The Laughing Swordsman

The moment Falk hit the ground, black tendrils shot out from his flesh and connected together where the heart used to be.

In mere seconds, a new black heart was created, and it began pumping. Shortly after, his spine regrew while rudimentary bones attached themselves to his limbs.

With that, Falk stood up. There was still a massive hole in his torso, but now there were a few bones and a heart inside. He released an unyielding aura.

Falk grabbed his heart with his hand, forcing it to beat faster. The missing flesh gradually regrew, the only difference being its black color. He stood there silently for a few moments, letting his body make its finishing touches.

Falk lifted his head up to see Layla curiously staring from less than a meter away. She flashed a cheeky smile.

"Ah, we can continue now!"

In the meantime, Willow was fending off Apollo while he was forced to deal with Hex. Willow was still, hovering a few feet above the air. She was facing Apollo, holding her sword out, almost as though she were trying to reach something with it.

Willow's eyes were still closed, not fully processing the situation.

Although focusing completely on the battle in front of her increased her fighting capabilities, there was a need to deal with the root of all the fighting.

Dealing with the center of the empire.

Apollo held his bokken with both hands. His knuckles became white while red scars snaked across his arms as he raised it.

As for Hex, he opened his mouth wide, revealing his sharp and tiny teeth. He lunged forth.

Apollo slammed his bokken down on Willow, but at that moment, she acted. A violent humming sound came from her pitch black blade. With a flash, it scraped against the edge of Apollo's bokken.

An unbelievably loud grating sound tore through the air. The type that would cause an average person's ears to begin bleeding.

Apollo's bokken was deflected. His bokken slammed down behind him, right towards Hex. As for Hex, he suddenly woke out of his rageful stupor. His figure disappeared, letting the bokken smash into the ground.

Countless cracks extended from where the bokken hit the cobblestone path. A few scattered fragments of stone shot through the air like bullets.

Willow flashed by as though she was an unrelated passerby. As for Hex, he reappeared with the bokken in between his feet. The corner of his lip twitched.

...That was close.

Apollo spun around, coughing up blood as he laughed.

"You can't run forever!"

Apollo was looking at Willow off in the distance, completely ignoring Hex, who was below him.

As for Hex, he looked up curiously at Apollo with one sleeve pressing down on top of his hood.

"Me think you hurt."

  It was as though Apollo didn't hear it. His knees bent, he hunched his back. With a bang, he shot forward. Hex hurriedly moved to the side, blinking a few times with confusion.

"...Me think that rude."

Willow just so happened to be traveling towards Layla and Falk, who were still fighting one another.

Falk swiped at Layla, prompting her to reach for his hand.

A clear smack resounded.

Falk's hand was caught in place. Although he tried to move it, there was no reaction. Almost like he became a statue.

As for Layla, she smiled cheekily while casually holding onto his hand.

"I win!"

With nearly impossible speeds, Layla flung Falk backward, right towards Willow. 

"Nyah!"

Falk's arm broke off in the process. Although Willow could dodge most things, this was simply too fast. She understood the surface level of order within chaos, however, this was different.

If order was predictable while chaos was unpredictable...

Layla's sudden attack would be an anomaly.

The speed was simply too unnatural, like a glitch within a program.

And so, Falk collided with Willow, sending both of them tumbling to the side. They ended up colliding with a fragment of ground that rose a few meters in the air.

Willow's eyes flew open as she spat a mouthful of blood. She had been hurt pretty bad ever since she stepped on the empire's walls.

This was the first time in several years that she had been injured to this extent. As she and Falk tumbled onto the ground, many thoughts passed through her mind.

Willow realized that continuing on like this was pointless. They had to deal with their real enemies. Then she would have to find a way to deal with...

"HAHAHA HAHA HA."

Apollo madly charged forth, leaving lightning bolts in his wake. He held his bokken out in front of him as though it was a spear.

Willow frowned as blood fell from the corner of her mouth. She looked towards Falk, who was just now getting up with a low growl.

Willow murmured to herself.

"Sorry."

Falk's vision cleared, but before he could process the situation, someone grabbed him by the arm.

Then threw him.

A trace of shock crossed by Falk's face. His eyebrow twitched, then...

A brutal bang reverberated throughout the empire.

Apollo's bokken landed on the base of Falk's neck, destroying his collarbone and causing his head to fly off into the distance. It was as though Falk's body was a cannon while his head was the cannonball, flying off into the distance because that had been its destiny.

As for Falk's body, it recoiled backward. The body stumbled for a few steps before falling to its knees.

Then, it collapsed lifelessly on the ground.

While that was happening, Hex walked over with a sleeve holding onto his hood. As for Layla, she was skipping over with a bright smile on her face.

Her hands were raised high in the air.

"So many friends! So much playing!"

Upon hearing Layla's voice, Willow remembered her existence and suddenly came up with an idea. She turned to Layla.

"Hey."

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Does friend need something?"

Willow suddenly disappeared, letting Apollo pass by her as he charged forth. Once Willow reappeared, she coughed awkwardly.

"....Could you do me a favor?"