Kai’s survival instincts took over.

  He teleported away from the piercing thrust without aim or foresight, his limbs slackening as energy fled his body.

  To his surprise, he emerged beside the pitiful Target in the courtyard’s corner. The miserable man’s eyes widened. He raised his blade to strike the newcomer invading his space, but thought better of it and lowered his sword.

  It was the least he could do, since he’d have been converted into points long ago if Kai and company hadn’t intervened.

  A few feet separated them from the two bloodthirsty nobles.

  Kai had little time to think, and his mind was slower than usual. He grimaced.

  Did he use too much soul essence? No…he would’ve been exhausted right after teleporting if that were the case. Then…the only explanation was an enemy ability.

  The big-eared noble heard every attack and dodged accordingly. The gaunt-faced noble had a weakening ability? Kai stifled a yawn. Control over sleep, or stamina?

  Either way, it was bad news.

  He glanced at Alira. Her icy sword had melted, and flames covered Gideon’s body and blade. She dodged Gideon’s strikes but had no way to attack. She couldn’t keep it up forever.

  But…she couldn’t lose, right?

  Kai’s attention shifted back to his own predicament. He hoped Rusk was paying attention. He glanced at the hopeless, forgettably average-looking man beside him.

  “What can you do?” Kai asked.

  The question made the man jump, but he quickly sensed the urgency of the situation and answered.

  “Memory! I can control memories!”

  Kai sighed inwardly and stepped closer to the memory man.

  It would have to do.

  The noble bastards were almost within striking range.

  “Clear five seconds of my memory and stay out of sight.” Kai didn’t know how the man’s ability worked, but he had a plan.

  He pictured his revenge: tearing Dakas limb from limb, cutting Renzo from shoulder to waist, bathing in blood and carnage. His fingernails grew, his rage intensified, his bloodlust—

  A hand touched his back, clearing his mind of unnecessary thoughts and sluggishness. Only bloodlust remained - an unfathomable desire to kill.

  Two enemies in front of him - they had to die. One of them looked half-dead already; he would be first. Kai’s body remained a little slower than normal, but not enough to matter.

  These measly wretches couldn’t stop him.

  Kai moved through space and materialised behind the gaunt-faced bastard. The big-eared noble moved to intercept Kai’s swift sword.

  But space stretched between him and his goal.

  Before he could return to his companion’s side, Kai’s sword blurred. Blood splattered across his hands gripping the pommel. The gaunt-faced noble’s right arm hit the concrete with a muffled thud.

  His chest separated from his abdomen and hung to the side - barely tethered by viscera, his body refusing to part like tragic lovers.

  The stubborn corpse collapsed to the floor with a wet smack.

  Kai glanced at his sword, prepared to flick the lingering blood at his opponent - a strange sight greeted him. His hands and blade were clean. His nails were a little longer than usual, but not long enough to draw undue attention.

  Something to consider later…

  The big-eared noble’s face twisted in fury, mouth slightly ajar. Kai sensed a disturbance in the space around him - and laughed like a Demon. The big-eared bastard rushed forward, blind and deaf with anger.

  But it was for naught. His sword arm dropped first. Then his legs. Razor-like threads shot forward, dicing the big-eared bastard into meat cubes dripping with blood sauce.

  Kai wasn’t unhinged enough to laugh at murder; it was a performance. A distraction for Rusk’s threads. The big-eared bastard focused too much on his award-worthy acting to notice the vibrations of the thread trap closing around him.

  Kai turned his attention to Alira. Gideon’s burning sword carved through the air, and she avoided the blow by a hair’s breadth. She couldn’t hold on much longer.

  But she didn’t have to.

  Kai instructed the memory man without looking at him:

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  “Stay here.” He didn’t check to confirm the memory man’s acquiescence.

  Kai rushed toward the clash between nobles, using his legs to save on soul essence - he closed the distance toward Gideon’s back. As Kai reached striking distance, a frozen blade emerged from Alira’s hands. They slashed at the flaming noble simultaneously.

  A circle of flames rose to meet their attacks. Alira’s blade crashed impotently against the fire and disintegrated. Kai’s sword met resistance, though he didn’t feel the satisfying sensation of steel carving flesh. A clang rang out.

  Gideon dove out of his protective circle of fire. He ran for the courtyard’s entrance on his left, leaving a wall of flames blocking his escape route. The wise coward.

  Kai could chase after him, but decided against it. Who knew what kind of traps were waiting for him? His soul essence was running low and killing Gideon wasn’t a priority.

  Alira probably felt differently, but she couldn’t land a scratch on the bastard. Kai would have to do all the dirty work. And for what?

  Everyone would be a target sooner or later.

  Why chase someone who’ll be back before they know it? Kai let out a long breath and gestured to the two bloody corpses with the end of his sword.

  “Both of you better grab a sword. You don’t wanna be sitting on your arses when we fight that fiery bastard again, do you?” Alira offered no response and moved to grab a sword.

  Rusk’s enthusiasm hadn’t dimmed at all: “Good idea!” He moved toward the bodies, or what was left of them, collected the threads of the scattered clothing, and picked up the remaining sword.

  Then he turned to Kai, a silent question clear on his face. ‘What about this guy? Should we kill him?’ Kai shook his head subtly and approached the surviving Target.

  “Memory man, how many points is your life worth?”

  The man swallowed so hard it was audible. “W—what?”

  “We saved your life, right? Shouldn’t you spare some points for your saviours? Or…should we take them?”

  Memory man paled. His eyes swept over the two mutilated bodies, the blood puddles and his lethal saviours.

  “H—how many points do you want?”

  Kai smiled. “You’ll get 20 points for surviving because of our work…” He gestured to the gruesome remains. “5 points for each of us is fair, right? And you get 5 points for doing nothing!” Kai slapped the man on the shoulder.

  He trembled.

  “Y—yes, that sounds fair!”

  Kai nodded. “Alright then, let’s move before the Target changes. Give us the points when we’re not in the open like sitting ducks.”

  Memory man nodded. Kai smiled. He didn’t care about the points, but people rarely appreciated freebies. And who knows - maybe the extra points would end up being useful.

  He didn’t want to kill the man either - a man who controlled memories had many uses. Kai wasn’t foolish enough to abandon valuable tools. This memory man could become an indispensable asset…if he survived the trial.

  Leaving a witness wasn’t the best-case scenario, but hadn’t Kai saved this man from the unjust persecution of three nobles? He probably had a burning hatred for nobles and their ilk.

  He had no reason to tell the Ashvales about what happened here. Or so Kai hoped.

  Renzo had said, ‘You can’t trust anyone completely,’ and Kai took that lesson to heart.

  If the memory man betrayed Kai…he would simply add him to the list of revenge targets.

  “Kai?” Rusk said.

  Kai glanced at him. “Yeah?”

  Rusk’s brow furrowed. “What are ducks?”

  Kai shrugged. “How should I know? I read about them in a book. I guess they sit around and die?”

  Rusk shook his head. “They sound stupid.”

  “Exactly. Let’s avoid following in their footsteps.” Kai gestured to a gap in the courtyard’s concrete wall and they moved toward it.

  “What’s your name, anyway?” Kai asked the memory man as they made their way out of the courtyard.

  “My name’s Willum, or Will for short, sir.”

  “I’m no sir, Bill.”

  Memory Man’s eyebrows jumped. “I-its Will. And I thought only nobles could fight like that…”

  “I’m no noble. Just an orphan from the slums.”

  Memory Man’s eyebrows almost hovered into the air, then plummeted as he furrowed his brows, realising something: no average dweller could fight like Kai. Mobsters were the only ones who knew their way around a blade in the outer sectors.

  Everyone else was too busy digging for Darkshards in the mines.

  Memory Man nodded in understanding. “I see…you sure showed those noble arseholes what’s what!”

  “She’s a lady though,” Kai tilted his head at Alira.

  Memory Man’s enthusiasm simmered, and he cleared his throat. “N—not all nobles are arseholes, of course…” He bowed his head toward Alira. “My lady.”

  Alira nodded at Memory Man. “I sympathise with your animosity. Some nobles are the worst of arseholes, indeed.” With that said, she continued onward, the rest of the party following behind.

  They soon reached a nearby path safe enough to exchange points. ‘Safe’ was the wrong word, all things considered: the important thing was there was only one entrance onto this path, and they could monitor it.

  They didn’t have to wait long for a new Target to get announced. Memory Man transferred the points among them with little issue.

  They checked their updated scores:

  - Rusk = 26 points

  - Kai = 22 points

  - Alira = 7 points

  Both Rusk and Kai glanced at Alira with smug smiles gracing their lips. Alira retained her usual impassive mask; points didn’t matter in the end, but who wanted to be last?

  Memory Man gazed at the three of them with bright eyes. Did he think they’d take him in? He was gonna be disappointed - the man wasn’t bodyguard material.

  “What are you waiting for?” Kai said. “Find a place to hide until the trial’s over.”

  Memory Man’s shoulders drooped and his gaze fell.

  Kai threw him a bone. “Where are you from, Memory Man?”

  Memory Man’s eyes sparkled with hope. “It’s…” He sighed. “Sector Nine.”

  “Inner sector or the slums?”

  “Inner sector.”

  “If you survive this trial, we’ll meet again in Sector Nine. I have a lot of work for a man with your Gift…”

  Kai shot him one of his serious glares. “But if you tell anybody what you saw here today…our next meeting won’t be pleasant. Do you understand?”

  Memory Man’s face twisted through various emotions. Excitement, disappointment, fear. He nodded solemnly. “I understand, wh-what should I call you?”

  “The name’s Kai. But don’t tell anybody you saw me here. Don’t even say my name out loud until I meet you in Sector Nine, got it?”

  “Got it! Thank you, Kai. Thank you too, my lady and…” He glanced at Rusk.

  “Don’t worry about him.”

  Rusk didn’t take that slight lying down. “Hey! That’s not nice!”

  Kai raised his eyebrows. “Oh…would you rather everybody know you just turned an Ashvale noble into palm-sized chunks?”

  Rusk’s brows furrowed in thought; he looked unsure if that would be a good or bad thing for him.

  Kai elaborated. “Do you want you and your family hunted down by the Ashvales? Wanna get caught up in a blood feud?”

  That convinced him. Rusk shook his head. “No…I guess not.”

  Kai turned back to Memory Man and slapped him on the shoulder. He gave Kai a wilting smile. “Until we meet again, M.M.”

  Memory Man got the message and moved toward the outskirts of the maze.

  Good luck, M.M. Don’t die…

  Kai studied his companions. Before he could suggest they return to the area near the courtyard to ambush easy prey, a monstrous roar echoed in the distance.

  Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter.

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