For men in this era, dying was not so bad. Standing bravely and facing death head-on was called honor. They would rather die honorably than live in shame.
The sound of a man's barking echoed in the still air in the chapel. If not for that barking, it would be pin-drop silent. All eyes were on Joaquin, kneeling in the same spot, barking through his gritted teeth.
"I told you, I'm amazing," Abel gloated, leaning against the aisle a row before Curtis. His arms were folded under his chest, letting Joaquin bark while Abel was having a break from the warm-up torture.
"I have a knack for everything. See? I tamed him in a snap of a finger," he continued, making Climaco and Ismael cringe secretly. "Whatever tricks you want, he'll do it. Want to try?"
Curtis, who kept a straight face, eyes on the barking Joaquin didn't answer. He just watched Joaquin, who was punching the floor to stop himself from embarrassing himself but to no avail. No matter what Joaquin does, he would bark like a dog. Same with how he slapped himself to the point he lost a tooth.
Yet Curtis didn't feel the slightest remorse. If Ismael didn't want to indulge in Joaquin's demise, Curtis was the opposite. He wanted to remember this scene forever. In that case, Curtis would only remember Joaquin this way, and not those horrible memories in the past.
"Play dead," whispered Joaquin, making Abel grin excitedly.
Arrogant as he was, Abel snapped his finger and gestured a gun with his finger. "Bang!" he exclaimed, and that second, Joaquin played dead. Pleased, Abel looked back at Curtis proudly. His grin broadened.
"I'll let you borrow him. Not now, though, but once my wife wakes up. I need to kill time while she's resting because I get pissed whenever I look at her in such a state," he explained and glanced at Joaquin. "I get sexually frustrated too. That is his fault, right?"
Abel frowned as he thought about missing his wedding night because Aries was injured. "Right. That's his fault." He retracted his back from the pew and sauntered towards Joaquin.
Without a moment's notice, Abel stomped on Joaquin's neck enough to break the latter's spine but not behead him. Abel released his frustration by kicking and stomping at Joaquin, who could only let out a whimper.
"..."
'He's... Her Royal Highness's husband?' Climaco gulped, squashing down the chill creeping into his heart. 'Isn't this some kind of animal abuse now?'
'What a sick bastard.' Ismael shook his head, studying Abel's face, who was simply frowning while beating Joaquin. 'I don't feel sorry for Joaquin, but... anyone will feel sorry for Satan before that man. He's just... that scary.'
Meanwhile, Curtis didn't show the slightest emotion at the sight he was watching. He went through the same situation. But his role was the one being beaten while Joaquin kick him to vent his anger.
No one dared make a sound or interrupted Abel. Their opinions and thoughts didn't matter. Neither the knights, Abel's people who were still there, nor Roman, who was standing by the entrance.
"Wasn't this... how it had always been?" Abel chuckled, stopping from beating Joaquin. His eyes glossed over at everyone standing and sitting inside the chapel. "While this guy... is doing something very bad, you lot will just stand there doing nothing."
He planted his hands on his hips, raising his other hand to comb his hair back. "Whenever I think about it, I am getting angry, really! If only one of you comes up here and saves him, I will stop! Well — maybe not. But the thing is if only one..." His eyes glinted as the smile lines on his face faded.
"If only one of you had enough balls, my wife and my buddy... will not go through all that." His pair of crimson orbs glowed dangerously, getting angry the more his brain fed him with things from Aries's and Curtis's past.
This had been one of the reasons he wanted her to come back and settle the score with them. Although it was also partly because he wanted to see if Aries, his world, was capable of forgiveness, it didn't matter. Whether she chose forgiveness or destruction in this land didn't matter to him, as long as she was happy. But Aries chose the former, and even though he was amused by her decision, he wasn't the type to let things go.
One way or another, Abel also needed to make peace with her past. Not because he wanted to forget them, but because he was angry in her stead.
"Haha... how should I punish you all?" he laughed dangerously, cracking his fingers one by one, looking at the royal knights around.
Ismael held his breath at the strong sense of danger for everyone inside the chapel. 'This is bad,' he thought. The man was getting angrier with every passing second the more he idled.
"Let's go." The third prince flinched when a towering figure came to his side, pushing Climaco slightly. "Everyone in this place is not safe anymore."
Ismael furrowed his brows, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. But all he could do was nod after seeing the seriousness in Morro's eyes.
With that being said, Morro didn't bother asking Ismael and simply slipped his hand in the latter's armpit. He lifted the third prince like a child, only to carry him on the shoulder. But before walking away, Morro cast Curtis a look.
"You too," said Morro, while Curtis didn't take his eyes off of Abel. "No one is safe when he's angry. Lady Aries was brought to the emperor's room to rest. You can accompany her there."
Morro didn't wait for Curtis to move as he glanced back at Climaco. "Follow me."
"Uh..." Still baffled at what was going on, Climaco blinked twice. "... alright?"
As Morro walked away with Ismael on his shoulder and Climaco following behind him, Ismael raised his head and winced. The second the third prince did, he saw Conan also sauntering off and that man with distinct shoulders. Even Abel's people had no interest in staying inside, but Curtis stayed for a moment before standing from his spot.
However, before they could completely exit, everyone heard Abel clap.
"My best friend, come!" Ismael moved his gaze to where Abel crooked a finger, only for his heart to stop beating for a second. He swallowed down a mouthful of air, seeing the disheveled person still wearing his bloodstained, bloody attire.
"Father..." whispered the third prince, recognizing the mindless yet tamed monster entering the chapel. But before he could react, the doors of the chapel closed ever so slowly.
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