CHAPTER 127
THE HALF BOOK OF DEATH
“How did you find us?” Delimira questioned, her eyes glancing at Allynna, and she continued, "Even her emergency contact orb failed." But Hans being him, replied in a way that suited his arrogance, “I have a pretty big hook around this place, Deli.” And shifting his gaze to the person who should not be here, he asked Deli, “What with this Shrimp? Why is she tagging along when she should be with the first-years?"
“Shrimp, really? She is the princess of Clandor, the heir of elves. Shrimp..?”
“Like I care, Winters?" Hans said glancing at the necklace that Arat was glaring at before, surprised, he continued, "That old fox wasn’t bluffin —”
“I don’t have an obligation to follow his words, and you can’t tell me what to do either, Hans.” She seethed, her anger evident. But Hans disliked her defiance; he spoke with utter seriousness, "She better not be here, Deli—"
“Oh, shut up.” She retorted, catching him off guard. “What?" Hans questioned, "Have you lost your mind? You can’t talk to me like this, and certainly not because of this shrimp —”
“Her name is Allynna, and if you don’t like her, that's your problem.” She stressed, standing her ground, making Hans grumble, “Ah, my problem, the hell —” "Hey, hey, you two, cut it out. I almost died today," Chris intervened, stepping between them. "Man, I need someone to comfort me, not the other way around."
Hans was the first to respond, “Did you hear her talking?” he asked Chris with a baffled face but Chris was confused, “She had always talked like this to you. So why's it an issue now?" Listening to his words, Hans sighed, “Yeah, the problem. I thought I had another friend, but it seems, I was the only one thinking that.”
With those words, he walked away from the trio. The situation hadn't escalated just due to their recent heated conversation. Over the past week, Delimira had been avoiding Hans like a contagious disease, and it had a disturbing effect on his life. Her excuses kept piling up, and when she finally decided to show up, another baggage was hanging around her.
He was not dumb; he understood that she was trying to minimise the contact between Allynna and him. However, the way she was doing rubbed him in the wrong way, and the dam of his patience finally broke today. And the silence and mutual avoidance between them became a fishbone in Chrsi’s throat. He was trying to make things work out, but neither Hans nor Deli was agreeing to bend a bit. Hans even stopped coming to Griffin’s nest where the Clandorian trio was now. Chris was in the middle of talking to Delimira, “Can’t you be the bigger person? He is younger than you, and you know how childish he can get. I don’t even have a clue why both of you are acting this way.”
She remained silent, and Chris took the liberty to continue, asking, “I thought you wanted something from him, won’t it spoil your plans?”
“I can’t just back down now, it's a matter of pride.”
“Ah, these idiots." Chris almost cursed, "Hans is not someone who looks behind, stupid. Don’t you know?” Chris said, while Allynna, sipping her tea, added with guilt, “I don’t wanna be the one who broke your friendship.”
“Our friendship isn't so fragile that it would break from just an argument.” She replied confidently, unaware of how wrong she was because the situation dragged on for a month,. Hans even limited his conversation with Chris, causing unease to settle in. "Enough, this has gone on for too long. I’ll see through this today." And as Hans entered the common room, he shouted, "Hey Hans,” but Hans left, completely ignoring him.
SOMEWHERE IN MIDLANDS
“I warned you not to set foot here, or do my words are just a joke to you,” Hans roared, his hand gripping the battered body's throat tightly. “Xandor and I had a deal, you are making it very difficult for me to follow along.” For a month now, these individuals had been repeatedly showing up, always reiterating the same phrase, 'You're not the intended target.' Hearing those familiar words once again, Hans made up his mind. “This is gonna change today." he declared, delivering a powerful punch to the smug face of another of Xandor's minions.
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EAST OF SUNFALL, NAPRONIA DUCHY
Countless undead soldiers were advancing relentlessly towards Sunfall's eastern stronghold. The Napronia family, guardians of Sunfall for generations, now stood on the brink of destruction. They were encircled, trapped amidst the evil forces of Eclipse's undead, and as if that was not enough, all twelve captains of the notorious group had breached the castle walls, deepening the siege.
This was the full force of Eclipse that had destroyed the most powerful aristocratic family of Sunfall, and it only took a few hours. As the sun cast its final light upon the ill-fated castles, the Napronia family, glorious yet condemned, stood prepared for their following execution. They gulped hard as the doors of their ancestral mansion crumbled, and any who dared cross paths with Xandor faced swift demise at the hands of his twelve captains.
“You imbeciles have a choice,” Xandor bellowed, his hands squeezing the life from a man, mere moments before standing before the Duke of Napronia, “Either give me what I want and live or die, and I take whatever I came for?”
“Will you spare everyone here?” asked the battered duke, his composure steadfast even in the face of danger.
“Yes, I’m Parvian, no matter how vile you think of us, but we stay true to our words.”
“What do you seek?”
“A little birdie told me you have a half-torn book in your treasury,” Xandor stated, gaze fixed on the duke's countenance, watching as the previous calmness gradually transformed into a grimace. “You seem to know what I am talking about, so what will be your choice?” Xandor asked grinning ear to ear.
“That is something our deceased prince left us to take care of, it's no use to you —”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Bring me that, and you all will live.”
“You already massacred half of my people —”
“Stay optimist, at least half of them, are still alive," Xandor mocked, asking, "So are you gonna bring that or not?” And the duke gestured for someone to fetch the half-book. An unusual nervousness gripped Xandor, a sensation he hadn't felt even when he assassinated the Clandor council members. He paced back and forth, his anticipation building until he laid eyes on the half-book he so desperately sought, “Alas, the Book of Death is completed.” He exulted, his laughter echoing like that of an antagonist from old tales. With a triumphant shout, he taunted, "Do you see this, you wretched spectre? The completed tome is mine, you insatiable wretch. If the King hasn't already dealt with you, I’d have enjoyed killing you.”
As an ecstasy ran through his body, an unsettling sensation washed over him. He had detected a persistent presence observing him. Although he had sensed it earlier, he had chosen to ignore it as there was no reaction from the source. Yet now, the stare grew increasingly bothersome. "How long will you skulk like a rat in hiding, Dijkstra?" Xandor sneered.
“Are you stalking me,” Dijkstra responded, wondering if it was true. The unexpected encounter with Xandor, right on the heels of their Clandor meeting, left him taken aback. Similarly, Xandor found himself resonating with the sentiment; after Dijkstra had spoiled his great deal of preparations in Clandor, meeting that maniac again brought the memories of that failure. He said in annoyance, recalling how much he lost in the Clandor, “You bastard, what are you doing here?”
"Me?" Dijkstra responded with a comedic gesture, pointing to himself with an exaggerated expression of surprise. "Someone gave our prince a fright, so I'm handling it. And you?" he inquired.
“Settling old scores.”
"Hmm… the Book of Death. Quite the grand title. A Book of farts, no dead farts, right?
“None of your business, Dijkstra. It belonged to me, and now it has returned.” Xandor responded, and like the captains had heard his inner voice, they got ready unsheathing their swords again. The second captain led the charge, his sword finding Dijkstra's neck in a heartbeat, only to halt just shy of making contact. Yet, Dijkstra maintained his lighthearted demeanour. "Whoa, whoa, fourth rank, easy there. I don’t wanna die.”
“If you weren’t Brian’s brother, I’d have killed you a long time ago,” Adrian added sternly.
Dijkstra didn’t respond to Adrian’s words. Instead, he shifted his attention to Xandor, quipping, “You sure carry scary people around you buddy.”
“So what are you gonna do now?” Xandor asked in return.
“I’d love to take care of you. but Arat doesn’t pay overtime.” Dijkstra responded with a childlike pout, an expression that didn’t suit a forty-year-old man. “That fucking psycho, at least act like your age.” One of the captains remarked. However, Xandor had no time to humour a lunatic. Dijkstra wasn't someone who can overpower this lineup, but he was an unpredictable variable and Xandor knew that very well. To test his intentions, Xandor asked him again, confirming, “So we are going our separate way?”
“Yeah,” Dijkstra vanished as he spoke, only to reappear behind Xandor moments later. “No,” the captains shouted in unison. They had encircled him before, positioning themselves a distance away from Xandor. Swiftly they all returned, exuding a charged aura, and poised to unleash spells. Yet, just as Dijkstra had appeared behind Xandor, he vanished again, playfully tapping Xandor's head like a mischievous child.
“So long, idiots. Don’t get killed before I kill you.”
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