The sound of unfamiliar footsteps—thud, thud—echoed inside the warehouse. Dragon Fly and Tiger Beetle, nerves taut, strained to catch the source of the sound piercing through the darkness. Even the faint crunch of tiny pebbles underfoot rang loud in their ears, amplified by the heavy silence.
A rustling followed.
"Huuuuh…"
Then came a slow, labored breath, like the groan of someone wracked with sickness and pain. It reached Dragon Fly and Tiger Beetle, snapping their senses to full alert.
The warehouse was a void—no light, not even a sliver of moonlight from the high night sky could breach its sealed walls. The darkness cloaked everything, making shapes impossible to discern. Yet the two moved with deadly precision, steps silent as if walking a blade's edge, hunting for the intruder.
"Too dark, Rheabella… Light this place for me… with your bright light…"
A rough, gravelly voice rasped out, and a small green orb floated upward toward the ceiling, hovering in the air.
"Haaah! I can see! I can see clearly, Rheabella… Thank you, my love."
Beneath the green glow, Diverte emerged. Disheveled hair, tattered clothes, and eerie, twitching movements—he rolled his head and eyes, searching the warehouse like a predator on the prowl.
"Hey! You there. Who are you?"
Dragon Fly stepped from the shadow of a towering stack of wooden crates, sword tip aimed at Diverte.
"Heheheheh hahaha! It was you guys! You took the Bar… Baron Pelta that I… I need to take!"
Lips twitching, blue eyes glowing wide, Diverte shuffled toward Dragon Fly with manic intent.
"You don't seem like a thief come to steal from the warehouse… And since you said 'you guys' you must be sharp!"
Swish—
"Or maybe just someone who's not good with words."
From the dim shadows under the green light, two handleless throwing knives sliced through the air toward Diverte.
"Things like this… are useless."
Diverte twisted his head and body, dodging the knives with unnatural ease, then fixed a creepy smile on Tiger Beetle, who stood in the gloom.
"Got good eyes too, huh? I was confident in my knife-throwing."
Tiger Beetle stepped forward, another throwing knife in hand, and paused at a distance, locking eyes with Diverte. Hostility radiated from that stance.
"You seem like one of us. Looks like our targets overlapped, Selldagger to Selldagger."
"Why would you say that so easily? We could just be warehouse guards. 'I've never heard of Baron Pelta'—you should've at least tried a common bluff like that."
"Huh? But… this guy already knows we brought Baron Pelta here, doesn't he? Right? Oh, wait, I don't know your name. Should I call you Blue-Eyes?"
"Two… both of you… I can smell Baron Pelta on you…"
Stammering, Diverte pointed at Dragon Fly and Tiger Beetle in turn, then let his finger hover between them in the air.
"Smell? Are you a dog or something? Or did Baron Pelta douse himself in perfume? Wait, if he did, I would've noticed."
Dragon Fly sniffed at his arm and shoulder, trying to catch the scent Diverte claimed.
"Give me… Baron Pelta. I… I need to take him. Quickly, quickly, I'm late, I need to take Baron Pelta."
His speech was slow and halting, but Diverte's eyes darted sharply, tracking every twitch of Dragon Fly's fingers, every subtle shift of Tiger Beetle's feet—missing nothing.
"What the… this crazy bastard. Hey! Tiger Beetle! Do something about this green light."
Dragon Fly scowled up at the glowing green orb floating near the ceiling.
"Yes! I'll take care of it right now!"
Boom—
A small magic circle flared in Tiger Beetle's palm, and a white-tipped magic arrow shot out, striking the green orb Diverte had summoned.
With a small explosion, the orb vanished. Tiger Beetle climbed a tall stack of crates, sliding open the shutter of a mana stone lamp to flood the space with a fierce orange glow.
"Is this better?"
Perched atop the crates, Tiger Beetle looked down at Dragon Fly, who grinned with satisfaction in the newly lit warehouse.
"Much better without that gloomy green light! Only downside is that this blue-eyed lunatic's face is now too clear."
"Then we should finish this quickly. I'll assist!"
"Alright! Here I go!"
Dragon Fly's form blurred, vanishing from Diverte's sight. Those frantic blue eyes whipped around, finally locking onto Dragon Fly's gaze the instant he reappeared.
"Ha! Let's see if your body's as quick as your eyes!"
Diverte's stare dropped to the floor, where Dragon Fly crouched low, launching a kick upward at his chin.
"Hehehehehe!"
With a grotesque bend backward, Diverte dodged the kick, then twisted to swing his sword at Dragon Fly's extended leg.
Whoosh—
The blade sliced the air with a sharp hiss. Dragon Fly folded his leg back just in time, evading the strike, then sprang forward again, aiming for Diverte's neck while he was still low.
"Wasn't that dangerous just now?"
Clang—
Diverte parried a knife that flew from somewhere, the spinning blade clattering loudly as it hit the warehouse floor.
Tiger Beetle, the thrower, darted to a new spot, slipping behind a pile of old grain sacks in the shadows.
"Plenty of room to spare! Still got a ways to go!"
"Ehehehehe!"
Blue eyes wide, broken fangs bared, Diverte let out an excited laugh, his sword clashing with Dragon Fly's in a piercing metallic ring.
Crash—
Diverte dodged Dragon Fly's strike with an odd, fluid motion, but his own attack went wide, smashing a nearby wooden crate. Splinters scattered through the air.
"I know~ Rheabella. Ehehehehe!"
With a chilling cackle, Diverte deflected an ambush from Tiger Beetle, who had leaped from the shadows aiming for his back.
"Ugh!"
"Stay back, Tiger Beetle!"
Dragon Fly channeled fierce mana into his sword and swung at Diverte.
In a flash, he slid low across the ground, slashing upward diagonally. The blade bit into Diverte's thigh, the sensation of cutting flesh rippling through the hilt.
Slash—
"What…?"
Confusion flickered in Dragon Fly's widened eyes as he stumbled to regain balance. A sharp pain stabbed through him, and he kicked off the ground, retreating to put distance between himself and Diverte.
"Dragon Fly!"
"I'm fine! Just a shallow cut. (That slash… he was aiming right for my neck.)"
Clutching his bleeding shoulder and arms—marked by Diverte's sword—Dragon Fly reassured the rushing Tiger Beetle.
"Heheheheh… Blood…"
Diverte licked the blood splattered on his face with a long tongue, savoring it like sweet honey, lips curling as he stared at them.
"You're skilled, you crazy blue-eyed freak!"
Dragon Fly charged again. Drops of blood trailed behind him, and Tiger Beetle, seeing this, pulled chalk from a belt pouch and began sketching swiftly on the floor. Light flared from the sigil.
'Poison Breath Sigil'
Kneeling on one knee, Tiger Beetle inhaled the black smoke rising from the sigil through nose and mouth.
Dozens of smoky tendrils coiled around that face, seeping in.
Eyes turned black, dark veins bulging across neck and cheeks.
"Huuuuh!"
With a deep breath, body arched, Tiger Beetle leaped toward Dragon Fly and Diverte, their swords clashing with thunderous force.
The thick stone floor cracked under the impact.
"Pron pron! Bronga!"
In the Grong's tongue, Dragon Fly—locked in Diverte's trembling blue gaze—reacted to Tiger Beetle's call.
Tap—
Releasing his sword from the clash, Dragon Fly opened a brief gap and jumped back. Tiger Beetle's attack followed instantly.
"Poison Breath Sphere!!!"
A massive sphere of black smoke erupted from Tiger Beetle's exhale, hurtling toward Diverte.
The orb struck him dead-on.
"Kuhuhuhk!"
The black poison invaded Diverte's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, engulfing his head.
He coughed up dark blood, groans echoing.
"Kuhak! It hurts! It hurts!"
Sticky blood oozed from his nose and ears as he clawed at his skin, nails digging as if to peel it away.
"Rheabella! It hurts! It hurts! Rhe… abella!"
His voice weakened, but Diverte swung his sword wildly.
Logs flew, crates shattered, glass broke—his pained screams mingled with the chaos.
"I'll finish this."
Tiger Beetle stopped Dragon Fly from charging and brought the dagger close to that face, lips pursed to blow.
The eyes were still black from the poison's effect.
"Huuuuh…"
Black smoke streamed from Tiger Beetle's mouth, wrapping the dagger.
As the poison left that body, the eyes cleared, and the dark veins faded.