “You’re saying all this is happening after your colleagues show up. But none of us are dead right now. And in the state that we’re in currently, you could easily finish the job. Are you not going to kill us yourself?”

  The sound of only the wind as a breeze could be heard in the crater as the captain waited to reply.

  “I should, but...I see things…differently, from the rest of my allies…”

  He began to unsheathe his sword as the old man winced.

  “Whether I decide to kill you all or not depends…”

  With a swift motion the sword swung into an arc and stopped just inches away from Teus’ throat.

  “...on this boy’s answer to this next question.”

  The boy’s eyes snapped open in shock as he listened to the captain's words.

  “With this new power that you’ve gained. What do you intend to do with it?”

  For a brief moment the boy paused as he watched the captain hold his life in his hands. He saw the look of indifference, the look of someone willing to kill him if he truly believed he said the wrong answer with no second thought.

  Possible answers raced through Teus’ head.

  “What do I say? What does he want to hear? I don’t know! Damn it, what do I say?”

  He continued to see the unchanging face of the captain before being swallowed in a rage.

  “I don’t know why… I thought he might have been different from the rest of those Beast Breakers! But he’s exactly the same! He’s willing to kill me if I say the ‘wrong’ thing just because I’m a peasant!...Screw him!”

  Teus grabbed the sword as his hand drew blood, and returned the captain’s glare with a determined gaze as he shouted.

  “The same dream I told you before! I’m gonna train really hard and find the King’s Crest! I’ll prove that a lowly peasant like me can find the world’s greatest treasure!”

  He struggled to keep his eyes open, due to the strain from his last battle but decided it was more important to make eye contact with the captain. He continued.

  “We’ll see who’s worthless then!”

  “...”

  “...”

  The captain smiled, he pulled his sword back from Teus’ hand and flicked the blood off his blade before he sheathed his sword back in its scabbard.

  The deep orange sky above them began to transition into a brighter shade as the sun became visible over the horizon. Almost to signify the dawn of a new era.

  “This crazy kid…I was right, he really can be of use to the kingdom!”