Chapter 69: Anguished Howl

"Hm? Who are you?" Luther turned his head to face the long, purple-haired man that frantically ran through the door.

"I… I am his guardian!" The man boldly claimed, which turned the weeping Rein, and the two men constrained against the wall in his direction.

Luther turned his head curiously, then went into a thinking position.

"You're his guardian? So you're the one who had 'em down in that dungeon? You're the one who was torturing him?" Luther grilled him, to which he didn't respond.

"If you can't even lie about that, I'd suggest you be quiet. I already know who this kid's dad is. It's that fat Siren guy who wears a shit ton of jewelry and claims to be the mayor of this town," Luther revealed, to which Lagurin's pupils shrunk.

"You… you know him?" Lagurin uttered.

"Yeah, that fat bastard met up with us earlier today. He was actually the one who told us about the kid and asked for a large sum of money for him. I know, this shits enough to make someone gag from disgust," Luther revealed, to which everyone, even Rein who was still on the ground look at Luther with shrunken pupils, speechless to his words.

"No way… He sold his own son… To criminals..? Not only is he betraying his son, but he is also betraying his city…" Lagurin dropped down to his knees.

"Yeah, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth too, but it is what it is. Though, seeing what he's been doin' here already's really pissed me off. I'm not supposed to tell anyone about the client, but fuck it. The bastard was heading to Treaq last I heard. I'll just drop that info there for now, you can do whatever you want with it," Luther said as he picked King up.

"Wait! Don't!"

"It's okay uncle Lagurin. This way, I get to see mom again," stated the boy, making Lagurin bawl out in tears.

"I'm sorry King… It's my fault your mother died… I was the one who told her about the magician in Draconica… It's because of me that she attempted to take you… It's all my fault…" He wept.

"Thank you for telling that to mom," King's voice entered the whimpering man, lifting his teary face to look at him.

"Huh?" He reacted.

"I don't really know why, but I feel like if mom didn't have any hope in saving me, something even worst would have happened to her. So thank you for giving my mom hope. And to you, Mr Lance," King turned around to face the constrained man who still struggled on the wall, shedding tears from his unconstrained eyes.

"Thank you for giving me hope. I will be going now, leaving this hurtful place. The only hope that I have left is that I can meet mom in the great place," King spoke all of that, with no expression on his face, the curse that was afflicted on him making him unable to smile.

Lance's futile attempts came to an end when he heard King's words, stopping his fury of rage. Instead, he silently wept as his tears flowed down Luther's clone's hand, which was plastered on his mouth, making him unable to make a sound.

"Hey, mister?" King looked up at Luther, who was still gripping the top of his head with his hand, standing there, letting the boy say his goodbyes.

"What's up? You ready to go now?"

"Can I ask for one more thing? You are like a 'bird' right? You were flying up in the sky. Can I fly too, just one time?"

"..." Luther looked at the boy with his mouth gaped, then sternly turned his expression serious and lifted the boy off the ground and began floating up.

They floated and floated, Luther piercing a large hole through the rainclouds, instilling a circular beam of orange light down on the plaza under him. They reached where the line separating the night and the day could be seen spanning across the orange sunset, filling the sky with a fiery hue. King's eyes glistened on the horizon, the life that had previously been absent from his gaze returning as Luther stole away his Spring.

For a few brief seconds, King was able to experience the world without a curse, filling his view with breathtaking colors as he gazed upon the world without any shackles. The group on the ground stared at the floating boy, noticing the boy's eyes filled with tears as a genuine smile grew on his face, his body fading away into nothingness.

After King was no longer visible, they could see a ball of darkness emanating in Luther's hand as he looked down at the group and released all of his Springs, ridding Lance and Reggie of their restraints.

As soon as Lance was free, he screamed at the top of his lungs to the flying man, telling him to bring the boy back, cursing him and crying at the same time. Luther simply ignored him and began flying eastward, the light of the sun fading away as the storm clouds returned over them, bringing down a flurry of rain with it.

Lance's previously hopeful eyes were now filled with hatred and despair as tears of rage washed over him. He angrily approached Rein, who sat, looking up at the sky in bewilderment. He grabbed Rein by the collar and brought him close to his face.

"Why the fuck didn't you do anything?! You just sat there crying like a bitch! You didn't even try to stop him when he flew up!" His anger-filled eyes looked into Rein's dead ones.

"..."

"Answer me!"

"It was no use… I failed when it mattered most. I didn't have the resolve that I thought I did," Rein looked away from him in shame, Lance gritting his teeth in fury.

Lance wound his arm back while holding Rein by the collar, then swiftly decked him across the face, sending him flying into the ground, splashing into the muddy surface. Rein didn't even try blocking the swing, he simply let it happen.

"The hell's happening here?!" Core ran through the plaza door, the workers in the plaza running after him as he intruded.

The Xenia and Elaine ran in swiftly after as they laid eyes upon the scene in front of them. The workers seemed unphased as if what was happening was normal to them.

"Hey… Why didn't you do anything..?" The enraged Lance turned his head to the workers, who then remained silent, ignoring his question.

"You like being silent huh?" Lance stomped over to the workers who ran in after Core, with the intention to swing at them, but he was promptly stopped by Elaine.

"H-hey! What do you think you're doing Lance? What happened here?" She held his hand as Core and Xenia ran over to Rein, who lay in the wet ground, wallowing in his despair.

"Stay out of this Elaine," he pushed her away and turned around to face Lagurin, who was smiling, looking up to the sky.

"The hell are you smiling for?!" He approached Lagurin and pulled him up by the collar to face him, who then closed his eyes in satisfaction.

"He smiled before he went… He was happy at the end… That's worth something, right?" Lagurin warmly smiled at Lance his eyes briefly regaining the tender gaze they had previously, then instantly reverted to an agonizing stare, throwing Lagurin back on the ground.

"Damn it!" Lance dropped to the muddy grass under him as he held himself up in plank position, staring at the wet ground as the rain continued to fall.

He looked up into the rain-filled sky, the droplets hitting his face directly as he painfully shook, letting out an anguished howl, echoing across the city.