The underground has only one source of light. From the torches held on the walls. The silence was broken in the hallway when more destructive magic spells struck the castle, dust, and rubble falling down from above them.
Aeriel and Invictus were ready to go, preparing themselves for what awaited them on the ground floor where commotion and battles between two forces were happening.
"When we get out of here, what do you plan on doing, Lord Invictus?" Asked Aeriel.
Right now, Invictus could not do anything regarding the dreadful look on his legs. He was too eager to cut it already and have them regrowth to fix the problem.
"You don't need to add a lord as an honorific when speaking to me, Aeriel.
I'm just a mere deadman walking, a peasant whose life will only revolve around a sole purpose; to get revenge."
Invictus was fixing his clothes, conscious about how he looked, checking himself if he did not seem weird wearing a totally unmatched pair of tops and pants.
"I possibly can't! Lord Invictus has done so much for me. I think it's the best thing I can do. So, I hope Lord Invictus doesn't mind—"
All of a sudden, Aeriel uttered a deep gasp, coughing blood, and found half of a metallic sword piercing her right chest.
"Aeriel!" Exclaimed Invictus, completely caught off-guard by the immediate turn of events.
"Well, well, well, look at this rat that I found."
The person behind Aeriel who stabbed her pulled the woman's hair back, then pulled the sword out of her body, causing Aeriel to grunt. She gritted her teeth in pain, blood all over the white bones, which were layered perfectly.
"King Estaroth's bad feeling was right. A whore got the nerves to free the plague. Serves you right."
The cruel person shoves Aeriel to the side, hitting her body on the wall, thus losing her consciousness.
Invictus' anger could not be contained anymore. His blood was boiling, and he needed someone to vent all the rage, which piled up from the day he lost everything.
He is not someone who loses his cool every time. In fact, Invictus is always calm and collected. He does not mind the small mistakes and would let things slide even if he is at the losing end.
However, hurting the only person out of everyone he knew was the last thing he would let slide. Invictus may not be in the best conditions at the moment, but still, he charges toward the man whose face was revealed at the slightest touch of light.
"I knew it was you, Hubert!"
Going against an armed man who clearly has another weapon, which is his magic, was a bad idea on Invictus' side.
"Oi, oi, are you serious right now? What can you do with only just your fist?"
Invictus' actions seemed foolish from Hubert's perspective. Blatantly charging forward barehanded and having no other sort of plan was just suicide in his eyes. So, to quickly end the foolish man's miseries, Hubert, with his precise and clean slash struck Invictus down.
The latter lifelessly crashed on the ground when Hubert avoided a collision, face planting on the bricked floor.
"That was reckless of you, Invictus. Actually, I had nothing against you," Hubert turned to Aeriel's unconscious state. "Rather, I am quite fascinated by your principles and how you have climbed your way from the depths of society to being a landowner. You just happened to be akin to the most despicable bloodline in Estaria. Had you been born into a different family, you and I would have been best friends. It's kinda sad that things turn out like this, but it is what it is. I can't choose a comrade from what was offered to us. Well, who am I talking to? He's already dead."
Hubert is one of the seven people, who Invictus thought to be his friends. He treated them fairly and kindly. There was not a single time that he had hurt them or done anything bad to any of them.
However, despite all that, people will turn on each other when money and wealth are involved.
They call what they did as being practical because, for them, friendship will not bring food to their tables, but money will. Therefore, betrayal was inevitable.
"Now, I ought to get rid of her but looking closely at her, Aeriel's kind of my type. It's a shame that I stabbed, and I don't wanna get off on someone who's unconscious or half dead. It's no fun. So, I'll just end you here."
Holding his sword with both hands whilst the tip of the blade was pointing down at Aeriel, Hubert lightly raised his arms to put strength into it.
"Guess who's back alive."
Chillingly, Invictus blew in Hubert's ears. Before Hubert could react to the abrupt turn of events, surprised to see Invictus all and well, the latter immediately nabbed his head and compellingly slammed Hubert's face on the wall.
It happened not just once. Invictus kept going, repeatedly smashing Hubert's face on the wall with all his might, resulting in blood splattering all over the ground and staining the wall red.
"How... are you alive?! Fucking... bastard!"
Everything happened so quickly. Hubert could not find the opportunity to use either his hands or his magic to free himself from Invictus' reign over him.
"Ahhhhh!"
The one last push was personal. When Invictus took a quick look at how messed up Hubert's face had become from all the smashing and
slamming on the wall, he dropped Hubert, who only lost consciousness.
If you think that Invictus' anger was finished there, you are quite wrong. He was not satisfied, not until they suffered enough.
"I heard everything you've said, Hubert. And yeah, it's such a shame. After all, it is you who will be spending the rest of his days inside the
Oubliette. Oh, well. I guess you can't hear what I am saying but will you
stay silent if I do this?!"