Episode 7: Open the Doors of the Tower of Dreams That Suddenly Rises (7)

9

Caim turned the corner.

There was nothing. Nothing. Neither Aidan, nor blood. Where the hell had he gone?

Caim immediately turned back, of course. He couldn't afford to lose sight of his companions for long. He had disappeared in front of the eyes of all three once. Disappeared and reappeared behind him. It probably wasn't a convenient power he could use without limits, but until he understood the parameters of magic, he had to assume the worst or he would regret it.

"Do you have any idea?" Caim asked.

Victoria raised her head. Her eyes were wide open, and her hair stuck to her forehead with sweat. It might not be too serious a wound, given the circumstances, but she was worried. Naturally. So was he. Yonah was their priority. But as long as Aidan wasn't dead, none of them would be safe.

"I have no idea," she confessed, betraying her hopes. "He's not even a mage. I didn't feel a hint of magical energy!"

Caim swallowed hard. He wanted to ask, of course, how that was possible, but it would be completely useless. A waste of oxygen. She hadn't told him everything he needed to hear, but she had told him everything she knew. It was more than clear. So...

They had to figure something out.

Apart from numerical superiority, he had a clear advantage over his opponent. For anyone with common sense, Victoria would be the next target. Caim knew he didn't have to worry about himself. He could focus everything on defending his friend. It made things simpler, and it was a great relief.

The sounds of choking continued. Yonah was choking on her own blood, desperately fighting to stay in this world. If he had to choose, Caim would prefer to drown than burn to death, but both were extremely horrible ways to die. Fire or ice. Neither was better.

"He's cut her throat, alright. But it's not even a deep cut. I can't see the bone, and it's not just because of the blood. At least not anymore."

Emotionally, he knew Yonah's survival was assured, but he could only truly relax when he twisted that little bastard's neck.

Then, Aidan appeared among them, not even attempting to hide. He threw the knives at such close range that it was impossible to miss. Straight at Yonah's surprised face. And he didn't miss, of course.

The knives struck Caim's chest, who managed to get in the way at the last moment. It was okay. As long as he didn't die, Victoria might save his life. It was putting the weight of his life in her hands, but well, that's what teamwork was about. Besides, it was the role of a mage. Even if he was more willing to risk his life than most.

Anyway, he would apologize to her later when they resolved this issue.

"It's not just invisible," said Yonah as Caim pulled the knives from his body. Victoria had finally finished healing her. Since the life of one of their most precious people had been at stake, it had seemed longer than it actually was, naturally. Now they had more or less exchanged roles. That seemed fine to him. "If it were just invisible, we would have heard it, smelled it, sensed it somehow. We have many more senses than just sight."

"Yeah," said Caim. "That makes, uh, sense, but then what do we do? How do we catch him?"

"I wish I knew. I'm just saying it's not that simple. Yeah, not very helpful, I know."

Yonah coughed a couple of times. Her throat was healed, no longer bleeding, not in danger, but that didn't mean she was perfectly fine.

Yeah. Invisibility or whatever it was wasn't even their biggest problem. By slashing Aidan's throat, Yonah had received the damage. An enemy they couldn't see, hear, smell, anything until it was too late. An enemy they couldn't even attack without paying for it?

It couldn't be that simple. Otherwise, as Yonah had said, that bastard wouldn't be roaming the first floor, looking for easy prey. But it didn't matter. The weaknesses of his power didn't matter if he didn't discover them in time!

"Let's keep moving. Before you say anything," he added as they moved their lips, "I have no idea if it's a good idea, but it must be better than sitting here doing nothing."

His hope was to find a wider area.

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It wasn't good to talk about hope in a life or death situation, but well, how else could he put it?

Victoria and Yonah obeyed him. Of course, he was the leader for a reason.

As if someone up there had listened to him for a change, they soon found an open space.

Well, maybe not as open as he had hoped, but it was certainly a vast improvement compared to the narrow corridor, where the enemy could make the most of his ability.

Two rows of marble pillars. A river running between the rows. He couldn't help but see this place as a battleground. The perfect place for the end of the battle. Caim advanced, stepping into the water. It was shallow. It only reached his ankles, but that was more than enough.

If this worked, they would worry even more.

But he really couldn't think of another way, so it couldn't be helped.

Caim took a deep breath. He prepared himself mentally and physically. Anyone would ensure to take out the mage in the middle first. That's what he had thought, but instead, Aidan had tried to finish what he had started. That's why his body was covered in wounds now. Because Caim had gotten in the way.

Considering everything, the assassin's next move should be...

He exhaled violently in reaction to the pain. Aidan had appeared before his eyes a millisecond earlier. Caim hadn't avoided his attack. He hadn't wanted to.

Even now, what he did was grab the knife and push it further in.

"Are you crazy?"

He provoked that kind of reaction even in his enemy. What nonsense. Okay, if he died in the attempt, he was crazy. But otherwise, it wouldn't be crazy at all. Just what was necessary to win. Because I have to win. I have to win no matter what.

"Victoria! Now! Freeze this bastard!"

A simple plan. The fewer steps, the fewer chances of something going wrong. Simple plans were the best, and this one only had two steps. Letting himself get caught and this.

Aidan disappeared. Or rather, he tried to. Caim thought the bastard had succeeded for a few seconds, but then he reappeared exactly where he had been. Only with ice wrapping him tightly up to his hips. Halfway to being turned into an ice statue for eternity.

Perfect.

He had worried that he would become completely intangible when he disappeared, that the ice would simply pass through him without doing anything, especially after not seeing or hearing the water move with the footsteps of the enemy before he got close enough to attack. He had also worried (yes, he had had time to worry about a lot of shit in a matter of seconds) that Victoria wouldn't react fast enough because they hadn't had time to discuss it beforehand, establishing a real plan.

But they had done it, and the only price was the knife stuck in his stomach.

Caim pulled it out with a smile on his face.

Indeed, without any problem.

There was the matter of how to finish the job without the damage being reflected back on them. They had to be very careful about that. Caim, of course, was willing to take the risk again. To be the one to stick his neck out.

For starters, it was his duty as a leader. How could they trust him if he always left the most important, most risky part to others? He also had to take risks, as much as one could say that if he died, everything would fall apart or wouldn't make sense in the first place. After all, it wasn't as if Victoria and Yonah had a personal reason for seeking the tower. They were here for him.

That's precisely why he had to give it his all. It was the least he could expect of himself, even if they didn't agree. His duty.

Besides, he was a devil's spawn. If he died, well, it wasn't that big of a deal. If any of them died, it would be a great tragedy.

"You must be regretting considering us an easy prey," said Yonah.

"Yeah, I am. But don't speak as if you've already won because that's not true. You've only overcome one of my abilities. And not even the strongest one. Thanks to my ability to reflect damage, I'm invincible. You can't touch me."

Caim snorted.

"Sure, that's why you resort to such cowardly attacks, like a coward," he said as he circled around the ice statue that had once been their first human enemy. Well, their first human enemy. How many survivors were there? Roaming the corridors, looking for easy prey, unable to return? "There's some weakness. Some crack in that wall. I just have to find it."

"Well, good luck. Forgive me if I don't want to give you any hints."

Why don't you try torturing me to find out?

"Thanks, but I'll pass. Besides, I already have a good idea."

"Huh? You don't think I'll fall for such an obvious bluff."

"I expect nothing from you, except to die. Yonah, come here. Attack him without fear..."

"And with pleasure."

"But let me go first. At the same time, but a little slower. Just a bit."

"Oh, I see where you're going. I'm not thrilled that you want to take the worst part again, but I know you're too stubborn to convince otherwise, so go ahead. The sooner we end this, the better."

Well, he had been very straightforward, so it wasn't strange that she had figured it out. And she was right about the rest too. There was no one more stubborn than him. It was good that she had known to give up instead of wasting her efforts.

"Alright. Ready, set..."

They lunged at the enemy.

One from the front, the other from behind. He had no way to escape the ice anyway. Using the ability to become invisible and inaudible wouldn't save him.

Caim's sword slipped between Aidan's ribs and pierced a lung.

An instant later, Yonah's knives did the same, shredding the remaining lung.

Caim coughed forcefully, spitting blood. He trembled and fell to his knees. As for Yonah...

Nothing happened to her.

"That's why you kept skulking around the darkness of the first floor like a rat," declared Caim, triumphantly, as Aidan choked now that he only had one lung. He wouldn't survive without even moderate attention that he would never receive, even if they let him crawl towards the exit. Not in time.

"Your supposed invincibility has a very obvious weakness. You can handle one attack at a time, not even one more. I don't know what lies beyond this floor. But, after sacrificing several things and coming this far, you fell behind. Convinced that the Tower would devour you. You're a coward, and you're going to die like one."

His eyes widened more and more. He didn't have oxygen even to retort. He didn't have eyes for anything and no one but him.

Caim was the last thing burned into his gaze.

Then, of course, there was only darkness.

But for them, the long journey had only just begun.

Open the Doors of the Tower of Dreams That Suddenly Rises (7): FIN