Chapter 16: Chapter 13: A Tale of Two Sworn Enemies

Third Person POV

A small fire emitted soft lights on the bone white candle. It was a dark night that day, the sky shrouded with grey clouds that poured bullets of rain onto the lonely street. 

Friedrich sat on a chair, watching over the unconscious girl on the plain bed. A week has passed yet she still hasn't woken up. Worried sighs escaped Friedrich's mouth as he watched in sorrow. 

knock, knock

The door was knocked on twice before creaking open; a pinked haired woman in her mid to late thirties entered in. 

"Honey, has she woken up yet?"(Felicia)

"No..."(Friedrich)

"I see..."(Felicia)

Felicia handed Friedrich a cup of tea, woefully staring at the bandaged girl. 

"thanks..."(Friedrich)

Friedrich sipped on his tea with Felicia on his side. 

"Friedrich I-"(Felicia)

"you must hate me. If I never agreed to bring Faye to the mission... if I never agreed to this mission the first place, Faye wouldn't be here hurt, Erwin wouldn't have died, nothing bad would've happened."(Friedrich)

"Shut up, that ain't the man I know."(Felicia)

"Felicia what do you mean, I fa-"(Friedrich)

"You did nothin' wrong, you just did something you were ordered to do, and this yappin' ain't gonna change anythin'!"(Felicia)

"But I"(Friedrich)

"Don' talk back to me!"(Felicia)

Friedrich's mouth was shut closed as ordered by the woman. 

"w- what's goin' on?"(Faye)

Faye's voice was weak, sounding like a frog. Her eye was half opened and hazy. Everything was just a blob of colours, not even beimg able to make out the details. The blobs stood there unmoving, until a pink blob suddenly lunged at her, pinning her back to the bed.

"YOU ARE AWAKE! YOU DON KNOW JUST HOW WORRIED I WAS!"(Felicia)

Tears gushed out of Felicia's eyes, as she put the lass in a suffocatingly tight hug. 

"It's alright, I'm fine now, nothin to worry 'bout."(Faye)

"You, *sniff* were bed ridden for a *sniff* week! And your eye is now all gone!"(Felicia)

Faye froze in shock as she moved her towards her face.

"It... it really is gone..."(Faye)

It took a moment, until it all hit her at once. She desperately clawed at it, her only remaining eye being wide open. Her face was completely frozen into one expression. 

"th- this CAN'T BE REAL!"(Faye)

Faye growled like a ferocious Bengal tiger, her hands clenching into a fist. Blood dripped down her hand as it loosened; she covered the left half of her face. Her head hung down like an off-balance doll.

"m- maybe, this is for the best right? This will only heighten my other senses right!?"(Faye)

"..."(Friedrich)

"..."(Felicia)

"PLEASE SAY SOMETHIN'!"(Faye)

Faye broke down into a barely intelligible mess, her face crinkling like paper.

"Faye, I'm sorry, I kn-"(Felicia)

"You DON' know what it's like!"(Faye)

Felicia, immediately charged at her, holding her tightly in a hug.

"It's goin' to be alright, I'm here."(Felicia)

On that night there was nothing but the faint crackling of fire and the heart-wrenching sobs of a young woman.

When the moon was high up in the sky, illuminating the pitch-dark of the night, Friedrich sat next to a stone tombstone. Green grass, with the help of the cool air, lightly brushed his body. 

"It already has been a year huh? I can't believe you're gone."(Friedrich)

Winds howled as he got off from the ground and made his way back to the base. It was a slow, lonely walk. Nothing but the forlorn winds howled, leaving chills on the soldier. The home lights were turned off, leaving only the stars and moon to light up Friedrich's path. 

After the long, uneventful walk, he finally made it to the gate of the army base. Standing to the side of the metal gate was Felicia. 

"Felicia, what are you doing out this late?"(Friedrich)

"It seemed like you were lonely... so I thought I should keep you company."(Felicia)

Friedrich softly smiled, he grabbed her hand and closed in to her. 

"Seems like, I am ruining a moment."(???)

"!!!"(Friedrich)

Friedrich's head turned 90 degrees to see the mystery person. His jaw dropped wide open, as he blankly stared at him.

"you, you're alive.."(Friedrich)

"yes I am"(Erwin)

Friedrich rushed at her, opening his arms wide open. He had a large and stupid grin, which soon was jumbled up. Erwin pummeled Friedrich on the face.

"Haha, that's a good one, though it was a suc-KAH!"(Friedrich)

Erwin stared coldly at Friedrich before striking him on the face. The sudden force cause Friedrich to bite his lip, causing it to bleed. 

"You don't get it Friedrich, I ain't here to talk or get buddy buddy, I am here on a mission."(Erwin)

"That's a really funny jo-KEK"(Friedrich)

Erwin threw out another punch, this one stronger than the last. Erwin's eyes sharpened, resembling a venomous snake. Erwin twisted his torso, ready to kick Friedrich who has fallen down. Friedrich jumped up as fast as he can and dodge the attack. Firm and light on his feet, he swerved his head and body to avoid all barrages. 

"ERWIN WHAT ARE YOU DOING! THIS IS NOT FUNNY!"(Friedrich)

Erwin's punches became deadlier as time went on, Friedrich's arms starting to become red. 

"This is not a joke, Friedrich, and to prove it."(Erwin)

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After kick Friedrich away, he took a small orange ball. 

"This here is a ball of concentrated mana."(Erwin)

Erwin hurled the ball at Friedrich. As soon as it landed on the ground, it discharged into a large explosion of flames. The warrior barely dodged the blast, only getting slightly burnt. 

Clenching his teeth, Friedrich held onto his injured arm.

"Understand now?"(Erwin)

"Why the hell would you do this!?"(Friedrich)

Friedrich shot his arm at his enemy's mouth. Erwin's head twisted, the punch on any normal human would've broken the jaw, yet it barely did anything to him. 

"Why? Because I found someone who appreciate what I do!"(Erwin)

Erwin's uppercut grazed Friedrich's chin, Friedrich then drove his fist into the latter's stomach in retaliation. 

"The hell that supposed to mean!?"(Friedrich)

Erwin was hit by a roundhouse kick to the head, Friedrich charged into his adversary. Pushing his body weight into Erwin, he quickly pinned him down. He balled his fist and smashed Erwin on the face. Erwin put strength into his body and overpowered Friedrich off.

"You've been gone for a year, and when you came back, you came to kill me!? WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"(Friedrich)

Erwin threw another explosive at Friedrich, as he hissed

"I didn't just come to kill you!"(Erwin)

Friedrich evaded the blast only to be met with Erwin's hands. It felt like getting hit by metal bat, his mouth bleeding. 

"Every time I worked hard for something, you stole all the glory! No matter how hard I worked I never won. Even though you have people who love you, even though you never faced hardship, you still got EVERYTHING! But that's okay now, I found someone who values me, someone who can love me."(Erwin)

Friedrich started to lose his composure, how has Erwin gotten this strong? 

"What do you mean by no one loves you? Ms. Hannah loved you, Faye loved you, everyone from the orphanage loved you... I loved you."(Friedrich)

Friedrich thrusted his arms into Erwin's chest, blowing the wind away. 

"Hah, don't joke with me. You never had my back."(Erwin)

Erwin clawed away at Friedrich, throwing punches at him. Ribs broken, legs wobbling, Friedrich's body began giving up. 

"Everyday I was insulted, assaulted, hated and berated, yet you did nothing. I can now see that you're nothing but a coward, a weak coward"(Erwin)

Erwin said to the hurt man, lying on the ground, half unconscious.

"Now to finish the job."(Erwin)

"NOOO!"(Felicia)

Felicia acted out of pure instinct, as she sprung towards the sphere. 

"Felicia stop!"(Erwin)

The ball imploded as she grabbed it away. The concentrated mana released, causing a giant explosion. Orange fire blazed, the intensive heat burning the woman. Nothing but absolute horror was plastered on their faces. As the flame subsided, only a woman remained, she was burnt to a crisp. 

"FELICIAA!!!"(Friedrich)

Friedrich regained strength and he rushed towards the cat woman. His eyes moved side to side, as he shook desperately to wake the woman up.

"Felicia talk to me, TALK TO ME!"(Friedrich)

"please..."(Friedrich)

Tears escaped the sides of Friedrich's eyes; he gripped the soil on the ground. 

"WHY DID YOU DO THIS!?"(Friedrich)

"I- I,"(Erwin)

"You're not the Erwin I knew, no, I can't even recognize you!"(Friedrich)

Friedrich jumped at his opponent, his fists rocketing towards him. Each and everyone of his punches were as strong as a gorilla's. His body felt like it was being stabbed by a million knives, yet he didn't care, all that was on his mind was to kill. Friedrich's face was slammed, but he didn't flinch, his fingers ached, yet he didn't slow down. Erwin's once invincible body was broken down; becoming red. 

Erwin's vision became clouded, switching from defense to offense. He counterattacked by throwing a hook into his abdomen. Air was knocked out of him, but Friedrich did not give up. Using all of his strength, Friedrich pushed Erwin into the metal gate, bending it in the process. 

Erwin reached towards the metal gate, took hold of the pole and snapped it off. Erwin tried to jab it into Friedrich's heart, it was like a lightning bolt. Immediately, Friedrich reached towards the sharp pole, stopping it from its tracks. They both fought to take hold of the weapon. Erwin's palms were sweaty and it quickly slipped from his hand, resulting in it slashing him in the face.

There was a giant cut across Erwin's face.

Erwin used both his legs to knock Friedrich away from him. The two got up, their legs wobbly. Erwin struggled towards Friedrich, an orange ball in his hand.

"You... I can't win, I can still kill is both!"(Erwin)

Erwin lunged into Friedrich, the explosive on his hand, about to explode. 

"Enough."(???)

A chilling and feminine voice outburst as the bomb was incased in a shiny white crystals. The two swiftly turned their heads to see the demon girl. Friedrich's heart stopped as cold sweat marched down his face. 

"Erwin, that's enough, I can't have you die here, right now."(girl)

As she said that, Erwin was engulfed in a bright purple light and disappeared. 

"Y- you."(Friedrich)

"Yes, m- me."(girl)

Friedrich wanted to fight but his body refused to move. His muscles ached in incredible pain even if he moved an inch.

"Usually, I would kill you. But you were pretty entertaining back there, so I shall let you live. Anyway Ciao!"(girl)

It all happened too fast. 

Like a giant cannon, grief, anger, sorrow, pain and regret all hit him. 

Tears flowed, as he looked at the now dead woman. He couldn't believe, he didn't want to believe. Those he had loved are now gone. He collapsed to the ground in defeat, clenching his mourning heart.

"NOOOAARRGH!"(Friedrich)

---

Years have passed, there have been many reported cases of missing magicians, alchemists and such. Those who have seen these kidnappings stated that they saw a large man wearing a skull mask. Soldiers were sent to patrol the town, in search of the mystery man. Wanted posters placed on the commissioner's guild walls. Time marched forward, the amount of disappearances decreased, but the few times soldiers did confront the monster, they were left mangled and lifeless. 

Any signs of him slowly disappeared, the townspeople believing him to be nothing more than a hoax... that is until recently.