BXBX NOVEL Chapter 92: Between the strong.
***Earlier that day***
Sol had dismounted his horse in something of a rage toward her, his feet slammed on the ground and he turned and grabbed the reins of her horse pulling her closer to himself and forcing the mount to kneel so he could stare at her face-to-face while he spoke to her.
"What\'s the alternative here, make sense of it Eris, after everything that you\'ve been through are you honestly still this entitled?" Sol asked furiously, nobody dared intervene in this; Bruce and Usami were just as guilty of complaining, and Dina and Arla had agreed with his words wholeheartedly.
On one end there was demonkin and looming death without preparation, and on the other side of the coin there was temporary safety and then inevitable death, they were all strong enough now where they could make it on their own for a while if they deserted, they could even overthrow Argom easily if they wanted to, but then the horde was always lingering at their doorsteps, there was always the demonkin to think about, if they didn\'t act they would die without a doubt.
"How fucking stupid can you be?" Sol snapped again causing her to wince at the tone and insult.
"You\'re dealing with relentless monsters; abominate beings that never give up, if you don\'t take the fight to them first there\'s going to be nothing to return to, there gonna be nowhere left to protect, nowhere to sleep, you\'re going to have to fight and heal yourself relentlessly, the only break you\'ll get is the moment between one creature fighting you and the next reaching you." He shook his fist at her, speaking from personal experience.
Not that she would know.
"If that is that how you want to live then by all means go back to Argom, go on, right now return to your delusion of safety!" He closed his fists in front of her with so much force that the glove under his armour snapped from being squeezed. "You\'re a hero, this is not just duty it\'s your whole purpose, don\'t you get it?"
"This is shit that nobody else can do, how many people have already died for your sake, even the people who died bringing you here, share some responsibility and stop fucking complaining."
"I never asked for any of this..." Eris lowered her gaze and mumbled. "I honestly didn\'t know that the demons were this bad..."
"Look at me."
She kept her gaze to the ground in refusal.
"Look at me!" Sol snapped at her again bringing her to tears as she jolted from shock.
"I\'m sorry..."
"Nobody gives a shit about any apologies, we\'re way past that point." Sol released her horse and slammed his hand into his chestplate, denting it and causing her and Ikaris to jolt as they suffered immediate flashbacks of the Sitri incident from his one action.
"If I wasn\'t there, everyone would have died, she came there to kill you all and then ascend but put a halt to her plans again on account of my presence, I took your place, I fucking knew it was gonna happen from the moment I saw her and I bore the consequences even though I had no obligation to do so outside of Ikaris and Dina\'s safety.
The duty of a hero, the role of a warrior is laying themselves flat for their cause and paving roads through mountains full of thorns and fire. "If your resolve is anything less than the horde youre fighting then you\'re a walking corpse, if you\'re afraid of dying then get stronger, it\'s that simple!"
***
"It\'s that simple, he says," Eris stared at Sol\'s back while he stared out into the dark of night, mimicking his mannerism and tone with a frown. "Of course it\'s not, we weren\'t turned into demigods like you were." She mumbled to herself, and Arla who had just finished with her barriers drew closer and smiled.
"Your perception of him is incorrect, Eris." She corrected her.
"Hm, right."
"He came to Arkadia a human just like the rest of you, but through gruelling circumstances, unparalleled battles, and his own life being on the line multiple times he achieved an impossible evolution that even baffled the gods.
When he says \'get stronger\' he is not speaking it lightly; he means to correct the narrative that he was gifted his strength; he has worked harder than any of us ever have, his current strength and him being alive is testament of that."
"His every word comes with weight, you should know as much, since you claim to know him so well." Arla pat her shoulder. "I understand his words were harsh, but Eris, this world is more harsh than those words ever will be, I have lost so many friends and loved ones to the demons already."
" I wish someone like him existed back then to shake me around and wake me up, I was complacent with my strength as the strongest mage and it led to many deaths, as it continues to, I also want his words to become my truth, I want to gain insurmountable strength that can topple mountains as easily as he can."
"It\'s not that easy though..." Eris countered.
"Of course not," the mage regarded Eris with a consoling smile. "Nothing in this world of ours is easy, Child."
"I get it, okay?" Eris turned to her potato again and began peeling silently, resulting in Arla sighing and leaving her alone.
"She definitely doesn\'t get it." Sol continued staring northward, virtually staring at Sitri using his clairvoyant abilities while she was staring back at him using the system window, neither aware that the other was observing them directly.
"I want to fight him for real this time, he fooled me into thinking I could kill him easily, it is slightly frustrating." Sitri stared at Sol calmly, sitting on a throne made of a dragon\'s skull with her legs crossed while she sipped what looked like wine from a glass with skeletal rings resembling fingers holding it intact.
Did I mistake his strength, how is he so calm?" She wondered.
[A certain entity is curious of your composure]
"Curious?" Sol smiled and summoned a spear in his grasp, gaining the attention of Usami. "Hey, Sitri," he spoke making her aware of his knowledge of her spying on him.
"Catch."
Sol playfully hefted the spear several times and pointed in her direction, measuring the distance and then falling into a throwing stance. "Be sure to repay the favour." He smiled again before he stepped forward and threw the spear with a huff watching it catch ablaze as it went tearing across the skies and vanishing in the blink of an eye.
"What the fuck!?" Usami snapped when she saw the spear disappear from his grasp only knowing it was gone when the air a few dozen feet away exploded and caused the entire camp to jump on high alert.
"This little... Is he taunting me into another confrontation?" Sitri stood and walked out to the balcony of her throne room, staring as the sky on the horizon blinked back at her before she saw the projectile on a physics-breaking approach.
"Bold little boy." The demon-god chuckled and folded her hands waiting for another five minutes before the spear was right in front of her where she caught it effortlessly.
"Easy ...?!" Her knees bent and her shoulder was thrown backward as the weight of the spear itself dragged her back into the throne room and caused her to crash through the skull and break the wall behind it.
"Ha, hahaha!" Sol laughed and slapped his knee at the shock on her face as she looked over her shoulder at the spear bedded into the wall.
[Arkadian mana 55%]
"What the heck is wrong with you?" Usami stared at him after him suddenly throwing a spear and going silent then bursting out with sudden laughter five minutes later.
"Wait and see," Sol watched Sitri yank the spear free with a chuckle and take aim. "This is a conversation between the strong." Sol answered her question, and upon him doing so Ikaris started laughing as well when she saw the spear get launched back toward them in a classic moment of "return to sender".
"What does that even mean?" Bruce asked, but while he was asking Arla manipulated the entire ground beneath them and moved the camp site several dozen metres away from Sol.
Another three minutes elapsed and Ikaris stood and began observing as the spear appeared across the horizon splitting the clouds a second time while Arla announced it with a point.
"Incoming!"