The Book Of Flowers
Ego
"YOU LOST! EVERYONE THERE MUST HAVE BEEN CAUGHT, AND ALL THAT REMAINS IS YOU!!"
The laughter continued to echo so loudly. There was no more sound that could be heard by Veskal other than that voice
"That's why it was suddenly quiet...?" Veskal muttered
No more guns clashing. There is only one meaning, and Veskal must ensure the truth of the situation
Veskal was forced to follow the words of the soldier Xiang who cried out from a distance. He walked slowly towards them while pointing a knife at Walter's neck
Every step he took him out of the forest back to the shore. And the more he got closer to it, the more clearly he could see that all of Black Hunt's crew had been caught, forced to kneel on the ground
"Ahaha... Sorry son. We can't fight anymore..." Cyth said
A soldier who was nearby directly hit him on the head so that he would not speak anymore
He just stood there mobbed by dozens of people ready to beat him up. But with Walter in Vescal's hands right now, they didn't dare to be too reckless in taking action
"Take the knife off his neck" a soldier said
"... Then let go of my friends"
"We can't do it"
"Then we agreed. We're all just gonna stand here until the end of the world"
Not accepting with Veskal's words, the soldier beckoned to the others. The soldier who was ordered instantly cast a spell. Erin who was nearby was immediately panicked waiting for fate, and it didn't take long for her to feel intense pain
Cyth was bluffing his teeth in annoyance. He was incapable of anything now, and their fate was upon all of these people right now
"YARGHH!!!!"
The soldier burned his legs mercilessly in the slightest. Erin rolled on the sand to put out the fire, but her pain also made her unable to do so quickly
All his friends who saw it immediately tried to help him, but all of them were immediately detained and pinned to the ground, until they could only see Erin trying to save herself
"ENOUGH! DON'T HURT THEM!!" Veskal shouted, further advancing the knife into Walter's neck
"Don't forget Veskal Grandier. You only hold 1 person, while we hold 9. Leave yourself to us, that's your only option"
Angled Veskal, coupled with Walter being seen mocking him, his stress grew even more
"My life means nothing to them. They were simply following the orders of Shen, their king. The orders of that man are
To catch you alive"
Veskal's mind is getting messed up
'Why does King Xiang want me alive?', 'What do they really want?'
The thought was ringing in his head. He didn't know what else to do and just stayed there, still pointing at the knife
"... Still don't want to give up? Then burn one more!"
A soldier picked Cyth, and that's when Veskal lifted his head
"ENOUGH! ALL RIGHTY!! I'VE ALREADY LET IT GO!"
Veskal actually took Walter off, letting him fall to the ground. Both of his daggers were also thrown to make sure he had given up, and coupled with both hands raised
"Don't hurt them again, please..."
"... Vescal..."
The next moment, the soldier who gave the order immediately moved as fast as a snake, and directly dropped Veskal to the ground without any distress at all
He then gives orders to the others to heal Walter, until 2 of them instantly lift Walter to a safe distance from everyone
Veskal can only attack because it has been caught completely
"Our mission here is done, Walter Herb. We have no business with you anymore" the soldier said
"Wait a minute wait..."
Walter who had been allowed to return his nerves immediately stood up even though he was still staggering
"I remember that the deal was, 'help me in order to kill everyone in Black Hunt'. I hope your brains still remember it"
Walter tries to balance his body, but every time he does, it still fails
The soldier who was uttered by Walter's words was silent, making Walter smile full of satisfaction
"Bring their captain in front of me"
Following Walter's orders, the soldier holding Cyth dragged him roughly in front of Walter. Not only dragged, he was thrown to slam in front of Walter
Cyth tried to raise his head, and their eyes once again met, piercing each other with ill intentions
"Wah, wah~ Look who's at my feet now~ Golden boy belongs to Alice!"
Walter laughed out loud. Looking at her attitude, Cyth only had one sentence that flashed across his head
'This guy's gone crazy'
Walter stopped laughing when he saw Cyth's gaze. Upset by that, he kicks Cyth in the face, then pulls out his gun
Cyth once again woke up, but the gun first poked his head when he had just knelt down
He had to calm down, trying to read the situation
...
...
"Why? Don't want to kill me?" Cyth defied
"Hmphs. I want to enjoy it, so I want to do it slowly..."
Walter walks through Cyth. And at that moment, he realized what Walter wanted to do
Walter then pointed Yu to be dragged in front of him, and the soldier holding Yu dragged him to Walter
"Walters! No!"
But Yu was already right in front of him. Walter points the gun at Yu's head and...
"Walters! Don't fire! Stop...!!!
If you want to hurt someone innocent, just hurt me, this person you hate so much"
...
"Hm... Someone who is innocent? Who?"
Walter laughed a sinister glance at Cyth, then began to climb aboard the Black Hunt, leaving everyone shocked
"Bring them all up the deck, including the boy. I want to re-examine our beautiful past"
The Xiang soldiers stared at each other in astonishment. But, orders are orders, and the Black Hunt crew is dragged by them up the deck one by one, along with Veskal as well
......................
"Tiol, Parok, Crio, Amanda, Knox, Silly..."
Every time he mentioned a name, Walter always swung his finger as if he were counting towards the empty deck of the ship
"... What are you doing, calling the names of our fallen comrades?"
Hearing Cyth's question, Walter turned his head slowly. His sharp eyes pierced Cyth, making him slowly move forward to approach his former best friend
"That's because they're my family. I remember all their seats on this deck well
Do you memorize it, too, Cyth?"
Cyth. He did not expect Walter to remember such a small thing so well, that even Cyth did not memorize too much
"They never change positions. I remember Ilina loved to sit close to Xavi by the pole together, and Jolly was always the last one in that place...
Then you, Uncle Broke, and Alice will always be on the side of the ship, standing and talking"
Cyth remembered a few things, and could tell it had a point
"And every one of them, is a dirty pirate. No exception to me, and you..."
...
"Come on, don't pretend to be stupid. We are criminals. We steal, loot, harass, and sometimes even have to kill. I admit we do it to help the less fortunate as well, but we feed them with the loot, Cyth. We're all dirty
Then, after I left before all of you, Rosalia Hortensia gave me the opportunity to pursue my dreams, even beyond them. To be the top in the world"
...
Cyth can't say anything, neither can the others. What Walter just said made them so angry that they didn't know what to react to
Walter on the other hand, he looks to be enjoying his current victory. And he hasn't stopped
"Don't hurt someone innocent...? Heheh... To be honest, if Rosalia had not asked me to eliminate all of you that day, I would have never thought of doing so"
He then pointed his gun at Cyth's head, despite having no intention of pulling the trigger
"It was only my job to secure Cyth's position. One thing I learned from all of you is, 'if you get the chance, keep it until you get it'. Uncle Broke likes to say that"
"... But, eliminate everyone who is here...? There's no other way...?"
"If you're dealing with Rosalia Hortensia, you'll understand why I did what she asked. I'm not afraid of him, but he's very difficult to overcome. Inevitably, all of you will disappear, but with me"
"That means you only care about yourself, right?!"
"YOU TALK LIKE YOU DON'T!!"
...
"... Whatchu mean?"
One thing that Cyth thought once again appeared. Walter, sighing tiredly right in front of him, until silence came for a moment
"... It's just my jealousy. Really, don't think about it. I'm just jealous of how much you can get high just because you can be special to Captain Alice
I know you slept with him and I don't care, but the way he and Uncle Broke determined the successor to this ship is kind of... Ruin my heart"
"... They had not specified it at the time. They said that you and I-"
"That's because they don't want to offend me, Cyth. Stop thinking narrowly"
"Only you think too widely"
For the first time in the conversation, Walter, who this time was silent
"... I don't care what you think, but I'll say it in earnest.
I actually regret leaving you guys the second I stepped away. But, my ego is indeed too big to follow my heart"
...
Jealousy. That was the reason he left that day. Walter feels jealous of Cyth and goes to Alice to confirm everything...
"... But on that day, Alice said to me, 'You won't be able to control this ship as well as Cyth'. That's what got me going. There's something broken inside me, and I don't know what it is"
All Black Hunt crews... Directly looks furious
"No way!!"
"You must be making it up!! The captain couldn't possibly say that to all of us!!"
"You just want to divide us!!"
They all start to interrupt and ridicule Walter who is only focused on playing his gun with his face down and tendering to the edge of the ship opposite to them
Everyone except two. Their captains, Cyth and Erin
They just stay glued, understanding what Walter is feeling all along
They're... Never knew the thoughts of this friend. The friend who shared one fate with them, was thrown into a cruel bondage, with no one to help
They should understand each other. They knew very well that Walter wasn't lying about his feelings at all, but...
But they only realized it at that moment. And at that moment, their hatred and resentment began to waver to Walter
"Walters..."
"Walter Herb's. Is your conversation over? We all have to go to the king now and you can finish them all here, right?" A soldier suddenly interrupted
"... Whatever you. Go there, you forcible!!"
The soldier finally behaved brashly in front of Walter with a peck of annoyance. And after that, all his friends he took went down while carrying Veskal who also turned out to be reading Walter's emotions
...
It's just, it's not the time to reflect anymore. They all have to finish this
...
"They're all gone. Do we need to get back to business?"
Walter's getting off the edge of the ship
"Walter listen to me! Our colleagues won't be happy with this!"
But Walter didn't listen and started pointing his gun
Cyth closes his eyes, accepting the fate that he will not be able to convince Walter to stop and return to his normal state, while the gun is pointed at him
*DOR!!*
...
...
"Huh-uh?"
...
"Why didn't I die...?"
The bullet that was shot from Walter's gun...
Instead of punching holes in Cyth's head, he severed the rope that tied his hand
"Why-?"
"There's nothing. I just need your help driving this ship"
"... Where to?"
"To the graves of our comrades, Cyth
Right over those waters when I start, I want us to end it all there as well"
They were all wide open to hear Walter's words
Yu even tried to forcibly remove the rope to hit Walter in the face
"YOU'RE CRAZY?! WE'LL ALL DIE FOR NOTHING THERE!" Yu shouted
"I've been too crazy for you guys to put some common sense in. So stop talking and save your strength"
Walter looked back at Cyth, still waiting for his answer
Cyth who was just looking down slowly woke up, looked back at Walter, then nodded, making everyone even more surprised
"It's a Captain's trap! Don't listen-!!"
"There's no trap there. We're gonna get that retribution right there, and that's it" Cyth intersected Lock's words
"So you're ready to die too? Nice, nice!! I'm getting excited you're just like me!!" Walter said with excitement
But Cyth just shut up and started doing what he had to do to sail the ship
Walter, who had only been standing, began to help, and they began to sail in the middle of the cold night, heading towards the waters that were very cruel to the sailors
Heading to where they were going to end it all, headed to where Alice was waiting for them
Sea of blood
