William pointed his sword forward, preparing for the attacks of his two remaining foes. Two against two. The position was now balanced. That was probably why Rogas' mocking laughter suddenly sounded beside him.
"Wow! Your friend seems scared, Mornitz!" Rogas exclaimed. "Don't you have pity and want to keep forcing him to fight? Look, how about you guys just give up? Instead of dying here!"
Mornitz looked back at the scar-faced man. "Hey! What are you waiting for? Attack the boy! Don't you want to avenge the deaths of your friends?"
Getting a fire from Mornitz, the scar-faced man's emotions were finally ignited. He let out a scream. The swung of his sword was strong and fast. He was indeed tougher than his three comrades. William immediately felt it when he collided with the man. He let go of the dagger in his left hand and gripped the sword with both hands.
But to William, the sound of swords clashing that filled his ears was now almost the same as the clatter he used to hear when hitting the metal plates in his workshop. He was used to it, and maybe that was what made him move without hesitation and become even more ferocious. His sword spun like a cyclone, full of energy, pushing the scar-faced man further and further away from where he had been until he approached the riverbank.
The enemy was getting madder and his movements were getting chaotic. Panicked, not expecting William to be able to keep up with him, the scar-faced man tried various attacks, slashing from left and right, also stabbing straight ahead. Everything failed. William was able to fend off all the attacks and chargeback with blows like sledgehammers.
The scar-faced man was getting desperate and out of breath. The man was unable to control his emotions and finally forced himself to attack back. But the sweep of his sword failed to hit the mark. William slammed his enemy's sword to the side, causing the scar-faced man's body to nearly twist-off balance. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, William slashed from top to bottom, scratching his opponent's back.
The scar-faced man roared in pain. The man desperately tried to twist his body while swinging his sword horizontally once again. William dodged, then again slashed his sword. This time the bandit's right thigh was torn apart. His body knelt and was covered in blood. The sword fell. William immediately kicked his enemy's chest until he was on his back.
William looked at his enemy with bubbling emotions. If he didn't think about it, he would have swung his sword again to slash his enemy's head. That kind of thing was usually done during the war as in the stories of Rogas or other rude people in the village. But when that moment came to him, William was not that cruel. His compassion was still there, covering his anger as soon as he saw the man in front of him who was now lying helpless.
William gulped, his lips quivering. For a moment he was confused. Should he finish off his enemy, or give mercy?
Several questions popped into his mind. Why did he have to kill this man? Were they really the enemy? Or was it not at all? Even if it was true that they were enemies, should they be killed?
"William!" exclaimed Rogas.
William turned, looked at his friend who was sitting, wincing in pain. The man pointed towards the river with his sword.
"Mornitz! He ran away!"
Mornitz, the man in the black robe who had previously looked so convincing and dangerous, had already run to the river bank and was now pushing a boat that had been used by his men. The man jumped up and rowed. He and William looked at each other. Even from a few meters, William could feel the hateful look in the black-robed man's eyes.
A moment later William gasped because near the boats he remembered there was Muriel. Where was she? Was she okay?
Fortunately, the girl then appeared running towards William. The girl's face was pale and her body was shaking.
"Go after him, William! Take the other boat! Don't let him get away!" Rogas shouted. He groaned in annoyance, clutching his thigh. It turned out that he was badly injured and was unable to run. That's why Rogas told William to go after Mornitz.
"Wh-why?" William asked nervously. "Why should I go after him? What matters is that he's gone. We're safe!"
"Safe? We're safe?!" Rogas struggled to his feet while leaning on his sword. With dragging steps he walked over to William. His face looked fierce. "Are you stupid or what, huh?"
He stood beside William's last enemy who was still whimpering in pain. The man with the scarred face. Rogas unexpectedly raised his sword, then swung it, slashing the man's neck. Muriel screamed as she covered her face with both hands. William stared, shocked beyond measure.
Rogas glared. "They are your enemies! That's why you have to go after Mornitz! Not only that! When you have the chance, kill him!"
William shook his head in disbelief. "But … he, Mornitz … he's a dangerous man! I don't think I can chase—"
"He's scared!" exclaimed Rogas. "He's scared of you, William! He's seen how you beat these guys! It's not you who should be afraid, but him! He's scared and sucks! He's not as great as you think. Go after him!" His gaze blazed with emotion. Then after a while, as soon as he realized William wasn't willing to do his request, his voice lowered almost as if to plead, "Kill him ..."
William's jaw tightened, his head shook without hesitation. "No. He's not my enemy, and I'm not his enemy either. You're the enemy! You're the one he's after, for some reason I don't know, and I don't want to know. I have nothing to do with any of this!"
Roger was stunned. "Nothing to do? Gosh, you are a moron!"
"I was only helping you! Only that!"
"Yes, you have helped me. Thank you!" said Rogas. "But do you think after this you can go home, live quietly, and pretend all this never happened? You and this girl think like that?"
William looked at Muriel who was also looking at him. Seeing Muriel's frightened face the youth was restless. The fear arose. Images of bad things that might happen later flashed through his mind. Of course! William had killed several people tonight. Did he really hope that after this incident everything would be fine?
Rogas shook his head in annoyance. "As of tonight, Mornitz has considered you an enemy. Thanks to your stupidity, he managed to survive. One day he will come looking for you, to your house, and bringing more people. And do you think he'll come just to visit or order a sword? No! He will come to kill you! Do you understand? The only way now, if you want to survive, is to get out of this town. Disappear for who knows how long, until he finally forgets you, or doesn't care about you anymore!"