Chapter 31 - Monsters Like You

"Negation!" shouted from above.

Gillian hopped down from Fluffy. He was back from the day's negotiation. At that point, Baldwin's Ancient Relic vanished completely. Raiyen collapsed, exhausted. Z ran towards the Valkyrie and placed his green Kunai at her wound. In a fraction of a second, the wound was healed.

"Are you okay?!" asked Z, in a frantic tone.

"I'm in a better state than Raiyen," she whispered.

Z wasted no time in healing the Time Mage next. Temporarily, Ysabeau and Gillian were dealing with Angry Man.

"Pull yourself together! It's only an innocent sparring session and you want to execute your allies?!" scolded Gillian.

Baldwin stood before him, clenching his fists.

"War knows no bounds. I'm just training them. They were still holding back."

"They are still young! What if you'd gone too far? We don't need someone as dangerous as you to discipline the kids, especially now that we are recruiting. Are you going to slaughter all of the new talents?!" screamed Ysabeau, with such anger that the rest had never perceived before.

She was beyond furious, she was livid.

"How long are you going to spoon-feed them?!"

"It doesn't prove your way of teaching," replied Z, taking out his weapons.

Things were starting to heat up even further. Mavislin looked at Raiyen, who was all healed up but still exhausted from the battle session before. If the partners allowed this four to battle, kiss goodbye to humanity. The Aura was overpowering as the four entered a silent battle of gazes.

"I think we've allowed enough of this mess. Get a hold of yourself or else I will make sure to let you know I have no bounds when it comes to dealing monsters like you," conveyed Gillian, turning his back to examine on the two kids.

As soon as he laid eyes on the children, the pair hugged themselves tightly out of fear. Gillian presented a bewildered look. Ysabeau sighed as she summoned a wing to strike her poor husband on the head.

"Oi! What was that for, woman?!" asked Gillian, rubbing his head.

"400 years and you're still not able to stop scaring children," scolded Ysabeau.

"What's with you and smacking my head," grumbled Gillian, continuing his way towards the two kids.

"Thank the heavens he did not fully lose control," said Gillian, pulling both of them into his embrace.

Ysabeau was stroking the girl's back as Z was patting Raiyen on the back.

"I'd felt your aura from a far-flung distance. It was formidable, to say the least. You did great, Time Boy," praised Z.

Mavislin gave a small squeeze with Raiyen in her arms.

"Thank you for saving me," she whispered.

"But I didn't win," he said, sadly.

"It's ain't about winning, kid. It's about protecting her. You've bought enough time for the few of us to come back and quench the mess. Not all fights are about winning and saving the girl. I'd rather you come to us defeated, but alive, than to come back in a coffin or worse," explained Z, smiling.

"If only you knew how to use Heaven's Wheel: Sacred Onslaught," mumbled Raiyen.

"Where did you induce that from?" she asked, stunned at the mere mention of that name.

"Oops. Umm...Spoilers?" replied the audacious boy. Baldwin slowly scooted towards the rest of them. Z looked stern as Ysabeau let out a snarl.

"I'm so sorry, Mav, Raiyen. I hope I can still stay with you lot," apologized Baldwin, nervous at the partner's response.

Raiyen and Mavislin smiled and murmured a few words to each other. The a.d.u.l.ts looked troubled. It was not every day that two kids were dishing out punishments towards an Angry Man.

"We'll overlook this incident and permit you to stay...On one condition," said Mavislin, holding up her finger.

"What? Complete some laps or go on a trip of torture in an underwater kingdom?" asked Baldwin.

The two laughed.

"No, we just demand you to prepare dinner for us. Ysabeau informed me before you lost Abigail, you kept cooking sandwiches and dessert 'til Gillian had to make excuses to avoid another one of your dark chocolate raspberry towers," offered the Valkyrie, trying to stop herself from laughing.

Raiyen had long lost it and was going to reopen his wounds soon.

"Just make those Club Sandwiches with more avocado for me, got it?" asked Raiyen, in between his laughs.

Baldwin smiled and soon, for the first time, laughed.

"Anger, hatred, sadness. But never the sound of laughter from you, Baldwin," said Gillian, impressed at how two kids got the most enraged man alive to chuckle.

Notably, after the couple had taken centuries to even place a genuine smile on the man's face.

"No fair! We tried so hard to make him even feel happy and you two can solely make him laugh by laughing," pouted Ysabeau.

"They possessed every right to kick me out, slaughter me, catapult me away and annihilate me by employing their combined powers. Holy Trinity and the Judgment of the Valkyries is enough to bring me down, not to mention that Raiyen has the ability send me back in time to make me experience that pain in an infinite loop for all eternity."

"And yet, despite all of those options, these two are just kids who want free cakes and a sandwich every single day."

"And are you following their instructions?" asked Gillian.

Baldwin looked at the two of them and hugged. Those words; Angry Man and Hugging don't belong to each other at all.

"I'll heed their request 'til the day I die," he replied.

"And somewhere, someone or something has died from the sheer cause of the Angry Man's affection," joked Z.