Chapter 52: Impose

"People who count their chickens before they are hatched act very wisely because chickens run about so absurdly that it's impossible to count them accurately." —Oscar Wilde

"Plants are more courageous than almost all human beings: an orange tree would rather die than produce lemons, whereas instead of dying the average person would rather be someone they are not." —Mokokoma Mokhonoana

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom."—Anonymous, The Holy Bible: King James Version

***

Without a delay, the two tribesmen began on their way, heading to Xenia and Pack after stopping what they were previously doing. Their faces shed a wide grin as they unsheathed their weapons from their waist.

"Xenia and Pack... How unlucky of you two to have stumbled upon us!"

The way the man called them pulled a memory they have within their minds. On the other hand, the female resembled some of the personalities they always saw with Franzia. The two definitely remind them of the impostor siblings.

"Still, we are quite amazed that you two are still alive, considering how stupid both of you are."

It was nothing astonishing, looking at how things currently are. The two aim to finish the two kids off. But before that, they will be torturing them in all sorts possible until they become satisfied with it.

Having been under great pressure, where his life was on the line countless times already, Xenia clearly sensed the hostility and evil desires of the two individuals who were approaching them.

"Oh, you two are not gonna run away?"

All of a sudden, something crazy and utterly ridiculous happened right before Xenia's eyes. Both the male and the female individuals abruptly have their skins start to fall off as they get near Xenia.

Slightly disgusted by how their skins were peeling off, Xenia quickly glanced at Pack and noticed the anger on her face. No hint of shock could be seen. The strange phenomenon continued until the two individuals seemingly and unknowingly revealed their true identities to Xenia's eyes.

"My, how young are you two? Both of you looked like you two are in their teens!"

His remark made them react by fleetingly flinching for a second. They did not expect Xenia to say something aloud like that out of nowhere.

"Teens? Us? You're young, yet your eyes are—"

"Eh, both of you have a star under your right eye and a moon on your left eye. What does that mean?"

"What?!"

This time they could not hide their shock, which showed on both of their faces upon hearing Xenia's remark.

"How are you—?"

Xenia could not possibly rely on Pack. She will just be a burden on his shoulder, which he will have to carry unless he drops her off. In the process of the exchange, the female individual lunged with her hands holding onto a sword whereupon the blade was weirdly forged, like a snake slithered; the tip straight and ready to stab.

Clang!

Xenia parried the deadly strode of fake Franzia. She did not hesitate to attack Pack, who was the most vulnerable among the two.

"Oh, not bad."

"But can you hold both of us off?!"

Parrying another attack would be courting death. Xenia was aware of the danger fake Zeb had behind his attack. Had he blocked the strike, Xenia would be cornered by the two with fake Franzia behind him. A pincer attack would be difficult to fight against.

"Get away, Pack! They will really kill you!"

Obediently, Pack ran away. Not outside but further inside. She caught a glimpse of something shiny deep within the place. It was a one-handed sword, which, unfortunately, was too heavy for her to carry and swing around.

"Focus on what's in front of you, Xenia!"

The fake Zeb screamed, swinging his axe around as he chased after Xenia. But the latter proved to have an experience in combat, accurately using his past knowledge to avoid all of the attacks while minimizing his movements to anticipate the fake Franzia's next move. The female opponent was just following suit, running from the other side of the fake Zeb, waiting for an opportunity to strike in.

"Xenia! They are pushing him to the edge! I have to help him, somehow!"

Desperately, Pack looked around everywhere and saw a hammer lying around on the ground. Remains of the crime still reside on the hammer. Blood had hardened on the head of the hammer after being used and left dry.

"But how exactly can I help him? The three of them seemed to be extremely experienced in fighting. Also, it's shocking to see Xenia displaying such skills. I didn't know he was that good!"

However, Xenia was alone. He could not possibly fight against two expert combatants with his body. Yes, he has the stamina but he does not have the strength to overpower both of them at the same time. If only his gift could tamper with his overall abilities, both in speed and strength, Xenia would easily trample on the siblings.

"Here it comes!"

Xenia had been waiting for the two of them to go attack at the same time. And now that they were about to do it so that Xenia would have no room to escape, the kid consistently remained calm under the incoming pressure.

From a distance, Pack saw the danger surrounding Xenia, thus running forward with all his might, thinking nothing but saving Xenia from the predicament.

At the corner of Xenia's eyes flashed the image of Pack running in his direction as she held the hammer in both of her hands. Her dedication to helping Xenia showed in her courageous actions, despite knowing the danger ahead of her.

"I'm not gonna make it in time! They'll get Xenia before I can reach them!"

Realizing that there was only one thing she could do at that point, Pack raised both of her hands over her head, abruptly stepped on the brake, then put all of her strength into her arms, which acted as the fuel to her throw.

The hammer was spinning in the air as it traveled, surpassing the speed of both the fake Franzia and Zeb when Pack unconsciously applied her gift to the hammer.

[Reinforce]

Pack received the gift to power up something or someone. Slightly similar to Mack's and Jack's gifts that were wasted when the two of them died.

"Please hit!"

And it struck! Not anyone but the axe the fake Zeb was holding. He inadvertently lost his weapon but he was still heading towards Xenia, who just made a mocking grin on his face.

The odds were against the siblings. Instantly, Xenia stopped running away and decided to go against the unarmed fake Zeb. He needed the speed, so he went full throttle, kicking off the ground that created the burst in his speed.

"I was once the top student, defeating every top-ranked individual in the ratings. Slowly, I climbed my way up to the top and chose to go back down."

Being inside the spacious area in the cave, gave Xenia the opportunity to properly express and demonstrate his unfathomable combat skills using the obsidian knife. Instantaneously, Xenia was standing toe to toe with the fake Zeb.

The latter's fist flew directly into the kid's face but was evaded right before it could land. And when he realized it, Xenia had immediately gone behind him and his arm was painfully inflicted with numerous cuts.

A loud groan left the fake Zeb's mouth as blood began to seep out of the multiple wounds that were inflicted not only on his arm but also on his right leg. It happened so fast that the siblings thought Xenia used a gift he stole from someone.

"Brat! I'll kill you!"

~