Death Smith - Book 2 - Chapter 26

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Rage of the departed

Mere seconds later.

Late-April, 14 AR.

Ireland, Dublin, outside of the pub.

Iyas leaned closer to Mira to confirm that she was dead. His voice was strangely soft at that moment, like a lover’s whisper. “Sleeping beauty?”

Mira’s eyes were open, staring sightlessly at Lance. Her pale flesh was a stark contrast compared to the pool of scarlet that surrounded her. Lance could see the mixture of terror and confusion still linger in her lifeless gaze. It was as if that moment had become eternal in those eyes of hers. A deep rage roared inside of Lance. The emotion demanded that he had to act. He tried to struggle and fight off the poison, but it only resulted in him rolling over to his side in agony.

Iyas shook his head. “You know, I never wanted this for her. The poor girl had been through so much already. But sadly, business comes first.”

“P… ay…,” Lance forced the broken words past his lips, ignoring the pain he was in as he locked eyes with Iyas. He knew it was futile, but he refused to die without offering resistance. Iyas only chuckled in response, the sound cold and heartless.

“Yes, yes, very tough and scary,” Iyas said as he knelt closer to Lance in a relaxed expression, as if they had been childhood friends. “Now, despite what you might think of me, I am not the villain here. Our young friend here died quickly, and I would have offered you the same fate had it not been for the contract dangling over your preciously confused head.” Iyas then produced a smartphone out of thin air and pointed it at Lance’s wounded frame before sinking the knife into Lance’s torso, moments later taking the picture. “I’d say cheese, but at the rate we are going with our steel friend. You will look similar to Swiss cheese.”

Lance struggled to access his inventory system or even his skills. He had fought monsters before and had gotten hurt plenty of times, but there was something crippling about getting stabbed. The feeling of steel ripping apart flesh as it bit deeper and deeper. The poison on the blade made things even harder for him. It was as if the pain and mental fatigue prevented him from accessing just that. ‘Is the poison designed to subdue Rifters?’ Lance thought, forcing himself to focus on details rather than the torture he was forced to endure.

“But we are done with the worst part of the contract. Kira wants proof of the kill, and she likes her victims to have tasted fear. Don’t ask me why, but it is her thing. And the last thing me and my sister want is to do something that might make Kira angry. So, while my sister is off completing her contract in France, I am going to complete this one,” Iyas said as he stored the phone in his inventory again and pulled the knife out of Lance’s torso. “I feel sorry for you, seeing as you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You could have picked any Rift, but you had to choose the one Rift she was using to broker a deal between a powerful guild and herself. So, how about I show you something cool before I kill you? Think of it as learning a trade secret.”

Lance was helpless to see Iyas grin before he moved over towards Mira’s body. His inability to move forced him to watch as Iyas sank the blade into Mira’s chest and carefully cut into her. The tall man slowly unearthed the white-shard out of Mira’s corpse in a horrible display of gore and precision. Lance forced himself to look at his hands and not at how Iyas desecrated Mira’s body. ‘He has done this before. He knows exactly what he is doing.’

“Now, in my honest opinion. The best part about being an assassin is when you get a chance to take down a Rifter. Or in my current situation, two. You see, killing a Rifter differs from killing a monster.” Iyas pulled out the white-shard and held it out in front of Lance, letting him see the bits of Mira that were still attached to it. Both men could see a piece of the white-shard fragment into a skill-shard.

‘What the hell is this?’ Lance thought as his face paled from both blood loss and shock.

“There is the expression I was hoping for,” Iyas said as he placed Mira’s white shard on the ground and placed the skill-shard on top of it, out of Lance’s reach. It was if the assassin was building a grotesque tower. “There is a reason why Rift-guardians give way more experience and have a higher chance of spawning a skill-shard compared to normal monsters. The secret is in the amount of energy or radiation that their guardian-shards contain,” Iyas explained with a warm and almost eager expression. “A white-shard contains even more energy, especially if they have a full inventory,” he then smiled as he pointed at the shards. “That means a lot of experience and an even higher chance of getting a skill-shard. Efficient, right? Now, with any luck I will have inherited Mira’s lovely item explosion skill.”

“P… ay…” Lance tried to force the words past his lips as he stared at Iyas. ‘I am going to make him pay for this!’ He felt the rage inside of him explode as more of Thomas’ memories joined him, equally outraged at what Lance was witnessing.

“I know. You’ll make me pay. But I must be honest. You are not really instilling me with fear at the moment. Amusement, yes. But not fear.” The assassin then sighed as he got up and looked around him, checking to see if there were any witnesses. “I usually hate finishing a mark inside of a city. Too many potential witnesses and surveillance cameras,” he said as he pointed at the camera installed above the door the two of them had used to get out of the bar.

“Still, it could have been worse. With you jumping in and out of Rifts, you nearly forced me to use bait. I mean, the White Clovers? Your number one fan Oliver? His older sister with that alluring smile? Their mentally fragmented mother or their crippled veteran of a father?” Iyas asked before he leaned forward as he watched Lance’s face go through a dozen of emotions at the same time. “I wonder which one of them would have made you run towards me the fastest?”

Whatever was left of Thomas’ mind and memories that now lingered inside of Lance lit up in a fury akin to something only described in biblical proportions. It dwarfed anything Lance was feeling. It fused with his own anger, becoming one. That intense hatred suppressed the pain and mental fatigue Lance was feeling as it burned through him. He tasted blood in his mouth as his mind cleared up in that blazing inferno of outrage and a demand for retribution.

‘Mend wounds’

[You have used Mend wounds lvl 2 at the cost of 15 Magicka]

[Current Magicka 306/325]

Although the skill blinded him, it also lessened the effect of the poison that was coursing through his body. He retaliated immediately as he flailed all his limbs towards Iyas and felt one of them connect.

‘Mend wounds’

Lance rolled away from the blinded and illuminated Iyas as quickly as he could, hearing a steel blade slam into the spot where he had been bleeding out on previously. ‘Now! You only have a few seconds!’ Lance screamed at himself as he slid backwards, feeling the wounds on his body open again and get worse by the second. As his vision returned to him, he noticed Iyas calmly make his way over to him. The man appeared to be amused at Lance’s resistance. Lance felt his body struggling to even move, but his mind remained focused on just one thing before he’d pass out.

[You have combined and retrieved an item from the inventory.]

As he fell backwards, he noticed Iyas stop as a strange figure suddenly appeared between him and Lance. The figure wore black steel and dark leather equipment that gave the new arrival a threatening appearance. The black cloak hid most of his features in a dance of shadows and mist.

“Who the hell are you?” Iyas asked as he took up a defensive stance while the newcomer stood at the ready, armed with a broken shield and a steel axe, his blue eyes scanning all around him to make sense of the situation.

Lance felt the pain and mental fatigue return as the healing effect of his skill wore off completely. He had just enough strength to point at the assassin and utter a single word before his world turned to darkness.

“Kira...”

* * * * *

Lance could hear fighting going on around him, steel hitting steel or even flesh. He felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness, hearing snippets of words and seeing brief flashes of light. At one point, he thought he saw a figure looming over him, holding a dagger, but then it was gone. His wounds woke him up again, stinging his body before fatigue and blood loss nearly forced him to pass out again. Still, the rage that burned inside of him, forced him to stay awake and get his revenge.

‘Mend wounds’

As he clutched his wounds on his chest to stop the bleeding, the pain and fatigue eased slightly. Once the healing light had faded, he could see properly again. Signs of combat surrounded him, from a cracked wall that showed signs that it had met something heavy at a frightening pace, as well as spots on the ground that appeared as if something hot had scorched it. Beyond that, there were places where it looked like metal had scratched apart bits of masonry. There was even a spear imbedded in a nearby dumpster.

Lance noticed Ash and Iyas circle each other. Both were clearly wounded from their duel. They could have been at it for mere minutes or an hour. Lance couldn’t tell. The assassin was a mess of minor cuts and bruises, while Ash’s armour had many puncture holes and the left side of his body looked as if fire had engulfed him for a while.

While the assassin was still wielding his blade, Ash was using just his shield in his left hand and striking and grappling with his right. The two of them rushed at each other again, with Iyas being skilled with the dagger, while Ash was just slightly faster, dodging most of Iyas’ strikes or blocking them with his shield. The assassin was relentless in his attacks, seeking to find an opening in Ash’s defences, but the pale warrior was just as determined to not let that happen.

Each hit that landed on Ash seemed to irritate the assassin further, as if he was taking great offense at the fact that his poisoned knife wasn’t working on the newcomer. This was even worse when Iyas vanished from sight, only to have Ash still track him with his bright blue eyes. ‘I made the right call in upgrading his speed and giving him the heat vision. He wouldn’t have lasted as long otherwise,’ Lance thought, struggling with his thoughts in his suppressed state.

One moment, Iyas would attack with quick flurries of strikes, switching stances rapidly and making feints with his dagger, while the next he would switch the knife to his other hand to strike lefthanded, or suddenly use a fireball skill. Lance could see how Iyas was slowly overwhelming Ash’s defences with quick attacks. Eventually, the assassin cut apart Ash’s tendons in his right leg in an orchestra of violent and precise cuts, severely limiting Ash’s speed and fighting potential.

‘This is bad,’ Lance thought as he noticed that the balance of power had shifted. Ash’s advantage in wearing protective gear seemed to have matched Iyas’ speed, and could take a surprising amount of punishment, but he was still outclassed. Iyas held the advantage, in his level as a Rifter and combat experience. Even Lance wasn’t sure if he’d be able to win against the assassin in a fair fight. ‘He’s weaker than Dieter and Daniel, but stronger than me. I need to do something, fast.’

Lance searched around desperately, trying to find some way to turn the tide. Icarus was still in the air and could no doubt help, but a Rifter of Iyas’ level would shred Icarus apart in a second. ‘I need a distraction,’ Lance thought as he spotted Mira’s shard and the skill-shard on top of it. ‘There.’

[You have retrieved an item from the inventory.]

Alpha suddenly materialised near Lance’s bloody hands, only for it to fly immediately upwards, as Lance had taught it. “Protect Ash,” he groaned as he felt the sting of his wound bring him back to the point of nearly passing out. He activated his healing skill again as he burned through his mana, forcing himself to crawl toward Mira’s body. He could hear combat all around him, and occasionally feel the sting of heat and debris as one of Iyas’ skills nearly swept him up. When Lance’s healing skill had worn off, he spotted Ash countering Iyas’ attack with a perfectly executed counter to his throat. It clearly disoriented the assassin, but he remained focused enough to send Ash flying backwards with a single kick.

Iyas rushed towards Ash to finish him but was stunned when an avian adversary suddenly attacked him, scratching his face to distract him before Iyas cut the bird apart in a single attack. “Enough with these games. Both of you will die and I’ll enjoy ripping the shards from your chests!” Iyas said venomously. Ash ignored the man’s words as he got back up again, holding the damaged steel shield at the ready. He was obviously barely holding on, but the determination in his eyes said otherwise.

“Those… are big words… coming from someone… who is barely… holding on,” Lance said as he forced more healing light and energy to envelop his body as he got back up. He gritted his teeth as he felt the wound open again, but it was the price to pay. “Iyas, has no one ever told you the tale of Icarus?” Lance asked. He noticed Ash change his stance when he asked it, showing Lance that he understood.

Then, with a bloody smile, Lance held his right hand near his chest and opened it up slowly. He showed Iyas the skill-shard that was now between his fingertips before he slammed it against his chest. It connected loudly with his white-shard. The skill-shard glowed intensely as it disintegrated before Lance’s white-shard absorbed it all, storing all the radiation. Lance didn’t have time to check the effects of the new skill, nor had he time to see just how much it would cost him. He had to act.

[You have retrieved an item from the inventory.]

‘Detonate’ ‘Ricochet’

Lance watched as Beta materialised in his hands, with its grey-shard in its chest suddenly glowing white. Lance threw the bird as fast as he could while Beta did his best to increase the speed further. Beta hit the ground just in front of Iyas. The Ricochet skill activated when the bird slammed into the pavement The skill forced the Beta to bounce upwards with increased speed as it bypassed Iyas’ guard. Beta slammed into Iyas’ chest just as it exploded.

The strength of the explosion forced Iyas backwards as if a small grenade had gone off right in front of him. The sheer violence of the explosion had partially torn his clothes to shreds and had damaged the skin and muscles around Iyas’ arms and chest.

“Ash!” Lance screamed as he watched his companion rush forwards, unbothered by the strain it was putting at his own body. Ash rammed the sharp edge of the shield into Iyas’ right leg with every bit of strength he had. The impact forced the dazed and wounded Iyas on his knees before Ash quickly wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and went for a chokehold from behind. “Icarus!”

Lance screamed as he pointed at Iyas, giving the command for the Peregrine falcon to attack. In unison, Ash leaned backwards, forcing the dazed and secured Iyas to bend backwards. The wounded assassin struggled for air and to clear the bits of grey gore and blood from his face. “Now!”

The last thing Iyas then saw was the grey falcon dive bomb down towards him at a speed that only the fastest bird in the world could achieve. It hit Iyas head-on with its small beak, delivering every bit of kinetic energy it could produce. The end-result was Thomas’ rage made manifest as Icarus and Iyas slammed into one another, with Icarus’ indestructible grey-shard traveling a deep and deadly path further down the body of the assassin.

Lance collapsed shortly afterwards, seeing Ash grab the broken shield and sheath it into Iyas repeatedly, still determined to end the fight even though there was none left to have. And as Lance lost consciousness, he and a large part of Dublin could hear Ash’s demonic victory roar that night.

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Author: Osirium

Copyright: 2022 OsiriumWrites

Released: 2022