Chapter 1-24
Silent words.
Caney this time slowly walks out forwards as Vinny does so the same at his pace, Caney’s sword prepared themselves around him, forming a ring instead while Vinny only put both of his hands towards his side while the swords shine by the fire.
A moment is build as both man’s look at themselves one more time before immediately start charging themselves at the other.
Like before, Caney moves both of his hands to each side and swats them forward, causing a barrage of elegant swords to fly at Vinny’s direction, but this time, he was prepared, and as soon as the first sword came into contact, he immediately hit it towards the side, causing it to get embedded in the wall, the next one came and meet the same fate, but instead being throw to the floor.
The distance between the both of them got shorter as Vinny quickly made progress towards him.
Vinny: IS THIS YOUR BEST?
Caney: You’re getting ahead of yourself.
Vinny’s question would be answered the moment he got 1 meter close to Caney, as he tripped onto the floor, in front of him, when he could see, there was a hand sticking from the floor.
Caney: Do you honestly think you deserve my best?
Vinny immediately felt a quick punch to his chin directed by whoever grabbed him from underneath the floorboards as he got propelled to the back of the room again, but this time he immediately turned around and avoided all the blades directing themselves behind him, some of them however, managed to connect to Vinny’s arms and legs, staying impaled on him before finally landing on the floor, where he stood up with the same smile as before while sword began to flow his blood towards the floor.
The person from the floor comes to the second floor where its revealed its Father.
Lucia: (Father! He is so amazing!)
Vinny begins removing the swords and starts shattering them, causing their real form to return as shards from the tea set.
Vinny: Nifty trick, who had to die for you to learn this one?
Father grabs one of the swords from Caney before he immediately clashes swords with Vinny, who still hold his two swords on his arms.
Vinny managed to overpower Father and started swinging both swords, starting one after the other, forcing Father to move, duck and jump when necessary while Caney continued to watch from a distance.
Caney: Is that the answer you seek before death?
Father began to slowly gain momentum, Vinny was becoming in time more slowly and Father was being able to land cuts on him, it didn’t help the fact that while they fought, Caney’s swords continued to force Vinny to move backwards by attacking him.
Lucia: (That’s it Grandpa! You can do this! Defeat the bad guy!)
Vinny’s eyes once again took that deep purplish tone.
Vinny: That’s enough of your chitter chatter.
Vinny immediately throws his dagger in the air again, both Lucia and Caney look and see the dagger falling behind Caney, in the meanwhile, Vinny pulls out another dagger from his clothing and slices Father quickly in the back of the neck, causing the blade to come out of his mouth.
Before Lucia’s father was able to begin losing his blood, Vinny immediately kicked his body towards Caney, who managed to react in time to dodge it, where the body now was lying coldly in front of Lucia.
Unfortunately now, for the first time, Caney’s face began to sweat as his view bounced between the dagger behind him and Vinny quickly starting bouncing blade to blade in his direction.
He decides to use his swords to protect him from the front and back as well in case Vinny moves.
Vinny: Someone didn’t pay attention now did they?
At that moment, both Lucia and Caney looked up, where both caught a glimpse of Vinny looking down upon them, Caney moved his hands, but before when he tried to do so, he found himself unable to do it, until they slowly started to disconnect itself from him, falling onto the floor flat, Caney could only stare at it in silence while Vinny was standing less than an meter away pointing his dagger to his throat.
Vinny: You can end this just by telling me the truth.
Caney from there looks at the boy while blood starts spilling out of his missing hands.
Caney: What is truth if not an excuse for unnecessary pain?
Vinny lets go of his manic smile while Caney’s grim gradually shows itself.
Vinny: I never sought off your death, only your answers.
Caney: And if I don’t posses them?
Vinny directs his dagger closer to Caney, causing a small cut on his neck, being unable to respond to that questions.
Vinny: You are a weird man being able to stare death at its face with a smile.
Caney: There’s is no reason of being afraid of the inevitable.
Caney begins to slowly laugh while Vinny only stares in confusion.
Vinny: Even now, you still laugh…
Caney: That’s because in chess only ends when the king is in checkmate.
As soon as Caney lets out those words, Caney stomps his feet on top of his hands, causing Vinny feels a sword impale him from behind as one of Caney fingers snaps, but at the same time he does this, Lucia sees as Vinny’s dagger has completely sliced Caney’s throat, causing all the swords surrounded them to revert back to shards from his tea set, including the one that went though Vinny’s chest, each shard makes an echo in the night sky as Caney slowly falls backwards, staring at the night sky while Vinny stands, looking down upon him.
Lucia begins to sob in the darkness, somehow, she knows that this is the worst possible outcome.
Caney: Its okay…
Everything will be okay…
Vinny: You really do not know what I’m talking about, do you?
Lucia cant hold herself any longer, she begins to knock against the wardrobe in anger.
Caney: Don’t cry…
Grandpa is here…
Vinny: You know they cant hear you anymore, right?
Caney tries to whistle, but he cant make a sound come out due to deep wound and massive amount of blood coming out of his mouth, yet still, Lucia hears it.
Caney: Grandpa will be alright little Lucy, now close your eyes, and let me handle him.
But Lucia couldn’t, for the first time in her life, she came across death.
Vinny: STOP SPEAKING IN RIDDLES AND ANSWER ME!
However, Caney didn’t respond, or better said, he couldn’t, his eyes started to lose their glow and both Vinny and Lucia now stared at the corpse of a man named Caney, Leader of the Iron Legion and the dearest person in the whole wide world.
Both Lucia and Vinny screamed at the same time while the sky responded with the faint sound of thunder, Lucia continued to pound at the wardrobe while frustration took over her, meanwhile Vinny dropped to his knees and stayed silent.
Vinny: …
Were you even involved in the first place..?
After muttering those final words, Vinny left the flaming house through the window slowly as he stared once back at Caney, before swiftly jumping out of the window, leaving a distressed Lucia, screaming and banging a the wardrobe while the fire slowly engulfed the entire house as Lucia’s fists bled a dark shade of red and her eyes spilled an obscure deep blue.