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Chapter 7: Brother I

  “You little brat, get back here!”

  The voice echoed down the alleyway as Nicky panted, feeling her legs burning beneath her feet. She glanced back and saw the guard drawing closer with each step he took. Her heart jumped, and she reached for her sling in her pockets.

  But then she tripped. Nicky tumbled onto the ground as she dropped her sling to the ground. She tried to scramble back up to her feet in a panic, but a shadow loomed over her. Looking back up, her heart sank as she stared at the guard grinning over her.

  He brandished a shortsword and grabbed her by the hair. Nicky squirmed, trying to break free. But then she froze as he placed the weapon against her neck. Her blood ran cold, and her eyes went wide. She stared at the guard as he glared at her, holding her up against the wall.

  “Hand over what you stole, brat,” the guard said as he dug the blade into her skin, drawing a drop of blood. “Or I’ll be taking your head.”

  Nicky tried to work her jaw, but she couldn’t even get out a word. She was completely stricken with fear. And the pain from the cold metal licking her neck only served to exacerbate that sensation.

  So she said nothing as the guard narrowed his eyes. “Fine,” he started. “If you’re not going to cooperate—”

  But before the guard could finish, a voice called out from the side.

  “Let her go, you bastard!”

  The guard blinked as he looked up. And a boy tackled the guard to the ground, knocking the weapon off his hands. Even though the boy was only two years older than Nicky, he managed to hold the guard down as the two wrestled on the ground.

  “Brother!” Nicky exclaimed as she gasped for air, watching the boy struggle with the guard.

  They punched each other— clawed at each other’s faces. The guard did everything to throw the boy off him, while the boy did everything he could to keep the guard down. The boy even bit down at the guard at one point, making the guard yelp. But eventually…

  “Get off me, you brat!” the guard yelled and kicked the boy off.

  The boy landed next to Nicky as he gritted his teeth. She eyed him— the young teen who saved her life. Her older brother who was always there for her.

  Nicholas.

  He clenched a fist as the guard approached him from behind, spitting out a broken tooth. Shaking his head, the guard drew a dagger from his pockets.

  “Life be damned— I’ll teach you a lesson for interfering, you little runt!” the guard said as he came to a halt behind Nicholas.

  But the boy’s eyes flickered, seeing the dropped sword from earlier lying on the ground just a foot next to him. And in one swift motion, he grabbed the blade and spun around, slashing up at the guard before the guard could react.

  For a moment, the guard didn’t move. He just stood there in shock. But then blood began to spurt out of his chest, and he dropped to the ground.

  Dead.

  “Brother…” Nicky whispered as she eyed the dead guard with round eyes.

  But Nicholas simply rose to his feet, drenched in blood. He stared down at the dead guard as he dropped the bloodied sword to the ground.

  “Are you alright, sis?” he asked, slowly turning around to face Nicky.

  She nodded, before looking past her brother. She stared at the dead guard as she tried muster up her words. “I… I’m sorry. It’s my fault— I got you in trouble… again.”

  But Nicholas walked up to her and knelt before her. He smiled as he raised her chin until their eyes met.

  “I told you before—” Nicholas started as he met her gaze.

  She saw him then— even if she didn’t want to. His short red hair, dark brown eyes. But what drew her attention the most was the wound he had suffered long ago. The burn marks that scarred the right side of his face.

  In spite of it, Nicholas gave her a reassuring smile. “No matter what happens, we’ll have each other’s backs, sis. After all, we only have each other.”

  He proffered her a hand as she just stared at him in awe.

  “And we will become strong together. Then we will never have to be hungry ever again.”

  And Nicky slowly nodded as she accepted his hand. “We will!”

  ***

  And as Nicky stepped into the room, she saw him again now. Six years later, both of them had changed significantly. Neither spoke to each other as often as before. In fact, Nicky hadn’t seen her brother for over a week because he was always busy doing… something.

  But it wasn’t just their relationship that had changed. Of course, their appearances had both changed too. They were older now. Adults. But while Nicky stayed true to herself— only striving to get stronger to be able to fight alongside her brother. Nicholas had become… different.

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  He stood there, in the middle of the dimly-lit hall with a hooded cloak that covered him like a dark shadow. His face was covered by a white mask— hiding his scarred face with the visage of a skull. Back then, even with the scar marring his face, Nicky found herself feeling safe when he looked her way. But right now, that feeling was now gone.

  Nicky didn’t recognize her brother anymore.

  That feeling she felt back then was gone; replaced with almost a revulsion— a fear of what he had become.

  And yet, she remembered who he once was. He was still her brother. She loved him. That was why she didn’t shy back in fear when she saw him.

  Nicholas stood with his hands behind his back, surrounded by the rest of the Blood Swords. Over a hundred men were gathered here, armed with swords and bows, even when they were only supposed to be guarding a pair of kids and a single scrawny adult man.

  Nicky didn’t understand the need for the entire gang to be brought here tonight. However, she didn’t question her brother. She did as she was told, leading Eli, Ethen, and Hannah into the room.

  Nicholas raised his head, eyeing the three prisoners of the Blood Swords. “So the little thief returns after killing two of my men. And he comes with two of his friends.”

  “Hello to you too, brother,” Nicky said as she came to a halt before him, rolling her eyes.

  But Nicholas simply cast a dismissive glance her way. He barely acknowledged her presence, and she gritted her teeth. What happened to you, brother? Especially in the last few months… you’ve become unrecognizable.

  He had already become different since he became the leader of the Blood Swords. He used to hate the Lord of Velmond for all the corruption and injustices carried out within the city. But now, Nicholas was a part of it all, actively making the situation here much worse.

  Whether it be through bribes or blackmail against the Lord of Velmond. Nicholas did whatever he wanted, using the city’s resources for his own gain.

  However, Nicky kept her mouth shut as Nicholas the Bloodied Blade strode forward, only addressing the little boy.

  “You’ve been quite the thorn at my side, haven’t you? All your little thieving— stealing and selling of our weapons and armor. Don’t think I haven’t been paying attention to what you’ve been doing. But I’ve always respected you for it. I thought you would’ve made a fine member of the Blood Swords when you grew up.”

  Nicholas came to a halt as he stared down at Eli. The little boy didn’t flinch, even as Ethen and Hannah backed away behind him. Nicky pursed her lips, wondering what her brother was doing as his eyes glinted with a crimson light for a moment.

  “However, you went too far when you stole from me.”

  The Bloodied Blade— the leader of the Blood Swords— whispered. And he moved swiftly, reaching for something inside of his cloak. Nicky’s eyes went wide, and she took a step forward, thinking her brother was just about to execute the little boy.

  “Brother—” Nicky opened her mouth.

  But she stopped herself when she realized her brother had simply drawn an object from his side. It was a dagger. An ornate curved blade with a crimson crystal glinting at its hilt. It was a very different weapon to the blood-red longsword he normally wielded.

  And yet, Nicholas held it up with a flourish like he had been using the weapon for a long time.

  “You recognize it, don’t you?” he said as he twirled the dagger in his hand. A purple shimmer washed over the weapon, and he shook his head. “I had yet to attune myself to its powers when you tried to steal it from me. I don’t know how you survived when I sent Roy and Jacob to dispose of you. But it’s too late.”

  It took Nicky a second, but she took a step back as she finally realized what that weapon was supposed to be. Even the rest of the Blood Swords who were just watching from the side recognized it, gasping in shock.

  “Is that…?”

  “That can’t be—”

  “Does that mean we…?”

  They exchanged hushed voices. Even Hannah and Ethen seemed to have a semblance of a clue as to what it was supposed to be. But Eli just stared at it, almost scrutinizingly.

  “And what is that supposed to be?” the boy asked, tilting his head curiously.

  “Don’t play dumb with me,” Nicholas scoffed. “You know exactly what this is— otherwise, you wouldn’t have bothered trying to steal it.”

  Eli simply raised a brow. But before he could respond, Nicky stepped forward as she stared at her brother in shock.

  “That’s… an Artifact of Death,” Nicky breathed. “Gracious Goddess— how did you get that, brother? What are you planning to do with it?”

  A cold sweat ran down Nicky’s back as she eyed the black blade. Nicholas just raised it up admiringly.

  “It was bestowed upon me a month ago— when I wished upon the Atolas for power. It appeared by my side, crashing down from the sky like a shooting star.” The leader of the Blood Swords spoke in a crazed voice as he laughed. “It is a Lesser Death Dagger— a C-grade weapon. And with it, I will lead the Blood Swords to new heights.”

  Nicholas swept his gaze over his men as they looked at each other. At first, they were apprehensive. They looked afraid. But as their boss continued, they began to become emboldened.

  “No longer will we have to be contained to a small and insignificant part of the Sanctus Empire because of our weakness. We will expand our influence— we will become respected and strong! Just like the Sapphire Stalkers, our names shall be known throughout all of Parvos!”

  A wave of excitement began to wash over the Blood Swords. Their voices began to rise, and Nicholas triumphantly looked over them. But a single voice spoke out, opposed to this idea.

  “You can’t do that, brother,” Nicky said as she shook her head. She walked forward, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “We need to turn that Artifact of Death over to the Church of Life, otherwise we will draw their ire— and we will all die.”

  Nicholas eyed her callously as she spoke. The look he gave her almost made her recoil, but she stood strong. She expected him to rebuke her. However, he didn’t even have to say a word as Justin spoke up.

  “If you’re content with forever being a weakling in this backwater town, then you can fuck off. Nobody wants you in the Blood Swords anyways.” Justin crossed his arms, and a few folks around him snickered. He turned towards Nicholas. “The rest of us are more than happy to rise up to the top with our boss. That’s why he’s our boss, and you’re not.”

  Nicky chewed her lower lip as she eyed Justin for a moment. But she ignored him, knowing that she could never reason with him. After all, he hated her guts. Instead, she turned to her brother. The only person she could turn to— that she could trust, ever since she was a child.

  “Please, brother. You can’t do this—” Nicky started.

  But then she paused as she realized her brother had turned away from her, not even acknowledging a thing she had said. Instead, he spoke to the rest of the Blood Swords as they gathered around him.

  “My sister is right about one thing— if we are discovered by the Church of Life, we will be crushed before we can even begin our rise to power. That is why we cannot be found out. Not even by a couple of children.”

  Nicholas spoke dangerously, before tilting his head back to face Eli who just cocked his head.

  “And that is why—”

  The Bloodied Blade whipped a hand up, and a purple beam of light shot straight out at the boy. Nicky stared in horror as the purple beam struck Eli, sending him crashing into the back wall of the room.

  “We cannot let any of you live,” Nicholas finished as a purple flash of light flickered over Eli’s fallen body.

  All the while, Hannah, Ethen, and Nicky just processed what had happened.

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