As we exited the prison There was a guard You killed him Shal kept his voice low and even
In his disciple’s eyes he saw the whole story the flash of bitterness then the anger then the smooth resignation When his disciple answered his voice was low and casual in a way that made Shal sick Yes If he didn’t raise the alarm It would be easier to escape It was necessary
It was necessary Shal said slowly savoring every syllable In that moment he didn’t see his disciple He saw an image far in the past years after Shal and his brother had giggled and whispered about the Spear with the Poisonous Fangs Style his brother his spear wet with blood standing defiantly over that young girl’s body Lucrecia standing next to him
It was necessary
You don’t understand the value of a life Shal said coldly advancing towards his disciple fury pumping through his veins like blood
Chapter 168
Randidly burned with shame He didn’t understand the value of a life Wasn’t this all because Shal had made him swear to stick with him through this process Wasn’t all of this the repayment of his debt
So when Shal came violence in his eyes Randidly responded in kind wordlessly rushing forward and activating Empower and Haste His shoulder was already mostly healed the pain nothing particular to speak of If Shal wanted to fight
But the Shal Randidly was facing now was very different from the Shal that usually sparred with them Although Shal was usually impossible to pin down the current Shal seemed to phase out of existence before Randidly’s very eyes This
This was Spear Phantom’s Footwork At a level that neared 200
Randidly felt his arm snap in half and the sharp flash of pain that followed and grunted But he did not stop because that was not how he had been taught He lashed out with his leg hoping to catch Shal in the back of the knee but Shal was already gone His other arm now fell limp this time with the shoulder joint absolutely smashed to pieces Shal began to speak his disdain clear
Perhaps I have driven you too hard I forget how soft you started Two years of violence Shal seemed to pause there as he once more disappeared and smashed Randidly’s knees and ankles Two years of violence have taught you that killing is necessary but not why You are blind You fear the killing as you should yet you resent your fear and you kill more to show yourself that you do not fear You wound yourself pointlessly pridefully Well let me show you What you truly need to fear
Shal continued to systematically destroy Randidly’s body and Randidly grunted tears forming in his eyes This was all because of you Randidly wanted to say but his jaw was broken and his tongue was ripped That old slowly waking part of him shook his head sadly
No it’s not ’ Randidly said to himself You chose this Accept it or go mad ’
Randidly collapsed unconscious
Helen stood calmly over the body of the man she had watched tortured and eviscerated before her very eyes Again she thought it remarkable both how peaceful he seemed while asleep and the crazed violence that had been in his and his master’s eyes earlier that day There was some deeper lesson going on between them but honestly Helen didn’t really give a fuck
After all it wasn’t like she was some fucking angel Some lessons were hard to learn Some lessons had to be taught the hard way It was a violent world she had grown up in but it was all she knew Strength was power
And power was everything
The Ghosthound stirred his eyelids flickering His black hair had grown long in his time in the prison hanging to his shoulders and he now had a bristly beard like a jobless merchant Helen’s lip curled up in distaste That would need to go if she was do to what she thought was necessary Both for herself and for him
So when he awoke Helen held up a razor and a bowl of cream and cocked her head at him in askance For several seconds she was held there by his emerald eyes where a whirlwind of emotion seemed to seeth Then it slowly settled Then his eyes roamed over her lingering quite long on her neck and chest She held still now actively trying to suppress the shiver
It was strange how much similar gazes from men had disgusted her in the past And now she felt a hot sliver of enjoyment from the attention Her mother had always said she would understand the use of her looks someday and well
Perhaps today was that day
FInally the Ghosthound nodded and Helen moved closed trying her best to not wrinkle her nose at the absofuckinglutely disgusting smell Holy christ had he bathed at all in his time in prison
Helen supposed that was a dumb question She honestly didn’t even know the last time she had bathed They had been waiting for these fuckers to break out of the prison after all But there was a clear disparity between them in terms of smell and it was a problem
One disgusting step at a time
A downside of increased Endurance was how resilient the hair became The Ghosthound was no exception She carved more than she cut slowly cleaning his neck and face After 10 minutes she had mostly completely the process and she leaned back satisfied with her work But again she was caught by his gaze
With his dark hair pale skin and almost glowing eyes the Ghosthound regarded her The look in his eyes turning decidedly hungry Her heartbeat sped up but she let nothing show on her face She slowly cleaned the blades she had used taking her sweet time Stroke by stroke she wiped the last razor clean
The whole tent seemed to be pulsing now filled with a strange need Helen couldn’t believe how much it was carrying her away She tried to think of how covered in blood and sweat the man was but all she really ended up doing is looking up and once more finding herself pinned down by that gaze It was a light green now like mint and chemical fire
Helen took a calming breath and then said Take off your clothes
She delighted in the way his eyes once more filled with wild emotion need panic fear hunger confusion but then it all passed and there was a slow and sure confidence that filled his gaze He smiled almost lazily What
Waving her hand Helen produced the washtub she carried around with her everywhere It was just big enough for a grown man to submerge himself in and then she began pouring hot water into it to fill it up
Helen’s parents hadn’t been rich but they hadn’t been poor Style less folk either She had some ways to procure steaming hot water at the drop of a hat You Helen said simply Are taking a bath
Randidly wasn’t sure what he was feeling But he knew that the bath felt very very good right now Shal’s words earlier in a way they were echoing so loudly around in his head that he couldn’t even hear them Randidly’s consciousness slipped under them focusing on other things
Like how soft and warm his spear attendant’s body looked in the dimb light of the tent How good the hot water felt as he scrubbed himself clean He couldn’t remember the last time he had taken a bath Even though it was becoming increasingly popular in Donnyton towards the end he was too busy training with Mrs Hamilton
Then he smiled and shook his head From their perspective very little time had passed It had probably only been almost a month since he had left Donnyton their time It felt so surreal The way that time could change perspective It was incredible
Releasing a long breath Randidly allowed himself to float underwater Then he emerged stepping out of the comfortable water of the tub to the chill of the air His spear attendant stepped forward offering him a towel
Her service was strange and the fact that he was just naked in front of her was strange for a variety of reasons The most important of which was it had been two years since he had seen her He didn’t remember her name at all And yet she so easily came forward to help him
Randidly didn’t think he remembered her being this helpful but he supposed he didn’t really have an experience like this before either
At least if she was going to look at him naked it was now It was a small vain thought but the system had done wonders to improve his muscle mass and definition He didn’t look crazy strong like he actually was due to the increased stats but every inch of him was covered in tight muscle