Derek ran. All that mattered was running. He tripped over himself, constantly looking over his shoulder. His panting and steps were the only sources of sound in the natural tunnel. A few puddles splashed as he walked over them. The air was damp and heavy. Heavier than Derek remembered. He wasn’t sure if that was his mind playing tricks on him, but it felt difficult to even breathe. So heavy.

As he ran, a thousand thoughts went through his mind. Most of them were related to a single question.

How did things end up like this?

He didn’t need to wonder who was tearing their way through their base. He had immediately chosen to leave all of his subordinates to die and escape alone, but he still didn’t know if that was enough. The reaper seemed unstoppable, and Lohann was nowhere to be found. There was no way to contact him, and no Whisper had arrived. Derek felt like an idiot for having put his trust in that man. Now, he was forced to deal with the consequences of his actions on his own.

Truthfully, he didn’t think he had done much to incur Michael’s wrath. He had approached him, been rejected, and promptly left. He had ordered his men to steer clear of Bluestone Territory, even though there was no way for him to make sure of that. In his eyes, he had done everything that he possibly could to avoid a confrontation with Michael. No, this wasn’t about the two of them. It was about James and his people. Derek had confirmed his theory about a connection between Michael and James. Michael was fighting to free his friends.

It was an unnecessary measure. Had Michael decided to talk to Derek, Derek would have gladly let him take away his friends in order to avoid conflict. Michael should be aware of this, as well. The only remaining scenario was that apart from helping his friends, Michael also despised Derek and the way he ran his organization. It was senseless. How could a butcher who had killed more than twenty people criticize Derek for not caring about the lives of his men or for his methods?

Derek gritted his teeth, hatred blooming within his heart. Now, the hypocrite was here, after his life. So early. Too early. Derek hadn’t had the time to put most of his plans into motion. He hadn’t managed to grow his influence, dominate other Villages, Level Up, or achieve any of his numerous dreams. His vision of being the King of the Tutorial Zone crumbled in real time. He had stepped on the heads of so many people to get into his current position, but what had any of it been worth?

“Fuck!”

And so, he ran. Without stopping, but always looking back. That was when he saw him. A figure crossed the distance between them like a lightning bolt. In an instant, Derek felt a hand grab the back of his head. A heartbeat later, his face was smashed on the ground.

***

Michael looked at the man he had grabbed, who had now collapsed. His arms and legs flailed wildly as he tried to deal with the pain, but Michael didn’t loosen his grip. He lifted Derek’s head, staring deep into his eyes. The now bloodied face with a broken nose stared at him hatefully. For a few moments, the two men merely stared at each other. Michael let out a low voice as he bled from his eyes, nose, and mouth. A wave of green mana washed over him.

“And here we are.”

Derek coughed out a response.

“I avoided you! I left your Village alone! Why!?”

Michael’s voice was firm.

“You’re a blight. Removing you is the correct thing to do.”

“Don’t preach to me about the correct thing to do! You’re a murderer just like me! Don’t give me that self-righteous bullshit! This is about James, isn’t it!?”

“No, this is about more than that. You know how much pain you’ve already caused others in this Tutorial. You say we’re both killers, which is true, but we both know your death toll is much higher than mine. You have killed, coerced, threatened, and blackmailed your way into power. I simply decided you must be dealt with.”

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Derek gritted his teeth. He tried to spit on Michael’s face, but he effortlessly avoided it. It happened then. Derek’s hands, which were previously lying on his sides, shot toward his chest and pulled out a dagger. The blade accurately pierced at Michael’s heart. Yet, Michael’s free hand grabbed its edge and stopped it dead in its tracks. It was no surprise; his stats were much higher than Derek’s. A trail of blood left his palm and followed the blade’s edge, falling to the ground as red droplets. Michael’s arm shook as his expression distorted with pain, but he remained steadfast.

Michael watched Derek’s eyes as they filled with desperation and fear. His last-ditch effort had failed. Derek struggled, but Michael’s grip didn’t waver. Michael spoke in a low voice as he applied more pressure.

“You know what? Maybe you’re right and I’m just a piece of shit. But, at the very least, I can take solace in the fact that I’m killing another piece of shit.”

Derek kicked his abdomen. Michael didn’t even shake or tremble. He tried to move the dagger in his hands, but Michael had it in a vice grip. It was an anticlimactic ending to the confrontation between the two men, but one that was only natural. The gap between their levels of power was simply too large. Derek yelled as Michael put more pressure in his grabbed head.

“You! You fucking-”

“Where is Lohann?”

Derek stopped himself from talking. He abruptly started to laugh. Amidst his laughing, he managed to say a few words.

“You ain’t getting shit out of me! You wanna kill me? Fine! But I’m not helping you even a bit!”

Michael frowned. It was the expected response, but that didn’t mean it was a good one. He wondered what to do. Offing Derek immediately wouldn’t help him catch Lohann, who was clearly the more dangerous one of the two. At the same time, any method of extracting information from an unwilling person was brutal. He wouldn’t be any better than James’ torturers, no matter how much he told himself it was for the greater good. Yet, it was still the most effective way of learning the most about Lohann. He was conflicted. Derek continued to laugh.

“What? Too scared to even attempt to make me talk? I hope Lohann kills all of you! Ha!”

He had barely finished speaking before his face was smashed on the ground once more. When Michael lifted the man’s head, two teeth fell to the ground, but the man maintained his smile. The broken nose had taken even more damage. Michael spoke.

“Tell me everything you know about Lohann and this will end here.”

Derek eked out a reply.

“Fuck you.”

With a bang, his head was smashed onto the earth again. Even more teeth fell when the head was lifted. Derek looked disoriented and slightly out of it. Michael gritted his teeth. He raised his index finger, muttered a chant, and a second later, a large Mana Sphere appeared at the tip of his finger. He willed for it to condense. It got smaller, glowing brightly and shimmering with power. Once it was about the size of a marble, Michael stopped. He raised the Sphere to Derek’s eye level and spoke.

“This thing can sear and burn through any part of your body. Just tell me what I want to know. I don’t want to do this.”

Derek’s smile became even more crooked. He spit out a reply.

“Pussy.”

Michael narrowed his eyes. He slowly moved the Sphere to Derek’s right leg and steeled his conviction. This was necessary to catch Lohann, who was an unhinged and dangerous individual. The man had threatened to kill an innocent life for every Redglow Flag that Michael took. Michael didn’t know where to even start looking for him, so he needed information. This was for the greater good.

Lightly, very lightly, the Sphere touched Derek’s leg, melting through the clothes in an instant. Once it reached the skin, Michael pushed it just a bit further, and stopped it in place. Derek hissed, drawing air through the gaps where his teeth used to be. The Mana Sphere wasn’t fired or even moved. It simply continued to burn and virtually cook that specific amount of flesh. Derek started screaming in mere seconds. Michael pulled the Sphere up, away from the leg.

“Tell me what I want to know.”

Derek had clearly lost much of his spunk, but defiance still burned within his eyes.

“F-Fuck you.”

Michael lowered the Sphere once more. The enemy’s screams echoed throughout the tunnel. This was repeated twice over. By this point, the Sphere was getting dangerously close to bone. Michael believed that it was this notion that finally broke Derek.

“Wait! Wait! I-I’ll talk.”

Michael dismissed the Sphere and looked at the man. He didn’t look well at all. If anything, he seemed about to go into shock due to the pain. A decision was reached in a split second.

“Minor Heal.”

The green mana washed over Derek’s body, focusing on his damaged leg. The burns melted away, replaced by new flesh. A single Minor Heal couldn’t cure that type of injury, but a complete recovery wasn’t necessary. Michael only wanted to heal Derek enough for the man to be able to speak clearly.

Derek let out deep breaths. Michael stared at the man dead in his eyes. It was possible that the man would say anything to save himself, but he was the only source of information that Michael had.

“Start talking.”