He held the axe to his neck, quivering and shaking.

  Okay, you’re making me feel bad now. I don’t even want to watch this. I have to make this less sad.

  “New rule, I won’t kill the last person alive here, do with that as you wish.”

  Upon my decree they looked at each other with scary eyes.

  Shit. I really wouldn’t want to be in their shoes right now, even I’m getting chills and it’s not even directed at me.

  “I can’t have this drag on, so my offer only stands for 5 more minutes.” I spoke, not wanting to wait.

  Their eyes then leaked an aura of desperation, as they urged the one with the axe to split his throat. Upon his hesitation, one of the guys snuck behind him and forced his hand.

  Damn!

  Chaos ensued as the white snow was stained red. The bandit who picked up the axe started hunting the other bandits down in a frenzy.

  I felt like calling him johnny right then.

  Although it seems that the group recognized the threat he posed and all jumped him. They did manage to rip the axe from him and take his head, but not before johnny took down a few of them as well.

  There were 5 of them left now and they all stared at the new one with the axe. To me it felt like history might repeat itself once again. Yet it seems that the new axe-bearer was a bit more cunning than johnny.

  He yelled to scare them back and then pivoted his foot on the snow and dashed backward to the member of the encirclement who felt like he was in least danger due to his position.

  Brilliant.

  He lifted the quicksilver axe and ripped it downward on the shocked highwayman, rending the flesh on his chest apart and quickly knocking the amount of possible assailants from 4 to 3.

  Shocked by what had transpired, the remaining hostile bandits huddled together in order to respond with the full force of the group if smart johnny attacked.

  New johnny clicked his tongue as if displaying annoyance which seemed to have lifted the spirits of the remainder.

  Such as obvious trap move and they fell for it completely. I feel that johnny has a more and more of a chance the longer this goes on. Yet it could be disadvantageous for me if johnny 2.0 wins. It’s making me nervous.

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  I adjusted my monocle while looking at johnny, I should use the second descriptor.

  Johnny 2 then lifted his axe above his head in a manner I felt to be scarily familiar.

  No, he’s not going to do the captain’s mercuric gradient slash is he? I thought, shuddering in anticipation.

  He lifted the axe even higher above his shoulder as put my fists to my cheeks in excitement.

  Then he threw the axe.

  What. No. There’s no way. There’s no fucking way! This is the most genius thing I have ever seen! Brilliant beyond reprieve. Wise above restriction. The connections I just referenced don’t actually make any sense, but you get the picture.

  It was really fucking smart. It’ll most likely be a one on one soon, yet if he plays his cards right he win in the next five seconds.

  The axe traversed the air and struck the middle bandit right through the neck.

  Bullseye

  Johnny then rushed the group as they were recuperating.

  He’s going for the instant win scenario!

  The bandit to the left ripped the axe out of the middle bandits throat and shifted his stance to the right bandit.

  Yes! Johnny’s lost, that stance is a ruse!

  The armed bandit then twisted his wrist, turning the blade of his axe to it’s opposite side and swung it to the left, ripping through johnny’s face.

  Johnny, it’s vanity. That is where your mistake lied. The second descriptor of The Vainglorious is ‘a destructive vanity’ I used the facet of my authority on johnny, the axe itself and the defending group making johnny’s ‘vanity’ appear more dangerous then the axe’s and of the other people, forcing them to foretake attacking their forced partners before killing johnny. Of course ‘vanity’ in general context has 3 meanings, one is egoism, another is uselessness, and the final one is appearance. I naturally used this third meaning. There is of course the high probability that they would assign johnny as a higher threat level then each other even with the axe and nothing would change with me influencing them with my authority, but I had to make sure.

  They looked at each other with relieved expressions.

  That peace shalln’t last, I’ll give it…three more seconds.

  And on my mark the weapon bearer struck, another head rolling to the floor.

  I started clapping, “Bravo, bravo. As promised, you may leave. Just leave the weapon though, imperial property and all.”

  I stretched out my hand, a passive smile forming on my lips.

  He then went over to me, placing the hilt of the axe in my palm.

  He looked at me peacefully, since I’m a fallen and therefore they are all beneath me so why would I lie to him? Why would I backstab him? There’s no reason to! There’s absolutely no reason to! NONE AT ALL! IT’S USELESS TO EVEN THINK THAT THERE WOULD BE! IT’S ILLOGICAL TO BELIEVE ME A CHARLATAN! I’M FALLEN, THE VERY DEFINITION OF PRIDE! EXCEPT THERE’S THAT ONE THING YOU FORGOT TO CONSIDER. I’M VANITAS, THE VAINGLORIOUS.

  A silver sheen ripped through his neck as he stared at me is disbelief, “Do you remember when I told you my name? My fallen name?”

  He just continued to stare.

  “Well, let me remind you. It’s Vanitas, The Vainglorious. Vainglory, it has two meanings, one is excessive vanity and the other, a vain glory. Vain means useless, unavailing, and impotent. So vainglory means a false glory. It really is a nightmare of your own creation. You believed in my false glory and out of fear obeyed the disastrous orders of my existence, an existence who by himself, could never harm you. Let alone a group of you. In that lens, I, despite being ‘nightmare of your own creation’ can never actually do anything befitting of that name, only you can, when you choose to put your belief in vanity.”