The first round of the tournament was getting to its final stages.
The Squires under the Northern Hawks and the castle were going all out in gaining points.
Whenever the Squires of the opposing teams met, they tried to ignore each other. Both sides had noticed that some Squires were missing.
The lack of reaction from their Knights baffled them but they increased their vigilance. They hunted in groups and tried to avoid conflicts.
Open skirmishes didn't happen. Some hidden obstacles and manipulation happened but nothing that escalated.
Aran was a bit disgruntled by the development. He had hoped that the Knights would be angered by the disappearance of the Squires and go all out. It would be the perfect chance to gain more bodies that had undergone Blessing.
'I haven't heard from that bastard Slyth too. I thought that the baron's disciple gone missing would have achieved both our goals. One hand a Blessed corpse and on the other hand ignite a fight between the two parties.'
Aran looked at the sky. Noon was approaching. They would have to leave soon, if they wished to make it on time to the first checkpoint.
"What are you wondering about, star boy?" A heavy hand patted Aran's slim body, making him stumble.
A few older squires stood behind him. Clearly they had all finished gathering their points and wished to return.
Since Aran climbed to the top twenty he received much more respect and admiration from the others. Before, he was only seen as a lackey running Vitor's errands.
"Nothing much," Aran said with a laugh on his face. "Just wondering when we will leave."
"We are waiting for the Knights to give the order. I hope that brat of the baron can return us as quickly as he brought us." One of the Squires said.
"But where is he? I haven't seen him for a while now. I heard he didn't even check in last night?" Another of the Squires questioned.
The other Squires had also noticed Hex missing. They started to discuss it loudly. No one saw the cold glint in Aran's eyes.
Suddenly they all looked up. They could hear people coming their way. But everyone from the baron's side was already here.
Feeling wary they readied themselves. They all wondered if they would finally fight the other team. At least Aran hoped so. The more bodies they could gather, the better their plan would proceed.
Soon they saw the other team. It was indeed the Northern Hawks.
"Relax."
Just as the tension was building up, a familiar voice said from behind. They turned and noticed Hestia, followed by Adgar and Oron appear.
Seeing the Knights appear calmed them immediately. With their Knights with them they felt assured of their safety.
The Hawks got closer and stopped when they were just a few meters away. Their Knights came from behind their team.
The Squires from both teams seemed unsure how to proceed. Aran looked confused. He even looked involuntarily at his two partners in the other team. But they seemed equally ignorant.
Hestia and Briella took the front.
"All, the first round is almost over," Hestia said, as usual taking the lead. "We have tried to ensure everyone's safety while doing our tasks, but as you might have noticed, some of our own are missing."
The Squires tensed up. Missing usually meant dead. They looked at each other. They noticed at once that the baron's team only had four Squires and the Hawks had six left. Did so many die?
"Miss Althea too?!" A Hawk suddenly shouted, pained at the thought of his beloved goddess dying.
"She is not dead!" Briella snapped at the Squire, losing his composure. The Squire shut his mouth immediately and lowered his head embarrassed under the snickering of his team mates.
"No, she is not dead. But there had been an attempt," Hestia continued. Her gaze sharpened and her tone became colder. "We haven't lost Squires because of beasts or mishaps. They have been murdered."
What?! The Squires exclaimed in shock when they heard the beautiful Knight's words. They couldn't believe that under their noses people were being killed.
Aran's gaze narrowed as he looked once again with a frown to his partners. He couldn't help but wonder whether they were compromised. He didn't believe he had made any mistakes.
'It should have been those morons. I told Sir Avery to let me go at it alone. This happens when people overestimate themselves.' He couldn't help but wonder whether the other two were compromised. He was sure he hadn't made any mistakes.
"Lady Hestia. Do we know who the killer is?" The eldest Squire in the castle's team asked with a frown. He was an experienced man and suspected they were gathered here to expose the killer.
"Yes, we know." Her reply caused the teams to look warily at each other. Aran too looked at his partners, who strangely were looking straight at him.
'These bastards are so dumb. They act as if I am in trouble,' he mused to himself. He already decided to jump and kill those two once the Knights said their names.
He could always defend it by claiming mental instability caused by the loss of his childhood friend.
"Who is it?" The older Squire inquired. Everyone felt tense. Aran had already pulled his sword out, ready to attack the two idiot partners of his.
"The name of the person is…"
The Squires' breath quickened. They were on high alert.
"Aran!" A loud voice came from behind the team.
"You bastards. You killed my brother!" As soon as a name was called, Aran jumped and ran towards his partners, who looked flabbergasted at him.
He was so focused, he didn't even hear the name being called nor did he recognize the other voice.
Only when he noticed the strange gazes of the Hawks did he stop. His mind, delayed by his sheer confidence, started to work.
'Huh? Aran? Isn't that…me?' Aran stopped and looked around in confusion. But when he turned his eyes opened wide with disbelief.
A young man with black hair walked slowly towards him. His anger was palpable from a distance. Even the other Squires felt wary at the killing intent radiating from the black eyes from the Squire.
"No. Impossible!" Aran cried out. The black-haired Squire should have been dead.
"Thought I died, didn't you?" Hex asked in a calm voice but somehow that frightened Aran even more.
"I- I didn't…You KILLED VITOR!" Aran shouted, trying to appear angry and pained.
The Squires looked at Aran with a frown. They didn't think that Hex would kill someone. He didn't need to. He was the baron's Squire. Even winning the tournament wouldn't top that.
"Yes, I did." But Hex's reply stunned them again. Who was the real killer? Aran or Hex?
"Y-yes. YOU are the killer!" Aran shouted with his finger pointed at Hex, he looked at the people standing around him. "You heard him. He is the killer. Lady Hestia. Sirs. He is the killer."
But he didn't get any reaction from any of the Knights. They all looked at him with cold gazes.
"Yes," said Hex as he pulled his sword, "It was my sword that pierced him. But it was your betrayal that made me. And it was also you who pushed me."
"You can't prove it!" Aran shouted. He stumbled around. He was already weak in his knees. Fear and worry overwhelmed him.
"I don't need to." Hex swung his sword.
"NOOO!" Aran vomited blood. Hex used the back of his sword to hit Aran in the stomach.
"This is for Vitor!" Hex stomped and shattered Aran's right hand, on which the Blessed mark was imprinted on.
Aran wailed and screamed. The others looked, some coldly, some worried.But no one stopped Hex.
"This is for me!" Hex stomped once more, crushing his legs.
Aran couldn't move. Streams of a mixture of blood, tears and saliva flowed all over him.
Hex watched him beg for mercy. He didn't feel satisfied yet. He wished to break each bone of Aran, one at a time. But he couldn't. Not yet.
The Knights wanted him alive.
"That should be enough. For now," Althea said, patting Hex on his shoulders. She used her vines to wrap around Aran.
The Squires all looked disturbed. But they were glad the killer was captured.
Aran's partners looked both relieved and worried. They were safe, but only temporarily. Once the Knights were done with Aran, they might be next.
Just as everyone wanted to relax, a thundering spear shot through the sky, landing right in front of the other two.
The two knew at once they were exposed. They wanted to run away, but Hex had closed in.
Hex punched both of them, in quick succession. They were no match for him. With just a few punches and kicks they fell to the ground.
The Hawks around him pulled their weapons. These things happened so suddenly, they hadn't linked the spear with Hex's attack. All they had seen was their teammates being attacked.
"You sure you want to ignore my spear?" Althea jumped from a tree not far. She walked calmly towards her spear and pulled it out.
Seeing her cold gaze, everyone calmed down at once.
"Miss Althea!" The Squire, shocked by her presumed death, looked excitedly at her. "But he attacked us first." He was pointing at Hex and looking at her as innocently as he could.
"Those two are with him," Althea said as she turned her spear to point at Aran.
It took a while for the Squires to relax this time. They didn't know what and who to trust anymore.
Suddenly they all wished to get away from the mountains. They felt as if even the shadows could turn and kill them.
"EVERYONE!" Briella called loudly once everyone had gathered their stuff. "It's time to leave."
Hex followed the others and mounted his mountain goat. It was time to return. The first round was close to ending.