"Why did you do it? And more importantly, how did you do it?"
Kael questioned directly.
Tobias, who had given up, lowered his head and answered,
"I had no other choice."
"What does that mean?"
Tobias then stared at Kael and,
"Hero Kael, this world is much more dangerous than you think, and these dangers aren't the Beasts, they are people."
Kael stayed silent, letting the Town Head continue.
"People you think are your allies might turn into your enemies, while the enemies might become your friends. It is a complicated place that makes no sense."
The old man laughed self-deprecatingly.
"In this place, only one rule applies.
Survival of the fittest.
The strong survive, the weak perish.
And that was my and my people's sin. We were weak in a world where only those with power thrive."
Tobias declared, then he stared at Kael and continued his story,
"It started four months ago when suddenly, the beasts in the forest, who our children once played with, lost their minds and started attacking us.
The first few attacks weren't much, and we were able to take care of the situation ourselves. However, as time passed, more and more beasts started to fall under this corruption, and their threat grew stronger.
The soldiers started to have a hard time, and soon, we were taking damage. Our soldiers were injured, walls were weakening after constant attacks, and the people were starting to panic.
So, we decided to call for help.
I sent letter after letter, requesting the aid of the Kingdom, but no one came.
We were left with no choice but to defend our town on our own. However, the number of corrupted beasts kept increasing.
We were facing new threats almost every other week now.
The town was about to fall. The townsfolk who could run away ran, while the rest stayed because we had no other choice. But in our hearts, we knew it.
If this continued, we would die.
Tobias then glanced at the room Seline was sleeping in and,
"That little life sleeping next door is everything I have. I couldn't leave her alone in this world, nor could I let her die. I needed to do something.
And as if sensing my desperation,
One night, they knocked on my doors."
Kael raised his eyebrow.
"I do not know. I didn't see their faces. They wore cloaks that covered them, and honestly, at that point, I couldn't care less.
I was just too focused on the words they said to me.
'We have a way you can protect your town.'
My heart shook at those words. At a time when, let alone our Kingdom, even the people from our own town had abandoned us and left.
When someone came to me and offered help, I couldn't deny it. I was in no position to.
Then, they showed me that power."
Tobias paused for a moment, as if recalling it. Then, as his heartbeat became louder, he spoke his next words,
It was the same energy that those corrupted beasts radiated.
My heart shook. I was scared. I doubted the identity of the person next to me.
But he just laughed and told me to…
Cover my Laughter with this energy.
'This energy would strengthen your Bond and make it strong enough to face those beasts.'
That is what they told me.
Even in the situation I was in, I couldn't do this to my Laughter. I had seen the state of those beasts. They were nothing like the beasts they were before. They were… something entirely different.
Laughter came out on his own.
I tried to stop him, but Laughter pointed at Selina, who was sleeping in her room."
Tobias's body shook as he recalled that moment. His eyes turned moist as he remembered how his most cherished Bond pointed at the human he cherished the most. Then, with a hoarse voice, he continued,
"Laughter was a fool. He loved Selina even more than me. He always bothered me, telling me how he wanted to fly with Selina and how he loved it every time Selina hugged him…"
Tobias felt a lump forming in his throat mid-sentence. His body continued to tremble and,
"Then… Laughter pointed at his own injury that he had sustained in his fight against those corrupted beasts…
He knew he couldn't protect Selina anymore…
So he begged me to let him do it, and before I could say anything or stop him, he consumed that energy, and just as those people told me,
And… at the same time…
He lost control over himself…
Using whatever sanity he had left, he flew away. He knew he had now become a threat that could endanger me and Selina, so he left.
However, every time we were attacked by the corrupted beasts and were in trouble, he appeared, and while his enraged attack did harm townsfolk as well, he did save us every single time."
Tobias then stared at Kael and,
You saw it with your own eyes, didn't you?
You saw how strong those corrupted beasts were and how weak our soldiers were. Did you not wonder how we managed to survive their attacks all this while?
It was Laughter who protected us."
"So… he was trying to protect you…?"
Kael frowned at that answer.
"Initially, he was trying to protect us, but… a week ago…
My connection with Laughter disappeared."
Kael couldn't believe what he just heard.
This was… impossible.
A Bond between a Tamer and his Bonds can never disappear unless… one of them dies…
Seeing Kael's reaction, Tobias nodded.
I thought he had died, and as much as it hurt me, I was glad. After all, he could finally sleep peacefully. But then today…"
"That thing was not my Laughter."
Tobias answered back, his eyes much more intense than before.
"Whatever it was, it just had my Laughter's body. It was not my Laughter.
And... it was much stronger… bigger… and… filled with malice…
My Laughter, even when corrupted, was not like that."
Tobias defended his best friend.
"...do you perhaps know the reason why he changed?"
Kael questioned after thinking for a while, and unexpectedly, Tobias nodded.
Kael was taken aback.
"What was it? Why did he change?"
Tobias then stared at Kael and,
"It was because of you."