"Y-You?! Weren't you knocked out?!" Gerard was shocked; how in the hell is he conscious?!

Connor didn't answer, "Hoh? Why do I need to tell a dead man anything?"

"Whatever! I'll just cut you down again!!" Saying this, he waved at the sawblade... only to see it stay still!

"W-Wha?! Why doesn't it work!?" He tried only again. And for the second time, it didn't budge.

"Hehehe... Don't you know how the Book of Fate works?" Connor smiled as he pointed downwards, at the book of fate, and there, in blood-red letters were the words:

[No thing can move!]

'Hopefully, I don't get the invasion from this,'

"Damn it! Ho—"

"I know what you're thinking: how can I take control of the whole house, right?" Smiling at Gerard's confused expression, Connor continued: "Why don't you ask your wife? Maybe Josephine will answer,"

Gerard's face paled when he heard his words; recalling his own words:

<>

His face crumpled as he remembered how proud he was to see Connor's face. But another question soon surfaced in his mind.

"Y-You, how can you write those words!? The yeti's blood isn't anywhere near you!!" Gerard made sure to keep it as far away as possible.

"Y'know, I really need to thank you... if that sawblade hadn't cut my fingers off, I really would've been dead!" Hearing this, It didn't take long for him to realize what happened:

'T-This guy used his own blood!'

Connor laughed triumphantly when he saw the look of horror on Gerard's face and mocked him: "For a trained killer, didn't you do any research on your target beforehand?"

Contrary to his expectation, Gerard didn't panic; hell, he didn't even frown. He just smiled, "Fine! I'll admit, you've got me cornered. But I still have these hands of mine... what're you gonna do about it, hm?"

But just as he was about to lunge at Connor, he sighed again:

"Hai... when will you understand: you're a dead man walking," Shaking his head, he continued speaking even under Gerard's glare:

"You call this house a cage, right? And that we're trapped in it? Well, I'll tell you right now: all I need to do is break out of it!"

He raised his hand, the same one that was missing two fingers, before going to work! And under the terrified gaze of Gerard, he wrote:

[Burn down the house!]

In the blink of an eye, the house lit up in flames: it started in one corner of the house before spreading wildly; curtains, tables, desks, chairs, everything that could be burned was burnt... Everything... except the room they were in.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Nooo!!" Gerard screamed in terror, trying his hardest to prevent the house from going up in flames, all in vain.

Because in a matter of seconds, the once hale and hearty Gerard transformed into a dry, dead husk... Then... Ash.

"Nooooo...oooo..."

"Burn... You piece of shit..." He smiled tiredly before fainting...

Gerard Cattleye is now... DEAD!

***

-Clink! Clink!-

The sound of heavy metal hitting the floor populated the once quiet atmosphere, waking Connor up. As he was looking around, he found the spike gone from his leg.

-Clink! Clink!-

It was Mariya; she had managed to take out the nails stuck to her hands and feet. To his surprise, her wounds then began to heal at speeds visible to the naked eye.

As he was staring, she finally noticed and rose to walk to him.

Soon, she was in front of him, arms akimbo, a smile on her face, "You're one crazy bastard, aren't you?"

He smirked, "Can't say I've been very sane since my parents,"

She snorted before picking up the Book of Fate, "I heard him, y'know...," She turned to the page he used, "Damn, you really did use your blood,"

"Oi, enough gawking, gimme; I think my femurs' fucked, need the book to heal it," He stopped speaking after that, too tired to say anymore.

"Wait here, I'll get your things," It took her a few minutes to come back, his backpack in one hand and hers in the other.

"The brush is in the small compartment; the blood's in the main one," She nodded, taking out her dagger to cut a piece of the blood.

"Matchsticks' in with the brush; melt it into a container," She followed, deftly lighting the small piece of timbre and dissolving the blood into a small bowl.

He gave a small thanks and started to write.

"So... When are you going to tell me?" She sat next to him as he was downing potions he got from the Book of Fate.

"Tell you what?"

"How did you get that thing?" As Mariya spoke, she pointed to the Book of Fate.

"In the name: Fate,"

"What?"

"Refer to my previous statement," He didn't say anymore, continuing to drink his potions. The two sat there in silence, with only the sounds of burnt wood crackling to accompany them...

"I've decided," She finally spoke.

"On what?" He looked at her lazily.

"Let me tag along!"

"...Why should I?"

"You're going to the Murukhali desert, right?"

"Yes, and?" He raised an eyebrow at her question.

"Let a girl speak," Mariya huffed, "I have some business there too, and It just happens to be related to the Sultan,"

"Oh?" Only now did he show anything close to interest, "Go on,"

"I scratch your back, you scratch mine. Since we have the same intentions, why not join forces; we'd be a lot stronger together than alone, right?"

He thought for a bit before saying, "You make sense, but tell me, how are your hands and feet still fine after being stabbed?"

"Trade secret!" Sadly, she merely winked at him before helping him up.

'Whatever. I'll find out sooner or later,'

After a while, they set off for their next destination: a small, unaamed village a few kilometres ahead...

----------------------------------------

In the second floor of a tavern, two people sat at a desk; one male, one female. On it was a detailed map of the surrounding area.

As the pair were studying the map, one of them suddenly spoke, "So, where to next?"

The other answered, "We have two options: we can go further into the hinterland of Deusterra, where we have to travel in between the several hamlets scattered around the area. This way, it'll be easier to go through into the media terram. Or..."

He pointed at a particular point on the map.

"We can travel along the coast, there are three large cities there, and we can get equipment too. It'll also double as a defence in case they send more men after us,"

Of course, these two were Connor and Mariya, but because their identities were, to put it lightly, sensitive; They disguised themselves as travellers to avoid more untoward attention...

"I'd say we go through the coastal route. It'll give us better cover from our enemies, and we can get some new equipment too. Also, maybe we'd find some materials to upgrade your brush with,"

"I see, then let's get going!" With that, the duo walked out of the tavern and began their travel...