RD 4 Ch 34

There was nothing special about the brute force fighting behind it. She was likely trying to lull me into a sense of complacency for her next sneak attack.

I would have to keep my eyes open for it, yet the more I watched her the more I felt a pang of pity from where I’d been hoping to get satisfaction.

She activated some device hidden up her sleeve that would stab into my thigh.

Instead of trying to identify the move, I focused on regenerating, feeling the power surge through my body.

Suddenly, a sword pierced my foot. I didn't flinch, merely blinked at her as she jumped back, wiping blood from her lips and sneering triumphantly.

But as she sneered, I calmly stepped off the blade and set my foot back down. In her eyes I needed become indomitable, a force she could never even hope to touch. "You owe me a new boot," I said, crossing my arms and waiting for her next move.

Venthra was a pawn. But she was clearly Vidar's pawn and fought like it too. There was nothing special in her skills. They were all basic save for a few sneak attacks. Perfect to catch a seasoned fighter unaware. She was literally trained and raised to kill such people.

A tool, nothing more.

I hadn't known of her in my past life, which spoke volumes about her fate once she outlived her usefulness.

There had long been rumors that Vidar had poisoned the current chieftain of the Borrson clan before challenging him to a duel and seizing leadership. Now, I was facing a woman filled with venomous abilities and a penchant for deception.

"I feel sorry for you, Venthra," I said, just loud enough for her to hear.

She charged at me again, leaving herself vulnerable in her single-minded pursuit. Whether she could poison me or not, either she or Vidar would try to deal with me later after the poison had robbed me of some strength.

I allowed her next hidden dagger to pierce my side, though it didn't penetrate as deeply as she'd hoped.

[Poisoned - Body Rotting Poison D]

[Poison Resisted]

Could she be any more obvious? At least I focused on my resistances, perhaps it was my mothers poisoning that caused me to have such a focus, but either way, I was glad for it now.

I caught her by the throat with one hand, while the other slammed into her stomach only for me to let go of her. Trading a scratch for this was a powerful statement. 

She doubled over, spitting blood onto her own boots. Her breath came out in ragged gasps.

"Venthra, I wasn't raised amongst the Borrsons," I said to her, grabbing her hair by the roots. "My understanding is, when one person beats another, it's because they're teaching them a lesson. Let me give you some valuable advice. You've been around Vidar your whole life. I'm sure he actually raised you in some capacity, whatever that might be. But I hate to tell you, your future doesn't look very bright."

She glared hatefully at me, but without air in her lungs, she wasn’t ready to fight yet again. Perhaps she was ready to listen.

"You've gone around poisoning plenty of people, including my mother, Ellie Heros. You remember her, don't you?" I said softly enough that the crowd wouldn’t hear.

Venthra tilted her head up slightly just to look me in the eyes.

I could see much of the fight had died in them, instead a little fear blossoming.

Fighting someone who her father didn’t get along with was one thing, fighting the man whose mother she tried to kill? Well, a fight like that tended to have a very different outcome. Her life flashed in her eyes.

"Good. I don't hate you. I pity you. It's like blaming a knife rather than the man who wields it. You're nothing but a tool, one that's rapidly losing its usefulness. If I had to guess, in the next two years, you'll be either asked to plan to kill the current chieftain, or you'll be handed a plan that you're to poison him. And once you do that, Vidar will challenge him, defeat him, leaving you nothing but the last loose end. Tell me, Venthra," I stared into her eyes that were trembling back at me, "What does Vidar do to loose ends? I am guessing his poisoner knows the answer." I let go of her hair and she fell to her knees.

She clenched her teeth so hard I thought they were about to crack. Perhaps part of her did, though. Because she did not try to attack back like the feral fighter she’d been uptil now.

"What is the meaning of this?" Vidar boomed, storming into the arena.

I ignored him, focusing on Venthra for another moment, even though her head snapped in his direction like a good little dog. I needed to push her a little harder. "Remember that I beat you this easily, and I wasn't even aware of your tricks. Vidar must be completely aware of each and every one of your abilities. He probably taught you most of them, and gave you the items you use for the others. Every single one of your tricks is well within his grasp, and he and I are of equal strength. Just think how quickly he could take care of you once you became that loose end." I offered.

She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, as Vidar stepped up to the edge of the arena.

Only then did I give him my attention, because the rest of the room certainly couldn't ignore him.

"Oh, just a little Borrson duel. One you were well aware was happening.” I told him, reaching over and lifting Venthra up.

But his eyes were locked on Venthra, who clearly lost miserably. “It looks like you just used her as a punching bag."

Ozzy scoffed behind Vidar, apparently done with the brutish manners.

"Yeah, but that's the Borrson way. How else will you learn new tricks?" I said, grabbing Venthra by the shoulder and turning her to me slightly before clasping her hand in a more formal way.

"Wonderful duel," I said, only to watch as her eyes jumped in surprise, probably not only by my shift in attitude towards her, but she probably felt the second that our spatial rings brushed together and I put something in her spatial ring. "Fighting is how we grow better and learn ways to fight different styles. Who knows, she might have picked up a new trick while she was here with me."

Venthra started to look at her ring before hiding the gesture. Good, hide it from Vidar until you need it. That she’d even think of hiding from him told me that I’d made the cracks and planted the seed of doubt. Hopefully it would blossom and if I knew one thing, it was that those roots were strong enough to rip apart any bond.

I flashed Vidar a broad smile and shot Venthra a wink, "But it seems the lesson's over. She probably can't handle any more lessons for the time being. Do remember that one, Venthra, for when things get dire." I nodded at her and stepped away, only for Vidar to jump down into the arena himself.

He was heavy enough that the arena boomed with his landing. "Well, given you have been so kind as to teach my daughter a lesson. Why don't I returner the favor and teach you one?" Vidar said, standing tall.

If it went the way he should have expected, I’d be poisoned and slowly weakening. Fucking coward used his adoptive daughter to soften his targets.

I knew I could probably put up a good fight against him. But in order to beat him, I would have to pull out all of my aces, of which he certainly had plenty of his own given his position amongst the Borrson. And there were likely a few tricks in his spatial ring that could give me real trouble.

Even if my father’s side were brutes, they wouldn’t send out their representative without ways to ensure he could return.

"Now, now, Vidar, he's not even of the same generation," Ozzy argued, casting me a worried glance.

"What do you mean? He's my cousin." Vidar held out what looked like a familial gesture, like he was calling me to give him a giant hug.

"It's true. My father and his were brothers. Only his father cast mine out of the clan and Thorin didn't have me for many years later." I added.

Ozzy scoffed. "Fucking Borrsons. He's eighteen."

"Nineteen," Circe corrected from the stands. "I'm not robbing the cradle that badly." 

Her words caused several people to do a double take, and it was my turn to roll my eyes.

"She's joking. Don't encourage her flirting." I now understand why Circe was a legendary nymph.

The older woman laughed in the stands and I was even having trouble understanding her motives. Not a problem for now. Vidar was a much bigger concern.

"If you want to go a few rounds though, Vidar, I'd be happy to see what there is to learn." I activated Soul Gaze and quickly began scanning through his skills as quickly as I could in order to prepare.

He still had me beat in raw stats, and he had even grown significantly since I'd last seen him. Everyone was taking full advantage of the oncoming wave of demons and the plethora of instances.

Vidar, despite his constant travels for the Borrson clan, seemed to have seized plenty of opportunities while I was helping others grow stronger as well.

Still, I wasn’t out of his weight class. If I played this right, he might be a little hesitant to pick another fight with me. Last Stand should keep me from the worst case scenario, but I’d rather not reveal it if I could.

For now, I just needed to understand my opponent better.

"See?" he gestured to me. "A Borrson would never back down from a fight."

Thorin told me that even before they awakened they had to fight beasts like Gorillas though it was a hundred to one. Borrson teens didn’t even need prompting, they threw themselves at the fight without hesitation.

"Do you want to include me in your Clan that badly?" I asked. "The Borrson clan must be desperate for more members. I've heard there's been a lot of infighting in the clan lately. I wonder, did Venthra's mother get caught up in that? Perhaps you adopted her out of some sense of guilt." I continued, planting seeds of doubt in Venthra's mind.

It was a cruel thing to do, but I needed to chip away at their relationship if I was to turn her against Vidar. Her flipping was a critical step in the plan I was hastily putting together.

"Shut up and fight," Vidar snapped.

All smug arrogance vanished from his face as he took a step that seemed to bend the laws of time and space between us.

He threw a punch so hard it cracked the air it passed through.

I didn't even have time to use a skill or summon a weapon. My instincts kicked in, and I tried to deflect the blow. It was only partially successful, and I knew I'd have a bad bruise in a few minutes.

He stuck to me, coming on hot after that first punch.

I weaved to the side and jabbed twice at him to keep him off for a moment.

Vidar brought his fist up like a seasoned boxer, weaving forward and taking both jabs on his forearms. He stepped in close and dropped his right fist for a gut punch.

I stepped in even closer, bringing us nearly face-to-face and forcing him to land his punch early. It hurt, but thankfully it wasn't strong enough to do any real damage. I grabbed him by the biceps and threw my weight backwards, trying to rip him off the ground.

Boxing with the bigger man was not ideal for me and I was far more inclined to use his weight against him.

I smirked as if I was in full control, only for his eyes to glow like two starfields. 

Suddenly, I threw him out of the amphitheater and past the clouds, well into space, nearly letting him go before I realized what ability he had used and clasped onto his forearm with all of my strength.

We were out in space, Vidar was no longer being thrown, his foot stepping on a piece of debris.

I barely adjusted to the new environment before it shifted again. It was beyond disorienting.

Vidar chuckled, and a second later we reappeared in the arena, only this time his feet were on the ground and mine were up in the air, our positions completely reversed. He grabbed onto my wrists where I held him, clamping them tightly as he spun and slammed me down into the hard arena.

I assumed the area was built with ranked material given the way it didn't shatter and disperse some of the energy from my impact. Instead, I felt the bones in my back rearrange themselves before Vidar stomped on my shoulder for leverage to rip my hands off of his arm where they were still instinctively clutching with my full strength.

He grinned down at me with a face that deserved a punch and lifted a foot to stomp my skull.

There was no time to understand completely what happened. Instincts kicked in and I rolled to my feet and twisted my arm back into place.

My Immortal body did its work. The rib that had broken through the skin receded with a wet sucking noise as the wound healed itself over.

Things appeared whole, but I could feel more healing happening inside. I cracked my neck, rolling it and focusing back on him as if I wasn't bothered in the slightest.

Staying in control of the situation was too important.

"That was a fun trick," I said. "Kind of like one of those old amusement park rides where they bring you up really high and then drop you down for excitement. Only you kind of ruined it by stomping on me. That was just rude."

Vidar's eyes narrowed into pinpricks as he watched my regeneration.

"What kind of bloodline do you have?" he asked curiously. 

"Oh, it's a titan, in case you haven't felt the physique." I answered, cracking my knuckles and preparing for another round like I was fresh once again.

His expression grew harder. He had felt that my weight was off when he tried to throw me.

I'd only confirmed his suspicion and made myself more of a threat.

He stepped in close with another of his moves that broke the laws of space. Somehow, in a single step, he crossed ten feet. And he went straight for another gut punch. The man really liked to play dirty. 

However, what really had my attention were the next words he spoke. "I'm going to kill you, you fucking mutt." 

The next second, Vidar’s fist buried itself into my gut with a blinding pain as something ripped straight out through my stomach, severing my spine.