let's run to neverland! ⤷ m.teru

xvi

Teru had to do everything in his might to not gulp at the sight that was greeting him. He felt the gaze of countless of people from the arena. Nobles and normal citizens all mingled into one that's called an audience. Statuses were pushed aside, what's important for them now was the duel that was going to happen anytime soon.

The blonde haired boy would be definitely be lying if he said he wasn't scared at all. Cause in truth, this must be the most insane thing he has ever let himself do. He slowly regained his composure back, Y/n was in the crowd, she wouldn't want to see him in such a wrecked state.

Speaking of y/n, Teru began a quick scan of the audience in hopes of finding her. Deep blue eyes finally landed their gaze on a pair of familiar e/c ones. There she was, standing amongst the crowd with a pale expression. She was clearly worrying about this.

Teru's lips quirked up as an assurance that everything is going to be fineー that he isn't going to die and let their dreams go to waste. He sent a smile that was for y/n only.

The day was burning with heat.

The blinding sun seemed to sizzle everything it touches.

Sweat was already trickling down his forehead. The armor he wore was too suffocating for his own good, but if he wanted to defend against his father's attacks, he had to use it.

Ooong!

The sound of trumpets echoed theoughout the arena just a few moments afterwards. The loud chatters that came from the audience isntantly went down, it was as if a wave of silence had swept through the place.

The trumpets were a symbol that the king is going to descend to the arena. It didn't take long for the leader of the kingdom to appear in front of everyone's eyes.

People went amok with their cheering, it was truly obvious which side they had chosen to win.

Teru instinctively tightened the grip he had on his iron sword. His brows were furrowed together in seriousness when he felt his father's eyes on him.

"My son." The man's voice boomed, and the loud cheering from before died down. "I hope you know what this duel means?"

A smile appeared on Teru's lips, but his gaze was laced with focus. "Yes father, I do know what happens. This duel will be held until one of us dies, right?"

The king nodded. There was no sense of remorse in his face, it just looked like this duel was some sort of trivial thing he had to do.

The countdown soon began.

3,

2,

1,

Alongside the loud roar from longhorn, the judge screamed out spontaneously, "The duel shall be commenced! Good luck to those who are fighting."

Teru had to place his shield in front of him in order to deflect the king's relentless assault. For now, all he could do is focus on defense and try to attack back when he finds the chance.

Even if they weren't in a duel like this, Teru would've never been able to win against a man who had experienced endless wars and bloodshed. His parents were killing machines back in the battlefield, there was no person that didn't fear them.

The chances of him winning a 1v1 was very slim, and that's why he didn't plan to win fairly either. All he needs to do was to buy time and hope that that person would come.

If they don't come however, Teru is most likely going to he on the losing side.

Clank! Crash!

The blonde gritted his teeth at the barrage of attacks. His shield was already starting to chip away, it was just a matter of time until it breaks down completely.

He dodged the slash of the sword that was aiming for his head, he then grabbed his own weapon to counterattack.

As expected, his hit missed his father by a mere inch, forcing him to go back to defense.

"I don't understand why you're doing this." His father had said between the attacks. There was a frown on his face, as if he has been trying to decipher Teru's reasons of starting such a random duel in the first place.

Teru, on the other hand, grinned in reply.

"I'm just doing my citizens a favor."

The king scrunched his nose up in distaste. "Everything is already going well, what else needs to be changed?"

Teru narrowly dodged another incoming strike. Blood started to spill from where the blade lightly grazed his cheek. A lot. He wanted to say.

Instead of answering out loud, Teru stayed silent.

"The world is already good as it is!" His father started talking again. "The ones deserving of rewards are already on top, while the useless ones are treated as scum! It is just fair judgment."

The boy felt his blood was boiling in his veins.

Just as he raised his shield to deflect another attack, said shield was broken in half at the impact.

Blue eyes widened at the sight of the breaking shield. He had already known that such thing would happen since the beginning, but he wasn't expecting it to break this quick.

There was another swing of a sword targetting him. Without an item to protect himself, Teru had to take an alternative.

He blocked his father's attack by tightening his grip on his sword while his other palm was pressing against the blade of his sword. Teru hissed at the pain when the sharp blade dug into his flesh. The final thing he could use as a defense weapon was no other than his offence weapon.

Blood came dripping faster than he imagined. The sight of red tainting the soil was enough to make him go dizzy.

His father was only a few steps away from him, the man was clearly preparing for another attack.

The man wasn't holding back.. huh?

It wasn't the old man's fault either, who would be holding back when their life and power is on the line?

Teru wasn't in the position to he able to defend again. He had used more than half of his stamina to buy time, and now his hand was bleeding in an uncontrollable amount.

He then closed his eyes when a blade came swinging towards him.