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Aleph, who had undoubtedly suffered a fatal wound just moments ago, clambered to her feet with haste. There was some awkwardness to her movements as she regained control over her body, but that didn’t stop her from patching the vulnerability in her armor with a flourish of crystals.

Tom, whose gaze had been locked on Zeth since the moment he had stepped out of his hiding spot, noticed the surprise that flickered past his expression before his eerie composure locked it down a moment later.

His senses were stretched to the limit as he observed his surroundings keenly, his body primed to move at the slightest hint of motion. The reason why he hadn’t attacked yet was because Tom now knew that Zeth hadn’t actually valued any of his subordinates. His greater designs did not require the aid of any of his enforcers or shadows and he was bloodthirsty enough to slay his own comrades because he needed the experience.

There was no emotion clouding Zeth’s judgment, which meant that someone as skilled as him would allow for no mistakes.

Zirel could not be allowed to tip his hand early, otherwise the final element of surprise they had over Zeth would be wasted.

“Just two?” Zeth finally spoke, his voice dry and gravelly. “It appears that I overestimated the strength of my enforcers,” He mused, his tone devoid of any sympathy for the fallen as his shadows roiled and shifted around him, half obscuring his silhouette.

Aleph had come to stand by his side, her sword drawn and held taut as she readied herself to react to any threat, no matter where it came from.

Zeth had already taken a life from her. She would not get a second.

“You were the ones that made an enemy out of us,” Tom declared, his tone sounding far more confident than he himself was. In Zeth’s eyes, calling for Aleph had been a display of strength and a revelation of ability. He did not know how many times Aleph could heal herself with such amazing potency.

“Ah, yes,” Zeth replied, his tone disconcertingly dull as he acknowledged the Shadow Guild’s guilt. “Your run-in with Jerrick. That makes four enforcers that you have taken from me. How do you plan to compensate me for my losses?”

“Compensation?” Tom asked, keeping his tone flat as best he could. “After all this, you wish to talk about compensation?” He asked, happy to let Zeth stall as he thought of a strategy to counter the terrifying master of the Shadow Guild.

“I do not know what trick that girl used to cheat death,” Zeth countered, his tone sharp as he finally revealed his fangs. “But it is not something she can do more than a few times. The truth is before you. The two of you cannot beat me.”

“Is that so?” Tom asked, clearly goading the master of the Shadow Guild.

“Games will do you no good,” Zeth replied, his tone cold. “Those walking on the false path will never defeat me and it would be a pity to waste such talent here. I will offer you a single path to survival before I bring an end to this farce.”

“Oh?” Aleph said. “And what’s that?”

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“I still have business on the surface world. Take the place of the enforcers you have killed and serve the Shadow Guild. Once my business concludes in this place, I will begin my ascension and the two of you are free to do with your lives as you please,” Zeth offered.

“Do you think your people are just going to accept us?” Tom asked, his tone feigning amusement. The more nonchalant he acted, the more Zeth would want him on his side, if only for the experience he would get to harvest later on.

“Look around,” Zeth replied with a shrug. “We are assassins, death is our trade. Today you dealt death to our people, tomorrow you will deal death to others under our banner. As long as you prove yourself worthy, it will not be a problem.”

‘Until you decide to purge the entire guild for experience,’ Tom bitterly thought. ‘If I didn’t have Maya, Zeth’s proposal would look pretty tempting at this point. If only because he’s so fiendishly strong.’

Fortunately for him, Tom did have Maya. While he hadn’t managed to steal any stars from Zeth, he had managed to get a decent idea of his abilities— only because the man had been so obsessed in refining his control over the Shadows.

And however rudimentary it may have been, he had a strategy.

Tom charged.

Zeth’s eyes narrowed in a silent rage. His hand swiped forward and a talon of shadow leapt forth, crossing the distance between him and Tom.

It didn’t deter Tom, because if Zeth could solidify shadow into metal within his body, then Tom was already dead. Not once Zeth practiced such a shaping exercise though and his ambush would’ve looked way different if such a ridiculous ability was within his arsenal.

Tom’s gamble paid off when Zeth willed the shadowy talon into an obsidian metal talon that had enough force behind it to slice straight through him, just moments before impact.

The polished surface of a mirror saved his life as it appeared before him in the nick of time, swallowing the obsidian metal talon whole.

Tom didn’t allow himself to waste a single second as he continued his dogged charge without caring for anything except his target. While Zeth might have pushed his understanding of his Soul Card to heights Tom was years away from, the fact remained that Mirror World was at par with it.

“False paths,” Zeth snarled as another shadowy talon was sent arcing across the air to try and catch him at his left flank.

Tom willed Mirror World to shift, intercepting its trajectory and once again, absorbing the entire attack.

Before Zeth could release a third, Tom angled his Mirror in his direction and released his own obsidian metal talon shooting back at him, its momentum further enhanced to 120% with greater reflection.

If the master of the Shadow Guild was surprised, he didn’t show it as a curtain of shadows solidified to block the attack, while Zeth himself moved away from the point of impact, towards Tom’s left.

Seeing the opening, Tom pushed himself off the ground and using his burgeoning Physical stat, leapt off the ground with mirror world positioned to his side, poised to intercept two more attacks now that he had freed up one more slot.

His mimicked blade in hand, Tom was prepared to aim for Zeth’s throat.

In response, Zeth met his gaze as he gently tapped his right foot against the ground, The cloak of shadows that he had skillfully employed to defend himself left his side, rushing for the ground instead. Having found their canvas, the shadows rapidly blanketed the floor in their color, spreading far beyond Tom’s immediate reach.

Their gazes met and within Zeth’s eyes, Tom only found one emotion.

Cruelty.

“Teleport!” Tom yelled out at the top of his lungs, even as he swung a blade that he knew would never make contact. If he had tried to tell Aleph earlier, Zeth would’ve been spooked by his abilities and would’ve tried to kill them from the outset. It was cutting it far too close, but he had to trust Aleph’s capabilities.

Zeth disappeared and Tom’s blade met air.