Chapter 45: Prince and the day of reckoning.

Erinys slept peacefully like a baby with little to no nightmare haunting her sleep. Even in her sleep, she desperately clung to Fearless with her babyish grip. Hers was weak and feeble like a newborn, yet contained a small hope.

You have no luck at all…

Fearless gently combed Erinys’ damaged bang with his slender fingers, kissing her closed eyelids. He felt Narik’s curious gaze on him but Fearless did not care. He thought that Erinys really had no luck. She has suffered Ekar’s twisted cruelty to the point that she would readily cling to any source of hope, even if that source of hope was Fearless himself.

Of course, it was Fearless who promised and gave Erinys that idea. He told her that he could trust him, which she did.

Fearless allowed a sarcastic smirk to spread on the corners of his lips. He was anything but a haven or a protector, never was and never will be. He was a black sheep, a manmade demon designed to end all demons. He was a destroyer, an Ender.

Alice knew that. FY knew that, my friends knew that, my fans all knew about that…

Fearless was the least qualified person to inspire and protect someone else. Yet, Erinys had her fate bounded with him.

Sweet Erinys, you have no luck at all…

Fearless kissed Erinys again, softly. He wished that he had the healing power of Mrs. Hạ Đông. He wished that he had the inspiring power that FY possessed. He wished that he had half the strength that Alice had.

If only that was true…

Fearless sighed and quietly roused Erinys up. He fixed her damaged hair with his fingers, kissing her forehead gently. He asked Erinys a few questions.

Did you have any nightmare?

How are you feeling?

Are you hungry?

Fearless asked the doe-eyed girl with a warmth voice, gentle and caressing as a spring wind. Erinys gingerly answered him by shaking and nodding her head. She did not bark like a dog but neither did she spoke like a human.

“Answer me, who are you, my dear?” Fearless whispered. His voice caressing, still, but contained an edge within.

“Erinys,” Erinys replied. Quiet was her voice, soft and feeble as if shy and afraid.

“Again!” Fearless commanded. His voice was quiet but cold, allowing no mishap.

“Erinys,” the girl repeated. Her reply was meek, still, like a newborn cub. But, no longer contained any fear or shyness.

“Good girl.” Fearless complimented, kissing her forehead, “You are my girl Erinys. I will protect you.” He encouraged her with his kiss.

If Ekar broke Erinys with his twisted conditioning, Fearless would reverse that process with his own style of conditioning. If Ekar has made Erinys barked like a dog to reinforce the idea that she was not human, Fearless would make Erinys repeatedly speaking her name.

Identity is something a person must continuously reinforce, either through word or through action. Identity is something a person builds through time and practice. It is not something that appears over the night.

If Fearless were a psychiatrist, he would have approached Erinys’ case differently. However, he was Fearless. He told Erinys that he had a plan for her and if she were willing, he would execute that plan.

Erinys’ face instantly betrayed confusion and terror. The brutality and viciousness, which Ekar has inflicted on her, resurfaced. Her first Lego piece, the one Fearless has assembled for her, Erinys, shook.

“It’s fine. I will not force you to make that choice. Take it slowly. Think and make a decision on your own. I will give you some time. Just remember this, as long as you are my girl, as long as you are by my side, I will allow nothing and nobody on this world to hurt you.” Fearless entwined his fingers with Erinys’ whitened fingers, squeezing on them with force.

While he was encouraging Erinys with his kind words, Fearless pointed a finger at Narik, gesturing the man to hide.

Narik was not dull. He wrapped himself in his blanket and lied flatly on the ground.

“One-eye, if you have arrived, just knock on the door the next time.” Fearless put more volume to his voice as he turned to face the termite-eaten door.

Slowly, the door opened, creaking noisily. One-eye appeared with food and water on one hand, a white gown and a prop box on the other.

Erinys instinctively shivered, hiding behind Fearless.

One-eye’s face reddened. He must have felt embarrassed. He wasn’t sure if Fearless has woken up or not and tried to peek through the door holes. But Fearless caught him before he did that.

An abashed smile paled on One-eyes’ lips. “Master Advisor, you know it is me?”

“Your footsteps are as loud as a stampeding bison’s,” Fearless scoffed, “It’s hard to miss that.”

“My apologies,” One-eye respectfully bowed, presenting the food in front of Fearless.

“No need. My ears are created sharper than any normal person.” Fearless chuckled arrogantly, “I have tasks for you. “

“Whatever you wish, Master Advisor,” One-eye replied.

Fearless chuckled. That was the most genie-of-the-lamp-like answer that he has ever heard. “Good,” Fearless curtly encourage One-eye’s good conduct. He promptly feigned clearing his throat and assumed a commanding tone. “First, gather all of Ashtorá’s commanders to the war room. Second, tell the new leader of Ekar’s unit to wait for me below this tower. That fool still owes me a report since yesterday. Lastly, gather your boys and prepare a stage for me on the rampart. I have a speech to deliver to the troops by the end of this day.”

“As you wish,” One-eye respectfully replied and went out of the room, pumped with purpose.

Looking at One-eye’s eagerness, Fearless wondered if he has really broken the bandit.

Does this guy have a negative perk that allowed himself to be easier to be manipulated?

One-eye’s eagerness made Fearless felt incredibly weird. But he quickly shook off the notion, “Narik, wake the women up. Let’s have a breakfast.”

Narik did as he was told.

Fearless shared his food with Erinys, Narik and the women, but he did not touch the food. Narik and Erinys noticed that, offering him their portion. However, Fearless shook his head. He had no appetite, still. He felt a gnawing hunger within his stomach but he had no appetite for any food. The stench of Ekar’s abode still haunted his nose canals.

Fearless waited for Erinys to finish her portion of bread and grilled potato to instruct Narik to leave the room, standing guard.

Fearless told Erinys to strip, which she did readily, without any hint of shyness, without thinking twice. In his entire life, Fearless has never known that a woman’s act of stripping can be that unsexy.

Erinys body was an empty canvas, pure and untouched, without a hint of scars and damages that reflected Ekar’s twisted brutality. Hers had the right amount curves, modest and shy, containing the allure of a rosebud.

And yet...

Erinys was anything but a rosebud. Ekar had done a number on her and the damages of his infestation on her soul were unhealed still.

Fearless sighed and lamented at his lack of carnal lust when he looked at Erinys’ birthday suit. He was a massive pervert, the kind of pervert who let his own dick made choices for him, the kind of pervert who allowed his dick to destroy his life, the kind of sleazy pervert who had no hope to redeem.

However, Erinys made Fearless began to question if he was a saint who swore an oath of abstinence or perhaps, he was currently experiencing ED for the first time in his life. That brainless bastard of Fearless has never been so limp.

Fearless sighed again and soaked a piece of cloth with fresh water to scrub dead skin, dirt, and sweat off Erinys’ body.

A bathing-play has never been as unsexy as this. This was child care, literally.

Fearless lamented inwardly as he cleaned Erinys. After that, he dressed her in the white gown that One-eye brought earlier.

Erinys’ skin trod the thin line between light and medium color, tinted with a bit of pink, like baby skin but not quite, probably a side effect of Fearless’ skill, making it rather difficult for Fearless to select a perfect dress for her.

That’s why Fearless asked One-eye to get him a gown colored in the white of snow. That kind of whiteness would make it easier for Fearless to doll up Erinys.

One-eye lacked the perceptiveness, apprehension, and appreciation for beauty that Fearless had, that Fearless knew because if One-eye did, he would not be a bandit. Therefore, Fearless did not have any expectation on One-eye’s choice from the beginning.

While the color and texture of the gown were far from Fearless’ ideal, it was enough for him to cast his special magic on Erinys.

The gown was a high V-neck with open back, made out of wool. It showed sign of worn, loose needlework, rough texture, barely qualified to be a ball gown of a rich man’s wife.

However, in a way, that kind of roughness and the worn-out seam was perfect. They served their purpose to compliment Erinys’ modest beauty.

Erinys suffered a bit on the chest since the gown was not tailor-made for her, loose. Her chest was by no mean lacking. Hers was peachy, shy and maiden-like, modest. Those peaches still had some room for improvement, considering how Erinys was obviously malnourished. She was frail and lanky, her ribcage showed. If Erinys put up some weight, her chest would be still shy and modest, but never humble.

Fearless cast an illusion, enhancing the volume of Erinys’ peachy bosoms with a long strip of wool wrapping underneath her gown. The pair rose skyward, proudly to match the volume of the white gown, not quite there yet, but close.

“Do you have any trouble breathing?” Fearless asked.

Erinys shook her head.

“Yes or no?” Fearless ordered, trying to condition Erinys with a good habit.

Erinys quivered, almost barked like a dog. She stopped herself just time, putting a hand on her mouth. Her expression betrayed terror, remembering that Fearless has threatened to kick her out if she barked. Then slowly, like a scaredy cat, she formed an inaudible “yes” with her lips.

“I can’t hear you,” Fearless was adamant. His voice was cold and unsympathetic, harsh and bitter like a winter wind, allowing no leeway for Erinys.

Erinys tried to reply, but that word “yes” could never left her lips no matter how hard she tried. Tears traced two broken streams on Erinys’ paled cheeks. Erinys was trying still, desperately as her shoulders quivered uncontrollably. Her lips reformed the word “yes” again and again, but no sound came through.

Fearless sighed, drying Erinys’ teary cheeks with his thumb, giving up on the exercise for the moment. He fixed her dress and held her hand. Her palm was extremely cold and drained of color. “It’s fine. I would not cast you away, Erinys.” He kissed her moistened brows. “Can you feel my hand Erinys?” He squeezed her paled and cold fingers, raising their clutching hand to Erinys’ eye level.

Erinys timidly nodded.

“These hands of mine were blessed with a myriad of miracles and spells by countless gods and goddess the very day I was born. I am a person who was born loved by gods. With these hands, I can do almost everything. I can perform almost every miracle. However, more importantly, when I am holding your hand like this, I am sharing my magic and miracles with you. Can you feel them?” Fearless asked.

Erinys nodded readily.

Fearless could see that Erinys merely nodded her head because she was told.

He showed her one of his magic coins. Fearless squeezed the coin into their tightly clutching hand. He then curled his other hand, flexed his index finger and tapped it like a magic wand on their clutching hand. “Open it,” Fearless said, stopped gripping Erinys’ fingers.

The mentally scarred girl timidly did as she was commanded. Two golden coins appeared within her pallid palm. Her misty eyes rounded with surprise.

“Hold my hand again,” Fearless collected the two golden coins, place them on his right palm, urging Erinys to hold it. Erinys did as she was told. Fearless cast his magic, and the coins doubled again within Erinys’ opened palm. Again, Fearless repeated the magic. Four coins became eight.

“One day you would be capable of performing a miracle like this,” Fearless smiled, stopping his magic performance since he had run out of magic coins. He gently kissed Erinys again.

“These coins, too, have a magical property. They are artifacts, all of them. They make people braver and stronger than they are.” Fearless put one of his magic coins on Erinys’ left palm and balled her fist, making her squeezed it.

“These coins originally belonged to a famously weak man. He was weak, detestably so. He cried easily and hid behind his sister whenever he was hurt. He hated to argue. He hated fighting more than anything. He was laughably weak, so weak that any woman can beat him. Yet, while holding this coin, he captured the most devilish of a demon and successfully destroyed it. He gave me these coins. Now I share with you one of mine. Keep it. It will give you strength and courage.”

Erinys held the coin as if it was a treasure within her left palm. Fearless grabbed Erinys’ right hand and held it firmly, “Now, you are protected by the power of that magic coin. Also, I am sharing my miracles with you by holding your hand like this. Just like this, nothing in this world can hurt you, sweet Erinys. No force in this world can separate you from me.” He reassured Erinys and kissed the back of her right hand. “Therefore, my sweetest Erinys, have no fear. Whenever you are afraid, trust in the power of this magic coin, trust in me and my miracles.”

Erinys blinked her eyes and nodded. Her fingers that Fearless held firmly no longer quivered. The difference was small, tiny and almost undetectable but starkly different. That difference was between zero and one.

Only then, Fearless continued to work his illusion on Erinys’ hair. He was baffled. He failed to understand the logic of his skill . It healed Erinys, barring no scar on her skin, yet her hair did not receive such treatment. Her hair was damaged still, dry and full of split ends, frizzy. Hers was sandy in color, hinted with a bit of copper, reminded Fearless of her feral cry when he told her to cry freely. Fearless treated Erinys’ hair with a few drops of water and used his long fingers as a comb. He liked that wildness of her hair. It reminded him of Alice’s.

Alice has always been a tomboy girl since Fearless first met her, suffering from the result of being the only girl among her five siblings. The absence of a mother figure in her entire life did no favor to Alice. Her father was a kickboxer and an owner of a kickboxing gym, a macho man to the core. Alice grew up wearing boy’s clothes and playing boy’s games. She played sports with boys. She even went to school wearing boy uniform.

She was hopeless with makeup and dresses, used to. The final prom night of her junior college years marked the first time Alice wore a dress in her entire life. It was also the first time she put on makeup. During her college years, she depended on Fearless to do her makeup every single day. Otherwise, she would go to her class, parties and social gatherings without makeup, and inadvertently became a frequent topic among her friends.

As soon as Fearless’ thought drifted toward Alice, he felt his eyes stung as though they were rubbed by a fistful of pepper powder. Before any drop of tear would drop, Fearless treated his eyes with the roughness of his dark sleeves.

Shit, fucking hell, have I always been this quick to tear up?

Fearless gritted his teeth and focused on completing his illusion. He used Enfermé to trim away the uneven part of Erinys’ bang. He combed and tied her hair into a refreshing ponytail with a grey ribbon to reflect her untamed quality.

Then, Fearless began to work on Erinys’ tear-dried face with some fresh water. Her skin tone forced Fearless to use a bit of white powder to hide the darken bags under her eyes and her swollen cheekbones. He gave Erinys’ brows, eyelashes and lips a colder color to compliment her untamed coppered brown hair, just enough to highlight the prettiest of her facial features.

Once he finished, Fearless took a few steps away from Erinys to marvel his work.

Passable

Fearless nodded his head as he graded his illusion. With better props, he could achieve a better illusion. However, under the circumstance and with the level of props that he was provided, Fearless has already made the most out of them. To complete his illusion, Fearless gave Erinys a leathered sandal.

“Twirl, Erinys, slowly,” Fearless instructed and Erinys complied.

Passable

Fearless nodded his head again and secretly glanced backward. Fearless cursed himself for being the kind of sinful man that he was. He was extremely good at playing with a woman’s jealousy. Gods gave him that talent, and Fearless has indeed made full use of that talent.

The women’s expression betrayed their ire and envy. Their regret and resentment were not subtle, far from subtle. It was apparent that Erinys was, unfortunately, the target of their ire.

Fearless was glad that Erinys was not too dull to recognize that resentment and envy directed at her. He explained to Erinys of her options and choices again, pretending as if he did not notice the resentment and envy of the other women.

“Will you go down there with me? Or will you stay here and wait for me?” He asked Erinys.

In the end, she could only make a single choice out of all the options Fearless gave her. Erinys meekly reached out for Fearless’ right hand, holding it and following him from behind.

When Fearless opened the door, Narik’s expression told Fearless that his illusion was a great success. Fearless immediately ordered Narik to return to his post.

Slowly, Fearless escorted Erinys down the watchtower like a proper Lady. Fearless did not bother to teach Erinys to walk like a Lady or talked like one.

To Fearless, being a Lady had nothing to do with being able to talk like a Lady or walk like a Lady. As long as Erinys can be herself, as long as she can conduct herself in an undaunted manner, without caring about what people might think of her and able to impose her will on them, Erinys would be a proper Lady.

The white of Erinys’ gown reflected a stark contrast to Fearless’ black and gold uniform. Hers were pure and modest. His was flamboyant, cold and arrogant. Together, they made quite a pair.

The new commander of Ekar’s unit was already there, standing like a statue. The worm’s eyes flickered on Erinys, entranced by her beauty for a few seconds until he remembered about Fearless.

Fearless maintained a steady gaze on the worm. He then decided to greet the worm with a sunlit smile, speaking not a word.

Fearless smiled a lot. He smiled all the time. Yet, nobody has ever called him a cheery person.

Fearless smiled when it was sunshine and rainbow, like everyone would. But, he also smiled when it was dark and rainy. He smiled when he watched his own house burned to the ground. He smiled when people needed him to smile for them. He smiled when he himself needed them, his smiles, cheap as they were to move forward. He smiled all the time. Yet, nobody has ever called him a cheery person, not even the most obvious and dulled person Fearless has ever met.

The worm was already completely drenched in his own sweats when he showed up to report. However, when that sunlit smile appeared on Fearless’ face, the worm was literally drowning in his ocean of sweats. His expression reflected terror and terror only. Then, unknowingly, he cast his sight on his shadow, shaking, shaking, and shaking haplessly while giving himself to Fearless’ mercy.

And mercy, Fearless had none for worms and demons. He scoffed as though muffling his devilish snickers.

The worm curled his body, dropping flat to the ground, trying to make himself smaller. He made Fearless wanted to break into a hysteric laughter.

If you are so terrified of me, what are you still doing here? Why are you still here? What could you possibly hope to achieve by staying here?

Fearless tried to put himself into the worm’s position, thinking as if he was the worm. Still, he could not understand.

Fearless felt a small tremor crossed through his body, a quiet quiver, not his. Without looking, Fearless held the quivering hand that was holding to the hem of his dark jacket. It was such a small hand, calloused, frail, scarred and afraid. It was a hand of a person who wholeheartedly desired to say that she had no wish to be down here, walking among the worms of Bloodbeard. Yet, she followed Fearless by her own choice, a choice that was guided by instinct rather than reason.

“Erinys don’t look down, look up.” Fearless warmly commanded the girl without looking at her. He had told her if she was too terrified of looking at these worms in the eyes, she must try to look at them in the between of their brows.

Fearless still maintained his steady gaze on the quivering worm who was stupid enough to mistake his own name for Erinys.

Worms are stupid after all.

Once the worm has realized that Fearless was not talking to him, he hit his head against the ground with a loud thud. Funnily enough, the very moment the worm groveled, the worms within Fearless’ vicinity started to grovel as well.

Has my smile always been this scary? Or did it become scarier after I have arrived in this world?

Even without looking, Fearless could tell that Erinys was looking at her own quivering hand, the hand that he was holding. “If you can’t do that, return to the room,” he coldly told the girl as the number of the groveling worms started to soar.

A small shudder ran across that tiny hand. Fearless could feel Erinys’ terror through that shudder. He could feel how terrified of her to be around the worms of Ekar and Bloodbeard. Their darken shadows on the ground alone terrified her. Their voices made the dog, the very dog that Ekar trained and designed, resurfaced. One night was too short of a time to break that dog completely. One night was too short of a time to erase that dog from its entire existence. That mongrel bit Erinys, gnawing on her broken soul, demanding her to grovel on all fours, barking. Yet, the terror of being disowned by her only haven, her only protector, was the chain that held that feral dog back.

You are my girl. And, as long as you are my girl, do not show a sign of subservience to the like of Ekar’s and Bloodbeard’s worms. It’s normal to be afraid of them. However, never kneel to them, never show a sign of weakness to them. Can you do that for me?

He has told her that she is a human, was and will forever be. She is his girl and will be his girl as long as she remembered her promise.

Fearless squeezed Erinys’ tiny hand inside his palm, reminding her that she had him, his coin and his protection. He said no word. He has said enough. He has explained to her enough, any more would be redundant.

Erinys tightly squeezed her trembling fingers, cold from her sweats. She held on to Fearless’ fingers. “Good girl,” Fearless encouragingly complimented Erinys without looking back, firmly held her hand.

“And you, what were you thinking when you put the head of your previous leader on the pike?” Fearless asked coldly, directing his stern gaze at the nape of the groveling worm in front of him.

The worm looked up at Fearless, up to his chest, no further. He did not have the courage to see Fearless eyes to eyes. He shook his head, confused and terrified. His entire body quivered.

“What is that shaking mean? I don’t understand it. Tell me in word.” Fearless scowled his brows, yet his sunlit smile still pasted on his lips. His words were cold and devoid of warmth. Fearless inwardly lamented at how much he enjoyed bullying this worm. He felt bad, somewhat, for himself at how bad he was.

“I…I…I…” the worm stuttered, sweating still, shaking his head like a brainless worm he was.

“Too stupid to understand my question or too brave to defy my authority, which one are you?” Fearless chuckled. His shoulders shook. His eyes told a different story.

“I… I would not dare,” the worm hit his head against the ground. His entire body shook like a vibrator.

Fearless squeezed on Erinys’ cold fingers, wishing that she realized that how miserable it would be to fear something like this worm. He had no idea if she would understand that. He could only wish.

“I see…” Fearless feigned a sigh, “Rise,” he warmly told the worm. His voice was frivolous and playful.

The worm looked up at Fearless, “I don’t dare,” unsure.

Fearless hissed coldly, “Rise.”

The worm instinctively rose as he was commanded. However, his back still bent like a drawn bow, pulled by the weight of his terror.

“Do you know why I planted two pikes on that ground?” Fearless asked with authority, his eyes glaring.

The worm shook his head haplessly, completely terrified and stupid.

“Since you are too stupid to understand, I will try my best to explain it to you. One of the pikes is for Ekar’s head. The other pike is reserved for yours. If you were smarter, you would have realized that when you mounted Ekar’s head on that pike.” Fearless explained. His words laced in ice and snow, they cut like blades.

“Please spare me…I swear… I swear to never fail you.” The worm stuttered, dropping to his knees, again, thudding his head against the ground.

Of all the replies, the worm adopted the most boring one. Fearless has expected the worm to humor him with something like, “Please, I have a family,” or some cheap and cheesy bullshits like that. Fearless has always loved it when the worms and the demons captured by him told him something like that.

“Of course, you would. Otherwise, I would have to plant two more pikes on that ground.” Fearless smiled, patting the worm’s shaken shoulder. His long fingers dug into the worm’s shoulder blades, “Now, wake your men up, all of them, and have them assembled outside the rampart. I will have a mission for them. I expect you to finish assemble your men by the time I finished my today businesses. If you can’t do that, do me a favor and consider running away. I will enjoy hunting you down and putting your head on the pike myself.” Fearless cackled, feeling the gripping terror inside the quivering worm with the tips of his fingers.

Fearless left the groveling worms on the ground cold, wet and afraid. He strode slowly but confidently, his pace shorter than usual to match Erinys’ strides. Wherever he went, Bloodbeard’s worms greeted him, bending their back to him or dropping flat on the ground. He swept his eyes through their ranks as he walked, an emotionless gaze, unforgiving, bitter cold to deter their lustful gazes from Erinys’ body.

Fearless has taught Erinys to answer their gazes with a cold gaze of her own, one that betrayed no emotion, one of scorn and disdain. However, from the expressions of regret on the face of the worms alone, Fearless could tell that Erinys has made little to no progress with her assignment.

Bloodbeard’s bodyguards bowed to Fearless and showed him the direction to Bloodbeard’s room. There, Fearless met Bloodbeard’s harem in the flesh for the first time. They sat and lied on a large mattress consisted of numerous animal hides spreading on the ground. Until this moment, he has only seen these women in cutscenes and comic pages before.

Fearless’ first impression of them was that these women were auditioning for a role. Their hair shared the same greyness of marble that mixed with a bit of green of iron oxide, all braided identically. A beauty mark rested on the entrance to the deep cleavage of their heavy and generous bosoms. Those mounds, Oh God, they were so generous and heavy that they seemed to spill out of their pampered scanty dresses at any moment.

Fearless scanned the room quickly. His eyes flickered, collecting only the information that he needed, no less.

Stay down, you brainless fuck

He cursed his brainless dick, desperately killing his lust in its fetal state.

Bloodbeard was kneeling on a piece of animal hide, half-naked, facing an opened window, wholeheartedly praying to the idol of Wonten in his hands. His back was pinkish, deformed with scars. Fearless’ Rolex was on Bloodbeard’s left wrist. Fearless stood and quietly watched the Bloodbeard at the room entrance, servicing the round and swooning eyes of the bandit lord’s harem with a customary nod to acknowledge their presence.

The women quickly became conscious of Fearless’ presence, flushed and panicked. They hushed, fixing their uncombed hair and dresses, fighting each other for a small murky copper mirror with little noises. Their moistened eyes swooned with complex emotions.

Fearless did not miss any of that. He turned around, walking outside and waiting. He discreetly pulled Erinys near, pecking an innocent kiss on her cheek, “Just a reminder, you must absolutely not break eye contact with these people, especially these people.” Fearless quietly whispered into Erinys’ ear. “Stare at their brows and clench your teeth. I need you to do that for me Erinys. Can you do that?” He asked, his voice stern but warm.

Erinys blinked her eyes and nodded. Her hand shivered, but her eyes betrayed a strong will. That strong will was but a fabrication, a product, a fake. It was equally unnatural as the sunlit smile that Fearless often wore on his lips, but not quite there yet, far from being a completed product. It was still raw and unpolished, but serviceable.

It would do for now. She has only learned it this morning.

“Yes, just like that. Stare at them until they break eye contact with you.” Fearless planed his lips on Erinys’ cheek again, squeezing her frail fingers within his hands.

“Uncle,” Bloodbeard’s voice suddenly boomed. He went out of the room to greet Fearless, his eyes brightened, “You could have called for me.” His eyes flickered on Erinys, surprise and enamored for a moment before ultimately focused on Fearless.

“You look like you were having quite a conversation with Wonten. I am not rude enough to interrupt.” Fearless only nodded his head once.

Bloodbeard invited Fearless to his room.

“That can wait,” Fearless waved his hand, being subtle about the state of lack of robe of Bloodbeard’s harem.

Bloodbeard gave Fearless a questionable look for a moment. However, he understood Fearless’ intention immediately. “Women, get dress quickly. Stop making my uncle wait,” The bandit lord thundered.

Fearless would love to believe that he was imagined it. However, the entire building seemed to shake when Bloodbeard shouted. He could feel Erinys choked the life out of his fingers. Fearless reassuringly rubbed on her fingers, trying to give Erinys a bit of warmth. Fearless thought that Bloodbeard would make a good competitor for him with that kind of loudness.

Bloodbeard got what he asked for. The women knocked on the wall, subtly giving Fearless their permission.

“Uncle,” Bloodbeard gestured with his arm.

Fearless entered the room, doing his best to act as natural as he could, all while feeling the heated gazes of Bloodbeard’s women focused on him. Fearless quickly scanned the room again and baffled by the dress code of Bloodbeard’s harem. They have certainly put on more clothes over their body. However, their revealing dresses only served to emphasize their rich and heavy bosoms, and otherwise served no purpose. Fearless also noticed the apparent amount of white powder on their face and chest.

Fearless turned to send Bloodbeard a subtle glance. However, the bandit lord had a look of no concern on his face.

“I ask One-eye to borrow a few props from your ladies. I hope that does not displease you.” Fearless preempted the conversation. His lips flirted with the faintest hint of an inviting smile. His eyes blinked once, a flame of ardent dissipated like a wisp of smoke, an illusion.

Ah, shit…

It was a old habit, no more, no less. Fearless did not plan for that. He instantly regretted.

Shit

Fearless, out of his terrible habit, struck a match that he has never meant to strike. Bloodbeard’s women caught fire immediately, lit like dry pyres. They burned as though they had never known fire.

“Uncle, if you need anything, just asks,” Bloodbeard replied heartily, completely obvious to the exchange between his women and Fearless.

“Yes, you only need to ask.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

“Yes, ask me if you need something.”

Bloodbeard’s women hastily replied, all smiling, obvious in their effort to get Fearless’ attention with their unique poses to accentuate their generous bosoms. Their ripe and heavy bosoms were literally spilling out of their low cut V-neck dresses, displayed for Fearless to feast his eyes.

Bloodbeard laughed heartily, “Good, good, as expected of my women,” still completely obvious to the apparent complexion of his women.

Fuck, are you fucking blind or what?

The bandit lord made Fearless asking himself if he was being tested. However, the lack of concern in Bloodbeard’s laughter made Fearless doubted his own ability to judge people.

Suddenly, the interaction between Bloodbeard and his harem reminded Fearless of the useless knowledge that Misery drilled into him.

Bloodbeard loved these women. He loved to pamper them with jewelry and dresses even more. He taught them to walk and to talk like his mother due to his Oedipus complex. He slept with them, but not the kind of sleep sharing between man and women. He restrained himself whenever he’s around them, fearing that his strength would have squashed them to death from his previous experiences.

Bloodbeard could not feel. A poison his father fed to him when he was young damaged his sense of touch. To make it worse, he possessed a rare skill which gave him an unusual amount of strength twice the amount that Ekar possessed. That combination made it a death sentence for any woman Bloodbeard who wished to fornicate. Even though Bloodbeard has learned to control that strength as he aged, he still feared that his condition would kill these women if he were to join with them. Therefore, Bloodbeard resolved to force his lust on the women that he had no feeling for every time he felt his lust for his harem.

However, there was a strange thing about Bloodbeard story. When Bloodbeard was executed by Hyrios, his story ended. There was no mention about his harem after that.

What happened to these women?

Did they grieve for Bloodbeard?

Did they rejoin for the death of their captor?

Those questions about the ending of Bloodbeard’s story were left unanswered in both the campaign and comics. Thus, players and fans of ROC can only speculate.

Everyone had his or her own theory.

Misery believed that these women must have committed suicide out of their love for Bloodbeard. Fearless remembered trashing that theory, telling Misery that these women would not love Bloodbeard. If they had any emotion for him, it would be under the effect of the Stockholm syndrome. That emotion would not be love. They were Bloodbeard’s captives after all. And Bloodbeard did himself no favor either, restricting their freedom to the minimum.

Misery argued with Fearless until Fearless let him win the argument.

Fearless simply did not care. Bloodbeard was one of the most boring characters for Fearless to study.

Misery, I was right, see? I am always better than you are at reading people’s character.

Then, he thought about all the women who were brutally raped and killed by Bloodbeard. Fearless inadvertently sighed.

They were real. Those women existed, did...

He sighed again, then he noticed Bloodbeard’s questioned gaze. He sighed again, languidly, wearing a sad look, “Even if you dolled them to make them look like Eri, even if you make them talk like Eri, walk like her. There is only one Eri in this world and she is already dead.”

Fearless blinked, rubbed his thumb around the corners of his eyes in sorrow, pretending to wipe off his tears. Fearless did not speak harshly as if he meant to criticize Bloodbeard. His voice was quiet and somber. He spoke as if he was talking to himself.

Bloodbeard went quiet for a great length, “I know,” he said admittedly.

“As long as you know,” Fearless sighed again, languidly. He has obviously noticed that he has put a damper on the mood for Bloodbeard and his harem.

Fearless feigned clearing his throat and turned at Erinys, “This is Erinys. I will train her as my apprentice from today. Erinys, say thank you to these kind ladies. They are generous enough to lend you this beautiful dress.”

Fearless introduced Erinys to Bloodbeard and his harem to change the topic. They have already noticed Erinys and her dead-fish stare without Fearless having to introduce her. It would be harder if they pretended to not notice her.

Bloodbeard’s women greeted Erinys warmly while thoroughly checking her with their envious eyes. They did a better job of not betraying their true thought this time, neither through their gazes nor through their voices.

However, Erinys stayed silent, as Fearless has instructed her. She did a better job this time with her assignment. She spoke no word. She wordlessly stared at Bloodbeard and his women with her fabricated even gaze, cold and empty, devoid of emotion and thought.

It was the kind of gaze that struck people out of their comfort zone.

Erinys betrayed no sign of weakness through her expression. If Erinys has revealed any sign of weakness and loss of composure, only Fearless could feel it. Her empty gaze was unwavering and unfaltering.

“Magnificent, right?” Fearless lightly elbowed Bloodbeard, chuckling.

“Yes…” Bloodbeard agreed only for the sake of agreeing, his voice showed that he had no idea what Fearless was talking about.

“Her great aptitude for magic aside, her spirit alone is praiseworthy. She possesses a tremendous potential. It’s hard to believe that yesterday, she was still groveling like a dog of Ekar.” Fearless chuckled.

“She was?” Bloodbeard asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, of all the women Ekar broke, she’s alone remained unbroken. Ekar broke her body, her arms and legs, but not her spirit. That alone makes her worthy of being my apprentice.” Fearless chucked again, entwining his fingers with Erinys’ to boost her courage, sensing that she was approaching her limit. He warmly smiled, caressing the back of her hand with his lips. “What say you Erinys? My talent, my strength, my magic, my miracles, you will inherit them all. What say you?”

Erinys replied to Fearless with her empty gaze as she has been previously instructed.

“Magnificent,” Fearless laughed. He noticed the subtle envy of Bloodbeard’s women had when he kissed Erinys’ hand. “Let’s wrap the small talk here. Ashtorá, how far have you gone with your homework?” He changed the topic once more.

“I still have no idea what to do,” Bloodbeard replied as if he was ashamed.

Fearless arrogantly scoffed, “If you could find the answer to that question within a night, you would be a general of the Empire by now.” He said all of that while judging Bloodbeard’s reaction along. It seemed that the bandit lord has gotten used to Fearless’ antics and arrogance. He seemed like he did not mind that comment at all. Fearless continued with the topic, “Keep thinking about it. You still have one more day to complete this assignment. Stay in this room, keep thinking and avoid all distraction. When dusk comes, go to the courtyard, there is an important lesson for you. Perhaps, you will learn something useful.”

Fearless said and left the room, pulling Erinys with him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Good job holding it, Erinys.” Fearless pulled Erinys close to kiss on her brows. He could feel her shivers. “Good girl, you were brave,” he said, supporting her weight with his arms.

Her eyes started to become misty. Fearless immediately used his thumb to prevent the liquid from ruining her makeup.

“I still have a lot of work to do today. Do you want to follow me till the end? Or will you retire?” Fearless asked kindly.

Erinys shook her head, firmly held onto Fearless’ hand.

“That’s my girl,” Fearless kissed her again, gently and Erinys closed her eyes in anticipation. She started to get used to his behavior.

After that, Fearless went to the war room to meet Bloodbeard’s commanders, minus One-eye and Ekar.

Fearless gave them assignments and a deadline. He told them to gather their men at the courtyard at dusk even if they could not complete their assignment on time. Fearless did not tell them the consequence of failing the assignment. He only smiled.

The worms bowed to Fearless and ran out of the war room, rushing to meet their deadline.

Fearless smiled, watching the worms scurried away like cockroaches. He has successfully separated Bloodbeard from his horde and assumed the command over the entire horde of 6000 worms.

While Bloodbeard was locking himself inside his room with his harem, trying to make sense of Fearless’ cryptic hints, thinking about winning against the impossible odd that was Hyrios, thinking about proving himself to Fearless, thinking about proving his own worth in this world, his army slowly became Fearless’ as time passed.

At this pace, I could convince this entire army to betray Bloodbeard within three weeks. Except, I don’t have three weeks.

The longer Fearless could separate Bloodbeard from his horde of worms, the better the chance for Fearless to consolidate all of Bloodbeard’s power to himself… if only Fearless had any desire of being a master of a horde of worms. Fearless no longer harbored a wish to tear Bloodbeard away from his worms. That wish died when he met Ekar.

Fearless sat down on the same wine barrel that he has sat during the night he cast his charm on Bloodbeard. He pulled Erinys to his laps, hugging her. He playfully landed his lips on her neck and cheeks. She only closed her eyes and let Fearless did whatever he wanted.

Just like that, his dick went completely limp again. “Are you tired?” Fearless asked.

Erinys shook her head.

“Good,” Fearless complimented her, gently patting Erinys’ head. “Do you still have my coin?”

Erinys obediently showed her opened left palm.

“How is it? These worms, these brutes were not so scary now, huh? Before, you would have knelt to them. Before, you would have frozen on the spot, let alone staring at the brows. That’s the power of the coin.” Fearless smiled, reinforcing his illusion on Erinys.

Erinys timidly nodded her head, fully believed in Fearless’ illusion. He kissed her brows and balled her left fist. “Keep the coin close. It’s yours now.”

For the first time, Fearless saw something resembled of a smile appeared on Erinys’ lips as she clenched her left palm. He blinked his eyes but that smile on Erinys’ lips seemed to be a mirage, a result of his imagination. It never existed.

One day

Fearless inwardly promised, sealing that promise on the back of Erinys’ hand.

The noises from the bastion’s courtyard disturbed Fearless’ thought. He looked out of the windows, watching Bloodbeard’s worms scurrying in actions. His thought darkened.