Chapter Text
For the past several weeks, Techno has been trying to do one thing and one thing only.
End the war.
Granted it’s not because he really cares about which side wins or loses–-although he'd quite like not dying, thank you very much–-but his investment is more so in the fact that he has no choice.
As a hybrid stuck in a brutal, unforgiving system, he’s gotta do whatever these people ask of him. So if he wants to live, he'll keep on fighting until the day the fighting stops, and the collar wrapped around his neck makes sure of that.
So Techno will do whatever he can to ensure that the war ends, and he knows that there's one way to best do that.
Kill the Angel of Death.
Should be easy, right?
I mean with a name like that, how scary could the guy really be?
Techno doesn't know much about the man besides his ominous name, but he's come to learn that the Angel of Death is General of the enemy's army, one said to have wings as dark as the night itself. And using those wings, he descends upon his enemies like a hungry vulture, tearing them limb from limb until there's nothing left.
Now he doesn't really believe all that, but it's obvious based on his name alone that the guy has to be an absolute pain, so in Techno’s opinion he's gotta go. Simple, easy, consider it done.
And that's how Techno finds himself sneaking into enemy territory after several long days of journeying there on horseback.
He most definitely didn't think that his owners the people in charge would send him to infiltrate enemy territory alone to take down the Angel of Death, but that means either one of two things: they’re losing so badly that they’ve become desperate enough to risk him potentially fleeing or dying, or they’ve deemed him worthless enough to allow him to go on what is most definitely a suicide mission.
So really Techno should probably be more concerned for his own safety right about now, but hey he's had a solid 3 days without anyone breathing down his neck and shouting at him for simply existing, so honestly he’s feeling pretty great.
He's not sure what he's supposed to do once this is over–-and deep down a part of him isn't too sure if he'll actually survive this–-but he supposes that that can be a job for Future Techno.
Current Techno is hiding in a bush on the outskirts of the enemy encampment, the piglin carefully watching different soldiers to see who remains on guard as night falls and how many head to their tents to sleep.
There hasn't been any sign of the General yet, but every army is always the same, and he's certain that the tent that's much larger than all the other ones houses the man in question.
All he's gotta do then is sneak past a couple of guys who are awake, make his way into the tent and stab the General while he's asleep, then dip before anyone notices.
Oh yeah, he's got this.
Really what could possibly go wrong?
Absolutely nothing, it's perfect.
It takes a while longer, but finally Techno deems that everyone who is planning on sleeping anytime soon has already gone to bed, so he might as well try and make his move.
With footsteps that are surprisingly light for someone of his hulking piglin stature, Techno begins approaching the General's tent, breathing a silent sigh of relief when he reaches the entrance without alerting anyone to his presence.
But that moment of triumph is terribly short-lived when, upon pulling back the flap of the tent, he sees a lantern lit up and a very much awake occupant. The man's back is to the entrance as he's hunched over some papers on a very small desk, but he must hear the rustle of fabric moving and knows that he isn't alone anymore.
Despite the late hour, the Angel of Death doesn't seem the slightest bit tired or sluggish as he quickly turns around to face Techno, his hand reaching for the sword at his hip, and oh wow, the guy actually does have wings, good to know…
In any other situation, Techno would have loved to admire the appendages for a few more moments, because they really do seem beautiful at a glance, but instead he's raising an arm to block the sword that was rapidly approaching to slice off his head.
So instead of a quick-in-out-stabbing-situation, Techno’s now gotta fight a guy who's called the Angel of Death while in a very tiny tent, and without alerting any of his soldiers who will definitely try to kill the piglin if they realize he’s here.
Fun.
As the two of them begin to trade blow for blow in the cramped space, Techno starts to realize with a growing sense of dread that he can't seem to land a single hit. The winged man always seems to perfectly block each one of his attacks, and when the Angel of Death strikes in return, Techno can't find even a single weak point in his form to use to his advantage.
It's… concerning? exhilarating? because never before has he come across an opponent who could actually keep up with him in a fight.
And the Angel of Death seems to feel the same, at one point he even laughs, a bubbly, joyous sound that should have no place amidst a fight to the death, but he too seems to be enjoying this deadly dance that the two of them are engaged in.
But they say that all good things must come to an end, and unfortunately for Techno, that end seems to most definitely not be in his favor.
Maybe if this was a fair fight, just him versus the Angel of Death with no one else around to interfere, he could’ve had a chance at winning.
As it is though, the first sword to draw blood is the Angel of Death’s, the man landing a deep gash on Techno’s right shoulder that causes him to wince and grit his teeth against the pain.
Normally an injury like that would be fine, and sure it's his dominant arm, but he's used to fighting while injured and can easily switch to the opposite hand mid-fight if he really has to.
See the problem here though is that that was the first sword to draw blood, not the first injury that Techno received during this fight.
Because the whole reason why the sword got him in the first place is due to the crossbow bolt currently sticking out of his lower back.
Yeah.
So one of the Angel of Death's men must have heard them fighting and decided to shoot him while he was distracted by the task of trying not to get stabbed.
He knew that this wasn’t really going to be a fair fight, but come on, shooting a guy in the back?
That's pretty low, he’ll definitely have to complain if he survives this one...
I mean at least they didn't go for anywhere that would immediately prove fatal, that increases his chances of not dying within the next 30 seconds, but still he can feel himself growing more sluggish, his reaction time slowing to the point of something that’ll prove to be deadly if he continues to slip up.
Finally it all comes to a head when the Angel of Death tries to kick Techno’s legs out from underneath him, and on any other day the piglin would simply jump over a kick like that and stab the person in the stomach for their efforts, but this isn't any other day.
Instead he tries to dodge, but he's grown weak from blood loss, and suddenly the surroundings of the tent are spinning uncontrollably and his vision is graying out for a few moments. Then the next thing he knows he's laying on the ground on his back, his pain increasing tenfold as the crossbow bolt snaps in half upon landing and gets further wedged inside of him, but the threat of that pales in comparison to the sword that’s now inches away from his delicate throat.
When the Angel of Death speaks for the first time, Techno expected it to be something gloating or condescending for losing a fight that was unwinnable for the piglin.
Instead the man simply says, “You’re a good fighter.”
With a wry little smile, Techno bluntly replies, “You've gotta be to survive out here.”
Surprisingly the winged man snorts with laughter at that, a bitter smile on his face as he agrees, “Ain’t that the truth, Mate.”
Then as his smile fades completely, his face morphing into one that better fits a battle-hardened general who's ready to kill, the Angel of Death asks in a deadly quiet tone as the sword inches ever closer to cutting Techno’s throat, “You wanna tell me why you're here in my tent?”
“Jus’ followin’ orders, ‘s nothin’ personal,” Techno says without hesitation, but apparently he's lost a bit more blood than he realized, because it’s suddenly growing kind of hard to talk without slurring his words, and huh, that could prove to be a problem. “Eith’r I kill ya, or they k’ll m’.”
While scoffing in disbelief, the General dismissively says, “I highly doubt your own men would kill you if you hadn’t come here tonight.”
“Ya’d b’ surpris’d,” Techno murmurs with a bitter laugh, his tongue feeling far too heavy and his limbs feeling even heavier, but with what feels like the last of his strength the piglin reaches a trembling hand to tug at the hem of his shirt, pulling it down a bit to reveal the collar wrapped around his neck. “Yer doin’ m’ a favor, s’ th’nks.”
For a split second Techno thinks that he might see a look of horror pass over the Angel of Death's face, but really that doesn't make any sense, and he doesn't have time to dwell on that anyways before everything goes dark and the world slips away.