I could feel the grass; was I in the woods again? When I opened my eyes, Sterk was sitting on the grass. He didn't look like his usual self. Usually, he smiles and mocks, but this time it looked like sadness had taken over him.
"AM I dead?"
"You are not!"
"So I didn't die? Why?"
"Eh! I didn't tell you I was a Wizard doctor; how should I know why you're not dead...Yet at least!"
I got up from the grass and no longer saw the cabin; I looked behind me as well, but the surroundings were only woods.
"What is this? We usually have cabins involved when we are here. Why are there only trees around?" I asked him.
Sterk got up from the grass and started to stretch. You have to be freaking kidding with me, I am dying and this guy prepares for a fight.
"No fights, Sterk! Why are you stretching?"
"Listen, idiot! I am still this young, something needs to change about your development."
"Look! I dont have time for this bullshit, I am dying right now, my body is dying."
"That is why this is the best moment to try and further your powers," Sterk commented.
He took a fighting stance, and I took a deep breath because I felt that I would never get any moment of rest. What a stubborn brat, screw this, lets get it over with. I released the chain from my wrist and threw it in at high speed, but he caught it easily with his right wrist, staring at me when the chain released itself and rolled around his wrist instead.
"I am not letting you cheat anymore."
I leapt towards him when he threw the chain towards me, and I managed in the last millisecond to dodge it. At the same time, it scraped my right shoulder and ripped up my blazer, so I had to duck down, taking one step forward and then one step to the right under the chain to create space. When I was going to move forward, I felt pain on the left side as the chain moved in my direction, and I tumbled down on the grass and bounced with every hit, the grass just caused more pain until I stopped. I thought I was a badass and tried getting up quickly, but I coughed up blood on the grass as the left side of my blazer and shirt was gone entirely. An injury shaped as a long line all over my ribs bled a lot. What is Sterk trying to do? I won't have a chance if one hit causes that much injury.
With a lot of pain, I got up from the ground and tried to take a deep breath, but my left lung stopped me. Great, I probably have a cracked rib pressing against the left lung.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! BECAUSE THE TIMEZONE HAS STOPPED DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN REST. KILL OR BE KILLED, YOUR CHOICE ZARK!"
I got up from the ground, which took a lot of time, and I tried to stand correctly without holding my left side, so as not to show weakness; otherwise, this brat would focus on the left side.
"TODAY PLEASE!"
When I clenched my right fist, it was the biggest flame I had ever created.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT ME WITH ONE TINY FLAME, ZARK! STOP WASTING TIME."
Focus, Zark. I am the best and most skilled investigator with exceptional fighting skills; I am the best there is.
Meanwhile, moments ago on the pathway...
A big black fireball came in high speed towards Zark as he was already falling to the ground, but Rieven estimated it and jumped high in front of Zark while Killeh went low to protect him. The black fireball hit Rieven in the stomach, and she screamed out a screeching sound, falling onto Zark without moving. Killeh got up quickly from the ground and saw both Zark and Rieven passed out. The girl was laughing from a distance and said:
"AW! Only a puny, worthless Daemon left to fight. What are you going to do, little one?"
Killeh's head caught fire between his horns. His shoulders rose slightly and expanded, and his entire body's veins became visible as he grew a couple of centimeters in height. His arms became longer, with bulging muscles, and his hands were almost too big for his body size. Both his legs made a popping sound, with bulging muscles and more veins than his upper body showing, indicating the results of how great jumpers Daemons were, with a lot of power behind them. A roar echoed with a raspy tone that echoed far away in the lands of Hell. One of Killeh's eyes turned red, while the other one turned black. Killeh turned back to Rieven and his Master and hit with both his fists on the pathway, creating a big crack. He kept hitting the ground when suddenly the bridge on Killeh's side started to move to the right, and the Assassin screamed from the other side:
"STOP IT, WORTHLESS CREATURE! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?"
Killeh hit the ground several times and ignored the calls when he jumped up in the air for the final blow as the Assassin moved towards them. Everything stopped, Killeh was on centimeters from hitting the ground, but the space of time had stopped. The human figure of fire appeared, and Ronnie looked at the girl, then at Killeh, and then at the girl again, before turning quickly to Killeh.
"Eh!...Hm...Did they not get it?" Ronnie said and jokingly scratched his head.
Ronnie walked to Killeh and noticed the other two were gone.
"CLAY NURSE!" He screamed out in the air, and a boobilicous clay figure appeared.
"I am sorry! It is Friuna's turn now, but she doesn't know anything about nursing; she is just going to check if they are alive." He explained to Killeh, but was unsure if Killeh was looking at him because he didn't have any pupils.
The clay figure moved around, touching Zark and Rieven, and lifted its whole hand at Ronnie.
"I am sorry, Killeh! She has not experienced yet what thumbs up means, so she shows her whole hand as a gesture," Ronnie whispered.
The Clay figure started to walk away and disappeared just like that. Ronnie sat down in front of Killeh and stared at him. Well, he didn't have eyes, but he was hoping that Killeh would understand that his attention was on him now. Killeh grunted, and his body vibrated a little bit as Killeh was trying to finish his big hit on the ground.
"There is no use, dear Daemon! You need me to release you; this whole area belongs to me. Only when I say can you move. Speak with me, warm me up with the feelings you feel right now. Explain your inner feelings; I will allow you to talk now." Ronnie said and snapped his finger, as Killeh's mouth relaxed as he could move it.
"Killeh!" Ronnie nodded, "I understand!" "Kill...EH!" "I get it, Master and his pet team trusted an outsider, and this happened. I mean, I am to blame a little bit also, I chose her memories because I could feel someone lurking behind the team. So, I saw the memories of the girl and I thought maybe I could help a little bit, you know what I mean?" "KILLEH-KILLEH-KILLEH-KILLEH!" Ronnie lifted both his hands in denial and responded, "I understand your feelings, it is hard to see a Daemon get killed. Sorry!" "KILL-KILLEH!" "Ah, yes! Sorry, I forgot she killed two daemons. She did actually kill more than two, but you know, sometimes we have to be like the puny humans and what they call PG-13, I do not even know what that means. The almost beheading was a little bit too much; maybe I should have covered the scene a little bit, but it is memories, and I enjoy suffering and pain." "KILL...HE!" "Interesting, you want to kill her, but I can feel she is stronger than you."
It was quiet for a moment, and Killeh's other black eye turned red.
"Now it is interesting! Are you willing to bet your response on the fight? If you win, she will receive a guilty sentence, and because the other two have passed out, they will give the same answer as you. Still, if you lose, I will erase the memory of the moment and implant another memory, so that all three of you will have no recollection of her being an assassin. Means you will risk everything for a fight, and she will automatically be found not guilty without you three knowing about it. If all three of you get out of here with her, she can still kill all three of you, as you will not know she is an assassin for the Queen. Is that what you want, dear Daemon?"
"Kill...He!"
Ronnie shook his shoulders as Killeh was resolute in his answer. He wants her to die at his hands. Ronnie disappeared and showed up behind the Assassin. He snapped his finger so she could talk.
"Do you accept the challenge, Assassin? If you lose, you will also lose your soul and burn for eternity in this pathway with no chance to escape. Your other option is to go through the Trial, and you will get judged if there is a non-guilty sentence or guilty."
"Do I even have a choice?" She responded.
"Well, the human has a conscience. You could always play on feelings and empathy, maybe Zark will warm up to the suffering he saw in the children."
"I doubt it! He only cares about his species. He will turn his back on his pets. I will just kill the Daemon, erase their memory, and kill the dragon and the human before we reach the town. I accept the disgusting creatures challenge!"
"Well, I allowed this, and it is your choice!" Ronnie said and hit the ground with his right foot, causing the ground to crack behind The Assassin.
He moved his hand around so that the two cracked areas beneath had a paper-thin path; the burning fire under the ground suddenly disappeared in the same shape as the pathway. It was ten meters down, as it was apparent that the Assassin and Killeh would fall when his fist hit the ground.
Ronnie moved into the middle between both of them and said:
"Let the best one win!" and he snapped his finger, and the thin path came crashing down with both the Assassin and Killeh on the ground below, surrounded by fire.
The fight for death has begun.