The banners above swayed with little to no energy---but with what wind? Almost as if they yearned to fall.
In the middle of the hall, laced with green cloths and bearing chandeliers from its ceiling, a tall, large man focused his attention on the guard and the bloodied figure.
"Hmm…" The large man dropped his goblet onto a waiter's tray and moved towards them.
The bloodied man's slightly raised eyes caught a cloth-obscured vision of him, and a faint smile blossomed on his face. My great lord.
The lord moved forward, his gold and silver ornaments softly jingling on his body, his robe rolling on the rumpled carpet.
My power…
No… Not just mine… Ours!
Vigor filled the bloodied man's veins.
He squirmed on the guard's shoulder, forcing himself forward, breaking free of the guard's support. He immediately fell to his fours, his sword clanking on the floor.
"Wait, you!" The guard extended a hand towards him.
The lord saw this and stopped walking, recoiling, his knuckles and fists tightening. The other people around also moved back.
…What me and my fallen brethren swore to fight for!
The man gritted his teeth, readying himself to rise, mustering all the strength in his wobbling legs.
I-I need to tell him…
He moved towards the lord, his dented breastplate echoing his fractured breath. Crimson stains on the once polished steel--thick, wet with the tarnished, unrecognizable crest---were now drying to a dull brown crust.
His right leg buckled each time it touched the ground, leaving a slick, dark smear that widened with each gruntled, agonizing step.
"Ughn! That smell?!" A lady used a cloth to cover her rather large nose as the metallic scent of blood and armor clung heavy to the air, looming over the people.
Then, from within the recoiled crowd, a slight shuffle could be seen, getting closer and closer to the scene as the people grunted.
"Let me through, goddammit!" An old man's voice was heard as he brushed past them, arranging his cloth as he smiled at them. His face then turned to the bloodied man.
"Wait…"
"…Mosa?" His voice broke halfway as the bloodied man, Mosa, his sliced and dirt-riddled ears picked up.
W-Wait… who is tha----
Mosa paused, his eyes darting around the place, then finally focusing on the old man as he stood with his obese figure, his hands shaking.
Well… What a sight for sore eyes.
A light beat enveloped Mosa's heart, his eyes widened as a smile illuminated his parched lips.
Almost wouldn't have recognized him…
If it wasn't for his signature bulk…
Hehe… It's that bastard Snoino…
It is sure good to see his blobby face!
Haha!
Mosa tried to move forward again, but his legs seemed to go deaf to his brain's commands, his hands just exerted force as his spine ached.
M-My l-legs…No!
"Oh no… Mosa, my boy…" Snoino walked closer, his arms widened as he got closer with each step, his breath deepening.
…My chest---
Mosa gently touched his own chest.
ACK ACK!
"Oh, Charitas… This is disgusting." A busty woman with her white, bony hands covered her mouth while she turned her head away.
The man decorated with badges gripped the hilt of his sword on his waist as his red cheeks seemed to fade into white.
Just… What is this…?
The man posed his body into a stance.
Suddenly, Mosa felt blood rushing against his lip. He used his free hand to cover his mouth shut. But alas, it flowed through the gaps in his fingers and dropped towards the floor. Snoino finally reached Mosa, extending his chubby hands to him, his brows slanted upwards.
Huh… Actually surprised that he can move that quick…
"Hahaha…" Mosa chuckled softly.
Snoino held Mosa, supporting him, lowering him to the ground as rust and blood stained his odd yet fitting mismatched clothes.
"Still wearing those your weird styles, huh…" The air thinned in Mosa's lungs.
"W-What h-happened?" Snoino's voice was slightly high-pitched.
Mosa teetered between light and darkness as an evening beam softly landed on him. His lips slowly parted as he tried to speak, but only air wheezed from his mouth.
"C'mon, speak, my boy!" Snoino leaned in closer, his voice soft.
Why did he walk in here… Just who is he? The lord moved in a bit closer, his eyebrows looking puzzled.
"They… T-They… came…" Patches of air flew from Mosa's dry mouth.
---The end of chapter 2---