Kevin was grinning at Dean when he said those words. The boy was still shaking, wearing a perplexed and grim expression on his face.
His mind couldn't take what was happening right there. The people he trusted all those days and that seemed to be his saviors, the ones that he would share his journey with for a long time, were actually a bunch of crazy people.
He couldn't take it. Dean wasn't able to stop to think that it all must have been a prank of some kind. However, even he himself knew that those were just a bunch of excuses that he found to lessen the shock and the pain in his heart.
The boy didn't have the time to be angry at them, nor upset. He just felt deeply shocked by their sudden change.
Kevin was finding it funny to see Dean in that state. He couldn't believe the naiveness of that boy.
'That's what you got when you live in the Dreamland for too long. Now that this boy is out of the walls, he will need to deal with all this ignorance that he has about how the world really works here.'
"Intimidate." Kevin chanted, grinning.
Dean suddenly felt pressure on his mind, body, and heart at the same time. He felt that his lungs had two times less the size they previously had, which made it difficult for him to breathe. Dean's legs seemed to be about to collapse at any time, and his arms couldn't stay raised anymore, even though he didn't have his sword in his hands.
To add to all that pressure, the boy felt fear. A kind of fear that he never felt before. It was not just a logical fear, where he identified a threat and reacted to it. No... it was instinctive as well, something that came on a more primitive part of his brain. All the cells of his body were screaming for him to leave that place as fast as possible. His instincts told him that, whatever was so close to him, was powerful like a demon.
Dean tried to back away, and Kevin didn't even bother to pursue the boy, who ended up tripping on a rock and falling beside the horse and Paul.
Since his work was done, Kevin returned to the line that Rick's group was doing, giving his leader the sword that Dean made.
"That's indeed a good sword, Dean," Rick said, analyzing it. "Very well made. But too thin. Nonetheless, I can understand what you tried to do. Swiftness and agility, right? Good... but not good enough, as always!"
Gathering "Willpower" on his arms and his right leg, Rick held the sword by its extremes with its flat part turned to the ground. Then, he hit it hard with his knee, breaking the blade as if it was made of glass.
"You did a bad job finding resources as well. Not all petroleum-metal is good to use. The ones filled with impurities and found too near the surface are not worth a penny. You should learn about it before going producing useless things and wasting your precious time." He gave a critical look towards Dean, who now just stared at his halved sword.
The eyes of the boy were lost in space, his jaw was dropped. His hard work of two days was worth anything in the end. It was now shattered in front of him. To add to it, he was remembered for how useless all that work was. Dean felt humiliated.
'My... My sword... My only good work until today, that I could be really proud of, was... was not worth anything? My best was not worth anything?'
"If you would fight a Dread with it, you surely would have a good speed advantage..." Rick walked near the boy, then crouched in front of him. "But in the first clash, you would have your sword completely shattered in front of you just like happened now. Be grateful that you got to know about it beforehand."
Dean didn't say anything, he just stayed quiet. He didn't look to Rick either, his eyes were glazed at the sword.
Hector noticed it, clicking his tongue and staring at Dean as if he was a worm.
"Are you deaf, despite being talentless, Dean? Aren't you hearing what he is saying to you? Be grateful."
The boy looked up to Hector in confusion, not knowing what to do.
"Say, thank you, Master Rick."
Dean bit his lips, looking at him with a frown on his face.
"No."
The next moment, Clay delivered a kick to his jaw, nearly making the boy pass out. He was near Rick, as always, and kicked him right after he answered Hector rudely.
"You heard, boy. Thank him." Clay coldly stated.
Dean tried to get up from the ground, but he was way too dizzy to do it. Everything around was spinning.
He clenched his fists tightly while gritting his teeth.
Clay gave him another kick, this time on his chest, then stomped him on the throat, making Dean gasp.
"Now you will need to say it while my foot is in your throat. The next punishment will be the worst. Wanna test it, Dean?" He asked.
Dean gasped for a while, his eyes filled with tears. Then, with anger, he finally stated.
"T-Thank you, M-Master Rick."
Clay finally backed away, satisfied with the outcome. Hector also lessened the tension on his shoulders. Nonchalantly, they stayed beside Rick.
"Good thing that you learned some etiquette from my boys, Dean. That's how you should act. Now, it's my time to thank you." Rick smirked.
Dean sat on the ground, cleaning the blood on his mouth and massaging his throat. Fury was starting to rise in his chest as he looked at Rick's tired face. He wanted to kill that man but still didn't dare to do so.
"Why?" The boy asked with a hoarse voice.
"For being obedient, taking my horses and my slave out of the stable for me."