Chapter 41: Confrontation

Allan barely brought his axe up in time to block the spear’s sudden thrust.

Metal clanged. The [Healer]’s feet skidded a little on the soft earth, the vibration from the blow climbing up his arms. Unflinching, Dalton drew the weapon back, readying to attack again.

Before his next blow could connect, Spade swung at the spear, her sword hitting the metal shaft with a loud ring. The force of the impact seemed to be enough to temporarily stun the Hound, and the brief lull was all they needed.

Wasting no time, Allan and Spade turned and leapt into the forest, branches snapping and leaves scattering as they ran. Allan heard Dalton yelling angrily behind them, then the pounding of pursuing footsteps. They wouldn’t be able to run forever.

Allan cursed, ducking under a low branch and swerving around a tree trunk. Behind them, he could see Dalton approaching and Douglas a little ways back, the older man not quite as fast. The [Healer] frowned.

“Any ideas?” he yelled over to Spade.

The [Executioner] didn’t answer. Instead, she swerved abruptly to the right. Allan stumbled, taken aback by the sudden change in direction, but he managed to catch himself and followed behind.

They passed through a particularly thick canopy of low branches and leaves, green and brown obstructing their vision. Allan could feel cuts forming across his skin from the sting of sharp twigs, but he ignored them. They didn’t slow down, barreling through the trees at a frenetic pace.

Up ahead, a line of bushes blocked the path. Spade didn’t hesitate, launching herself over with a powerful leap, and Allan followed suit.

When they landed, their feet hit hard earth. They’d finally escaped the trees.

Allan gasped in the fresh air, free from the stuffiness of the forest, but they weren’t done moving yet. The roar of the waterfall sounded loud in his ears, and he swore he could feel the spray of mist even though it was still a fair ways away.

Around them, leaves and branches were replaced with rocky hills and boulders forming a jagged landscape. They wove between jutting stones, navigating the maze of boulders as they drew closer and closer to the cascading waters up ahead.

Spade abruptly stopped running and ducked behind one of the rocks. Allan did the same after a brief moment of hesitation.

The stone slab was slanted over another boulder, providing a bit of coverage for them to hide behind before the two Hounds inevitably found them.

Allan’s chest heaved, his breaths heavy, but he’d thankfully had his [Endurance] passive skill equipped and his stamina was still quite high. He glanced over at Spade, whose expression remained blank. Her slightly louder breathing was the only visible sign that she was at all affected.

“How’re we dealing with them?” Allan’s dark eyes remained fixed on the gap between the stones. He could just barely make out Dalton bursting out of the forest, slowing down as the man took in the rocky formations. His spear gleamed in the faint light.

Spade chuckled lowly. “Running away hasn’t even crossed your mind, I see.”

“Shut up, you know that’s not an option,” Allan muttered. They might be able to outrun Douglas since the Hound seemed to have lower agility, but Dalton was fairly quick from what he’d seen. The man probably had higher agility than both of them.

Spade adjusted her grip on her sword. The blade was still coated in dried blood from the battle on the boat earlier.

“From what the thief said, the one with the spear is level 23 and the second-in-command is level 28.”

Allan shot Spade a scowl at her casual referral of Leo as “the thief,” but this wasn’t the time to focus on that.

His eyes narrowed. The level advantage on the Hounds’ side wasn’t good, but it wasn’t impossible to defeat someone of a higher level than you. In a real fight, differences in strategy, stat distribution, and skills could have a huge effect on the outcome.

“You’re a [Healer] now. I’m guessing none of those skills of yours are for combat, excluding [Cleave].” Spade raised an eyebrow. “Unless that [Wrath] personal skill of yours would help here.”

Allan’s lips thinned. “It’s a passive. I can’t exactly choose when to turn it on.” He was aware of Spade’s eyebrow raising, but he ignored it.

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“And you’ve got plenty of combat skills,” he continued. He didn’t recognize every skill on her stat sheet, but the ones he did said enough.

Through the opening, Allan could make out Dalton and Douglas occasionally passing between various rocks in their search, approaching closer and closer. They would find them soon.

“I’ll handle Douglas,” Spade said. Her voice was calm and steady. “I assume you can take Dalton on your own, unless your class made you forget how to fight.”

Allan snorted at that. Dark eyes flitted around, adjusting his grip on the axe. It would be better for them to move now, before Dalton and Douglas got close enough to cage them in. Dalton, he noted, was towards the left, closer to the waterfall, while Douglas searched the other side.

“Left,” he muttered, and the [Executioner] grunted in affirmation.

They circled to the back of the tilted stone, muscles tensed and eyes focused on Dalton and Douglas.

Finally, just as the two Hounds turned, Allan and Spade leapt out from behind the boulder and sprinted in opposite directions.

—

“…Sonia?”

Ivan’s voice shook slightly, bewildered and strained. Whatever headache that had taken hold of him earlier seemed to have cleared, and he remained on the ground, staring up at the Hound leader with wide eyes.

The fragment, Leo noted, was still tight in his fist.

“Good evening to you too,” Sonia said pleasantly. Her smile only put Leo even more on edge.

His eyes darted about, scanning the clearing in search of an escape route. Ivan was behind him and still had the fragment, but to get it he’d have to turn his back to the Hounds leader.

Two things immediately became clear to him.

The first was that Sonia was clearly the biggest threat here. Just surviving and dodging her personal skill would require all his attention.

Based on her attack just now and her removal of Ivan from the Hounds party, he assumed she would be targeting Ivan for the fragment as well. Leo didn’t think he’d be able to split his focus between trying to get the fragment himself while also stopping Sonia from doing the same.

The second was that he couldn’t afford to let Sonia get her hands on the fragment. Once she had it, it would be extremely difficult—if not impossible—to get it back.

Leo glanced back at Ivan, seeing the Hound still dazed. The [Fragmentholder] gritted his teeth.

Sonia stopped walking. The moment her hand moved, Leo yanked Ivan away.

A loud cracking sound rang throughout the clearing. The tree behind them snapped, the top half of the trunk flying forward and splitting apart around Sonia’s outstretched hand.

Snapped branches and splinters showered the area, but the Hounds leader didn’t seem bothered, simply brushing aside a stray leaf that had landed in her hair.

If Leo hadn’t moved Ivan out of the way in time, he would’ve ended up like Fergus, speared to death with a hole in his chest. The [Fragmentholder] could see the man coming to the same realization.

The Hound’s face paled, and Leo felt a faint tinge of sympathy rise. It seemed like Ivan genuinely respected Sonia, and to see her attack with the clear intention to kill, no hesitation in sight, was probably deeply unsettling for him.

Of course, that didn’t negate the fact that they had no time for this right now.

“Run!” Leo yelled, shaking the Hound a little.

Ivan blinked, forcibly pulled out of his stupor. He stared at the [Fragmentholder], brows furrowed.

“You—”

“I said run!”

The second yell seemed to finally get through to him; the Hound turned and bolted into the trees. Leo didn’t turn around to watch him leave, keeping his own attention fixed on Sonia, but he could hear the rustle of leaves and the pounding of footsteps as Ivan escaped the clearing.

He was acutely aware that the fragment was now moving away from him, but Leo assured himself that he would have a much easier time catching up to Ivan.

Hazel eyes narrowed. Leo adjusted his stance so that he stood between Sonia and the direction Ivan had disappeared in. What was most important was that the fragment was far away from Sonia.

“I see you’re searching for the fragment as well,” the woman commented. Her voice was plain, as though she were making an observation about the weather.

“I’ll admit I’m curious about how you managed to quell the tides, but I suppose we don’t have time for that.”

Leo’s lips thinned. Sonia must have used her party map to locate Ivan and then followed him across the lake, he realized. His own map remained in the corner of his vision, and he closed it, not wanting to risk obstructing his sight.

“For a leader, you sure seem to like killing party members who’re following your own rules,” he bit out.

The woman chuckled. “I did say whoever found the fragment first would have it, didn’t I?” She cocked her head. “That being said, I made no mention of what would happen afterwards.”

She stepped forward, those icy blue eyes piercing. Leo didn’t look away.

“Now, I need you to get out of my way.”

Sonia raised her arm, and Leo lunged.