Sebastian shook Kazuki roughly.

  “Hey man, wake up. I smell blood,” he said in a tense, alarmed voice.

  “Wha… what’s going on? What do you want from me?” Kazuki mumbled, still half-asleep.

  “Come on, hurry! Let’s go see what’s happening outside,” Sebastian urged, a bad feeling creeping over him.

  Screams echoed from outside, and the stench of burning filled the air. When the two boys stepped outside, they saw it

  The village was under attack.

  “Those are Astryean soldiers! We have to run, we don’t stand a chance against them! They’re not just outnumbering us, they’re trained professionals. This isn’t some street fight,” said Sebastian, his knees going weak as he barely held himself together.

  Kazuki, in contrast, stood frozen. He didn’t even blink.

  His thoughts spiraled. What should I do? Why is this happening now? Why me… and not someone else?

  “Hey! Are you listening to me?! We have to run while we still can! They haven’t noticed us yet, come on, move!”

  Sebastian whispered sharply, grabbing Kazuki and pulling him along.

  But then Kazuki saw what the soldiers were doing to the village women.

  Something inside him snapped.

  I have to do something.

  He tore himself free from Sebastian and quickly picked up a rock from the ground.

  “Hey, what are you doing?! Are you insane?!”

  Sebastian shouted after him, but it was no use, Kazuki didn’t listen.

  Mid-sprint, Kazuki stumbled, and fell.

  Right between the soldiers and the women.

  I’ve really screwed up… I’m gonna die, he thought.

  An Astryean general stepped forward.

  “Well, aren’t you a brave one,” he said mockingly, a cruel grin spreading across his face.

  Sebastian could do nothing but watch from a distance.

  Kazuki backed away, but it was pointless.

  “Well then… let me reward your bravery, with a slow and painful death. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

  The general smirked sadistically.

  He began torturing Kazuki.

  “AAAHH! STOP! PLEASE AAHH!”

  Kazuki screamed as the general sliced off the little finger of his left hand and drove a dagger into his leg.

  His mind went blank. The pain was beyond anything he had ever imagined, his body wasn’t built for this.

  Then, from the top of a tall tree, Sebastian leapt.

  He plunged his dagger straight into the general’s throat.

  The man couldn’t even speak, blood gushed from his neck like a fountain.

  Sebastian used the moment of shock and chaos. He grabbed Kazuki’s arm.

  “Come on, you idiot!” he said, panicked but also annoyed, dragging Kazuki behind him.

  Kazuki wasn’t even fully conscious. The pain still had him in its grip.

  “Hey! Snap out of it! Now’s not the time to be spacing out!”

  Sebastian yelled and slapped him hard.

  “Huh?”

  Kazuki finally came to, but the pain was still unbearable.

  They ran.

  Kazuki leaned on Sebastian for support, he couldn’t walk properly anymore.

  Their pace was slow.

  But they had no choice.

  They had to survive.

  "Hey Kazuki... be careful," Sebastian said in a grim tone.

  "Why?" Kazuki asked, confused. He didn’t understand what Sebastian meant.

  "I just have a really bad feeling..." Sebastian muttered as he handed Kazuki the short sword they had taken from the dead general after the attack.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "Here. Take it, for self-defense. From now on, it’s just a gamble whether we make it out of here alive."

  His eyes held a mix of bloodlust, fear, and sadness.

  "Alright, alright, I’ll take it..." Kazuki replied, pressured by the seriousness in Sebastian's voice.

  As they moved closer, what seemed like salvation turned out to be a trap—no Estanian soldiers. They were Astryan troops disguised as Estanians. At least twenty men.

  "KAZUKI! THIS IS IT, KILL OR BE KILLED!" Sebastian shouted, his voice echoing through the trees like thunder.

  Kazuki froze, overwhelmed. His heart pounded, his thoughts scattered in every direction. I can’t hesitate, he thought. If I don’t act now, I’ll die.

  "AHHHHH!" Kazuki screamed and charged the soldiers with the sword raised.

  "Not like that, you idiot! Get a grip!" Sebastian yelled, his voice nearly breaking. But Kazuki, lost in adrenaline, couldn’t hear him anymore.

  One enemy soldier threw a dagger, aimed straight at Kazuki’s face. But Sebastian was faster. He threw himself in front of it.

  "AHHH!" Sebastian cried out as the blade sank deep into his back.

  "Sebastian! What the hell are you doing?!" Kazuki shouted, nearly dropping his sword in shock.

  Sebastian punched him square in the face.

  "Stop running around like a headless chicken! That’s how we’ll really die!" he barked angrily.

  Then, gripping the short sword he’d just taken from Kazuki again, he hurled it with all his strength, right into the head of one of the soldiers.

  "Bullseye!" he roared, panting from pain and fury.

  He grabbed Kazuki and dragged him toward the woods. But just as Sebastian turned around, another dagger flew, this one struck him in the right calf.

  "Damn it..." he hissed through clenched teeth.

  The injury slowed them down, but they barely made it to the forest's edge.

  From here on, it should get easier, Kazuki thought.

  But he was wrong.

  The soldiers wouldn’t give up. Relentlessly, they chased after the two, until suddenly, Sebastian stumbled and collapsed to the ground.

  "Hey, man... this isn’t the time for jokes!" Kazuki said, his voice trembling.

  But it hit him instantly, this wasn’t a joke. Sebastian had passed out.

  Now it’s my turn to take responsibility… Kazuki thought. He’s saved me so many times, now I have to save him.

  He dropped to his knees, gently lifted Sebastian, and froze.

  A throwing knife was buried deep in Sebastian’s back.

  The sight made Kazuki’s blood run cold. His stomach turned violently, he felt like he might throw up. But he knew: if he broke down now, it was all over.

  Kazuki took a deep breath, hoisted Sebastian onto his shoulders, and started running. He pushed the pain in his leg out of his mind. Only one thing mattered now: survival.

  Behind him, blades whistled through the air, thudding into trees. The ground was muddy, the forest endless. But giving up was no longer an option.

  Kazuki ran. And ran. For almost a full hour.

  Then, through the trees, a ruin. An old, crumbling house. A flicker of hope lit inside him.

  He glanced back. No one. No pursuers.

  "We lost them, Sebastian, we did it!" he shouted. And this time, his tears weren’t just from pain or panic. They were from relief. From joy.

  The closer he got to the house, the more the pain caught up with him. The adrenaline began to fade.

  The last twenty steps felt like an eternity.

  Finally, he reached the door, threw it open, stumbled inside, and slammed it shut behind him.

  He laid Sebastian down on an old, dusty bed in the corner of the room.

  Kazuki gently rolled him onto his stomach,the knives were still stuck in his back and calf.

  I’m not a doctor… but I have to do something, Kazuki thought. Something to stop the bleeding.

  He took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his face, and began searching the house.

  There had to be something, anything, that could help…

  Kazuki searched everywhere—the bedroom where Sebastian lay, the old kitchen—but there was nothing. Finally, when he stepped into what had once been the living room, he found a few old newspapers.

  "Whatever… better than nothing," he muttered.

  He returned to the bedroom, newspapers in hand, but as he bumped into the bed, the full weight of everything he had endured hit him at once: the little finger of his left hand was gone, and his leg was still bleeding from a stab wound.

  He nearly collapsed. The last of his adrenaline had drained away, and now the pain was unbearable. Dizzy and weak, his knees buckled.

  "NOT THIS TIME!" he cried out in desperation. He knew, if he passed out now, Sebastian would definitely die.

  So he gritted his teeth, forced himself to stay conscious, and pushed back against the darkness trying to swallow him. Tears streamed down his face, this time, from pain.

  "It’s okay to cry, as long as you don’t run away…", that thought echoed through Kazuki’s mind.

  He gathered the last of his strength, his leg throbbed, his knees trembled, but his will to save his friend burned brighter than anything else.

  Every step back to the bed was pure agony, but he made it.

  Even though he wasn’t a doctor, he knew the wounds had to be cleaned. He took the last of the water from their canteen and gently washed Sebastian’s injuries.

  Then, steady but determined, he pulled the throwing knives from Sebastian’s back and leg.

  Afterward, Kazuki stripped off his tracksuit jacket and tore his white t-shirt into strips. Using the fabric and the old newspapers, he did his best to make makeshift pressure bandages. If he could just bind the wounds tight enough, maybe, just maybe, there was still hope.

  When he was finally done, Kazuki collapsed beside the bed, completely drained. His breathing was ragged, and his whole body trembled. Thoughts plagued him:

  "Sebastian’s only 15… and yet he saved me. While I just cried, he acted. He never hesitated."

  Kazuki clenched his fists.

  "I can’t give up now. I have to do something, if I don’t, Sebastian will die for sure."

  feel how heavy this moment is, physically and emotionally. And if you made it here, to the end of the chapter: thank you. Really. Thank you for walking this path with Kazuki.

  Feel free to tell me what you thought of the chapter, I read everything. Seriously.