Checkmate

A week passed.

Hiroshi opened his eyes and saw that it was night. He was in a hospital.

He turned his head and saw Rania sleeping on the couch beside him.

He turned his gaze again and noticed something was wrong. He could only feel his left arm. Quickly, he pulled off the blanket and discovered his right arm was gone—amputated.

What happened? How did I end up like this? Where did my arm go?

Wait!!

For a moment, due to the intense pain and shock, Hiroshi couldn't remember what had happened. But then he remembered.

His body relaxed, as if he had accepted everything without any problem.

How much time has already passed?

What do I do now without an arm?

Then he remembered his mission.

I need information! I need it! I must know everything!

So Hiroshi proceeded to call the nurse at that moment.

She arrived almost immediately.

As soon as Hiroshi saw her, he asked:

"How much time has passed? What happened to my arm? What happened to the case I was handling?"

"Heheh, I didn't think you'd ask this the moment you woke up. Well, let me tell you: about a week has passed. Your arm is gone. It was severed, so we could have reattached it, but the guards who brought you said the arm burned instantly. Without an arm, we can't remake it for you—we're not GOD. As for the case, the judge has given time until you recover."

Hiroshi listened in silence and thought.

"Alright, thank you for coming. You may go now."

"Alright."

After that, the nurse left.

I'VE LOST MY ARM, PERHAPS FOREVER. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW. WAS IT WORTH IT TO DO ALL THIS? WHY DID I COME THIS FAR? WHAT DO I GAIN? I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING.

The words kept spinning in his mind. Questions came, but there were no answers for them. He didn't know what to do. Was it perhaps an emotion he was feeling, or something beyond logic? Only he knew.

Slowly, Hiroshi closed his eyes and let himself drift into sleep.

* * *

He opened his eyes and saw three figures enter through the door.

They stood in front of Hiroshi and began staring at him. Their faces couldn't be seen—they were covered by darkness.

"HIROSHI NAKAMURA, THE COLOSSUS, HUH?"

"HE'S JUST A LITTLE FLY TO US, HAHAHA!"

"DIDN'T YOU GUYS SAY HE WAS TOUGH? HAHAHAH!"

I can't speak! I can't move a single muscle!

"WEREN'T YOU FAMOUS FOR BEATING DOWN YOUR COMPETITORS, HUH? NOW I FIND YOU HERE ON THIS BED, UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING, HAHAHAHH! TELL ME SOMETHING: WHEN YOU NEED TO TAKE A DUMP, DO YOU DO IT RIGHT HERE? EUGH, HOW DISGUSTING, HAHAHAH!"

"COME ON, ENOUGH TALK. LET'S GIVE OUR FRIEND SOME RELIEF NOW, HAHAHA!"

One of them proceeded to grab the pillow from under Hiroshi's head.

"SWEET DREAMS, HAHAHHA!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAH!"

...

..

.

"EGHAAA!"

Hiroshi opened his eyes and saw it was all a dream and he was still on the hospital bed. Rania was sleeping on the couch beside him, and outside the window, the sun was about to rise.

What a strange dream.

It all seemed so real.

I don't know why, but perhaps only in dreams can I experience emotions—though even those are only certain emotions, like trauma, pure fear that makes bones tremble... and the emotions of today.

I don't know the phenomenon behind it, but one thing is certain.

This dream wasn't random but indicated something that could happen if I don't do something.

A rush of adrenaline spread through Hiroshi's veins, and so he knew what and how he had to do it.

* * *

Morning came.

Rania woke up and saw that Hiroshi wasn't there.

"NURSEEEEE!!! NURSEEEEE!!!!"

The nurse came running.

"What is it, ma'am?"

"WHERE DID THE MAN WHO WAS HERE GO?"

"He left early this morning. He had already woken up during the night."

"IF HE HAD WOKEN UP, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!"

"You were sleeping."

"I WAS JUST SLEEPING, I WASN'T DEAD!"

Rania shouted, but then said:

"Ahhhh, fine, you can go. And sorry for my behavior."

"It's nothing, ma'am."

The nurse left.

Worried, Rania let herself fall onto the couch.

Meanwhile, Duraan arrived from somewhere, running. He was breathing heavily from the run.

"What happened? Why are you in this condition?"

Rania asked, looking at him and telling him to sit down.

"H-H-H-H-HIROSHI!"

"Hiroshi? Hiroshi what? Did you see him somewhere?"

"YES!"

"Where?"

"IN TH-TH-THE COURTHOUSE!"

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Hiroshi sat in the courthouse, organizing papers with his only remaining hand.

At that moment, there was no one else in the courthouse. That day, no public or journalists had permission to enter—only those involved in the case could be there. Only Hiroshi, the judge and his assistants, and the royal family. No one else had permission.

Hiroshi, seated in his chair, stared at the clock and watched for the time when the case would begin.

Once everyone arrived—including the king and queen, who knew what they had done last time but pretended otherwise, and no one else had taken action against them so far—it was Hiroshi's moment to resolve some unfinished business.

"Your Honor, I have seen your justice. My arm is gone. For the rest of my life, I will have to live like this, and you still haven't said anything to the culprits who are up there watching this circus. I have seen your justice quite clearly. Therefore, I withdraw my accusation against Mr. Wilhelm and, in his place, I file charges against the government of this kingdom. And know that I have read the law, so I know perfectly well that this is completely legal and can be done."

"So, Mr. Vassair, what do you want to do?"

The judge said in a low voice, almost as if he were provoking Hiroshi to do something.

"I only want justice. Justice for me, for my arm, and for every person who has suffered injustice. Therefore, I want the queen to answer my questions."

But here Hiroshi found a surprise he perhaps also expected. The judge said:

"Mr. Vassair, the queen has done nothing. What do you mean?"

Hiroshi understood everything right there. He understood how corrupt the system had become. The royal family, the judge, the palace, or anything that ended with "royal" was just an illusion for the fools of the population who understood nothing.

Here, everyone had poison in their blood. Everyone was corrupt.

Hiroshi had come from them too, so he knew how and what to do to straighten them out.

"So, Your Honor, where did my arm go? Who is the culprit?"

"Mr. Vassair, don't worry. Our king, Svuls Opar Hisenter, has resolved everything. The culprit was their butler, who did all this by not controlling his emotions. But our king is one who delivers justice, and as punishment, he had him executed immediately. This is the document that says everything, and you can also see his head hanging in the middle of the city for a week now."

Hiroshi knew perfectly well that the king, to save the queen, had an innocent man killed. But this wouldn't save the queen, because Hiroshi always had a plan B in mind.

"Alright, Your Honor, I don't need it—I trust you. But now I'm only waiting for one piece of news."

"What news?"

"Don't worry, everyone will see it. Can you tell me what time it is?"

"10:59."

"How lucky me! We can just wait this one minute, then you'll find all the answers to the questions you have."

No one said anything. Everyone settled in to wait.

A few seconds passed.

"Come on, Your Honor, let's do a countdown."

"Ten."

"Nine."

"Eight."

"Seven."

"Six."

"Five."

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

At that exact moment, the courthouse doors opened.

"Ta-da!!"

From there entered a soldier fully armored in shining white armor. His face couldn't be seen since he wore a helmet.

Hiroshi went to him. In silence, without saying anything, the soldier handed a paper to Hiroshi, turned, and left.

Once the doors closed again, Hiroshi said:

"Your Honor, do you recognize the soldier who just entered? Do you recognize the symbol on his armor?"

"Yes, it's the symbol of the Papal Knights Association, special guards who protect the pope and the city of Wasier."

"Good. Do you know why they're here?"

"No."

"Then I'll tell you. The document you see in my hand here has some beautiful things written in it, and it's an official document bearing the seal of Pope Yulius the Thirteenth. And do you know what this means? That where there is the pope's signature, that document holds more value than all others. And if you neglect it, you will face very, very heavy consequences."

Silence appeared from all sides.

Then the judge, with a firm voice, asked:

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

Hiroshi gave his mechanical laugh and said:

"Now it's getting interesting. But first, read this document and have our king read it too—it arrived especially for you."

The judge began reading the letter. As soon as he finished, he said nothing. Total silence. He just started sweating brutally.

Then it was the king's turn to read.

And as soon as he finished, he shouted:

"WHAT IS THIS?! HOW DARE YOU—"

Hiroshi interrupted him:

"Old man, listen to me! If you try to pull any stupid stunts on me, your head will be hanging out there very soon. Read the document and don't do anything foolish."

This silenced the king.

Silence.

"HOW DID YOU DO ALL THIS?"

The king asked.

Hiroshi answered confidently:

"Connections. I used my connections. Well, let's leave all that aside. What do you say we proceed with what the document says? Namely: you, the royal family and the royal court, owe me three wishes. And you must do it because you caused me permanent damage—namely my arm, right? And if you don't do it, you already know the consequences."

Silence.

...

..

.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

The king said, holding back his rage.

Hiroshi sat down in his chair and put his legs on the table. Since at that moment he had absolute power in that courthouse, he wanted to take advantage of it. Not because he wanted to enjoy himself, but because he wanted to do it. Just that. There was no emotion or logic, only will.

And then he said:

"So, for the first wish, I want you to give me the money to find a solution for my arm—a value of two billion Dravs. Then, for the second, I want you to conclude Mr. Wilhelm's case and have him released. Not only that—you must appoint him now as an important-level general. That is, I want you to appoint him as your army's General Number A2, since that position is good and also strategic. For Wilhelm's security, you must sign a high-level magical contract in which you swear for his safety and do everything. If you don't, you will be executed in front of everyone, and your family will be removed from government forever."

Then, before the third wish, Hiroshi took a breath, looked toward the ceiling, and said:

"And for the third and final wish, I want... KING! GIVE ME THE QUEEN. I WILL MARRY HER."

Hearing this, the king lost control.

"YOU PIECE OF SH—"

But the butlers stopped him, since they were more intelligent than him.

At that moment, Hiroshi had broken the back of the entire royal family and palace. He had made them bow before him.

Then he stood up and started to walk.

After taking a few steps, without turning around, he said in a firm, icy voice:

"ALL OF THIS MUST BE DONE BY TOMORROW. THANK YOU."