The sound of flames. The popping sound wood makes when consumed by fire. The sight of a burning orphanage. An identification collar with his name on it. The past was never so present.
Von's memories mingled with Niero's laughter. The assassin didn't quite understand why his first memory of life had come to the surface at that particular moment. There was fire, there was a feeling of helplessness, there was a collar. There was just no meaning to any of it. Although confused, he didn't deny some similarities. In fact, he didn't care much. He just didn't want to die at that moment.
Von was unarmed. That was certainly not a good sign. How could he fight unarmed against someone who possessed a katana with supernatural powers? This was a losing battle. He had to think of something urgent.
Despite what many thought, Von was a very creative person when it came to assassinations, battles, and how to escape from a very needy woman. Disregarding the latter, his improvisational ability for battles and assassinations would be useful at this time.
A long time had passed since the first flickering of blades. Von would wager that 15 minutes had passed since the confrontation had begun. Even if willing, he knew that his stamina would not last long. He was an assassin, not a warrior.
All these thoughts and reflections were occurring during Niero's brief moment of laughter. Von's eyes analyzed quickly, the whole environment, all its structures, all its gaps and curves. All the tools he could use.
Von laughed too, causing Niero to frown, finding this behavior strange.
-I was just thinking to myself...- Von crossed his arms while making a reflective expression. - For you to have done all this, this Bella must be really hot. After this mission, I will certainly find your girl during the war, and fuck her in every way possible before I kill her.-
The flames of the katana increased in size, as did the eyes of the man holding it. Incredulous at Von's words, Niero went into a state of intense rage.
-YOU LITTLE SHIT! - Niero quickly ran towards Von, delivering a quick horizontal blow, which was deflected by Von, who did a somersault forward, turning his back on the Dendalian traitor.
A new sequence of blows by Niero was applied to Von, who dodged. The accuracy of his evasions was constantly decreasing. The Bloodhound was clearly tired. In addition to the battle itself, that ability to stop time was consuming much of his energy.
Unlike Von, Niero seemed to have recovered all his energy. That sword seemed to increase all of Niero's physical attributes. The angrier he got, the stronger he seemed to get.
More attempts to cut Von were made, but all without success.
In one of these evasions, Von picked up Klen's Kusarigama, which lay on the ground over the rest of his body.
More attempted blows. More evasions. And more debauched laughter from Von.
Von was at his limit.
Von's breathing was heavy. Tiredness consumed him from head to toe. Not even adrenaline could keep him up. That would be the end of him.
Von took the Kusarigama chain in his left hand and wrapped it around his own neck.
-You're a piece of trash, kid. Would you rather kill yourself than die honorably in battle?-
Niero found Von's attitude strange, but he still mocked what he saw.
In silence, Von slowly pulled both ends of the Kusarigama, each one to one side, to asphyxiate himself.
Niero watched the scene still. After Von's comments about what he would do to with Bella, the Dendalian wished the worst death for the assassin. And there would be nothing worse for a man known for his killing skills than suicide. He would always be remembered as a pathetic man who preferred to kill himself rather than lose an honorable battle. A weak Cerminian.
A big smile was born on Von's lips as he lost his consciousness due to asphyxiation. That self suffocation would not kill him, but would render him unconscious for a few seconds. That was all he needed.
His vision blurred, his smile vanished. His eyes rolled back and closed. His body lost balance and finally he was unconscious.
And the time... The time returned to normal.
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The force of the engines of the Deep Spear caused the lower parts of the ship to tremble. Its metal walls creaked like nocturnal animals agonizing in pain. That place, even at around 11 o'clock in the morning, could be described as haunted.
Two and a half bodies lay on the ground. Blood and cuts all over the walls of the place.
Von was covered in blood, as he had fallen on the rest of Klen's body, which had cushioned his fall when he lost consciousness. Two meters away from the assassin, Niero's body was lying face down. His katana was lying beside him. Behind his head were two perforations caused by revolver bullets.
When he saw the blades of his glove being destroyed, Von realized that it would be impossible to beat Niero unarmed.No direct confrontation weapon would work, and by Niero's abilities, even if Von had a pistol at his disposal, the bullets would be easily defended. Furthermore, firearms would not work in stopped time. With that in mind, Von realized that he would need to blind Niero, but not literally. Emotionally.
Remembering Niero's motivations, Von understood that the blond man was extremely passionate, even if his personality didn't show it. He realized this also when he noticed the Dendalian traitor's failed attempt to provoke him by using Sophie's name in an offensive sentence.
With every evasion and every laugh, Niero became more blind. His pride made him lose his attention to detail. But that alone would not save Von's life, it would only condemn her more quickly.
Von didn't know the origin of his power to stop time. He didn't know how to activate it, nor why it activated. He also had no idea how to stop it, but he figured that if he was at the extreme end of his exhaustion, maybe it would stop.
And he bet on it.
At the beginning of the battle, Niero tried to shoot Von twice. Seeing that the bullets remained static in the air, he gave up using the revolver. But the bullets were still there, ready to reach their destination.
Von's every evasive move was planned. With each somersault he made, he repositioned Niero so that his back was to the bullets.
When he managed to leave Niero exactly in the path of the bullets, Von performed the theatrics in which he simulated his suicide. Marchiello Niero, although a traitor, was a man who honored his battles, and for him, dying in battle was something worthy. Having acquired an extreme hatred for Von, he would love to see the assassin die in the most undignified way possible. His will blinded him, blinded him to the point of not realizing that when time returned to normal, everything would be in its proper place.
Von slowly regained consciousness, his eyes slowly opening as he tried to understand what had happened. He looked to the side and saw Niero's body lying on the ground.
His plan had worked.
With Klen's blood stained and sore body, Von slowly stood up, removed the Kusarigama chain from his neck and walked closer to Niero's body. With difficulty, he bent down to pick up the Dendalian traitor's katana.
As he touched the katana, suddenly one of the greatest pains he had ever felt in his life took over his body. It was as if he was being burned alive. As if the black flames of that sword possessed him. He felt all his insides burning with pain. His mind became foggy. His eyes became totally black. Every vein in his body bulged. He could feel an extremely powerful energy coming out of the sword and lodging itself in his body. In his soul.
In the face of the pain, all he could do was scream.
-AaaAAaaaAaAAaaaAaAAaAaAAAaaAaaaAAaAaRRRGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seconds later, Von lost consciousness again.
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Everyone present on the main deck was in a state of shock. The scream, the sudden dusk, the tremors and tsunamis made even Cermina's most ruthless killers feel cold in their spines. After the tense feeling passed, Sophie forgot about the thoughts she'd just had about being better on her own and went back to putting her father's subordinate first.
-Fuck his orders.- Sophie ran towards the metal door leading to the staircase at the bottom of the ship.
Lizandra after a few seconds, decided to follow Sophie. But before she went, she ordered Tilian to keep those crew members under control.
The sound of the impact of Sophie's boot against the metal of the staircase showed how strong her steps were being. It also showed how much Sophie cared for Von.
Reaching the corridor leading to the block where the food deposit was located, Sophie could see from afar the blood stains and fire all over the place. The speed of her steps gradually increased until they became a race. Her breathing was short, the fear of losing Von was all she could feel.
As she approached, she could see two bodies lying on the ground. Sophie felt like crying. She ran to Von, who was unconscious. She took his pulse to see if he was still alive. Sophie couldn't hold back her tears when she realized that Von was breathing. She hugged him as tears streamed down her face.
Lizandra arrived seconds after Sophie. She noticed a dead Niero, but that was the least of her worries. For Liz, seeing Sophie cry was something rare. She never thought she would see this scene. General Chasseur's assassin daughter had always been one of the greatest references of strength and posture for the women of Cermina, even as a teenager, Sophie had always represented an ideal of power that inspired the young women of Cermina. One of these young women was Liz, who despite her age, was always inspired by Sophie's perseverance. The two women were not best friends, but there was a certain bond between them. They had interacted several times in High Command meetings, which made them both grow closer despite their opposite personalities.
Sophie's tears showed Liz how much she cared about General Chasseur's subordinate. To her, Von was just a trusted agent of the High Command, but watching this scene, she realized that he was more influential than she thought. Liz suspected that Sophie and Von were lovers. Her suspicions had been diminished by the previous night, but everything was being confirmed at that moment. And with that, she had the confirmation Tyr needed.
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-Why are you shaking all over, Denver? -
-Didn't you hear that scream? - Denver answered Gior, who kept his full attention on the rudder.
-I heard it. Noisy, right?- Gior replied with the serenity of someone who was not affected at all by all the phenomena.
-How can you be so calm after seeing all this happen?- Denver looked at Gior, surprised by his calmness.
-When serving Cermina, similar situations are common.- Gior smiled at Denver without looking at him.
Can I ask you a personal question?- The gray-haired man walked to the window of the navigation cabin.
- Sure, ask anything you like?- Gior's look was amused.
-What is so good about Cermina that you would agree to go to war for her?
-So you know about the war? - Gior continued with the same expression.
-The old ship's captain told me. He also told me about the cargo we are carrying. - Denver felt apprehensive about the question he had just asked. He was afraid that he had crossed a dangerous line.
-What good is Cermina? Nothing. Only members of the High Command have an enviable life. - His attention returned to the helm and the open sea. - To be honest, everything in Cermina is about personal honor, transparency of desires, and achieving your personal goals. That's basically what war is about, and for me that's enough. It's fun. -
-The Cerminian values are very different from what I imagined.- Denver was surprised by Gior's answer.
-And what did you expect? - Gior looked again at Denver.
-Sadistic, empathyless animals who only enjoy gratuitous and meaningless violence. - Denver felt more comfortable to speak his mind.
-Oh, we are that too. - Gior laughed amusedly, and Denver did the same.
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The moon appeared in the sky, sharing space with the sun that had not yet set. It was 17:00 in the afternoon, and all the crew members had returned to the ship's facilities. This time, without ceremony, the remains of Klen's body and Niero's body were thrown overboard. Some men cleaned the food storage block while others worked as usual.
Tilian guarded the "cargo" gates together with Liz. Both were silent and slightly exhausted from the stress of the day.
Sophie had spent the whole day taking care of Von. The Bloodhound had not yet awakened. His head was lying on Sophie's legs, stroking his brown hair as she lost herself in thought.
A little less than twelve hours ago she had found herself immersed in lust in that room. Drowning in every scratch and kiss from Von. Convincing herself that this was just desire, and that there was no more room to be in love. It was just sex, at least that's what she wanted to believe. It would be easier to summarize their relationship as just sexual, maybe for Von it was, she thought. But for her, it was impossible to hide the importance of her father's subordinate.
The man who slept with his head resting on her legs had become the most important part of her life. Seeing him lying on the floor in blood and imagining his death was more painful than the torture her father had put her through after failing in the Dendalian embassy mission.
Her feelings had evolved very quickly. A few weeks ago she had told him that she was in love. And now, she was admitting to herself that she would rather have her death than his.
She felt foolish for loving someone who doesn't love her. But after today, she wouldn't care about his feelings about her, she would only care about her own desire to be with him, affectively or sexually.
-Soph...- Von whispered Sophie's name in his sleep.
-You idiot.- Sophie couldn't hide her smile at hearing that man speak her name while he was dreaming.
Despite the frequent complications in the mission, the hard part had not begun. The five assassins knew that when they arrived in Innsmouth, they would be going to war after. If the traces of war had already eliminated four of the best agents of an entire nation, they wondered what the war would be all about.