Repentance by Moony1 | World Anvil Manuscripts | World Anvil

Chapter 41

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Seated on a stool atop an elevated platform, under the sway of his mistreated slaves, Greed gazed with unbridled joy as the imperial soldiers relentlessly advanced upon the formerly tranquil village of Lighthaven. He laughed at their suffering in the midst of the fighting and cries that were music to his ears.

He found the entire thing hilarious and entertaining: men being cut open while others were trampled beneath the hooves of horses and spears, women screaming as they ran for cover as buildings burned around them, and the sickening stench of children's blood filling the air as they died agonizing deaths at the hands of soldiers who slaughtered them mercilessly.

All of the farm animals were unfortunately killed as the troops drove them into the town square and brutally butchered them without mercy instead of outright bringing them under the queen's request. He didn't care about any of it; he just enjoyed watching everything unfold before him while holding his glass.

"HOLY FUCK! AHAHAHA!" Greed shouted hysterically as he clutched his belly with both arms, tears pouring down his face as he doubled over, laughing maniacally at the massacre taking place around him, glancing at one soldier who was performing a necrophilia act with his dead family, "TOO GOOD!!" Cackling like a madman before taking a sip of his wine with a smirk, "Those are my boys~!"

Reveling in their insanity as he continued to see this atrocity occurring below him, he enjoyed the show of bloody violence. It brought great joy to see others suffering because of him. However, the sadistic smile disappeared when he heard an arrow hitting straight at his shoulder.

"WHAAAAAAT!?"

Greed furiously yelled out as the sharp tip of the arrow successfully pierced through his shoulder pads before embedding itself into the flesh underneath. He felt enough pain, not much, but enough to make him angry. "YOU FUCKING, MOTHERFUCKING, PIECE OF SHIT!" Frantically glancing around the chaos to find the person responsible.

Being hit by an arrow didn't really bother him, but the fact that these lowly peasants had managed to lay a single scratch on his flawless body was enough to set the minister on edge. With anger coursing through him, he knew the person who fired the arrow was nearby, most likely hiding somewhere among the dead and dying.

"Find the person who hurt me!" Taking out the arrow from his shoulder, he swiftly broke it with his bare hand before throwing away its pieces to the side. "Bring the person responsible to me; I want to remove their eyes and tongue in front of the empire's finest!" Stating loudly in a threatening tone.

It proved to be ineffective, though, as the soldiers were too preoccupied with murdering and sexually abusing everyone in their path to give much thought to such unimportant issues involving him. He was about to order them to start searching for the culprit again until he caught a little boy holding a bow.

He narrowed his eyes at Solomon. The boy was about eleven, and he seemed to be tearfully enraged for shooting him in the shoulder as he glared at the evil man with deep hatred. It was an interesting development; a child capable of using a weapon and hitting a target so close at his age was impressive.

The man thought about what the boy might have to offer and said, "Hmm," with a broad smile spreading across his lips. "Have the boy be brought to me; he will be another addition to my collection," licking his lips sensually.

It was a nice prize to have; a young and defenseless boy is something he wanted for a long time. After all, he enjoyed torturing the innocent. He is an evil man who cares only for his own personal gain, wanting nothing more than power and control over others.

Including the flesh, he can't imagine how the glistening innocence taste if he cooks the boy on fire or in boiling hot water. Just thinking of the possibilities sent shivers down his spine. Greed hoped to satisfy his urges because of the never-ending gluttony he carries inside of himself.

With a chuckle, the sadistic fat man ordered nearby soldiers who were currently murdering innocents to stop and come to his aid. "What is it, sir?!" One of the armored guards loudly questioned their commander, having a sense of worry in his voice.

Despite how chaotic and loud everything is, from the increasing fires spreading throughout the houses around to the screams of pain from people being impaled by spears or strangled to death by their assaulters, they have done what they were tasked to do, and it was not an easy task to begin with.

They were all tired, but the thrill of the carnage was enough to keep them going for more. Some of these men were once normal and good, but the corruption of power corrupted them with promises of being rich and having all they could with their superiors.

"Bring him to me; I want that boy to be my slave," he grinned sadistically as he pointed to the little girl who just shot him with her bow. "Now that I think of it, just kill her and cut his head off," Greed added before taking a sip of his drink. I don't want her to be missed by her family or anyone for that matter."

Hearing his words, the nearby knights obeyed and charged towards him, their battle cries echoing throughout the blazing night as they rushed to confront their target. However, the soldiers were unaware of how determined he was to get his revenge.

Solomon was full of distress, pain, and anger over losing his precious mother. He was completely consumed by hatred for the empire that had killed her along with the rest of his friends. He wanted nothing more than to make them suffer like they did to his people.

And he will make sure to make them pay dearly for what they have done to everyone in his village. Noticing the enemies approaching, he released a torrent of arrows at them in rapid succession—a few, to be precise. As the projectiles sailed through the air, the young boy smirked in satisfaction as each one struck home.

Within seconds, two of his foes were incapacitated but alive for the moment as he swiftly dropped his bow before taking out the dagger he kept from one of his pockets, charging forward with intense ferocity and determination to kill them, not caring how fast or strong they were.

To the boy, they were nothing but filthy monsters in his eyes, deserving of death. He can't think straight anymore, just revenge and hatred toward the one who was responsible. Deep down, he just wants to end them all, but something else feels like this isn't the life his mother shouldn't have lived or even had her child like this.

Killing and slaughtering others will make her son like them. Solomon tried his best to avoid that part of him. Although there is nothing else to lose anyway, they have destroyed everything he cherished and held dear. In spite of that, a voice inside told him that there might be another way to resolve the situation, perhaps a peaceful route.

No, there is no way he will accept peace from these monsters who massacred his people. Seth's beliefs of pacifism and kindness will not be an option because of that. Clutching tightly on his dagger, he can't outright take out all of them at once.

But Solomon could at least take down enough of their number that it would slow them down significantly enough for me to reach towards Greed and kill him to get his revenge, no matter the cost. "COME AT ME!" The child screamed out in fury as they rushed in their direction at him, their weapons poised ready to strike.

"DIE!!"

Slashing forward, he landed a blow to the nearest attacker, piercing his stomach as the blade sliced through the armor's underside and into his intestines. At first, the man's face twisted in shock, going into horror at being stabbed before falling down. He attempted to scream, but no words escaped his throat as the blood flowed freely from the wound, creating a crimson pool on the ground.

The young boy showed no remorse, watching as the knight twitched and groaned in pain as he slowly bled out, eventually passing out. Seeing his first kill, he felt nothing at the sight of it as he moved on to his next opponent. He knew that he couldn't afford to waste time, but the man's death wasn't enough to deter him.

Solomon needed to prove that he could take on anyone, regardless of how many opponents there were in total, and beat them with ease, despite being a novice at using weapons; it feels like second nature to him. Killing them was the simple task of removing obstacles in his quest for vengeance.

He then leaped onto another man's back and slit his neck with a single slash of his weapon, stabbing it repeatedly into his chest for good measure, driving the blade deeper with each thrust until finally drawing forth a wet gurgle from the soldier as he fell to the ground lifelessly, spilling blood from his mouth.

That's when one of them tried to attack him from behind, and Solomon anticipated the attack. But rather than dodging, he simply dropped to the floor before rolling away to safety. Using this opportunity, he kicked his foe in the balls, stunning him briefly as he did so. Then, he grabbed hold of his weapon and plunged it deeply into the man's gut, cutting through steel until it reached the flesh before pulling it out once again.

Everyone who witnessed this was baffled, stopping whatever they were doing as the soldiers couldn't believe that child was able to kill one of their men twice. Especially using tactics, they taught each other while they trained on the field. This boy is no ordinary kid; he was different.

Rising onto his feet, he stared and glanced around; some of them were frozen while others were readying for another attack. The rest of them were hesitant to proceed. Seeing this, Solomon laughed cruelly at them. "C'mon, I thought you guys were supposed to be fearsome." His voice mocked as he grinned mischievously, "I can't believe that I am doing better than any of you," taunting them on purpose.

It worked when some of them rushed in once more to kill him, fueled with rage at this mockery: "YOU LITTLE BRAT!" The young boy narrowly avoided their attacks as they swung wildly at him. For some reason, he has mastered the art of combat, as everything he does is because of his instincts.

Was it because of his father? Dad was a knight and a great warrior altogether; it would make sense for Solomon to be as skilled as him but not exactly as proficient as he is. Even so, he still remains stronger than soldiers by a significant margin.

Without any delay, some of them became brave enough to attack from the side, charging at him with swords and axes drawn. Yet Solomon responded by simply standing still and waiting patiently for them to come closer. And they did, swinging their blades wildly at him while yelling profanities in attempts to frighten their prey.

However, what they didn't realize is that he would dodge them by merely stepping aside, letting them crash into one another and causing havoc among themselves. To him, they looked like idiots as they flailed around without aim or coordination.

His attention was then focused on Greed, who was enjoying the scene with glass in his hand, making the fat man even more entertained and disappointed at the same time for failing to even capture or kill Solomon. No doubt, he became angered at this sight as his grip on the cup tightened considerably at the thought.

All of them charged at him yet again, but he jumped over them with ease while ducking underneath swings and leaping out of reach of strikes. Soon enough, they grew tired after several attempts, panting heavily as sweat dripped from their brows.

Rushing towards the surprised Greed, Solomon momentarily felt joy in seeing the terrified face of his enemy. There was no way he could lose, not now or ever. "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIEEEEE!" Screaming at the top of his lungs, he made a final leap towards him.

While most of them were distracted with chasing him around the place, no one saw the chance to get ahead and finish him off. None except the minister, who was fearfully gripping his cup. Suddenly, Greed threw away his drink at the boy, nailing him directly in the forehead before shattering into pieces.

Although he felt little pain from being hit on the face, Solomon gasped from the impact. This brief moment of hesitation allowed him to be knocked down on the ground by soldiers surrounding him, restraining the boy before he could do anything else.

Solomon tearfully struggled and tried to free himself as the soldiers held him down firmly as Greed cackled cruelly at this sight, sitting down back onto the chair while looking down onto the boy with pure pleasure, "You don't have any idea how much I would eat your heart right now," leaning his large body forwards at him.

"Fun as it is to do..." Greed caressed his chin with contemplative thought, "Release him." The order shocked everyone who was currently holding down Solomon from attacking him: "What are you doing!? Release him!" He exclaimed in a commanding tone.

The soldiers hesitated at first as one of them asked, "No offense, minister, but this doesn't seem like you to do," obviously concerned for the odd change of behavior, "shouldn't he be killed instead for attempting to assassinate you?" Confused about what the fat man is planning for him?

Greed sighed tiredly, leaning on his back while holding his glass. "Do I have to repeat myself? Let him go," he said, commanding them one more time as they slowly obeyed and stepped away from the little boy. "Remember this, boy," he said, staring down at him with satisfaction as evilness swept through his face like a plague. "There will be more where that came from."

Though Solomon didn't care for his warning, he was in a state of rage as he stood up and spat at the minister, "Sparing me is the worst mistake you will ever make," growling angrily while glaring daggers at him, "next time I will kill you!" The young boy pointed his finger accusingly, "Because next time I will make sure my vengeance is complete to destroy the empire once and for all!"

The evil man laughed maniacally at the bold statement of the child, finding it all to be absolutely ridiculous in every aspect imaginable. There's no way that the empire can be brought down by a mere child, especially by himself. "You are a foolish brat to make such a proclamation. Do not mistake; I am letting you live out of the kindness in my heart." Standing up, he raised his hand in the air with an open palm and said, "I just love playing with my food before I consume them," lowering it down, his voice as sinister as ever while grinning sadistically.

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