Protagonist? Antagonist? I Reject Both

"How do you know that?"Lucien freaked out.

"From your eyes. It's easy to tell the intent behind one eye if one is experienced enough."Leon answered nonchalantly and he wasn't lying to some extent.

The boy's eyes carried the same look Leon had except, Lucien was still floating in the periphery of darkness and yet to dig deeper.

Secondly, this was the most common trope among the fellow protagonists.

"Really," Lucien asked.

"Yes," Leon answered with a straight face thinking that the boy was skeptical of him.

But Lucien's reaction next baffled him.

Lucien after a brief pause broke into tears thinking that man not only saved him but was also able to understand his sadness with a single.

Wiping his tears, he spoke aloud, "Big Brother, you are right about that."

Leon flinched back seeing Lucien bursting into cries and sobbing.

'Is this guy so easy to lead over? He is a pushover.'

"Two weeks ago, my parents were coming back home from work. In the midst, the car brakes failed and they had an accident. But it wasn't deadly, it was just the car they hit was someone who had high status."

Lucien's voice trailed off carrying a huge amount of grief and sorrow.

"They had settled the matter with money but the next day, they we…were found...dead.."

Lucien wasn't able to continue further and burst into tears. His eyes carried an immense grief coupled with the frustration of being a helpless viewer in the play of cruel fate.

If Leon hadn't seen the hideous hearts of people, he would have screamed that this was too much of a bullshit alas it wasn't.

The family of villains had always been very protective of them. Going to any length for a slight grievance or misunderstanding.

Their ego was so big that they burst out with a slight prickle.

Just when Leon thought it was over, Lucien continued his tale taking him by surprise.

"I was heartbroken and crestfallen. When I thought that everything was over, I found a mysterious box. It was my family heirloom. From that, I got a crystal and a map. The crystal got absorbed into my body suddenly and I got stronger all of a sudden and the map led me to the treasure land and I concluded that it was the Lost Jewel."

"Hoooooohooo!"

"Hey, kid!"

Lucien snapped out of reverie hearing a cold voice.

"Are you an idiot?"Leon asked, giving Lucien an inexplicable gaze.

"Why the hell are you revealing all this to me? I mean I got it that you want to share your story but why did you tell me about that map and crystal? What if I am a bad guy who stole your things? How can you blubber this to a random stranger?"

"It's because you aren't a stranger. You saved me. And something in my heart is telling me that I can trust you."Lucien answered with his eyes shining with awe.

Lucien knew that he was a helpless lamb to be slaughtered without any help but seeing the man who appeared like an angel to save him he couldn't help but put his trust in him.

On the other hand, Leon started to sweat profusely seeing the twinkling gazes of Lucien.

'What the fuck? Is this the protagonist's intuition? Wait, don't tell me I am manipulated by the protagonist's luck.'

Leon's heart jolted in weary hearing Lucien's naive words filled with anticipation.

The most difficult thing in the world was to bear a protagonist's trust and grace.

Every new character introduced would too op and in a league of their own but once they were defeated by the protagonist, and come under him they would be beaten like a dog all the time with the protagonist coming to the rescue.

He didn't have any enmity with this guy nor did this guy commit anything for him to kill him so he didn't harbor any ill intention against him. Moreover, this kid was too pure for a protagonist.

However, this guy's unwavering and baseless trust in him was really annoying.

"Kid, stop being delusional. The first thing you need to do to survive in the world is to trust no one, so you understand that right,"

"Yes, I understand. Except for you, I won't trust anyone.''Lucien shouted.

'Fuck!'

Leon pinched his forehead feeling that he had saved a headache that was gonna bite back at him.

...

Next day...

Amidst the deep forest, trees stood tall with their branches reaching towards the sky. Sunlight trickles through the foliage casting intricate patterns on the forest floor.

In between the deep canopies, a man walked, taking each step with caution.

Leon, who followed the Golden trail, paused and shouted back in frustration.

"Why are you following me now?"

"Brother, do you need some help? I can carry things for you. Just treat me as your handyman," Lucien asked with an embarrassed expression and walked out from behind a tree scratching his head.

When he opened his eyes, Leon had already woken up and prepared to leave while warning him not to follow him but his heart told him to follow this man so he secretly followed him but it seemed he had been found out.

Leon looked down at himself and then at Lucien"I am only carrying guns. Do you want me to give you one so that you can shoot at me behind my back?"

"No, I would never do that. My father had taught me that a benefactor's kindness should be repaid even if it is done by exchanging one life. If you encounter any deadly situation, I will bear the brunt for you Big Brother. You can put your trust in me, "Lucien shouted and hit his chest proudly.

"Say that after you managed to survive from getting bitten by that snake."

"San....AAHHHHHH!"Lucien screamed, seeing a snake crawling near his foot.

Jumping away, he ran towards Leon looking for protection who threw a dagger at the snake chasing after Lucien.

TWANG!

The dagger stuck the snake's neck pinning it to the side. The snake's head was decapitated swiftly and it started wiggling and squirming, spraying a fountain of blood.

"It's tough to babysit a kid."Leon sighed.

"I am not a kid," Lucien refuted with a pout.

"Yeah, you aren't a kid but a small baby."

Leon ignored Lucien's blabbering and after a few hours of traveling, they finally arrived at the uncharted designated territory.

On the way, they encountered a few beats but none posed any danger to him.

Leon stood before a huge willow tree resting against a small rocky landmass. The small hill was gnarled by mosses, shrubs, and trees.

"What are you looking for?"Lucien asked with hopeful eyes.

"For a serum," Leon answered nonchalantly while observing the place.

"What's that?"

"Something that will improve my constitution. My body is quite bad and ill so I need to improve my genetics and if possible..."

Leon paused hearing a sobbing sound and turned around to see Lucien's puppy eyes filled with tears.

SNIFF...SNIFF...

"Brother, don't tell me you are dying. Brother, you can take the map and search for treasure with me. It might have something to extend life so don't die."Lucien with moist eyes extended his hands to hold Leon but was pushed away by a slap.

"Who said about dying? Stop overthinking and escalating things."Leon growled.

"Are you not dying?"Lucien asked with a slight hesitation and fear in his eyes.

BANG!

"Absolutely not," Leon shouted, giving a karate chop on his head.

"Thank God! I thought you had a hidden illness, "Lucien breathed in relief

"So, where is that serum?"Lucien asked and then looked at the direction Leon pointed at.

"But how will w..."

Before Lucien could finish his sentence, Leon had already pulled out a rocket launcher from the storage ring and shot it.

The missile head soaring in the air, landed on a rocky boulder and exploded.

BOOM!

Dust and debris bounced off the place followed by a thick trail of smoke spewed by flames. Rocks and boulders started to fall downward creating a huge commotion.

DUM! DUM!DUM!

Lucien was horrified by the sight of pure destruction and hid behind Leon who pulled him by the collar and ran back to gain some distance.

A landslide carrying a pile of dust, rock, and trees bounced off to the ground.

When everything was cleared off, a small opening of the cave appeared before Leon and Lucien's eyes.

Leon's lips curled upwards as he looked at Lucien's expression with a dubious smile.

"That's the place where the serum lies."

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