Chapter 15: Price To Pay

“...”

“...”

The dragon's face creased with rage from Teus’ disregard.

“You demanded my power but had no right to control it! Understand, that blast was not your doing just now, child... I attacked everyone on the battlefield that I saw fit…”

A cold chill went through Teus’ spine after hearing that. His eyes darted back towards Galmarion before frantically asking.

“...What do you mean by that?”

Galmarion’s indignant expression did not change. He just stared coldly into Teus’ worried eyes.

A crack could be heard from the distance, as though someone were digging their way through rubble. The noises directed Teus’ attention to see the large, threatening figure stretching his legs against the hardened dirt. Kuravana was relaxed as could be, even taking the time to brush the dust off of his shoulders. Right next to him was the old man, still laying there motionlessly.

Teus instinctively cried out.

“H- he’s completely unharmed!”

Galmarion’s voice thundered down on Teus.

“Everyone is…”

Teus’ pupils shrank as he realized what happened.

“So the only person that got hit by that explosion was…”

“Was you. Everybody else experienced nothing more than a light breeze.”

The shock from the realization left the child’s face with a pale complexion, his jaw dropped and his body began to slightly shake from the news. The wave of hopelessness slowly consumed his entire being. 

A defeated look soon stretched across Teus’ face as Galmarion continued to stare at the child with an irritated grimace.

“This was it.” Teus muttered to himself. “I don’t have anything more than that…That was everything I had…”

Thoughts raced through his mind for a solution to save himself and the old man, but aside from one thought, his brain remained empty. The thought constantly repeated itself.

“He’s really going to win…He’s really going to win…He’s really going to win…”

He struggled to watch Kuravana from a distance as he sat there powerless. To even move his body caused pain to shoot up from all over, meanwhile Kuravana appeared more energized than before. The dragon was in bliss and stretching without a care in the world, taking his time before he searched for the boy.

Teus' body began to shake a little more violently.

“We’re done for…”

His chest felt as though at any moment it would collapse.

“There’s nothing left that I can do-”

“There is something you can do!” Galmarion’s voice cracked down on Teus, his interruption demanding authority. “And you have been aware of it, the entire time!”

Teus froze as he averted his gaze from him. Then the two of them resumed staring at each other in silence for a while. Teus’ face held a weight of despondent. Teus couldn’t help but watch the old man lay on the ground, his blood slowly pooling onto the soil.

“If I don’t do the soul bound vow… We’re both going to die here, aren’t we?”

Galmarion snorted.

“We won’t be dying. You and that old man over there will certainly lose your lives today.”

Teus watched Kuravana from afar. The dragon was still yet to notice him, but the moment he did, he was sure to be rid of him and the old man. Teus just stared… not saying a word, too weak to lift a finger.

Droplets of tears fell softly from Teus’ face as he watched the old man struggle to breathe.

“And the only way for me to gain enough power to beat him is if...”

The dragon’s face began to soften as he watched Teus shed tears. Galmarion did not reply, he simply nodded his head.

Teus’ hands began to tremble as he looked at the old man. He watched him gasp for air, but still cling to life tightly. 

Galmarion’s gaze did not waver.

“Struggle as you may, but it was always bound to end like this. Kuravana is far too strong a foe for the likes of you…”

Teus remained silent. Galmarion continued.

 “...Now is your last chance to show, if you are willing to do what it takes to defeat him.”

Teus continued to remain silent.

Memories flooded Teus’ mind from when he and the old man first met. He dwelled on all the things he had taught him.

“ …fear should never stop you from trying to protect a human life! It’s worth so much more than that!”

Teus clenched his hand into a shaking fist as the memories continued to echo their conversations in his head.

“Um, are you saying, whatever you value is the right thing? Or erm… the things you value most are your morals?”

…

“Yes, that’s exactly it! That was the hardest thing to teach you so far!”

The tears began to drop more rapidly as Teus stared into the ground. He angrily muttered to himself.

“...It’s not fair..!”

Watching Teus from afar was the old man, still holding on to the hilt of his sword with as much strength as he could manage. Desperate thoughts filled his mind.

“It seems like Kuravana is yet to notice Teus…good. Although, he’s in pretty rough shape...”

He observed the falling debris around him and the depth of the crater before assessing the situation.

“It looks like he was finally able to use that dragon core, but it completely backfired… The only way for him to survive now is if he forms a soul bound vow. If he wants enough power to beat Kuravana…”

A cough roughly exited the old man’s mouth as blood spilled over.

“...He’s a smart kid, he should be able to figure it out soon…”

His eyes seemed to linger on the night sky above them.

“So this is where it ends for me, huh? I guess this is my penance for running from the battlefield and trying to live an easy life here. If I were still fighting for humanity and never got rusty, who knows how many people I could have saved from dragons like him? Would he even had made it to Thorinhil?...It looks like I was useless until the very end…”

The old man could not help but direct his attention to Teus’ tears. His heart began to take on a different pain.  

“Come on, Teus. You can’t cry now… You have to have the resolve to survive…!” 

He continued to think to himself while trying to restrain his own tears as they welled up in his eyes.

“This was the only way things were going to turn out. My only regret… is not being able to tell you that, I will never hold this decision against you, not in a million years!”

The old man began to sniffle.

“Don’t be like me Teus, the world needs people who are willing to fight! You can do it! Do what I couldn’t do! Take my life and rid Thorinhil of this accursed dragon…! So please…”

The old man was sobbing without an end in sight and quickly hid his face in the ground, out of shame.

“…You don’t have to feel guilty about what you’re about to do next, Teus… ”

The child began to lose control. His tears fell, his face was red hot and snot began to fall from his nostrils. His chest felt heavy and his heart was filled with sorrow. He tried to form a response but his voice kept cracking under pressure.

“...Damn it all! I’m so stupid, just so stupid!”

The words struggled to exit his throat, as though breathing alone demanded too much for him. His unbroken hand dropped the dragon core and grabbed the nearby dirt so hard his finger bled. His tears pooled onto the bottom of his shirt as his body began to tremble even more. He attempted to inhale, though only mustered a regretful hiccup. 

He was a complete mess. For the first time in a long time. He hated everything about himself.

Unfortunately, his sobbing was music to the ears of one very happy dragon.

“There it is~♪”

Kuravana’s smile widened from ear to ear as he picked up the old man, clawing him by the neck and forced him to watch Teus cry.

“Isn’t it beautiful? I knew I was right to thank you for the delicious meal! You almost had me there! When the explosion happened I was like ‘Whaaaat?’ But then I was totally fine. You really, really had me going there! Haha!”

The dragon was content. After seeing Teus in such a state he knew he had done it. He had witnessed him fall, and become totally consumed with despair.

The old man could only muster a mutter as he watched, his heart breaking at the sight of him.

“Teus…”

Aching as he tried to move his body, Teus strained his neck to even look at Galmarion floating above.

“Before we do this, I have one last question, Galmarion…”

Whatever Teus' next words were, they could not be heard from where the old man and Kuravana were. Kuravana watched him impatiently.

“That’s one crazy kid. He’s just sitting there talking to himself. I want him to see me eat you already!” 

He tilted his head to the side. The only one allowed to see Galmarion was Teus, though Kuravana saw Teus speaking supposedly to himself, he just assumed that he was cursing his situation until his inevitable defeat.

Memories began to flood Teus’ head of all the moments he shared with the old man. A few words stuck out to him, as he whispered them softly to himself, wiping the last of his tears away.

“...I won't forget about how kind you were to me today, Mister Fluff and Puff.”