With a flick of the wrist the beautiful blade spun into a pure silver disk Then just as quickly Kayle slid the knife into one of the many sheaths that were strapped to his hips and waist The two shared a single glance And in that glance was enough condensed violence that everyone nearby felt something akin to a physical slap
Stan sighed as he rubbed his tingling cheeks You must work together His spearwork is aided by that powerful image but
Impossible Kayle seemed aghast We are separate Squads
Paolo blinked With him It would do more harm than good
his ability to even notice me moving at high speeds is in doubt
what if I break him accidentally with a wild swing His thin wrists
and Stan please do not get me started on his smell Do you know he chews basil raw
Rubbing his forehead Stan pressed forward His moves are unrefined and wasteful Your Squads are the only groups that have a hope of catching him in those weaknesses Every member of the Squad is an elite If you move as one unit and exploit those weaknesses we can make a better plan for the final
Both men fell silent and turned to look at Stan skeptically
IsnÆt the plan just to win Paolo seemed incredibly disinterested He turned to a woman from his Squad which passed him a warm towel With practiced ease he produced a razor with his one hand rubbed his head with the towel and then began to studiously shave his head Why over complicate it with things that can go wrong Like Kayle and his lackeys
I agree but for different reasons KayleÆs Squad members brought a wrought iron table and chair and set it before him A man walked forward and flapped out a tablecloth that was quickly spread across the table A moment later another man arrived and placed a soup and salad on the table
After taking a taste of the soup Kayle looked speculatively at the darkening sky Well we will need to work on this recipe Just like Randidly needs to work on his fighting style ItÆs not like we noticed it I donÆt doubt even that monkey caught a hint of it
At this point I could imitate his style so well that even his mother would be hard pressed to tell whether I was her own flesh and blood Paolo said with a yawn as he casually scraped the razor across his head
Kayle didnÆt bother to acknowledge the other man Should we really give him this trial run to hone his Skills It might be better to surrender and proceed immediately to the real challenge
Coward Paolo said softly But he didnÆt bother to contradict Kayle Instead he set down his razor and accepted a peeled orange from one of his Squad members
Kayle twisted his mouth and distaste and flicked a few drops of vinaigrette across his salad With great vigor he began to eat
Stan shook his head If it were truly so easy to refine a fighting style all of us would have risen to the level of Randidly Ghosthound during this challenge Believe me all we need to do now is expose his weaknesses With the Raid Groups we will be more than capable of defeating him Randidly Ghosthound will fall
You fear loss Paolo commented He sniffed loudly for effect I can smell it on you Desperation breeds mistakes even if the decisions are sound ones If I can smell that desperation fate can smell it too Fate doesnÆt even spare children You will be devoured at this rate and take us with you
Stan clenched his hands into fists Yet neither of you is my tactical equal Can you deny that both of you lost to me Trust me I know the flow of battles This is our time
And how many battles have you fought against the Ghosthound himself little man Kayle mocked But then he shrugged and set down his silverware Ah itÆs too late youÆve already ruined my appetite Might as well just go out there and face him
I hope he punches you so hard you vomit up that shit Paolo said with a shake of the head But he too stood and stretched his arms above his head His shoulders popped with such volume that Stan flinched
I hope he smashes in that misshapen head of yours Finally give it some symmetry Kayle said around a yawn
Then all at once both focused
Time to work
DonÆt hold me back
Together the two and their Squads stepped up into the arena
Feeling extremely frustrated Stan returned to the VIP box Even now he sat several seats away from Mrs Hamilton trying his best not to stare at his own drying blood that stained the ground The empty space where his pinky had once been was aching painfully
When he returned Mrs Hamilton grinned at him What did they say
nothing of note Just their usual banter Stan said bitterly
Mrs Hamilton chuckled DidnÆt we have a talk about lies
Stan felt his heart squeeze itself into a knot Blinking rapidly Stan considered the chances that he would be able to dodge an attack from her at this range Even his numbed instincts quickly returned a negative But Mrs HamiltonÆs hands stayed neatly folded in her lap Slowly Stan felt his hackles tremble and lower toward something close to relaxation
Or more likely his nerves simply had given up hope
She continued to speak From your expression ah they said that they shouldnÆt even fight this rung Interesting They have good instincts you know They are not Squads 1 and 2 for nothing
Stan pressed his lips together Truthfully he also didnÆt know how much these two Squads could accomplish Even ClarissaÆs attempt had felt dubious to Stan There was only so much they could accomplish alone against Randidly
Even if they needed the information the brief skirmishes could provide throwing small numbers against Randidly just seemed foolish It was better to wait until they had the weight of numbers on their side then spring it all on him at once
Yet the back of StanÆs shirt was soaked in cold sweat The look he had seen in Mrs HamiltonÆs eyes she had planned on killing him She would have done it had his motivations not been sufficient to placate her
Hers was the hand that guided Donnyton in RandidlyÆs absence And for the first time since Stan had received his Soulskill from Randidly he realized that this was his fault At some point he had given up control of his life and treated it like it was a game Had he not been so callous or lazy or apathetic he could have steered himself away from this point
Yet now that he felt the hungry fangs of consequences sinking into his flesh
Stan was desperate He needed more information So he clasped his hands to hide the trembling and ignored Mrs HamiltonÆs amused gaze His eyes narrowed to slits as he looked out at the arena
He needed this
Randidly cracked his neck as he walked toward Kayle and PaoloÆs Squads You know I donÆt think weÆve ever fought all together before
Paolo grinned Unfortunately not Before you left Donnyton we were simply minor characters It took me a while for my natural talents to shine through the chaff And yet somehow I still feel obstructed
If you want to come for the Squad 1 spot IÆll welcome the challenge anytime Kayle said smugly Then he bowed at the waist to Randidly fully 90 degrees It is wonderful to meet you here There is no better way to know a man than to fight him And truly I have long admired everything you have accomplished
RandidlyÆs gaze slid from one to the other then the two of you must know each other pretty well
Unfortunately
There were some sacrifices on the road to greatness
Both answered with grimaces such perfect mirror images of each other that Randidly laughed Well then This match will certainly be fun You are both you feel strong And out of everyone here it is the two of you that seems the closest to where I want Donnyton to go
Both grinned KayleÆs sharp features and dark hair contrasting perfectly with PaoloÆs blunt face and clearly broken nose Randidly had meant the compliments both were strong And it wasnÆt just them A scan with Aether indicated that part of their strength came from the fact that everyone in these two Squads was over Level 62 There were no weak links here to exploit
As he examined the Squads there was abruptly a change in the air Quickly he refocused on Kayle and Paolo Randidly was sure that both were thinking of the small bits of advice that he had given them in the past