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Chapter 76: Speak

If they wanted to properly get the jump on Tix, they needed her inside. She was a warrior, so Arwin doubted that he’d have long to take her out if he wanted to make sure she couldn’t call for help.

After some discussion with Lillia, they’d come up with a strategy that Arwin felt was about as reliable as they were going to get. There was no way to keep Tix from calling for help – even if he could kill her in a single blow, there was no point.

Arwin didn’t just need Tix dead. He needed answers, and that meant she had to be able to speak. And, if she could speak, she’d have a chance to cry out for help. There was only one way they could realistically think of that would keep Tix from calling out the moment she came under attack.

She needs to think she’s in control. Tix was definitely a warrior of some sort. If she’s convinced that I can’t put up a fight or I’m not strong enough to defeat her, she’s unlikely to go running for help. Her reputation would be ruined.

I can’t rely on that for long, but it’ll be enough. It has to be.

Unfortunately, before any plans could come into fruition, Arwin still had to wait for Tix to actually show up. The fact that he couldn’t even see Lillia was making things worse. He knew she was just outside, waiting for an unsuspecting Tix to pass by, but that didn’t make him any less tense.

Seconds felt like minutes as they ground by. He could have sworn the hours had passed thrice over already, but still the house was silent. Arwin’s hands were clammy – not out of fear, but out of anticipation. The temptation to summon Verdant Blaze was strong, but he resisted it.

Arwin didn’t call on any of his weapons or armor. He needed to look exactly the same as Tix had first seen him. Anything else could completely ruin their plan. If all went well, she’d deduce that Arwin had been the one with the shadow magic and wouldn’t even know there was a second person with him.

But, until Lillia ran into Tix, there was absolutely nothing Arwin could do other than stew in his thoughts and wait. He was pretty sure she should have passed by now.

Maybe Rodrick’s estimates were a little off, or she swapped something up today. I’m not sure if –

A startled curse from outside the building was the only warning Arwin got. He nearly tripped over himself as a woman stumbled through the door, propelled forward by a tendril of shadow that started to dissipate even as she spun, a sword flying free of its sheath.

Arwin slammed the door shut, his body moving before his mind had even processed that their plan had started in true.

“You!” Tix exclaimed, the tip of her blade dipping slightly in surprise. “What the hell is your problem?”

“You know what my problem is,” Arwin growled. “What the hell did you do to my smith?”

“Your smith? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never even met the guy.”

“That’s a lie,” Arwin said, letting anger enter his voice as his lips pulled back. It wasn’t difficult to fake the rage, considering almost all of it was completely genuine. “He told me you met. A few days later, his forge goes up in a ball of fire – and you’re the only one that met him.”

“Look – what was your name again?”

“Arwin.”

“Right. Look, Arwin. I never met your smith. It looks like you’re in grief, so I’ll let you off this once. Get out of my way, or I’m going to cut you down where you stand.”

Arwin shook his head. “You’re lying. Again. I know the Iron Hounds are the ones that destroyed the smithy, Tix. If you don’t talk to me here and now, then I’m going to take the information to someone that will.”

Tix’s eyes narrowed. For several seconds, the two of them stood in silence. Then Tix heaved a sigh, shaking her head in disappointment as the tip of her sword raised again.

“Idiot. You had to go and say that didn’t you? I was trying to give you a way out, moron. Do you think I like going around murdering people? I can’t let you leave after that. Jessen would have my head.”

Jessen? One of my targets, perhaps? It sounds like he’s higher up in the guild than Tix is.

“You’re fooling yourself if you thought I’d let you leave here alive after killing one of my friends,” Arwin growled. “Tell me why you did it.”

“Idiot. I’m not telling you anything,” Tix said with a scoff. “Gods, I didn’t think you were such an idiot when we met. I should have known when you sold me the damn armor for so much less than what it was worth. That’s on you, kid. Just like your smith friend’s life. I’m just following orders.”

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She lunged forward, her body blurring as she used some form of skill to accelerate herself. The sword flitted for Arwin’s neck, aiming to dispatch him in a single blow. Arwin had to admit that Tix was fast.

There was no doubt that the woman was a competent warrior, but she wasn’t faster than the speed of thought. [Arsenal] activated and all of Arwin’s armor slammed onto his body an instant before the sword could connect. He shifted his stance just enough to make sure the blade would connect with his shoulder instead of his neck.

A resounding clang rang out and Tix staggered back, her sword reverberating in her hand. The shoulder guards were one of the most reinforced sections on Arwin’s armor thanks to the crystals infused into them, and it was evident that Tix didn’t have nearly enough strength to break through it.

Tix’s eyes widened as she looked into the carved metal of Arwin’s helm. Her mouth opened, but Arwin didn’t give her time to speak. He lunged forward, Verdant Blaze materializing in his grip, and he brought the hammer down for Tix’s blade.

She shifted despite her shock, dodging the blow instead of trying to block it. The way she moved was enough to tell Arwin that she’d fought hammer users before. Trying to block his blows was a great way to get pulverized.

“Impossible. You’re dead!” Tix hissed, even as she thrust her sword for a gap in Arwin’s armor. He blocked the blow with the haft of the hammer, then brought it down for her shoulders. Tix was forced to jump back, and Arwin positioned himself so that his back was to the door.

Based on the way Tix was fighting, she was probably somewhere in the high Apprentice Tier. She knew what she was doing, but she wasn’t at the point where should overpower Arwin through either skill or ability.

Of course, she hadn’t quite figured that out yet.

“Not me,” Arwin said, his knuckles whitening as his grip tightened. [Soul Flame] ignited at the head of Verdant Blaze, illuminating the darkness with its hungry light. “Who worked with you, Tix? Who destroyed my smithy that night?”

“We heard you forging in it,” Tix said, taking a step back. “You can’t be alive. There’s no way a smith could survive that.”

“The smith didn’t,” Arwin said, advancing on Tix. “You killed him. He burned to death in that building, Tix. Just like you wanted.”

“Then how are you here?” Tix demanded, lunging at Arwin again in an attempt to get past his guard. He activated [Scourge] and twisted out of the way, slamming his hand down on her wrist and breaking it with a snap.

The sword flew from Tix’s hand, clattering against the ground. Arwin’s other hand slammed over her mouth, muffling the scream before it could escape her lips. The anger in Arwin’s chest burned brighter with every passing second.

“Answer the damn question,” Arwin growled, barely even able to form words. “Who–”

Tix bit down on his palm. Arwin snarled in pain, yanking his hand back and dropping her. She lunged for her sword, grabbing it with her good hand. Tix’s bite was a lot stronger than it should have been – an ordinary human’s bite wouldn’t have been able to get through [Indomitable Bulwark], so she must have had some body enhancing buffs active.

“I don’t care how you came back to life. I’m sending you back to the grave,” Tix snarled. Ghostly white energy swirled across the edge of her blade and she lunged, her entire body blurring to the point where Arwin completely lost track of her.

The only thing that saved him was his instinct born from years of battle. His hands shot up, protecting his neck, and Tix’s sword carved into the back of his forearms, splattering blood across the ground.

By the time Arwin lowered his hands, she’d vanished again. Arwin spun, jumping to the side. A screech rang out as her sword bit into the side of his armor. Energy poured out of Arwin as the armor activated, sending a whip of [Soul Flame] streaking through the air.

Arwin didn’t see it connect, but he heard Tix hiss in pain. He didn’t have any time to gauge how effective the injury had been, though. Another blow carved across his back, digging deep into his armor but failing to penetrate it.

“Just die already!” Tix’s voice demanded – and a flicker of ironic amusement struck Arwin. She was trying to be just as quiet as he was. They both thought they were the hunter and the other the prey.

There was only one way to find out who was right.

Arwin couldn’t tell where Tix was going to come from, but she’d already tried attacking him from behind several times. Her buff made her considerably faster than anything he could hit, so there was only one option left to him.

He spun, raising his hands once more. As he’d predicted, Tix’s blade slammed into his forearms deep enough to strike bone – but not enough to cut through it. And, in the brief instant that Tix was standing still to execute the strike, Arwin used [Arsenal] to banish his helmet and yanked his hands up, taking the sword in his forearms with it.

Tix’s grip on the blade was too great to pull the blade free of her hands, but he caught her by enough surprise to move it up just a few inches and worsen the wound in his arms. Tix didn’t try to resist, and it wasn’t a surprise.

When an opponent helped you injure them, there wasn’t a reason to oppose it. After all, moving the sword even closer to your own throat wasn’t a move that would benefit anyone – other than Arwin.

With a roar and before Tix could pull the sword back to strike at him again, Arwin bit down on the blade. There was a brief moment of resistance as the item desperately tried to hold its form.

It was more resistance than anything else had ever given him, and it was just long enough for Tix to voice a surprised, “What the fu–”

The blade shattered. Power pumped through Arwin’s body and his fist shot out, slamming into the side of Tix’s head. She tumbled back, the fragments of the blade clattering down as she rolled, slamming into the stone wall with a thud.

Arwin dropped his hands, ignoring the blood that dripped down them and onto the ground as he closed the distance between Tix. She tried to stumble to her feet, but the dazed look in her eyes told Arwin that she’d hit her head against the wall.

His hand shot out, wrapping around her neck as he activated [Scourge] and lifted Tix into the air. Pain pumped through his arms from the deep wounds, but it didn’t even come close to distracting him from the ache in his heart.

“Who worked with you?” Arwin demanded, his helmet re-forming around his face as Tix nose-to-nose with the mask. “Tell me their goddamn names, Tix.”

“How?” Tix wheezed, trying and failing to draw in air. Even if she wanted to call for help now, Arwin’s tight grip wouldn’t let her. “What are you? How can you be alive?”

Guess she didn’t put two and two together. Can’t really blame Tix when she’s getting the life choked out of her.

“Last chance,” Arwin said. “Names, Tix. I don’t care if it’s every person in your guild or just two of them. I want to know names, and I want to know why.”

“Gods, I’ll tell you! Just let go of me! I’m going to suffocate. I told you I was just following orders,” Tix begged, pulling fruitlessly at his blood-slicked hand. With the power of [Scourge] strengthening his hand and no blade to cut him with, there was nothing she could do but comply.

Following orders isn’t an excuse. You knew what you were doing. Coward.

Arwin loosened his hold by just enough to let Tix speak.

“Then speak.”