The moment he yelled, Sergi ran forward and kicked the mast with his leg in a fit of rage. He was still very much drunk but anger had snapped him to his senses again, making him able to move properly.
Arthur stared down at the man with an apathetic look. He wasn’t even feeling annoyed since he knew the man was drunk to the nose and he wouldn’t be able to do much even if he tried. There was really no point in him picking another fight.
But, what surprised him was when the man suddenly started climbing the mast, trying to reach Arthur. He gripped the wooden pole with his arms and fingers as he slowly moved up.
“I will get you!!”
“Hey, Sergi, get down here!” Deka yelled as she approached the pole to try and pull him down. However, the man quickly kicked with his leg, pushing her back.
“Don’t touch me! I will get him! I will kill the demon!”
“Stop!” Deka struggled to grab him, only to be pushed back with his frantic movement. Then, Sergi continued climbing up the mast, aiming for Arthur. His eyes were burning with a fire of anger yet also a cloud of intoxication. He was clearly not in his mind even when his hatred for Arthur was well within his normal behavior.
“Here we go again.” Arthur sighed as he shook his head. He then stood up and crouched to look down at Sergi. “You know I can push you the moment you reach me, right? You will fall to your death or you will break a few bones at least.”
“Shut up and fight me, coward!!”
“Pfft, you’re really amusing, Sergi. I really don’t want to end your life right here and now.” Arthur laughed coldly. “But, if you really wish for it, who am I to say no? By all means, continue going up!”
“Arthur, no!! He isn’t aware of-“
“Shhh, let’s see what he wants to do.” Arthur silenced Deka calmly as he continued watching the man climb with all his power. It took him a while to reach the top of the mast since his pace was very slow.
Eventually, he found himself a few inches away from Arthur as he glared up with a red face. He was struggling to hold on.
“Come… fight me!!!”
Arthur stared calmly at the man without showing any emotions on his face. He truly didn’t know how this man had survived this long with such a behavior, it was almost as if he was a child in an adult’s body.
‘For a seasoned mercenary, he surely knows nothing about putting work first and petty arguments second. He really hates me to the bone.’ The boy mused as he exhaled a small breath.
“Ok, congrats, you made it this far,” Arthur said. “Now, you’re gonna have to go down again.”
“Huh?”
Before Sergi could understand what happened, Arthur leaped forward and landed on the ground. His landing was quiet and very graceful as if gravity wasn’t trying to drag him down forcefully.
“Do your best, my friend,” Arthur added as he looked up.
“…”
The entire squad stared at him as if he was some kind of alien. The way he leaped from almost 35 meters in the air and landed without any problems was a fit of superhuman power. Even they cannot do it easily.
“You bastard! Come here!”
Sergi growled and started sliding down to the ground, intending to catch Arthur. The latter waited with a smug face until the drunkard landed on his feet.
“Good job, big boy!” Arthur clapped his hands casually. “You did your best getting down from there.”
“You!!!”
The more Arthur mocked him, the more angry Sergi got. He started stomping his way toward Arthur. But, on the way, one of the mercenaries stepped in front of him.
“Calm down, Sergi. We are in a huge problem now, we can’t keep fighting!” He said as he pushed the man back.
“Get out of my way,” Sergi replied. “I don’t have time for you. I have to kill the demon.”
“There is no demon! Arthur is a human! You have already agreed to keep quiet until we make it back home!” The mercenary argued back with an angry look on his face. He was already on the verge of losing it because of all the stress and so Sergi’s attitude was not necessary at all.
Sergi stared at the man with a blank expression as if he didn’t expect that reaction. This was the first time one of the team members lashed out at him.
“…”
“Can you calm down now?”
“…” Sergi didn’t reply as he stared at the man. Then, out of nowhere, he opened his mouth and said. “Get… out of my way…”
“No. You should make me.”
“Oh? Is that so?” Sergi asked.
“Yeah…” The man stepped forward and glared at his friend silently. The two stood there for a good few seconds, tension growing between them to an unbearable degree.
“Ok, you got it.” Sergi nodded his head in a whisper.
“Hey, cut it off both of y-“
*Swish*
It all happened in a second, no, even less than that. It happened so quickly that nobody could even react, not that they would’ve been able to react if it was any slower. After all, the scene they witnessed at that very moment shattered their minds.
“W-Wha…” The mercenary didn’t feel a thing at first but then a very cold sensation started filling his stomach and pooling around his chest. Looking down, all he could see was a sword stabbed into his stomach that pierced his back.
His eyes widened for a moment as he gasped for air, only to find himself unable to breathe. So, he slowly looked up, unable to believe what just happened. But, all he could see was a blank, terrifying expression on Sergi’s face.
Slowly, the man leaned forward as he hit Sergi’s body, stumbling out of balance. The last thing he heard before he fell to the ground was one sentence.
“I warned you.”
Then, he dropped motionless, a pool of blood forming around his body very quickly. All that remained after that was silence. The sound of breathing, and the occasional whistle of the wind.
Everyone had varying degrees of shock, even Arthur who couldn’t expect in his wildest imagination what he just witnessed. Then, when it settled into their heads, it was chaos.
“AAAAAAGH!!! What the fuck?!!!”
“Sergi!! What the hell did you do?!”
Two mercenaries rushed forward to their friend to check on him. The others ran to Sergi to grab him.
“Don’t get any close, you filthy liars!! I will not hesitate to kill all of you!” The man pointed his sword at them. Your next chapter is on My Virtual Library Empire
“…” The two couldn’t believe their eyes. “What’s gotten into you, you bastard!!!”
“H-He’s dead… T-There is no pulse.” Another mercenary muttered as he pulled his hand from his friend’s neck. The man died very quickly as the sword pierced his vital organs and shattered his spine.
“Dead…? I will kill you, SERGI!!! I WILL KILL YOU!!!” The two mercenaries pulled their weapons out. “You have lost your goddamn mind!!”
“Yeah, I have lost my mind and you’re the cause of it! You made me lose my mind because of your stupidity! You keep siding with a monster against me! Me!! I have known each one of you ungrateful bastards for years! Yet, you still threw me away for a baseless hope in a monster! None of you deserve life!”
As he yelled, Sergi’s eyes slowly filled with a crazed look. It was something they had seen for the very first time in their lives. Sergi didn’t look like the man they had known for a long time, he was completely different. His demeanor, tone, and his actions were far from the person they considered a friend.
“What happened to you? Why?” Tears welled up in their eyes as they held their weapons shakingly. They couldn’t even find it within themselves to attack him as all kinds of emotions filled their hearts.
Sergi saw that moment of hesitation and immediately sprung into action, dashing forward, he sliced with his sword, aiming for their heads.
*CLING*
The swords clashed violently as sparks of fire flew everywhere. The two had to stop the man using their combined power. The man’s attack had been with a clear intent to kill.
“You keep doing the wrong thing and look where we are… We have lost everyone else! We have killed them! Their blood is on our hands! Have you no shame to attack me when you caused the death of far more people than I did? Or are their lives that cheap to you?”
“…”
“None of you have any more superiority to me! Everyone here is a criminal with blood on their hands! Everyone!!! What difference would it make if I kill one or kill the rest of you, huh?!”
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!