"Ethaaaaan! How have you been?" I said, quickly turning around and trying to put so distance between us. "So about yesterday..."
"You ignored your training and decided to get in contact with my wife," he said in the sa tone. His eyes were looking past , and I couldn’t help but feel a shiver go down my spine. "I don’t know if you think this is so sort of joke that is going on,n but if you plan on letting everyone you care about die before your eyes, go on."
"I know what you m- "
"How long would you want to make excuses? You did nothing but waste your ti last night. The ti you could have spent honing your craft, you decided to spend it talking to Sarah and getting no results out of it. You didn’t even fully think it through. How do you wish to save anyone if you can’t even keep yourself alive?" his scolding didn’t end, and I shut my mouth. "You’re lucky my hands are tied, and I don’t have anyone else to take your place. Otherwise, you would have been exiled from the plan right away."
I stood there, staring at him. "I’m sorry," I muttered.
"Can’t even get to talk to properly now, sigh. When will you start taking this seriously?" he rubbed his forehead.
"But I am- "
"Then what made you think skipping training yesterday was a good idea?!" he cut off, closing the distance and looming over . His huge stature was towering over mine, and I couldn’t see any anger in his eyes. "You disappoint , boy."
His words were cold and without a filter. I wanted to argue, bring up things that might help my case, or even explain anything, but no matter what I thought, I couldn’t call that anything else but an excuse. I was going to make excuses for myself to get myself out of trouble. I wasn’t even ready to deal with the consequences of my actions, and the figure who stood before could rip apart for this mistake, but the fact that his deanour says he doesn’t even want to waste energy on doing that hurts way more.
"There are different ways to get a man motivated and have a stern form of discipline, so I wonder, what fuels you, boy?" he asked , but I couldn’t open my mouth to reply. "I don’t have all day."
I racked my brain for an answer; there were plenty of reasons, but I couldn’t decide what to bring up first. I wanted to survive this, I wanted to keep everyone safe, I wanted to find a cure for Ai’s condition, I wanted Natsumi-san to be able to rely on more, and I wanted to be the one whom everyone can trust with their matters. So many reasons yet nothing ca out of my mouth.
"You don’t have the resolve in you, I see."
That’s not it.
"No reason whatsoever."
You’re wrong.
"You want to keep being in the safety of those stronger than you."
No, I don’t want to.
"Let them die a death that isn’t going to change anything."
That is not what it ans.
"I bet you don’t even want to save them."
You don’t know that.
"Just use them for your own good and ditch them when they are useless."
Shut up.
"I don’t know if you are a coward or a genius for that."
Shut up.
"Maybe I should start taking lessons from you."
Shut up.
"So why don’t you teach how to be utterly useless?"
SHUT UP!
I clenched my fist and aid it at his chin, which he dodged without an issue, still looking down at . Twisting my body, I aid a hook at his obliques, which connected with him, but nothing happened. I stared as this man stood there without even the slightest of bent made in his figure. His feet didn’t shift in the slightest, nor did anything about him show that my punch did anything to him.
"That was a pathetic punch. Do you even know how to fight a vampire?"
I grabbed his side and grew out my nails, trying to dig into his flesh, but it felt like I hit an iron wall. They couldn’t even erge properly and pushed my hand away from his body. Just what on earth is this man even made out of?
"Can’t even dig into my flesh. What makes you think you are capable of killing the man who hurt you and your little lover?"
"Shut up!" I ended up shouting and aid a punch at his face, which he took without flinching. All that anger and effort put into it, and I can’t even make a scratch on this man. I’m breathless, and my hand now hurts, but he stands there without the slightest sign of any discomfort shown anywhere.
"Do you now see what I an?" he said, pushing my hand aside with no effort. "This is the level you will keep being if you are not going to be serious about it. I don’t enjoy torturing you or using you as my personal punching bag. I am way above such emotions at this point. All I need you to be is strong enough to put my wife to rest and punish the man who is defiling her rest."
"I thought I was serious enough about it," I said, catching my breath and calming myself down.
"No, you are just doing what you are being told. You think you are doing it because that is what you want to do, but right now, you are nothing more than an obedient dog who can’t think for himself. You have the drive to do things, but you don’t utilize it. Am I making myself clear?" he said, and I couldn’t help but still question his understanding of my actions.
"How do you expect to think I am not putting my all when I had that bastard hurt Ai?" I replied, looking away from him.
"Feeling certain emotions and saying you will do sothing is a lot different from putting in the effort yourself without being needed to be told so. I’ve seen n have their entire families slaughtered before their eyes and yell about how they will make the person pay, but end up either dead or stuck in their own delusion," he said, putting so distance between us and taking off his coat. "Do you want to end up like them?"
"Absolutely not," I said without any hesitation.
"Then why don’t you show what that resolution of yours looks like now. Are you all words or will you actually go the extra length without needing soone to drag you to do that?" he said, standing before with his arms held behind his back. "Fear not, I will not be the one attacking you tonight, so don’t even think about holding back. Put in your all."
I rushed at him with my arms clenched, and right as I was about to get in the range to punch him, summoned my sword and slashed at him, which made him jump back. He smirked and taunted to try my best, so I leaped, thrusting the blade at his heart, which he caught between his nails. I tried my hardest to push through to get past his nails, but it felt like I was trying to move against an immovable wall.
"How are you so damn strong?" I complained and pulled my sword away.
"A millennium teaches you a lot more than you would think," he said, and standing right where he was and charged at it again.
"You’re so weak, I am almost surprised," he said as I lay down on my back, panting for air. "At a point, I started to have pity on you, so I slowed down, and even then you couldn’t land a hit on ."
"You did that on purpose? Man, I thought I tired you out," I said between breaths and looked at the black ceiling. "That must have been like what? Ten hours at least? How on earth am I not awake yet?"
"You just chose not to," he said, and I looked at him, confused. I stared at him until it finally hit .
"Right, MY dreamscape. Forgot that. Doesn’t that an you can be weak here if I decide it so?"
"Do you absolutely believe to be weak?"
"You have a point," I said and sat up. Looking down, I saw the white light entering the place. Took your sweet ti, . Well, I did plan to land at least one hit on him. "Thanks for today, Ethan."
"Thank when you actually achieve sothing," he said, putting his coat back on. "Get stronger, boy. Everyone needs you to."
At his cue, I got pulled down into the endless pit as my eyes opened up. I grabbed my head as I felt a little ache in it and turned to my side, finding two orbs of red and green staring at . When did she start waking up before ?
"Ai?" I muttered her na and felt her lightly shudder. Oh no, what did I do in the ti that I don’t rember? "Hey, wait. I’m normal, everything is fine."
I quickly closed the distance between us and held her tightly. She didn’t show any sort of fear aside from that one mont, but even that broke on the inside. I need to get this thing under control. For everyone’s sake.
Ethan ant what he said. I don’t have to get stronger just for to be able to do what I want. People depend on being able to get strong. I need to be strong enough to save them and not be a threat to them at the sa ti. I can’t keep going on like this. Just holding her like this made that feeling multiply by a thousand tis. I looked down and saw her staring at with a relieved look on her face.
I’m thirsty.
"Is it okay?" I asked, and she tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck. I bent lower and started to slowly drink from her.
I can’t keep going on like this.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Join the Discord server:
sdiscord.gg/pCp9E2N5FK
Reviews
All reviews (0)