“Isn’t he dead?”
I drew my sword and in a perfect arc with my Quick Draw, sent Lord Suzaku’s head flying back behind him, where it settled in a muddy puddle surrounded by Spider Lilies that had been trampled during the fight. The body fell to its knees and then onto its back, scattering the pool of blood that had formed beneath it.
“Now there’s no doubt,” I replied. Part of me wondered what would’ve happened if we’d just left him there. As the Lady had told me, the Vermilion Bird’s magic made them near unkillable, so it was possible Lord Suzaku would’ve been able to recover from an apparent state of death, though without his head I was sure that wasn’t possible, especially considering how decapitation seemed to be a sure-fire way to kill someone in this World who possessed magic that made them near-immortal.
A second later, a wisp appeared above the headless body and Verdugo was the first to poke his hand through it. Fury followed briefly afterwards, and then it was my turn. Just from the looks Verdugo and Fury gave me, they were both very interested.
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‘Suzaku Twinswords: Mozu & Benisuzume’
-Melee Weapon-
Sword > Dual-Wielded > Uchigatana
“Blood falls like rain upon the fields of Kakon-Shi. The sorrow of widows echoes on the wind. Suzaku Kurenai marches east one final time. After being separated from his love for decades, his wish of being united with her in death finally came true in a field of Red Spider Lilies.”
Trait(s):
‘Bloodlust’
‘Blood-Soaked’
‘Corrupted Blade’
‘Versatile’
Equip
Discard
Weight: 3.1 kilos
(Mozu: 1.8 kilos / Benisuzume: 1.3 kilos)
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Its traits read: “The wielder becomes faster with every kill”; “The more blood the blades spill the sharper they become”; “Any strike from this blade, whether successful, blocked, or deflected, siphons stamina from the opponent to the wielder”; and, “The weapons can be used in different fighting styles: Dual-Wielded; Two-Handed; and One-Handed”.
Overall, the Twinswords looked to be incredibly powerful, and, the fact that the blades drained stamina, explained why we were all thoroughly exhausted from the fight. I wondered if the alternate version we’d just beaten was even possible to clear as a solo player... It seemed odd that Lord Suzaku hadn’t utilised the Versatile trait of his weapons, though perhaps in the normal version of the Stage he did. Out of all the weapons I’d encountered thus far, these were clearly far above the rest, as they had no drawbacks to them. In fact, the Twinswords were so strong that I wasn’t sure if I trusted them with anyone. Fury was probably the person most deserving of them, but how would he act when in control of such power?
I read through the flavour text, while thinking it over.
So, his name was Kurenai[1]. Another whose name was revealed by the weapon they dropped. It was an interesting way of telling the story of the World, I thought, though I wondered how someone who hadn’t acquired the same items would perceive this World, not to mention every other World in this realm. After all, I only knew the true story behind the Forlorn Kingdom because of the Greatsword dropped by Mŕtvy.
It seemed that, to unlock the full story of a World in this realm, players were required to beat the alternate version of the last Stage. It made me think of what Fury had told us earlier: If we’d waited long enough, Lady Seiryū would’ve fled and the Stage would’ve been cleared, but we wouldn’t have known the Lord and the Lady’s true names nor their shared history, and we’d have acquired neither the Lady’s longbow nor the Lord’s twinswords.
Besides the Twinswords, there was another item:
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‘Red Rain Draught’
-Consumable-
Drink > Alcohol
“A certain man thought that perhaps the Red Rain was not necessarily an omen, but rather a boon. Such thinking led to the collection and distillation of the crimson rain, which, when mixed with the red Sake produced from the rice of the red fields, created a bloodred liquor that imbibes the consumer with a strong resistance to bleeding for a short time. Its patrons claim that the taste gets better with time and that the internal haemorrhaging, profuse bloody vomiting, and unbearable metallic aftertaste that persist for a week are easy to get used to. Lord Suzaku was a known patron of this Draught, and it is believed that much of his strength came thanks to his habitual consumption of this translucent crimson drink.”
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Use
Discard
Weight: 0.1 kilos
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The item art showed a tall crimson clay bottle with a coarse jute rope tied around its neck, and its tag read: ‘Consumable’. Surprisingly, it had an extensive flavour text.
Unlike the Twinswords, I was able to pick up the Draught, so I did. It sounded like a useful item to have if I ever encountered someone like Red Rian again. Similar to the ‘Box of Wolf Pellets’, the ‘Red Rain Draught’ weighed only 100 grams.
I finally released my hand and looked at Fury. “They’re very powerful weapons,” I stated.
“I want them,” was all he replied. He didn’t argue that he deserved them for leading us all here, which I thought was admirable.
“You can take them.”
Verdugo was standing over the whimpering Ismail a few metres away. He looked in our direction.
“No,” he said, his face fixed in a blank and detached expression.
In an instant, he drew a hidden knife from his belt and buried it in the side of Ismail’s neck. Then, like he was gutting a fish, he tore the blade through Ismail’s throat, carving through his windpipe and jugulars, spilling blood everywhere. Verdugo released his grip on the boy’s neck and left him to foam at the mouth while the life drained from his throat in a thick rush of blood.
I screamed something wordless and charged at him, sending forth a Quick Draw, which he caught with his spear just as he pulled it from his back, deflecting my blade and following it up with an immediate jab to my shoulder that pierced through my Katabira jacket, rending flesh and muscle beneath, and completely disabling my right arm, making me drop my sword. Fury was on him before my blade hit the ground, pushing the black-clad man away from me, while I fumbled through my inventory and found my remaining ‘Modest Healing Potion’, which I deftly released the stopper from and emptied down my throat with one hand. Within seconds my destroyed shoulder had knitted itself back together and I felt the sensation return to the fingers of my right hand like tiny pinpricks all over.
With my arm returned to normal I ran to Ismail’s side, but his body already lay lifeless among the Spider Lilies and the bleeding from his neck had slowed down to a trickle. I put my hand on his shoulder, and felt only cold emanate from him. Though Verdugo had been the one to kill him, I could’ve given him a fighting chance if I hadn’t been so selfish in keeping my potion for myself. All I could do for him now was to avenge his death.
As I looked to see how Fury was faring, Verdugo backpedalled quickly and then lifted his right hand, thumb tucked in and his middle and index fingers extended like a gun. There was a sudden swirled of black air around his fingers and then he yelled, “Lance Shot!”
My hair whirled around with the air that follow the shadowy bullet as it flew past me. Ahead of me, Fury looked like he was about to collapse, and then I noticed the penny-sized hole punched through him between his shoulder joint and clavicle.
Before I could respond, he muttered something through gritted teeth, and I only belatedly realised he’d activated a Watcher Ability of his own. “Numbing Injection,” he’d said. Starting at his head and surging down through his body, a fluorescent bright-blue light made every visible vein glow. Ignorant to the near-fatal wound in his shoulder, he ran towards Verdugo and the two clashed blades again.
Knowing that Fury was fighting on borrowed time, I planted my feet solidly in the soft earth and took up a balanced stance, before lifting my bow into the air. Void of any sense of urgency, I drew one of the exquisite arrows from its quiver and set it to the string of intertwined dayflowers. I pulled the string back behind my ear until it was taut and the gnarled-and-twisted limbs creaked with pent-up strength.
Up ahead, perhaps ten metres away, Verdugo noticed me and kicked Fury in the stomach, knocking him away, before quickly equipping his ruined, bronze-faced, hard-leather shield and raising it in front of himself, the terrible rend in its face threatening to snap it in two. Then he charged for me.
A shower of azure petals and glimmering daylight filled the air around me, and my beautiful arrow cleft the air with tremendous speed, the carvings in its flat arrowhead producing a strange whistle as wind passed through it.
Fury had regained himself and was chasing after Verdugo, just as the arrow from my longbow met his shield. The black-clad Executioner flung his shield out in an attempted deflection of the arrow, but, instead of punching the projectile of course, it just continued through the edge of his shield unopposed, then into his fist and out through his wrist, before hammering itself into his breastplate with enough leftover force to warp the surface and knock him off his feet with a spin, though the arrow itself didn’t pierce through the darkened metal. Before he could get up, Fury levelled both his swords at his neck, threatening to kill him the same way he’d killed Ismail. Verdugo froze. His eyes remained on me as I returned the bow to its hook beneath my cloak and walked over to him.
“Why?”
“Because…” Verdugo started, pushing himself up with both hands, even as blood spilled from his ruined hand and the cold steel of Fury’s blades pressed on the sides of his neck. His eyes were wild like a mad beast.
“Because, I am His executioner!”
I didn’t have time to react as he pulled the knife from his hip and jabbed it at me. Thankfully, Fury hadn’t dropped his guard and with a tug of his blades instantly severed both of Verdugo’s neck arteries. The knife aimed at my side dropped to the ground as he went limp, though he continued staring at me with a disturbing grin, even as his blood flowed from him.
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[1] Written as 紅 in Japanese, meaning “Crimson”.