SWNOVELXO Chapter 9: conviction
Arthur's world had fallen apart. A storm of thoughts haunted the boy's mind.
'N-no magic? What now? Am I going to be a burden to the other heroes? How will I get back home…? Their potential is enormous… but how will they react to this? No one wants a burden by their side,' he thought, scared and worried.
Solara watched the scene with an unshakable smile. It was as if a dream had come true. Now she had a reason to condemn the boy. She exclaimed:
"It all makes sense now. The pieces have finally fallen into place. You are not a blessing; you are a curse. A mistake. A burden," she exclaimed, smiling like a child.
Sireon, who had been watching from the background, stepped forward and added:
"That's right, Solara," he exclaimed. "The fourth hero is useless. A burden. And burdens must be eliminated. Incinerated. They are insects that have come only to bring evil."
"We need to eliminate him now! Before he causes any trouble," Alden said, pointing at the boy.
Arthur was pale, paralyzed, his world collapsing in seconds. From hero to "mistake," his mind was at war. Should I run? Fight? Or just accept death? He stared at Alden with a desperate gaze, hatred boiling inside him. He thought:
'That bastard! I knew his true colors from the start! He wants to kill me, does he? I was summoned to this world, told I can't go back, forced to fight unknown monsters, and now this? I have no magic, and I'm going to die for it? It's not fair, not one bit! I hate them, all of them, but especially this piece-of-shit little hero. I want to kill him, the hypocrite, the weakling... The rage, the rage, the rage!'
All that went through the boy's head was pure rage. All the pain and suffering now converged as he clenched his fists and listened to the talk of his uselessness. In his own mind, he truly felt useless. In a magical world, having no magic was like being born without legs in the normal world: it's possible to live, but with immense difficulty.
Alden approached Arthur, a cruel smile on his face, and pointed his sacred bow at him.
"Die, you useless trash!" Alden exclaimed, his voice dripping with contempt.
Arthur wasted no time. His eyes, once filled with anger and disdain, now burned with a savage determination as he scanned the room for anything he could use. His instincts screamed, and that's when he saw it: a sword at Sireon's hip, similar to the one he had stolen from the knight.
With an agility that surprised everyone, Arthur launched himself toward Sireon with rough, unexpected movements. Before Sireon could even understand what was happening, Arthur had already snatched the sword from its sheath, feeling the cold weight of the metal in his hand. In a desperate leap, he closed the distance between himself and Alden, knowing that against a bow, the only chance was to get in close, creating a solid advantage.
In the blink of an eye, Arthur had the blade against Alden's neck, the tip of the sword barely touching the skin but promising a fatal cut with any movement.
"You worthless piece of shit! You want to kill me, huh?! You think you can?! You're just an arrogant prick! I'll take your fucking head off right now!" Arthur exclaimed, his voice furious. The rage consumed him, his eyes throbbed, and his sword lightly pierced Alden's neck, drawing a single drop of blood.
Alden froze. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. He hadn't expected such a quick reaction from Arthur. In an instant, he was on the verge of death, without even enough time to grab an arrow from his back. His mind tormented him, panicking. How was Arthur so fast? They hadn't had any training, not even leveled up. This wasn't brute force or magic; it was pure knowledge, a sharp survival instinct.
Silence filled the hall, broken only by Arthur's ragged breathing and Alden's whimpers of fear. Kaien, Mirella, Sireon, and even Solara were paralyzed, surprise stamped on their faces. The "useless" boy with no magic from a few seconds ago had just disarmed one of the three great heroes and brought him to the brink of death in an instant.
Arthur's sword trembled against Alden's neck. No one knew what the boy's next move would be.
Finally, Kaien gathered his courage and took a step forward.
"Arthur! Drop the sword! It's not worth it, seriously!" Kaien shouted, a mixture of shock and concern in his voice.
Mirella, though terrified, also tried to help.
"Please, Arthur, don't do this! He wouldn't have really done it... he was just angry!" she pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes again.
Arthur ignored their pleas. His mind was clouded by adrenaline and accumulated rage. He felt Alden's tremor under the blade, and it was almost gratifying, almost a thrill. He was conflicted between killing Alden or not.
"Angry, Mirella? He was going to kill me! Kill me because I don't have magic! This piece-of-shit always thinking he's better than everyone!" Arthur exclaimed in a fury, pressing the sword a little harder.
Alden tried to speak, his voice just a hoarse whisper.
"I… I wasn't… I just…"
"Liar!" Arthur interrupted, his rage exploding. "You called me useless! You pointed that damn bow at me! You wanted me to die!"
"Arthur, calm down," Kaien pleaded, his voice choked. "Without him, we won't be able to defeat the Demon King, let alone get back home. Please, think rationally. Whether you like it or not, he is an essential piece for this."
"That's right, Arthur. Please, think it through," Mirella added, her voice hesitant.
Kaien's and Mirella's words entered the boy's mind, with the phrase "get back home" hammering the hardest. That was his one and only true motivation. The rage still overflowed, but the vision of being stuck in this world forever, with no chance of return, was a much greater fear.
Arthur lowered the sword, the sound of the metal clattering on the floor. His face, once contorted by fury, now displayed an expression of defeat mixed with hopelessness and exhaustion. He didn't bother to look at Alden, who was cowering, trembling and gasping on the ground.
Sireon quickly picked up his sword, sheathing it with an air of relief, and exclaimed loudly at Arthur:
"A useless fourth hero who then tried to kill a real hero. This is unacceptable," Sireon said. He didn't use his name, but the condemnation was evident.
But it was Solara who stepped forward, an implacable decision in her mind.
"You are banished from our lands and will be exiled to the slums! Don't even think about coming back here, you hear me? And I will make sure everyone knows about this. You will not have an easy life from now on, do you understand, boy?"
Arthur nodded, his head bowed. Solara's words were like a quick cut, worse than any physical threat. Being exiled to the slums of an unknown world, without magic, without allies, was a certain death sentence. He would probably starve to death in a few days. His expression was clear:
Disillusionment.