Headed by a Snake

Tycondrius of Sol Invictus dashed towards the battle, leaping over the downed Rhodoks.

He'd finish them off afterward-- if they weren't already dead.

Optio Sixtus revealed an arrogant smirk, fully believing that help had arrived.

"Duplicarius Zehr!! The enemy's scales are nigh-impenetrable!!" Sixtus shouted, keeping his focus on Isidor, "Do you have any skills that can pierce through armor!!??"

Tycon did.

He slowed his pace slightly to keep his balance, placing one of his swords in front of his face in a stance that Decanus Justus would be familiar with.

Ah, the young man wasn't paying him any attention. Such a hint would have given him at least a chance to not feel so useless.

Tycon concentrated his mana into his blade, forming a razor-sharp pointed edge at its tip. The white glow of his own mana coupled with the silver from Fortuna's ⌈Emberglow⌋ enchantment made it blindingly radiant.

Increasing his speed again, he refocused a quick burst of mana into his legs to empower a majestic forward leap, "⌈LegionnnBREAKER!!!⌋"

⟬ ⌈Legionbreaker⌋ Weapon ability: A sharpened point of radiant mana gathers at the tip of the weapon, for use in penetrating heavy armor. ⟭

Tycon plummeted down from above, piercing the tip of his blade between Sixtus' neck and shoulder. Landing and steadying himself, he pushed the weapon deeper, almost to its hilt. His second blade, he stabbed beneath the Optio's left armpit, stabbing somewhere near the heart.

Quickly, he withdrew the offhand sword, spilling the Optio's blood onto the cavern floor. He swiped it in the air to flick off the blood and took a step back to admire his work.

He decided that his main hand sword was... not worth the effort, getting it free, so stuck inside of Sixtus. Anyroad, the radiance from Fortuna's enchantment was largely muted, the sword now illuminating his insides. The surroundings were darker, as he preferred it.

Optio Sixtus fell to his knees, head bowed... dying with at least a modicum of dignity. Tycon kicked him over. He'd have none of that.

Tycon looked over to... Decanus Justus. He stood and... gawked with his mouth agape like a disbelieving chipmunk. Both his shield and sword arm hung loosely at his sides, his will to fight completely gone.

Isidor looked down at the last remaining Rhodok, "Are... weee.... still fiiighting?"

"No, I think Decanus Justus is finished," Tycon answered... "Look, the young man has dropped his guard."

"Pooooor form..."

"It is, I agree," Tycon nodded.

Justus took a wary couple of steps forward, "Zehr... How... how could you?"

Tycon pursed his lips. Was that a... rhetorical question? The answer to 'how' would be... 'quite easily,' but he sensed that was not the answer the young Decanus was searching for.

Justus gulped, "What... what about the quest? The m-mission?"

Tycon curved his lips up in a polite smile, "This was the mission..."

"The mission... was to kill... that?" He pointed to the large, very patient Titan Snake, curling up in the distance. The ⌈Obscuring Mist⌋ had dissipated, revealing Isidor's whole form, over 80 fulms long, his head nearly as tall as Justus, and a bit larger at his base.

⟬ Isidor, Gold-Rank Titan Snake ⟭

Tycon shook his head, "My mission was to kill the members of the Gold-Rank Rhodok guild that posted a bounty on Isidor."

Justus gripped the hilt on his sword, clenching his teeth and... allowing tears to flow freely down his cheeks, "Was everything... a lie?"

"There was deception involved, yes."

The Decanus tore off his helmet revealing his mussed red hair-- as for why, Tycon had no idea, "What about your feelings for Rena... was that a lie too?!?"

Tycon narrowed his eyes, "I don't quite see how that relates to the conversation... Also, understand that I haven't actively tried to sabotage the Rhodoks until... this sun, actually."

"That... that can't be..." Justus shook his head.

He shrugged, "Every blunder thus far was the fault of your Rhodok guild."

"Soundsssss like.... you've few goooood storiessss... Brother-Tycon..." Isidor remarked.

"Your accent is coming out again, Brother-Isidor," Tycon chided.

"Sssssorry-- ugh... Myyy apologies."

"So your real name is Tycon..." Justus gulped, wiping his tears with the back of his wrist, "What... what happens now?"

Tycon grimaced, organizing his thoughts. There was a way for him to spare the young Decanus' life. Though he judged the chance Justus would take it was slim, Tycon supposed he owed it to him for his faith... and for his respect for the Ezyrian guild known as Sol Invictus.

With a smooth and subtle motion, he wiped his palm free of Centurion Cyrac's blood and raised it towards Decanus Justus, "Join me."

Justus clenched his teeth, "I will NEVER bow down to a NON-HUMAN!!"

Tycon tilted his head, his eyebrows deeply furrowed, "I feel that there's a lot of misplaced hatred in that remark."

"The Manticore was evil incarnate... You--"

Tycon angrily swiped down his offered hand, "--The Manticore..."

Ah. He interrupted the young man. He hated being interrupted, himself. He felt a bit guilty about his hypocritical actions.

Tycon continued, calming himself... "The Manticore is a poor example. As far as large magical beasts go, look at Isidor! All he does is lay about, take long baths, and eat tributes of cows and swine. And for that, the Tyrion Adventurer's Guild ordered him killed."

"Brother-TYYYcon..." Isidor's voice held a hint of betrayal.

"Not now, Isidor," Tycon glared, explaining quickly. "I'm trying to prove a point. You're not a villain."

"...Alright."

"But... the kobolds..." The young Decanus stared at the ground, depressed that Tycon was destroying his worldview.

"The Iredar attacked a large armed force traipsing around their territory. Humans do that all the time-- Tyrions, especially. And oftentimes they don't care about whether or not there are civilians."

"The... the Spider Breeders?" Justus almost whispered.

"The worst example of all, the Spider Breeders were living off of bats. You were likely the first humans they'd ever seen."

"They killed the Sssspider Breeeeders?" Isidor reared his head back dramatically in shock, "We have... a huuuuge... bat infesssstation..."

"Just two," Tycon frowned. "Were those the only ones? --And it's not like bats are pests. They eat insects."

"Oh.... Just two... That's fiiiine, thennn..."

Justus shook his head, "I... I can't... It's too... According to everything I've learned..."

"...Hatred against non-humans is deeply ingrained into Tyrion culture." Tycon sighed, offering a polite smile. "Well, that was the offer, and I've been rejected. Thank you for your honesty, young Decanus."

"Th-thanks, Duplicarius, I think..." Justus scratched his cheek.

"Come on, then," Tycon stretched his back and flourished his short sword. He lightly held his wrist, gently rotating it in a stretch.

"Wh-what?" The clueless Decanus asked.

"We have to fight." Tycon grimaced, "I just killed all of your friends. Have you forgotten?"