Chương 133: Book 3 Chapter 11 - Calling Out For Mercy

Rekton couldn't believe his luck. He really had been searching for Dustin for over a year now, and he'd finally found him! He'd started looking in Chestara, following Dustin's trail to Ventalia after a few months, but then the trail went cold. Best he could tell, Dustin had made his way into Eshela, but Rekton hadn't been able to find any more information than that.

He'd travelled north from Ventalia through Eshela, stopping at all of the county capitals along the way, eventually making his way to The Central Island, where he'd been for months now. He'd searched Eshela's capital city, and all of the duchy capitals on the island, but still no sign of Dustin. He was sure he'd find Dustin in one of the larger cities eventually, he knew how the man' s mind worked.

He couldn't help himself, he'd eventually build something up large enough where he needed to expand to a large city, even if he was laying low for a bit. Rekton had eventually worked his way back to the Ishkar continent, and had just finished the ferry crossing a couple of days ago. He'd been canvasing the city here, searching for any sign of his prey. He knew that eventually something would turn up, he just hadn't expected to literally stumble into him out on the street.

He was with a small group of guards, three tier 3s and a tier 2, plus one other mortal. The tier 2 was a child, and likely couldn't hurt Rekton even if he just stood there and let her try. Three tier 3s would be a challenge, but one that he would savor. He was sure he could take them, although the female tier 3 standing near Dustin gave off some seriously dangerous vibes. He had almost dropped his disdainful look when her eyes had started glowing, but luckily he'd kept himself in check, and maintained his glare.

The sneer was half the battle. Beating your opponents mentally before the fight even started was the quickest path to victory. Reminding himself that she was just a tier 3 helped him maintain his composure. He'd even convinced one of the tier 3 guards to run off to 'fetch someone'. Ha! The fools were easily persuaded, they obviously feared him. Now that there were only two tier 3s here, his victory would be swift and brutal.

Within the month, he'd be back at headquarters in Chestara, and would be heavily rewarded for his efforts. Dustin's father, Breck, always rewarded loyalty. Breck had sent out four separate search parties. Rekton, being tier 5, worked alone, but the other groups had been three or four people each. No doubt they would be jealous that he'd once again beat them in the search. The best part was, Breck hadn't specified what condition Dustin needed to come back in, as long as he was alive.

Rekton didn't have to be too careful with how he handled him. He waited until the guard who'd run off was out of sight, then smiled wickedly to himself. His aura flared to life, and before anyone could react, he had already attacked, landing a perfect blow on the chin of the guard in front of him. The man's head snapped back, and he fell to the ground, already unconscious. As a tier 5, Breck had immense strength, reflexes, and toughness.

The retaliatory attacks that would surely come from the other tier 3 and possibly even the tier 2 would have a hard time hurting him, especially with the mana shields that he quickly erected. The attacks never came, though. The tier 3 stood protectively in front of Dustin and the tier 2, erecting mana shields of her own. Some nasty looking wind blades formed above her head, but she held them there threateningly without launching them. The people around them screamed when Rekton attacked the guard.

Many of them had been watching the scene play out, and now they ran, making a hasty retreat from the area. The mortal girl by Dustin's side stepped forward, and a sword appeared in her hand. Rekton instantly knew that the sword was incredibly valuable. The enchantments on that thing were pristine. He'd honestly never seen anything like them before. He would take that sword, too, when he carried Dustin back to his father. The woman stepped up to him, and an eager smile formed on her face.

"So this is what Dustin left behind." She cocked her head to the side.

"I can see why. Normally, I'd give you the benefit of the doubt, and try to talk you down, but you already attacked our guard." She glanced down at the unconscious guard on the street.

"At least he's still alive. If he weren't, you wouldn't leave here alive either. Since you only injured the man, I'll give you the chance to yield. You tell me when you're done, and I'll stop." Rekton began thinking of a snide retort, but before he could even process what was happening, the woman moved. That was the best way he could describe it. She moved faster than anyone he'd ever seen move before. Being tier 5 came with some innate advantages. Rekton was incredibly strong, fast, and durable.

He wasn't the strongest tier 5 out there, but that didn't matter in those areas. Just the fact that he was tier 5 meant he was stronger, faster, and more durable than most everyone else. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. He'd never met a tier 6 before, but he assumed they would move like this woman did. Strangely, his aura didn't seem to have any effect on her, either.

Even with his aura blasting full-force, she moved faster than he had any hope of matching himself. Her sword struck his arm, but his mana shield deflected it easily. By the time he'd realized she was attacking him, she was already making her second move. Her left hand shot out, grabbing his right forearm, and he felt his mana shields give out. He'd never experienced anything like it before, they just… disappeared. Her sword struck his left arm again, and this time she took off his hand.

No matter, he could grow that back later. He jumped away from her, intending to reform his mana shields, but her grip was too strong. She was lighter than him, so his jump backward pulled her along with him, but the sudden movement didn't dislodge her grip. She swung the sword again, and his left leg came off mid-calf. As he fell to the ground, he formed a series of devastating spells to strike her down with.

He knew he was losing the close-range combat, which meant she wouldn't be able to stand up to his long range game. Anyone that was this good at close-range fighting would be lacking in other areas. He started the barrage off with a sharp lightning bolt to her chest. Nothing fancy, just a quick spell, something to catch her off guard. Before she could react to it, he had already formed stone casings around her legs, which would lock her in place and prevent her from moving.

Fire streamed out of the stump on his left arm toward her face, the pain barely affecting him. Rekton had also been working on his space concept, and he tried warping the space around her to disorient her magic sense's ability to track his position. This all happened in the moment that he fell toward the ground from his leg being cut off. He planned to form a mana construct around the stump of his leg so that he could stand back up to finish the fight.

As he hit the ground, the result of all of his spells registered in his mind. They all hit her nearly simultaneously, and his exultant hopes fell like a meteor from the sky, crashing to the ground just as he did. His spells simply dissolved as they hit her, ceasing to exist. His right leg came off at the knee, and a quick follow-up swing took off the two smallest fingers on his right hand. He instantly noticed that the wound was identical to one she carried on her own left hand.

H\e realized that she was toying with him. He was so outmatched here that she could inflict specific wounds without worrying about his ability to retaliate. That was when he finally noticed the artifact on her wrist, a golden bracelet. He realized that it was hiding her true tier from him, and possibly her aura as well. This was no mere mortal.

He had never seen an artifact capable of doing such a thing, yet his ability to decipher the workings of artifacts told him that this was, without a doubt, an artifact that could hide this woman's tier from those around her. That, combined with the sword she was wielding, which pierced his skin like soft butter, spoke of a level of artificing that Rekton had only heard of in rumors. For the first time in many decades, Rekton felt true fear.

This woman could end his life on a whim, and there was nothing he could do to stop her. Just who had Dustin allied himself with? With friends like that, Breck would have an impossible time ever getting Dustin to come home. He held up what remained of his hands and arms defensively, calling out for mercy.

"Stop! Please stop, I yield!" Mercifully, the woman did stop, her sword inches from his groin. He shuddered to think what else might've happened had he not yielded. True to her word, she stopped when he asked her to, and she stepped back a pace. She leveled a stare at him, her voice dripping with unrestrained fury.

"I don't ever want to see you again, Rekton. Let me rephrase that. You don't ever want to see me again. The day you do will be your last. Make sure that doesn't happen." He shivered involuntarily, nodding in agreement. He really didn't ever want to see this woman again. She continued.

"When you see Dustin's father, inform him that Dustin doesn't wish to see him right now. If Dustin ever goes back home, it will be when he wants to, not because someone is forcing him to. Anyone else that shows up unannounced won't receive the same generous mercy I'm showing you here today. Is that understood?" Rekton nodded frantically. He was fine with whatever demands the woman wanted, so long as she didn't kill him. She looked at him for a moment.

"Repeat it back to me, I want to make sure you got all that." His voice shook as he complied.

"You will never see me again, Lady Mage. I will inform Breck that Dustin doesn't wish to return home at present, and anyone that is sent to fetch him will never return."

"Good," she said with a nod. She pointed to his stumps.

"Will you be able to make it home in that state? Perhaps I went a little overboard." He shook his head.

"I'll be fine, don't you worry about me!" He let out a frantic laugh.

"These will heal up in no time." She gave him a curious look, then glanced at the stumps of her own two fingers. She looked like she wanted to ask him something else, but she glanced at Dustin and thought better of it. Her sword disappeared into her storage ring, then she picked up the unconscious guard, slung him over her shoulder, and stepped around Rekton. Dustin and the other two mages followed her. Rekton slumped to the ground in relief as she faded out of sight. He let out a sob, shaking from the adrenaline.

He had already formed mana constructs over his stumps to prevent the bleeding. Ever since he'd reached tier 5, his body could regrow lost limbs. By this time tomorrow, he would be right as rain, and would start the journey back home to warn Lord Breck of Dustin's new arrangement. Luckily, the duke's guard had slipped the woman's name out there: Lady Yountal. Breck would have to decide how to proceed from here, but one thing was certain.

Rekton himself would do everything in his power to never see that woman again in his life. He would abandon House Savage to ensure that, if he needed to.