Quest of Automata King

Sparring With Deep Revenge

“Come on then! Hurry up and take your sword!” yell Boris suddenly, startling Mui. He quickly avert his gaze away from Challender and Julius, and went to the storage room to get his weapon and leather armor.

“This is bad, this is bad, this is bad...” His mind keep repeating those words as if it is mantra to repell Mui’s bad luck.

He strap his chestplate, handguard, and knee armor. Lastly, he take a short sword and buckler, the only weapon that he can handle. He preparing while thinking hard if there is any way to escape. Mui feels that this is not an ordinary training, intead, they must have expecting something out of him.

Mui looked up, he sees small window that leading to the other side of the field. Moonlight shine through that gap, as if pulling him into a ‘solution’.

“Maybe... If i escape...” mutter Mui, he started to think if his body could fit into that small window, until the door suddenly opened.

“Don’t make them wait! You have prepared right? Come on then, back to the field you go!”

Boris quickly pull him away from the storage room, shattering every chance for Mui to escape.

“I-I’m sorry sir, maybe I’m not really ready for this,” Mui keep his feet on the ground as Boris pushed his body forward.

“What are you talking about? I have said it before, no extra lesson mean no grade, alright!?” shout Boris hardheaded.

Eventually, Mui end up standing in front of Lucius and Challender. Under the moon, he could see Challender smirk, and Julius’s sharp and cold eyes.

“Jeez! Mui! You can be rude too aren’t you? Making us wait all of this time only to retreat at the very last minute?” ask Challender with made-up tired voice.

“So-Sorry, I was doing my homework...”

“Oh! I’m sorry if you’re too busy with your homework! Big news! You’re not the only one that have to do that!”

Challender’s snarl make Mui flinched. That Devil’s hand started to tremble, either because Challender’s intimidation, or because the temperature of the night.

Meanwhile, Lucius have his sword drawn. He stepped a few feet away, and standing in battle stance against Mui.

“You’re wasting time you know? Let’s get this over quickly,” said Julius.

Challender chuckling, and then he and Boris step away from the field, leaving Mui alone.

“Wait! I don’t think I can do this! Sparring with Mr. Julius is still too quick!” he plead to stop the match, but Challender and Boris did not care.

“Eyes forward!” shout Julius suddenly, he dash right away toward Mui that still disoriented.

Julius swing his sword downward, and hitting Mui’s buckler that he lift to protect his face. When the steel hitting that slab of metal, vibration run throughout Mui’s body, especially, the bone in his hand.

“Ugh!” he growl at that attack, but Julius did not give any chance to fight back. He lift his sword again, and swing with the same move as previously. Each strike is hitting Mui’s buckler, sending the same electrifying feeling.

Julius on the other hand, didn’t give Mui chance to retaliate. His eyes opened wide, and each strike is a full strength of his swing.

Then, dents are appear at Mui’s shield. He also feels that each strike are getting stronger, at this rate, his left arm might be the next thing that broke.

“Wait! I yield! I yield!” plead Mui.

“That’s no way a knight should say!” replied Julius, he pull off his sword and then doing something unexpected, even for Boris and Challender.

Julius swing his right feet forward, the tip of his boot hitting straight to Mui’s stomach.

“Ohok!” gaps filled with air and saliva coming out of Mui’s mouth. When that impact coming to his stomach, he could feel his gastric being twisted and pushing any thing inside his stomach. If Mui have eaten before this spar, he might threw up everything from his dinner.

“Wait... Please...” Mui fell to his knee and hugging his stomach. He drop his sword and raise his palm, begging for mercy.

Julius step forward. “Letting go of your sword and raising your palm toward your enemy is a sign of cowardice,” he said. “In battlefield, even the enemy won’t give respect for anyone that clinging their live for other person,” after he said that, Julius swing his sword toward Mui’s lifted hand.

The practice sword itself, intentionally made to be dull, however the edges of blade itself are enough to hurt someone, especially when he swings it at high speed.

“Argh!!!” growl Mui as he feel his right hand being slashed. Blood are dripping from wound that appear on his forearm.

Boris is sweating, he does not expect that Julius will go as far to hurt Mui. He stepped forward with the intention to stop them, but instead, he is the one that being halt by Challender.

“Hold on, where do you want to go, Instructor?” asked Challender.

“This is too much, Young Master. If we don’t stop him, Julius may will go overboard.”

“That may be true... But aren’t Julius also right in the first place?”

Challender glaring at Boris. That instructor did not know if it’s just his imagination, but under the moonlight, Challender’s eye is glowing blue. Nevertheless, this is not the beautiful blue that encaptivate womens, instead, it is a color of threat.

“For someone who have seen the battlefield, you will agree with me right? There are no mercy in the battlefield. You either walk forward and kill enemy in front of you, or run away only for them to shoot your back.”

“Worst fate even come from those desperate ones that are begging mercy from the enemy.” Said Challender. His white teeth appeared under his one big smirk, although he is not the one to make Mui suffer, Julius is already enough to represent his rage and anger.

“Bu-but if we didn’t treat him, the school will be suspect us!” said Boris.

“As long as we able to hide it, that won’t be the case isn’t it?” Challender reach his pocket and take out a vial filled with bright green liquid.

“Young Master? Isn’t that...?”

“A restoration potion of course. Not only that, this is also the best quality my father can get,” Challender lift that bottle and looked at Mui from the reflection of that bottle.

“Ironic isn’t it? A potion that supposed to help dying people now will be used to make someone hope he will die. I would gladly waiting for that moment...”

There is a small laugh coming from Challender’s face. The face that very frightening, that Boris himself didn’t want to see.

Instead, he continue to look at Julius and Mui. Thinking that he might have involved himself in a difficult situation.

***

“Take your sword.” Command Julius, his blade is pointed toward Mui’s face. On the other hand, that Devil is panting hard. Whenever he wanted to move his right hand, he flinched and blood continue to drip.

“I... I can’t...” plead Mui. “Please... No more...”

Without mercy, Julius threw another boot toward Mui’s cowering body. This time it is hitting his chin, hard.

That kick make him fly slightly behind. It’s felt like his jaw may have been dislocated, and he can’t say anything else except growling on the ground.

“And that’s our cue,” said Challender. He come toward Julius that are staring blankly at Mui. Challender put his hand toward Julius shoulder, averting his gaze. “After all those kicks, how did you feel?” asked Challender.

Julius didn’t answer. Whatever has happened, his eye are starring directly toward Mui’s figure that still haven’t get up.

As if looking at an old recording, his mind fly to the past around ten years ago. Precisely in the day of war, when the Devil army sent their first ever airstrike toward the human kingdom.

There’s fire, smell of smoke, and then corpses. Corpse of his parent and little sister.

“Lucius, you’re in the zone again.” Challender shaking his shoulder, waking him up. “Look at him, probably will not wake up anytime soon.”

Challender walk to Mui, and the squatting beside him. He looked at that Devil, his body is small althought not the dwarf-scale of small. People may not believe if he is a high schooler, even more, that he is one of the student from Grand Magusica.

Challender smirk, he took off the green potion, and then pouring it’s content toward Mui’s gasping mouth.

There is no reaction at first, but after that, Mui feel that his body is warming up. There is some sort of energy flow from his core toward his entire body. Little by little, his pain are also dissapear.

“Wake up! How long do you want to keep us waiting?” Mui feels something hitting his head, and when he wakes up, Challender’s face is right in front of him.

“First, making us wait, and then not paying attention for the lesson we made for you. Don’t you appreciate our hard work, horn-head?” Challender speak to him in a mocking tone. He gets up, and the walk to the back.

“Instructor Boris! for this rude behaviour, shouldn’t we decrease his score? If not, he’ll not learn anything for the future!” said Challender.

“Yes Mr. Heinrich! I also think so too!” replied Boris a little bit stuttered.

“Well, that is decided then! From today until next month, you have to come here everyday to train your chivalry. Is that fine Instructor Boris?”

“Eh? Everyday? I thought we are...” Boris wanted to reject, but Challender’s glare make him give up to comply.

“Of course! Mui! Just like what Challender said, your task now, is to embedd what is mean to be a knight by train here every single day after school!” said Boris.

Mui, on the other hand, can only look up without reaction. Without voice, he can only curse his bad luck.