Zeuxis grumbled to himself while looking for that friend of Ronin. That little prince suddenly disappeared so they had to split, him taking the west and Ronin the east to cover more ground.
He stumbled lazily past the people whoring themselves for money and availing whores. This reminded him of a certain person.
Not anybody as close to him as his brother was to this prince. He barely knew this person, and they barely talked.
But he made an impression on him because he was the first person he saw…
That got killed in that godforsaken house.
“Lord Saico. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Heron.” He bowed gracefully even when everyone knew what he was there for.
Zeuxis never knew if that was his real name, or his performance name. But his thick, spicky hair that reached the floor does remind him of a heron bird.
So too were his golden eyes, rare for someone with a medium-grade Heartstone. That must be why the Marquis picked him out of all the others.
It was the first day of Zeuxis’ job to be a statue over the door. Heron gave Zeuxis a look before going inside.
And Zeuxis knew it was a look for help. But he ignored it.
It was that day that he learned that anyone who goes inside the Marquis’ bed chambers who were not a guard, whether man or woman or whatever, would end up with their head on display.
The Marquis loved pretty heads and hair. He thought that he would come to like all of these people that blocked his path on the road.
Lord Saico would have their heads, he was sure of it. Twenty or so individuals who were meant to perform on stage and show the beauty of mankind.
He spotted their caravan, with the painted name of ‘Queen Lovushka’s’ and tilted his head to the side.
“Will there be a performance in this lovely whore street? I did miss watching clowns and jesters, I was so young when I last watched them.”
He was approached by this man wearing a black mask over his face, a bump in his nose. Zeuxis figured he must be the one with the most authority in the group….
But not their leader. He was sure of that.
He can tell who was a fellow subordinate with just a glance. Like telling apart which was the actual guest and which was the servant of the guest during his time as a guard.
“We are here for the one called Ronin.”
Zeuxis just chuckled. “I see. And what business do you have with this Ronin?”
Because the leader was not here, that could only mean one thing.
The leader of this group was already going for Ronin. That person just sent them away so he could have a one-on-one with the King of Darkness himself.
Possibly out of pride, so he can proudly say that he had killed him all by himself.
Just like how Lord Saico never asked his guards to help him with the beheading or even when his prey had struggled.
He wanted to enjoy the killing all by himself. It was the thrill of the chase that he sought.
The displaying of the head was a like a trophy for succeeding in that chase.
“We’re here to take him with us.” The masked man said. “You know him, don’t you—”
Zeuxis did not hesitate to slash forward towards this man’s neck!
But the man dodged it on time, and after clapping several times….
He increased in numbers, surrounding the lightning daemon!
Zeuxis was not alarmed at all, only amused like a child watching a magic trick. “Ah, amazing! That means I have more heads to take!”
Why does Zeuxis kill anyone that mentions Ronin? Ronin himself wondered that.
He would soon learn from seeing Zeuxis’ memory flashing quickly before his eyes that….
“Anyone who approaches the door while I’m busy, you shall behead. Or else……” That old man with a goatee touched his face. “I will have to ask you to come inside my bedroom. Do you understand?”
“Yes, my lord.” He ignored the gross crooked fingers on his cheek, and bowed.
The reason was the force of habit.
Zeuxis summoned lightning bolt after lightning bolt, striking a dozen people already at random. They were burning, the smell of smoked meat in the air, along with the pungent scent of rain.
Upon learning that little trick from Ronin, Zeuxis planned to make rain from now on by electrifying clouds. The electricity traveled even more with just the rainwater, and zapped more of the theater troupe.
“You!” The masked one used his duplicates to apprehend him, with only 3 remaining.
Zeuxis just pulled off that shield of lightning, that dome of sparkling blue electricity. It killed the remaining three in just one go.
As he was completely destroying this group so easily, their screaming in the air…..
He thought of that Heron again, that look he gave him.
So scared. So fragile.
And what he hated the most….
Was that look was for someone else, not for him. That fear wasn’t for him, but for a wretched old man.
As a young man, Zeuxis’ views had been skewed. Because how does his father gain appreciation and attention from people?
Fear. Intimidation.
So he too sought that.
How did Ronin do that to the remaining worker in the inn?
Same thing.
Gaining fear and intimidation from others was a very masculine thing to do, a very powerful thing to do.
Not pretty, not weak. No one can see him like that now.
“Hahahaha!” He laughed with his head back.
As he easily broke the limbs of people, using his quick speed to dodge the attacks of spears and swords and magical abilities……
He heard a voice in his head.
‘Where are you? I already found Cermin.’
Zeuxis grinned like a wild panther as he ran. (Got in a little trouble myself. But I’ll take care of it and clean it up since I’m such a great brother.)
‘What trouble?’ He can imagine Ronin’s face frowning.
(Difficult to explain. Better if you see it yourself.)
Let his powerful little brother see that he was also capable, and worthy of being admired.
It was a childish trait that he never lost. Some may say he was psychopathic since he was born, but…..
Was it too much to ask for people’s heads to only turn for him?
Perhaps that was the idealogy of the Marquis he served too. To have so many people with wide-eye shock staring at you everywhere you go in your house, both living and the dead…
You won’t be ignored ever again.
He laughed maniacally as he plunged his Dagger Bolt into someone’s heart, then extended it to strike 3 more people behind at the opportune moment….
“ZAP, ZAP HEATHENS! HAHAHAHA!”
It only took 30 minutes before 20 bodies littered the floor. Everyone dead.
“So easy.” He wiped the single drop of sweat on his head.
There was dirt all over his clothes, and his shoes were caked in mud. These people were no challenge to him at all.
Just like when he killed everyone in that house and burned it once his shoulder was healed by Maellan.
This power really turned him into the kind fo man he wanted to be. And for that, he was grateful.
Family really was important. They could be the ones that break you down…
And also the ones to build you back up again.
“My sister….. Oh, dear, sister. If you are seeing me right now, would you laugh?”
He heard someone groaning like that as he walked towards the end of Sodomia, where Ronin told him to meet and take a rest.
There was also ruins and carnage around these parts, and Zeuxis didn’t need to be a genius to know what happened here.
“No…. Calliope would probably be too focused on recuperating from the damage the dark lord gave the gods…. And gaining more prayers to strengthen herself.”
He kneeled over this person. His whole appearance was like that of a girl, unlike Zeuxis who only had ‘feminine eyes’.
He was more like that whore, Heron.
Zeuxis only looked above him. But as the slowly dying man saw someone coming with his blurred vision….
“I….. I thought you said you would let me live and let me try again….”
There was fear in his eyes as he said that. And he was shaking.
Zeuxis was happy with this, and he felt the strange inclination……
To pick up this person.
“Ah…..Wait…..” The man was surprised, but did not struggle or say anything else.
Zeuxis only whistled and did not say anything as he took this person to the doctor’s.
The people actually hid inside their homes as the fights ensued. It was one thing to have calamities, it was another thing to have very powerful mages wage war on their tiny town.
As he reached what he assumed to be a physician’s house…..
He kicked the door open, and told the shaking old man inside….
“Bring this man back to health and tell him that the one who saved him is called Zeuxis. Make sure he remembers that name no matter what.”
If only Heron showed that fear towards him, maybe he would have received the same ‘kind’ treatment from someone as demented as Zeuxis.
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