PreCursive

  Without another word, Longstripe charged me.

  I nearly died in the first few moments of the first exge. Longstripe wasn’t b to hold back much at all. I think the only reason I was able to dodge his massive fist as it nced out at my head was because my c had thrown my body into a dodge at the first hint of movement from the man. As it was, I only mao duder the fist by a literal hair's breadth. My hair was blown back from the sheer wind pressure of his might alone.

  I didn’t mao dodge the follow-up krike from him, though.

  The force of the General's massive knee impag my chest was strong enough that I felt myself get unched up and back, somehow tumbling through the air from the sheer power alone. I only barely retained enough presenind to try and sh out at him with my still-ignited spear tip, in the moments before I was blown backward. I don’t know if I hit him or not, because I was too busy smming into the stone of the warehouse floor, my head boung off of the quarried rock painfully.

  I think I would have died right then if not for the fact I had multiple streams of thought. While my outerm’s vision had whited out from the impact, my middle ring seized trol this time and rolled me sideways. In the split sed before I had hit the floor, it had seen how y nding position was to the ring of , bloodthirsty soldiers.

  To my side, I heard the sound of a sword g off the stone where I had just been ying, moments ago.

  I staggered to my feet using my spear as a crutd skipped drunkenly away from the circle’s edge as my vision started to e bato focus. As I did so, a spike of pain was intense enough to pierce through my dampening. I clutched my chest and grimaced, finding it suddenly more difficult to breathe.

  I think Longstripe had fractured a few of my ribs with that one, single blow. Not enough that I was suddenly in danger of dying, but enough to hinder me. Not only that, but I’m pretty sure my head had been split open, at least a little. I could feel a slow trickle of blood oozing its way down the bay neck, inating from my scalp.

  I had to be more careful. In just one exge, Longstripe had almost crippled me.

  Almost absentmindedly, my c wondered why Longstripe hadn’t followed up on his blow while I rone. He was certainly strong enough, ruthless enough, and pissed enough to have done so.

  When my vision cleared enough to see again, I beheld the sight of Longstripe gazing down at the back of his left forearm. Carved into the back of it was a long, even gash, deep enough I could see bone showing through it. Even though it was a deep wound, sidering his advanced level, it was barely oozing blood at all. Despite the severity of the wound, Longstripe didn’t seem armed by it. No, instead, he was looking down at it almost wly.

  “Would you look at that?” The General said iedly, twisting his arm bad forth to get a better look at the gash. It was so deep, and so bloodless, that I could see individual muscle fibers tract with the movement. Longstripe clucked his tongue and shook his head. “That’s some Skill you have, murderer, that you hurt me with it. I wonder how you got it?”

  I didn’t bother with replying, despite how the sight of the cut caused my heart to leap in my chest. That just proved I could hurt the man, if only with The Stilnt Bde.

  Instead, I just pointed my left hand at the man and cast another Skill.

  Grasping Roots.

  Thick crimson tree roots covered in barbs and thored from the floor of the warehouse to around the General's legs, trying to dig into his flesh. They didn’t ma, though, instead only grinding against the surface of his leg armor with a shriek that reminded me of nails on a chalkboard. Still, they’d doheir job by at least ing around his legs.

  I charged at him, never once havi go of Sylvan Vigor at full strength. Even with as used to the Skill as I’d gotten, and the stamina for its usage I’d built up, it was difficult to hold it at max power for so long. I hadn't let up on the enha ability once during the etle, and could feel fatigue trying to settle over me. Hopefully I could finish this soon, and it would be enough.

  It wasn’t.

  I’m not sure Longstripe even noticed the roots. He shrugged, finally tearing his gaze away from his arm to look at me. “I guess I’ll just tear the answer from your screaming, limb-less torso, cutthroat,” He said cruelly. He took a siep forward, tearing through the roots I’d jured like they were so much wet tissue paper.

  By that time, I had gotten into melee distah the man. I aimed one palm underhand up at the man and unched another Poisonthorn Shot at his face. I know it couldn’t hurt him by this point, but I was at least hoping the poison could obstruct his vision. At the same time, I tried to skewer him with the brilliantly burning leaf-shaped bde of my spear.

  That didn’t work either.

  Longstripe didn’t even flinch at the thorn shot at his face, he just tilted his head to the side slightly a pass him by harmlessly. But he was, seemingly, properly wary of the bde of my spear.

  I just…wasn’t fast enough to actually hit him with it.

  Longstripe batted my spear away from his vital ans before it could pierce him with the back of one fist, nearly wreng the on out of my hands. I had to rapidly mahe haft of my Oninite spear between my body and his fist, in the microsed it took before it could impact me.

  The length of Kawamaraal visibly flexed uhe force of the blow.

  Still.

  That didn’t save me.

  I didn’t even see his other hand ing, until it was too te.

  In a split sed, Longstripe’s massive ursine hand had closed around my throat. He squeezed down hard enough that my airways almost pletely shuttered. I instinctively gasped and tried tle against his grip, but nothing I did mattered. I just wasn’t strong enough to break his grasp.

  The onlooking Loyalist soldiers cheered at the sight of me hanging in midair, suspended in the grasp of their leader.

  Meanwhile, Longstripe had ripped my spear out of my hands in order to cast a critical eye over it. He whistled at the sight. “Not bad, I have to say,” He said, almost admiringly. “This is a quality on if it take a punch from me and not break. I suppose the puppets of insurreists are granted powerful ons, these days. But, I’ll be sure to gift it to someone more worthy than you, murderer. You won’t , after all, oear you limb from limb.”

  Somehow, I mao draw enough breath in order to chuckle painfully at Longstripe. He bli me, a little taken aback. “Oh? Is some amusing, cutthroat?”

  “Two…things…” I rasped painfully, barely able to breathe. Assured of his victory, Longstripe seemed fident enough to loosen his grasp, if only slightly. I used the ce to fill my lungs with a gasp before chug again and smirking at the General. “It doesn’t matter…if you won. I already aplished…my goal. Look…around.”

  Longstripe flicked his eyes up to look beyond the circle of soldiers. As I’d expected, the fighting outside of our little frontation was pletely fihere were no more Noe Agents in the crumbling warehouse for him or his men to try and cull. My rades had taken the opening I’d given them for escape and lived to fight another day.

  Even Sylvia was gone. Whether that meant she’d truly fled the battle, or was just hanging around under an illusionary cloak, I had no way to know. But despite everything, I truly wished she had gone.

  At the very least, one of us could survive this.

  Longstripe actually chuckled then, shaking his head ruefully. “Ah…I see,” He said knowingly, looking down at me. “Tell me, murderer, was any of what you said even truthful? Or was this all just a diversion, so your rats could flee this sinking ship?”

  I shrugged as much as I was able. “Some,” I admitted. But I didn’t eborate any further.

  That seemed to be enough for Longstripe, though. “Hmm, well. It doesn’t matter,” He said decisively. “We’ll mop up the rest of them ter. But you…whether you are who you say you are, and even if you didn’t kill as many of my men as you said you did. You’re still a traitor, and traitors all meet the same end. I have a threat to carry out, after all.” Having said that, Longstripe reached out and grasped my golde arm, still cealed us elbow-length leather glove. His grip tightened on it, only for his brow to furrow in fusio didn’t give like flesh would. Curious, he ged his hold in order to rip off the glove I had on.

  In moments, my golden arm was revealed to the world.

  fused mutters erupted from the onlookers, as General Longstripe was visibly astonished for the first time since I’d first id eyes on him.

  “Is he…a Sculpted?” I heard one baffled soldier ask, to uain mutters from his panions.

  “What the hells is this?” Longstripe said, bewildered. “What did you do to yourself, cutthroat? Don’t tell me…” He suddenly started chug, almost unprompted. “D-did you…did you repe of your hands with a Sculpted one?!” He started howling in ughter then, in ear. “It’s almost poetic! The Sculpted sympathizing rebel, sympathizing so hard he bees part automaton! The sheer audacity!”

  For the first time since he’d grabbed hold of me, the General took his eyes off me and threw his head back.

  And ughed.

  fusion chuckles emerged from the throats of the onlookers, as they imitated their leader. But…

  This was my ce.

  Now.

  Ealier, when I’d sheathed my sed dagger, I hadn’t put it into its usual left sheathe. From the beginning, I’d been pnning on just this gambit. Well, not specifically one where I was held by the throat, but certainly one where I was close enough, and Longstripe was incautious enough, to take his eyes away from me.

  Because I’d put that dagger in the right sheathe, and…

  He was holding my left arm.

  In as smooth of a motion as I could manage, I uhed that dagger, ig in the roiling rainbow fmes of The Stilnt Bde…

  And rammed it into his guts at an angle.

  Longstripe’s ughing abruptly stopped, as the man slowly lowered his head to where he was looking back down at me. He stared into my eyes in inprehension for a moment, before staring down at the bde in his belly. His grip on my throat lightened, but not enough to release me.

  Enough for me to lean and say something to the man, though. “You were saying how good my ons were?” I hissed to the General. “Well, let me show you what they’re good for.”

  Without another word, I depressed the activation rune on my dagger, still buried up to the hilt in his gullet.

  Immediately, it exploded to its full length, pierg straight through him aing out of his ba an explosion of gore. Behind him, I could see the fiery rainbow head of my spear glowing like a meteor over his shoulder. Longstripe choked, staring at me disbelievingly before he slumped to his knees with me still in his grasp. Feeling my ce, I tried tle away from him, but…

  For some reason, his grip remairong.

  Longstripe looked over his shoulder for a moment at the spear jutting out of his back, before turning to face me. He chuckled painfully, reag up to grab my skull with both of his hands. I struggled, but couldn’t get away as he spoke. “Almost,” He rasped in agony. “Almost…but not quite, cutthroat.”

  The st thing I saw was Longstripe’s skull rocketing towards mine in a headbutt.

  Before the world went dark.