“Don’t do it,” Matheus pleaded. “It isn’t too late.”
He was still on the floor, an arrow stuck on his shoulder. Should he rip it away? He couldn’t remember if that was better or worse. He could barely think straight with all the pain.
Sophie ignored him, leaving the cave to wait for them.
“You’ve been following me,” Sophie said for the approaching group, her tone casual, but deadly.
“And you have been following him,” Dylan answered, hand resting on his sword.
Had she? Sophie didn’t deny the accusation. That meant her timely rescue had been no coincidence, she had probably watched their whole battle with the spiders.
Had she waited until the last moment to save him?
Captain and Rick had almost died.
Matheus clenched his fists. She would have probably preferred that outcome. Why had she intervened, then?
“You shouldn’t get into other people’s business. It’s rude,” she said, a dry smile on her lips.
“You made it my business when you started hurting innocent people.”
She snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes, turning to Matheus. “I’ll show you the difference between us and them. Maybe then you’ll understand.”
Without warning, Sophie quickly took another arrow from her quiver and with a fluid motion she fired it straight to Dylan’s head.
He cut the arrow in two before it could reach him.
“I warned you about her,” Dylan said, not taking his eyes from Sophie.
“You…what?” was all Matheus could answer. When had things gone so badly wrong?
Matheus realized he’d no idea what Sophie could do. He’d only seen her use one skill, and she’d never talked about her powers. He, on the other hand, had told her almost everything he had.
He had even accepted her suggestions on how to distribute his points. He had been a complete fool.
He shouldn’t have trusted her.
Dylan and Derek approached slowly, Nikolas standing a few meters behind, bow on hand.
Matheus used the opportunity to drink the gani elixir. He decided it was better to take the arrow out, and with a grunt, he gathered his strength and pushed. It got out, splattering blood everywhere.
He felt his stomach churning, and for a second he thought he would throw up. It had been a while since blood had bothered him like that.
Sophie took another shot, this time trying to pierce Derek’s stomach. He put his arms in front of himself and a scarlet wall materialized in front of him, blocking it. He then rushed at her, advancing with only his fists.
Sophie snapped her fingers, and suddenly Derek tripped and stumbled. She lunged, striking with her bow to his head, and Matheus could swear her weapon changed to a blade in the split second it hit him. Derek raised his left arm and another scarlet wall materialized, shielding him from her blows.
Dylan circled Derek and thrusted his sword at Sophie, but she parried it easily. He kept putting pressure, trying to find an opening. Matheus thought she would have the disadvantage in close combat, but her bow was strong enough it could withstand all Dylan’s attacks with ease.
She snapped her fingers again while he thrusted his sword, unbalancing his attack. The blade not only missed her but also left Dylan completely exposed. Before she could hit him, though, Sophie had to retreat as an arrow passed right in front of her nose.
Nikolas' sharp eyes didn’t leave Sophie for a second. He took another arrow and aimed, ready to put pressure on her when necessary.
Derek threw himself at her, his fists glowing a bright yellow. Which punch was followed by a shockwave, and Sophie didn’t dare trying to defend it. She moved back, dodging each attack as Derek advanced.
Matheus watched in awe. He knew those other hunters wouldn’t be weak, but he was still impressed by how well they worked together. Even when she managed to get the upper hand against one of them, the others didn’t give her enough time to finish them off.
Sophie had underestimated them. It didn’t matter how strong she was, she couldn’t win against three.
Matheus had dragged himself to Captain’s and Rick’s side. He knew he wouldn’t be of much help if he joined the fight now, hurt as he was. He was sure he’d lost a few teeth. Even the Porkolugos’ punch had been less painful than Sophie’s.
Derek’s feet started glowing and he stamped the floor with a loud bang, making everything shake. Sophie got out of balance and he lunged at her.
“Darkness,” she said as he was about to reach her.
They were both engulfed by a black smoke. Dylan stood just outside it, and with a whisper his sword started glowing, ready to launch a spell.
Before he could do anything, an arrow left the smoke going straight up to the sky, and not a full second later, another arrow followed, this one aimed straight to Nikolas. He threw himself to the side, barely dodging it in time.
The first arrow fell on him like a missile, piercing and shattering his leg.
Dylan lunged and a powerful wind blast dissipated the dark smoke, revealing Derek on his knees, left hand desperately holding the stomp that was his right arm while blood gushed everywhere.
Sophie thrusted at his head and again her bow moved so fast it looked like a blade. Dylan parried it and put himself in front of Derek.
He slashed with his sword, launching another strong wind and making her retreat. He kept attacking, not letting her go on the offensive. But even though Dylan was an incredible swordsman, Sophie was stronger and faster, and it didn’t take long for her to overwhelm him.
She kicked him, and the force was enough Matheus could hear bones cracking. Dylan went flying and fell on his back, sword still on his hand.
Sophie took another one of her arrows and aimed at him.
“I won’t let you,” roared Derek, running in her direction.
She shot him, but he materialized another scarlet wall and blocked it, then punched her with his left fist.
Sophie sidestepped his attack, spinning and slashing in a single motion, cutting his head out.
It fell rolling on the ground and it stopped, eyes staring unblinking at Matheus.
Nikolas whistled hard and three eagles made of crystal appeared flying alongside him. The creatures screeched and lunged to Sophie's direction.
She fired in quick succession, managing to shatter two of the eagles before they could reach her. The last one exploded in front of her, throwing her on the ground. Sophie didn’t seem too much hurt by it, but she seemed dizzy. She got up slowly, her movements unsure and her eyes blinking a lot.
Out of nowhere she dove, managing to dodge a lethal arrow at the last second. Matheus saw blood, thin as a thread, trickled down her neck, coming from the cut where the arrow had grazed her left cheek.
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Still, something was weird. Sophie didn’t immediately attack back, but instead she waited with a smile on her face, eyes not focusing on anything in particular.
“She can’t see,” Matheus realized. Nikolas had blinded her temporarily.
And she’d still managed to dodge his arrow. There was no way she saw the attack coming. Did she have some type of skill that warned her?
“It was because of you, wasn’t it? That you guys were capable of following me without me noticing. Those eyes of yours have an even larger range than my field view. You should have kept your distance,” she said, taunting him. “Well, what are you waiting for? You won’t have another opportunity like this one.”
Matheus watched as Nikolas silently picked another arrow, aimed and released it, only for Sophie to avoid it at the last moment and shot back, hitting him in the eye.
And just like that, another person was dead.
“No…” Matheus said in disbelief.
Sophie turned to him, and Matheus saw no guilt or sorrow in her eyes. “I told you, they aren’t real. I am doing this to make you understand,” she said dispassionately.
Dylan was on his feet again, slowly going in Sophie's direction.
“I didn’t forget about you,” she said, grinning to him. “Come. It’s time to end this.”
“Stop,” Matheus pleaded, “stop murdering them. Please.”
“Not until you understand. How many more will it take to convince you?” she asked with a sigh. “You’ll thank me later.”
Dylan started running, sword raised high. He lunged at Sophie, but she avoided it easily and slashed back with her bow, turning it into a sharp blade that cut Dylan in half.
To everyone’s surprise, instead of blood and gore raining from the body, the man shattered as if made of glass and turned into smoke.
Sophie stood there, flabbergasted.
“Matheus, my hand!” Dylan yelled, appearing a few meters away from him. Somehow, the guy managed to send a fake copy of himself while he snuck to him unseen.
Matheus stretched his hand, still holding Rick and Captain. It was all happening too fast for him to fully understand, but Dylan was his best shot of getting out of there alive.
“Summon back!” Dylan shouted, and almost instantly he started to glow and fade.
The last thing Matheus heard was the sound of Sophie’s bow releasing one last arrow.
They had been teleported to just a few meters to the city, all four of them. Dylan had some kind of emergency spell that let him go back to the city in a second. It had saved their lives.
“Matheus….” Dylan said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.
To his horror, Matheus saw an arrow stuck on his neck, blood dripping from him at an alarming speed.
He didn’t know what to do. Dyan had saved him, sacrificed everything to take him back here, and now he was dying.
And everything Matheus could do was watch.
“I’m sorry,” he said, and he realized there were tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry.”
“It was…an honor… to die for a king,” Dylan said, then he closed his eyes and stopped breathing.
He knew. Of course he knew, that was what he’d been talking about all those days ago.
And yet, he’d kept his secret, and had avoided mentioning it again after Matheus asked him too.
He had been his friend, even though Matheus hadn't known it.
And now he was gone.
Matheus wasn’t sure for how long he sobbed, Dylan's lifeless body in front of him.
He only stopped when Captain started bumping his head against him. He took his familiar on his arms.
“What is happening?” Rick asked, just now waking up. “Hey, are you alright?”
Matheus didn’t answer him. He didn’t know how.
“Hey, what happened with Dylan?” Rick asked in shock, noticing the dead man. “Oh my God, is he alright? We need to get someone to help him.”
“It’s already too late,” he said simply. “Sophie killed him. Also Nikolas and Derek. She would have killed us all, if not for him.”
And she is coming to finish the job, Matheus thought, but didn’t say it out loud.
Rick gulped. “So-sophie? But why?”
Matheus didn’t answer immediately. There was so much to explain, and so little time. If she came right away, she would be back in less than two hours. Maybe less, if she had a way to move faster he didn’t know about.
He needed to be ready for her.
“You need to warn everyone to prepare, Rick. Tell them to not leave the city. No one can be alone now.” Matheus said, getting up. “Please, take care of Captain for me.”
His familiar meowed in protest and started walking towards him.
“Captain, no,” Matheus said sternly. “You can’t come with me this time. Stay with Rick until I come back, ok?”
“Wait! What about you?”
He took the backpack from his inventory, took the Sticky Slop and ate it. He should have done it immediately.
“I need to make some preparations,” Matheus answered, leaving.
He had already wasted too much time, and there wasn’t much left. Almost jogging, he went as fast as he could to meet the city master, startling the man when he barged into the room.
“I’ve completed the quest. I want my reward,” Matheus said the moment he walked in.
“You… of course. One minute.”
It didn’t take long for him to confirm it, and soon Matheus was faced with a new notification.
You’ve been rewarded with a simple spell. Are you ready to accept your reward?
“Yes,” he said right away.
Three choices have been created! You have 30 seconds to decide.
Beetle summon!
Dark nimbus!
Ash rain!
He wouldn’t let Sophie kill everyone. He would find a way to stop her, no matter what.
He had trusted her, even started to think of her as a friend. And she had been tricking him all this time.
He will make her regret it.
Head full of hate, Matheus made his choice and started to come up with a plan.
You’ve been rewarded with a simple spell. Three choices have been created!
