99 STRUGGLES OF THE SENTENCED (1/2)

As Gorka was leaving, ”Excuse me, sir...” a voice rang out from within the crowd, as it had only seconds ago. Everybody got even more surprised this time because the voice came from someone who was partly responsible for most of the recent turmoil cultivating on the twelfth deck. The voice belonged to a boy wearing mismatched armor.

Gorka stopped and looked at him. ”You want to teach me rules as well?”

”One of your shoelaces isn't intact,” Lirzod pointed his finger down at Gorka's shoes.

Gorka glanced at his feet. A lace had indeed come out loose. ”Oh...” He lifted the knee and tied it up swiftly. ”You have my thanks.” Saying that Gorka turned and began to walk away. He remembered the time when he was young, and some woman whose face he still couldn't remember was tying his laces. All Gorka could see was her hands and also could hear her voice. He had a guess as to who she was, but he wasn't sure. Maybe it was because of that unsureness, he always wore laced shoes even though they didn't quite fit his attire.

”Don't get any funny ideas, folks. The only way up is through me,” Gorka said while waving his hand at the coffin. A card flew out and slammed the coffin's lid shut, then slid under the coffin. A second later, the coffin lifted into the air, revealing a pair of octopus limbs underneath. These limbs carried the coffin away. ”Only those who do good and I believe are worthy will be pardoned and elevated. The rest can rot for all I care.”

As Gorka left along with the coffin, nobody raised their voices this time as they sweated buckets, enough to probably fill a swimming pool.

After Gorka exited the hall, everyone's bodies flailed.

”So that's the captain of this tenth belt. No wonder I couldn't measure the guy's strength!” Limon, the Lemon Licker, looked a bit unsettled, ”My hairs are still standing up.”

”If I'm correct, his name is Gorka. He's from the Zephrylls Guild,” another guy, a dark bronze-skinned brown-haired man, said while keeping his hand on the hilt of his long sword, the tip of which was resting on his foot.

”That guild from the nox order?” Limon's heart skipped a beat. ”Wasn't it destroyed?”

”I don't know,” The bronze-skinned man shrugged his shoulders and then said confidently, ”but what I do know is that he killed one of the conductors of the sect test and battled with a few others, and he eventually got banished from participating in the sect test for many years. So, compared to us, he's in a different league.”

”You, you think he will be participating this year along with us?” Limon stammered.

”I don't think so. It's been like a decade since that incident happened. Since then, he has acted as the captain of this tenth belt. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't give away such an influential position unless I can cling onto something better.”

”You can't underestimate anyone, or put one above the other,” the brown-haired man sheathed his sword and smiled reservedly. ”They are all definitely monsters in their own right, except for maybe the captain of the first belt. I heard that guy's a monster among monsters.”

”Wait,” Limon hardly swallowed his saliva, ”are all the captains still yet to become martial childs?”

”In the public eye, yes. They are all former hollows like me, who climbed to that rank, but they are definitely much stronger than your typical martial childs. Many sects would gladly accept them, but I guess they're here for a reason. Anybody who got the entrance ticket once could participate in the sect tests as many times as they wished unless there's some issue. So the captains, some of them, if not all, are perhaps just polishing their skills or biding some time before they make their move. After all, joining Shambala Sect through the sect test is said to be much easier than compared to other available options. Still, being the captain of a belt will let you lead a luxurious life. Why leave such a lifestyle which lets you roll your tongue however you want? If I were them, I would do the same. That said, unlike myself, they'll probably end up participating in the sect test again.”

”Are you lemon-shitting me?” Limon was becoming more and more aware of his own heartbeat. ”If even strong individuals like them fail the test… Just how many will the Shambala Sect take in as disciples every year?”

”I have no idea because the number itself is, you know, kept secret. Not just the number, but the tests themselves are held in privacy, though we still get to know a little bit from those who failed in the past. Since we're talking about secrecy, even the location of the headquarters of Shambala Sect is a mystery to the outside world, isn't it?”

”I know we are heading to a mysterious place, but that thought itself feels scary all the more now,” Limon said and inhaled sharply. ”Since I'm participating this year, I can only hope that tests won't solely be based on strength. I don't want to grow old trying to become a member of the sect. Dying would be better than that, though I'd love to see the headquarters of the sect before kicking the bucket.”

”It's said that only Extensive Voyage and a few other vehicles of the sect can reach that mysterious place. They also have a private means of transport through portals. Otherwise, everybody would try to get there and beg for an entrance. Because they can't do that, they'll attack these vehicles as best as they can to bring them down or use them to invade the sect or something.”

”Oh, so that's why I'm hearing some big sounds now and then.”

”Yeah, those were mostly from the passerby ships doing their best to scratch this ship. Pirates attack all the time, but no one succeeds.”

”Haha, this ship is indeed wonderful. In fact, it's the best ship this Limon ever set foot on, but now I'm stuck on this twelfth deck, thanks to...” Limon looked around, and his eyes stopped on Lirzod. ”That one. That one guy.” He pondered for a moment with conflicted feelings. (Even though he's about half as old as I am, I still respected him for his courage and strength, but this is just a bit too much. I feel like I'm stuck here because of him. Then again, he's just a boy who's yet to see the world, so I can't really blame him for everything either.) Limon was trying his best to control his urge from challenging Lirzod to vent out his frustration.

At that moment, Lirzod was at Pannu, gathering all the groundnuts that were on the floor. He then turned Pannu's body over and put his finger under the nose. ”Mm…” he scanned his body once and patted the belly, ”Nice cushion you've got here, buddy.”

”Oi, kid,” just then, a man with an average height but defined arms approached Lirzod and put his hand forward. ”Hand over those nuts.”

Lirzod was still leaning forward, so he looked up at the long-bearded man who had a piercing gaze with sharp features everywhere. He was a fully grown man with no faults, except for his height. ”You've got cool pecs. They are not excessively bulky, and I can almost feel the muscle tension from here with my eyes. You must have been following a strict diet and workout plan. Would you mind sharing a bit of—”

Before Lirzod finished speaking, his hand was grabbed by that man who then forcibly tried to snatch the groundnuts out of the boy's left hand. However, to his surprise, he couldn't open Lirzod's fist. He gritted his teeth and was about to use his second hand, but Lirzod quickly pulled his fist out of that man's grip. ”Give me those peanuts, or I'll wreck your ass, lad,” he babbled in a threatening tone.

”These nuts aren't yours, right?' asked Lirzod.

”So what? It's that little pig's fault for sleeping on the floor, and now you're doing the same by angering me,” the long-bearded man barked and threw his left fist at Lirzod. It came fast, carrying his body weight behind it, but Lirzod slapped the fist away using his right hand. ”Krgh!” a nerve in his brain burst, and he unleashed a torrent of punches at Lirzod, forcing him to dodge and back away simultaneously.

Lirzod jumped over Pannu, but the long-bearded man stepped over Pannu's chest and resumed striking Lirzod, but all his fists were either blocked, dodged, or parried without much effort by Lirzod, especially while wearing armor. This further aggravated the long-bearded man. He momentarily stopped and beat his chest like a gorilla before rushing forth again. ”If you want to be crippled so badly over some food that's not even your own, then I'll make your dream come true.” Redness increased under his skin as he recklessly launched his fists at Lirzod.

”You want to cripple me over food?” Lirzod's gaze turned a tad bit sharper, and he swiftly deflected both of the long-bearded man's arms in quick succession.

The long-bearded man was quite surprised. (He stopped my punches? This kid isn't simple.) A few beads of sweat surfaced on his forehead. ”F-Fine. You've got a point. Let's forget about the nuts in your hand. I'll go and fetch those left in the fatty's pockets,” he turned in the direction of Pannu. However, before he took a few steps, Lirzod went past him and blocked his way, causing him to frown. ”We've made peace, and I'm free to do whatever I want. Why do you stop me?”

”Free to do whatever you want?” Lirzod clenched his fists tightly, and the groundnuts in his left hand started cracking. ”A fool like you?”

”F-Fool?” a vein bulged in the long-bearded man as a wave of fury swept over him. ””How dare you call me a fool! I've butchered my brother and his wife for calling me a fool time after time! Now, I'll make you regret calling me a fool by cutting your tongue and then the tongues of your entire family and friends!” he hastily shifted his body and threw a wide-swinging kick at the boy's shoulder.

Lirzod stepped in and elbowed in the opponent's shin with a diagonally backward movement of the arm.

”Argh!” the long-bearded man cringed from pain. ”Dammit!”

”Why are you bringing my friends and family into this nonsense of a fight?” Lirzod pulled his left fist as if he was about to throw a punch.

”Going for a punch? You think you can hurt me with your measly little arms and fists?” the long-bearded man withstood the pain in his leg and stood tall. ”Even your kicks would at best tickle—”

DUM~!

Lirzod's fist clouted into the opponent's abdomen, abruptly changing his expression right away into a grotesque one, and his upper body curved concavely.

”I love peace,” Lirzod's firm voice and breath were felt by the long-bearded man from up close, ”but you can't expect even pacifists to phrase proverbs when you poke them in the wrong places.”

The long-bearded man lifted his face that was cooked with pain and looked at Lirzod in bewilderment. He was standing in a bowel-squeezing pain, unable to react in any other way. It had been a while since he was in such a position where he was totally at his opponent's mercy.

Lirzod withdrew his fist. ”If there is a next, consider yourself doomed,” he walked past the long-bearded man, who then crumpled to his knees, with bloody saliva dangling down his mouth.

Lirzod's words sent a lasting shiver up and down the long-bearded man's spine. This pain—it feels like all the juices are rushing into my throat. (To think I, Harrison, who could take a dozen grown man's punches to the stomach without budging, would get forced to my knees after taking just one blow from a brat. It hurts.) He found it quite hard to swallow the loss, probably much more than what it took to suppress the liquids rising in his throat.

”It's a pity that most of the time all a fool does is turn freedom into a freak of nature,” Lirzod reached Pannu and sat on his belly. He opened his left hand; all the groundnuts had broken into pieces. With one breath, he blew away the dark-reddish outer skin, leaving only the crispy brownish cream-colored groundnuts, and his mouth began to drool. He glanced at Pannu, who was unconscious. ”I-I am gonna give you some nuts sometime later, okay?” saying that he began to eat them at a slow pace, not wanting to finish them soon. ”These aren't roasted enough, but they are not bad.”

With a hand on his abdomen, Harrison got back to his feet and glanced at Lirzod, only to get his lower jaw to come loose and strike through the floor after seeing Lirzod savoring the taste of the peanuts with his eyes closed. ”Huh?” He gnashed his teeth hard as sweat fought for a place on his face. ”That little turd...”

However, it wasn't just Harrison that was staring at Lirzod. Many people from both the entries and hollows came up to him and gave him cursed words for how things turned out.

”Picking a fight with another man after everything that happened? What an asshole you are!”

”Harrison lost, but I curse you that someone will soon beat the crap out of you!”

”How can you eat so shamelessly when we're all stuck here because of you? Just leave this deck already!”

”So young yet so stupid. You deserve all the defeats in the world!”

”I hope someone will break your arms and legs so you'll beg for the rest of your life!”

Lirzod kept his eyes closed while people went wild with their tongues. He was still smiling, for the taste of the peanuts grew richer as time passed. Though he didn't like the way people linked Jehez's death to his feud with Hardy Brothers, compared to the cursed words some of his clan members, a woman named Cherry, for example, daily used in their conversations, the curses these men used sounded cute. After the cursing fellows left his vicinity, Lirzod opened his eyes, which carried some glow in them. ”So tasty.” Generally, it was natural for the average individual to feel saturated after only eating a few handfuls of peanuts; however, Lirzod now felt like he could eat more than he usually does. Either it was because he hadn't eaten nuts for tens of hours, or the peanuts were special. ”I want to know where he bought these groundnuts,” he put his hand on Pannu's chest and moved him a little bit, trying to wake him up, but there was no response. ”Ah, forget it. I can ask him later. Let him sleep for now.”

Lirzod glanced in Harrison's direction. A dark bronze-skinned man holding a sword was conversing with Harrison, seemingly giving him a discordant lecture, telling him not to fight in the hall. Though Lirzod couldn't hear their conversation, some others could. The conversation basically went on with Harrison getting mocked about how the recent fight was as short as his junk.

In the meantime, a few more people purposely approached Lirzod so they could turn the air blue. After everything that had happened, nobody dared to gang up and hit Lirzod this time like they had beaten the Hardy Brothers a few hours ago even though similar thoughts now drifted in most minds. The hostility in their gazes tingled Lirzod's skin, but as long as it was just the mouths they employed, he didn't care much.

”You sat here on purpose, didn't you?” Hundred, who had been watching all that had taken place from afar, finally came up to Lirzod after having a brief word with the bronze-skinned man so that he wouldn't need to also lecture to Lirzod.

”Yeah, you can't expect me to stand for long while wearing this armor,” Lirzod said, darting a somewhat icy glance at Hundred. ”I think I might be finding a newfound respect for all those who fight in wars wearing heavy armor. It's getting harder to breathe while standing, much less while in motion. I reckon, a little rest now and then will keep me away from pain.”

Hundred cleared his throat, ”I wasn't talking about that.”

”Then?” There was some awkward air flowing between them.

”By letting everyone scold you as they pleased, you are subsiding the anger in their hearts.”

”Anger, yes. Hatred, no,” Lirzod crunched on the groundnuts. ”We have to stay in this deck together, and these people will definitely take a jab at me whenever they can, and I will count on you to defend me in those times, at least verbally.”

Hundred was startled. Staying together when Lirzod could no longer climb the ship wouldn't help Hundred much, so he was thinking about parting ways, but he couldn't put his feelings into words at the moment. ”Even verbally… you are giving me too big of a task.”

”Then this is where we part,” Lirzod bent his wrists as though he was disappointed, but in truth, he was allowing Hundred to leave his side and go separately. ”You took care of me well, but I guess I just asked too much from you.”

”Wait,” Hundred was quick to reply, ”I never said I wouldn't do it.”

”So, you want to tag along amidst all the ruckus that will come at me?” Lirzod asked calmly.

���I am, and trust me,” Hundred put his hand on his heart, ”it's not a new experience among us hollows.”

”But spending some time for others isn't among those, right?” Lirzod raised one of his brows.

Hundred frowned a bit. ”You are still thinking about 'that'?”

”I, indeed, am,” Lirzod tossed another groundnut into his mouth and crunched on it. ”Is that a problem?”

After looking at one another for a couple of moments, they both looked away, blowing hot air through their noses.

In Hundred's view, he would have wasted his time if he had escorted Beren to the twentieth floor. However, now, even though he was also wasting time by sticking together with Lirzod after knowing they wouldn't be able to climb the ship anymore, he still couldn't leave the boy's side, probably not wanting to leave Lirzod alone when most people would target him in the coming days. Though Lirzod had brought up the possibility of Nick attacking Beren, Hundred still chose not to help Beren, so he felt a bit guilty at the moment. Even though he decided to stick with Lirzod now, he didn't feel like he was doing any favor but rather redeeming himself a bit.

After about twenty seconds, Hundred took a breath and said, ”Anyway, what happened has happened. Let's forget about that. and start thinking about our future.”

”I do agree. We can't waste our time on things like these, but I'm still mad at you.”

”Then, I'm sorry, okay?”

”Huh, you should have said that to Beren, not to me,” Lirzod didn't look all that pleased and wore an expression of a child being tricked.

”But he's not here now,” Hundred shook his head again, and then tried to divert the topic. ”By the way, your friends probably already left. You must be feeling jealous of them.”

”I'd be lying if I say I am not,” Lirzod said, wearing an intricate look, ”but, I'm also happy that at least they will get to roam around the ship. However...” he threw a bunch of groundnuts into his mouth and masticated on them without reserve. ”I'm angrier that they left me here! Couldn't they wait for me? Don't they love me?”

”Haha…” Hundred chortled upon seeing a complaining child in Lirzod. ”I can understand them. If I heard the news that the commander was temporarily stopping people from leaving the deck and had the chance to leave the deck, I'd have done that without thinking twice.”

Lirzod still didn't seem comforted. He felt strange because before he boarded Exvo, he thought traveling with Sariyu and Burton would only hamper his freedom and also his semi-secret mission of meeting many beauties. However, now, he was feeling the opposite way. Now, he didn't have his mother, or Primera, or Duera to comfort him whenever something went wrong or when he needed a hug. Maybe, that was why, deep in his heart, he was expecting Sariyu and Burton to fill those roles, but he also knew that he'd be asking for too much. After all, Sariyu and Burton were also on a journey. ”I can imagine Brainass leaving without me, but Sariyu…” Lirzod squinted his eyes, ”that Triple Seven would have probably pushed her. If that's really the case, the next time I see him, I'll paint his head green and make a horse pull a thousand hairs off at once!”