Esmond:
With the sight of Gesine, I felt a bit energized. It looks like I wasn't abandoned after all. I applaud Gesine for having the courage to step up for me even though she knows who I am.
But... Is she sure of her decision? Maybe she's just making a choice that would benefit her right now.
"Hey! Why are you spacing out? I need help here," Gesine was struggling to keep holding the giant sword, so she pushed it away and backed up.
"But why are you—," she covered my mouth and told me to be quiet. Damn, this happened two times in a single day.
I was told to be quiet by two women today. Am I that predictable?
Anyways, I should really help out Gesine. I tried to grab something beside me, and I didn't feel anything. I sighed.
Solais disappeared, and I don't have another weapon with me. I didn't anticipate any major events to happen, so I left my daggers back at the house. Now I realize that's a bad choice.
"Gaurghh!" Raguel charged at Gesine with full speed, his great sword pointing towards me.
I am the main target; he doesn't seem to care about Gesine for now. Eliminating me is his first priority. What a good knight.
"Cass— I mean Esmond, ugh! I don't care, just defend yourself!" Gesine tried to block his sword, but it ended up in failure. She struck his body multiple times, but with his thick armor, she couldn't pierce through it.
I ran forward to confront Raguel's sword. It was big, but it's also easy to evade, and with his heavy armor, his entire movement has slowed down.
As the point of his sword that is about to reach me, I did a side step and clenched my fist. I prayed to the gods that this knight's soul would be honored.
"Celestial Arts: Tempest Burst," the wind suddenly picked up, and my hand that was clenched into a fist started to glow, and eventually, it disappeared, coming back as a normal hand again.
But when my fist reached Raguel's helmet, a sudden burst came, like a tornado had just passed by. The surroundings became a mess. Celestial Arts is a bit of an overkill, but it's only once in a fight that I get to use it.
It can only be used if I wasn't equipped with any sort of weapon. With Celestial Arts, my hands are my weapon.
"Is he dead?" Gesine came up and looked down at the body of Raguel; his body was certainly intact.
"Is he dead? Seriously, the dude has no head. How can he be alive?" A body with no head; I was planning on hitting his body, but I don't think I want pieces of organs to spread around.
"But where is his head?"
"I don't know, maybe the tempest made it fly away. Just hope it didn't land in any crowded places."
"Hahaha, right. They might panic if they see a head coming from the sky."
"....."
"..."
As soon as I didn't say anything, Gesine also didn't say a word. This is getting awkward. What should I say? I mean, what can I even say?
Should I just go and say, "I'm the demon king, nice, right?" No, that's just wrong. But then again, she already knew. I just don't know how she'll process all this.
"I'm sorry?" Of all my thoughts, that's all I had to say. But I guess I really do have to apologize, though I had my reasons, of course, hehehe.
"Sorry? Why do you act like you're asking me if you're sorry? If you want to apologize, just say it confidently."
"I'm sorry. I had my reasons, and I know I broke your trust," I deeply sighed. It must be hard to forgive someone who lied to you.
"I know you had reasons, that's why... I came back. I should hear your reasons at least, right? I can't judge the situation without knowing the story, can I?"
I smiled. She's one of a kind. "Thanks. Thank you for today."
I looked at her face, which was red, and immediately she looked away and covered her entire face. What a shy girl.
"Hey Gesine, you crying?"
When I said that, she immediately punched me in the stomach, and strangely, it hurt as if a knife had just stung me. Her fist dealt damage?
"I'm not, you idiot!"
She giggled a bit, and then she started to laugh. I was smiling as well, and then I started to laugh. Why am I even laughing? I can't stop it.
I'm in front of a corpse I just killed, and I'm laughing. Hahaha, oh God, help me.
The rain started to drop out of nowhere, and the stars are covered with dark clouds from above. The wind was chilly, and we are starting to get soaked.
"Looks like you're having fun," a sudden voice came, and I stopped laughing. Fog was starting to come in at a bad timing. I saw two men in light armor; they were barely fully armored.
"I'm leaving, so there's no need for us to fight! I don't want to kill today since I'm in a good mood."
"For today? So, are you planning on killing people tomorrow or maybe the day after?" As he said this, the two men stepped closer and closer, and finally, I saw their faces.
"Have we gotten so old that you don't recognize us?" The massive, broad man was speaking, and I immediately realized it. The other was an average-built man who stood by his side.
"Albrecht? Paisley?" The Albrecht I knew was a man who relied too much on armor, but on this one, he doesn't have much on him. He has changed so much; I'm glad he learned during the war.
And Paisley, a man built like a normal dude, but he wasn't any normal dude to begin with. He was speedy and relied on his speed rather than his defense. Now he wears proper armor.
They both learned and changed.
"It's Duke Albrecht and Duke Paisley now. Our old man kicked the bucket, so we had to take their place."
"Long time no see, my friend Esmond," Paisley looked at me. I don't feel any killing intent. Actually, I don't feel any from the two of them.
"Then I pay respect to the Dukes of the Holy Empire. What brings you here? I hope it's not to catch me or kill me because the two of you know the results already."
They looked at each other, and Albrecht spoke, "we just came to see you. As you can see, it's just the two of us. We just want some time for the three of us to talk."
"Well then, my friends, it's been a long time. Do you want to catch up?"