The Duke's Passion

Amid my intense battle with Acheron, the loud shouts of the people behind the line resonated in the air. They were shouting about being handsome. What ridiculous were those people spewing now? Couldn't they take this situation seriously?! Even Acheron chuckled while clashing sword with me.

"Aren't they silly, Your Majesty?" he commented calmly, blocking my attack while we're mid air as I didn't give him rest to stay on the ground. I noticed his movement slowed down in the air, so I had more advantage over here. 

"I wonder what did the Butler say for them to speak such silly words in this situation?"

"You're too concerned about them!" I yelled through my gritted teeth, smashing Lakresha to cut his shoulder again, but to no avail. Even though I said I have had an advantage, it was just a tiny bit. Acheron was much faster and stronger than previously. 

"This borrowed strength... the price of it is surely handsome," I muttered, landing on the ground before bolting towards him once again. "Are you not planning to live after today?"

He simpered as he met me halfway, holding his sword until it formed a cross. Another explosive wave of impact blew past my hair as we stopped with our weapons in between us.

"You are always quick to catch on, Your Majesty. I may lose my body, but... I will forever live." He pushed his sword towards me. This time, I was thrown away. I pierced Catharsis on the concrete to stop myself from flying away. My eyes fell on the long line I caused, but I didn't dwell on it since I looked up at the approaching Acheron. 

"Forever live...? Are you saying Zero will absorb you too once you died?" I snickered, getting back up to my feet while pulling up Catharsis. "Surely, if your devotion towards Zero is not romance, I don't know what it's called."

"Loyalty, Your Majesty." I quirked a brow and tilted my head at his answer. "To me, he is the one true king that no one shall look down upon."

"Wow... it is, indeed, loyalty." I nodded, wanting to clap at his sentiments. 

"You will not understand, for you are on the opposing side. For you, your husband is the one true emperor of the empire, but for me, he is nothing but someone who steals everything. A thief." His tone grew solemn, as he didn't look away from my gaze. "If you think I was foolish to believe in my chosen ruler, then it's the same for me. You are foolish, Your Majesty."

The side of my lips stretched into a slight smirk while listening to him. Acheron had a point. We were fighting because we believed in two different things, but where he was wrong was that I believed in something else.

"Wrong, Acheron. I don't think Sam is fit to be the king, neither did he think he is. I still believed Rufus is the best emperor we all needed," I corrected calmly as I secretly catch up to my breathing while thinking of how to defeat this man. "Even so, since my husband already sits on the throne, even I cannot do anything about it. The thing is... your king sees you all as pawns he can use, recycle, and dispose of if he so pleased. Sam is not like that. If being the sovereign means sacrificing your trusted people's lives, I don't think my husband wants the title." 

I shook my head lightly, letting out a shallow breath. Not that I truly underestimated Acheron. I was certain he had a story of his own and had a deeper reason he followed Zero. However, whatever it was, it wasn't my problem. It was just a shame that such talent would be wasted because he chose someone selfish who only valued his own interest.

"If only Zero valued his people even just a tiny bit, I will respect him regardless of we are enemies or allies. But alas..." I paused as the ground shook, preparing myself to attack. "... he doesn't."

CLANG!

Once again, we clashed weapons. But this time, Acheron couldn't move his swords as I locked Lakresha's hook in his weapon's intersecting point and Catharsis on the other. 

"But Acheron, I neither pity you nor sympathize with you." I smiled weakly as I relaxed, batting my eyes ever so slowly. "Rather, I respect your loyalty, devotion, and a strong sense of duty. Zero might be a piece of trash to me, but he might be someone even more important to you."

Acheron's eyes slightly dilated before the side of his lips stretched into a grin. "I can never truly hate you, Your Majesty."

"So do I." 

Our weapons sparked as I pushed him while keeping his blades locked in between my weapons. In a beat, I jumped and kicked him in the abdomen, letting go of my weapons, and used my hand to pierce through his chest, grabbing his heart before unhesitatingly pulling it out. 

Lakresha and Catharsis clang as they dropped to the ground. A second later, Acheron dropped to his knees, still barely alive while gazing at me. Although Fabian said to crush their heads, I noticed that although Acheron was protecting his head, he never left his chest unguarded.

It made me wonder why? Or rather, it made me wonder if this was akin to the core I had before. I was correct. His source of life wasn't in his head but in his heart. Zero was a smart fellow and had this annoying pattern of diverting attention. I was quite certain that Fabian would figure out about crushing the skull easily since these people worked like Maleficent. 

So, if I put myself in Zero's shoes, I would change the location for those capable ones. Since Acheron was his people and not Maxine and the other two, he would give Acheron a higher chance of survival. 

I gazed at the beating heart in my hand, gripping it securely but not crushing it. Instead, I looked at Acheron only to see him looking down with a subtle smile on his lips. 

"His Majesty... is never evil," he muttered, gazing up at me. To my surprise, he looked at peace with that subtle smile on his face and those soft eyes... of a father talking about his son. 

"He was a good boy who was a victim of his circumstance. Why I chose him is simply because... he too didn't deserve the life he was forced to lead by the Moriarty. You understand this, Your Majesty. Because you know what having a core feels like." My brows furrowed as I narrowed my eyes, seeing him channel his remaining life force to raise his sword. 

"This is my atonement, my King."

Although Acheron's last attack wasn't quick, I couldn't react on time. The next thing I knew, his sword stabbed through the heart in my hand while I let it go.

"Acheron..." I whispered, watching him smile bitterly as he fell — face first. I pressed my lips into a thin line, balling my hand into a fist as the end of this battle left a bitter taste in my mouth. 

This... was what war was like. We all had our reasons, story, and something we were fighting for. For me, it was my son and my people. But to Acheron, who seemed he saw Zero as his son, was his act of atonement for not being able to save a child from walking down the path of wickedness. 

"A core, huh?" I murmured, chuckling bitterly as I sauntered towards Acheron to pick up my weapons. "Even if I understand what it felt like having a core, you and I know it is already too late for Zero, Acheron."

The deafening yelling and clashing of the sword suddenly rang behind me as the rebels seemed they had finally arrived. I closed my eyes slightly, standing up, then turned my back against Acheron. 

"Death.... is his only salvation."