Pride(2)

[Back to the present confrontation…]

*Shukt* *Shukt*

"Huk!"

"A-AAAAARGH"

The heavy sound of bodies slumping against the pavement reverberated throughout the village square.

"Kyaaaaa!?"

"O-OH MY GOSH"

"T-THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING"

Crimson blood dribbled along the embedded arrow. Blood pooled gradually expanding under the twitching body. The man's face was painted with shock, as the blood slowly covered a part of his face. Then his body ceased to move.

He was dead.

The crowd was in chaos. They watched in horror a man breathe his last breath. They didn't want to phantom what they were seeing. It was like a nightmare had descended upon them, what once was a lively and relaxed setting was now splattered with blood. Someone had just died. The reality was so unbelievable and shocking, yet they had no choice but to come to terms with it.

Jean, the killer in question, lowered his bow. His expression was one of nonchalance as he stared emotionlessly at the corpse. Sorren was in shock, his heart pounded and he felt repulsed as he stared at the dead man. His face paled and he looked away from the corpse and stared at jean.

"J-Jean…." He called in a small voice befitting a scared child. It was like he was in a daze, the man known as "Jean "didn't seem like the Jean he knew, but someone else entirely. Someone he didn't know at all.

Jean could only look on bitterly. He had done something truly horrible in front of these kids. He knew they saw a lot of things that could be considered much worse, now due to his selfishness he gave them another bad memory to mess with their minds.

"Sorry, I'm late lad…" He smiled awkwardly.

Jean didn't have any words of comfort. Or any explanation that he could give the boy. He could only say this, as a small token. But, not even this could appease the guilt he felt.

Sorren twitched at Jean's words coming to his senses.

"A-AH!! J-JEAN! YOU NEED TO-A-AGH"

Porter wedged his foot on the boy's spine a bit harder, prompting Sorren to howl in pain. Jean's bitter smile vanished and was replaced by a blank look. His emotionless eyes slowly trailed up, meeting with pitch-black ones.

A short silence transpired. The warm wind caressed the yellow honey flowers around Granny jo's front yard as if reality for it was the same as it always has been, despite this tense moment.

Porter smiled as he eyed Jean. "Long time no see Jeanie….Ah! I guess i can't call you that anymore….how about Blank"

Jean showed no reaction to the biting remark, his expression still blank. After a while, it transformed into a lazy grin.

"It has been a while, hasn't it? Machi"

Casual greetings were exchanged as if they were old friends.

'What?'

Confusion spread across Sorren's face.

'S-so Jean really does know these guys?' He frowned, complicated emotions swirling in his mind. He believed that these guys simply heard of Jean simply due to rumors, however judging by these casual greetings, Jean may have known them much deeper than even that. At that moment Sorren came to conclusion that he no longer truly knew Jean like he thought he did.

" By that uniform there, I'm guessing you officially made it in the yellow hounds. Overseer position? Guess a congratulations is in order" Though he said that, he made his voice not that of celebratory or happy, it was quite the opposite.

Porter chuckled, noticing Jean's bland tone.

" Still as sarcastic as ever, I'm shocked that your tongue hasn't been wrenched out already," Porter shook his head, sighing. Then he gazed back up at Jean

"Frankly, even that is too light a punishment to wash away those disgusting sins of yours," Porter said.

Sorren tilted his head up to look at Porter

"DON'T TALK LIKE THAT TO JEAN!!! HE'S NOTHING LIKE YOU THINK HE IS YOU BAS-ARGH!!!"

Porter slammed Sorrens head to the ground. Blood seeped through his torn lip. And he winced in pain.

"Children should stay out of adult conversations….." Porter said lightly.

Jean frowned a bit. "Why don't you let the kids go, I don't remember your hobbies changing to something so...vulgar"

"Fugitives that get a bit rough get the utmost discipline regardless of age. Since he retaliated I had no choice but to….take the laws into account. Besides, you know just as much as I do the rules we "Hounds" have to follow, I mean you were once supposed to be one ...." Porter said.

Sorren flinched at that. Jean was once a part of the hounds? What even are they. Sorren had never heard of the yellow hounds.

"Of course I know. Which makes me confused...why might an Overseer be using such force against people anyway, I don't recall that being a part of your jurisdiction Machi" Jean glared at porter who only shrugged.

"It is in self-defense. The Goldenlaws dictate that if we feel threatened then we must utilize force until the enforcers come along."

The yellow hounds were under the jurisdiction of one of the great dukes of the kingdom, known as the duke of the West. The hounds are organized in 3 jurisdictions The eyes of the hounds would be the Overseers. They simply watch and oversee both nobles and commoners of every village to make sure things are in order, however, if conflict does arrive, they are simply there to keep the tension at bay from other citizens until enforcers are dispatched to quell the incident.

Next would be the teeth of the hounds: Enforcers. They generally are the muscle of the force that quell conflict of any and every part of the kingdom. They also serve as interrogators for criminals and the like. They enforce the laws and make sure those abide by them.

Finally is the ears of the hounds: Intel. They are stationed around every village and make sure everyone is identified. They listen in among the rumors and happenings around the kingdom. They also serve as investigators if murders and crimes happen. Lastly, they also are the ones that initiate identifications in the booths.

Jean clenched his fist tightly. "You mean to tell me you felt threatened by children...don't give me that load of crap" Jean spoke low, trembling rage etched in his voice.

" This boy was about to attack my comrades you see, what was I an officer supposed to do? Call for help?" he grinned.

"I am the help. Therefore, I utilize my authority to save my comrade in need.I'm sure the citizens can tell the difference between what's considered a crime and what's not, what's considered brutality, and what's considered self-defense. I mean it's quite obvious really" Porter gestured to the surrounding crowd.

Jean smirked scornfully. " Of course. You'd know all about the difference between when someone was trying to help and when someone is simply not. I'm sure of it" Jean emphasized in the last part.

Sorren tried to wriggle out of Porter's hold. He pulled as hard as he could until one of his hands was free.

"JEAN L-LOOK OUT" He cried loudly.

Jean noticed a looming shadow beside him and he swiftly raised his bow and blocked an oncoming swipe from a sword.

*CLAAAAANNNNNG* The sound of metal echoed across the field. Sparks of fire skittered from the colliding iron.

Dormon, who tried to make a sneak attack, was pushed back due to the momentum; he staggered backwards and fell to the ground once more, dropping his sword in the process. His arm pulsated with pain.

Porter clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Haah, Jeanie look what you've done now" Porter said. He positioned himself where he was practically sitting on top of Sorren's back as if he was a chair. Jeans frowned wondering what crap this guy was spewing now.

"You've already done so many horrible things, but now you've done and deceived this young child's brain. He honestly thinks you're such a good person. Oh Jean, how far can you go now" Porter gazed at Jean in pity.

Jean smirked and raised his bow. He took an arrow out of the quiver and positioned it to fire. "Until I've hit rock bottom perhaps?" Porter's smile vanished and he stared at jean.

"JEAN YOU BASTARD"

"Oh yea I forgot about you" Jean glanced at Dormon. He was glaring fiercely as if he wanted to rip him into pieces. veins bulging from his face and neck. He staggered back to his feet and forcibly ripped the arrow from his punctured arm.

"GAH!"

Blood dripped down the pavement, his uniform was soaked in his own blood.

" Aww I'm hurt Dor. I don't even get a hello or greeting? I even gave you a gift to commemorate our reunion" Jean said, his eyebrows drooped downwards to make himself appear with a wounded expression as he gestured to the corpse.

Dormon gritted his teeth as he breathed in trying to calm himself down, but it was getting to be very difficult. He always hated that smug way he talked and that casual demeanor he always had even when they were much younger.

"You think this is some kinda joke?" He stepped forward picking his sword slowly off the floor. With his wounded hand, he gripped the handle tightly, blood bursting from his wound much more.

"That was an officially recognized hound. And you killed him" Then he smirked.

"Your sins are already filled to the point of no return so why don't you just quietly-" However jean cut him off

"Ah? So You didn't like my gift? Well aren't you just picky" he raised the bow and shot at the corpse once more. The body jerked backwards at the momentum of the arrow. Jean fired once more, the man's body slightly tearing apart.

Jean smiled.

"How about now? I'm putting in so much effort, you know?"

Dormon trembled in rage. "BAAAASTAAARD"

Suddenly, a ferocious force of orange fire erupted and engulfed Dormons body. The surrounding crowd dispersed as Domron rampaged in anger. He rushed quickly at Jean, his sword raised.

" Come on now, it's rude to be so impatient you know" Jean took out a blue-colored piece of paper. It was slightly ripped and worse for wear. Dormon and Porter's eyes widened. Dormon tried to skid to a halt.

"T-THATS"

Jean smirked and mouthed a chant before finally saying

" Ignite"

*GRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMM*

Several sharp large pillars of ice burst forth from the ground encasing Dormon from every side. The warm air turned frigid in an instant. Swirls of white mist crawled at the ankles of the pillars of ice. Sorren peered his head up from the ground, trying to gaze at the peaks of ice, his eyes bulging from his sockets.

"I-ice magic?"

Dormon looked around. He laughed. "GAHAHAH, YOU THINK THIS CAN STOP ME" Dormon crossed his arms flexing his muscles. He chanted a mid-level spell.

"O' endless flames that sleep within the members of hell, burst forth and burn all that surrounds me " FLAMING WAVE"

A shockwave of orange flames flashed its way around Dormon, melting the pillars of ice like butter.

Domron guffawed, his hand on his stomach as he laughed in victory.

"IS THAT REALLY ALL YOU HAD JEAN? I'M DISSAPOINTED"

However just as he was ridiculing jean….

"WHAT THE!?"

The melted ice reformed itself, immediately growing back as if time was renowned. "IMPOSSIBLE" Dormon chanted again, invoking another shockwave of flames, but the same thing happened.

Dormon was shocked "WHAT THE HELL!? THIS GUY DIDN'T HAVE AN MAGIC CORE FOR ANY AFFINITY SO HOW DID-" However he flinched upon seeing an insignia sprawled on the floor from which the ice sprung up from.

"A rune? He used a rune?" That bastard Jean could afford something like this? no that's impossible. Those of suburban villages would never be able to use runes nor were they even known much to them.

*Fwoosh*

Dormon flinched and snapped out of his stupor he reflectively raised the arm that held his sword, just in time to deflect an oncoming arrow.

*CLANG*

Sparks of fire spread upon contact.

" W-what?" Dormon looked around, he noticed that Jean was nowhere to be found. That bastard, he did this in order to obscure his view from him. Dormons arm was still pulsating in pain, however, due to the adrenalin, he could bear with it.

Dormon raised his sword and enhanced his senses. As a trained swordsman, being able to adapt in different situations was the norm, even for the yellow hounds. Dormon grinned.

"Kekekeke!"

'He must have been stuffing his hole with dirt and wheat in that village." Dormon was ecstatic, combat was always up his alley and the fact that Jean encased him like this definitely meant he wanted to finish him off first.

"How foolish, underestimating your enemy is a basic skill. Guess weak people never change" He gloated.

Dormon walked forward, crystals of ice sparkled in the sunlight, and Dormon could slightly see through the ice the warped shapes of the outside field.

*Step* *Step*

Then Dormons ears picked up footsteps right behind him. Dormon smiled like a laughing fox.

'Found you'

He chanted a spell….

"O' Raging flames, engulf thy iron blade to smite thy enemies with your burning glory"

'Orange flames coiled around his silver blade, engulfing it fully in fire. Like the eyes of a sadistic devil, his eyes gleamed wickedly as he raised his sword in the spot in which he felt the presence.

"HIDE AND SEEK IS OVER YOU RAT-LIKE BLANK!!!"

*SLICE*

"WHAT?"

What was supposed to be Jean's body was only a puff of smoke in the shape of a body. After Dormons sword cut through the body-shaped smoke, it revealed a small charm that was cut in half. The halves gently floated to the ground.

"TCH" It wasn another Rune. just how ,may of these things did he have?

He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

'I forgot, that bastard and his family used to be hunters, so of course he would initiate bait. He would always have tricks up his sleeves. But, he missed his chance to strike me"

Dormon knew he was at a major disadvantage, with the icy mist fogging up his sight, he was practically a deer out in the open field. For a swordsman who relied heavily on sight, finding Jean was difficult.

Dormon paused and readied his sword. He reached out with all his senses and felt for even a small presence. Then...

*Fsssh* *Fshhh*

the surroundings changed and Dormon immediately swung his sword, but he once again only cut through the mist. "This stupid…"

*FWOOSH*

Another sound, this time right behind him, Dormon immediately slashed his sword but was met with the same result.

Dormon was in a panic, it felt as though he was being led around the nose. No matter which way he looked or cut through it wasn't his intended target. His hands were freezing now, he was barely able to grip his sword properly, soon his fingers and body would become completely numb.

Dormon was getting annoyed.

"COWARD!!!! IS ALL YOU GOING TO DO IS HIDE? HAVEN'T YOU DONE THAT ENOUGH ALREADY" Dormon roared. Bursts of flames erupting upon his emotions.

He was trying to provoke Jean. Yet no sounds of human life could be heard, only the sound of the icy wind and the muffled voices of the outside. There were no further movements. With the pillars of ice, Dormon was practically sealed off from the outside. Added with the cold mist that the pillars were giving off, it is like being stuck inside a freezer.

"COME ON. YOU WANTED TO BEST US FOR SO LONG RIGHT? NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO STRIKE ME. WHO KNOWS YOU MIGHT EVEN BE LUCKY" Dormon was confident in pissing people off, he felt as though it was one of his greatest strengths second to his skill.

But there were no signs of movement. Jean wasn't taking the bait.

"ONCE A COWARD ALWAYS A COWARD GAHAHAH" Though Dormon tried to laugh confidently, frankly he was nervous. Archers were efficient when at a distance, and even more so if you couldn't spot them. It felt like waiting for his impending doom. Not knowing where Jean was, was anxiety-inducing. Added with jean possibly knowing where he was, only added to his stress and impatience.

'That bastard, he's making a fool out of me' Domron thought. He gazed around madly, trying to peer at every inch of his surroundings. Time was running out for him, any longer and Dormon would probably freeze to death. That, or he would find himself met face to face with an arrow ready to drive through his skull.

Though the fire was his affinity he used too much magic earlier, any more and he'd go through that cursed Mag-depletion. More time passed, and Dormons patience had dropped to 0. In his haste, he shouted to calm his nerves.

"DONT THINK YOU BESTED ME YOU WEAK BASTARD" Dormon shouted. Bursts of flame ignited in the air, the once misty air was culled and returned to normal.

'Archers have an advantage with distance and also obscured view if that's the case then"

Dormon smiled wickedly as he aims his flames towards the rune pillar. 'If that's the case then I just need to destroy the actual source, and blow his cover!'

"I CAUGHT ON TO YOUR PLAN GAHAHA!" Just as he was about to throw a ball of flames to destroy the rune insignia….

*WHOOSH* *THUCK*

"AAAAAAAGH"

Dormon screamed. One arrow had been shot in his wounded arm, this time much deeper. He jerked his hands backward, his spell that was ready to be projected had self-destructed and kncoked him into a large pillar of ice. the impact had caused him to drop his sword immediately. His punctured arm fell limply, he could no longer feel it.

"A-AHHHHGH" He coughed and spit lots of blood. However, the pain kept him conscious.

Dormon's howls of pain tore through the misty air.

*SHHHHHH* The pillar encasement vanished, the rune charm could no longer hold out, and the tall pillars of ice faded into icy sparkles.

Sorren and Porter watched as the large pillars of ice vanished, revealing Dormon on his knees clutching his almost torn arm, His red hair fell sloppily and stuck to his now sweaty face, and Jean who was right in front of him, an arrow ready to be fired.

"Ah!" Sorren cried in exclamation. His mind was put at ease knowing that Jean was safe, but also it pounded in excitement that jean actually got the upper hand in the battle.

Porter showed no reaction, his face blank as he watched the climax of the confrontation.

"Ahaha" Dormon could hear Jean's smug laughter.

*Step* *Step* *Step*

Footsteps came slowly until jeans and brown boots could be seen in his view. He slowly raised his head up and was met point-blank in front of a loaded bow. He could see Jean staring at him with a calm smile.

"I wanted to best you two? I might be lucky?" Jean repeated his words back at him. He sneered at Dormon.

" Perhaps all that booze threw your brain for a loop? Or did you actually forget who you grew up with all those years ago?" Jean asked calmly. Dormon flattered a bit. Jean smiled brightly.

"The names Jean lock, a once bonafide hunter of the Lo'ven village, and expert delivery man of Wheatonville, Always at a woman's tender service~," He said smirking.

Sorren gaped in shock 'Wha? Why is he telling one of his weird jokes now?' but none could really answer that question....

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Authors note: Yes Yes, I know I said that I would update the time frame I mentioned. However, things came rushing in at full force. The first was I finally got the job I wanted and due to getting things ready for me to start working, I wasn't able to work on any chapters. Now that everything calmed down just a bit, I was finally able to post this chapter I prepared beforehand.

Secondly, I decided to officially only update once a week. Sometimes it may be twice a week. To those who read this, thank you for your patience and I hope you continue to read this story.