Ding
Ding
Ding!
"Fiiiight!" Ahrie yelled, sitting in the corner with an imaginary mic in hand.
Daiki stormed forward, arms up in a sloppy boxing stance.
"Ohhh, What's he cooking—what's he cooking!" Ahrie hyped.
Henry blinked, confused as hell, but still raised his guard. "Oi, I can hear you, dumbass!"
The two squared off.
Ahrie leaned in, smirking. "They're chest-to-chest, nose-to-nose… are they about to kiss?!"
Daiki popped a left jab.
Henry tilted his head, slipped it.
Daiki stepped in, snapping a straight right—
Crack.
His fist slammed into Henry's forearm.
Henry's face twisted in pain.
"Ouff—shit, that hurts!" Ahrie's Ent watched the whole thing with a damn full of snacks again.
"AND IT CONNECTS, LADIES AND GENTS! HE TOOK THAT ONE ON THE ARM, THAT ARM IS GOOOONE—SOMEONE CALL THE MEDIC!"
Ahrie bellowed, clapping like the crowd.
Daiki didn't let up—fists flying, a wild barrage.
Henry stumbled back, dodging, throwing counters of his own.
Daiki's expression darkened. That memory—Henry's fist slamming into a kid. Rage boiled.
He faked a jab—Henry flinched—
Then Daiki hammered a body blow into his gut.
Henry folded, gasping for air.
"OOOOOH! AND HE LANDS A CLEAN SHOT TO THE BODY!" Ahrie screamed.
Henry staggered back, choking for breath. W-why the hell are his punches this hard?!
Daiki grinned, sharp and mocking. "Forgot to tell you… we put metal chunks in these gloves.
Henry's eyes went wide. "Wut—HEY, REF, THAT'S ILLEGAL!"
Ahrie pressed his fingers together, leaning in like a shady mob boss.
His smile stretched menacingly. "Hmm? I didn't hear anything."
Daiki's fists blurred—one-two, one-two, another barrage. Henry staggered, arms flailing to block, but the weight of each blow smashed through his guard.
"WOOO LOOK AT THAT, FOLKS! HENRY'S DECIDED TO TAKE ALL THE PUNCHES STRAIGHT TO THE FACE… WHAT A BRAVE CHAMP! GIVE THIS MAN HIS FLOWERS!" Ahrie's voice cracked with excitement.
Henry's body buckled. His swollen face twisted with pain, his legs gave out.
Thud.
He collapsed on his back.
The barrel behind him splintered—wood cracking, something shifting inside.
Ahrie leapt in the air, crouched like a ref.
"ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SIX!"
Henry, Still half-conscious, wheezed, Wait-wait, you counted so fast—
"...TEN. EEEEERRRRR YOU LOSEEE." Ahrie shoved a middle finger in his face.
Daiki strolled over, dead calm, and slammed one last punch into Henry's gut.
"Arghhh—" Henry choked, spitting air.
Daiki's eyes narrowed. "Where's the kid?"
Henry coughed, forcing a grin. "Heh… I won't tell you. The brat's probably at the drop-off by now."
"Huu~huu~huu… The kid's with Luar, isn't he?" Ahrie said, smug as hell.
Henry's eyes widened. "Wh-what…how did y-you…"
"Ha! My perfect plan. My perfect predictio—"
CRRACKK!
The barrel behind Henry exploded into splinters.
Out crawled the child.
Ahrie, Daiki and Henry Froze…
"Eh?" All three tilted their heads in sync.
Ahrie's face twisted. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE!" He shouted like he just got scammed.
Daiki burst out laughing, rushing in to scoop up the kid. "Nice prediction, genius."
Ahrie kicked a rock hard enough to make it bounce four times, fuming.
Henry just sat there, eyes wide, broken and lost.
Ahrie squinted at the kid. "Is the brat good?" clenching his fist.
"This fucking lunatic—YES! Yes, he's good!" Daiki barked, snapping.
"Are you sure though?" Ahrie tilted the kid left, right, upside-down.
"Shooo! Shooo!" Daiki flapped his hands like shooing a chicken.
Then Ahrie jabbed a thumb at Henry, slumped but still breathing.
"What do we do with that guy?"
Daiki shrugged. "I dunno…"
"We kill him."
FWIP—SHHHK!
Something whistled down from above. A thread, gleaming like silver in the dark, snaked around Henry's neck. One sharp tug—
SNAP.
He was gone before his brain caught up.
Ahrie and Daiki froze, eyes wide.
From the branches, a figure dropped—graceful, silent.
Amariel landed light on her feet.
Daiki's lips curled into a smile, relief spilling out. "...Amariel."
"What happened… I thought you were following Luar…" Daiki asked.
They all sat in a circle.
"I was," Amariel said, voice steady. "But Aisyah blocked me. She… told me where the child was."
"Aisyah, huh…ok." Ahrie leaned forward, thinking for a sec. Then—flick!---his finger smacked Amariel's forehead.
"And you think that's a wide decision?" he muttered.
"If she was lying, you'd have lost all trace of Luar's trail… Tch. You two share the same type of braincell." He jabbed a thumb toward Daiki, rolling his eyes.
Daiki puffed up, about to argue, but Ahrie just waved him off.
Meanwhile—
Luar slipped into a hidden passage, torches lighting the path to a world rotting beneath the city.
The air reeked of damp stone and rusted iron.
Cages lined the hall, filled with different kinds of creatures.
At the end sat a villa, out of place in its decadence.
Gold trims, velvet curtains—an ugly palace in the dirt.
Inside, a man waited. Fat, jeweled rings biting into swollen fingers, his smirk painted over a face that screamed noble-born.
"Greetings, sir," Luar said, bowing his head.
"Did you find their exact location?" the noble drawled, swirling his wine.
"N-no sir…"
CRASH.
The goblet smashed at Luar's feet, red spilling like blood across the tiles.
"Then what are you doing here?"
Luar stammered, grin weak. "B-but… we managed to capture one of them, hehe…"
"Ohhh…" The nobleman's eyes gleamed. "Wonderful. Where is it?"
Luar slung the barrel off his back, tore the bindings, smashed it open.
Silence.
Rocks tumbled out, clattering across the floor.
Luar froze.
"Do you think I'm playing with you?" The noble's voice dropped.
"N-no! Of course not—"
CLANG.
The knights rushed in, armored fists and boots pounding him to the ground.
"WAIT! I-I know the area where they might be!" Luar shouted through blood and spit.
The noble raised his hand. The knights stopped mid-blow.
"...Then show me… this is your last chance."
"Yes, sir…" Luar coughed, bowing low, his teeth stained red.
The child stirred, eyelids twitching, then blinked awake.
"You ok, kid?" Daiki asked, leaning close.
The child's gaze darted around, frightened.
"It's alright… you're safe," Amariel said softly, pulling her hood back.
Moonlight caught the flower blooming from her head. The child froze—then tears spilled down their cheeks. They stumbled forward and clung to her.
"They got my sisters…" the child sobbed into her chest.
Amariel wrapped her arms tight around them. "It's ok… it's ok. We'll rescue them."
Daiki sniffled, wiping his nose with his sleeve, his eyes glassy.
On the ground, Ahrie lay flat, arms spread, staring at the sky.
The child peeked at Daiki.
Daiki gave a wide grin, flashing a thumbs up. "I'll help out as well."
Then the child looked at Ahrie.
Ahrie tilted his head lazily, locking eyes with the kid. "...F-u-c-k. N-o. Fuck no."
"Oh come on, man…" Daiki muttered.
"Hell no! You didn't even pay me for today's help!" Ahrie barked back, sitting up halfway.
"I said put it on my tabs!" Daiki shot back, closing his eyes like it was final.
"I don't accept credits!" Ahrie yelled, smacking the ground.
Their bickering echoed through the trees, two idiots going at it.
Amariel couldn't help it—she smiled.
Daiki caught it and his brain went spiraling again, already daydreaming about a house, kids, them taking care of their home together—
Ahrie groaned, scratching his head, then dragged himself up. He started walking back toward Glimmerfen, grumbling.
"I'll pay you if you help us," Amariel suddenly said.
Ahrie froze. His ears twitched. Slowly, he turned his head.
"...How much?"
"Five hundred bronze coins. Plus accommodation in the village. Free food."
In a blink, Ahrie rushed over, smacking her hand in a deal. "Why didn't you say so!?"
Amariel chuckled, then turned to Daiki. "How about you?"
Daiki said, "I'll help you… cuz it's the right thing to do."
Amariel smiled warmly, thanking Daiki.
Daiki straightened his back, chest puffed out, wearing the proud face of a knight serving his princess.
Ahrie gagged, clutching his chest like he'd just been poisoned. "Eugh…fucking cringe."