Chương 45: Lay On Hands

Roaring, Kell swung a wild elbow backwards at Pest. The former captive slipped the blow, pulled away Hux's sword that was buried in Kell's side and leaped several feet away. The attack harmed Kell enough to make him drop to a knee and clutch his side, blood pouring out and pooling at his feet. He was trembling. Maybe the asshole had his limits after all. He turned a bloody face towards Ifsra.

"You could've fucking warned me," he spat out, blood dribbling out of his mouth.

"You're alive, aren't you?" Ifsra shrugged, but Joel noticed that they were on their feet and were holding their harp. They tilted their fox-masked covered head, as if they were trying to listen to a tune on the wind. Meanwhile, Vargo had turned pale and held the tarp covering his nearby cage.

"It's y-you!" he sputtered out. Pest took a moment to glare at the man.

"I told you that you should've killed me, Vargo."

"We must kill him! You have to kill him!" Vargo began shouting loudly. Beads of sweat forming on his shiny head, he held out a small ornate knife that clearly hadn't seen any real use. A glare from both Ifsra and Kell shut him up, reminding him that they didn't have to do anything, so he gulped quietly. Joel shared an appreciative glance at Pest, who nodded his way. Both their eyes darted to Kell and back to each other, and they both knew what they had to do — gut this big bastard fast.

Joel spotted the dagger on the ground between him and Kell. Before either of them could charge, a boom erupted as Kell's war mace flew through the air and straight into the giant man's outstretched hand. He hefted the mace as he stood and the flanged macehead lit with golden light. His other hand, holding his bloody side, glowed with the same bright light. The hand dropped and revealed his stab wound replaced with a fresh, pink scar. Joel froze. That was [Lay On Hands]. A paladin.

"It's only fair, no?" Kell growled, wiping his glowing hand on his face. Gashes closed and bruises faded. He pointed his illuminating mace at Pest.

"You owe me a debt." There weren't any funny comments from Pest. The tall man was half-beaten himself. Joel could only guess how long the man had been caged and chained, how tired he might be. Hux's sword looked comfortable in his hand nonetheless. Pest caught his stare.

"The boy let me borrow it." He spoke up a bit louder.

"And he's bringing the others like you said. They'll all be here very soon." Kell raised a brow towards Ifsra. His companion shook their head. He barked out a bemused laugh at Pest.

"I said that you owe me a debt. Time to collect." He charged and smashed his shining mace down in a looping swing. Pest stepped away, thankfully quick and surprisingly calm. The mace smashed down and cracked the stone floor. Joel ran towards Kell's rear, grabbing a dagger as he went. He went for a thrusting stab but Kell's backswing made him spring back. Joel and Pest flanked the large man on opposite sides, circling around with their blades.

It was the smarter move against such an opponent, but Kell was unbothered and looked between the two of them.

"You both going to dance around? If you want to send me to the Lord Emperor, then do so bravely!" Kell taunted them, waving them on.

"Back me up, Joel!" Pest yelled, rushing forward with his gleaming shortsword. He moved with a burst of speed, attacking with sudden and swift strikes. It was a barrage that managed to push Kell back, parrying and dodging the blade as he went. There was something familiar in the rushing assault, but Joel didn't wait to ponder that. He went into a low charge, waiting to strike at Kell when he might overcommit on a strike, but the paladin had become faster once his mace was in hand.

Not only that, Kell was better at protecting himself and his footwork was much more confident. The beefy man peeled away from a swipe from Pest. Joel chased after Kell at that moment, aiming to harry the man. He struck a shallow cut at the giant man's arm, which might've as well have been a papercut, before vaulting back. Kell grinned at the cut, bringing his bleeding arm up and wiping the gash upon his tattooed bald head. While it'd been amusing at first, the brash attitude was grating now at best.

Joel spun the dagger in one hand, twirling through his fingers and catching it, an old habit from his time as a Thief player. Two could play at acting cool. Kell opened his mouth, probably to bark about the glory of his Emperor or something, but Pest's renewed rush shut that down. Pest appeared to only get progressively comfortable with Hux's blade, his attacks edging closer to their mark with each successive slash. By the sixth chained combination, he was wielding the weapon like it was his personal blade.

It was enough to push the hulking Kell back to the center of the loading station, where smashed crates and scattered daggers laid. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Joel realized that Kell was only taking steps backward. Pest was starting to get the better of him. Bloody cuts forming on Kell were temporary evidence, quickly healed by the paladin's [Lay On Hands]. Kell's restorative reservoir of that ability seemed endless.

His Resolve must've been incredible, yet Pest pressed forward through martial skill slowly. If there was going to be an opportunity, it'd appear here. Joel raced forward, moving to the Executor's blindside as his mace clanked against Pest's sword. Mid-strike, Joel's dagger was blocked by the dangerous macehead — a strike so strong that it shattered the blade. Not stopping, Joel rolled under the second swing, nabbed one of the several daggers on the floor, and sprang back to Pest's side.

"He's skilled," Pest muttered while taking deep breaths to recover, his shaggy beard shaking.

"Fast, strong, and has a bit of magic." He raised a brow at Joel.

"You did good, lasting as long as you did."

"I can't lie, I'm glad you came back." Pest chuckled.

"If I'd known you were facing a Dominion's Executor, I might've stayed away. But I owed you one." His grip tightened on Hux's treasured shortsword. He glanced at Joel's battered face.

"You should've run though." Joel shook his head.

"I'm not leaving without Hottor." His swelling tongue made him sound funny.

"The dwarf." Pest gave a hard look to Hottor's direction. The beaten dwarf still had a trembling knife held by Vargo, who was wide-eyed and sweating heavily.

"You two finished strategizing?" Kell tapped the jutting macehead against his free hand, a wide grin plastered across his face. White light shimmered around the weapon before coalescing into a glowing gold around the macehead.

"You're certain you don't want any help?" Ifsra asked, a mischievous tone in their melodic voice.

"At least fully activate your blessings to hurry this up."

"Stay out of this!" he barked back at his fox-masked companion.

"I'll enjoy this as I please, as is my right." Exasperated, Ifsra rolled their head back, but still didn't stir from their spot. Joel looked at the daggers that lay strewn across the floor.

"If you give me a big enough opening, I can take him out." Pest gave him a look that was obviously asking if he was sure.

"We can't stall him out forever." Joel snuck a glance at Vargo and Ifsra.

"Best to take him out fast before those two get involved. We need a killing blow. He'll heal back from anything else." As if that was all Pest needed to hear, he rushed to meet Kell, sword against mace. Pest's movements with the sword looked like a contradiction, hovering between artistic flourish and practical efficiency, but it was a beautiful dichotomy that worked.

"How the Lord Emperor blesses me! That I encounter two worthy in a single day," roared Kell happily between his mace's smashes. Each crash of his mace, though narrowly missing Pest, erupted in a small shockwave against anything it collided with. Could either of them really withstand a direct hit from that? Choosing not to rush, Joel picked up another dagger off the floor while flipping the one in his hand to hold it by the blade. He got closer to the fight, but didn't engage.

Instead, he bit the inside of his mouth and narrowed his eyes. It'd been a while since he'd tried something like this. Keeping his wrist level with his forearm, he hurled the dagger at Kell. The dagger spun in the air, only for the pommel of the dagger to bounce off of his wide back. Annoyed, Kell turned to face Joel, but Pest darted to come between them, sword ready.

"That was your plan?" Pest yelled over his shoulder. Not really. It was more of a test run. However, Joel kept that to himself.

"Trust me. We'll get him!" His face went red as Kell laughed at the statement. This time the massive Executor barreled towards Pest, using a short swing to force a duck. At that moment, Kell fired a kick into the gut, sending Pest crashing into a set of crates that toppled onto him. Another gold light surrounded Kell's mace as he started moving towards where Pest had landed. This time Joel's thrown dagger struck true, burying itself into the broad shoulder of his opponent.

Kell growled as he tugged the blade from himself and tossed it aside, blood leaking from the wound. His attention had diverted back to Joel, which was fine. If Pest was still alright, he'd need a second to catch his breath after that.

"So you've diminished yourself into a pitiful knife tosser." Furrowing his brow, Kell looked like a disappointed parent. He watched Joel scramble to grab another dagger.

"You've become unworthy. Just more boring fodder."

"Then what am I?" Pest had got to his feet, his left shoulder clearly dislocated. If there was pain, and Joel was certain there was, it wasn't shown upon Pest's calm and dirty face yet. Pulling his arm back over his head and reaching for his opposite shoulder, he tugged with his other hand to pop the joint back into place. It looked similar to Joel's [Second Wind]. That forced a pained smile out of him as he picked up his shortsword, pointing the blade at the Executor.

"We aren't anywhere close to done yet." Kell returned a crazed grin.

"How excellent! What fire! What spirit!" He turned away from facing Joel and sprinted at Pest.

"No, you don't," Joel muttered, throwing another dagger aimed at the neck. Despite his beefy frame, Kell spun and swatted the thrown blade mid-air. Continuing to spin, his mace came crashing down back to Pest. The blow was met with Pest's sword, blade catching underneath the macehead. Though the strike had been caught, the immense force was unmatched as Pest's feet began to slide back.

Seeing the two locked in a clash of strength, which was quickly becoming one-sided, Joel clambered for another two daggers and ran after them. Kell was pushing Pest to his knees, leaning his weight down onto his mace. In a show of strength, he let one of his hands go off of the mace's handle, cocked his arm back, and brought a crushing punch across Pest's face. Pest staggered and blood from his mouth splattered the floor, but he didn't fall, still pushing back against the mace.

Laughing excitedly, Kell raised his fist for another punch. Joel threw a desperate dagger, and it lodged itself through Kell's hand, enough to draw a grunt. He didn't stop running, slammed himself into the man, and drove his other dagger into the tattooed man's side, enough to draw a roar. It was a deep stab, but a dagger was still just a dagger, so Kell endured it to slam a vicious headbutt into Pest's nose, finally toppling him over.

Knowing he needed more than a single stab, Joel pulled the blade back for a second piercing strike. Stars exploded as Kell used the end of the mace's handle to give a sharp jab to Joel's jaw. One of those stars began streaking towards him like a comet.