Cannon fodder is too lazy to act

7

*KA!

*KANG!

*KANG

The sounds of wooden swords colliding echoed in the training field. Weeds of grass flew in the air in broken strands at the ferocity of the foot movements by the students. Beads of sweat glistened in the air before disappearing into the ground and a stomped over by two dueling students.

"Kya!" A grunt escaped the strained lips of the party as they struggled to defend themselves from the aggressive attacker. Blow upon blow, he tried his best to block all the vital areas his opponent aimed towards him till he was swiftly swept off his feet. Balance taken from him, he fell back with a yelp, but the wooden sword in his hand still reacted fast to the viper strike of his opponent. He effectively blocked the strike that would've hit his head, but his arms struggled to keep up with the defense as his opponent kept pressing him.

The sweat on his head continued to form, dripping down his temples and the tip of his nose. He struggled to stare at his opponent's eyes, which stared at him with complete bloodlust.

It wasn't until a whistle blew that he finally let out a gasp of relief and completely relaxed, tossing the wooden sword aside; his opponent relaxed as well, and the bloodlust that devoured him before disappeared completely like it never existed.

"Come on, Sigrun, I think you take these practices way too seriously. It felt like you were seriously trying to kill me!" The boy on the ground moaned, his eyes squinting as he faced up at the sun. Sigrun glanced down at him, wiping a layer of sweat away from his forehead before walking away with a huff, ignoring the boy.

"You seem more aggressive today than usual, Sigrun. What's got you in such a twist?" Sigrun was approached by a heavy-figured man with a heavy brown beard with growing gray strands. He looked down at the young Sigrun with his arms crossed. "I thought you finished your mission from the boss successfully, shouldn't you be happy?" Sigrun frowned at him.

"What mission?" The exhausted boy from before had already recovered from the short amount of time and joined the two. The burly man glanced at him and grinned, patting the back of Sigrun with heavy hands.

"This lucky dog here was able to enter one of the most exclusive banquets held by those nobles a few weeks ago! The boss made Sigrun sneak into the garden on an assassination quest. I don't know why he's so grumpy though, the boss looked satisfied when I saw him."

"What really?! That's so cool, why does he get to do all the good stuff while I'm stuck doing errands by you guys!" The man patted his shoulder and rubbed his head.

"You're our information parrot, Mundi. You don't want to get your hands dirty like Sigrun here. He's all sorts messed up."

"Ehhh?" Mundi pouted, looking at Sigrun's departing back. "Did I do good against him just now though? Ricmond sir?"

"You did good, don't gotta fight back unless necessary. Focus more on your opponent's micromovements though, have you gotten swept off your feet like that in a real situation, I don't think that airhead of yours can fly you outta a situation."

"Aw man..."

Sigrun left the field, his eyes deepening. Entering the old building, he was immediately met with the cool air of the conditioned inside. He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The inside of the building was modest and frank, resembling a bar with a small stage for performances; the rest of the floor was occupied by tables and chairs for leisure time and eating. There were a couple of people sitting around, chatting and drinking as well as eating; the stage of clear of performance but there was still a standard piano sitting undisturbed. The counter of the bar was empty, and there was no bartender.

Sigrun walked to a side door while taking off the shirt on his back.

In the next few moments, he emerged from the door in servant attire. A white undershirt with a black vest, half of an apron was tied around his waist that covered the front view of his slacks, and the black worn-out shoes walked to the side of the bar.

"Aye, Sigrun! Boss is calling ya, hurry your ass up here!" An unknown voice shouted as soon as Sigrun took a seat. Sigrun punched the counter beside him as he got up again, a dark cloud following him close behind. People shuddered unconsciously as he passed by.

Walking to the second floor, Sigrun entered the last door in the hallway and knocked carefully before entering.

The room was dark, with the windows covered by heavy drapes. Sigrun clicked his tongue when he saw this. He walked further into the room and pulled open the curtains, immediately revealing the person reclined on a long couch.

Upon meeting the light, the person squinted his eyes and tried to cover them with a groan. "Damn it, Sigrun. I asked you to come here, not to open the damn curtains."

Sigrun didn't respond, sitting down on a table while watching the other party get up. 

Long silver hair trailed down his shoulders, breaking into strands as it touched his stomach before being swept aside with a dramatic wave. With a loud jingle of a bell, the person who was lounging on the couch swiftly changed his posture, looking straight at Sigrun with a shrewd smirk; his legs spread wide as he sat on the couch and his elbows resting on his thighs. Half of his chest was open, but not bare as it was covered by bandages dyed with a suspicious red; his white blouse was paired with white pants, which also had splotches of red on them. He wore black boots that buckled to the sides, and silver bells hung with red strings were tied as the foot.

"You look like you got a good beating, Alcestis. You deserve it." Sigrun sneered, to which Alcestis rolled his eyes.

"Relax your high horse, dog. These wounds were all worth it for the next few words that are gonna come out of my mouth." A malicious grin started to spread across his face. "I just triggered the start of another world war. And you're gonna be on the front lines."

Sigrun widened his eyes, barely catching the thing Alcestis had tossed to him in his moment of shock.

"What?!"

Sigrun looked at the fresh skull in his hands, before crushing it into fragments under his pressure.

"That's right, the continent of Nympha just lost their precious daughter." A quiet cackle resounded in the room, without the movement of anybody, the curtains were pulled shut and the room fell back into a bleak darkness.

But in that darkness, two pairs of eyes glowed in the dark. One red with anger, and the other green in amusement.

Kai woke up in a cold sweat. He looked over at his open balcony, the gauze curtains blowing into his room with a cold chill. He looked at the moon that seemed to glare deep into his consciousness, and swallowed his mouth full of saliva.

"Just a cannon fodder, a cannon fodder. I can't do anything...I...keep acting. Everything will be fine once the heroine appears. Everything...fine." Kai muttered under his breath as he got up to close his balcony, shutting the doors with a click. The sound of the wind disappeared in his ears, and his curtains calmed down.

Yet when he went back to bed, he was unable to fall back asleep. 

He had insomnia for the rest of the night.