Lancelot's eyes narrowed, hearing the sound of multiple footsteps and chattering.
"Village Chief!"
"What was the sound..?"
"It was like a loud explosion! It woke me up.."
"Why were you asleep so late into the day? You unemployed bum."
"Shut up! Lets just head inside.."
Several voices could be heard just outside the house, and thanks to Lancelot's improved hearing, he could make out what exactly the villagers were saying.
There were multiple footsteps, followed by the sounds of locks breaking and glass shattering.
The villagers had broken inside to investigate!
Sighing, Lancelot hopped inside the trapdoor, shutting it behind him.
"I could've saved some time if I had asked Ddraig, but he went into hibernation.." Lancelot thought poignantly.
Ddraig, shortly after Sancho flew away, announced that releasing his aura onto the real world took up a great deal of energy, and that he would rest for a few days or weeks.
Right now, Lancelot could only rely on himself.
He landed on a stone floor, eyes darting around the dimly lit basement.
There were torches attached to the sides of the stone walls, roughly illuminating the series of stairs that lay in front of Lancelot.
He briskly made his way down the stairs, looking out for any traps or enemies.
To hide Sarah in this place, Sancho must've been here. In that case, he could not dismiss the possibility that she had laid a trap.
In a few moments, he had reached the end of the stairs. In front of him now was a long corridor, its end hidden by the creeping shadows.
Lancelot punched the wall, picking up the pieces of stone that crumbled as a result of his strike.
Then, he threw the stones across the floor, letting them impact and bounce along it.
There was no change.
Lancelot then reinforced his eyes, the blood vessels in them taking on a white glow as his vision sharpened by many times.
Now, he could see that at the end of the corridor was an indistinct oak door, and with a reinforced sprint, he quickly made his way across.
Holding his breath, he pushed open the door.
Inside the room were a few tables, a bookshelf, and a burning candle. In the center was a chair, and on it was a woman with light blonde hair, tied to it as her mouth was covered by a white napkin.
Sarah's eyes widened when she saw Lancelot, hope and joy filling her teary green eyes.
"Sarah!" Lancelot called out, a smile breaking out on his face as he quickly hugged her.
"I'll explain everything later, we need to get out of the village, right now."
Sarah nodded with confused eyes, gesturing towards the ropes that bound her to the chair.
Lancelot hastily untied her, taking the napkin out of her mouth.
He grabbed her hand, starting to lead her out.
"Lancelot." Sarah called out, voice hoarse. "Uncle Shen and Ken, they.. knocked me out." She croaked.
"Where are we going to go?" Sarah looked at him expectantly.
The blue haired boy bit his lip.
"We'll sneak out the back, from the garden." He explained, "And if we get caught by the villagers, I'll just kill them.."
"No! What are you talking about?!" Sarah stopped walking, standing in the middle of the stone corridor with an angry and confused face.
"Why? What are you talking about? I'm sorry, but I need an explanation right now." She crossed her arms.
"..I'm a wizard. Well, a magus, to be exact." Lancelot revealed with a sigh, "I fought with another magus, one that could control people. In the process, I had to.. kill Uncle Shen, Ken, and two maids.."
Sarah rolled her eyes angrily.
"Killed them?! What the hell are you saying? Also, wizards or whatever you said you were don't exist! Magic isn't real."
"It is! Just believe me. Uncle Shen and Ken knocked you out, right? Why would they ever do that? It's because they were controlled!"
Sarah's gaze faltered slightly, feeling slightly convinced.
"Even then.. Why do we have to run away?"
Lancelot ran a hand through his cobalt hair, feeling slightly frustrated.
"Because, the villagers have definitely found the bodies by now. They'd pin the blame on us. After all, how would they believe that I'm a magus? Even if I showcase some magecraft, they might lynch me for blasphemy or for being a Warlock."
Sarah opened her mouth, but quickly closed it, not being able to retort Lancelot's reasoning.
"Fine, then. Let's go.." She nodded, grabbing Lancelot's hand.
"Before that, though, can you do something for me?" Sarah pleaded, looking up at Lancelot with her signature puppy-eyes.
"..." Lancelot sighed, finding himself forced to fulfill her request despite their desperate situation.
"What is it? Make it quick."
Sarah's mouth curled up into a wide grin.
A familiar grin.
A grin he had seen just minutes before.
"Can you die for me?"
Sarah's smile was the same smile that Uncle Shen had, the same smile that Uncle Ken had, the same smile that the two maids had.
The same smile as Sancho!
Immediately, Sarah's hands shot towards Lancelot's throat, moving with inhuman speed, intending to kill him instantly-
Splat!
A hand burst through Sarah's back, flesh and blood hanging and dripping off the assaulting limb.
"What..?" Sarah spat out a mouthful of blood, looking upwards at Lancelot with a shocked expression. "I thought.. I thought I got you.."
"You...You're even more of a monster than I thought." She giggled weakly, "I thought I had you, but you didn't even hesitate! I guess I'll have the pleasure of killing you with my main body.."
With a chop, Sarah's head was cleanly bisected, rolling onto the floor and through a pool of her blood.
He couldn't bear to see Sarah have that moment of clarity, like that maid.
He feared it would break him completely.
Lancelot looked on at this scene with hazy eyes.
In this moment, he felt completely, and utterly..
"..Alone."
"From now on, I'll do it all alone."
His tears hit the floor, mixing with his sister's blood.
"I don't need anyone else, no relationships or bonds."
"Everything, everyone, is just a tool. A means of getting stronger."
The droplets of water grew in numbers and frequency.
"The strongest. Only the strongest can live freely. The strongest can do everything."
He slid his hand out of Sarah's corpse, letting her body slump against his shoulder, a cruel imitation of a hug.
"The strongest can protect his loved ones. The strongest can have fun, run wild without restraints, taste every delicacy, enjoy every activity."
His fists clenched.
"This path, the path of strength, is a lonely one, one that I have to walk alone, I've learnt."
He clenched his teeth, tears streaming down his face.
"Then, when I become stronger than everyone else, I can laugh without restraint! I can live the life I want to live.."
He looked down at his hands, each soaked with blood and a sin that he could never wash off.
"I can love, I can cry, I can play."
Lancelot looked forward, his face hard and determined, his eyes red from crying, each pupil containing a swirling ocean of resolve.
There was a certain aspect of coldness to them, a cruelness that was always there, more pronounced.
"Until then, I have to keep moving."
This was his- Lancelot's, true nature.