A childhood, growing up in the area where he now worked as a priest of his god and doing childish things. Growing, maturing, making friends, and even falling in love. A childish crush that never got to blossom into anything more, the girl having left before he had the chance and left him carrying a torch for all of those years until, almost as if from thin air, she reappeared in the worst possible way, needing him to carry out her wedding.
And Ben couldn’t care less. The man wasn’t even openly admitting it to himself with the privacy of his mind but he had arranged the challenge to kill Greed, telling himself that he was just making a challenge worthy of anyone Gennet might love but there was no denying that the crab’s death was the end goal, making the solution from there simple. Ben took away his ability to decide what would happen next.
Taking control of the body and shutting down the mind it held, Ben began acting as the man, giving instructions that weren’t too over the top so as to draw suspicion, something that a few who’d seen the oil dive were already feeling, and kept it from escalating further. He became both the master of ceremonies as well as the one piloting Greed’s movements, making the challenge of it all both faster and more straightforward.
When there was the chance, he phrased things so that Greed could simply jump over challenges and take the most direct route of traps, rushing through the gauntlet now in a way that looked far more fluid without someone actively trying to figure out how to make the worst of it and it left the rest of the crowd eating it up, the ones who either liked or didn’t actively know Greed cheering him on as he went, with the end coming closer and closer to sight, all while Gennet waited for her partner.
It was also clear that he might have been rushing things a bit too fast, but by that point Ben didn’t care. It looked good enough for everyone else, and the day had worn him out. The very last thing he wanted was to draw it out, especially when it still wasn’t done.
Standing on the final wall, a few more challenges before him, Greed could see Gennet’s face, smiling brightly at him and filled with joy that he’d gotten so far, Ben let the crab raise an arm to wave in the exact moment he spotted something else.
Through the eyes of everyone within his range, Ben observed the world around him. Most focused on the wedding ceremony itself, but a couple were getting antsy, needing to stretch their necks and look around, with those few showing him that neither he nor Greed had gotten lucky. The last hired assassin had taken their shot.
Through the power of his thought speed, Ben watched as, from his perspective, the arrow hung still in the air, marking his guess correct as to the assassin’s profession and perfectly aimed at Greed in a way he was sure would hit, leaving him measuring his options for how to deal with him.
A part of him toyed with the idea of taking control of Greed’s body to force his friend to catch it before it could strike, that was sure to add some wow-factor but it would conflict with the crab’s request to keep everything that needed solving low-key.
Using his magic was possible too, he was fairly sure he could keep all of the dark elves in his range from noticing the bit of mana it would cost to deal with, especially when he was already in their heads but, while that would have been the simplest option, it also left the risk of someone sensing something and suspecting that Greed hadn’t faced his challenge honestly.
No, the best solution was the one he’d been using till that point and, using the eyes of some of the other guests to guide him, he actualized both a small plate in front of the arrow to stop it while at the same time made dozens of small metal balls with that same power, shooting them off into the woods.
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He had the arrows trajectory which meant he knew roughly where Greed had been shot from and since no matter how good someone’s vision had to be, it was worthless if there were any trees in the way, he knew his target couldn’t be that deep. He aimed a little lower than where the bow had to have been being held, certain to have his aim at the man’s gut, before he released those mental bullets and spoke up to the heavens after the arrow was stopped and left to harmlessly clatter to the ground, too far away for anyone to notice.
Hey, Myriad, you around?
I think I managed to get the last assassin, I should have just shot him with enough force to knock him out of the tree he was hiding in so could you let me know if it looks like there’s someone dying on the ground near the edge of the woods and how long they have.
I shot blindly towards a guy that just tried to murder my friend, so maybe? If I did, it was a justified accident, and if I didn’t, well, I’ll go collect him once the ceremony is over because we’re just about done.
<... I found him. Broke both of his arms falling out of that tree and I’m seeing a lot of blood, so maybe he lasts another ten minutes?>
Eh, guess it’s up to fate then. We’ll see if I get there in time because right now I need to end things.
With Greed at the final little section, having continued on while Ben had dealt with that diversion, he got the crab to jump a pit that could only have been dug with earth magic, left so deep that he couldn’t see the bottom before arriving at Gennet’s feet, marking his completion and the end of that nonsense.
“Before Anqual and before Gennet, Greed has proven himself worthy of her love! The ceremony completed and their lives joined, may everyone here give them a hearty congratulations!”
With a cheer, the crowd watched as Gennet picked up Greed and kissed him, bringing the main event to its end.
“Huh, what?” the master of ceremonies said, not understanding what had happened. One moment, he’d been leading the event and the next the crowd had started to disperse, grabbing plates of food and waiting for other parts of the wedding, Greed needing to present his hair piece and say a few words beyond that, with the worst of all being the person in front of him, staring him down.
“Hello there,” Ben said brightly. “I’m Ben, also known as the apostle of Myriad, also known as the third tier, the eldritch mind holder.”
And also a telepath of sorts, Ben thought at him, making the other jump before going on.
“Now, I’m just going to make things clear since this seems like a first time bit of attempted murder and- ah, ah, ah, telepath, remember? No point trying to deny it, I was already in your head. Anyway, your part of the wedding is officially over. Should you do anything else to get in the way of the bride and groom, be aware that I’ll be breaking every bone in your body and there’s not one person in this world with the authority to stop me. Have I made that clear?”
“Ahem, crystal,” he nodded, overwhelmed by the sheer announced authority of the one before him and flinched as Ben patted his arm, a bright grin on his face.
“Glad we understand each other. In that case, help yourself to a meal and try to relax, it’s a party after all.”
When the man hurried away, more than happy to have been dismissed, Thera made her way over, a doubtful look on her face.
“Making friends, I take it?”
“Wrapping up loose ends,” he sighed as he leaned into her, resting his head on her shoulder. “If Greed fucks up this marriage I’m going to kill him. I worked way too hard on making this a success.”
“Ha, you make it sound like you planned it.”
“Considering that every person here currently enjoying the food hasn’t been poisoned thanks to me, I’m pretty comfortable saying I deserve some credit. Speaking of, you mind giving me a hand?”
“Why, even more killers in our midst?”
“No, just one I already dealt with. Wanna hide us and fly us out to the forest real quick? We’ve got an assassin in the woods currently bleeding out, and while it’s not exactly a problem for me if he dies, it will probably make things easier on Myriad if his apostle didn’t just murder a man, no matter the circumstances.”