45 GRINDING IN THE GLOOM (1/2)
Breaths turned almost as silvery as the fog which began to bit by bit freeze everything it made contact with, including the water surface of the ice dumpster; the wind and water together chilled people's bodies, not leaving any spots warm—not even the hairy ones. Colder than the cold before dawn, the scenery for those who could see it and feel it was both beautiful and blood-curdling.
Lost in the fog, most men suffered a similar fate—thrashed to the hilt, for Hardy Brothers took them out like snakes take out frogs in a murky pond. Those who sensed the movements of Hardy Brothers in advance either tried to make a break for it or played possum, but none showed the will to fight back.
Somewhere in the ice dumpster, hidden from the eyes of the audience by fog, two people were having a go at it, and the fog's density around those two was quite low as compared to their surroundings to the point it could be called mist.
”You filthy casual... I've seen enough of your kicks. Now, have a taste of death through my fist!” Centry shot his disquieting and malaise-packed fist down toward Sariyu. ”Third Batch of Five—Temper Fist!”
His fist murmured through the mist and froze the water particles in the air around it as it clobbered onto her foot. Both the rock-like fist and rubber-like foot collided with power and puissance as none showed any clement sentiment.
Sariyu's nails froze upon impact, which made her wince and pull back her right foot at full tilt. Making use of the opportunity, Centry closed in and got within her arms reach and attempted to bind her in his arms but got kneed in nuts instead.
Clutching his crotch, Centry crumbled to his knees, his blood-filled eyes louring up at her in an obtrusive gaze. ”You… How could you?” For the nonce, all blood left his face—except for the eyes—and concentrated at a particular spot on his body where it was needed the most.
Sariyu stared down at him with eyes that showed some concern. ”I know it hurts a lot, but I don't know how bad it hurts. Lirzod says that, for men, no pain is as true as the pain in the nuts. So I don't like doing that to men, to be honest, but you've left me no choice, big brother.” She lifted her leg slowly, ”Take this as a return gift for what you've done to my nails.” A stomp in Centry's face shoved him backward and down into the water.Afterward, her attention changed to her foot nails that frozen fog enshrouded. ”I hope they are going to be fine.”
Centry so badly wanted to grab her leg and sock her whole body to his left and right for as long as he could, but his hands were currently busy guarding his private region and seemed disinterested in doing anything else, despite his heart urging them to act. Still and all, he used his mouth to try and bite her heel yet ended up receiving a heel strike to his nose which made him bleed.
Sariyu looked around and saw that both the fog and the water around her were a lot colder than before. Initially, when the fog had arisen out of nowhere, the water was at least warm according to her, but then the remarkably-cold fog kept on cooling the water. Even now, some parts of the ice dumpster had warm water while other parts had cold water. It made no sense to Sariyu as to what was happening, but after battling Centry, she surmised that Hardy Brothers must have had something to do with the change. Just then, the image of Aziz flashed in her mind, making her sigh. ”Looks like this test is far from being finished. Where did this Purple Grass go? I'm positive that he's at least close by, but… I have no idea where exactly Lirzod is.” Cold and silvery breaths escaped out of her mouth as her figure faded into the mist. ”I can only hope he's not caught by that Brown Hill or by one of the brothers.”
A few minutes ago.
At the moment, Lirzod, who was standing between the brothers and Boksa, looked like a crocodile stuck between two hippos and an elephant in shallow waters. He didn't know what to do. If he were to move, all the three would react, and he didn't want that to happen. Without a shred of doubt, escaping seemed much more difficult now than when Boksa alone was after him; however, Lirzod cleared his throat and bellowed, ”I give five seconds for the three of you as well. If you are still before my eyes by that time, then…”
”Hoh, what are you going to do?” the three of them asked at the same time.
Lirzod fleetingly squinted his eyes before relaxing them again. ”Trust me, you mannerless wolves, none of you want to get your nuts nurtured by me.”Humor-filled words carried by an unhumorous voice came across their ears like a discordant ditty. For a second, he gave off the impression of being bound and determined as his gaze undeviatingly drilled into the depths of the eyes of the two brothers.
”It's the opposite, little fish!” Divas snorted, eyes flickering with vanity. ”We destroy what we dislike. But before that, show us whatever that you said you would. We will thoroughly cripple that confidence of yours first before moving on to preparing the main dish—the frying of a little fish.”
”As you wish,” Lirzod turned sideways so that both Boksa and the brothers could see a part of his face. ”This is your chance to run,” Lirzod said as he closed his eyes, puzzling the brothers and Boksa.
”Mm?” Fimbry raised his brows. ”What is she doing?”
”It's 'he' not 'she,'” Divas said as his eyes scrutinized Lirzod's mien, ”maybe, he's concentrating?”
”Concentrate what? I don't think he has Might,” Boksa, on the other hand, muttered under his breath, seemed somewhat untroubled, though irritation was ready to replace it any instant. Nevertheless, as long as Lirzod was in front of his eyes, he had no reason to hurry things.
Moments later, Lirzod opened his eyes at his own pace as partly-white breaths escaped through his nose.
”Have you finished your preparation?” Divas asked mockingly.
Lirzod, however, replied with a serene look on his face, ”It wasn't a preparation... it was the end.”
”The end?”
”Yeah,” Lirzod tightened his stare and spoke in a slightly serious tone. ”I just finished a ritual.”
”A ritual?”
Lirzod's words momentarily mystified the brothers.
”Yeah,” Lirzod continued, ”Five seconds of silence for y'all that dislike me.”
All the three were baffled to hear that. ”Huh?”
Divas gnashed his teeth, ”You dare troll us Hardy Brothers? Only those that have a death wish act this way.”
”No. If words can weigh a ton, prayers can weigh much more. Now, you three can rest in peace,” Lirzod replied with a slightly sad face. ”I'm sure destiny is now ringing in your ears through my words, telling you that you can't become friends with Lirzod anymore.”
”Destiny can dance all it wants, but it's not gonna affect us in any way, shape, or form,” Divas' gaze was as torpefying as gloom, ”The one that will rest in peace first will not be us but you. If you didn't piss in your pants by the end of this test, it just means your underwear is made out of a sponge.”
Lirzod covered his mouth in haste, trying to contain his laughter, but he failed in doing so for longer than a few moments. ”Haha, I love that line. It further lights up that niggardly look on your face, though it's still far away from that of Uncle Pig.”
Boksa clenched his fists so hard that he almost burst a blood vessel, yet he didn't act.
”Laughing at our words like a clown…” Divas felt a bitter tang in the mouth, ”You have no pride at all, do you? Heh, it was my mistake to expect a little etiquette from someone like you who probably came from some backwater clan that nobody knows.”
”Right, brother,” Fimbry simpered, apparently pleased with his brother's words, thereby manifesting a complacent countenance on Divas' face.
”Pride?” Lirzod's smile subsided a bit, but the redesigned one seemed more settled than before, ”If pride could be exchanged for coins, my clan would have long become the richest clan of the world,” He upped his shoulders a little as redness rose in cheeks, ”but you are correct about one thing. I certainly am from a backwater clan, a clan whose pain only too few a people in the world fret to comprehend let alone feel compassionate. As for the rest, they don't even care to know about us much less bother, except for when it comes to branding us as crazy people doing crazy things, always desperate to earn fame.
”I guess they wouldn't know what being crazy truly means unless they lived our lives as members of a clan that crawls at the bottom of the beta rankings. I may be a rich guy in my town, but outside, I can see that I'm just another ordinary guy. I'm starting to know more and more about the world with every passing year. And I must say… being a low-ranking beta clan has its share of endless troubles that creep from all corners. Clans you believe are your allies invariably seek to make better use of your clan in any way they can. More often than not, trades will end up in a loss because of less payment received than when agreed upon, yet you are not in a position to do much about it. Even the neighboring towns that put up fake pleasantries are, in truth, solely looking for an opportunity to occupy your lands and further weaken you in every way possible and won't ever stop until they either destroy you or swallow up all of your freedom and make your clan a bondclan[1].
”It's these outsiders who are doing all these crazy things to us, yet they call us crazy people. When I was a kid, I didn't mind that much, but now, I feel like I have to do something to change that. So I was wondering… how would all those people react if I'm the one who does all these crazy things to them? Like making all their young misses fall in love with me, preferably deeply, ahem, or something along those lines,” Lirzod shifted his brows up and down. ”Would that change their views on clans weaker than themselves? Though I'm a bit late in paying their favors back, which I don't like, it's still something I think is necessary to make them stop, even though it might end up impressing them if they are genuinely crazy. After all, crazy minds admire crazy actions. So, what do you two brothers think? Should I get crazier or not?” Lirzod's gaze darted at the brothers, but he didn't get any reply as the brothers got a little lost in their thoughts. ”What's wrong? Did you two get constipation or did cats take your tongues?”
”No, constipation fears our stomachs,” Divas was a tad bit late to reply, ”but coming back to your crazy idea, forget about you... Even with hundred lifetimes in hand, I still can't make so many girls fall in love.” He narrowed his eyes while his mouth made a knowing grin, ”You are not the only one that has a story to tell. Every soul that boarded this ship has its own share of burdening stories. Put ten different fish in a tank and come back a week later, and you would see only one fish still breathing—the biggest of the ten. Be it with fish, or with humans, it's pretty much the same. After all, we all live in the same world.”
”Hmph, don't talk as if you believe humans and animals are worth the same,” a too-quick smile took shape on Lirzod's face as his brows squeezed together, ”would you brothers do the same if you five were locked in a room with no food?”
Divas' breath got stuck in the chest. ”Well...”
”No, no,” Lirzod's head subtly swung from left to right and back, wetting his lips concurrently, ”You brothers know each other, unlike the fish. So, let me rephrase it. Would you do the same if you were locked in a room with nine strangers and with no food?”
Divas felt a prickling in his scalp that dimmed the fierceness in his eyes, but he was quick in bringing back his composure and let out an impatient huff, ”Geez, why am I bothering to answer your questions when everyone knows that—bickering is all that beta clans are good at. Listen, there's no point in telling us your story, or, were you hinting that you acted crazily with us because of this reason you've spoken of?” Though Divas asked, Lirzod kept his mouth closed. ”Well, whether or not that's the case, we aren't going to let you go unscathed after you messed with us. You and that red-haired girl, both of you will wish you have never met Hardy Brothers. We will make a good example out of you two so that the rest of the entries would paint their pants from the thought of crossing our paths.”
”Whoa, you guys are pretty scary,” Lirzod offered a fearful look, making his hands and legs shiver for a few moments before ultimately downcasting his eyes at his arms. ”Mm? Wait, why aren't my hairs standing? And there's no paint on my paints either.” He raised his head and stared at the brothers in a puzzled semblance as if he sued them for failing to fulfill their commitment.
The brothers ground their teeth to an extent their jaws pained, and their faces turned peppery red with rage.
”That's because your hairs are hot!” Fimbry almost spat his liver out from the roar. ”And you probably took a clean dump this morning.”
”Huh?” Lirzod was befuddled.
”Fimbry, it's 'wet' not 'hot,'” Divas sighed.
”Right, right, brother,” Fimbry smacked the back of his head. ”I got it wrong again.”
”You three piece of shits…” Boksa, who had been watching all that, knitted his brows as his partly opened eyes closed. His face looked like he had a high fever. All the frustration built up in him gathered into his fists that had no eyes. Both his fists cannoned forth. ”What do you take me for?”
Lirzod scuttled toward the brothers, startling them as Boksa's fists followed right behind him. Though Boksa had initially wished to let Lirzod have his fists, he made use of the opportunity to hammer two hills into the brothers' chests, sending them sliding back for about three feet when they unintentionally ended up placing their hands on either shoulder of Lirzod who was in the middle of sneaking away.
Both the brothers somewhat frowned from pain before turning their heads toward Lirzod whose beam had qualms. The brothers fully turned their bodies and picked him up before hastening away into the fog.
Boksa reacted immediately and chased after the brothers, but lots of fog kept gushing at his face, hindering his movements. As a result, he ended up running around aimlessly for the next few seconds only to realize that he had lost track of them. ”UGGHHH!” he kept on stomping nonstop in frustration.
Lirzod, meanwhile, resembled a child as Fimbry and Divas carried him away. ”Where are you two taking me?” Lirzod couldn't help but ask with subtle traces of worry on his visage.
Hearing that, the brothers sneered and spoke with added strength in voice, ”We are taking you to our brother, Centry. He'll take real good care of you, so you behave like a good boy now.” As they spoke, a lot of tension lifted off of their faces.