Chereads / Eclipse of the Magi / Chapter 40 - Chapter 40: The Sheriff

Chapter 40 - Chapter 40: The Sheriff

"Alright. What's the commotion this time..?"

Such a Gunshot made came from a Man. A Man standing at around 5'10, donning a black face mask made up of solid leather. The man had the eyes of a dragon, with dark green wavy hair that was covered with a black Cattlemen hat. He wore himself a brown vest and a green shirt, his badge on his left side. Two holsters are around his waist, one of them holding his gun, the other gun being upon his hand. He wore himself some leather chaps and black jeans, while also having brown boots that housed spurs, styled like the sun itself. His tone was rough, but it wasn't malicious. It was as if he experienced this before, looking at the distance to see the water blasted forward to make the sand wet, causing some of the buildings to deter slightly. It was clearly a mess, but it wasn't anything he couldn't fix. Stolas would recognize this man and approached him happily, hugging him. "Pop! I knew you were gonna show up, Hehe! I just made some new friends, and we were having a big race!"

"Were you now?" The man chuckled a bit at Stolas' enthusiasm, ruffling his head a bit as he allowed him to be upon his shoulders, kneeling down towards Harvard. "Well then, a friend of my kid is a friend of mines as well. Ennio Morrwood. Got a name, lil' guy?"

"Ah...Harvard. Harvard Helsing. Card Magician." Harvard was formal with his introduction, as he looked to the attack sent by Ennio's own gun. A Hole blasted right at Apep's head, and at the Fish's eyes, where it housed the stars themselves. This cowboy shot down the very stars that made up Pisces and the Serpent itself. This man was definitely the sheriff of this town for a reason. Said Sheriff merely chuckled softly, as he looked onwards to see the two other kids come by shortly

"And he is..?" He asked calmly with a finger gun towards Zazel, having it act as his pointing.

"Zazel. Zazel Cal'cul. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Ennio."

"Pleasures all mine, Harvard. Seemed you four were quite rowdy when stormin' close by. Assuming you want to get inside, yeah?" The kids nodded towards his statement, to which the answer was reciprocated by Ennio opening the door, allowing them inside. "Well, don't let me keep you away. Come in! Friends of Stolas are friends of mine." Before they entered the supposed place that housed such a cowboy, noises would be heard around him. Splashing and splishing noises with the wet sand, as well as what sounded to be drowning, black hands showcasing such a struggle. Trailing that part of wet sand to where they are, Harvard and Zazel were able to notice that it seemed to be an extent of Solomon himself. The noises then became shouting, which sounded almost the same as Ennio's, though more active and more alive than anything else, a much more different parallel to the man in question.

"HELP!! HELP!! I'M DROWNING!! I'M DROWNING!! OH WHAT A WORLD, WHAT A HORRIBLE WO-"

"SHADY!! You can't Drown...Remember?" Solomon's words hissed like a viper, to which the figure stopped flailing around, quickly rising itself as it realized what his anatomy was. The figure was a living shadow; Pitch black with white eyes and a mouth to detail its expressions, with devil horns to provide its finishing touches. Solomon sighed deeply as the Shadow got its bearings.

"Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaah...I forgot about that! It was still fun playing in the water sand thingy, Eh Lame-mon?" The Shadow, dubbed as Shady, seemed to have more enthusiasm as normal, with Zazel having the most stunned expression when he realized what he was supposed to be. Harvard was equally as shocked, though for the different reason of it being the supposed "Devil" within the "Devil's Bible." Harvard looked back to Stolas, whom smirked a bit as they got the realization.

"Told yah you weren't gonna expect it."

Sighing, the two children followed Stolas and Solomon inside, where they would be able to marvel at how different it was from the rest of the buildings. While the others were made up of solid stone, albeit decorated, Ennio's office was more modern, with dark Walnut acting as the flooring, and equally dark marble stone on its walls. Calm, bright light beams strongly from the lamps up high in the ceiling, coupled with the dark leather furniture, and even a supposedly modern device that captured Harvard's eye: A Television. He rushed himself to see some of the shows being played, with Stolas following suit to grab ahold of Harvard and have him wait his chance while Ennio gave his tour around the place. Everything in this office screams "home", from the bedrooms with hammocks and decorations, to the kitchen which has the foundation made up of white limestone, with basal wood to act as the finishing touches, to even the very office Ennio held, which holds all sorts of memorials: Photo's from what looked to be his own friends, medals, trophies, and more. A Mahogany desk was in the middle of it, with a swirlie chair acting as Ennio's main sitting grounds, as he sat down and looked upon the papers he needed to do his work.

Zazel would reach for some of these photo's, looking at the black and white color of it. "Sheesh....Are these really pictures of you and your friends, Mr. Morrwood?" Zazel asked, passing the photo frame that held said picture. Ennio only needed a quick glance to understand what the demon meant.

"That's right. Old friends of mine. Used to go way back with 'em, fighting in wars was a joy, and one of the few joys at that."

"Wars? You mean you were in an actual ARMY before!? Awesome!" Harvard would comment on, before Zazel had another question to ask.

"What do you mean by, 'Used to'?"

Ennio had his normal, calm exposure have a sadder tone, as he took a deep breath and answered in a respectful and sincere manner. "Well...Good things don't last forever, Zazel. In a way, you could say I....lost them. At the very least...they live on in here, and I won't let anything else take it away from me."

The kids knew all too well what he meant, needing only a moment to be given such a realization. Said realization dampened the mood, but Stolas was quick to assist in bringing things back to a more interesting tale. "Plus, It gave Ennio the motivation to single-handedly bring down an entire kingdom! All with his very guns, too! He dethroned those jerks REAL good!" Stolas stated, which caused Harvard and Zazel to look back to Ennio in confusion. In confirmation, even.

Ennio chuckled at Stolas' enthusiasm. "Alright, Calm down there lil' man. I wasn't all that strong. Though seeing those glints in your eyes...you seem like you want to know how it went down, huh?" The nodding from the duo served as Ennio's answer, as he sat up and got prepared. "Alright then. Buckle up. This story's a Doozy.."