A Weak Mind Exposed

They appeared right in front of a large castle. It was as if they were summoned right here for a specific reason. Kaedon had never been this close, so this was on purpose. Skeletons lined up on both sides of the castle with swords by their sides. A man walked out of the doors.

“Welcome! Welcome! My name is Shin. It is my utmost pleasure to have you here.”

Chenko: “Where are the kids?!”

Shin: “Huh? Who said you could speak?”

His threatening tone was enough to scare Chenko off.

Shin: “I shall continue now…I have brought you all here for a show. A wonderful show! Please take a seat. I apologize. I did not have time to put chairs out. I did not think this many would come. But, the more the merrier. The sand should be warm. Oh? How about this? I can make some chairs right now for most of you.”

The skeletons in line fell one by one. The bones rattled, forming chairs for them to sit in.

Shin: “I can’t quite make enough for all of you. Well…I could, but I choose not to. Anyways, the 6 of you that were invited may sit. The rest…You may stand or sit on the sand and enjoy the show.”

Chenko: “Hey! Stop messing around! Where are the kids?!”

Shin: “Now you’re getting me mad! You have no right to talk!”

Shin held out his hand and dark black mana formed a gated cage around the thousands of soldiers there.

Shin: “Please, no more talking. We are behind on schedule. Let’s start shall we? If you talk again, then I might have to just slice off your mouths instead. Don’t worry. The kids will be out shortly. After all, they are the main act.”

Chenko was worried. This man was not someone to be messed with. He was lifetimes stronger than any of the people here. Kaedon looked forward headstrong though, and said to Chenko, “Stick to the plan boss. We got this. Just play it out for now. We don’t know what’s up his sleeve.”

Chenko looked forward, nervous about what was to come. Shin stood at the top of the castle glaring down at them and spoke.

Shin: “Welcome! Welcome! Today is a very exciting day. We have been working on this for a handful of hours now. Although it was such a short time, it was a special time. Everyone did such a good job. I just want to say that I am proud of everyone here and thank you all for coming. Enjoy the show!”

The sky dimmed like a light switch. It went from day time to night time in an instant. The doors opened…Out of these doors were the missing kids. From the top, Shin threw his hands out and thick black mana lines rained down connecting to all of them. Music began to play and the kids danced and screamed. They were no longer being controlled mentally, but now physically. The men in the cage started to scream and plead to let them go. Kaedon remained calm, but Chenko shook.

Chenko: “This is sick…”

Kaedon: “Chenko! Stop thinking. Shut it off. Shut that stupid brain of yours off. Just wait and do what needs to be done. Watch what you couldn’t protect. Let it fuel you.”

The show that Shin put on continued. They danced and danced for what felt like eternity in Chenko’s mind, however it was only for 10 minutes. When the show was over, they bowed down for the audience.

Shin came down from up top.

“Oh my! Wonderful! Splendid! A round of applause please!”

Nobody clapped.

Shin became angered.

Shin: “Nobody clapped? Wow. Astonishing how rude people are these days.”

The kids still screamed for help in the back.

Chenko: “Please. Please let them go. I’ll do whatever you want. If you must kill someone, then kill me. I’m not long for this world anyways. I am sinful. I have nothing else to offer anymore.”

Kaedon: “–Chenko…”

Shin: “A splendid offer indeed. One that would benefit us both actually. You’re in luck. 3,000 people here might do the trick. I’m sure you know what I’m thinking. What an awful thing to do as a priest…I’m sure most of you possess some type of holy magic from your stupid swords. Probably not on a high level, but combined it may do some damage. How about a proposal?”

Chenko: “What do you mean?”

Shin: “My master has been sealed for quite some time now. An evil woman did this to him and left me with a huge scar on my back and legs. Took me a while to repair my legs to the way they used to be. Even so, they aren’t 100% still.”

Chenko thought about what the man had said. His mind was racing with too many thoughts at the moment. The thought of the kids, the thought of Shin’s power, the thought of the words he spoke. He was unsure of what to do and Shin seemed to know the ace up his sleeve. Now he was in more trouble than before.

Shin: “As for the 6 priests up front, I commend you all. Your kids were the most important in this show. They were great! Combined, we could strike a deal. My master can be unsealed with holy magic and a little help of my own magic. If you all would be so kind as to do so, then I will release the children back into the world for you all to have.”

The soldiers yelled out at Shin words of displeasement. Kaedon spoke to Chenko, but he wasn’t listening. He stared down Shin and began to sweat. It felt like the desert got hotter and hotter with each passing second. Everything moved in slow motion.

As his mind snapped back into reality, he quickly revealed a blue scabbard from his clothes. He pulled out the sword unveiling a golden handle with a red gem in the middle. The blade rose from both sides, leaving an opening in the middle that gradually went up and met at the top, forming a sharp tip.

Shin smiled at the ruthlessness of Chenko. For they both knew what was about to happen and Shin knew that he had provoked a weak man.

Kaedon looked over at Chenko. He began to chant unknown phrases with him. In his mind, he thought, ‘What the hell Chenko. We’re doing this now? You bastard. We needed to wait. Tch! May God punish us for eternity.’

Chenko thrusted the sword into the air while continuing to chant. It began to light up in a blue flame. The same blue flame appeared in the sky as big as the castle and hovered down on the soldiers. A circle formed out of the flames and began to fall like a curtain about to encompass them.

Soldiers screamed out.

Some began to run and others stood their ground while some wavered and were unable to move. These soldiers were not that accustomed to magic. They were entrusted with their physical strength and fought on the front lines for the church mainly if monsters came to attack or unwanted people approached. This was new to them, but they chose not to disobey the church’s orders, even knowing the dangers of this place. They were right in the heart of the land.

The blue flaming ring sped up. It quickly fell around all the soldiers in the area. None were able to run to escape it. Kaedon grabbed onto the sword as the holy magic rose immensely. One of the priests that had known Chenko for years began to scream at him.

???: “Chenko! What are you doing?! Stop this. This power…This will kill everyone!”

Chenko: “Shut up! I’ve made my choice. Don’t try to interfere, Al.”

Al: “Why you…! Give me that swor…”

Al quickly dropped to his knees and couldn’t move though from Shin’s abilities. Chenko would do anything to get the kids back, even it meant sacrificing these men. He was weak and Shin knew this, which is why he had other goals in mind.

As much as Chenko didn’t want to listen to Shin, he knew this was the only choice. It was like he abandoned everything he believed in for this one moment. Yet again, he chose selfishness over others. The lingering voice of the man that died before him in his village haunted him. He dismantled his previous belief now immediately. From that moment, Chenko manipulated everyone into thinking that he cared for anyone but the children, even Kaedon. All he wanted to do was save the man’s son to repent for what had been done. His mind was hellbent on this and his eyes shifted into one focus. Men began to drop to the ground one by one. The mana from their bodies transferred through the air and into the sword. The blue flames got bigger with each dead soldier. Soon, the priests behind them began to drop as well. Even bigger surpluses of mana went into the sword.

Al: “Chenko, you basta…”

The man fell dead from Shin’s magic along with each person until eventually the sword’s flame grew so big that they could no longer see how far they extended, but the magic remained over them.

Chenko: “I’ll be honest. We were planning to use this on you, but the difference in strength is far too much.”

Shin: “I am very honored by that, but I already knew this. An honest person you are. This should suffice. If you will, please aim the sword at the open door of the castle. It will spark the awakening of my master in his deep slumber. He will not be able to come outside at this moment, but I am sure he will want to thank you eventually.”

Kaedon: “Let’s do it, Chenko.”

The two aimed the sword at the doors of the castle made out of bones. The blue flames came rushing in from around the area and into the castle. The flames mixed with black and white flames from Shin’s magic. Waves of mana rushed over the castle. More than anything Chenko or Kaedon have ever seen. Tyrfing was like a pebble compared to this. Shin spoke as this happened.

Shin: “Witness! Witness the revival of my master. Kastor the Devil! As for you two…Thank you. This couldn’t have happened without your help. 3,000 soldiers! Maybe the 6 of you wouldn’t have been enough. Thank you, Chenko. That sword definitely did the trick. Helped me from doing extra work. Wonder where you got that.”

The mana started to spill out of the doors and out the cracks in the bone wall. It corroded the walls. The fire began to form into hardened liquid and flooded towards them. Shin took to the air along with the kids who were unconscious.

Shin: “Oh, well, this isn’t good. I’ll have to do some revamping…You two might want to start running.”

Chenko: “Wh-What?! You said you’d give the kids back! Are you not a man of your word? All these people died not even knowing any of this!”

Shin: “My word? That’s condescending, is it not Chenko? Indeed I did say I will give the kids back to the world and that is what I will do. I will transport them outside of this land and they may live a normal life. As for you both…I never said anything about sparing you. However, I am in a good mood, so I will let you live. I can’t have two people seeing my face at once though, so…Off you go.”

Shin opened a hole in the sand behind Kaedon. He fell backwards down a deep darkness.

Chenko: “Kaedon!”

Kaedon: “Go! Save the kids, Chenko! Live!”

Chenko thought, ‘No. Stop. Don’t say that. Don’t make me make another promise. Stop it.’

Shin: “Ohhhh Chenko. You’re running out of time.”

The liquid rushed towards him quicker than he could imagine. He thought he had time, but it caught up too quickly. He ran, but the liquid caught his feet. He was stuck and couldn’t move.

Chenko: “Damn it!”

It started to cover his body slowly. He screamed in pain. It burned intensely, almost like jumping directly in lava. Shin flew over to Chenko.

Shin: “That’s unfortunate. After you just helped me out too. I’m sorry. I can’t do anything about this. My master can’t control his power right now. Don’t worry. The kids are safe. I’ll convince him to give you special treatment. After all, you did help me a lot today. Good luck, Chenko.”

Chenko burned into a skeletal figure, completely under the control of Shin. He began to black out, but before he did, he saw a silhouette of a woman with long black hair come out of nowhere and completely destroy the castle and stop Kastor from emerging before confronting Shin, however Chenko passed out before he could witness the events that unfolded.