159: Death Sentence, Part Two

Death Sentence, Part Two

{Neve}

"So... Can I expect to meet you again? If you survive the encounter with this 'Thomas' player, of course." 

"Sure," Neve replied. "Thanks again." 

"No problem~" Charlotte told her with a little smirk. "People's hopes are riding on your shoulders, you know." 

"... Is that right?" 

The call ended with that question hanging in the air. 

Even after the call dropped, though, Charlotte's visage remained in Neve's mind. 

[... So, that's the person who's been sending me messages all this time? Wow... She's... Wow.] 

Neve was reminded of what she felt like when she first saw Stella in person when the 100 players taking on the Final Challenge first walked in through that portal. 

Now, of course, Neve had quite a lot to think about, so the journalist's looks didn't rend her heart quite as badly, but still... she couldn't help but notice.

"Oh? The woman disappeared," Erin said, slithering up to her. "Who was that beauty?" 

Neve raised a brow at Erin before responding:

"She's a journalist from my world." 

"A journalist?" Erin tilted her head. 

"You don't have those? People who report on news and things that happen, so other people can be aware of it." 

"Ah, I see. What did she tell you?" 

"She gave me these notes," Neve pulled the notepad out of her Inventory. "According to her, this thing details the types of moves and techniques that pla- uh, fighters like Thomas, the guy I'm looking for, can use." 

"Guy?" Erin asked. "Singular? Wasn't it a group before?" 

"He's the only one left," Neve stated. "And... He's the one who killed Ahlakan."

A sad expression instantly fell upon Erin's face. Neve inhaled slowly, feeling her anger simmering just beneath her skin. 

"So," she said, as she opened the notes. "You're not gonna tell me anything about being patient? Taking breaks? Letting go?" 

"Of course, not," Erin responded. "That man deserves to have his head cut off. But... I do wonder what you will do after this is done." 

"... Maybe we can hope the next world has a beach in it," Neve said with the tiniest smile possible. "We could finally go take that walk you wanted." 

For some reason, Erin didn't seem too enthused. 

Setting that aside, though, Neve went through the notes she'd been given. 

As she'd expected, many of these skills were elementary. Beginner-level Spells and Techniques. 

Still, she sat down on the same bench where she'd talked to Carson so long ago, trying to commit these words to memory. As someone who'd only stopped relying on {Healing Ground} once she got a hold of {Great Healing Dart}, she knew that there was a high chance Thomas would still be using at least some of these things. 

So, she began to read. The first Technique she saw was: 

Into the Shadows

{Technique}

{Turn invisible for two seconds.} 

{Cooldown: 1 minute}

Neve's eyes narrowed. 

[Right... This was the ability that allowed Thomas to live through the massacre. And, it's literally the first ability I see here because it's a completely amateurish Technique. Hm. I wonder if maybe he's found an upgraded version of this by now.] 

The next item on the list read: 

Flash

{Spell}

{Produce a blinding flash from your hands. Effectiveness is measured based on the disparity between your Precision and that of your target. If the target looks away, the spell will have no effect.}

{MP Cost: 25}

"Hm... That sounds annoying," Neve muttered. "Glad I found out about it, though." 

She could say the same thing for most of these techniques. Conventional as they were, Neve had very little trouble internalizing them all. 

[Okay... Before I keep going, I should do this.] 

Neve closed the notepad and went over to Ahlakan's body, with Erin trailing behind her. 

She didn't want to just leave it here like this like it was part of the trash littering the alley. 

Her eyes fell on Ahlakan and, instantly, Neve looked away. 

The fury fueling her spirit right now was almost replaced by something far less useful. 

So, wanting to make this quick, Neve thought: 

[I'm sorry.] 

And, then used {Fireball} to set Ahlakan's body on fire. 

Erin's eyes alternated between the burning body and Neve. Neither of them said anything. 

The only sound in the air was the crackling of the flames and the cracking of Neve's knuckles as she balled her hands up. 

---

A couple of hours passed with Neve reading and re-reading everything she was given. Later, something unfortunate began to occur. 

Neve began to struggle with staying awake. 

The world turned black for just a split second, and the next thing she knew, Neve was just barely managing to keep her head from falling. 

[Agh, fuck.] She thought, yawning. [When was the last time I actually slept?] 

She'd had a few naps here and there as she progressed past the last couple of floors, but none of those brief moments of rest could really be considered "sleeping". 

And, up until now, the anger flowing freely through her veins had been doing a good job of keeping her awake. But, why was it suddenly struggling now? 

A pair of warm hands fell gently on Neve's shoulders. 

"How's the research going?" Erin asked with a voice that was a lot sweeter than normal. 

"I'm-" Neve yawned again. "I'm almost done."  2

Erin then went from having her hands on Neve's shoulders to having her arms wrapped around her, like... 

Well, like a snake coiling around Neve's body. 

The lamia whispered in her ear: 

"Perhaps you could take a moment to get some rest?" 

Neve's head lowered. Her eyes fell to the warm arms currently tempting her to take some time off. 

Something she felt she couldn't do. 

"I have to attack that guy soon," Neve replied. "If I don't, I'm just giving him an opportunity to prepare." 

"Don't you think you need an opportunity to prepare as well?" Erin asked, keeping her tone sweet. "A tired fighter rarely performs at the same level as they normally would." 

"... I don't think I'd be able to sleep even if I tried," Neve muttered. 

She felt that the only thing keeping the image of Ahlakan's body, hanging from that wall and dripping fresh blood, from popping back up in her mind was the fact that she refused to close her eyes. 

The lamia slid in front of her, then, lowering herself so that she and Neve were at eye level. 

Her hands now laid on her knees, as she said: 

"Your body seems to disagree. You should try it. If you can get even a couple of hours of rest in before your fight, maybe that could make the difference." 

Almost as though her body was actively trying to convince her as well, Neve's head fell and she had to pick herself back up. 

Erin chuckled, though she kept an understanding smile on her face. 

"You don't have to sleep for too long. Just tell me how much time you think you can afford and I'll wake you once that time passes. Or, if that man should show up all of a sudden." 

Again, Neve nearly fell asleep right there. 

So, reluctantly, she nodded and stood up. 

"... 6 hours," Neve stated. "You should read through the notes too, so you know what to expect when we take him on. Some of the terms might be confusing, but I think you'll understand the gist of what you see," she said before she handed Erin the same notes she'd been looking at. 

"Understood." 

Walking to the tent silently, Neve swapped out her Angel Set for some pajamas.

"... If he shows up-"

"I will wake you the instant I see him. You have my royal word."

Sighing, Neve collapsed onto her bed. 

The one she'd never share with Ahlakan again. 

Just that thought alone was enough to get her eyes watery. 

Erin sat down on the bed's edge. She ran a hand gently down Neve's hair, as the healer did what she had been trying so hard to avoid and closed her eyes. 

To her surprise, it didn't take too long for her consciousness to fade. 

It was a dreamless night. When Neve's eyes opened again, Erin was still exactly where Neve had last seen her, with that notepad in her hands. 

She noticed that Neve was awake and closed the notepad, giving her that warm smile again. 

"Sleep well?" 

"..." Neve rubbed her eyes. "I'm gonna get ready." 

"Alright then." 

After going through her morning routine, Neve checked her notifications. 

Thousands upon thousands, naturally. Donations, enough to get Neve's WST total back to 50k, messages, and, most importantly, gifts. 

[... I can't use most of this. I guess some people just forgot about the class restriction. I wish I could filter some of this stuff.] 

Still, there were items in this list that Neve could use, though. 

Spells, weapons, armor, and accessories. 

All of which she hoped would be useful when the time finally arrived to take Thomas's life. 

[Soon,] she promised herself. [Soon.] 

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