A soft breeze blew through the clearing, sending some of Verity’s hair flying in front of his eyes. This may have bothered him… in any other situation. Now, however, he had much larger issues to address.

Without thinking- No, he had thought about it. By no one’s fault but his own, he pointed his spear toward an opponent he could not defeat. Facing him was a crimson-haired adventurer known as the Flame Sword. He seemed amused at the simple fact that Verity would dare challenge him.

Why would he do something like this?

Verity wasn’t sure, and he didn’t have the leisure to think about it.

“How is he still moving!? I thought the poison worked! You told me it did!!” Eleanor barked at Ash, her fists clenched in anger.

Ash heard her voice, but he couldn’t be bothered to soothe her. This situation was simply too amusing, and Ash was planning on enjoying it. To ensure that she would not interrupt again, he turned to the noble young lady with a smile that sent shivers down her spine.

“Be quiet for now.”

Her outrage flared. “How dare yo-”

His gaze froze her words mid-sentence.

He spoke softly, and at first glance, his face might have seemed amicable, but Eleanor could feel it. She was quite good at discerning a person’s true nature, given time. It was how she had singled out Ash as someone who could help her in her endeavors. That’s why she knew just now that this Ash was serious. If she spoke again, she felt that she might lose her life.

So, she shut her mouth, biting her lip in frustration. ‘How dare he…I’ll get father to punish him later for this…’ She thought bitterly as she swallowed her fury.

Ash turned back to Verity. “You know how this ends, don’t you?” He said as he slowly raised his sword.

‘Why do I feel like I’ve heard that before…’

Verity tightened his grip around the spear. “I don’t… and neither do you.”

Ash scoffed. He really was going to enjoy this. “Let’s see how long you last.”

He raised his sword. “Left.”

Ash’s figure blurred, and he appeared in front of Verity, his sword drawing an arc starting from the left. Verity was less than prepared, but because of the warning, he instinctively placed the shaft of his spear on his left side.

‘Fast!’

He couldn’t evade, and the blow was still much too mighty for him to withstand. When both of their weapons came into contact, Verity was launched away to tumble on the cold grass. The shock had reverberated in his very bones and had completely disoriented him.

It took him several moments to stand up, and as he did, he coughed a handful of blood. The shock had clearly given him internal damage.

‘Sh*t…’

Could he hold out long enough for his only hope to show themselves? He tried to breathe, to regain some strength, but Ash had no plans to give him any more time to recuperate.

“Right.”

This time, the sword came from the right. He had time to place the shaft of his spear in the way, but he was still sent flying the other way. Once the momentum of the clash had carried him as far as it could, he found that getting back up was harder than it had been the first time. Verity leaned on his spear for support, his breaths coming in long, excruciating gasps.

‘Why is he announcing his attacks…?’

As she watched, Eleanor also found it strange, but she dared not speak out, not right now at least. She had truly never seen Ash act like this before. She knew him as slightly sadistic and quite strange at times, yes, but his selling points were his caution and his cold practicality. Why was he toying with this man? It almost… frightened her.

“Up.”

The next strike came from above. Verity raised his spear, and braced himself. Even so, when the impact occurred, he almost feared that his arms would break. His feet first sunk into the ground, before he was sent crashing into it with devastating force. Blood dripped from his lips as he stood up.

A dry laugh escaped Verity’s mouth as he attempted to focus his blurred vision onto Ash’s face. The pain coursing through his body made it difficult to even speak. “Anybody…ever tell you… playing with food… is bad?”

Ash chuckled darkly. “No.”

“Below.”

Verity was sent flying into the sky this time. He landed a few meters away, writhing in pain after the ground collided with his body. He was in pain, so much pain. Still, he stood up. It took longer than the previous time, but he planted the spear into the dirt and raised to his feet.

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“Heh. Great.” Ash mumbled.

The blows did not cease. Ash could have easily killed Verity a long time ago, but this was simply too entertaining.

‘He thinks that by pointing a spear at me, he suddenly has a chance to win?’ Ash thought.

The reason why he enjoyed this so much, despite never being emotionally invested in these missions, was simple. The man before him was just pathetic, to a point it fascinated Ash. When he had first met him, Verity had attempted to feed them a poorly constructed lie, decided to trust strangers with his life, and now he was attempting to point a spear at him without even knowing how to hold it properly.

If that wasn’t enough, Verity might have been able to, against all odds, escape this situation, but he had decided to stay instead. For what? Two strangers he had met a few hours prior? Now he was just going to die alongside them.

Ash wanted to show him what an idiot he was. His death would not be quick, and Ash would make sure of it.

Every time he swung his sword he would give Verity just enough time to block it, he would ensure that the strike just barely didn't kill him, and he would always give him just enough time to get up.

‘This guy’s toying with me…’ Verity thought as he stood up for the ninth time, clutching at his bruised shoulder.

But it was fine, he wouldn’t have to hold on much longer. For now, he could only wait for Ash’s next attack, and grit his teeth when it came.

Verity was ready for it, but unexpectedly, Ash lowered his sword, and his lips parted.

“Were you counting on that skill of yours?” He asked Verity.

Verity’s eyes widened, but his thoughts betrayed his face. Still, he put on an act for the crimson-haired swordsman.

“The one that gives you a certain chance to evade any unexpected attack? Were you planning to use that to catch me off guard?” Ash continued, sneering.

Verity pretended to stutter as he replied, giving Ash his best performance. “W-what!? You can see that much with [Appraise]!?” He stammered, his tone trembling.

“Why do you think I’ve been announcing my attacks?” Ash said, a confident smile on his lips.

‘That’s right, waste more time…dumbass.’

Verity lowered his arms slightly, feigning defeat. “T-that’s why…? You’ve been toying with me… all this time…?”

He’d give himself an oscar if he could.

Ash, however, looked toward the blazing forest, the result of the attack he had deflected earlier, and his sneer grew wider. “No… that’s not what you were waiting for.”

Verity’s feigned confusion slipped into a frown.

“You were hoping someone would notice this…. Someone like Bagua and his goons, maybe?”

Verity’s grip tightened, and his face darkened. ‘Alright, he’s figured it out, but still, if I can just hold on a while longer then-’

Ash wasn’t done, however. Turning away from the dancing flames, his crimson eyes stared through Verity. “...Who do you think gave me the toxin?”

Verity’s face dropped, and an image of Ash exchanging a pouch with Bagua flashed in his mind. ‘Was it then…?’

Ash seemed sincere, but Verity wasn’t convinced. Of course, he felt that the encounter with the bandits wasn’t mere coincidence, and he did have his suspicions, but the rage Ash had shown toward Bagua had felt so… real. It felt more plausible to Verity that Ash and Eleanor had simply used the bandits to their advantage. Plus, the simple idea of them being in cahoots was outright ridiculous.

Why hire an entire bandit group to halt their journey and demand ransom? To test the toxin on Midnight? They could have easily done that in countless other ways, such as spreading it on a night like this, and blaming it on a monster if it didn’t work. To force them to sleep in the forest, away from prying eyes? Night would have fallen before they had left the forest even without their interference.

No matter how Verity looked at it, while employing the bandits may have had its uses, it not only added uncontrollable variables, but must have, or would cost quite a sum, as well. Then why would they have done it? Was Verity missing something?

His mind raced, but no answer came to him. Eventually, he sighed, and he met Ash’s gaze. “You’re lying…. It doesn’t make any sense.” He said.

Ash scoffed. “Doesn’t it? Midnight’s disappearance would have to be explained to the guild.” He took out the pouch from his coat where the poison had been stored. “This is a commonly known poison that bandits use. Of course we’re using a much more concentrated and purer version, but still, it’s essentially the same.” He shook the pouch. “Do you see what I'm getting at?”

The pieces were falling into place.

“Scapegoats….” Verity whispered, realization setting in. “Pay them to show up at the right time… use them to not only test the toxin, but to make a show…” His eyes darted to the carriage driver. “Then… He was never supposed to die…!!”

“Bingo.” Ash slicked his hair backward, grinning. “ Status is a wonderful thing. The guild’s investigators would never dare search the memories of a platinum ranked adventurer or the daughter of a Marquis if there was a better option. This leaves only the old carriage driver… and the bandits themselves, which we’ll point them to by leaving traces of the toxin in my body and in the surroundings.”

He hadn’t even known about memory magic, and Verity was surprised that even that had been included in their plans, but its existence also brought another problem with it. “But if they searched the bandit’s minds, they’d know you made a deal with them! That still doesn’t make sense!”

Ash wagged his finger. “My deal was only with Bagua, and I made sure he wouldn't speak of it to anyone.”

“And when they search his memory!? What then!?” Verity snapped back.

Ash tilted his head and smiled, like a teacher pitying a slow student.

Verity stumbled upon his own words as the final piece fell into place. “Sh*t… you were planning to kill him too..!!”

It all made sense. Verity’s hands trembled, and the sturdy metal from which the spear had been made echoed as it slipped from them. He fell to his knees, his eyes dropping to the ground.

“Haha…I’ll be worse off when they do get here… I’m doomed…” He muttered to himself, in disbelief.

Thanks to [Surveillance], Ash knew Bagua had not entered his surroundings yet, but he also knew that no other monster, or human, had either. He had won.

Verity could not defeat Ash, no one was coming to save him, and he had finally made him acknowledge it.

He hated naive idiots like Verity the most. It irritated Ash that Verity would dare think that he had a chance against him, and he’d uncovered a new found pleasure in crushing him so thoroughly.

‘Yes, I should do this more often…’

He was satisfied. He could kill Verity. He layered Aura onto the flames of his sword, and dreadful power emanated from him. Now, he just had to swing once, and this would all be over. He’d have to deal with Eleanor again, he knew she wasn’t happy, but at least he’d had his fun.

He stared at the pathetic man in front of him muttering to himself in defeat, and prepared to attack. “Now di-”

The leaves rustled beside him, halting his blade. “Ah, here I was hoping for a quiet retreat in the woods, now someone’s gone and set the whole place on fire… Tsk Tsk.”