NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20.3
The Fireball engulfed the left half of Armand's face, searing skin and melting flesh.
A beast's demented howl echoed throughout the battlefield. Simon's mouth fell open as he watched Katarina load and fire another crossbow bolt, its arrowhead burning red mid-transit. Armand put more effort into dodging this one, leaping to the side as a second Fireball detonated in the space where he'd been.
She distracted him, got him talking, used the lull to access her Character Sheet–
With a shake of his head, Simon swiftly organized his thoughts. There would be time later to congratulate Katarina on her ascension to Valtia's first ever Arcane Rogue. Right now, she'd presented him with a golden opportunity.
He would not waste it.
The transmigrator sprinted forward. He didn't have long before Armand got his head back in the game. Katarina's Fireball bolts – Firebolts? – were definitely a change of pace, but Calloway was simply too fast for them to make any significant difference. Once the shock wore off, he would realize she still wasn't a threat.
Victory relied on these next few seconds.
As he ran, Simon extended his arm and began forming the intent to Kill. The air crackled with wrongness as pitch-black energy coalesced in his palm, heeding his command, eager to strike at an abhorrent creature of delusion and self-pity.
His dagger Artifact is the issue. It was the reason they couldn't attempt a Fell Harvest. The Skill took time to consume its target – time enough for Armand to make his displeasure known.
Transmigrator's Body meant that physical injuries were less of a concern for Simon, but he didn't want to find out what would happen if the dagger drained his mana to nothing...and then kept draining.
He empowered Kill with 40 MP, leaving just 60 remaining. While it probably would've taken upwards of 300 MP to slay Armand outright, a weaker variant should still stun him – thereby weakening his grip on the jeweled knife.
If I disarm him, we win.
Quick as a blur, Calloway dodged another exploding Firebolt. He would never be hit by a projectile he could see coming. Even when distracted, tagging him with Kill was a daunting prospect.
Yet Simon didn't hesitate before firing his spell. He aimed it at an empty space nearby.
Moments later, Armand moved into that exact spot to avoid Katarina's fourth Firebolt.
By now, the madman's focus had started to return. He'd regained enough of his concentration to notice the mass of Fell mana shooting straight towards him.
In the split-second before Kill connected, Armand desperately lashed out, slicing his dagger at the spell. Its blackened mana vanished – devoured by the Artifact.
And then everything went sideways.
A piercing screech assaulted Simon's eardrums. At first he thought it was Calloway putting his lungs through the ringer again, but no, this noise was actually emitting from the dagger. Like when it had absorbed the mana of a 50 MP Barrier, yet louder and more high-pitched.
The jewels embedded into its hilt were blazing with tortured luminescence, so dazzling that they hurt to look at. Whereas before the dagger's outburst had gradually subsided, now it only worsened, shining brighter and screaming louder. The Artifact vibrated like a leaf caught in a hurricane, rattling violently within Armand's grip, its screech rising to a crescendo–
Until it exploded.
There was no other way to describe it. The knife detonated as if a bomb had been inserted inside.
Simon skidded to a halt, narrowly avoiding the flurry of jagged metal shards that burst forth. Armand wasn't so lucky. His hand, arm, torso, and face were covered in sharp-edged fragments. One shard had punctured an eyeball.
He didn't care. The man's gaze was fixated entirely on where the dagger used to be, his expression stricken with grief.
For several long seconds, no one spoke a word. All three combatants were united in mutual astonishment.
The moment came to an end when Armand's head snapped up. His wrathful, one-eyed glare was directed at Simon. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" he thundered, in the voice of someone who'd lost everything.
An excellent question – to which Simon had no answer. How could he? If the native Valtians didn't have a clue as to why Fell mana had caused the dagger to combust, then the weeks-old transmigrator would hardly fare better.
But that wasn't his role. Fake it 'till you make it. Assuming the guise of an all-knowing Demon, he pushed a malevolent grin onto his face. "I took that which was most precious from you. Considering your nightly hobbies, you can scarcely complain when someone returns the favor."
The comment produced its intended effect. Rather than fleeing – which was a distinct possibility after losing his primary battle advantage – Armand Calloway charged at Simon with a roar of incandescent rage. He was upon him in the blink of an eye.
Fell Har–
Simon's outstretched arm was grabbed and twisted. The crick-crack of snapping bones twinkled like bell chimes. With dull agony burning at him, it was all the transmigrator could do to remain standing as Calloway's monstrous strength pressed down.
"I will hurt you for this," the man hissed. His breath smelt of mold and death. "I will hurt you unlike anyone I've hurt before."
Katarina shot an arrow at them – a regular one. Either she was out of MP, or she wasn't willing to catch Simon in the Firebolt's radius.
Armand easily dodged it. "No more!" He eyed the bolt warily as it sailed past. "Thrice you've beset me with blasts of mana!"
He had a point. Between the Landmine, the Firebolt, and the dagger, they'd subjected Armand to three separate explosions on this auspicious night. Simon may have even felt a smidgen of guilt if the man wasn't a literal serial killer.
But as he was...
"Want to go for four?"
With his free left arm, he latched onto Armand's wrist. Glove of Minor Strength. The Artifact activated, temporarily increasing his Strength by 15.
Simon clenched tightly with all the force that 37 Strength could muster, holding the man in place. His right arm shone with Demonic mana.
By the time Calloway realized what was happening, it was too late.
He was unable to free himself before the Landmine detonated beneath them.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
--
Simon's ears had finally stopped ringing.
He was in surprisingly little pain. Partially from shock dulling his senses, and partially because his nerve endings had been cauterized.
Small mercies.
Nothing remained of the flesh below his ankles. He'd been standing directly on the Landmine's edge when it went off. Put all his leftover MP into it. Needed to make it big in case Calloway tried to escape the radius.
Casting a protecting Barrier below himself had also been an option...but that would've meant less MP for the Landmine. This was the only way to ensure success.
And ensure it, he had.
Not far away, Armand was laying on the ground, moaning with the understated wail of someone who couldn't comprehend what they were feeling. His condition looked no better than Simon's. Where there had once been a pair of worn-in boots, there were now only two meaty stumps with streaks of blood scattered nearby.
Would've been a cleaner victory if I'd managed to grab him with Fell Harvest, but oh well. That's what backup plans are for.
Although it technically wasn't a victory just yet. While their injuries were comparable, Simon would need a full night's sleep to recover from erasing his own feet. Conversely, Armand's ankles were already beginning to regenerate, his mana working overtime as it attempted to restore lost flesh and bone. If the transmigrator had been alone, this exchange would've been in Calloway's favor.
But he wasn't alone.
Katarina's knife descended on the murderer, slitting his throat in a brutal motion. His eyes went next, each one poked out like ruptured grapes. Then came his arms, wrists, legs – anything within cutting distance.
She relentlessly savaged his body, darting back after each attack, keeping just out of range. Armand fumbled for purchase, flailing wildly as he tried to grasp at her. His hands never came close to find their mark. He cried out in abject terror, unable to concentrate as a flurry of pain assailed him.
The scent of rot permeated the air as tainted blood started pooling under him.
Soon, his feet stopped regenerating. There was a limit to healing magic – it couldn't prioritize non-essential limbs when Katarina had just stabbed his heart four times.
"Sick of it!" Her voice was sharper than her knife, overflowing with bottomless hatred. "Life's tough enough as it is, yet people like you keep piling on the hardship! Sick of it, sick of it, SICK OF IT!"
Simon sat back and watched as a whirlwind of retribution overtook Armand. Periodically casting Identify, he observed as the man's Estimated Level ticked down. 23...19...14...8...
At Estimated Level 5, Armand stopped healing entirely.
Katarina kept cutting.
She didn't stop until he was less of a man and more of a lump of useless meat. He looked like he'd been run over by multiple lawnmowers. Ragged breaths bubbled up from Calloway's throat – the sole proof that he yet lived.
Panting heavily, Katarina turned to face Simon. Her body quivered with released tension and a conflicting storm of emotions. She seemed on the verge of manic laughter.
The sight of his two bloody stumps poured a damper on her zeal, savagery giving way to concern. "You're absolutely insane." She glanced at his self-inflicted maiming. "Will that heal?"
Simon grinned. "Just need a nap, and I'll be right as rain."
"Hah. Still insane, but...nicely done."
The two of them said nothing for a time, soaking in the moment. Armand's anguished groaning only enhanced it, like a beautiful symphony played just for them.
"Out of curiosity," Simon began, "when you stopped the fight to access your Character Sheet, was that inspired by me? Did you notice that he liked to talk after I took advantage of that to prepare my first Landmine?"
Katarina smirked. "Imitation is said to be a type of flattery."
"True enough." He gestured at Armand. "Care to do the honors?"
Her gaze flashed with vicious intent. Much to Simon's surprise, though, she shook her head and sighed. "Don't we get more EXP overall if you land the final blow? If I kill, it's split equally between us. If you kill, you receive the full EXP, and then half is duplicated and sent my way."
"According to Grant Boon's Description, yes."
"Then you finish him." She reached down, offering a hand to help him stand. "As much as it would be immensely satisfying to cut his strings...I'd rather not make Armand more important than he is. He doesn't define me. Shouldn't need to be my hand holding the blade."
Simon wasn't going to turn down extra EXP. He leaned on Katarina's shoulder as they walked, hobbling forward on his stumps. Each step was slow, painful, and utterly worth it, bringing them to Calloway in short order.
The two of them loomed over the killer like effigies of gargoyles hewn from stone. They stared down with cold, pitiless eyes, ready to pass judgement on a wretched sinner.
"Please don't." Armand's unnatural voice had returned to normal. "I'm sorry. Won't hurt anyone. Leave me be. Please. Mercy."
It was remarkable how similar his fawning sounded to Irving the Waystation guard. In defeat, they were virtually identical.
That was typically how it went. People who never offered mercy to others would beg for it when threatened. Once you stripped away their veneer, that's all they were.
Just cowards pretending.
Simon contemplated what to say. He toyed with pithy one-liners, long-winded condemnations...
But Katarina had been right. Armand wasn't a defining moment – merely a stepping stone to greater things.
He didn't deserve to be acknowledged in his final moments.
Simon raised his transformed right arm. Its claws glimmered with anticipation.
"No, please, PLEASE–"
Fell Harvest.
--
Alert: Armand Calloway has been slain!
Your Level and Stats have increased!
Level: 13 → 16
Strength: 22 → 24
Dexterity: 26 → 28
Vitality: 23 → 25
Intelligence: 22 → 28
A powerful life has been Harvested!
Fell Harvest's Rank has Increased! 2 → 3
It will now add more stat points per Harvest!
3 stat points added to Unspent Points!
Alert: Heroic Valor's bonus has activated!
For hunting a feral beast stalking the streets of Caelryn City, you have received bonus EXP!
Your Level has increased!
Level: 16 → 18
8 stat points added to Unspent Points! Allocate them at will!