Chapter 61: Fitting End
Leonard’s breathing remained steady, unsurprised that Martin had attacked the first chance he got.
Yells resonated around them. The corrupt gas was slowly tormenting the awakeners, and the battle that was about to ensue was going to be drowned out by the outside noise.
"You failed to kill me once. What made you think the second time will be any different?" Leonard’s voice turned cold as he swung Titanic Oath, aiming toward his adversary.
Martin’s eyes narrowed slightly, startled by the sheer speed of the blow. He braced his core and raised his two daggers to block the attack.
The moment Leonard’s strike landed, it pushed him backward, his feet sliding across the floor.
"Failed?" Martin arched an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Don’t make it sound like you have ever won against me. All that happened was I pushed you, and you were lucky enough to survive the fallout. Simple as that. Nobody who has earned my wrath gets to live for long."
Martin’s eyes glinted with dangerous intent, and he disappeared from sight.
Possessing the Assassin class granted him a presence-erasing skill, whose efficiency was multiplied several times, thanks to the gas around them.
He then used Dash, a skill he had owned even before their first encounter.
Leonard’s instincts flared, and he tilted his head to the side.
A dagger flashed through the air and carved a thin scar across his cheek.
"Despair!" Martin chuckled, hidden past the corruption.
"First, I will kill you, then your friend Winston, and finish off with Harley. You have all caused me too many headaches to be left alive!"
Leonard remained unwavering, his eyes searching amidst the darkness.
"We have done no wrong. The one who struck first was you! Let me guess... The truth is you love Harley. That’s why you went after my life. If it was simply to marry her and absorb the Velmura brand later, you would have never gone after my life... However, you fear that she still has feelings for her ex-fiancé, so you decided to get rid of me!"
It was the only way Leonard could rationalize Martin’s behavior.
The Royal Trade Organization acquiring the Velmura brand only played a minor part. At some point, Martin must have started developing real feelings for Harley, and his jealousy had robbed him of reason, leading to their current predicament.
"What would you know?! A mere commoner! A bastard that plagues Gideon’s legacy!" Martin lost his cool.
Leonard’s assumption had proven correct.
It also had the added benefit of provoking Martin.
Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, Leonard acted.
[Dimensional Storage activated!]
Abruptly turning around, he summoned his silver double-headed axe. The reveal of his secondary weapon, combined with his skill to store items, took his enemy by surprise.
Before Martin was able to react, the axe struck him on the shoulder, drawing blood.
"How is that possible?! I didn’t see him carrying a dimensional storage ring!" He cursed bitterly, holding the wound closed. "Could it be that he has the Dimensional Storage skill instead?! For how long has he kept it hidden?!"
Even more strangely, Leonard was supposed to be lower leveled, yet with the strength boost provided by Titanic Oath, the force of his strikes exceeded Martin’s!
"Where did your smirk vanish off to?" Leonard taunted, resting one of his axes over his shoulder.
"To let you know, I have killed only one person until now... Coincidentally, he was an assassin just like you."
Martin gritted his teeth in fury.
"LEONARD!"
He activated Dash again, one dagger going for the throat and another for the heart.
In response, Leonard wielded his two axes. He still lacked the necessary experience usually used to wield only one weapon at a time, but it was his best bet against the daggers.
Clang!
The weapons clashed against each other, and the sound of metal striking against metal echoed through the chamber. Both men were pushed back.
"I will kill you!" Martin swore, his eyes growing red.
The corruption was taking its toll on his body.
Before he realized what was happening, he bent forward and spat a mouthful of blood, his vision shaking.
"Over 90%..." Martin’s life began to flash before his eyes. Time was running out.
In that moment of desperation, a plan came to mind.
His corruption might be high, but so was Leonard’s! If he couldn’t kill him outright, then he could capitalize on his speed and steal the Shards of Salvation around him, refusing him the chance to lower his corruption until he succumbed to it!
"Hehehe... That’s it. You will die like a dog."
Although Leonard had no clue why Martin was chuckling, he suspected the man was up to no good.
"Even if you are strong, I am faster!"
Relying on Dash, Martin moved past Leonard and stopped before a golden sphere that was rolling across the floor.
"How long would you have before you turn into a Hollow, I wonder?" He mocked, his feet descending, ready to shatter it into pieces.
Leonard’s eyes narrowed.
"You moron, stop! That’s a—"
"Too late for begging now!" Martin declared as he stomped on it.
Cracks spread across its surface, breaking it into smaller fragments.
The golden hue disappeared, turning pitch black before forcibly penetrating Martin’s body and making its way in.
In actuality, the sphere he stomped on wasn’t a Shard of Salvation, but a condensed corruption in disguise!
Leonard had been wary of making direct contact with them when he noticed that the Orc Shaman had mixed in duds with the real deal, yet Martin didn’t have his cautious nature and was about to pay dearly.
"AAAAHHHH!"
Horrifying screams escaped from his lips, and unbearable pain spread across his body.
When the corruption in Martin’s body reached 100%, his hair began to fall out at a rapid rate.
He felt like he was thrown into flames. His flesh slowly started to resemble burned charcoal, while his jaws began to protrude.
"It hurts so much! Please, anyone, help me!" He begged, tears streaming from his eyes as they slowly lost their luster.
"..."
Leonard could only watch as Martin turned into a monster, with no known way to help him.
Honestly, he felt no joy in watching him suffer. His plan was to beat him, interrogate him, and get Elizabeth’s help with turning him into the authorities. This way, he could damage the Royal Trade Organization’s reputation and remain free of any future threats.
But this was an outcome that no one truly wished for.
It didn’t take long for the transformation to complete. The monster in front of him no longer bore any resemblance to Martin, drooling like a mindless beast with sharp claws ready to feast upon helpless prey.
[Level 12 Hollow.]
"So he was Level 12..." Leonard exhaled heavily.
"Valor, do the honors."
Preferring not to get his hands dirty, he called forth his loyal knight.
Valor instantly obeyed. He lunged forward and carved the monster in two with his blade. The Hollow’s body evaporated, leaving no trace behind.
[You have defeated a Level 12 Hollow.]
[All gained experience and Evolution Points have been doubled!]
[You have gained 100 Experience!]
Level: 9 [Experience: 250/1,200]
Leonard took a glance at his corruption.
[Corruption: 88%]
’I can’t blame him for going after the sphere. If my Primordial Bloodline didn’t lessen the impact of the corruption, I might have also made irrational mistakes.’ He thought.
[Primordial Bloodline stirs in your veins.]
With the chamber still obscured by the corrupt gas, Leonard knew it was his one and only chance to follow after his crimson pendant and see what it wanted to show him.