Will

Streaks of dirt and blood covered his entire face, he breathed heavily and painstakingly. Moving his chest with the tiniest of movements sent jarring waves of anguish through his whole body. It felt like a broken rib, possibly a torn muscle near his shoulders. Will craned his head upwards to look at his adversary. The mammoth man didn't look tired in the slightest. Will had been toyed with for the past few minutes, kicked, pushed, and occasionally thrown across the chamber. No old tricks or gimmicks had any effect on the demon, who simply dodged and blocked all of Will's attacks despite his massive size. The first time Will had lunged at him with Moonsaw, the giant leapt back so swiftly that Will was momentarily stunned, and that was the first time he was thrown across the chamber, slamming into the wall and tumbling onto the floor. A few small stones cracked from the ceiling and dropped onto his head, adding insult to injury.

He had gotten up almost instantly and lifted his sword once more. Will was more wary this time, cautiously eyeing Azrael and approaching more carefully. The demon had a lazy smile on his brick-like face, one that knew he was going to win, but the hulking figure made no move. He seemed content having Will trying to rush him.

Nearby, steam had begun to rise from the cauldron. Orion yelped in panic and tried to pull himself out, but the edge of the cauldron was too far away from the water's surface, and thus from the bound up Orion. Will saw all this with the corner of his eye, seeing but not looking. He also realized he didn't have much time to work with.

"Hey dog teeth," Will had called out. "How about you tell me the Wizard's location, hmm? Or I'll just leave you here to boil."

Azrael had let loose another chilling laugh, shaking his head firmly.

"The little man realizes that Mr. Paragon will leave him to boil either way. Right? He cut off your fingers and killed your friends, what makes you think he cares about your life? You have what HE wants, so don't give it up until you're sure he's saved you."

They were met only by silence from the cauldron, but the splashing and struggling noises intensified.

"And you," Azrael had continued. His eyes glittered dangerously at Will. "That's cheating. You play by the rules or you don't play at all. Oh, and I don't believe our friend has much time before the temperature gets unbearably high."

"You're insane," Will breathed.

"Perhaps," Azrael replied thoughtfully. "But perhaps we simply hold different opinions of insanity. For example, I find a man who is willing to risk everything for revenge quite insane. I find a man who pretends like he's doing it for the memory of his family, hiding his true motive, insane."

"You'd better shut your fucking mouth or I'll shove my boot down your throat," Will warned coldly.

"Ooh, hit a nerve, did I? Miss your dead wife and kid that much?"

Will had taken that moment to feint an attack at Azrael's shoulder, then changed at the last second and swept at the feet. The demon would have nothing of the sort. He hopped upwards with grace, dodging the silver gray blade and bringing his knee into Will's jaw. The bounty hunter stumbled backwards, massaging his chin and jaw. He charged again shortly, slashing horizontally at Azrael's chest. Something blurred in front of him, blocking his strike, and he was sent back stumbling again, bleeding profusely from his nose. The next three attacks were equally as fruitless. Will didn't touch the demon once. After the last strike failed, the demon had simply lifted Will from the back of his neck and tossed him across the chamber once more, slamming him into the wall for the second time. Larger chunks of rock peppered the floor this time, one of them narrowly missing his face. And that was how Will got to the beginning of this chapter. A bit disappointing, wasn't it? After all those aggressive feats and cold blooded murder, the infamous bounty hunter lost to one oversized brute with a fucked up mentality.

His vision was beginning to become more blurry, and Will forced himself to remain conscious. Orion had begun to shriek, thumping wildly onto the walls of his brutal containment. What a horrible way to die, and what a solid method to prove a point.

"Alright... Azrael. You've... delivered your message loud and... clear. Now let this man go. Or just kill me and... get this over with."

Even though Will couldn't see properly, the demon seemed genuinely confused.

"Flamefist, I don't think you understand. I can't do either of those. I follow the Wizard's command, and he does not wish for you to die yet. I simply obey his orders, but he allows me to enjoy myself. You are not allowed to die, but our little man over here must boil, unless you beat me. Now either play the game or give up. You're not being very entertaining."

Will paused for a moment. Why? What was the point of trying? He wasn't a superpowered fighter or monster hunter like most people believed him to be. He was just a man who was decent with a sword, who had enough luck and wit to forge a fake reputation and make a living out of it. Now it was coming back to bite him in the ass.

For some reason, he found himself pulling himself up, leaning on Moonsaw like it was some walking cane. In the back of his mind, he could hear Orion's shrieking, like a buzz in his subconscious.

"Let's dance, then."

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Unfortunately, Will barely lasted another forty seconds. He crashed into the floor promptly, and this time he couldn't pull himself up.

"How disappointing," Azrael said with a hint of disgust. "And to think the Wizard was actually looking forwards to speaking to you. He'll be glad I saved him the trouble."

Will had lost his focus sometime near the middle of the demon's rant. That thin figure... Jon? Sneaking up on Azrael from behind? He tried to yell out a warning, tell the boy to stay back - but all that came out was a combination of a pained wheeze and an exhausted croak.

"What was that?" Azrael asked. "You're telling me there's a foolish boy trying to sneak up on me and stab me with a sword? No way someone could be that stupid."

A meaty hand shot out, grabbing Jon by the throat. The sword immediately dropped to the ground; it clanged loudly and clattered on the stones. Orion's shrieks turned to full on screaming.

"No," Will croaked. He struggled to stand up, but the best he could get to was a kneeling position. Azrael had Jon in the air, and the boy was thrashing wildly.

"Yes," Azrael replied. "A new challenger approaches! Little boy, have you come to play? You can't join the current game, no, it was made specifically for Flamefist. But we can think of a new game for you."

Suddenly, Jon's hand dove into his belt then darted to Azrael's closed fist. The demon howled and let go of Jon, who landed unceremoniously on the hard floor. Azrael scowled, squinting his eyes and pinching his fingers to pull out the dagger Jon had driven into his meaty hand. It comically reminded Will of children pulling out splinters after a day of playing near a timber mill.

"Stupid boy, you've doomed yourself! The Wizard didn't say anything about your life, which means we can make the game more interesting. For both you and Flamefist."

Jon tried to scramble out of the way, but the giant man caught him between his large fingers and lifted him from his breastplate. The blond struggled again, punching the giant's meaty fist with his little ones. He could as well be hitting a wall.

For once, the oversized breastplate he was wearing didn't slow him down. Instead, it was practically his saving grace. He wriggled and squirmed as Azrael turned to plop him into the cauldron. A few seconds later, Azrael was holding a hollow piece of metal, and Jon was scrambling towards Will.

"Jon," Will managed. "Get... Out of here."

Jon knelt at Will's side, concern flashing in his bright green eyes.

"You're hurt," Jon noted. The boy had a flair for being extremely perceptive.

"Get down!" Will whispered harshly.

Jon knit his eyebrows in confusion, and Will cursed the boy's slow reflexes.

"Wha -" Jon began. A chunk of metal crashed into the back of his head, silencing him. He swayed for a moment then slumped over, his eyes rolling into his head, his forehead thudding onto Will's shoulder. The grizzled man let out a small startled shout and cringed backwards, the pain forgotten for a second. The empty breastplate rolled away when Jon hit the floor, dust rising around his still body.

"No!" Will cried, cradling the boy's head in his lap. In front of him, the giant man stood motionless, and Orion still screamed desperately. Will did not see nor hear anything.

"He cheated," Azrael said quietly. "Cheater cheater metal eater. Time is still running out. You can mourn the dead boy in your arms, or you can free the other man and find out where the Wizard is. I won't stop you no matter what you choose. My job here is done."

Will shook from hands to knees, his eyes wide with disbelief. He heard what the demon said; heard it well, even if some part of him didn't want to. Even if some part of him wanted to pretend like he didn't. His hands were sticky and wet with blood, Jon's blood. Over the course of the past few weeks, the boy had grown onto him. Eventually he even felt like Will's own little brother, even if they had disagreed on some things. Now he wasn't even breathing anymore, and it was Will's fault. All Will's fault. He wasn't supposed to die yet.

...

Yet? Somehow the 'yet' shocked Will even further. He didn't even realize that he had always expected the boy to die, and himself to move on without him. His own selfishness tore a new hole through his soul.

"The Wizard can go fuck himself," Will said coolly, almost conversationally. He didn't show emotion in his voice or face, but his hands trembled like a miniature earthquake.

"Very well," Azrael said. The demon actually sounded solemn and respectful now. It only made Will despise him more. "As a sign of courtesy, I will inform you that there is a large patch of soil in Mount Wyvern, where the Wizard plants some greens and vegetables. You may bury your boy there. I would offer to carry him up for you, but..."

"How about I offer to shove my sword up your ass?" Will croaked in response. Sometime during this conversation, Orion had gone silent. The dog toothed man had fought valiantly for his life, but in the end, he had met an untimely fate and died carrying one of the most important bits of information in the kingdom.

"I'll leave you to your grief. See you later, Flamefist."

Will did not care, even as the giant turned and left to gods know where. He was looking at Jon's unmoving face, almost begging it to move or speak. It was like the incident many years ago... But also very different from it. He had grown much harder over the years.

"Jonathan Solaris," Will choked. He could barely talk through all the exhaust and pain, but he had to. It was only fair.

"I knew you as you lived and thrived. You will be avenged."

Tears began to pool up in his eyes, and he caressed Jon's smooth skin with the tip of his grimy finger.

"May your spirit find rest, wrongfully slain one. May the rest of your afterlife be free of spilled blood and pain."

Will choked on his words again, and it took him a few seconds to get the rest out. Tears were freely flowing down his face now, leaving clean tracks like paved roads through the dirt.

"May this... May this farewell be our last, and may our next meeting be among the stars, armed with our experiences and stories. May the gods grant you peace, Jon."

The bounty hunter closed his eyes, and the exhaustion of the day finally washed over him.

"I'm sorry."

Then, he fell asleep. It was a long time before he woke up again.

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Oh. I know what you're thinking. Bull killed off a main character faster than he could explain his backstory or create an arc for him. And you're... Well, not completely wrong. But not completely right either. I do have some plans in mind, so don't you worry about that.

Other than what happened near the end, did you enjoy this chapter? It was certainly weird, huh? I'd love to hear what you thought about it.

I promise I don't kill off characters simply because I can. It's important for the plot, for character development, and for different reasons I won't be sharing for spoiler purposes. I hope you trust me and read on to find out what I mean.

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Again, thanks for being here. I appreciate each and every one of you. As always, have a wonderful day/evening.