Blood for the Blood Gods: A Skepnoblade Fanfic (ON HIATUS)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Phil staggered back, tenderly putting a hand up to his neck where the arrow sprouted from his jugular. His mouth opened, as if he wanted to say something, but before he could utter a word, the King of Everdalia pitched backwards, off the platform, and into the water.

The crowd screamed, clambering to get away as if they feared Dave would shoot them. The pig heard a "No!" wail from the stands that sounded like Wilbur, and his hands clenched on his bow. What had he done?

He felt his ranged weapon ripped out of his hands, and he whipped around to see the golden gilded helmets of the Guards of MCC, the security of the tournament.

"Sorry about this, King Dave," one said. He hefted his club and bludgeoned the pig king on the head.

"What the f-" Dave spluttered, before slumping down, the blow knocking him out.

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Dave blinked awake, strapped to a chair in an empty, dark room. Had he been taken hostage, or was he imprisoned? Where exactly was he? What if he couldn't ever save Za-

"Stop fretting, Technoblade, you'll be out before you know it," a sickeningly sweet voice sang out.

Dave swallowed. "It was you, wasn't it?"

The voice huffed. "Getting right to the point now, are we? If you must know, yes, I did sabotage your game. I would've preferred you to skip the tournament for your dearly beloved Zak, but I saw a life I was willing to add to my collection. If only you'd stayed back, maybe the king would've survived. But what's it to you? It's not like you were close to him. It's just another drop of blood to get you closer to your crush."

"He was innocent!" Dave roared. "Thomas was easy, he was a felon. B-but Phil, he had a family, a life! He was king, and now people will think I killed him in cold blood! Those 10 minutes I spent with him, he felt closer to me than my own father. Why couldn't you have made me kill someone else?"

He felt a sharp pain on his mouth, and licked his lips to find the salty and metallic taste of his own blood.

"Tut, tut, Techno," the blood god mocked. Dave found that ever since he'd been given the nickname, the deity had been calling him by it every time they'd spoken. So, about twice right now. "No talking back, or our deal is off. You made a promise, and many things can happen if you break it, and none of them are good." Fabric shuffled together, and the deity grunted, as if trying to concentrate. "Your idiotic mortal body is trying to awaken. I guess our time is up."

"But wait!" Dave exclaimed. "Do I still get my hint?" His voice softened with each word, and every time the volume dipped he felt a stab of pain and remorse. Here he was, blurting out his worries about a boy who probably didn't even love him back, while Everdalia mourned the loss of their king. He was an awful person.

The blood god hummed. "See you're finally remembering why you're here. Yes, your hint is there. After this, only one more, lucky you."

Dave blinked. It's that easy?

"Now our time is definitely up. I expect no more outbursts like that while this deal is still on." A snap echoed throughout the dark room, and the pig king jolted awake.

"Shit-" a voice exclaimed. Dave rubbed his mouth, frowning at the smear of red that came off onto his hand. The person who had cursed was none other than the guard that had knocked him out, and he stood up straight, sputtering out an apology. "Sorry, didn't expect you to wake so soon."

"Well?" Dave asked, stretching his arms. He could easily get up and bolt away, but he didn't fancy getting hit on the skull with that club again, not getting executed for manslaughter and trying to escape authorities. "Is there any reason why I'm here, exactly?" He silently cursed himself for playing dumb.

"Well," the guard started. "You did murder King Phil Za of Everdalia, buuuuut we figured out that the game was sabotaged, so you're off the hook for now." He said "for now" as if he expected the pig to leave here then immediately run to an orphanage and stab all the children there. "We don't know who sabotaged, but the arrow that was switched wasn't your fault."

Dave sniffed. "Well that's good. May I, uh, leave?"

"Oh! Yes, I'll escort you back to Porcus." The guard stood up, opening a door that the pig hadn't noticed was behind him. He stood up, fixing his shirt that had a drop of blood on the collar, and followed the golden-helmeted man back to his carriage, where he hoped no one would see him, and berate him for being the one to shoot King Phil with a sabotaged arrow.

Heyo, I'm back! This schedule is working better for me, so expect more uploads around this time. Also, forgive me if I use certain words (like sabotage and berate) incorrectly or if I use them too much. Kinda new to this, so I'm open to any suggestions and constructive criticism. Ciao!