Freddy sprinted through the hallway, asking anyone he came across whether they spotted Lucas.

His peers had no idea where he was.

His trainers had no clue where he’d gone.

And perhaps most frighteningly of all…

He wasn’t the only person missing.

“Lucas?” the woman asked. “I… I don’t know. I’m looking for my husband. Just a few hours ago, he…”

“Shit!” Freddy shouted, pulling his phone out again to call Thor for the fifth time. The man didn’t answer again. “What the fuck is going on?” He looked back at the woman. “I’m sorry. Just go back to your apartment. Something is happening, and it might be dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” The woman reflexively grasped for her necklace. “But my husband…!”

“We’ll take care of it. Now, please, go back.” He walked past her, and reached for his phone again. He only had Thor’s number. But if he could just find Travis, he’d—

Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Thor.

A muddy blend of anxiety and relief flushed through him as he rushed to answer the call. “Hello?”

“Hey… Freddy…” Thor said calmly. He then chuckled. “I’m sorry.”

“What the hell is happening?”

“Look. I can’t really talk for long, so I’m going to need you to listen to me, okay? Don’t come. I know you’ll be tempted to, but don’t. Please.”

“Don’t come where!?”

“Just don't!” Thor shouted through the phone. He released a shivering breath. “If the worst comes to pass, I leave things in your hands. I trust you. You’ll figure something out.”

“Can you please just tell me what’s—”

“Goodbye, Freddy.” He ended the call.

Freddy gripped the thick phone hard enough to crack the metal casing. His hand shook as a look of betrayed confusion lingered on his face.

Don’t come where? Figure what out?

“Thor… What the hell is happening?” He stood there in a dazed silence, sweat pouring over him.

And then, a few moments later—

The ground beneath him trembled slightly, and an instant later, a muffled sound of lightning cracked right outside the building.

“Don’t come…?” Freddy laughed. “I see.” He put the phone away into his storage ring. And then, without a moment of pause, broke into a sprint.

***

Thor put his phone away into his storage ring and sighed.

He stood clad in full armor, posed right outside the gates of Valhalla like a guardian dog. His cursed axe hung gripped in his left hand.

The day was cloudy. A relatively warm gust of wind blew over the city of Repentawa. The brief yearly flash of summer was almost afoot. The snow was thin and muddy. The trees were sweating slush, and far into the distance, he could even hear the familiar crack of lightning.

“Might rain today, huh?” he mused, briefly looking up at the sky before finally gazing upon his enemy.

A man clad in very expensive-looking armor stood menacingly not too far ahead. The visitor did nothing to conceal his sinister aura. It was oppressive and dense. Far too dense for the man’s rank. He had heard of the tales before. Of the exceptionally rare, unfathomably lucky individuals who had gotten their hands on a unique prime vestige and attained a second talent.

While it was hard to encapsulate this shocking sting of the man’s presence in mere words, that was the only explanation Thor had for what he was feeling.

A disappointed numbness coursed through Thor’s body as he resigned himself. This day was bound to come eventually.

The man lazily swung his sword over his shoulder and cocked his head. “I take it you’re Thor?”

“Yup. The one and only,” he said. “And who might you be?”

“I’m just some guy,” the man said dismissively. “It won’t matter to you soon enough.”

Thor chuckled. “Can you at least tell me who sent you, then?”

“You should be able to guess.”

Thor nodded. “As expected, then. Well. Unless you’re here to have a debate, I think we should get started.”

The man chuckled. “What’s the rush? That eager to die?”

“I’ll admit it—I’m not your match in a direct fight.” Thor gripped his axe tightly, raising it into a guard. “But I’m more than enough to humble you.”

The two men stood facing each other, their aura’s electric, the tension between them explosive.

All it took was a minor twitch. They leaped at each other.

Dust and mud flew into the air as they swung their weapons at each other, both noticing the disparity in their speed—the man was faster than Thor, and as their weapons met with a thundering blast, nothing but his countless years of fighting experience had allowed Thor to intercept the incoming attack, and it was a spark of electricity coursing through the man’s weapon and finally into his armor, weakened as it was, that managed to paralyze him just long enough for Thor to duck the swing that would have taken his head off, but with supernatural speed, the sword was already flying right back at his neck, and this time, it left a shallow cut on his skin.

Thor pushed himself back with one leg, but his enemy immediately pressed the attack, aiming to thrust the massive sword right through his chest, an aura of momentum enveloping it, its blade shimmering and buzzing with intense vibrations. Thor supercharged his whole body with electricity, and as soon as the sword touched his armor, a spark jumped, leaving a heated line along the metallic sword and burning the man’s hand—but it wasn’t enough.

The assailant pushed through the pain and landed a strike, denting Thor’s armor and even sinking the sword an inch into his chest, but with a weave of his torso and a blitz counterattack, Thor made some space between them.

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He breathed heavily. The pooling sweat was being collected by the bodysuit beneath his armor, but for the lack of a better way to put it, he felt sweaty as shit. An unwitting smile crept up on his face. “What’s someone like you doing in the Northern Belt?” He swallowed his spit. “Even though you aren’t at the peak of the third star yet, you could easily leave for greener pastures. What gives?”

“Call it a practice run,” the man said curtly, raising his sword and lining the point up with Thor’s eyes.

“I see.” He chortled. “People really do treat this land like some sort of perverted playground.” His lips curled in disgust. “I see. I’m not going to beat around the bush. I have a—”

“Thor!” a deep voice shouted from behind the walls.

“No! Stay back!” Thor shouted in anger as he watched a bulky man leap over the wall.

Freddy landed with a deep thud, his feet sinking slightly into the earth. He raised his chin and stared at the intruder. “Just one guy? And what, you’re already resigning yourself to death!?”

“You fucking moron!” Thor shouted with a quivering voice. “I’m begging you, don’t get involved.”

“Do you have that little faith in me?” Freddy asked as he cast Crimson Dragon Scales with both stars, instantly sinking 50% of his essence into his defense. “Even if I can’t do much, I promise I won’t get in your way.”

“You have no idea what you’re up against,” Thor said. “Please. Just go back.”

Freddy froze at those words.

The attacker laughed. “Charming display, you two.”

Freddy flinched at the man’s voice. It sounded familiar. “Who are you?” he spat. “Have we met before?”

The man turned to look at him. “You must be Slave.” He eyed Freddy for a long moment, cupping the helmet where his chin would be. As his eyes peered through the slits in his helmet and met Freddy’s gaze, the man paused for a long moment. “You…” He stared at Freddy from top to bottom. Then he chuckled, shaking his head. “Nope. I have no clue who you are.”

“Is that so…?” Freddy squinted at the man. “Why are you here?”

“That’s enough chatting.” The man suddenly burst forward, rushing straight towards Thor.

Freddy conjured a Blood Javelin and threw it at the man, activating Hydraulic Flex with both stars. The man side-stepped the attack with frightening ease as he brought a calamitous swing down on Thor, who retaliated with a powerful burst of lightning directed at the man.

Freddy waited for the right moment and threw a second Blood Javelin, but this time, even though his aim was true, the javelin swerved mid-air, coiling around the man as he grabbed hold of it.

“Wha—” Before Freddy could even express his shock, the man threw his weapon back at him. The javelin traveled so quickly he had no hope of reacting to it. It sank right into his stomach, effortlessly breaking through his scales and embedding itself in his torso, just barely sparing his spine.

He looked down at it, suddenly feeling paralyzed. That had been too effortless. Too fast.

Thunder and metal echoed loudly before. him; sparks, electric and of blades meeting flew all around as the two men engaged in mortal combat, practically completely ignoring Freddy’s existence. “Seriously…?” he muttered. Was he actually this outmatched?

This wasn’t just some random nobody. This was a true three-star. Even Thor, for all his might and speed, looked like he was struggling for his life with every blow they exchanged. And while Thor could barely even defend himself from a single blow, the man could easily attack twice.

Thor took a deep cut across his thigh. Then another on his hip. His face. His neck. The duel wasn’t even close, and it was progressing so rapidly that Freddy barely had the time to react.

Freddy’s ears buzzed uncomfortably as the realization sank in.

Was Thor…

He pulled the javelin out through his back and dropped it to the ground.

He bent forward, his left hand conjuring the fragile ball of blood metal.

Then, he charged.

Neither of the men turned to face him, but he could see Thor visibly tense.

“Distract him!” Freddy shouted as he conjured his forearm shields, raising them to protect his head.

“God fucking damn it!” Thor yelled as he obliged, activating a lightning spell with all three stars and taking a deep cut across his stomach in return. Electricity coiled like a snake, and the man prepared to leap back to make some space.

With both stars activated, Freddy used Hydraulic Flex, leaping to cut the man’s retreat off. The man called the bluff and charged right at him, raising his sword to cut him apart.

Freddy didn’t defend or flee. He couldn’t. With what little time he had to act, he activated Tsunami Strike with both stars, smashing his fist into the ball of blood metal. A loud explosion burst through the entire clearing, a flash of light blinded him as the ball dissolved into a shower of fragments aimed straight at the charging man.

Although the man still managed to deflect a good number of shrapnel flying at him, the shards were too numerous and fast to completely deflect. They clattered against his armor, evidently exhausting whatever enchantment was boosting the man’s defense.

But Freddy wasn’t done yet. “Leviathan’s Fu—”

The man instantly reacted, reaching for a flying chunk of blood metal, and Freddy raised his forearm shield to block it, but the piece swerved through the air, looping around his block and aiming straight for his mouth.

He had to say it to cast it. But as the piece of blood metal cut into his tongue and flew deeper into his throat, he could manage the last syllable.

No.

All he saw was a brief flash of metallic light. Then he lost all feeling in his limbs.

As he watched his dismembered arm float out of the way, the man’s foot was revealed, sinking right into Freddy’s torso, crushing his scales, ribs, lungs, and heart, and sending him flying away.

Huh?

He saw a flash of lightning. Thor used the opening, swinging his axe to leave a deep gash across the attacker’s back, breaking through the armor’s defense and damaging the enchantment. For a brief moment, Freddy thought it would be enough. But the man retaliated without pause, swinging his sword around… and cleaving Thor’s left arm off from the forearm down.

The moment passed, and Freddy was sent flying away. His body slammed into a thick tree at such speed and with such force that he snapped the trunk like a twig, but he also felt most bones in his body crack, and nearly every blood vessel burst as he bounced off, skittering across the slushy soil and leaving a long trail of metallic blood.

The world spun before his eyes, and in that moment, nothing even felt real. It was like he was floating through a dizzying mess of flickering colors. And then he landed, his face half-buried in wet sand.

All he heard were muffled blasts. He couldn’t see straight. He couldn’t breathe.

Blood… shed…

He couldn’t release it. His Blood Ring was still on his severed arm.

I need to heal.

But his storage ring was also lost.

With all the willpower he could muster, he forced his head to move. Thankfully, his neck was only cracked and not broken. He lifted himself on his head, arching his torso, using Hydraulic Flex to help him move. He could barely inch forward. He folded his whole body, trying to move like some sort of fucked-up caterpillar.

Where his legs were severed, his exposed bones scraped through the wet soil and snow.

***

Thor stood, holding his axe with one hand as his opponent struggled to hide the damage he’d taken. Thor grinned. “Got you good, didn’t I?”

“Your friend died for this.”

“Don’t you worry about my pal. He’s a tough one.” Thor coughed and spat blood. “I was going to tell you this before we were rudely interrupted, but I guess this is as good a time as any. Back the fuck off. I have a spirit ability that will trade my life for temporary power. If I use it, we both die.”

“Then go ahead. Use it.” The man raised his sword, openly laughing at him. “How many people do you think say that kind of thing? Even those who actually do have such a spirit ability often lose before they use it. And even if you do, it doesn’t guarantee you’ll actually kill me. Here, two can play that game—I have a spirit ability that will teleport me away. So go ahead.” He leaned forward. “Call my bluff.”

Thor chuckled. “Well fuck me, then. I should have played poker more often.

“Last Resort.”

Suddenly, his whole body started steaming, an irresistible aura radiating off him. The snow in a ten-meter radius around him instantly evaporated into steam. A wild, raging web of electric sparks slowly spread out around him, forming a

The attacker took a step back. “You crazy motherfucker. You actually did it.

“But you’re right.

“You should have played poker more often.”

Thor’s eyes flashed wide open.

“Instant Retreat.”

The man disappeared with a puff of air.