The Second Hand of Time

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

I DIDN'T GET TO SHINE

I hated losing consciousness. I hated not knowing what happened with my last fight.

Nobody told me what happened to Vladimir, or where he is, whether I killed him or not.

I woke up on Laelia's lap (which is a plus) but feeling weak and disoriented.

She told me that my friends need help. Then, I saw Janus holding up his hand, saying it might not be good for me to charge into battle immediately.

He decided that I should stay for a minute as he restored my strength with his magic.

I didn't know how long I sat on the bed while Janus healed me but I instantly decided to help my friends.

But when I arrived at the destination, I noticed how late I was. Oh man, I hate being late. And I hate not being able to impress the others with my skills.

And hey, I can't stand straight for some reason so I walked with Laelia supporting me. Don't judge me. Ha-ha.

I saw about sixteen Victors standing on different places. The first thing on my mind was, What in the world happened?

My clothes were tattered, and I probably looked like a walking corpse, but my friends smiled at me when they saw me. That's reassuring.

"Sup, Victor." I said.

"Who are you?" He said, erm, they said. Whatever. Pick one.

"Uh, right. You don't know me." I muttered. "Stupid me."

"Yeah, you're stupid." Laelia agreed.

"You..." I whispered to Laelia. "Shut your mouth. I'm trying to ease the tension here."

"Okay." She replied, rolling her eyes. "Whatever."

"So..." I said louder. "How's your wife?"

"She's been dead for a long time!" The Victors sneered. "Are you making fun of me?!"

Laelia stepped on my foot. She gave me the you-are-stupid look.

"Ow!" I complained. "What is wrong with you?"

"Excuse me?" Victor said.

"Uh, not you, dude." I said. "So, how are the kids?"

"I don't know." He replied. "They're stronger than the bunch of you. They may have already grabbed the weapons from you students."

"Oh, you mean Vladimir?" I said. "He was strong. But not stronger than me. I kicked his groin a couple of times."

"LIAR!" Victor roared. "You can never defeat my son!"

"Vladimir is my strongest swordsman!" He roared. "He can't be defeated by a white-haired corpse like you!"

"A corpse?" I muttered.

Dan gave me the 'keep-him-talking' look. "Yeah, sure he's strong with that metal arm and all, but it was one heck of a fight. Then he lost consciousness."

"You fell unconscious first. I woke you." Laelia complained.

"Shh, woman." I whispered.

"So, uh..." I told Victor. "You know what? You need to buy one of these..."

I showed him my earphones which I used to communicate with my friends.

"What is that?" He asked.