Chapter 402

He was awake, when the scream and grunts, the large roar that shook the building echoed through the surroundings. Arthur rushed out of his room, carrying his spear, and ready to do battle. Too slow, because by the time he threw the door open to Asman's room, the battle was over. Pinned to the side of the wall, veins of corruption and darkness extending from the spear that had been shoved into their chest, the Second Chancer's eyes were fading, staring into a sightless void.

Instinctively, Arthur wanted nothing to do with the weapon pinning the Second Chancer to the wall. Dark lines and smoke rose from it, malevolent and unsettling just to be in the presence of. He feared the curse - if it was a curse or technique - that killed Asman and that, even now, rotted the walls.

Across from the open door, the window hung open, its shutters torn apart in the hasty exit of the killer. He listened as footsteps echoed above him, rushing across the roof to the other portion of the house. Movement behind him, and Arthur noted Hameed, coming out of his room.

He backed off, spear leveled at the other, speaking softly.

"Not you, then.”

"No."

"Celaka." Arthur fixed Hameed with a glare. "Is it always like this?"

Hameed offered a sardonic and world weary smile that looked entirely out of place on someone so young.

Arthur’s mind spun, trying to put together the clues and information he had given. It was clear, now, that some of them had known, even suspected that Tun Rahman was the killer from the very beginning. There was no one else who could have been running over, not unless Hameed could teleport and that just wasn’t something viable at their level.

However, Nor had died making an accusation that she must have believed had a chance to succeeding.

Was she dumb then? Did she guess entirely wrongly, or did the scenario instead change who the killers were? Such that it was possible that Hameed was the killer, and not Tun Rahman.

“Why keep me alive?” Arthur asked, his weapon raised at Hameed as the man stepped forward, his own spear held loosely by his side. “Why help me at all?”

“What makes you think I was helping you?”

“Your advice. You carrying me in to my room…” A glance at his spear, verifying that yes, it was still his and nothing weird had happened to it while it was out of his sight. He’d checked, last night when he got back, just in case.

“Oh, yes. Couldn’t have you die just yet…”

“Not…” Understanding, some of it flowing through. A guess in other parts but… “The quest – the Tower – needs me alive, doesn’t it? To keep it running all the way.”

“Until now. When there’s only us left and you’ve all but failed…”

“You’re…” Of course. No one ever said there had to be only one killer. It didn’t make sense, why Tun Rahman would have killed his own warriors. Why he even had a helper, or they hadn’t just done a Red Wedding and massacred everyone on the first day.

All those deaths, some of them obviously not intentional. Perhaps there were only meant to be one or two murders, maybe everyone was supposed to die. Arthur couldn’t really tell what the intention was anymore, the Second Chancers had messed it up.

He’d failed, to save anyone but himself. Failed to complete the mission, but Hameed was coming still, strolling forward, weapon before him. Something in the way he looked, the way he moved made Arthur take a firmer stance.

No longer the kid, he moved like a predator now. He reminded Arthur of his Master, of Senior Bruce who lamented everyday his parents had spelled their name Li instead of Lee. Who’d worked longer and harder than even Arthur, just to keep up with his namesake…

A killer of the highest kind.

“Now, hold still. I don’t want to tire myself out too much, before I kill Tun Rahman.” Soft, the boy's voice was soft. Arthur felt something press upon him, briefly, a pressure on his aura that he hadn't even noticed was happening till it was gone. His own aura infiltrated, his mind growing confused.

More confused, with everything that had happened.

“I…we… don’t have to do this.” Arthur whispered the words, knowing they were untrue, but unwilling to kill the boy. He’d grown to like him, and just switching over to murdering another human after they’d shared a little time… It sat ill with Arthur. They should, they could, find a way around this. They had to.

Their spears met, a gentle thock, as Hameed kept light pressure to open the way. He pushed the weapon out of line as he kept walking closer, voice lowering with each step as he got closer. "It doesn't hurt, you know. Dying."

"What?" Shocked, Arthur hesitated. His retreat slowing down as Hameed continued speaking to him.

"It's true. You'd think, after being hurt so much, being injured, that it'd hurt. But dying itself, it doesn't hurt. Not if it's done right. The passing from one side to the next, it never hurts. Don't even remember it, not the first time, and soon, not the ones after. Not unless they're special..."

So close. 

Hameed had gotten so damn close, as he spoke. His spear was entirely off-line, not in any position to block. The boy had taken a hand off his own, slipped the kris out of his hand and smile, keeping his gaze locked on Arthur as he closed that last few inches. The blade slipped in, and the boy was right.

"Doesn't hurt, does it..." 

Arthur knew it had to be a mental assault. Some sopofhoric that had gone in, just like the numbing poison. Causing his body to freeze up, as the kris the boy held drove itself into him, turned and tore him open.

It was Hameed's major mistake, using the same poison.

For a brief moment, as Accelerated Healing kicked in, sweeping away the poison and sending a lance of pain through his body, Arthur's mind cleared. He found himself able to think, to focus on the other, even as the boy continued to stare at him, all smiles. 

So close, they could kiss.

So, Arthur opened his mouth, aimed the REED from there and let it loose, not even daring to give the other boy the fraction of a second of seeing it come out of his third eye.

The Exploding Energy Dart flew through space, impacted his opponent directly in the nose and blew up, snapping both heads backwards. 

It was never smart to use explosives, close at hand.