Chapter 25:

Cort’s surroundings zoomed past him as he pushed himself to move faster. Luckily for him, the streets seemed to have grown less crowded and as a result, he had an easier time making his way out.

‘It seems I am still superior speed-wise,’ He remarked, looking behind him.

Ratson, the gang’s leader, was still on his tail and he chased after Cort with all the force of a runaway freight train.

“He’s strong,” Cort muttered as he massaged his Right arm, which was the one he used to defend against their first encounter. It was still sore from the impact. However thanks to that, he had a general understanding of their respective strengths. In terms of pure physical strength, Ratson was on par with the weakest of the Golden Guardians from Earth. This easily placed him above Cort, who relied on his guns to breach that gap. On the other hand, Cort won out in terms of speed or technique as evidenced by the fact he was still breathing.

A long sigh escaped his mouth.

“This is going to be troublesome,” He said, barely suppressing his smile.

…………………………………………………………..

“How much longer I wonder…” Ratson said with a languid smile as he watched his prey scurry away.

To him, the match was settled the moment he felt the prey’s soft flesh wrap around his arm. Ratson was stronger. Yes, the masked figure was quick, but that mattered not. He would simply wait until he tired out

“Here here little rabbit…” He sang as a smile blossomed on his face.

………………………………………………………….

The two dashing figures drew some attention but that was all. Such scenes were commonplace in Phentar, so no one really cared.

Even the apprentice magicians and fledgling warriors couldn’t care less as the two passed them by and entered Phentar Forest’s depths.

“This is troublesome,” Ratson grimaced as he continued his chase. He had not expected his prey to last as long as it did. This, added to the fact that they were now in the woods where all sorts of creatures roamed, made him anxious.

This anxiousness deepened as they ventured closer to the forest's center.

But just as he began to hesitate, his prey did something interesting.

The figure suddenly changed directions and quickly curled around a big tree. The agile figure did not even lose an ounce of momentum as it used the tree to rapidly launch himself to the right.

Ratson regained his playful smile. To him, this action seemed to indicate his prey's growing exhaustion.

"Too bad, such tricks won't work on me." Bending around the tree like the figure, Ratson continued to hunt down the prey.

Yet what greeted him on the other side was not his prey, but rather the cold edges of three throwing knives.

"Hmph" Ratson grunted as he swung his sword. Three metallic clinks sounded out, and soon all three knives were on the ground.

Ratson, however, was not happy. He had lost sight of the prey.

Heightening all his senses, he searched for any clues about the prey's location.

Minutes passed by as Ratson searched the forest for his prey. The hunt proved more challenging than he originally thought. Every now and then he swatted away an arrow or knife that aimed for his throat. He knew these attacks were meant to provoke him rather than do any damage, but he could not help himself from growing annoyed anyway.

"Must I use that, I wonder," he whispered quietly to himself as he touched the ring he wore on his middle finger.

Suddenly, the loud noise of rustling leaves appeared a distance away.

'A mistake,' he thought as he pushed forward rapidly. Clearing away the nearby plants, he found himself amid a cluster of trees, their shared foliage blocking out what little light the moon had to offer.

His sharp ears caught movement to the left of him, and he slowly waded his way through the darkness.

His slow movements rapidly quickened as he felt the presence of his prey close by. Like a crouched lion finding its opportunity to pounce, he leaped forward with immense strength.

Yet his move proved fatally wrong as his foot got caught in something close to the ground. The wire-like thing pierced his flesh and caused him to lose his balance, eventually causing him to fall forward.

Finally, in the dark, his eyes captured what had snagged him. Close to the ground and hidden from sight, countless crisscrossing wires hovered silently.

Feeling a sense of danger, he knew it would hurt if he fell face-first into that web. Thus, using every ounce of strength he could muster, he slashed quickly with his sword during his fall. The sword easily pierced the first few wires, but it's momentum slowed as it continued.

'Arachis silk,' Ratson thought as he identified the wire. A look of realization dawned on him as he recalled Hunter's scar.

He fell to the ground heavily as several wires pierced his torso and arms. Thankfully, he did not sustain any major damage.

Pissed off he got up angrily and slashed the space above his head.

Tree branches fell and leaves parted ways as the sword slash tore a hole in the foliage, allowing the moonlight to seep through.

Finally, he could see. Under the moon's pale light, countless crisscrossing wires shone menacingly as they connected all the nearby trees to one another. The entire space around him resembled a spider's elaborate web. Worse yet was the fact that Ratson could see a vile liquid dripping from some of the wires. He had a feeling he knew what that liquid was.

Shifting his gaze upward, he could finally see his prey. Standing on top of a particularly thick branch. Cort stood with countless strands of silk tied to his fingers.

"Hey there." He said in a strangely upbeat tone which matched poorly against his eerie mask.

"Well, well. Here I thought you were a rabbit. Turns out, you're a spider. So what now my eight-legged friend? Am I caught in your web?"

"More or less." Though not apparent, Cort's smile could still be felt.

Ratson gripped his sword's hilt and swung.

The tree Cort was standing on shook as a large gash cut deep into it, and the branch he was using began to plummet. Of course, Cort did not merely stand around. With amazing speed, he dashed off the falling trunk and shot his way towards Ratson.

Holding his grip evenly, Ratson slashed horizontally at the approaching figure.

Having little to no room to dodge and feeling the blade inches away from his face, the figure yanked hard against the silk wrapped around his hand. In a feat of great agility and strength, the masked man was able to barely lower himself enough to dodge the guillotine's edge.

Before Ratson could recover from his swing, the masked man yanked the wires backward with both of his hands. This, coupled with the force of his foot pushing against the ground, launched him against the staggered Ratson with immense speed.

But Ratson was no slouch either and he greeted the incoming guest with a strong swing of his own fist using the momentum carried over from slashing with his sword.

Faced again with a daunting attack, the masked man repeated his previous actions.

Ratson could feel his fist graze past the mask.

But Ratson's relaxed face contorted as he felt countless strands of silk suddenly wrap themselves around his arm.

From the corner of his eye, he could see the masked figure come to a stop behind him. And with a heavy grunt, he pulled both of his arms away.

Ratson could suddenly feel the strings tighten around his arm threatening to pierce his flesh.

Cort gritted his teeth as he used every iota of strength he had to pull the strings further, but soon his eyes widened as felt an overpowering force oppose his movement.

Rather than fret about the attack Ratson simply grabbed a hold of the wires and tugged them.

Due to the difference in strength, Cort was soon launched towards Ratson. He dared not oppose the force too much, for he felt the string tighten around his robed arm and he knew that if he tried to pull back, his arm would be wounded.

And so the masked figure was violently pulled towards Ratson who swung his sword once more.

…………………………………………………………..

Though it took some time to explain, the rapid exchange between both men had actually lasted mere seconds.

And every one of those seconds drained Cort of his energy.

From the haste with which he set up the arena, to the strength it took to dodge just a couple of attacks, he felt himself expend greater amounts of effort.

From the start of the battle, Cort never let his guard down, and he strained his eyes to the fullest. Every one of Ratson's movement was analyzed to the fullest extent of his abilities.

Which was why he knew he was doomed. Straining his eyes even more, he watched with rapt attention as Ratson's sword made its way towards his face. He concluded that the attack was unavoidable. For though he may have slowed downtime in his eyes, reality was cruel.

The blade dug itself into his mask.

Despite knowing it was useless, Cort tried to dodge anyway. Picking the quickest route, he pushed his body to the limits.

Pretty soon he found himself against a wall. Or rather a limit. He could go no faster.

The mask's lower half shattered and the blade touched the tip of his nose.

Feeling the cold steel against his flesh, Cort's mind flashed with memories from his past. The orphanage, the first few years in Root, the first team he ever led, and the first subordinate he ever lost.

As he looked back at the life he led, he couldn't help but get emotional. 'Is this really it?' was he truly meant to die in such a pitiful way? In the forest, under the veil of night to an unknown jackass?

'No,' He screamed in his mind. 'Not like this.'

His eyes, which had begun to grow dull, suddenly sharpened and they started to burn with anger.

Though up against the wall that was his limits, he did not back down.

His muscles ached and groaned as they were placed under more stress.

For the first time in his life, he willingly chose to overcome his limits.

Not for the mission, not for Root. Rather for him. He did not want to die just yet.

All at once, the wall came crashing down and Cort could almost hear it. Though he was unsure if it was truly the wall or rather his tearing muscles that made that sound. Oh well.

The blade left a gash on the tip of his nose, but he did not falter.

Finally, he successfully dodged the blow.

Moving faster than he ever had in his life. He swung his arm in front of Ratson's face.

Three strings, resembling claws, followed behind his fingers. The strings slashed forward, aiming to once again pierce Ratson's flesh. And of the three strings, one glowed in an eerie light. Almost as if the vile liquid that coated it bounced the moonlight off.

Arachis Venom.

Ratson grunted heavily as he felt the wires cut into him. Pulling himself backward, he unwittingly broke his stance. Now unbalance, he staggered.

Not letting the opportunity go, Cort used his arms to pull the strings once more.

Ratson tripped as he felt the forceful tug of a strand that wrapped around his leg. His body finally fell on top of a bed made from strings. Sensing danger, he immediately tried to stand up again. Suddenly his eyes were drawn towards a nearby treetop where he found the masked man crouching. With explosive force the man shot toward him, breaking the branch on his way.

With speed much much more fearsome than what was displayed previously, the masked man kicked his chest and forced Ratson back into the web of silk. The force of the blow caused the web to tighten on his bare back and he could feel the string digging deeply into his skin, slicing flesh apart.

But that was the least of his worries. Vaguely he could hear the sounds of strings snapping and tree trunks creaking. Averting his eyes from the masked man, he saw that most of the wires he was lying on were tied to various trees. These trees were now being pulled by the explosive force of the man's attack.

And sure enough, a thin tree's trunk snapped in half and began to fall onto Ratson. The weight of the falling tree caused another tree wrapped in silk to fall, and soon, much like dominos, the trees that were attached together by silk began falling.

Ratson could feel the weight that was on his chest disappear and he saw the masked man jump away.

"Shit!" Ratson yelled as numerous trees fell upon him, shaking the earth.