"Weren’t you expecting ?" the knight asked sarcastically.
Ivar was still shaken by this revelation.
"W-why? Weren’t we comrades?" he stamred, bewildered.
"Comrades?" Noah chuckled darkly.
In an instant, several punches landed on Ivar’s face, causing the warm, crimson liquid to flow from his mouth. He spat thick saliva mixed with blood onto the ground, his chest heaving from the pain.
"What do you want from ?" Ivar shouted in anger. "Why are you doing this?"
"You’re asking ? I should be the one asking the questions! What have I done to you that warranted your betrayal?! We used to work together, and I never once intervened in your affairs! But you... you sched against for a r*pe and m*rder I never committed! Do you know how much I’ve suffered because of that?" Noah shot back, glaring at him.
Ivar’s eyes widened in shock.
"You... you knew?? But how?"
Noah scoffed.
"You may be good at covering your tracks, but know this... the truth always prevails. No matter how much you conceal your secrets, they always co out in the end because your evil deeds stink!"
Ivar’s companions exchanged fearful glances after knowing that Noah had uncovered their sche.
One of them imdiately begged, "Please let us go! This is all Sir Royd’s doing! He plotted the cri out of jealousy when the Grand Duke of Gerhard chose you over him! We just went along with him! If we didn’t, he would have beaten us!"
"Shut up, you liar!" Ivar shouted back.
"No, I’m not! I’m telling the truth!" argued his companion.
"You’re all lying! Do you think I would believe your pathetic excuses?!" Noah yelled. "You conspired together in this! You all betrayed and wanted to die!"
He stood up and delivered a brutal kick to Ivar’s companion, sending the knight crashing to the ground. The others winced in fear. Bound and beaten, they realised they were now truly dood—their capture had beco a matter of revenge.
Ivar’s mind raced as he searched for a way to escape this predicant. At his wit’s end, he desperately tried to persuade Noah.
"Look here! This is all a scam! We were a team! We grew up together, and you’re like a brother to ! Whoever told you this is lying! I would never hurt you!" Ivar pleaded.
"My woman would never lie like you, b*stard!" Kiev suddenly interjected.
Ivar turned to him, and as the morning light brightened, he noticed the derian Prince’s striking hair and eye colour. Shock washed over him as he recognised him, the only man with such unique features, even though he was still wearing a mask.
"It’s you! Elisabeth’s husband!" he exclaid, recalling their last encounter in the plaza when Kiev had claid to be Elis’s spouse while Ivar and his n had been pestering her.
The other Knights of Gerhard exchanged surprised glances. They were aware of the incident when Elis had been harassed by the Knights of Abinair, which had resurfaced her trauma, but they hadn’t known that Kiev would publicly declare himself her husband.
However, none of them comnted, understanding the depth of the derian Prince’s feelings for her.
Kiev removed his mask; his expression was solemn.
"So, it was her who told you!" Ivar said, confirming the man before him was the sa man he t. Kiev’s striking features were unforgettable, and Ivar could never erase the mory of the derian prince’s furious gaze.
He then turned back to Noah and asked, "But how? She knew nothing about it!"
"That’s not for you to know!" the knight answered.
Looking around at the other masked figures, Ivar pondered who they were. Their skills in combat and swordsmanship were top-notch, and they were fully equipped for battle. A realisation struck him swiftly, knowing who they were after piecing the puzzle together.
"You are all the Knights of Gerhard, the Grand Duke’s n!" he exclaid.
"So what? Scared now?" Luke mocked him.
The Knights of Gerhard removed their masks, following Kiev’s lead. Ivar recognised a few of them from two years ago when Kyren had co to Dracor with his knights.
That was when he had orchestrated his plan to fra Noah as the perpetrator behind Erika’s r*pe and m*rder, leaving her body in the knights’ settlent while Noah was alone.
Panic surged through Ivar as he knew that these n would surely kill him. Even his own companions had turned against him, choosing to stab him in the back to save themselves.
He felt dood. But then, he recalled the collaboration between his lord and the Grand Duke. His eyes sparked with a glimr of hope.
"You can’t do this to ! Our lords have an agreent! The collaboration they established states that our safety in Cassian is secured for as long as we do business here! If you kill us, it ans you are betraying your lord. The duchy stamp is sealed on the letter given by the Count of Abinair!"
"Don’t use the letter as leverage! Do you think I don’t know about it? I was the one who received the letter and allowed it to be stamped! Even so, the laws of our kingdom surpass any agreent! You have committed a cri, and you must pay for it!" Garin exclaid.
The letter had arrived at Gerhard’s palace long ago, coinciding with Noah’s return alongside Arl, Emily and Clara. It was during that ti they decided to rush the sick knightess to Gantz for ergency treatnt, with Elis and Garin accompanying them to care for Clara throughout the journey.
"It never happened in Cassian, so the law doesn’t apply to us!" Ivar defended himself.
"So, you did r*pe and k*ll Elis’s sister!" Kiev retorted. "Your own words imply that you did!"
Ivar’s lips quivered; he realised he had inadvertently admitted to his cri.
"I did not! You have no proof, and Elisabeth is delusional! Whatever that b*tch said isn’t the truth! That wh*re is a liar!" he exclaid.
A surge of anger coursed through Kiev. In an instant, he lunged forward, kicking Ivar’s face and sending the knight sprawling to the ground. The derian Prince then bent down, seizing him by the collar, and began to punch him relentlessly.
"How dare you speak of my woman like that, you filthy b*stard! I’ll kill you! For what you’ve done to my Elis, you don’t deserve to live!" Kiev shouted, rage boiling over.
His expression turned murderous as he continued pumling Ivar. The force of his punches broke the knight’s nose, leaving Ivar’s face a bloody ss. Kiev’s wrath showed no signs of abating. With one hand, he choked the knight’s neck, intensifying his assault.
Seeing that Kiev was on the verge of losing control, Alex rushed forward and gripped his arm.
"Your Highness, get ahold of yourself! We can’t kill them! Otherwise, our plan will be ruined!" he warned.
Kiev pushed the knight away, his fury reaching its peak.
"Even if I can’t, I will still do this!"
The derian Prince drew a sharp dagger from the sheath hung on his belt and slashed through Ivar’s pants. The knight’s lower body was quickly exposed.
At that mont, the other Knights of Gerhard knew what Kiev was about to do. They rushed to stop him, all except Noah, but the derian Prince acted faster.
In re seconds, a howl of agony erupted through the forest, sending shockwaves through the surrounding wildlife. Nearby birds took flight while other animals fled the scene, escaping the chaos.
A chunk of flesh fell to the ground, blood pouring from Ivar’s body in a grueso cascade.
He scread – a raw, agonised sound echoed through the forest as Kiev tossed him aside like a discarded, useless sack.
The knight writhed in agony, his body convulsing in sharp, searing pain from the grueso wound.
"Aaa! Aaa!!"
His howling of tornt persisted, a desperate cry that tore the calmness of the quiet forest, filled with the weight of despair and helplessness. Blood gushed from the cut, splattering onto the ground, creating a macabre pool that pulsed with his pain.
The other Knights of Abinair scread in horror at the ghastly sight. Without rcy, Kiev had castrated Ivar before their eyes, leaving them in total shock. The reality of the mont sent a clear ssage to them that they, too, would suffer the sa.
"No, please! Let us go! Don’t do this to us!" shouted one of the knights, struggling against his bindings. His face turned pale, fear gripping him as he pleaded for rcy.
"Your Highness, why are you doing this? You said you’d spare them! How can we continue if you kill them? This knight will surely bleed to death!" Damon asked worriedly.
"I guess I got carried away," Kiev replied coldly, his gaze shifting to the rest of Ivar’s n. "It doesn’t matter anyway if one or two of them die!" he added dismissively.
The group huddled together in terror, watching Ivar writhe in pain, a sight that filled them with dread.
Concerned, Alex stepped forward again, nodding slightly to Eli, who joined him as they approached Kiev.
"Your Highness, please calm down. If you can’t control yourself, the plan will be ruined," Alex urged.
"Sir Jarr is right," Eli chid in. "I’m angry too, but we need to stick to our original intention to achieve our goal."
"Can’t I just kill them all?! They hurt my Elis! They caused her great pain and trauma! I feel like skinning them alive!" Kiev shouted, his chest heaving with rage.
"Wait! Your Highness... Elis’s husband... whoever you are! Please! Spare , at least! I’ve never done anything to your wife! Though I colluded with Sir Royd, I’ve never assaulted her or her sister!" one knight among Ivar’s n exclaid, panic in his voice.
He didn’t know who Kiev was, but hearing Alex address him as ’Your Highness’ made it clear that this striking man was royalty.
Kiev’s crimson eyes locked onto him.
"I swear I’m telling the truth! My na is Joshua Hermann! You can ask Elisabeth yourself! I didn’t join Sir Royd and the others tornting her because I have n’s issues from an injury," the knight, known as Josh among the Knights of Abinair, insisted.
Kiev narrowed his eyes, recalling the nas Elis had ntioned. He was confident that Joshua Hermann hadn’t been on the list.
"Elis didn’t ntion your na, so I’ll spare your life for that," Kiev said.
A flicker of relief crossed Josh’s face. But the reprieve was short-lived as the derian Prince continued, "However, even though you weren’t directly involved in her suffering, you admitted to plotting with your comrades against Sir Brooks. Therefore, the Knights of Gerhard have every right to punish you!"
At this point, Ivar’s screams had faded to a whisper; his dark eyes rolled back, revealing only the whites as he teetered on the edge of unconsciousness from excessive bleeding.
"State your order, Your Highness!" Garin urged, disregarding the grim state of the Knight of Abinair.
His resentnt for Ivar overshadowed any concern for the knight’s fate; his sole focus was on the safety of his team as they executed their mission.
Kiev surveyed the terrified group, a cold determination in his eyes. To instil fear, he kicked Ivar’s body rcilessly after sheathing his dagger.
The knight, now unable to move from his tornt, lay helpless on the ground.
"Beat them all you want as a lesson for ssing up with you! Afterwards, leave them to . I will whip them till there’s no skin on their back!"
"n, you heard what His Highness said," said Garin. "Leave no room for rcy! But let them live to restore our good nas!"
The Knights of Gerhard moved closer, the sound of cracking necks and popping knuckles echoing ominously in the air.
"No, no! Please! Save us! Sobody, help!!" Ivar’s n shouted in desperation, full of fear.
But their pleas fell on deaf ears, drowned out by the isolation of the forest. They were far from any settlent, and no one was there to hear their cries for rcy.
The torture began with a brutal onslaught. Kicks and fists rained down on the Knights of Abinair, each strike landing with bone-crushing force. They stumbled, gasping for breath, as their bodies absorbed the rciless blows. Blood spattered onto the ground, mixing with cries of pain and desperation.
But the tornt didn’t stop there. The derian Prince, with a cold, calculated fury, dragged Ivar’s motionless body aside after Noah had severely beaten the knight. He reached for the barbed whip tucked at his back, its cruel tips glinting nacingly in the morning light.
Kiev stepped forward as he ard himself with the whip.
’Splash! Splash!’
The whip snapped against Ivar’s back, tearing through his tunic as the flogging began. Each lash ripped into his skin, jolting his body and exposing raw flesh, causing blood to flow freely from the wounds. With every strike, his back beca drenched in crimson, grotesque gore of suffering.
As the blood poured out, Kiev’s fury intensified. He was haunted by mories of the night he first saw the scars on Elis’s body, reminding him of the ruthless atrocities she had endured for years.
Each recollection shattered his heart into pieces, fueling his resolve. This ti, he would ensure that the wrongdoings of these n were t with the justice they deserved.
And so, blood and screams continued to fill the air in the depths of the forest. In that isolated clearing, a brutal retribution unfolded for the price of vengeance.
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