บท 4: Chapter 4: the breaking point-part 2
as the entertainment died down Hadrian went off to go find a spot to take a leake.
The forest smelled of damp earth and rotting leaves, the faint chirping of insects the only sound breaking the stillness. Hadrian leaned against the rough bark of a tree, his body tense and his eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of movement. He hadn't wandered far—just enough to be out of sight of the camp.
He needed a moment to breathe. To think.
The boy's face refused to leave his mind. Those wide, frightened eyes. The trembling hands clutching a blade too heavy for him. The moment when he drove it into his own throat, choosing death over whatever horrors awaited him if he lived.
Hadrian clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. He had fought grown men, orcs twice his size, and the endless grind of the pits. Yet nothing had prepared him for that.
He hadn't even known the boy's name.
You could have done something. The thought whispered in his mind, cruel and unrelenting. You could have saved him.
But could he? The memory of the orcs jeering, their eyes filled with savage delight, flashed through his mind. They would have killed him, or worse, if he'd refused to fight. And the boy... Hadrian's throat tightened. The boy had made his choice.
A sharp crack in the distance jolted him from his thoughts. He tensed, his hand instinctively going to the crude blade strapped to his side. The sound came again—branches snapping, heavy footsteps pounding against the ground.
Hadrian froze, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the treeline. For a moment, he thought it might be one of the orcs, patrolling the perimeter. But then he saw it—a figure darting through the trees, small and quick, a blur of pale skin and dark hair.
His breath caught.
"Leon?"
The figure stumbled into a clearing, his chest heaving as he looked over his shoulder. His face was pale, streaked with dirt and sweat, and his clothes hung in tatters. Blood trailed down his legs, leaving a crimson path in the dirt.
Hadrian's stomach dropped.
Leon's eyes met his, wide with panic and something else—something raw and broken. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, a hulking shape burst into the clearing behind him.
The orc was massive, its leathery skin a mottled green-black that gleamed in the dim light. Its tusks jutted forward as it grinned, its beady eyes gleaming with cruel amusement.
"Run!" Leon shouted, his voice cracking.
Hadrian didn't think. He bolted toward Leon, his feet pounding against the dirt as the orc gave chase. Leon stumbled, his legs giving out beneath him, and Hadrian skidded to a stop, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him upright.
The two of them sprinted deeper into the forest, the orc's heavy footsteps growing louder behind them.
"Faster!" Hadrian hissed, his heart hammering in his chest.
Leon tripped again, his knees hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Hadrian turned, his breath ragged as he pulled Leon to his feet. It was then that he saw it—the blood staining Leon's groin, the torn fabric barely covering his legs.
Hadrian's chest tightened.
They cut him. The thought hit him like a blow. They turned him into...
He couldn't finish it. He didn't want to. His mind flashed to stories of the Ottomans, of boys taken and mutilated, turned into tools for war. The word Janissary floated to the surface of his thoughts, unbidden and unfamiliar.
What's a Janissary? The question lingered for a moment before fading, replaced by the cold, brutal reality in front of him.
"We have to keep moving," Hadrian said, his voice shaking. He pulled Leon forward, his grip firm despite the tremor in his hands.
The orc's laughter rang out behind them, guttural and mocking. "Run, little humans! Run fast!"
Hadrian's teeth clenched. He couldn't let this happen. Not again.
They reached a rocky outcrop, the ground sloping upward into a cluster of boulders. Hadrian pushed Leon behind one of the larger rocks, his own body pressed against the rough surface as he tried to catch his breath.
Leon's breaths came in shallow gasps, his hands clutching his sides. He looked up at Hadrian, his eyes brimming with tears.
"They were going to... They tried to cut off my—" His voice broke, and he choked on a sob.
Hadrian's chest started burning up as foreign thoughts filled with rage started festering in his mind,
'How could they do this too uss, why-why-whyy, these fucking DISGUSTING BARBARIANS'.
Hadrian knelt beside him, his hand resting on Leon's shoulder. "It's okay," he said, though the words felt hollow. "You're safe now."
"No, I'm not," Leon said, his voice trembling. "They'll find me. They'll—"
A heavy thud cut him off as the orc rounded the outcrop, its massive frame filling the space.
"Well, well," the orc growled, its grin widening as it took in the two boys. "Look what we have here. Two little rabbits hiding in the rocks."
Hadrian's hand went to his blade, his jaw tightening as he stepped in front of Leon.
The orc's eyes narrowed, its grin turning into a sneer. "What's this, then? Protecting your little friend? You're too pretty to be a boy, runt. Maybe Ill keep you for myself instead."
Hadrian's stomach churned, his grip tightening on the blade.
"Is that why the boy I fought today killed himself HUH, WHERE YOU GONNA KEEP HIM FOR YOURSELF TOO!" tears steamed down Hadrian's face as he thought about what all of them had been through.
The orc lunged, its massive hand swiping toward Hadrian. He ducked, the blade in his hand slashing across the orc's arm. The creature roared, more in anger than pain, and swung again.
Hadrian darted to the side, his movements quick but clumsy. Leon scrambled to his feet, grabbing a jagged rock from the ground and hurling it at the orc. The stone struck the creature's head, barely fazing it, but it gave Hadrian an opening.
He drove his blade into the orc's side, the jagged metal sinking into flesh. The orc roared, backhanding Hadrian with enough force to send him sprawling.
Leon charged, his fists pounding uselessly against the orc's back. The creature laughed, grabbing him by the arm and throwing him to the ground.
"You think you can fight me?" the orc sneered, its gaze shifting back to Hadrian. "You're nothing. Both of you."
It stepped toward Hadrian, its grin widening. "I'll show you what happens to disobedient human boys in this camp."
Hadrian's blood turned to ice as the orc loomed over him. Its hands grabbed at his tunic, tearing the fabric as he struggled against its weight.
"No!" Hadrian shouted, the orc pushed Hadrian into the ground mounting his back. Hadrian's voice cried out with desperation. He thrashed, his legs kicking out as the orc pinned him down. "no don't —stop-stop i-dont want it, get the fuck off me-e-ee!" Hadrian screamed stuggling kicking the orc in the stomach, Leon was slowly getting off the ground.
Just as the creature was about to start, a sharp whistle cut through the air. A javelin struck the orc's head with a sickening crunch, its body jerking before collapsing to the ground.
Hadrian scrambled back, pulling up his trousers-his chest heaving as the weight lifted. Around him, the sounds of battle erupted—shouts and screams, the clash of steel against flesh.
A group of human men stormed the clearing, their weapons flashing in the dim light. The orcs fell one by one, their roars of defiance drowned out by the humans' cries of vengeance.
Hadrian's gaze shifted back to the orc that had attacked him. It was still alive, its body twitching as it tried to pull the javelin from its skull.
Something inside Hadrian snapped.
He grabbed the javelin, his hands slick with blood as he drove it into the orc's chest. Again. And again.
"I hate you," he snarled, his voice breaking. "I hate you-i hate you-i hate youuuu! All of you!"
Tears streamed down his face as he stabbed the orc over and over, the crowd of humans around him forgotten.
The system's words flickered in his vision, cold and unfeeling:
Race Points Acquired: Orc +1. Partial Trait Unlocked: Regenerative Healing.
Hadrian collapsed to his knees, the javelin falling from his hands. His chest heaved, his vision swimming as the weight of it all crashed down on him.
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sean_sheri
sean_sheri Didnt think there was gonna be any comments thanks guys, also dont worry this story isnt gonna just make the mc get fucked over continuously like some othere books i can think of, cough cough... Bezerk
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