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Chapter 21

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The wind calmly blew throughout the open field as everyone gathered behind Seth with the soldiers still on their horses acting as gates to prevent the crowd from going past them, leaving only him and smirking Gus together in this rather beautiful morning.

Gus playfully raised his right arm and fist, shrugging his shoulder before stretching his own neck in a mocking display. This made the believers in God worry over their founder. They believed he wouldn't be able to last longer in this fight, for it is seemingly impossible to withstand several hits from a larger man.

"I have killed lion before with my own two bare hands," the towering knight said, flexing his fingers for the others to see. "It's not too late to chicken out," smirking confidently. Despite the confidence he has, he can't help but feel a little annoyed at being held back just to not outright kill him.

But the Son of God remained firm in where he stood, facing him without much fear or worry in his eyes, not even taking a single step away. In contrast, the young man wasn't even worried about it and actually seemed to be welcoming it with his posture.

"Hey, come on, little guy," Gus scoffed at this sight. "I might hit you a few more times than one hundred," he warned, as if he were telling Seth to change his mind. For every punch that he has, it is going to hurt a lot worse than one hundred times altogether.

But the founder's unwavering nature only earned him another cocky smile from the experienced soldier, who was coldly staring without a hint of hesitation at him. Making the general's subordinate bellowed with laughter, "Are you all seeing this?!" He turned his head away from the young man and onto where the spectators were.

"This guy must be shitting his pants right now!"

A row of soldiers giggled or even laughed at this display, as they found it to be hilarious. Even the general chuckled along with the others, but everyone else was silent, fearful of what they would become if Seth didn't survive this whole ordeal.

Sister Tera stood next to Genno within the midst of the crowd; she couldn't stand the idea that a good man would be humiliated and brutally beaten just for the sake of being safe. After what he had done for them, she couldn't see what was transpiring.

"His strong," he commented, not taking his eyes away from the two, "he will be alright," giving a small nod to the nun in hopes that she would understand, "believe in him as he said to you and his followers," a comforting smile showed to her.

Tera shut her eyes and slowly opened them, revealing her blue orbs. In some way, she did feel better after hearing Genno's encouragement, though the feeling of fear for Seth's life remains. The nun took a deep breath in before speaking out of her mind, "It's wrong to just stay here and do nothing," she said with a determined and willful look.

"So it is," he added, "however, it is not the decision for us to make." His face became grim and serious as he looked at her. "In the end, it is his fate to decide for himself," he explained, explaining the given fact while nodding his head as he placed his hand onto her shoulder. "Have faith in your God and him," he said, turning to face towards the stage between these two men.

Gus laughter was swiftly cut off when his punching bag finally spoke to him. "If you're done having fun, then do it already," he boldly stated to the towering knight, who grew to become irritated from hearing this insolent response coming from the holy man himself.

"Huuuh?!"

Raising his open palm behind his right ear, he lowered his upper body while pretending to be unable to hear what the other was saying: "Come on, a little louder, boy. I can't really hear you!" His anger subsided in favor of continuing to make fun of him.

Seth vigorously stated, "Are you done messing around?" Serious as he is, he wanted to finish this nonsense soon enough. "Get on with it, or are you going to just stand there and act like a jester?" Questioning each other, earning laughter from those who watched.

However, this ticked him enough for Gus to finally land the first punch: "That's it!" Raising his right fist in the air, "YOU HAVE GONE TO FAR IN DISRESPECTING US!" He shouted as his body twisted around in the process of his momentum, descending his fist against the young man's face as hard as he could.

Everyone, even the soldiers, cringed in unison; nearly all shielded their eyes and covered their ears to prevent them from seeing or hearing more. Sister Tera couldn't believe her eyes, as her fears of Seth's untimely death are growing stronger with every second that passes.

Miraculously, Seth remained in his spot despite how bloody his face had become; it was literally covered in bruises, and blood was leaking out of his lips and nose. His face was heavily injured, but there was not a single hint of pain or remorse from the founder's orthodox stance.

The only thing he did was spit the blood that had accumulated inside his mouth into the grass. "Is that it?" He questioned, taunting the other into landing another hit in hopes of finishing this already, "What are you waiting for?" Continuing to pressure the large knight.

Gus was shocked, taking a step back in surprise at this response: "What? You should...?!" A mere punch from him would knock or even kill an ordinary man, but this guy here took it like it was nothing: "How are you still standing!?" Yelling incredulously at this sight.

Wiping away the blood from his mouth with a sleeve, "Why are you scared?" Seth asked with a mischievous smile on his face, "Maybe you got tired all ready, or perhaps you are afraid of losing?" Informing others of each other's dilemma in hopes of continuing this charade.

Fury rushed into his veins as the man's patience snapped and he decided to follow along in the game. "HAHH!!? ME?! AFRAID!?" Finally being ticked off at this, "YOU SPEAK OF WHAT YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND!!" He growled at this humiliation.

Balling his fists tightly while stomping at the grass towards him, the armored man let out another punch, which landed onto his face with more force than last time as he smiled maliciously, "Doesn't feel good, does it?!" Glaring at the other's expressionless visage.

Each blow on Seth's face was stronger than the previous, and they kept on increasing with each strike. People winced with force when they trembled at the sound of bones cracking and blood splattering everywhere. Some looked in pure horror at how the man's body remained unfazed from this brutal beating, as if he were nothing but a mere slab of rock.

The face isn't the only place Gus kept hitting; the rest of his body is being punched. His chest, his shoulders, and his stomach are what he landed the most blows on, while the gauntlets of that knight grew bloodier and bloodier into paint with each passing minute.

However, Seth didn't fall or surrender on the ground in defeat, no matter what. He remained resilient and was still on his feet. The punches were painful, yes, but with the strength of the Holy Spirit flowing inside of him, he is capable of handling more punishment.

The crowd couldn't bear to watch anymore; some cringed in horror; others continued closing their eyes or hearing while all remained watching in a mix of horror and amazement at what was unfolding before them; the knights and General Solana herself were also stunned by the level of endurance the founder was showing.

Genno comforted the sobbing nun, and Sister Tera couldn't help but shed tears at the cruel sight. She doesn't want him to die or be murdered in cold blood. "Stop this madness." The nun pleaded in grief, "STOP THIS BEFORE HIS GOING TO GET HIMSELF KILLED!" She was yelling at the top of her lungs at the soldiers on top of their horses, who simply didn't even bother looking back.

The general was impressed by the sight of this man, from blow to blow. Seth remained standing and firm. This was the first time I saw someone enduring this kind of trauma, but the amount of blood and wounds was also alarming to her, making her wonder how anyone can stay alive in a condition like his.

Forty punches have been made as Gus panted heavily, his bloodied fists lowered down on the ground along with his head; fatigue was already setting in from this battle of endurance. "This is..this is supposed to be a simple mission of retrieving you...!" The towering knight raised his head to look at the severely injured man.

"But you insisted on challenging me into beating you to submission," straightening himself up, "if only you cooperated, then none of this would ever happen," his arms raised up, clenched into fists as blood dripped onto the green grass.

Seth stood his ground without even budging. "You don't get it, do you?" Catching everyone's attention to him, "This isn't about me, but of all of the people behind," he weakly gestured at the people who were watching, "the very people who placed their trust in me," answering with his hoarse voice.

"And it is not only them..." Tightening his hands into fists, he says, "It is also about you," pointing at the man before him. Gus blinked in confusion at his opponent's words before saying, "Wha—?" I tried to form a word for the statement but failed to do so.

Seth explained to him with a weak voice, "No matter what people are thinking of you, no matter what others believe you are, I will always forgive them." He gave the other a reassuring smile, "Because everyone is equally important and precious in my eyes," turning his head around to look at his followers and then at the general and the knights.

Genno was amazed by what he heard from his friend, who was truly a virtuous man who stood above all others in regards to the willpower and kindness he possessed. Whatever negative emotion he may hold in secret, he will always rise up to forgive his enemies as well as others.

Sister Tera's heartfelt emotions were lifted after listening to this; the amount of mercy and forgiveness was overwhelming for her, leaving tears to shed in gratitude for this young man she followed. It is a sight to behold, for what they are all seeing is the Lord in his flesh.

As for General Solana, she felt a strange tug at her heart upon hearing this; she couldn't decipher the meaning behind her emotions. No, the more likely thing is that the general chose to ignore it. For a general like her, it is easier to show indifference rather than empathy in front of the enemy.

Still, she can't help but admire this Seth for what he is willing to do just for the sake of protecting those who are considered his enemies. The woman can't understand what this man's religion is even about in the first place, as she believes it to be absurd and nonsensical.

"Your...you are fucking insane," chuckling at this absurd statement, "you and I are enemies," stating a fact. No matter what anyone says, the empire and commoners despise one another because of the mistreatment they have given them.

Seth calmly exhaled through his nostrils. The breeze moved harsher than before while birds began to appear themselves in the sky, flying around in circles as if they were surrounding the area. "Enemies?" Finding this word to be foreign in his vocabulary, "whoever said that to you, they're wrong," he firmly declared.

"And what makes you think that you are my enemy?" Gus scowled in accusation: "We hate each other, don't we?" Questioning in a serious tone of voice, "Just think about it; who's fault do you think it is for your people's sufferings?" He asked with a slight smirk in the corner of his lips.

However, to everyone's surprise, Seth laughed. Not in mockery but in such a gentle way that it relieved those who heard it. The followers of his religion were astounded to witness this, for they thought their divine leader had gone crazy or something.

"You aren't my enemy, nor do I hate you," a sad smile was shown as he faced him. "Truth is, I pity you and your friends," he said, gesturing at the soldiers on their horses and the general on her steed. "We only just met because I..." The cold wind let out a strong gust that swept around the entire field.

"Love everyone."

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.042 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 01:26, Nov 13 2024