Criminal X : Epitome Of Evil

Everything was over.

The training was done.

The final training was done.

What Pablo wanted to accomplish, happened.

All the one hundred and ten soldiers won their battles against the criminals.

Pablo told them to rest and prepare for tomorrow because tomorrow is the day they would leave for Hollow and wage war against the Cannibals.

Everything was set.

Everyone had smiles on their faces and amidst this…

THUMP!

Someone landed on Ground 2.

Dust arose on the spot and before it could clear itself, a voice came from behind it.

And what the voice said, snatched the happy vibes from the atmosphere.

"We have to commence the War today, Pablo. The Gong has been rung."

Everyone knew that voice and upon hearing it, all of them stood straight.

Those who were resting, those who were asleep also woke up from their slumber by the voice.

Even Pablo adjusted his Marshal uniform a little and the dust finally cleared up.

And as they expected, it was the Admiral. Harlia Dagarus.

The woman ruling above the ten Marshals of the Abyssal Butchers.

She had arrived, no one knew from where, right in the middle of the Ground 2 and all the soldiers just stared at Pablo.

Pablo remained on the stage and Harlia walked towards it like she owned the damn place.

She was in her Admiral Uniform and her face was devoid of any calmness. Her long black hair and tall build made her appear majestic. The way she carried herself made her appear the most courageous and desirable woman people would ever see.

And right now, among the soldiers, one man was completely destroyed by her.

He was none other than Flashy.

The man's eyes couldn't leave the Admiral and it was his first time he was seeing her from so up close.

His heart forgot how to beat and his eyes forgot where to look. Her face became a magnet for him and the poor man finally got to know about the fable…

Love At First Sight.

He forgot his position.

He forgot the formation of the soldiers.

He began walking towards Harlia.

He broke lines of other soldiers. They cursed him but he paid them no mind. His hearing now only longed to hear any utterance from the Admiral.

Pablo and Draxus both saw Flashy walking towards Harlia blindly and Gerald even walked behind Flashy to stop his son.

Pablo would have stopped him too if not for being curious as to what would happen now.

And if Pablo wasn't stopping Flashy, then Draxus also saw no point of stopping Flashy as well. He let the man go.

Harlia took long strides and when she was just about to walk past a certain file of the soldiers, someone fell in front of her.

Harlia stopped abruptly.

And the face she made, made everyone sure that Flashy was going to die today.

She was already tense enough, time was of the essence and someone dared to stop her mid-way? Not good.

But love knew no bounds.

The soldier who fell in front of her, both literally and figuratively, was none other than Flashy.

He had walked so fast that he tripped and fell on the path of the Admiral.

Nevertheless, Flashy won't waste this chance.

He quickly sat up and instead of standing up, he rested his one knee on the ground and kept his head low.

The scene looked like a soldier kneeling in front of the King.

Gerald also stopped walking behind his son to stop him as he figured what his son was doing.

He walked and stood back to where he came from and let the young man live his youth.

All the other soldiers watched the scene with bated breaths as Harlia's face contorted more and more by every passing second.

A soldier fell in front of her. Stopped her from moving forward. And was now kneeling in front of her while looking down at the ground.

Yep. This calls for death.

However, Harlia decided to know the reason first.

"Soldier. This bette—"

GASP!

Everyone gasped.

Harlia had stopped speaking. But that wasn't the reason for everyone gasping.

The Admiral had stopped speaking because Flashy, the funny guy, the idiot, raised his right hand in the air.

This hand movement signified clearly that the man told Harlia to stay quiet. And from what the soldiers had heard, no one tells her to stay quiet. No man at least.

Therefore, Harlia's lips quivered.

A vein popped up on her forehead but before she could erupt…

"Maam. Sir. Madam sir. Please hear me out." Flashy spoke. His voice had all the respect he could muster.

Harlia frowned.

"What is it? It better be good." She said and her voice grew flowers in Flashy's lungs.

Flashy controlled himself and said, "First, promise me that you won't kill me. I am just a man who wants to say something to you right now. I have no ill intentions. I have no malice in my heart. Just listen to what I have to say. Please, ma'am. Sir."

Harlia crossed her arms in front of her chest and tapped her foot on the ground.

She kept her gaze downwards at Flashy and the man still had his head hung low.

And Pablo was surprised that the man was still alive. How he thought of Harlia, Flashy would have died the moment he told her to shut up.

Nonetheless, he watched along with the other soldiers.

"Speak. No promises I'll make." Harlia replied.

Flashy sighed. "Fine. Then I shall put my life on the line for this. My mother would be proud."

Harlia was running thin on her patience and if not for her sudden curiosity towards the soldier, she would have kicked him aside and had walked to the stage.

Flashy took a deep breath and finally looked up at Harlia.

When he looked at her face from up close, he was smitten more than ever. He believed such faces were the reason poetry was invented for. Such faces were the reason men died in the war. Such faces were the reason God created the word love. Such faces were made for the poets to adore. Such faces were the reason that made Flashy ask:

"What can a man do to marry you?"