The wind blew lightly against the horses. The Crusaders were riding as fast as the animals could go. The blessing which Gladius cast was still active. He didn't give away any sign of a typical prideful paladin. Despite it, he was more knowledgeable than they were. He was beyond their boldest comprehension. The man never admitted it, but he was fond of reading, especially history and books about magic. Nonetheless, they were still wearing their normal clothes, because the temperature was still pleasant for them. It wasn't that hot, despite the sun shining directly on them. Terrains mostly consisted of plains with no to little trees. From time to time, they passed by a berry bush or spotted a wild animal. The monotonic view made Laudis bored. He decided to take out his cigarette. The youth thought it was a good time to relieve himself. After all, he hadn't smoked in a while.
"What do you think you're doing, boy?" asked Gladius, noticing the packaging.
"Nothing, at least yet. I'm about to smoke, do you want one?" the kid replied, searching for matches.
"You won't find them; I threw them away. If you want to ignite it, you have to think of another way to pull it off."
"Yeah, thanks..."
"I can give you a flame if you want," suggested Dantenium, looking at his detached face.
"Would you?"
"F.I."
A small, summoned fire ignited the cigarette. The smell of tobacco was off-putting for them, except for the smoker and the crimson-haired man. Laudis could finally smoke his problems away. With every inhale and exhale, he was becoming less stressed. After he had met with Lucius, he couldn't think of anything else. The boy felt like the West Dragon had planted his image in him. The cigar, the hat, and the faceless interaction. So little, yet so much at the same time. The vision was becoming more blurry with every second of his content. After a while, it was just another memory, something that already happened. Something not that important...
'The damn dragons... I thought we were only supposed to fight vampires. I don't know a single thing about them. I guess, they can transform into their human form and their drago— No, it's better to describe it as their beast form. They can change into two forms, I think... To hell, I know nothing! Why the hell are there dragons in Mundusia?! I have to know at least the basics. I have no other choice than to ask,' thought Laudis, smoking. Despite being a pain in the ass for the rest, he always avoided exhaling in their direction. Thus, the kid was riding at the end, without bothering anyone.
"If you don't mind. Would you share with me who Lucius Pyronium is, Gladius? Also, I would appreciate information about the dragons, can they change forms?" the youth asked him. He was curious, but careful. He weighed his words, after all, the captain was still the most unknown to him.
"..."
The paladin ignored him, almost like he didn't want to reply. Something was really off about it.
"Laudis asked you a question, can't you answer him?" recalled Solisia, looking at the knight's empty expression.
"He is one of the Four Dragons. The one who asked for a never-ending feast and for young, unmarried women. The embodiment of lust and gluttony. Neutral to the vampires and to mankind. Of course, as long as we provide his requirements. My only meeting with him was when I was sixteen. He came to King Leopold. It was some diplomatic gathering regarding the vampires. I already sensed back then that he was a dangerous man, someone you wish to avoid. A predator," he snarled. His face was filled with disgust and anger, but despite it, not a single muscle twitched in his body. Almost like he knew he was hopeless against him.
If he doesn't fight vampires, then what does he do? From my perspective, he's just a parasite clinging to humans for the benefits," responded Laudis, his odd eye filled with scorn for the dragon's actions. He considered himself a liberal, 'If it doesn't hurt anyone, why should we prohibit it?'. The boy understood drinkers, smokers, drug abusers, and such, but there was a limit. His limit was prostitution. He always hated both the one selling their body and their customer. Whenever he heard any words associated with the act, he felt disgust. The dragon's case wasn't a real prostitution, yet a more sickening variation of it.
"You are right, but we don't stand a chance against him... yet. If we can execute Sloth and Lust, then we are ditching the mission for a while. We will have to change the target."
"What?! I've signed up for killing the vampires only!" shouted Dantenium.
"You should have read the documents you were signing. There was not a single word about killing them, but to finalise the objectives given by your supervisor, me," his quick smirk flashed away the Warrior of Hades.
"To hell with you. Nonetheless, what is your objective then, after killing the first two Upper Hands? Do you want to kill the dragons? In my humble opinion, your motivation is kind of dumb," the crimson-haired man responded, turning his head away.
"You are right, we need to execute the Four Dragons. My motivation? Every second they live equals every more second of suffering. They are parasites on mankind. They are a burden for us. I hate them. If only I could kill them by myself, if I could slaughter them!" he clenched his hand, grabbing his shirt. It seemed like he was in pain, a mental one to be precise.
"They didn't show any mercy when they wiped out the villages near the coastline. I won't show them any remorse! I will cut them by myself!"
His fingers were twitching uncontrollably. Shivers went through his whole body; he remembered something of great importance. Something which he wished to forget. Whack — he punched himself to escape from it. His face turned red in the spot where he struck.
"At first, I'll rip out their limbs, then skin them alive, and finally burn them. I will show them what it means to suffer for six hellish centuries," the knight continued, speaking louder and louder. His eyes were filled with anger, his breathing grew heavier, and his hand was reaching for his sword.
Silence filled the valleys. Everyone looked at him, surprised and with pity. The crimson-haired man turned his head away. The girl looked at her horse, and the youth was inspecting his cigarettes. Suddenly, the paladin felt something. It was a hug. Udania tried to console him. It was beyond a simple act of empathy. Despite forcing himself to be stoic, Gladius was torn apart inside; he wasn't calm at all. It was just a mask, an act to hide his real side. The side, which he couldn't control. His eyes began to glaze. The woman gave him her cotton, white cloth. She avoided any eye contact, knowing that men prefer not to be seen as weak. After a while, he finally cooled out. It was close to sunset, so the knight decided to set up the camp. The men set up the tents, the women tied horses to the wooden stakes, and Laudis was gathering wood for the fireplace. After some time, they were sitting next to the fire. The insects were flying near them, causing discomfort; thus, the youth used his fragrance to repel them. The captain fell asleep in no time; he was exhausted.
'He fell asleep... I got no training, how am I supposed to train when he is asleep? I'd opt not to use the Sword Techniques; they are still new to me. They also have unpleasant after effects. Udania is long ranged, Dantenium is too strong for me without my boosts, and Solisia is, Solisia is... I don't want to spar with her. I don't know why, but I don't feel it's beneficial for me,' the boy thought, looking at the girl. She noticed his stare and questioned it.
"What the hell do you want, huh?" wondered annoyed Solisia, warming up next to the campfire.
"Nothing, at least from you,' the kid murmured, cutting off the eye contact.
"What do you mean by from you?"
"You are too wea— I mean not appropriate for my sparring," he mumbled, trying to clarify the awkwardness.
"You have a high belief in yourself. Last time, I couldn't use magic. Do you want to find out what my real strength is?" she asked him, reaching out her right hand with a subtle smile.
Suddenly, a flashback of Will entered his mind. The heptagon with the star hallucinated onto her hand. Slap — he rejected her handshake. His breathing became heavy, his eyes widened. He felt a heart pain, almost like a needle went right through it. A black figure emerged from the shadows behind the girl. It was coming closer and closer. A white smile appeared on its face. Clink — its head rotated upside down. A strange substance started to pour down from its snapped neck. There was a familiar smell coming from it. Firstly, it was sweet, but then it quickly changed to iron and blood scents. The puddle around it was becoming larger and larger.
"Don't be afraid, Laudis," a distorted and unknown voice whispered into his ear. The entity was similar to Will in appearance, yet their voices were totally different. Also, there was something odd; he had his right hand pierced. The boy didn't understand much, but he knew it couldn't be him.
"Get away from me, you, you... devil!" shouted Laudis, looking at the silhouette. He grabbed his sword, which was next to him. The youth stood up sharply and rushed to it. The Crusaders were startled. Dantenium caught him in the way, making sure he wouldn't attack Solisia. The blade was centimeters from her right arm.
"What the hell are you doing?! Do you want to kill her? If you wanted to spar, then you should accept the offer and not do that shit," the crimson-haired hissed, watching his blank eyes.
"What are you talking about? I know I've gone a little overboard with you, but I wasn't too harsh," confessed Solisia, concerned about him.
"Look behind! There he is, behind you! Quick! The devil stands there!" the boy bellowed, pointing in the figure's direction.
Everyone looked there. No one was present. They were watching him with even bigger concern. The youth grabbed his shirt and bit his left hand with full force. The hallucination was fading away. The blood was pouring down. Plop, plop — it was dripping down, smudging away on his boots. The pain was great, but he endured it. He preferred to suffer physically rather than mentally.
"I must have been tired. I saw something, but I guess it was my own imagination. Sorry for the inconvenience. I'm going to sleep. Bye," he told them, going to his tent and leaving them puzzled.
"Wait! Your hand, why did you bite it?" asked Udania, grabbing it. You could tell by her look that she was most concerned by it.
"Oh, merciful Poseidon! Grant me the power to heal the sick."
A turquoise light emerged from the darkness. A subtle noise of the water stream was audible to them. Summoned water bound with the damaged skin. The youth felt the pain caused by salt, but it wasn't too bad. The woman was holding it with one hand and cast the spell with the other. After some time, the wound had healed, leaving only the marks. Despite it, the woman didn't let go of it.
"Are you finished?" wondered Laudis, observing her unusual behaviour.
"Oh! Yes, I drifted away for a while. You are good to go, but don't use your mana in the next hour," she mumbled, slightly embarrassed.
"Why is that?"
"I infused my own mana into your body. It is a foreign body to you. If you used it, the stitched skin would burst open. Thus, my work would be pointless. Just keep that in mind. Nonetheless, you are going to sleep, aren't you? I shouldn't worry too much."
"Did you worry?, he asked with raised eyebrow.
"No! Well, yes... Ahh! Just forget it!" the woman responded, turning away from him.
"Sorry for that, I saw something very odd," the youth clarified his words, patting Solisia's head.
"Not a big deal... Now, can you stop it?! I'm not your dog to pet!"
"You sure act like one."
"What did you say?" she whispered, fuming inside.
Laudis went to his tent, avoiding all the strikes coming from her. He lay on the material placed on the sand. It was constantly sinking deeper and deeper, but it stopped after a while.
'What the hell was that? It wasn't Will, was it? It couldn't be him; he looked similar, but he had a pierced hand. The one I know would regenerate it, but it can't. There are two possibilities. First, it was a hallucination caused by exhaustion. Second, it was a physical being with impressive magic skills. They were capable of masking their presence, disappearing, manipulating my vision, and erasing their traces. They would have to be a Shadow element user for sure. At least it went away when I bit my hand,' the youth thought. He was checking it, especially concentrating on the left marks. Suddenly, he noticed something frightening. A heptagon with a star appeared on it. It was like a tattoo. When the boy touched it, he experienced heart pain.
'An unknown mark on my hand was engraved. It's white, the same colour as Will's. I have to ask him about it, it's too dangerous to play with it alone.'
After a while, he fell asleep. When he opened his eyes, he woke up in the Clock Room. After two nights with no meetings, he finally could talk to the entity. The kid was astonished by the scene. The being awaited him with his legs on the table. In the middle of it, there was a bottle. It was filled to the middle with a golden coloured liquid. In his right hand, he held a glass filled with the substance.
"Are you ready, Laudis?" asked Will, closely observing him and drinking.
"Yes," he replied, sitting down in a quartz chair.