Chương 106: Chapter 105. Making a decision

Rayne had been suspicious of Fredrick long before this moment. The first time had been when the noble had suddenly apologized to him and tried to bridge the gap between them. At the time, it felt strange. The man had never shown that kind of humility before. Then there was the way he had followed Rayne's party when they moved to fight Valtheris. Most nobles would have stayed behind the shield line. Yet Fredrick had broken command and came along. But he hadn't thought much about it.

Or it was more accurate to say he hadn't had the chance to think about it. The battle against Valtheris had been too chaotic. Surviving it had taken all of his focus. Still, he hadn't expected Fredrick to try to kill him. Rayne's hand moved slowly toward his neck where the blade had grazed him. The wound itself wasn't deep, but the skin around it burned with a sharp, unnatural sting. A faint wave of dizziness crept through his head. Rayne's gaze shifted downward toward the sword in Fredrick's hand.

The blade was coated with a dark substance that glistened faintly in the dim hallway light. Fredrick noticed his gaze and smirked.

"It's blackroot poison," he said casually.

"Not something you'll be able to overcome." Rayne's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You're going to be paralyzed soon," Fredrick continued calmly.

"The toxins will reach your heart not long after, and you will be dead." His smile widened.

"But before that happens, I'm going to finish you myself." The next second, he rushed forward, sword aimed at his heart. Rayne was still on the ground, but he reacted instantly. His leg shot out and slammed into Fredrick's knee. The impact made the noble stumble forward. Fredrick grunted in surprise, but he managed to keep his balance and avoid falling completely. Rayne used that single moment, and pushed himself up onto his feet. His hand brushed his neck again. The dizziness had already grown slightly stronger.

His muscles felt heavier than before, as if something inside his blood was trying to slow them down. But then, he also felt his new skill [Paralysis Resistance] push back against the poison creeping through his veins, slowing its progress just enough for him to still move. He doubted it would help with the toxins, but at least he wouldn't be paralysed and be easy prey. Rayne exhaled slowly. He didn't know how long he had, but he only needed a short time to take care of Fredrick.

As he stood there, the noble came at him again. Fredrick moved just like he had during their duel earlier—fast, precise, and confident. His poisoned sword flashed through the air as he aimed straight for Rayne's throat. He waited, and didn't move until the very last moment. Then Rayne sidestepped. The blade sliced through empty air. At the same time, he drove forward. He pushed the last of the death mana he had left into his palms, feeling the cold energy gather around his fists. Then he swung.

Fredrick reacted quickly, and his shield came up just in time. Rayne's fist slammed into it with a heavy impact. The metal rang loudly. But even with the shield absorbing most of the blow, the force behind the strike was too much. Fredrick was thrown backward. His body slammed into the stone wall of the hallway with a dull thud. He staggered for a moment, momentarily disoriented, and fell directly on the corpse of Valtheris.

Rayne didn't let the opening slip, and rushed forward, but Fredrick recovered faster than expected. Even while still half on the ground, the noble's hand moved quickly to his belt. He pulled something small from his pocket. The instant Rayne saw the glass vial in his hand, he sucked in a breath and jumped back. Fredrick threw the potion exactly where Rayne had been standing a moment earlier. The vial shattered the instant it struck the stone floor. An explosion erupted.

Unlike the earlier explosive potions Rayne had seen used in the chamber, this blast was tighter and more concentrated. Instead of spreading outward in a violent wave, the fire burst upward in a focused column of heat and flame. Rayne still felt the heat slam into his back. The force of it threw him sideways through the hallway. He hit the ground hard and rolled several times before finally sliding to a stop, dirt and dust filling his mouth as he tasted stone and blood.

Rayne groaned and forced himself up onto one knee. His back burned fiercely where the heat had caught him. The leather and cloth beneath his armor stung badly, and he could feel where parts of it had been scorched. Still, he clenched his teeth and pushed through the pain. When he looked up again, the scorch mark left behind by the explosion was clearly visible. The stone floor had turned black where the potion had landed, the surface charred as if it had been held under a forge flame.

But Fredrick hadn't escaped the blast completely either. Parts of his armor had been burned by the edge of the explosion. The metal looked darkened in places as he slowly pushed himself back onto his feet. Through the slits of his helmet, he glared at Rayne.

"How the fuck are you still moving?" Fredrick growled. Rayne wiped the dirt from his mouth and straightened slightly.

"You don't have to know," he replied flatly. Without wasting another second, Rayne pulled one of the potions from his own belt and drank it. The liquid burned as it went down his throat. It wouldn't heal the deeper pain in his body nor would it remove the poison creeping through his blood either. But it was something, and that was better than nothing right now. Fredrick watched him for half a second. Then his hand moved again. This time he pulled out two more of the same explosive vials.

Rayne cursed under his breath as Fredrick hurled them immediately. He reacted at once, jumping backward as fast as his bruised body allowed. The potions burst just ahead of him. Two sharp explosions tore through the narrow hallway, flames erupting upward as heat washed across the stone floor. The blasts scorched the ground black, cracks spreading across the surface where the fire had struck. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The shockwave slammed into him and threw him backward again. Smoke filled the corridor almost instantly, thick and choking as it rolled across the ground. Rayne crashed against the floor and slid several feet before stopping. Pain flared across his back where the earlier blast had already burned him, but aside from that, he largely escaped the radius of the explosion, and tried to push himself up. But through the swirling smoke, he suddenly saw movement. Fredrick burst through the flames.

The noble didn't slow down even as fire still licked across parts of his armor. He rushed straight through the smoke, sword already descending toward Rayne. The blade aimed directly at the scorched portions of Rayne's armor where the explosions had weakened the protection. He reacted instantly, and rolled. The sword struck the ground beside him, the point biting into the charred stone where his chest had been a heartbeat earlier. Rayne immediately swung his leg toward Fredrick's ankles, trying to trip him.

But the bastard anticipated it, and jumped. His boots cleared Rayne's sweeping leg and the next second he brought his sword down again in a brutal downward strike. Rayne had no room to dodge. He raised both hands and caught the blade. The metal bit into his palms immediately. A sharp sting spread across his skin where the poison still coated the weapon. Rayne tried to push mana through his pathways to reinforce his grip— But there was almost nothing left. His reserves were nearly empty.

Only the faintest trickle remained. Rayne clenched his jaw. If he forced more out now, he risked complete mana drain, and he knew what that would do to his body. So instead, he relied on raw strength. Fredrick leaned forward, using his full weight to push the blade down toward his throat. But Rayne held it in place, even as the man's hands trembled, trying to push it forward.

"How in the nine hells are you this strong?" Fredrick growled through clenched teeth. Rayne didn't answer. He simply pushed back. Slowly, inch by inch, he forced the blade upward again. His muscles burned as he fought the pressure. The poison in his blood made his limbs feel heavy, but his body still moved. Gradually, he pushed himself up from the floor. First onto one knee, then into a crouch. Fredrick kept pressing down, trying to force the blade back toward him, but he was already losing his footing.

For a moment, both of them were locked in place. Then Rayne got an idea and suddenly changed his grip. He released one hand. Fredrick's eyes widened slightly as the blade slipped past the side of Rayne's head instead of pressing down against his throat. That single moment was enough. Rayne's free hand shot forward, and his fist slammed straight into Fredrick's chest. The impact echoed through the hallway. Fredrick's breath left him in a sharp grunt as the force of the punch threw him backward.

His body slammed against the stone floor several feet away. The sword slipped from his grip as he hit the ground. Rayne remained crouched for a moment, breathing heavily as smoke still drifted through the hallway around them. Then, he pushed himself up and rushed forward. Fredrick was already moving, his hand inching toward the sword that had slipped from his grasp. His fingers stretched toward the hilt desperately. But he never reached it. Rayne arrived first, and slammed his foot down on Fredrick's legs.

The noble cried out as the force pinned him to the ground. Before he could react further, Rayne kicked the fallen sword away. The weapon skidded across the scorched stone and slid straight into the flames still licking across parts of the hallway. Then Rayne swung. His fist came down toward Fredrick's face. But the man reacted quickly even while on the ground. He raised his strapped shield and the punch rang loudly against the metal. Rayne didn't stop. His hands shot forward and grabbed the edges of the shield.

Fredrick immediately tried to hold onto it.

"Stop, you fucking—!" the noble shouted, struggling. But Rayne's strength was too much for him. With a violent yank, he ripped the shield out of Fredrick's grasp. The leather strap snapped under the force. He threw it aside without hesitation. The shield spun through the air and landed in the flames just as the sword. With it gone, there was no saving Fredrick, and he seemed to know that. He simply laid on the ground, breathing heavily.

Blood had begun to run down from a cut on his forehead, streaking across his pale face.

"You don't know what you are doing," he said weakly.

"House Lanrice will—" Rayne punched him before he could finish. The blow snapped Fredrick's head sideways. Rayne stood over him and spat directly onto his face. Then he punched him again. Fredrick tried to speak, tried to lift his arms, but Rayne's patience had already run out. He had spared him once. During the blood duel, Rayne had left him alive because Axel had asked him to. After that, he had let their hostility die there, and never wanted to even talk to him again. But Fredrick had just proven something.

Men like him didn't stop. They didn't learn. They only waited for another chance to stab you in the back. Fredrick was a parasite. And Rayne was done letting parasites live. He grabbed the noble by the collar and drove his fist down again, and again. Each punch landed harder than the last. Fredrick's attempts to resist quickly weakened as blood covered his face and armor. Eventually the noble stopped fighting entirely. His body slumped against the stone floor, his breathing shallow and ragged.

He was still alive, but barely capable of moving. Rayne looked down at him. All the anger he held towards him rose inside his body. He looked down, and crouched, searching around Fredrick's body before pulling one of his knives from his belt. The blade gleamed faintly in the flames. Without hesitation, Rayne plunged it downward. The knife drove straight into Fredrick's throat. The noble's eyes widened in shock. His hands rose weakly, trying to push Rayne away, but he twisted the blade.

Blood poured out immediately, spreading across the scorched stone beneath them. Fredrick's hands fell. A few seconds later, his body went still. Rayne remained crouched over him for a long moment. Then he slowly pulled the knife free and stared down at the corpse. The anger drained out of him. And the moment it did, his body gave up. Rayne slumped backward onto the floor. The rush of battle faded, and pain erupted everywhere at once. His burned back throbbed violently.

His knee still bled where Valtheris's spell had struck him. But worse than all of that— His throat burned. Rayne coughed, and a thin stream of blood ran from his mouth, and he immediately understood the poison was having its effect. It had already been several minutes since the blade had grazed his neck. The toxins had likely reached deep into his blood by now. He doubted he would even make it back to the main chamber like this. He sat there for a moment, trying to think. His mind felt slower than before.

But he didn't want to die. Not like this. Not here in this dungeon. He wanted to— Suddenly, an idea struck him. Rayne's hand immediately moved to his belt, and he took out a pale, white vial. The rare-grade health potion Selene had given him. He had kept it safe this entire time, refusing to use it even in the dungeon's worst fights. But now there was no point saving it. If he didn't drink it now, he would die here anyway. Rayne stared at the vial for half a second. Then he uncorked it and drank it in one gulp.

The liquid rushed down his throat. It was hot, and it tasted absolutely rancid. Rayne nearly vomited it back up immediately. But he forced his mouth shut and swallowed it all. Then he simply laid on the ground and waited. Seconds passed, and they bled into minutes, but he didn't feel anything. Instead, a strange exhaustion began creeping through his body. Rayne struggled to keep his eyes open. Just as his vision began to blur, he heard footsteps approaching from the hallway.

He forced his head up just as a figure stepped through the smoke-filled corridor. He was Varrick. The man froze when he saw him. His eyes widened, then slowly shifted to the corpse of Fredrick lying nearby. For a few seconds, it looked like he didn't know what to say, but then he pushed out the words.

"What the fuck happened here?" Unfortunately, Rayne had no answer for him, and simply laid back down on the ground, closing his eyes, and hoping that he would open them again.

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