I didn't think that Alan would show up in the Wayne Manor. It was quite the coincidence – in fact it was so coincidental that I wondered if it was a trap.
Surely I couldn't be this lucky.
Perhaps I should take a step back and explain what was going on before I get too ahead of myself.
Earlier that day, I had discussed our strategy with Duke Bryce Wayne and the others.
"If possible, I would like to return to my manor," Bryce had explained. "As I said, there are plenty of equipment, vehicles and wealth I have left there."
The Bat. Right. Bryce had mentioned it earlier, so it made sense that we were returning to retrieve the stuff he had left in his burned down manor.
As Chris and the others had said, Bryce's wealth and resources would be sorely needed in the coming days, especially in the war against the League of Shadows.
"All right, let's go," I had agreed. "I want to see what you have."
"Surely they won't be as fancy as yours," Bryce had laughed, indicating my laser mines, shuriken and other hi-tech devices that I had stored in my utility harness. "You look like a…Predator."
Everyone had stared at him.
"A what now?" Chris had asked.
"A Predator."
"Why predator?" Wilson had asked, confused.
"Duke Wayne is most likely referring to a hi-tech, spacefaring species of aliens who hunt humans and collect their skulls as trophies," Stella had explained. Now everyone turned to stare at her. She simply shrugged and continued. "It's a movie franchise. These aliens tend to have hi-tech weaponry, like plasma guns and the ability to turn invisible."
I swear, this girl also reincarnated from another world.
"My favorite incarnation is from the second Aliens versus Predator movie," I had added jokingly. "I always wanted to pretend to be Wolf."
That was why I soloed the entire xenomorph infestation in Gunnison Town recently. To pay homage to Wolf and act as a cleaner. The guy was badass, and who didn't want to be a badass?
"Whatever the case, it's irrelevant here." Stella had turned back to Bryce, returning to the topic at hand. "We should proceed to the Wayne Manor immediately. There is no telling when the assassins or the League of Shadows would return to ransack the place. It's a miracle they hadn't found your equipment and resources."
"Like I said, they aren't robbers or thieves. They aren't interested in what I have." Bryce had held up his hands and shook his head. "The assassins would have better weapons and equipment than I do."
"It depends, actually." I had shrugged. "If you have a bunch of armored tanks or vehicles in there, then they might actually steal those."
"Nah, those are in Wayne Enterprises, the Applied Science division. It's in another building altogether." Bryce had waved my concerns away. It disturbed me that he had some more stuff hidden away somewhere else, but he insisted that those were gone by now.
And so we returned to the Wayne Manor later that day, only for me to pick something up.
"Someone's in there," I told the group, causing them to freeze. Bryce frowned, but he nodded in agreement.
"I sense him too. A user of shadow magic. Someone from the League of Shadows. Someone familiar too…this presence…"
Bryce scowled and clenched his fist in anger.
"If I'm not mistaken, this presence is the same as the one who attacked me about a month or so ago! The fucker who tried to assassinate me, and murdered all of my servants!"
"Alan Assam?" I asked, having figured it out when Bryce described the event to me. I also resisted asking him if his head butler happened to be an old man named Alfred Pennyworth. That would be way too unsubtle.
"If you say so. I don't know his name, it's not as if he'll tell me." Bryce continued to scowl. "I just called him Bane."
"Are you serious?!" Stella shouted, throwing her hands up in annoyance. Everyone turned to stare at her and she cleared her throat. "Never mind, it's nothing."
"Let me say hi to an old friend," I told Bryce. "Sorry, but this guy is mine."
"I lost to him the other time, so I have no right to steal this prey from you." Bryce shrugged, though I could tell that he was frustrated. "But if you lose this time, then the next chance we get, he will be mine."
"Fair enough."
I drew Nocturne and stabbed its black blade into the ground. The next moment, I melted into the shadows and disappeared into the darkness. Moving through the pitch blackness that I had taken to calling the shadow road or shadow corridor, I crept close to Alan's position. To my surprise, it seemed that he was wounded.
Not that I cared. I wasn't honorable enough to wait for Alan to fully heal before attacking him. He wasn't someone I could afford to underestimate. He was too dangerous to be left alive. Also, this was the best chance I would get. Alan was as slippery as an eel. If I didn't take this opportunity, he might escape and I wouldn't find him for another few months.
Also, I would rather ensure his death than be honorable.
So I stabbed him with Nocturne through the shadows…or tried to.
"!!"
As expected of Alan, his instincts were topnotch. In a single motion, he threw himself away and rolled to his feet, avoiding my deadly strike. Before I could follow up with another attack, he cursed under his breath, muttering, "No choice," and vanished into the shadows and tried to escape.
Fortunately, I could see where he was going through the shadow corridor and I followed him closely. Refusing to lose him, I pursued him until he reached the distance limit of the spell. I also exited not far away, already conjuring a second spell.
Good thing I did, because Alan was casting another shadow spell. Before he could throw himself into the shadows, I threw an icicle in his direction.
"Ugh!"
Alan threw himself away from the shadows he was about to dive into, and rolled back to his feet. He then glanced in my direction and his jaw dropped.
"Eh?"
I grinned as I moved out from the darkness, pointing Nocturne at him. At the same time, I conjured a few icicles, ready to throw them if he tried to exit via the shadows again. Alan gawked at me for a moment, then he narrowed his eyes.
"You…!"
"It's been a long time, Alan," I responded, amused. He glared at me.
"It has, indeed." The assassin tightened his grip on his daggers and readied for a fight. "I never expected to see you here, Klein."
"I'm sure you didn't."
Taking a deep breath, I then charged at him. Alan steeled himself, trying to dive into the shadows, only for an icicle to impale the place he would occupy if he had moved toward that particular area.
Then I was upon him, swinging my Nocturne and trying to cleave his head from his shoulders. Alan deflected my black blade, sparks flying between us as metal screamed against metal. I let go of Nocturne with one hand and drew Blood Angel to strike at him from below, but the assassin quickly parried the crimson blade with his dagger.
We exchanged another few blows, swords against daggers. Perspiration poured down Alan's face and he looked unnaturally pale. His breathing was heavy and ragged and he was visibly in pain. Even so, he fought with impeccable discipline and steeled himself against agony that would have been debilitating to any other warrior.
I then ducked under his dagger and kicked him in his midriff. This time, Alan was unable to suppress a scream and he was sent flying. He tried to scramble to his feet, but I saw from the darkening of his clothing that he was bleeding.
Ah, he must have been wounded recently, and my kick had reopened that injury.
Alan cursed under his breath and tried to dive into the shadows again, but I covered the place in frost, causing him to collide with gleaming ice instead. He cursed and rolled away, only to evade another blow from me when I thrust Nocturne downward.
Having missed the first strike, I then swept Blood Angel from another direction, but he crossed his daggers and blocked the crimson blade. Gritting his teeth and enduring the pain, he tried to force me back.
I stomped on his gut, causing him to scream and momentarily black out from the pain. He recovered a few moments later, only to find his entire body frozen solid.
Being a skilled assassin, Alan was able to gather his battle aura and shatter the ice, but currently he was too weak. His injuries, accumulated with fatigue, rendered him vulnerable and unable to break free totally.
All that was free from the ice was his head. He coughed and struggled, to no avail. He glared at me defiantly.
I wasted no time, bringing my swords up to decapitate him. For a moment, Alan faltered and he quickly shook his head.
"W…wait!" he pleaded. "Don't kill me yet! This whole thing is a trap!"
"A trap?" I repeated incredulously. Seeing that he had my attention, Alan quickly nodded and continued.
"Yeah! I…I was ambushd by Ralph Da Ghoul, the leader of the League of Shadows! He's also Sheldon Umbra, the Divine General in command of the Shadow Legion! He planned all this! He set me up so that you will kill me!"
"Oh, I already know that Ralph Da Ghoul is Sheldon Umbra," I replied. Alan swallowed.
"Yeah! He plans to kill us all! If you kill me now, then nobody will know how to find him! He will continue to operate secretly in the Havan Kingdom…and then eradicate humanity! I can lead you to his base! I can bring you there, and we will eliminate him together! For humanity's sake!"
For a moment, I stared at him in disbelief, wondering if he was kidding.
"Please, Klein!" Alan begged. "We used to work together in the hero party! You of all people should understand what a threat Sheldon Umbra is! If we don't eliminate him, he will destroy humanity! He will bring ruin to the Havan Kingdom!"
"Dude, you can stop pretending." I shook my head in disgust. "Do you really think I wouldn't know?"
"Huh? Wouldn't know…?" Alan trailed away. I rolled my eyes.
"Come on, it's too obvious. Any fool would have figured out that you're just trying to make use of me. You want to pit me against your former master, to set me up so that I can eliminate Ralph Da Ghoul, or vice versa. Whoever survives would be weakened or seriously injured, and you'll take advantage of that to kill the survivor. Kill two birds with one stone…or a hunter waiting for two tigers to seriously injure each other. Or was it the crane and the clam? Can't remember what idiom that was."
Alan blanched when he heard that, and he frantically shook his head.
"No! I'm being sincere! Please! You have to listen to me! I won't betray you!"
"You mean you won't betray me this time?" I snorted. "As if you haven't already betrayed me with the rest."
"Ah, that was…that was all Miranda's idea! She convinced Herman and the rest to go along with it! I was always against it, but if I didn't go along, they would kill me!"
He was lying. No one in the Hero party, other than me, had the ability to kill Alan. He was the most skilled and strongest among us. Even if he couldn't win against the rest of the party working together, he could very well escape with his shadow magic.
I knew he was acting. He thought he knew me based on our past experience working together and was appealing to my sense of compassion. When he saw that I had seen through everything, he sighed and shook his head. Turning serious, he regarded me coolly.
"Fine. I did know you wouldn't forgive me." He sighed again. "But please listen to my request. At least allow me to fight by your side and take down Ralph Da Ghoul before you take my life. Please grant me that honor at least. As long as we kill Ralph Da Ghoul, you can do whatever you want with me afterward. You can even kill me if that's what will satisfy your need for vengeance."
"And you think I will believe you?" I asked incredulously. "After all you've done to me, you think I will trust you to keep your word?"
"You are the kind-hearted mage, after all," Alan replied calmly, meeting my gaze evenly. "If there's anyone who will forgive me and give me a chance, it will be you."
A grin spread over my face and I slowly nodded.
"Perhaps a saint might forgive you…"
His eyes brightened with hope, only to widen when he saw me raise my swords.
"…but I am no saint."
With that, I decapitated Alan in a single stroke and sent his head flying from his shoulders.