Blake attacked me with his sword. I could have met him sword for sword, but I was tired. Most importantly, I wanted to get to the Portal at the bottom of the building.

“Hah!” He swung at me, performing an advanced move, but he lacked the control a Hunter would learn in basic training.

I blocked his sword. My arm shook under the force of his attack.

Blake’s eyes widened in shock. After watching me fight against the Uttu while he cowered in fear, did he really think that I was still a weak little E?

He was stronger than me, but I had him in speed. We exchanged several blows, then he performed the same move on me — a downward two handed strike. I blocked again, and before he could pull back I locked his arms in a mist block.

He was shocked again, jerking against the seemingly invisible force around his arms and cursing at me. If he exerted his Hunter aura, he could break it since he was higher level than me. But he either was too panicked to figure that out, or he was just that pampered. When was the last time this man had to do anything for himself? Every time I’d seen him, he was with a huge pack of Hunters who did everything he told them. Did he get spoiled so much growing up that he didn’t even learn the basics?

While he was throwing a fit, I slid behind him. With a simple flick of my wrist, I cut through both his achilles tendons.

Blake screamed and dropped to his knees. His arms were still suspended above his head, and blood gushed from his ankles. “I’m going to kill you!” he raged among other insults that he hurled at me.

I stared down at him. This should have been harder, I thought. This human was a monster that had nearly hounded me to death more than once. He was the cause of all my trauma. In my mind, we should have had a big fight where I finally got to defeat him in a blaze of glory, showing him who was the better Hunter. Beat him into the dust like the insect he kept calling me.

I was a little disappointed, seeing how easily I was able to subdue him. But I didn’t pity him. In fact, there was only one thing I wanted when I looked at his pathetic person.

Resolution.

He finally exerted his aura and broke the blocks on his arms. He overbalanced and fell forward.

I didn’t hesitate to slam the flat of my blade down on his arms. He screamed in pain but I didn’t stop until I heard his bones break.

“What the hell are you doing?” he gasped, tears and snot covering his pain-contorted face.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot,” I said, my calm voice, a stark difference to his broken whine. The kindjals disappeared as I walked up to him. “From the very beginning, you were a shit-headed bastard and I hated you for it. I still do.” Calmly, I grabbed the rim on the back of his expensive armor and started to drag him toward the hole where big spiders were pressing against the barrier, trying to get out.

He yelled and tried to resist me, but his limbs were too broken to do anything but leave a trail of blood as I dragged him across the dirty ceiling.

“You know, I’m not a religious person,” I continued in a conversational tone over his loud cursing. Maybe I should have been more upset than I was. In fact, I didn’t really feel like I was doing anything bad as I walked closer and closer to the hole of spiders. “I barely know about Western religions, never mind the Asian variety. So I can’t really tell you what karma actually means. From what I understand it basically means, ‘what goes around, comes around.’ Or something like that.”

I stopped right next to the hole and watched as half a dozen spiders stabbed and poked at the barrier with their fangs and legs. They couldn’t get through, I was too strong for them, but it was still a freaky thing to watch. Behind them, hundreds of spiders swarmed the half collapsed nest. For once, they weren’t camouflaged. Instead their bodies were flickering between red and brown, as if agitated. Were they going to try to rebuild the nest?

Blake thrashed and screamed louder than ever, but he couldn’t get away from my hold. He pounded his head back against my arm, which ached, but not enough to make me let go.

I lifted my hand over the opening. The barrier shrank until it was the same size as the hole. Then I thrust it down. Like a cork popping out of a bottle, the barrier shot down. The spiders around it fell to the ground, leaving a gaping hole.

“No,” Blake begged. “Don’t!”

I wanted him to feel that. The fear, the helplessness, the pain. And finally, the disappointment of giving up and accepting your death.

“The only thing I know for sure about karma,” I said, continuing my train of thought, “is that Karma’s a bitch.”

I tossed him into the hole.

Blake screamed as he fell. His wide eyes stared at me in disbelief the whole way. He landed on the thick white webbing of the spider nest. It cushioned his fall and grabbed onto his body like glue. Instantly, spiders swarmed over his body. He screamed again and again as the spiders bit him over and over, chipping away at his HP two or three points at a time. His limbs were completely stuck to the webbing and there was no way to fight against the monsters that were taking him apart bit by bit. His cries slowly faded until they stopped.

I stood there and watched the whole time. I needed to see it. I needed the closure. And I needed to see how much of a monster I was. I never thought I’d ever plot the murder of another person. This wasn’t a mistake that happened in the heat of battle, this was so much more. And I understood that I would do it over again, if given the chance. As long as that man was alive, he’d try to kill me. I didn’t even know why. Was there an actual reason? I just knew that the only way I’d have peace was when he was dead. And now he was.

I wasn’t excited or relieved. It was just what it was. A fact of life, just like breathing. And it was a fact that Las Vegas was just like Gate Vale. No one would question how Blake died or even care, as long as there weren’t any obvious clues that pointed his death toward someone. Or I should say, there were only a couple people who would ask. But if Kesstel backed me up, even President Price would have to let it go. In theory. As for Kesstel backing me — well, I was pretty sure the only thing he’d be disappointed in was not doing the deed himself.

I turned back to the mess behind me. The Uttu was gone, but the dead man and most of his blood was still there. The Uttu had obviously sucked some of it, and I had to admit that, I knew enough to know that some was missing. I grabbed his arm, dragged him over to the hole and threw him down to the spiders still swarming over Blake’s body. The spiders couldn’t be more excited to have another bag of bones to suck dry.

After that, I placed another barrier over the hole to contain the few spiders climbing back up. The ones that I’d knocked off earlier were dead on the ground far below, their legs curled around their bodies or broken off completely, but there were enough spiders in there to replace them easily.

With that settled, I turned back to the still unconscious Penny. That must have been some hit for her to be out this long after — Mark too. That guy was still limply floating a few feet off the top of the roof. A symptom like this would merit a rush to the ER, even for a Hunter, but that wasn’t an option right now.

I walked over and looked down at Penny. She was older than me, but her slightly gothic style, long brown pigtails and thick eyeliner gave her a more teen-ish vibe. I could leave her here, but for the same reason I’d decided to join her in battle, I didn’t hate her enough to let her die when the spiders came out of hole thirty feet away. After all, the barrier was going to disappear as soon as I went into the Portal.

I scowled and huffed a breath. “So dumb,” I muttered. “Seriously, mentally insane.”

I grabbed her and hoisted her over my shoulder. With that I jumped off the side of the hundred foot tall hotel. I had to admit, it was a little freaky taking the first step. But I’d gotten used to heights — even if this was the highest I’d ever been. But I had confidence in my abilities and my strength. It wasn’t a problem to carry Penny down to the top of the half crumbled parking garage. I couldn’t sense any monsters, so they must not have respawned from when we cleared out the area not long ago.

I set Penny down then looked back up at the figure floating next to the top. God, I wished he’d wake up right then and there. What face would that dirt-bag make if he opened his eyes and stared straight down at the ground from up there? It would be priceless.

But he didn’t wake up. Not even when I leapt all the way up there and hauled his heavy ass over my shoulder and jumped back down. Penny was easy enough, I mean she was a five and half foot girl in light armor. This guy was over six feet, built like a bull and in full heavy armor. Even with my enhanced strength, the jumps down sucked. I had to settle for one little hop at a time, instead of long drops. I was panting heavily by the time I dumped him in a heap next to the young woman.

“You need to go on a diet,” I grumbled and kicked him just hard enough to turn him on his back without leaving any real damage. “Alright, that’s all the sympathy I have for you,” I told the unconscious people. “If you die now, that’s on your head.”

An emergency flare stone appeared in my hand and I activated it. A bright light flashed up into the air and formed a huge symbol of the Hunter’s Association a hundred feet overhead. I looked up at the huge ‘H’ with the weapons behind it. In the dull sandy ruins, the bright primary colors were very obvious.

“And that’s as good as it gets,” I muttered. “Good luck.” Without another glance, I jumped down from the top of the broken parking garage and ran to the back of the hotel casino.

A short rusted gate surrounded the pool area. Dead palm trees scattered around the area, some still standing, but most were on the ground. A few were tipped into the dried-up pool, the tips half buried in the piles of sandy dirt collecting in the hole, and others lay with piles of broken lounge chairs under them.

But what interested me most were two palm trees leaning against each other. And the black void between them.

It was just like in Glenn Holt, a small Portal stretched between two trees. Back then the original Portal was barely big enough for Mark to walk in without ducking. The seven foot Orcs had needed to duck low just to climb in. This Portal was taller, but not by much. It was maybe eight or nine feet tall and looked like a black triangle stretched between the palm trees. A cool, rippling black triangle. It looked 3D, but it was flat as paper.

I slowly walked up to it and stopped. I thought there’d be an Orc or five guarding the entrance, but I couldn’t sense one. Or any monster for that matter. Did the spiders keep them away? Having neighbors like that would be a big turn off. Could the spiders enter the Portal? It would make sense that they could, since they came from it.

My HP and MP were very low and going into a Portal was very, very dangerous. But I didn’t want the rest of the Hunters to find the Portal yet. Not when I had such a personal attachment to it. I almost felt like it was mine. Stupid, I know. But I couldn’t shake the feeling.

[Come find me.] The System urged. [Find me. Now.]

I glanced up at my red HP and MP numbers. Logic said I should wait an hour and heal myself. But the System needed me now.

I stepped into the Portal.

*****

Jyn Devhro

Rank B

Lv 54

EXP to Next Lv 8304

HP 1153/9185

MP 25/375

Strength 97 (+20)

Magic 85

Constitution 90 (+20)

Stat Points 0

Agility 90

Perception 88

Intelligence 75

Skills

Throw

Critical Hit

Quick Hit

Mirror

High Jump

Abilities

Mist (Improved)(100 ft)

Feather Step

Regen (Limited)

Stealth (Limited)

Poison Fog

Mist Blade