Taiyo crunched Haruo's coat, getting closer toward him while he watched the unknown man investigate the ring carefully.
"What, are you not going to respond? It makes me feel like I'm just talking to myself, y'know"
The man looked at the hole of the ring, looking directly at the three of them through it. He chuckled to himself like a madman before tossing the ring upward, then catching it before it fell to the ground.
"Want to see a magic trick?" He revealed his palm to the three; the ring was missing from his hand.
Haruo tightened his grip on his blade. He clenched his jaw slightly while he gave the man a nasty glare.
"Hey, don't be so uptight." He smirked before he redirected his gaze to Haruo's hand. "Look, I returned it. I mean no harm, haha."
Haruo investigated his hand one more time, and to his shock, it returned like it hadn't left in the first place. Whether it was his ability or speed, he couldn't tell. Haruo wished that it was just his ability, because if it wasn't… They had no chance of winning against this man.
"What's your name, kid. The white haired one."
"And why should I tell you?"
He laughed at his response; his laughter echoed through the forest. The man found this amusing. This frustrated Haruo; despite having blades pointed at him, he just shrugged it off.
He knew well enough that this man wasn't taking them seriously; to him, they were just toys he could play with. He spawned a chair from thin air and sat on it, leaning his back like a delinquent.
"If it makes you any better, I'll tell you my name: Killian Weber. Now what's yours?"
"Haruo…"
"Your FULL name." Kilian sighed, changing his expression instantly. "I have limits too, you know, so please, don't keep me waiting."
The three felt dread, their bodies freezing. Kilian glared at them with ominous energy. Taiyo cried, putting his whole face behind Haruo's coat while he shivered. Haruo looked at his shivering brother and quickly made a choice.
"Haruo chiharu!"
Kilian smirked before he eased his aura.
"So, he gave you his name, huh? I never knew he adopted a kid. That technically makes me your uncle."
Ena impulsively charged forward and sent a slash at Kilian. His eyes followed her movements, shocking Ena; She had put all her speed into this charge, and yet he was able to follow her with ease.
The slash destroyed the chair he sat on, along with the massive tree that stood behind it. Parts of the chair were scattered, whilst the tree stumbled on the ground, creating a temporary earthquake.
"You two look very much alike, especially with his coat on you. Just subtract the skin mask and the albino feature, and voila! You even act like him whenever he gets serious."
His voice had no direction; both Ena and Haruo felt helpless as they searched for Kilian around them with their guard up. Kilian caressed Taiyo's hair while he gave him a sweet smile. Taiyo stared at him with one eye, his face still mostly buried in Haruo's coat.
"But as the days passed, he disappeared and I wasn't able to find him."
Haruo swung his sword at him, only for him to dodge effortlessly. He caught the small blade that Ena threw at him, then patted his shoulder a bit.
"I do miss him; he was like a brother to me." He said with a smirk.
"So how about this: let's play a game… If you can last at least five minutes against me, I'll let you go. Of course, not in a fight—you'd instantly lose, but try not to get captured. Something like tag."
Kilian pushed his sleeve, revealing a silver watch. He pressed some buttons a couple of times. Redirecting his gaze back to the trio.
"I've started the clock. In the meantime, let's talk about Chiharu."
The pieces of the chair that Ena broke began to rebuild themselves back to their original form. He sat on the chair with his legs crossed and raised his pinkie while he drank his tea in peace.
Ena readied herself to sprint the other direction, but Haruo stopped her before she could. He went along with his suggestion and stayed to talk about his former master.
Minutes ran by quickly until it was the last minute left.
"He was a real party pooper. I ate some of his food, only to find out he had placed laxatives in it. Turns out he realized someone had been stealing his food and found out I was the one who stole them after I took multiple shifts a day."
Haruo counted each second, allowing Kilian to get absorbed into the situation, trying to make him forget about the game.
"Why did he exactly leave you guys?"
His eyes sharpened at the question, carefully observing Haruo's expression—Smirking as he took a sip of his tea. There were exactly 30 seconds left on the clock, and Haruo just needed to stall as much time as he could.
"Chiharu had always been 'The extra one' in our group, but that only served as a cloak to a mysterious background. We never knew what he thought or what he was going to do. We knew him since we were kids, but it felt like we never really knew him that well."
0:01 minutes left…
They had won…
Haruo closed his eyes and took a breather. When he opened them, they tied them to a tree. His eyes widened as he gazed at Kilian, who checked his watch. Ringing as the timer turns to zero.
"And… That's time. You really think that I'd forget the game? Oh please…" He said, shrugging to himself.
"How..? I counted it myself, the timer went zero!" Haruo exclaimed.
"Well, milliseconds count as well, right? Though I won, I'm heavily disappointed in your performance. But since you're his disciple, I might as well give you another chance."
Kilian cut the rope that tied Haruo with the small blade Ena threw earlier. Haruo swung his sword as fast as he could, creating a shockwave around him. Kilian repositioned himself far from him.
"You catch on quick. I hadn't even explained the rules for this one yet. But since you're so impatient, I'll give you a summary. I won't move from this spot. Attack me once and I'll let you free."
"Seriously—"
Kilian appeared in front of him while he spoke, a blade directed at his eye. His eyes dilated at the sight, ducking as quickly as he could.
"What? You actually believed me? I'm quite known in the kingdom to be a great liar. But you disappointed me again, you believed what the enemy said. I thought Chiharu taught you better."
Kilian changed his stance, sending a kick to his side, launching through six trees. The impact created a gust of wind powerful enough to dent the ground and blow the smaller trees away.
Ena held Taiyo tightly on her side while she observed the fight on the sidelines.
Haruo charged forward despite having coughed up blood. Haruo sent a barrage of attacks on Kilian, only for Kilian to block each of them.
Kilian then deflected his sword in response. Haruo released his blade and prepared a punch toward Kilian. He redirected Haruo's punch with just his palm, his center of gravity tipping over—giving Kilian another opening to strike.
Kilian only pushed him lightly and observed him. Haruo regained balance while hurrying to place his blade upward. His palm was resting on the flat side as he prepared for Kilian's strike from above.
Haruo's hands instantly became heavy, kneeling on one foot as he tried to remain upright.
He felt as if he was carrying a mountain with his sword; his muscles shook, tearing with every moment. His eyes cried out blood while he kept on. The ground beneath him slowly devoured him.
The large trees waved outward, as if a massive gust of wind was trying to make them fall. Kilian looked impressed, applying pressure gently. His nose and mouth decided to join his eyes, as they leaked blood.
Haruo's arm gave out to the force. His elbow was bending unnaturally.
Kilian stopped his blade before it could make contact with his skin. Haruo breathed heavily; his eyes were bloodshot.
Ena rushed over next to him, healing his wounds diligently.
"You held on longer than I expected. You guys are worth keeping."
"What are you talking about…?" Haruo forced himself to speak, his voice cracking as he did.
"Since I won, you guys have to follow me now."
He took out a fountain pen from thin air, along with clean paper materializing itself in front of the trio—one for each. The paper began to write words in complex runes. On the top were bold, big letters, written in perfect English:
"EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT."
It was a magic contract, a complex one at that. The atmosphere turned dark around them as illuminating glowing letters from the runic alphabet appeared. Kilian wrote each one like a melody in perfect rhythm.
Those letters attached themselves to the paper.
"You have survived an impressive 12 seconds against me, so from now on you'll be serving me for 12 years in total."
"As per the contract, the contractees must follow my orders and obey them without hesitation. Failure to obey a single order will be punished by as small as getting tasered to your soul—being extinguished."
"I, Kilian Weber, acknowledge this contract."
Kilian's name appears at the bottom, with a signature on top. Next, each of their names was written on the paper, sealing the contract as a whole despite not agreeing with each other. The paper crumbled into an unnatural shape.
That's what they thought until it shaped itself into a number, "12." It had a wiggly shape to it and connected into a single line. The shape pulsed with a yellow hue before integrating itself on the back of their necks.
Kilian smiled at them, fixing his throat.
"I hope you guys do well."