Aros had been by Arthur's side for two days in a row and sometimes, many times, Aella would visit with a wooden plate of figs or meat and water to gulp it down.
Had been fifty years or so since he'd given up on the ways of swordsmanship until one pivotal day, his son brought… a stranger…
The boy was frail and pretty, like a girl, a doll face and silver white hair with bright blue sapphires instead of actual eyes. Despite his rather weak appearance, the boy couldn't hide his frightening aura.
Even now, as he watched Arthur's sleeping face, his aura never diminished, in lieu, it grew bigger, stronger, more powerful as the day went by and Arthur grew stronger as well. That morning, some children gave him flowers and laid them by the bed of white feathers and pinned a yellow flower in his silver hair.
I must admit, Aros thought, he is magnificent. How can such a frail little boy, who sleeps so soundly, be so formidable. He ended that ogre without breaking a sweat… and the amount of power that he possesses is no joke.
As the night went on, a ruckus erupted outside. Up till now, Aros had been guarding Arthur with his sword by his side. He thanked Arthur for the gift of the name he obtained from him, he was grateful and beholden to him. And for the sake of that boy, the old ogre would wage all wars that were to come in his name.
Aella pushed through the heavy curtains and stepped in with her silver armour on her shoulders. "Endorse your armour and keep your sword near you." Then she drew her sword.
The old ogre got on his feet, the din outside went to an uproar of cries and screams and he could see the red flames glowing against the night. "What happened, Aella?" he asked in his rough voice.
"The one that our Master named, the 'Perro' fellow... He set the houses on fire and wants to get rid of Master Arthur."
She peeked outside, "hurry, they are coming!"
Aros had a little time to think about all the bending the knee to a human thing and had a few hints that it would have eventually come to this. But he never imagined that it would be so soon… Alas, he smirked, I'm going to get rid of them, root and stem.
He marched to the entrance and swiped the curtains open in a swift motion. "Stay here, look after our master. He can't protect himself when he's in this state."
"What are you talking about? There are at least thirty of them… and no offense but you are in no state to stand your ground against all of them alone. Those who tried to stop them were slaughtered…"
Aros never bothered to answer her and went on outside. The sky was starless and moonless but there was light, there was heat. The houses were aflame, ogres were running in all directions, even the young and a few brave ones were trying to make the fire die by throwing water.
A horde of armoured ogres came forth, their axes, swords and spears were razor-sharp, honed to taste the sweet blood of his Master. He couldn't allow that, he wouldn't allow that.
But he wore fleeces and leathers, bare feet and bare hands, barring his ancient sword. His adversaries were armed to their toes. Perro shouldered his way through the horde and came face to face with Aros. "I have no problem in killing an old man," he told Aros, "but I don't want to get my hands dirty with your soiled blood."
He turned his back and began to walk away.
"Perro!" Aros yelled. "Have you no shame? Have you no gratitude for the gift that our Master has given us?"
"Make no mistake, old one," Perro said, "I have gratitude but the ogres will never bend the knee and follow the weaker race. Humans are our enemies, that has been the way of things since the dawn of time. Humans have hunted us down like dogs, killed our ancestors and would still wage war if we show our weakness. The only reason they are not up our asses is because they are too busy waging war against each other and trying to destroy the abyssals. That's why they also summon their so-called hero… enough talk. Jy, Arun, kill him and bring me Arthur's head."
Two bulky monsters advanced intending to dispose of him. Though he knew of all those he's killed…
I must admit, I am thrilled.
When was the last time he swung his sword? When was the last time he killed someone, anyone?
Jy raised his silver axe which gleamed yellow with the flames and swung, but something struck back. They couldn't see but Aros knew too well. He already took his sword out of its scabbard, swung it and put back in place, all this at high speed. "I'm sorry but I swore allegiance to my Master and I'll not fail him."
Aros clutched his sword firmly and took a step… Jy's head left his shoulders and collapsed on the ground. Arun intended to use his sword but as soon as his arms and sword reached up high, they fell in pieces of lumps and half his head slid off and fell down.
The old ogre's Unique Ability: Prediction.
He could foresee what his adversaries would do and react before he did the seed. He had other abilities, but he wouldn't want them to know of it.
The horde swamped him but he cut through them as easily as cutting through cheese. Upon seeing what the old man actually was, Perro fled into the dark forest. Aros wanted to pursue him, he wanted to end it once and for all but he chose to save as many people from the fire as possible…
He ought to return the village to how it was, if not better and clean all the ashes before Arthur even woke up from his slumber. He would deliver Perro's head at his feet for he needed to die. For Mediumus. For Arthur of Aragon.
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