Kopii sharply opened his eyes, trying to rise, but could not: his arms and legs were tightly bound. Pain shot through his entire body, and a fire seemed to rage in his head. He did not understand where he was; he only remembered the sudden attack and the pain. In the silence, a familiar voice rang out, which he had not expected to hear.
— Oh, you finally woke up.
Kopii tried to focus his gaze on the source of the voice. At first, the silhouette seemed blurry, but gradually his vision returned, and he recognized in the elderly man one of those travelers he had met earlier. He thought his hearing was deceiving him.
Kopii's eyes widened in shock. Larsen smiled predatorily, watching his reaction.
— Recognized me? What was your name again? — He waved his hand dismissively. — It doesn't matter anymore. Ahahah. You can't even imagine how glad I am!
— What do you want?! — Kopii shouted, desperately trying to free himself from the bonds, but they were tied too tightly.
— Calm down.
— What did I do to you!
— I said, calm down! — Larsen roughly kicked Kopii in the stomach.
— Kh… kh… — Kopii had not expected the blow. He raised his eyes, full of hatred, to the old man, but the latter's smile only widened. – What do you want? – He said more restrainedly.
— That's better. Why do we need you? — Larsen thoughtfully stroked his chin. — We need money. Not you.
«Money?»
To him, this seemed ridiculous; what money, he had none. So he told him this to his face.
— I don't have any money! I'm not from a rich family, so you can't demand a ransom! I'm broke!
— That doesn't matter. You just haven't understood yet, and that's very good.
— What do you want?
— Ah… — Larsen exhaled. — Are you stupid? I told you, we need money.
— I understood that, but… I don't have any.
— You're too stupid. Your body… your pretty face… I think one can get a lot for it. Do you understand?
Kopii's heart began pounding in horror. He could not hide his shock; he began to understand what the old man was hinting at. Larsen smirked maliciously, seeing how the youth's face twisted in terror.
— Yes, you're thinking correctly. We'll sell you into slavery and make good money on it, you know. I still can't believe I got so lucky with you… Ahhahaha. — After the laughter, his voice grew quieter. — You know, of course, it's a pity… — He came closer and roughly grabbed Kopii by the face. — You know, if you were a girl, we would have had some fun with you, — Larsen licked his lips. — But alas. You're just a boy, so you're not my type. Well, you're not the first and not the last we've caught. Right? Ahahhaha… Why are you silent? I see you're glad.
Kopii's hatred for this man grew with every second. Larsen noticed the change in his face, which now showed pure contempt and hatred, and this gave him sadistic pleasure. Laughing again, he walked over to Kopii.
— What a face… You probably want to beat me up or even kill me? Go ahead… Oh, sorry, I forgot. You lost to us. So, did your blessing or your god help you? I hope you prayed. If you did. – Grabbing him by the face, forcing him to look straight into his eyes. – Did he answer your prayers? I'm sure you thought you were different now, that you were better than ordinary people.
Before Kopii could answer, the old man released his face and at the same time forcefully ground his face into the earth.
— But look at yourself! Could you ever have imagined that you, the one who received the blessing of the gods, would be humiliated by an ordinary man? And you can't do anything to him. – Removing his foot, he grabbed the boy by the hair and lifted him.
Not letting him say a word, Larsen, looking at Kopii's face full of hatred and anger, smiled and continued:
— Yes, yes, I like your face. Look at me like that for an eternity. But do you know what? What can you do to me? You're wounded; you couldn't even fight back. My son was so afraid of you that I myself began to fear you involuntarily. But it turns out I overestimated you.
Kopii decided to answer him in kind. As Larsen stepped back, Kopii's hatred only intensified, grinding his teeth.
— Hahahaha, how funny… I'm only level one, and you're already afraid of me! If I were level two or three, you would be terrified. You're just cowards. You say my blessing gave me nothing, but I managed to get it. You're probably bitter about adventurers? You probably once attacked adventurers too and shamefully lost. You stupid piece of shit!
Larsen remained silent, and Kopii's confidence only grew, so he continued.
— You want to boost your self-esteem by beating me? How pathetic you are… No, you're all just pathetic.
Before Kopii could finish, Larsen struck him in the face again.
— Yes, you're right, — Larsen said, stepping away from Kopii after the blow. — But what does that change? If you were second or third level, we would have understood that. But you're only level one. I'm sure some perverted god took a liking to you. Because I don't understand for what other qualities one could accept a freak like you.
The old man leaned down to him, and their gazes met. One emotionless, the other full of hatred.
— You're just trying to provoke me, but what will that change? No one will help you. Not your blessing, not your family, you can't even help yourself.
Larsen heard the grinding of Kopii's teeth, and it gave him pleasure.
Kopii understood that he was speaking the truth. He understood it perfectly, but he still wanted to strike a nerve.
— I'm sure you were the same. You also wanted to become an adventurer, but no one accepted you.
Larsen interrupted him again.
— Yes, you're right, I was the same! But ask yourself, who didn't want to become stronger, to be above everyone! – Rising and looking down at him. – Yes, you're right, no familia accepted me. Absolutely everyone dreamed of it, but you know, I faced reality. And I was rejected by everyone. But you know, I came to terms with it. But look, I managed to achieve it. Right now, I am above you, better than you. You completely belong to me. I can do whatever I want with you. Because I am strong, and you are weak. The strong always devour the weak.
— You're strong? – Kopii smirked. – You attacked me from behind, when I wasn't ready, and beat me as a group when I was wounded. Are you seriously saying you're strong? You're just a coward, and that's all.
The old man's eyes narrowed at his words.
— You don't understand. You're still a child. What difference does it make how I defeated you? I won, and it won't change the way it happened: in the back or while you slept. It's still a victory... The winners write history, not the losers. Do you think in the time of the hero, people respected him? No, they feared him. Or rather, they feared what he was capable of. They could not control him. Everything rests on the strong, do you understand?
– …
— I see you're not going to listen to me… Well, fine, you won't need to think anymore. — he said. — The break is over, so you'd better sleep.
He grabbed Kopii by the throat and began to choke him.
— Don't worry, this is the best sleeping draught.
— Wait… — But Kopii's words had no effect. The old man kept choking him until the youth's eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness. The last thing Kopii saw before blacking out was Larsen's face, full of superiority.
He threw Kopii to the ground.
— That's it, we need to go, we continue on our way, — he said. Elric lifted Kopii and carried him over his shoulder.
Torvin ran up to Larsen:
— Father, maybe we should teach him some manners?
Larsen looked at his youngest son and after a moment replied:
— Calm down, Torvin, did you fall for his provocations? Are you the same child as him?
— But, father…
Under his father's gaze, he calmed down.
— Alright, father, I will control my emotions better.
— Yes, that's the right decision, — his father smiled in response. — Well then, let's continue. We must reach the river today. We need to hurry; is that clear to everyone?
— Yes, father, — the sons answered in chorus.
The whole group of four slowly but surely moved through the forest towards their goal. Silence reigned; no one started a conversation. The sun slowly sloped towards sunset, painting the leaves in crimson and golden hues. The forest, which had previously seemed gloomy and threatening, now radiated a warm, deceptive calm. Larsen walked ahead, his gaze fixed into the distance, and his face remained inscrutable.
— That's it, we've finally arrived, — Larsen said. — Garvin, fetch water. Torvin, gather firewood. Understood?
— Yes, father, — Torvin and Garvin replied.
Some time later, Kopii began to slowly come to his senses. His head still throbbed, and his body ached with pain and weakness. He lay on the hard ground, bound, feeling the cold gaze of the stars through the leaves. Fragments of what had happened surfaced in his memory, Larsen's words burned his consciousness, and the humiliation of helplessness choked him. Rage seethed in his chest, but his body refused to obey, shackled not only by ropes, but also by the awareness of his own powerlessness.