Cease the Suffering - Etrian Odyssey II (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 40

AN: Thanks so much Irish_Moon_Dreamer, TwinPersonalities and SakuraiYaoke for commenting and voting on the previous chapter! This one is much, much longer than the previous, so I hope you’ll enjoy reading!

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Chapter 40:

Clutching her bag of groceries to her chest, Binah skipped out of the store, merrily humming a soft tune. She was feeling considerably happy as she had spied some cocoa beans on the grocery list and she hoped that Matron was going to be making cookies again.

Scampering around a corner, Binah suddenly collided with something. Or rather, someone quite tall and wearing thick black leather. She tightened her hold on her bag as she stumbled backwards. “Oof! Hey!” she said as she rubbed her face with her hand.

But as she turned to look at the person she ran into, she stopped breathing.

“Oh, well now, isn’t it little Miss Twinkle-Toes, Binah?”

Her grip slackening on her bag, Binah stared wide eyed as she uttered a soft noise of pure fear. She shook her head as the bag tumbled from her hands, slowly backing away. “…Ah…”

Avith stood before her, his lips pulled into a wicked and terrifying grin. He had one hand on his hip, the other toying sadistically with the handle of his whip. “Long time no see, sweet-cheeks,” he practically leered as he approached her.

“Avith!” Lynus abruptly appeared, darting around a corner. He gathered Binah into his arms and pulled her away from Avith, holding her close to him as he tried to put some distance between them and Avith.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on Binah,” Lynus all but hissed.

Avith, however, laughed in wicked delight. “Well, that worked quicker than I thought it would,” he smirked as he eyed Lynus up and down. “So predictable.”

Binah clung to Lynus as he slowly began to back away. He didn’t dare to run as it would mean turning his back on Avith, which would only give him the perfect opportunity to attack them. And he would. He was very, very opportunistic.

“How did you find us?” Lynus asked.

“Hmm…” Avith hummed as he began to creep closer, circling around like a vicious predator. “Nope, not going to say other than I am simply that brilliant.”

Lynus narrowed his eyes at him. “I’m more inclined to think that it was Zalaph’s doing,” he said.

Avith gave an exaggerated shiver as he all but mockingly cooed at him, that infuriating smirk still playing on his lips. “Ooh, as feisty as ever, I see. I’m going to have some fun with you.”

Lynus bit the inside of his mouth. He recognised that look in Avith’s eyes. He had seen it so, so many times in the past. “Binah, run,” he whispered to the pink-haired girl clinging to him. “The inn, quickly.”

“O-ok,” Binah whimpered before slipping from his hold and running as fast as she could. She knew better than to question him. She was a good girl.

Lynus immediately stepped in-between Avith and the retreating Binah. While he was certain that he was the one that Avith was really after, he wouldn’t put it past him to go after Binah just to make him suffer.

“Just to two of us, huh?” Avith commented, sparing only a small glance at Binah before focusing those sharp eyes fully on Lynus. His smirk seemed to become even more wicked as he looked him up and down once more. “How lucky am I?”

“What do you want?” Lynus asked tersely.

“A lot of things. Where to start?” Avith tapped his chin in thought as he continued to move about, pacing back and forth erratically, making Lynus incredibly edgy. He then mockingly perked up. “Oh, I know! How about you tell me how you killed the old man?”