162: Death Sentence, Part Five

Death Sentence, Part Five

A blood-red aura began to surround Thomas. 

Tamira appeared above them, flying in slow circles in the rain. 

[Of course, she'd try to fuck with me more.] 

Neve glared up at her, raindrops hitting her cheeks as she watched her ask: 

"Are you sure?" 

Obviously, Neve had no clue what she was asking about. But, she doubted it would be anything good. 

[It doesn't matter,] Neve thought, narrowing her eyes at her opponent. [This fight is already over.] 

Checking her mana, Neve saw: 

MP: 400/1050

[Yeah, that's more than enough.] 

"I am," Thomas answered. 

"To take on the hatred of so many souls..." Tamira grinned down at him. "The desire to live truly is the most fundamental that all beings possess. This is why I like you, Thomas! I will grant your wish!" 

"Nothing matters except living," Thomas muttered. "Nothing matters except living!" 

Neve put a hand on Erin's shoulder, urging her to take a step back. 

[I'm guessing you're not going to tell me what's happening right now, are you?] Neve asked Tamira in her thoughts. 

"Of course, I will! After the fight, though~" 

[Hm. Fine.] 

When the product of this strange deal they were talking about made itself known, Neve felt shivers go down her spine. 

From the grey clouds above, spirits began to descend, siphoning toward Thomas. As she watched them fall into Thomas's body, Neve felt that she could recognize some of their faces. 

John, Stella, Carson, and many other players whose lives ended as a direct result of Thomas's actions, their haunting visages all coalesced within Thomas's body. 

"He's probably going to be stronger now," Neve whispered to her summon. "But, he shouldn't be able to do anything too different. Keep those notes in mind, and keep using your Techniques." 

[Regardless of whatever new things he's got up his sleeves, once Erin's dragon techniques fully stack her damage, this fight should be over.] 

"Understood." 

A manic grin came upon Thomas's face once he finished absorbing these souls. 

"I will live..." He hissed, fearful eyes fixed on Neve as he raised his daggers. "I WILL LIVE!" 

Once again, he cast the same spell that produced a clone, but this clone's aura was blood red. 

MP: 50/200

Both Thomas and the clone lunged at Erin. Erin blocked the clone's strikes but was unable to avoid getting a cut on her left shoulder from Thomas. 

Then, Thomas circled around the lamia, ignoring her, determined to reach Neve. 

[He's so much faster!] 

Neve was forced to use {Flash Shielding} on herself since the assassin reached her before Erin could stop him. 

MP: 350/1050 (+70% regen)

His daggers, now coated in crimson magic, bounced off the shield. Even with this buff, the Angel Set's passive effect held strong. Still, Neve did not want to find out how many hits it would take for this barrier to fall, so she stepped back. 

At the same time, Sayran's Holy Blade activated, a divine aura wrapping itself around Neve's sword. 

As though he was gliding across the wet floor, Thomas followed after her. 

He spun, using the dagger-tossing spell from before. Like the clone ability, this one seemed to have been altered as well, with each of the knives being longer and flying through the air faster. 

MP: 25/200

Neve saw it coming the instant the ability began, though, and ducked beneath the line of projectiles. Before she could even get back up, Thomas had blinked behind her. 

She considered using the plan she'd set up before, but she stopped herself. 

[Not yet.] 

Instead, she spent more mana on {Flash Shielding}, stopping the enhanced blades from sinking into her lower back. 

The healer ran forward. 

[I need space.] 

Up ahead, even with all of the buffs she'd received, Erin was having a hard time eliminating the clone. 

[I'll try this.] 

Neve ran straight into their fight. 

With her activated sword, she ran up to the clone and tried to slash at it from behind. The clone reacted in time to block it, of course. Neve's Speed wasn't exactly that high. However, this movie served its purpose, distracting it. 

With the clone facing away from Neve, Erin was able to plunge both her claws into its body using Dragon's Divine Bite. 

Thomas, however, managed to sneak a blow in as well.

He positioned himself beside the lamia and raked his daggers down her back before hopping away to avoid any counters. 

The clone disappeared and it seemed like Erin would as well in just a moment, given that Neve couldn't heal the horrible wound on her back. 

"Agh," Erin hissed. "These pests are fast. I apologize for getting hit like that." 

"No, don't worry," Neve told her. "You're doing great." 

Standing next to her, Neve noticed something. 

Although {Healing Beacon} wasn't applying to the new wounds on her back, the wound Thomas had applied just before that, on Erin's shoulder, was gone. 

[It's timed...] 

Nodding to herself, Neve took a deep breath. 

[Erin's probably got just about 15 seconds left... A little more damage, and...] 

"I won't be able to summon you again. Try to get one more hit in. Do whatever you can."

"I'll do my best!" 

Activating {The Lamia's Hunt} to increase her Speed even further, Erin tried to do as Neve ordered. 

Thomas dodged away from her claw swipes, his eyes alternating between the lamia and Neve. It was clear he wanted to get past her, but couldn't. That lack of focus led to the assassin getting tagged by another of Erin's Techniques, {Dragon's Divine Swipe}. Her right hand exuded flames as it dragged along the assassin's right leg. 

Neve cheered when she saw that. 

[Yes! That makes this next part a lot easier.] 

Erin then tried to squeeze one more move in but quickly disappeared. 

Neve did not summon her again. 

With her staff in one hand and her sword in the other, she took up a fighting stance. 

"Hahaha, can't summon your carry anymore?" Thomas asked with that same grin still on his face. "I-I still have more left. You're fucked! You hear me!? You're fucked!" 

In response, Neve took slow, calming breaths. 

Her hands were twitching. The bloodlust, the murderous rage within her begged the healer to walk forward and stick her sword in Thomas's neck, but she stopped herself. 

She had a plan and she was sticking to it. 

"Look!" 

Thomas then crouched and stuck a dagger in the ground. 

Neve knew what this was. She'd seen it in the notes Charlotte had given to her. 

A rune appeared beneath her and Neve dodged away from it. Thomas's mana didn't go down, signaling that these were Techniques he was using. 

The assassin then took both daggers into one hand and stuck the free one forward. 

Again, Neve knew what he was going for. She turned away. A flash rang out. As she turned back toward Thomas, she saw that his body was covered in red electricity. 

[That's {Crippling Charge},] Neve noted before jumping up into the air, knowing this move was designed to go after one's legs. 

"Don't you see!?" Thomas asked in between attacks. He kept going, spamming one Technique after another, as he said, "these gifts were given to me to kill you!  THE WORLD WANTS ME TO LIVE!" 

Neve's legs were getting somewhat tired, but that 50 Endurance was proving to be enough to keep her moving quickly. 

She waited. She knew what she wanted to do, but she needed to wait for the right move. 

Each of these Techniques almost made it look like Thomas was struggling to stay within the confines of reality, blinking in and out of existence as he used all manner of abilities. Rare and common, beginner Techniques and expert-level ones as well. 

But, thanks in large part to that pink-haired journalist, Neve was able to avoid them. 

Until, finally, Thomas used one Neve knew was the one. 

The move he went for was called {Plunging Death}. An attack that, as its name implied, saw Thomas leap high into the air with his daggers held in a reverse grip, aimed down at her. 

It was a beginner-level Technique that was extremely telegraphed, but with his mental state likely not being in the best of spots, Neve felt Thomas probably didn't care much. 

[If this doesn't work out then I'm just dead,] Neve thought, tapping her staff against the ground. [Everything needs to be perfect. My timing, my positioning, my follow-up. Everything.] 

She could feel it. Every battle leading up to this played back in her mind. All of her successes, all of her failures, all of her highlights, all of her missteps. And, all of it, she'd learned from for the purposes of making this one moment work. 

The last part of the plan, the only thing Neve could do to further ensure that this would work, was cast {Sacred Ground} under her own two feet, as subtly as possible, and heal herself with two casts of {Great Healing Dart} on herself as well. 

She'd regenerated enough mana, after all, so {Rorvan's Spirit} had served its purpose. 

MP: 330/1050

[... If it ain't broke, why fix it, right?] 

Thomas fell through the rain, and, finally, he reached her. 

Neve did not step out of the way. 

Trusting in {Sacred Ground} and her 50 Endurance, she allowed the assassin to plunge both his daggers into her chest. 

"Ahck!" 

Neve was pinned to the ground. 

The buffed daggers in her chest burned. Pain spread across her body, searing every inch of it. 

Neve coughed up blood. 

But, she was not dead. 

Thomas blinked. His mind registered the fact that he'd just landed this attack and his wild expression shifted to one of pure elation. 

"... I did it," he uttered, as Neve spat out more blood. Tearing his knives out of her, he raised them up to the sky. "I DID IT!" 

The sky replied with a crack of thunder. The rain kept falling over the two of them. Neve felt cold. Thomas looked so happy that Neve wondered if the water falling down his face was rain or tears of joy. 

As a pool of blood formed on top of the white rune Neve had created, Thomas looked down at her with a grin. 

"But, of course, you're still holding on, aren't you?" He asked, taking a step forward. "Do you understand yet? The single purest desire we humans hold is the desire to survive. Anyone, good or evil, young or old, rich or poor, anyone would push away everything if it meant not dying. Even humanity itself!" 

He stumbled back. Thomas looked tired. Indeed, Neve imagined that all of these skills likely had to have taken a toll on him. 

"I... I would kill anyone," Thomas muttered. "Soldiers, players, doctors, babies, mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers. I would kill anything and everything if it meant I get to live for one more day. I will not apologize for that, Neve," he said, raising up a dagger to finish her off, "because to want to survive is to be human." 

So, Thomas went to stab Neve one more time. 

But, the anti-healing effect from his daggers faded away just before the finishing blow could land. 

And, Neve activated {Equivalent Exchange}. 

MP: 305/1050

"AGH!?" Thomas fell back. 

The horrible stab wounds on Neve's chest faded away in an instant. Suddenly, Thomas's blood joined Neve's on the wet road as he coughed up crimson. 

MP: 280/1050

"W-What?" He asked, fear showing clearly in his eyes. "H-How...?" 

MP: 255/1050

Neve stood up as quickly as she could, taking her activated sword and rushing toward Thomas. 

Seeing her, he scurried up to his feet and blinked away, disappearing from where he'd been. 

But, unlike Spells, Techniques had cooldowns. 

He could not do that a second time. 

He then used {Into the Shadows} again, the skill that he'd used before the massacre on the Second Floor. Only, this time, instead of ending up behind Neve, pressing a knife against her neck, Thomas stumbled forward, falling to the ground.  0

Neve ran up to him. She still wasn't safe. She needed to do one more thing to be able to say that she was. 

Making it to his position, Neve immediately cut off his right hand. 

"AAAGH!" 

Screaming, Thomas reached up and tried to stop her by flailing at her legs. Neve took that opportunity and cut off his left hand as well. 

The assassin cried out. Now, finally, Neve could relax. 

It was all but over at this point. 

Now, as she looked down at him, dragging himself away from her with his legs, Neve smiled. 

"You don't need to know how I did any of this," Neve said quietly. "All you need to know is that you're going to die here." 

"No," Thomas muttered, crawling away. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" 

"You are," Neve said, calmly walking along with him. "Just like the high-level players, just like Kayla and all your other followers. Just like every single person whose soul you're using right now. You're going to end up just like them!" 

Neve stabbed his right foot. 

Thomas cried out again, but all the sound of his pain did was push her forward. All it did was make this even more satisfying. 

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Neve asked, grinning down at him. "It doesn't hurt nearly enough just yet, though." 

She stabbed his left foot, then. Thomas's cries slipped into Neve's ears like the sweet tunes of a master violinist. 

"PLEASE!" 

She'd seen this so many times. Every night, before she'd get up the next morning and take on whatever awful trials the Final Challenge had to offer, all so she could reach this moment now. 

Now, she understood how someone like Lia could behave the way she did. 

There really was something sweet about this. 

"... You know," Neve said, "I don't actually have access to good offensive spells. I'm a healer, after all. So, all I could do, as I killed monster, after monster, after monster to make my way here was use beginner spells. Like this one." 

She cast {Fireball}. 

MP: 270/1050

"Ack!" 

The flames, of course, weren't exactly that strong. But, that was the point. 

"I've had to use this spell so many times. Over," she cast it again, "and over, and over, and over." 

MP: 260/1050

MP: 250/1050

MP: 240/1050

"All..." Neve kept going. Soon, Thomas was covered in flames. "All so I could do this." 

"And, here you are," a voice told Neve, appearing above her. "You did it! You made it all the way to Thomas and, now, you have him at your mercy. That's a funny word, though, isn't it? Mercy." 

Neve raised a brow at the snake. 

"In researching your kind, I've found that, like other civilizations, yours has changed your values across the span of time. Certain things that were wrong become right, certain things that weren't bad become wrong, and so on. But, one of them has been consistently present throughout it all. Forgiveness." 

The snake made herself smaller, hovering in front of Neve. 

"The deal Thomas made with me was to allow me to bind his soul to the Final Challenge for all of eternity, in return for me giving him a small boost to his stats using the souls of the players he killed. In other words," she continued, "Thomas is screwed, on an existential level. He's going to spend the rest of his afterlife here, helping me with the Final Challenge. You, however, aren't!" 

Tamira flew around Neve. 

"This floor's boss, the 9th Floor, the 10th Floor after that. Your journey will keep going past this point. So... I ask you, don't you think it might be worth it to forgive him? Don't you think you might need some help in the future?" 

"... Help?" Neve asked. 

"Yeah," Tamira replied. "You know, so you don't die!" 

Hearing that, Neve took in her words and nodded. 

"Hm... that would make sense," Neve replied. "If I cared." 

Tamira blinked. 

"What?" 

Neve shrugged. 

"I don't really care what happens to me after this. Whether I end up in a monster's stomach or I beat the Final Challenge, or whatever the fuck. I don't really give a shit," Neve said, looking back down at Thomas. "I guess that's the difference between me and him. I don't really care if I live. All I care about is that *he doesn't*." 

With that being said, Neve turned Thomas over with her foot, so that she could look into his eyes as she did this.

He raised the stumps on his arms, pleading for his life. 

Then, she raised her holy blade into the air and plunged it into Thomas's neck. 

pqdm.com