Chapter Text
Blood boiled. Tears spilled. Heart thumped. His ears were ringing wildly, the sharp pain only getting worse and worse. Bile built in the back of Lihans' throat as Rei crumpled down, bowing before the Prince. The Prince... no bloody prince acted like that! His hair slicked back, that smug grin... damn it!
Just within the hour, he and Rei had been called in to contact the Prince of the kingdom. Some request of sorts that Rei had been... dismissive of. Stories of the arrogance of the Prince, ruling during the ailment of the King, had traveled through social circles for years, circling down to one conclusion: the Prince was a bastard, a pig, and the highest of degenerates. And now, having watched him in action, Lihan had known it to be true.
The Prince had made the demand of Rei to join "his collection," no doubt it had to do with his degeneracy, some harem he used like toys and discarded like trash. When he had threatened Lihan with retaliation if she denied him, she had grit her teeth and agreed to a duel to the death. Her rifle loaded, eager to wipe that smug grin off his face. Lihan knew this was rash, that launching into combat with the Prince would only end with disaster. If she failed, she would be a willing toy. If she succeeded, no doubt the kingdom would bear down on her with its full might, putting her to death. Despite this, she simply shot Lihan that reassuring smirk, that glint of confidence in her eye glistening like the stars above them.
The Prince was powerful, there had been no doubt. Magic strong enough to stop bullets, to shield the wielder with effortless ease, had been whispered about in magic circles around the guild. But seeing it now, there was no awe, no wonder of how powerful could magic be. There was only bile, a seething rage and hatred that built up with every passing moment. The Princes hand had struck out, muttering something about "memories lost" in that cold, commanding tone, his tongue dipping out to lick his lips. When he reeled back, Rei had crumpled, her breathing ragged. "R-Rei! Rei!" Lihan sprinted to his teammate, the woman that had held his heart in her hands for the last few months, only for the sheer force of the Princes magic to blast him into the wall. His ribs cracked, shattering in his chest; the coppery taste of blood and bile threatened to spill from his mouth when he rasped out. He fell to his knees with a weak thud, his sword clattering to the ground by his side. "Rei..."
Tears filled his eyes, as Rei stripped bare for the Princes desire. Rei was gone, lost in a haze of magic that reduced her to a willing plaything. And there was nothing Lihan could do. Rei bowed, offering herself, prostrating herself to her new ruler. There was a voice in the back of his head, something distant and foreign and familiar, though he had never heard it before this day. It was soft, pleading, and he felt warmth ghost around his chest, what felt like arms moving over his shoulders, delicate but firm, commanding but soothing. The warmth was at his ear, like a gentle whisper, and his breathing steadied, despite his heart threatening to beat out of his chest.
"You are stronger."
His eyes go wide, and the warmth is fleeting. As tears flood his vision, streaming down his cheeks and splashing onto the serene white tile beneath him, his legs shook. He stood with grunts, tears still spilling out beneath him, but he still stood. Rei had turned herself around, her gaze locking to his, distant and foreign, as the Prince prepared to claim her. Lihans teeth grit tight, his jaw setting in a steely determination he had never felt, his blood so cold it boiled under his skin. "Damn you.... Damn you!" Lihan snarled, the Prince barely reacting.
"Settle down, boy. Stay in place, lest we have any unfortunate accidents befall you." His tone dripped with saccharine charisma, so fake and innocent and sweet and wrong that Lihans stomach twisted, threatening to spill its contents onto the stone floor.
"Yes, boy. Settle down." Reis' voice stung; all her bite and snark and everything that made her her was gone, replaced by a droll bored tone that rolled lazily on the air. Rei was gone, and in her place was a toy wearing her skin.
Lihan drew his sword from the ground, jutting towards the Princes vile display. "I challenge you... I challenge you, Prince! To a trial of combat! To the death!"
The Princes movements, the tip of his member poised to delve into Reis willing folds, ceased. His sneer was still confident, but there had been hesitation in those dull grey eyes of his. The gamble had been rolled, on Lihans part. He knew he had nothing, his only strength being his willpower to push and push and keep pushing. He was no superhuman, though, no god or deity or patron that could overcome the sheer power of death if it threatened to overtake him. The Prince, dripping in power of the mind, and of the people, and of charisma, would surely best him. And he was okay with that. He would die for Rei, for Ashe, for the both of them, and he would much, much rather be dead than witness to the loves of his life being turned into willing subjects of a pig wearing manflesh.
The Prince scowled now, insult written over his porcelain features. He pulled away from Rei, who sighed in frustration, as he pulled up his pants. "Insolent brat." His tone was more cold now; any of the faux warmth from his charisma slipped to the wayside, giving way for his true, calculated, reviling tone. "Little boy, do you understand the implications of what you've said to me? You are not worth the time, nor the effort, of a duel to the death." He shook his head, his disgusting smirk returning. "You're a bug, to be squashed beneath my boot."
"And yet... I've made you hesitate." Lihan scowled back at him, trying to make his face equally as intense as the Princes. He grit his teeth. "So... does that mean you fear me, Prince? A lowly B-Rank!"
He could see the vein popping in the mans head, his jaw dropping in stern retaliation. "Fear you?! Don't insult me, whelp! Even the rotten bugs whizzing about dung do not fear you!"
"And yet you pulled away from my friend!" He gripped his sword tighter. "Take my challenge, then, Prince! Unless you truly fear me!"
The Prince scowled, and magic emanated from his cold, pristine hands. The declaration was signed, as it had been with him and Rei, and Lihan could feel the tension of the room shift. Rei had sighed dejectedly, bored, and watched with a faux interest at the "boy" and her "master." It would make for an interesting fight, if the boy could keep on his feet.
"Know this, boy," the Prince spat. "You will fall. And when you fall, I will sever your head from your corpse. And for your insolence, it will sit on my mantle, just above the fire, where you will watch me claim this fine young thing again and again." Magic rose from his palm, powerful and vile. "It's far too late to stand down now, child. Make your peace."
"And you should make yours." Gone was the young boy who feared the brushing wind, the cackling goblins, the shifting of tides. Lihan stood, proud. Shaken, but proud, and he would die with that pride in his heart. Without hesitation, he leapt forward with a roar. He wasn't strong, far from it, but he was fast. When the Princes magic fired with the roar of thunder, he dodged under it. His heart beat wildly, a frantic rhythm that threatened to snap through his ribcage. Another magic burst, thaumaturge singing through the air in a dirge, and he's under it in a second. He crosses the distance before the Prince can retaliate, and the tip of his blade nicks the bastards thigh. With a groan, the Prince blasts him away, into the wall again. Lihan could see blood dripping from the fresh wound, coiling down his pleated trousers. The Prince can bleed, and that means he can die.
Another dodge, but the Prince is prepared, launching a second attack that smacks Lihan in the chest, a burst blasting through the right side of his chest plate and out his back. He stumbles and rolls, nearly to a halt. He tries to stand, but falls to his knees.
"You are better."
There's another voice in the back of his head. Stern, cold, hollow, a seething rage that boils much like his own that has bubbled to the surface. There is a warmth here now, no comfort, but he can feel it nonetheless. No, it's a boiling heat, one that threatens to over take him. He rises to his feet, gritting his teeth tight enough to draw blood, and he swears one of his own teeth cracked.
"Insistent little one, aren't you?!" The Prince was now in a full rage, his cold steel eyes glistening with a sheer divine hatred as he snarled at the young man. "Is this some recompense? Are you so eager to cast your life away for an easy whore?!" He throws his head back and laughs, a grating noise that bellows from the very depths of his black soul. "Who am I to deny you such a fate?! So divine to be cast down by a prince such as I, you should be thankful!"
Lihan growls low. "Does your ego ever end?! Does your arrogance know any bounds?!" The protection he had felt for Rei was ebbing away, replaced instead with a searing hot anger that could crumble brimstone, melt ice, and shatter steel. He didn't just want to protect Rei, no, he wanted to ruin this bastard. He lunges forward with a roar once more, the sound of his leather boots against the stone echoing through the chamber. He crossed the distance again and again, small slices finding their mark with ever push forward. For every attack he landed on the Prince, however, a dozen of his find their mark in Lihan, sending him caterwauling back into the stone behind him.
And for every surge of magic that crashed into him, the voices were stronger, urging him on. Murmurs of affirmation from the first voice, a feminine one, soft and breathy and nurturing, that egged him on. "You are brave. You are whole with her. You are hers, and she is yours."
Calls to action from the second, a powerful masculine voice that boomed with authority even the Prince could not manifest. "He is a worm. What does he know of strength, of power, of hatred? Show him truth."
And for every word they uttered, he would rise again and again to his feet. He wasn't sure if his arm was still attached, he couldn't see through the mist of blood and tears streaming down his face, but he still surged on. Despite the crippling crack of bone in his knee, the limp way his arm dangled at his side, he surged on. This time, the Prince had abandoned his thaumaturge, drawing instead a longsword, Stygian and laced with gold and arrogance, that he swung with reckless abandon. Despite his status, despite the power his name holds, he was not trained properly. Finally. A fair fight.
As their swords clashed, again and again, he could see Rei laying about lazily, her cheek rested on her fist, as she watched the fight with little interest. If she could really see, REALLY REALLY SEE, how he was doing, she would be proud. And that thought surged him forward, striking at the Prince again and again as he fought desperately.
There was a clamber from the door. An elven woman stood next to the guards pouring in to defend their Prince. Ashe. No!
The Princes eyes flashed towards Ashe, and he can see the mischief in the bastards eyes. His hand comes up, magic pooling in his hands, eager to claim another woman. "ASHE! ASHE, RUN!" His voice is hoarse, ragged, wet from the tears and blood and rage and hurt. Just as the vile Prince lets his blast loose, Lihan dives into his waist, tackling him to the ground. The spell arcs upwards, just above Ashe. The stone cracks, crumbles, then falls. Ashe moves back with a yelp, just behind the threshold of the doorway.
"Lihan! Lihan, what's happened?!" The stone crumbles in front of her, blocking her path into the room. "LIHAN! LIHAN!" The stone had crushed the guards who had been stunned by the surge of power from the Prince, leaving Rei, Lihan, and the Prince alone once again.
A fact the Prince seemed to revile. He slammed his elbow into the young boys nose with a roar, then as the knight recoiled, his boot connected with his chest, sending him reeling backwards. "You ignorant, arrogant twat! You've desecrated my home, denied me my claims!" He buried his sword into Lihans gullet, pinning him to the ground.
Blood spilled from Lihans mouth in a gargle. He stared down at the blade through his stomach, and roared with pain as the Prince twisted it. "You will lay there, weakling," he spoke, cold with livid anger, "and you will watch as your world CRUMBLES!" He stands, leaving the blade in the knights gut, and turns to Rei. "Darling... I'm so sorry for the wait. Please, allow me to finally have you." He's dripping with saccharine want, vile need, and Lihan knows that vomit is about to fight blood for dominance over what comes up next.
Rei gives a slow, lazy nod. "Of course, Master." And she turns her rear to him.
"Spare her." There she was again. "She needs you, and you need her."
"You are above him." And there was the other. "Do not allow him to claim what is rightfully yours."
"I... c-can't!" He turns to the blade lodged into him, his breath coming in short pained gasps through gritted teeth, and he can see Rei eyeing him, a stranger wearing the face of the woman he loved.
"Do not allow him to win." They speak in unison, and they're not in his head but by his side. With a grunt and a roar of pain and fury, he grips the blade with both hands, a strength not his own. Slowly, painfully, he begins to remove the blade from himself, groaning and screaming as the blade slices inside of him. The prince turns stunned, angered, at this display. "Damn him. Curse him. Save her."
Lihan glares up at the Prince, his teeth gritting tighter and tighter. "I'll.... kill... you... bastard!"
The blade frees itself, and Lihan surges forward, tackling the Prince by the knees. He lets loose a flurry of violent punches, shouting and screaming with every collision of flesh. The Prince was weak, now that he was pinned. His nose cracked, his flesh squelched, and Lihan took great pride in knowing he had bloodied the pig.
Short lived, as the Prince managed to overtake him in the struggle. The noble threw him off of himself, struggling to his feet. He spat up blood. "You dare... bloody ME?! THE PRINCE?!" He kicks Lihan in the chest. "I OWN YOU! THE REASON YOU EVEN EXIST IN THIS KINDGOM!" Another kick connects, breaking ribs, even through the chest plate. "YOU OWE ME! I AM THE REASON YOU STILL LIVE! YOUR LIFE, YOUR HOME, YOUR STRENGTH IS MINE!"
"You are not given strength..."
"Strength... is earned..." Lihan could feel the surge of the voices in his head. One final push of strength. His hand finds the hilt of his sword.
The Prince reaches for his own blade, preparing a wide heavy swing over his head to finally end this ruckus. Lihan could still hear Ashes shouts as she scrambled to clear the rubble. "Finally! Be sent to Hell, you insolent child!"
Lihan grips his blade. "You go first." His tone is low, calculated, cold. And just as the Prince brings his blade down, Lihan surges forward. The Princes blade lands in his shoulder, but Lihans...
Lihans finds its mark in his heart. The tip pushes through his noblemans' blouse, just enough to stun the bastard. His voice is lost, and in the moment of hesitation, reveling in the sheer unparalleled shock in the mutts face, he surges forward with a powerful roar. The blade deepens, down to the hilt as he pushes all the way through the Princes chest. His silver eyes, shrunken in fear, lock to Lihans. He can't speak, can't even utter a gasp, a prayer. "You... will claim.... no more..."
In an instant, Reis eyes uncloud. Gods, she has a wicked headache, and she's suddenly very acutely aware of her wild state of undress. There's a faint niggling in the back of her mind, where she swore she had memories of the Prince, and the Prince alone. She shuddered at the thought.
Her eyes lock to... Lihan?! His blade is buried deep into the nobles chest, and it's clear the Prince had just slithered off his mortal coil and into the great beyond. Lihan was... damaged, almost beyond recognition. Blood smattered nearly every inch, his left arm dangling loosely by a thread at his side, his hair matted with sweat and his face dirtied with tears. His eyes are wide, his pupils almost insignificant as he shakes with a fury she had never seen in him.
When she gasps, fear and dread filling her mind, his gaze snaps to her. His pupils grow, and his expression softens only for a second as he releases a shudder, a whimper, and a low groan. "R-Rei... Re... Re-" He falls forward, her name dying on his lips as he smacks into the white stone beneath him.
And darkness overtakes him.