“Did you hear the news?”
“The 9th prince of the Twin Kingdom's Eastern Twin, Prince Simon, killed the monstrous behemoth from the fiery pits of mount Mal-veda!”
“He was the sole survivor of the 500 strong army from the Twin Kingdoms!”
“I remember the night sky lit up that day, as if the sun suddenly appeared in the south!”
“And half of the once vast Dark Woods of Elenore suddenly turned into a wasteland!”
“Did you see what happened to the behemoth that day?!”
“You mean, what was left of it? The top half has incinerated, as if a hole was removed in space, leaving its guts all over the place!”
“It was a pity though... seeing all those burned knights and soldiers littered in the battle field...”
“Much better than letting the behemoth pass the Woods and into the villages! thousands of lives would have been lost then!”
“Truly, young prince Simon is the new hero of the kingdom!”

These are the stories that flooded from village to village until it reached the army settlement of the Twin Kingdoms three miles away.
“What ridiculous news are you rambling about?!” First Prince Juno snapped at the messenger kneeling in front of him. “We have been waiting ten days for some good news, and this baseless rumor is all you have to tell me?!”
“As if that little maggot can do more than raise that bastard sword two feet off the ground?” laughed second Prince Largos.
“B-but your majesties... this is 1st hand news coming from the head priest of the Stone Temple,” the messenger said hesitantly. “They are currently treating the injuries Prince Simon received during last night’s battle, he was even given a hero's welcome in Weezer's Village this morning,” he continued. “He was brought to an inn by a hunter who witnessed the feat. They said the young prince suddenly released a powerful force that killed the behemoth in one shot!”
The two princes looked at each other. The elder gave the other a small nod.
“Leave us.”
The messenger quickly left the spacious tent that housed a large canopy bed, a long dining table, and a couple of long couches where each prince were seated.
“So. The maggot is still alive...” mumbled Largos. “And here I was, waiting for some favorable news...”

“I thought you said the army was just enough to weaken the behemoth so that we could easily put an end to it when it finally reached this place?” Prince Juno glared at him. “You even had the useless princes from the Western Twin to set traps along the way!”

“Isn't that exactly why I only sent two knights with Simon?” Largos told his older brother. ”Who would have thought that he would awaken some kind of ‘power’ through sheer luck?!?”

“Hmph... and now that the news of his 'miraculous' win has spread far and wide, we wouldn't even be able to take his achievement for our own...”

“But then again, we could downplay his achievements and say that he's simply reaping the benefits of his fallen comrades.”

“Idiot!” Juno glared at his brother. “Are you not thinking? This is no longer just a mere 'achievement'! Just being the sole survivor is enough to garner praise in Father’s court! It would have been much better if there were no survivors at all.”

“Then we must hurry to the Stone Temple and make sure that he doesn't survive!” said Largos with an evil grin.

“And what if it's true that he did attain some kind of power?!” Juno asked.

“Then it would be best to attack right when he least expects it. We must get rid of him before he recovers from his injuries.”

“Ugggh... it hurts so much...” whimpered Prince Simon as he laid face down on the bed.

“His majesty's wounds need to be cleansed periodically for it to heal,” said a priest beside him who wore the gray robes of the Stone Temple priests. “It is inevitable that we also set your broken leg so that it may recover properly.”

“Hnn... I know that, your eminence, it is just that, I have never been through such pain before...”

‘I can’t help but think, though, that what my brothers have been putting me through, are nothing compared to this,’ he thought to himself. 'I suddenly realized that all their mean tricks are merely pranks that children play...’

“How is your majesty doing?”
He looked up from the pillow he was hugging and saw a group of three priests enter the airy room he was staying in. A couple of servants waited behind them.
“I-I have been better...” he said, trying to sound spirited.
“We apologize that we cannot give you better accommodations befitting your majesty, this is a humble monastery after all,” said an elderly priest with a bald head and long white beard trailing to his chest.
“No, no, I am most thankful, High Priest Roshan!” Simon quickly replied. “Your healers have taken most of the pain away, now only my broken leg ails me,” he tried to grin. “May I ask though, where my companion Will has gone to?”
“Do you mean the hunter Will from the Dark woods of Elenor?” asked one of the priests. “He said that he was going back to his hut to salvage anything that the battle might have spared of his belongings.”
“Ah... the Dark Woods...” mumble Simon as one of the priests helped him to sit up.
“Do not worry, your Highness,” another assured him, “he does not blame you for turning half of the woods into a wasteland.”
“That is correct,” said High Priest Roshan. “None of us blame you, for we know what would have happened if the behemoth got past the dark woods. It was already a miracle that you were able to keep it at bay for seven days, after it emerged from the fiery pit of mount Mal-veda.”
“We are ever thankful and forever indebted to your Majesty's heroic deed.”
The four priests bowed low as they said this, while Simon could do nothing but force a weak smile.
'Actually, half of the woods was already burnt by the behemoth when Will appeared,' he thought to himself. 'Dark ash surrounded the area and covered the bodies of my comrades who tried desperately to protect me. Master Will’s powerful blast simply blew all the ashes away.'
He couldn't help but shed tears at the memory of their battle.

He will forever be haunted by that accursed image – of the monstrous devil-horse-face of the behemoth with its two pairs of eyes fixed upon him.

He lifted his bastard sword as high as he could back then, trying hard not to drop it, even as he shook so badly from head to toe.

He was mad with fear as the behemoth took in a deep breath, a pinprick of red light forming in it's cavernous mouth, growing bigger and bigger by the second.
It was then that his savior Will suddenly dropped in front of him.

He simply raised an arm, and blew the behemoth up into oblivion!

“D-did Will say when he will be back?” he asked the priests.
“He did not mention, your Majesty, but we can send a summons to him if you wish.”
“He was a god sent helper who gave you first aid before you bled to death!”

“It was god's plan that he was on his way home after a night in the tavern.”
“Yes, please, please tell him that I need to see him soon...” Simon blurted out.

The four priests looked questioningly at him.

“I-I would like to thank him properly...” he quickly added. “F-for helping me get back to the village... and to reward him generously as well...”
“Of course, your Majesty,” the four gave another bow. “We shall now leave you to take some more rest.”

Simon gave a long sigh as he lay down on the bed once more.
'What have I gotten myself into now...?' he thought to himself. 'All I wanted was to prove myself to my brothers and to make my father, even a little bit proud of me... we were just supposed to stay long enough to keep the behemoth in the woods while my brothers came with reinforcements... We were supposed to rush back to the encampment if the behemoth breaks through the traps we prepared. We had no idea it was that big... that we would hardly be able to keep it in the woods for a week! That all my brothers would die just to keep me alive...’
Simon sobbed in misery, but there was nothing he could do now.
He can not turn back time, neither could he go against the words of the real hero who saved him.

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Go to Part 9

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