Divine Beast Ascension

591 Please, Let Me Kill Him

Through the dark, hilled woods, Lambier chased after the remaining boss of Blood Moon Order. He fired wind blades time and time again. And Lambier always changed up the rhythm so the runaway assassin wouldn’t have an easy escape.

Dallad kept a level head. After years on the job, Dallad wouldn’t let frustrations overwhelm him so easily.

At the same time, Dallad was inwardly jubilant to know that Ranon had become the most immediate target. It let Dallad breathe easier knowing that Hurman was likely busy with Ranon instead of joining Lambier for a prolonged chase.

The assassin weaved through the woods and thought carefully about where he should go next.

Recalling a few maps of the Taltin Mountains, Dallad hurriedly pieced together what should’ve been his best trajectory with escape in mind. But Dallad had to be subtle with his change of direction. Too sharp of a turn would give his pursuer at least one clean shot on Dallad. And it could alert his pursuer about Dallad’s impromptu plan for a true escape.

A trail of lightning continued to be left behind as Dallad made an extremely wide turn to the east.

Of course, Lambier wasn’t new to tracking and chasing people and prey. He caught on quickly, expecting it even. After all, going too far north would’ve led Dallad back to Forell City, eventually.

The true question was whether Dallad would go east or west before likely heading south at some point to cross the Forell-Prodson border.

With that in mind, Lambier did his best to picture a map of the mountains in his mind. Lambier remembered the basic geography and where the rockiest ridges were. But he didn’t have much to go off of since he briefly saw the map for the first time a few hours ago.

.....

The chase had been going on for a few minutes but they crossed the Taltin outskirts with phenomenal speed. All the while, Lam unleashed wind blades and kept on Dallad’s tail.

As a mountain peak entered their view, Lambier scrunched his face in frustrated thoughts. *How in Dominus’s name do stop him?!*

Abruptly, Dallad made a harsh turn to the south. That jarring movement left Lambier confused, till Lambier spotted a figure rushing down from a grove of densely packed trees up ahead.

“We can’t let him get to the peaks or valleys!” Tranton shouted. “He’ll try to find a perennial beast and kite you into fighting it!”

Dallad’s loathing eyes narrowed as he stared back at the territory leader. “And how did you know I would come here?”

“Simple. I hunt best at night. And I know these mountains far better than any common map can inform you,” Tranton answered, rushing at the assassin with a sword wrapped in darkness and a shield on fire. “With you firing off so much essence nonstop, your trajectory is pretty easy to track and understand.”

Dallad dodged the sword and tried to dash away once more. Only, the threatening wind blades had arrived yet again to cut the assassin off.

Lambier heaved a huge sigh of relief as he continued to race toward the stalled assassin.

“Don’t you want revenge?” Dallad asked with a cocky laugh.

Tranton was caught off guard by the remark. However, it only took a glance at Lambier’s expression to superficially understand.

Dallad sidestepped that shadow-clad sword and cocked an arrogant smile at Lambier. “If you want vengeance, now’s your last chance. Let’s fight, you and I.”

Lambier face tensed up. Pent-up anger oozed from Lambier’s eyes as he finally closed the gap between himself and the assassin. But Lambier said nothing. He only shot off a few more easy-to-cast wind blades.

“Come on!” Dallad laughed some more. Lightning carried him from side to side, carefully evading both Tranton’s and Lambier’s attacks while putting up his cocky facade. “You don’t want to hear his last words?”

Lambier’s hand hesitated for a split second, launching the next wind blades after a half-moment delay.

Finally finding the open nerve, Dallad drove a nail straight into it. “Your father was a decent man. A proud man! You know he had a few things to say with his dying breaths. And I’m the only one lucky enough to have been present during his passing.”

The next spray of wind blades was halted, firing only a couple while Lambier held four more at the ready.

In response, Dallad backed away from Tranton and stood between the two pursuers.

When Tranton wanted to step forward and close the gap again, Lambier asked, “Leader Tranton, do you have a way to keep this assassin from escaping?”

“Somewhat. But it’s not foolproof,” Tranton answered honestly. “Are you certain about this?”

Lambier nodded. “Please… Only step in if he makes a move to escape or he finishes me off.”

Tranton stared at Lambier and Dallad, going back and forth between them during a moment of silence.

“Come on, Leader Tranton,” Dallad chuckled, keeping his arrogant gaze on Lambier. “You know these mountains better than I ever will. If you caught me once, I’m sure you can do it again after I send this man on a one-way trip to visit his father.”

Still hesitant to agree, Tranton looked back at Lambier. “Are you sure you can win?”

“Absolutely.”

The one-word answer left Tranton somewhat stunned. He never put his shield or sword away. And Tranton never dispersed his essence. But Tranton did back away a few krin, giving the dueling duo a bit more space.

Lambier’s mind was grinding away at full speed, thinking, *He’s going to try and flee. Maybe he’ll try to injure me first, but he’ll definitely flee. And I need to kill or critically injure him before that oppotunity arises.*

Dallad continued smiling, using it as a poker face to keep his true thoughts and schemes hidden. “... Won’t you make the first move? You are the challenger seeking vengeance, after all.”

“And his last words were what?” Lambier replied with a stern-toned question.

Dallad shrugged. “You’ll have to job my memory first. Maybe a few injuries will leave me feeling talkative while I plea for mercy… If you’re strong enough to pull that off.”

The assassin boss instantly donned a full set of black armor. It was hammered to imitate having scales all over the body and used dark grey lightning bolts as accents to the black steel. Around Dallad’s head was a draconic helmet. The dragon’s mouth was agape, leaving Dallad’s face revealed without limiting the assassin’s vision.

Lambier acted similarly, though his armor was far more simple. It was also light armor, but it looked like common steel with hints of embedded wind cores in place. The armor was wonderfully practical, though not quite as good as the assassin’s full set, and aesthetically average at best.

A steel-plated whip appeared in Dallad’s hand. Lambier retrieved a scimitar. And both weapons displayed an embedded core in their handles.

“Looks like I have the better reach,” Dallad jested, keeping up the smiling act. “Forfeit now and I’ll flee without killing you. I’ll even fail to inform Prodson of this whole incident.”

Lambier shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. At least a couple of your men will manage to cross the border. So Prodson is bound to learn about it anyway.”

“Then I’ll flee and never appear in Prodson or any neighboring territories ever again. I’ll even leave you with most of the wealth contained in my ring,” Dallad reasoned with his arrogant grin on display. “That’s my final offer before I kill you.”

Steadying his free hand for a moment, Lambier kept his four winds blades at the ready. “Well... I guess it’s time for one of us to die.”

…zzz… ZZZiiipp!

Buzzing in the distance caught everyone’s attention. A second later, a Thunder Jaguar came into view, bounding toward the duel.

Tranton didn’t say anything. He repositioned himself and kept his essence active, putting the duel between himself and the incoming beast.

“Sarpo, please let me kill him here!”

Hearing that shout, Sarpo matched the distance that Tranton had given the duo and came to a halt. “A duel? I thought you had a deal with Hurman?”

“And I haven’t broken that deal. This still fulfills our orders. So, please, let me kill him on my own, Sarpo. I’ll owe you one,” said Lambier.

Sarpo lessened his essence but kept it active, just like Tranton. “Fine. But the moment the assassin moves to flee or claims your final breath, we kill him.”

Dallad’s face never flinched. But his mind cursed the speeding jaguar and his timing. Then Dallad noticed the wounds on the beast’s body. “... I thought you were busy with Ranon?”

“I was. Now I’m not,” Sarpo replied succinctly and promptly.

“... What became of my beloved partner?” Dallad asked, never looking away from Lambier and his wind blades.

… When no reply came, Dallad asked, “Does this mean he’s already passed?”

“My silence is out of respect for the duel,” Sarpo retorted. “If you’re dueling, focus on Lambier. If you’re not dueling and I’m joining the fight, then I’ll inform you of what I saw before I was ordered to track you down.”