Execution
2109 Words
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Hilde and Narada are brought outside without masks. They are destined to die anyway. They get deeper into the mountains. Dead trees surround them that both of them will be joining. Demigods and fighter deities escort them. The Seaters of Olympus Mons stayed in the shelter.
“Are you happy now, Seok?” she asks him walking from behind.
Walking, he answers, “No. I never even thought that it would go to this point.”
“Don't fool with me! You've always been a drama queen!”
“Say what you want to say, Hilde. It doesn't change my purpose of protecting the Realm.”
“You keep denying it, you bastard! Narada,” she calls him. He is behind her, walking. “say something.”
“I have said my bet.”
“You must have evidence against him.”
“I have no evidence. I just bet that he's the culprit.” He smirks at Seok.
And Seok is annoyed so he looks forward saying, “That's right. It's because I didn't do anything wrong.”
“Tch!” spits Hilde, looking frustrated.
After a minute or so, they stop at this rocky and icy plateau. The God of Executioners has been called. He carries with him his large battleaxe They make Hilde and Narada kneel side by side with their chests against a rock and their napes exposed. It is all for a clean and painless cut. Seok and his men watch silently.
“Any last words, Lady Hilde?” asks Seok.
“Screw you!” she spits.
He just sighs and shakes his head and asks, “Lord Narada?” He did not say anything but smirk up until now. “Alright. Execute them when ready.” He nods at the Executioner.
Seok stands back as the Executioner raises the battleaxe as high as he can. It suddenly inflates to a larger size, capable of cutting both necks in one slice. From an upright position, the axe slowly descends to finish both of them. Seok turns to avoid seeing his closest comrades getting killed. He hears the sharp edge of the axe slicing the air and finally, the ground rumbles.
“What?!!” reacts the men.
“What are you doing, kid?”
“Kid?” asks Seok, turning back to see what is happening.
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Just in time. The battleaxe gets out of the grip of the executioner. I kicked it away, stopping him from killing Lady Hilde and Lord Narada. It just clangs as it rolls down the mountain. While they're absorbing what just happened, I unshackle both of them. Lady Hilde stands proud and Narada stands while laughing.
“Leonide!” he exclaims. “What a pleasant surprise!”
“You sense it?” asks Lady Hilde.
“Yes, my lady,” I nod. “Took me some time to notice.” I narrow my eyes at Lord Seok. He has a strange relic hidden under his robe at his left waist.
“Leonide, what have you done?” Lord Seok asks me.
“Rescuing the ones in the right, my lord—as what I've sworn to do.”
“They're the traitors. Why are you siding with them then?”
“The answer is I don't know yet. And, stop using your powers against me right now, my lord. It won't work.” He stops using his powers on me. He can use it while not making his eyes glow. As expected of him.
“Oh, Seok,” says Lady Hilde. “trying to corrupt our judge?”
“Judge?” he questions. “End this foolishness and receive what you deserve or we will have no choice but to force you!”
I scoff at him. “Can I see the relic you're hiding, my lord?”
“Oh, you mean this?” he says, showing it to us. It's an old dagger with a strange aura. “This is what you think it is.”
“God's Bane!” exclaims Hilde. “How the hell did it get to you?!”
“I retrieved it, of course! I tracked down the one who stole it. It was Maverick, the God of Doors. His powers are-”
“We don't wanna hear it, give Leonide your relic and we'll let him use it to find out which of us is telling the truth!”
“Another ridiculous proposition!”
“Are you afraid you'll get found out, Seok?”
“I have nothing to hide.”
“Then prove it! Give him your relic!”
“You'll use it against us—no doubt.”
“Don't be a little girl!”
Lady Hilde explained to me before she went to the shelter of the deities. The God's Bane is a relic that kills anything in an instant without any scratch or trace, making it look like a natural death. It works in every living thing, including deities. This is what happened to Lord Hugo. Lady Hilde suspects whoever has that dagger, is the one who killed him. She said, Mila also mentioned something about a stolen relic from the Underworld. The purpose of killing Lord Hugo is to stop us from regrowing nature and restoring the Earth in a single month. Lord Seok's explanation of how he got it could be a lie or not—I don't know. The traitor could one of them that's why I have to watch out.
With the help of his relic, I can use it to make them confess truthfully. That's why she wants me to take it and be the judge. Lord Seok looks frustrated but then gives in to what Lady Hilde said. His relic is his bracelet around his left wrist. He takes it off and hands it to me. Before I could touch it, he hits my chest. I grab his fist, locking him in place.
“SO, IT'S YOU ALL ALONG, SEOK!!!” roars Lady Hilde, calling her axe. Her swing to kill him clashes against the battleaxe of the executioner.
The blast makes me let go of him. I fly up to find him. Then dive back down to catch him. So, he's the planner of Dragunov, huh? The one who planned to bomb the whole world and the one who killed my family!
“Argh!!!” I exert, launching a punch at him.
A demigod blocks it. All of these men are his allies. Five of them went against me hand-to-hand on the ground. Hitting them one by one, they fall to the ground in pain. I go on to catch Seok. He's not going anywhere. I have to make him pay for what he has done!
“Get back here!” I shout but he continues to run in the woods. “Fist of Eight: GRAVITATIONAL RUPTURE!!!”
The trees shatter and the ground boils. He can't survive that but I don't know how he dodged. I'm frustrated so I charge at him as soon as I see him from up here.
Preparing my fist to punch his back, I launch it forward. “Fist of Seven!!” He turns around, pulls out the God's Bane, and I have no time to pull my fist back.
One touch of its edge is my demise.
Then a rock hits his hand. He drops the knife. My punch hits him, blasting him away. I look where the rock came from and found out that Lord Narada threw it from up there. I continue to seek him out.
I can still sense him. He's right there, limping, and feeling his side aching. Walking, I take my time to absorb my anger to let it go out all at once when I kill him! I kick him down, grab his throat, pinning him on the ground, and prepare my fist. Blood is dripping from his mouth. He shows me his remorseless smug. I've never been this pissed off in my whole life!
“You're gonna pay for what you've done!” I scream at his cursed face.
“All I did is for the sake of the Realm,” he answers.
“Killing billions of people?” asks Lady Hilde behind me. She defeated the God of Executioners and the rest of the men, apparently.
“It... has to be done.”
I ask, “What? Why?”
“You'll find out soon enough.”
“It brought us nothing but death and despair!! Innocent children, good people... all died without doing more! You're a God of Wisdom and this is just pure evil!!” He's not even answering and just continues to smile as if he has no regrets. “I can't believe I even looked up to you...”
“Well,” he says, swallowing his blood. “sorry to disappoint you. And...,” he chuckles at us. “I haven't lost yet.”
Lady Hilde says, “Apparently, you already have. Let me finish him, Leonide!”
I feel the air suddenly becomes hot. Lady Hilde grabs me away from him, throwing me away. Flying away, I see the whole place so bright like the explosions but there was no sound... just pure bright light, going through my eyelids. Then when I hit the ground, steam and fire rise from where the light happened.
“Lady Hilde!” I rush, seeing her feet burned into ashes. I pull her away from the scorching earth and turn her stop to see her face. She's unconscious. “Hang on, I'll get help!”
“Let me help you, Leonide,” says Lord Narada behind me. He helps me pick her up. “Where's Seok?” he asks.
“I don't-” I sense him somewhere near the foot of the mountain. How he got there—I have no idea. “He's still alive! I have to finish him with my own-”
“Leave him, Leonide,” says Lady Hilde, her eyes are still closed. “His judgment time will come for him.”
Somehow, with her words, my hatred goes away in an instant. And right... I'm supposed to let go of my emotions now. At that moment, knowing that he's the one who planned all of this, took over my mind and heart. I only thought about revenge. I almost strayed from the path I just decided to stride—and that's to let go and move on. I keep my head straight, not even thinking about looking back to focus on what's in front of me. The future is ahead, not backward.
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Seok pants very hard, limping away as far as he can. His back is burnt as well as some of his scalp. He barely escaped from the Sunstrike—which himself called for. Then he realizes his struggle to escape has no point. So, he sits on the snow and his back against the trunk of a tree. He breathes hard through his teeth while grinning at the people around him.
“Well, well, well...,” says Jasper, removing his mask to show his smirk. “My old teacher.” He makes his eyes glow green. “Mind if you teach me a lesson now?”
Sayuri's eyes glow violet behind her goggles, glaring at him. Hyun is chuckling gently beside her. Hiroki, Jack, Philip, Prisha, Gwen, and Oso just observed.
Seok says, “I'm not ready... to lecture you... for the moment.”
Jasper laughs. “I overheard everything. Your plan was genius—as expected. It was awesome!”
“Then take notes from it.”
“Oh, I'm sure I will,” he says leaning forward to near his face. “And I assume that you're not the leader. I'm guessing it's somebody else.”
“I'll die anyway and none of it... is my problem anymore. So, I'll give you a clue: Go to Mars and you'll know.”
Smirking, Jasper chuckles a little. “Thank you for the information. You see my lady right there? She wants to kill you. Would you mind?”
“Let her do it... I don't have all day.”
“Splendid,” hisses Jasper, laughing eerily and retreating to make room for Sayuri.
She unsheathes her katana. It looks hungry for his soul. It lets out the violet fire on its own. And with a single motion with no sound, she cuts through his throat like it is butter. Not until she returns it to its sheath that his head rolls forward, landing on his lap. His face is still smiling.
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- Writer
