Harem Tournament of Champions

"That's enough mischief, right?" Aster growled, tightening his grip on Lancaster's neck.

Cough!

Letting go of his neck, Aster wiped off the blood on his face, spitting out profanities at the sky to vent out his frustration.

Lancaster was still stuck in a mind loop of being choked and laid back with his hand on his neck.

Looking to the side, he exhaled and a growing smile continued. "I did prove you wrong though."

"Shut the hell up, little one." Aster snapped, waving his hand to dissolve the discussion.

"To hell with that title! Do I look that little?" Lancaster disputed.

"You're just 234, yet you want to compare with those who are ten times or more?" Aster deadpanned, clicking his tongue.

Pouting, Lancaster kicked the spear on the floor. "I had lived two centuries, it's something, goddamnit!"

A small smile tugged at Aster's lips at the immature behavior of his brother.

Secretly he was glad for the personality of his brother who could make a tense situation into a field of fun and vice versa.

"Yeah, it's something to look over and remind ourselves of how little you are." He countered.

Gasping at the reference, Lancaster searched his thoughts on how to get back at him.

With his pride hurt, Aster's eyes searched for another fish–a larger one that he could catch himself.

"I don't know why you're afraid of accepting who you truly are." Lancaster pressed on with a growing smirk.

Aster grimaced at the words, understanding where he was headed with the accusation. "Don't push it, Lancaster."

"You could have caught that fish if you went primitive like how father taught us."

"Not some stupid spear like some human!" Lancaster sneered at the thought of restricting themselves instead of embracing and utilizing their abilities to their fullest potential.

Aster looked behind him, picking a spear with his foot and kicking it in Lancaster's direction.

Whoosh!

Weaving to the right, Lancaster stared at the spear that was lodged in a wall of a distant canyon.

"Woah... you really mean busines–"

Pulling him by the little horns on his head, Aster searched his brother's eyes.

"Shut the fuck up! Goddamnit!! Do not bring him into this!"

Lancaster could feel Aster's rage skyrocket, his Sux seeping out of him as his horns grew an inch longer and his white mane covering more of his chest.

With the position he was in still being held by the horn, he could see Aster's feet slowly merge into hooves.

Gasping and staring in awe, he was temporarily distracted and had a bright smile at the display.

'He's finally doing it!'

Looking down at his feet, Aster stared in horror at his unwanted change and exhaled to calm his rage.

Slowly his augmentations reverted, to which he let out a sigh of relief.

Lancaster's mood dropped at the failed attempt, letting out a sigh in defeat.

"Don't bank on it." Aster hissed, warning his brother to desist from riling him up.

"You had almost relied on using your full abilities!" Lancaster reminded.

"You know what would happen if I make a complete transformation!" He shouted into Lancaster's ears.

Grimacing at his eardrums ringing, he hoped that the mini torture was over. "I have hope that you are different."

"Father couldn't." Aster sneered, Rollin his eyes at the memory.

"He did it to save our..."

"Don't tell me you still support him? He fucking killed half of our people and made this stupid island isolated." Aster recalled, punching on the hull.

Lancaster harrumphed, slightly disturbed that he was still held by the horns. "Are you comparing yourself with fa–him?"

"As much as I would want that, I need to train my body and mind to withstand it, get that!"

"How can I, if you tug at my horn?" Lancaster countered.

"Why do I feel you are more mischievous than usual?" He hissed.

Lancaster struggled to break free from his hold but was also careful not to damage his horns which still had a long way to go to reach a fraction of his elder brother's.

"Let me go!" He nudged the stomach of Aster and instantly regretted it with the metal armor around that area.

'Why the fuck do you wear that shit?!'

"Tell me, what's going on?" Aster bellowed.

Releasing his grip on his brother, he hoped there would be some way of getting to him from the little threat.

"You know, I thought you had brought me here to commemorate mother's death." Lancaster looked downcast, biting on his bottom lips and fiddling with his fingers.

Aster's eyes widened in shock at the memory that he had tried burying in his subconscious.

When they were young they were taught fishing by their mother, a fond memory before the war that had her taken and killed.

After that incident, their father had been thrown into a moment of grief and driven by his hate towards the immortals that he had forgone their safety to achieve his selfish plan for the battle.

"That's a grim reminder." He deadpanned.

Lancaster could feel the anguish in his brother's eyes, trying his best to deny the inevitable.

In a bid to elevate the situation, he flashed a grin. "I'm your only family left, be glad."

"I'm the only one who can give you a less gruesome death, be glad." Aster countered.

Lancaster let out a laugh at his words, pointing a finger at Aster's hands. "How about trying out that small talk?"

Aster stared at his neatly trimmed nails and then at the spear.

"It wouldn't hurt every once in a while." Lancaster edged on with wiggling brows.

"When have you ever been right?" Aster shook his head.

"I caught that fish, did I not?" He pointed at the fish laying in its blood that had been coagulated into a black jelly-like substance.

"That was just luck, and I hate luck!"

Folding his arms, Lancaster tilted his head. "I'm almost certain that your claws are crooked!"

"It is not!" Aster responded, protracting his claws.

"Ha!"

Before he could register what he had done, he stared at his claws and let out a sigh. "Acting all smart, I see."

"It is fun." Lancaster shrugged with a grin.

Taking a few steps back, Lancaster raised his hands in defense, perplexed by the strange movement of his brother.

"Uhhh... is something wrong?" He tried to joke about it as he watched his brother's eyes glow and his sudden reliance on using the claw.

'Does it work like that?'

"Don't jump off the boat!" Aster warned him when he witnessed Lancaster's glances from him and the body of water.

'He can speak?!' Lancaster wondered, uncertain about why it looked as though he was slowly reverting to his beast urges.

"Huh?"

Whoosh!

Lancaster let out a scream, thinking he had unintentionally triggered his brother, left with no lifelines.

Shluk!

Slowly opening his eyes, he felt his brother's breathing ragged as was a strange thud beside him.

"Eeeee!!!" A hobgoblin's screech could be heard as it struggled to be free of Aster's grasp.

Having a closer look at the six and a half feet in height gray skinned hobgoblin.

Its coarse white fur, bat-like ears, and blue nose had Lancaster tilted his head in confusion.

Its yellow eyes glared at Aster as its lean hands had been broken from the collision. "We are back!"

Placing his feet on its chest, Aster growled as he searched their surroundings.

'How did they escape?'

He could recall the tales he had heard from their elders on the reason they had sealed the hobgoblins after they had laid siege on the goblins and destroyed a majority of their windmills, putting their advancement to a standstill at the time.

"What's that?" Lancaster pointed at the snarling hobgoblin.

"We will get what is–"

Slash!

Green blood oozed from the neck of the hobgoblin as it convulsed from the injuries.

Slash!

Slash!

Several more cuts were made to the head as an enraged Aster cackled in disbelief at their return.

Lancaster took a step back in disgust at the sight. He had never been the one who enjoyed the cruel treatment of his opponents and was visibly disturbed by his brother's actions.

Wiping off the blood from his face, Aster shook his head. "That's two on me, today."

Looking over at his distraught brother, he took a step closer to which Lancaster took an equal step back till he was put up against the sail.

Halting in his steps, he stared for a few seconds–the glow in his eyes gone as did his claws.

"We aren't safe here, anymore. No one is." Aster grimly announced.

*****

A/N

¶ What do you think of the introduction of the hobgoblins? Do you see them as a potential threat as Aster declares them to be?

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