Chapter 110: Is Her Outlook Really That Surprising?

Ash didn’t know how much time had passed, but the situation seemed to have stabilized, though not without one more hiccup.

Sandra’s health bar was now fairly low, at about 35%.

Both she and Éloi were still alive.

Nora, on the other hand, was nearly at full HP and Mana. Oddly, that made the situation even stranger, considering two of them were gravely injured while it looked as though nothing had happened to her.

‘Well, her Mana was going down for a time, then shot back up… so she must have used [Vortex].’

Ash pulled himself over the lip of the last cliff he needed to climb, wasting no time before kicking off into another sprint.

He was in such a rush not necessarily to save his allies, but because he’d been with them for two weeks and had watched them fight a couple of times.

‘Nothing in the area should be able to wound them to such a degree.’

So…

Either the hunter respawned, another precinct boss took its place, or some nasty neighbor made an appearance.

‘For this to happen when I’m away.’

Such terrible luck.

‘And where is Claude?’

[Focus] only helped Ash make his steps more precise, letting him land on even terrain. It didn’t necessarily make him any faster, though in practice, it had that effect. Yet the assassin had disappeared immediately after they both noticed Éloi’s HP drop drastically.

It didn’t seem to be due to [Stalk]. Rather, Claude simply hadn’t chased after him. He’d stayed where he was and dipped into thought.

‘Whatever…’

Ash darted through the trees, reached the basin, and followed along its edge until he was roughly beneath where the Totem should have been. From there, he began climbing the final stretch.

Sadly, the map didn’t show markers for his allies’ locations, so he didn’t know exactly where they were. Still, he knew the general vicinity.

After spotting the Totem through the foliage, Ash banked right, lowered his head, and summoned his bow without breaking stride.

[You have equipped [Evercrestian Recurve Bow]]

‘[Focus].’

Then he spotted a felled tree.

Vaulting over it, he was met with quite the absurd scene.

Éloi lay on the ground missing an arm. Sandra was sprawled beside him with blood caked across her side. Jack, the Harpy he’d just met, wore [Whispers of the Wind] and tended to the two. Nora stood behind a cloaked man with horns and purple skin who knelt before her, her blade pressed against the back of his neck.

Jack smiled and waved.

“Hey, Epitome!”

Most absurd of all…

♱♱♱

[Clear Grave] – [Demon Champion]

LEVEL: 8

STR: ~[33-37]

AGI: ~[44-56]

DEX: ~[27-38]

INT: ~[23-33]

CON: ~[23-33]

ACTIVES: [???] [???] [???] [???]

PASSIVES: [???] [???]

♱♱♱

Something in his gut told him he’d eventually meet his brother here.

But…

‘This is… much sooner than I could have ever expected.’

And in probably the weirdest way possible.

Without warning, Ash’s body shot into motion.

[Focus] was still active, and he’d noticed Nora’s shoulder twitch unnaturally.

As fast as he could, Ash nocked a [Limitless] arrow and fired at Nora.

He didn’t even wait to see whether the arrow hit its mark before breaking into a sprint and firing another at her. Nora twisted aside.

Clear cocked his head back as the purple-haired woman clicked her tongue. Then he glanced toward the Dragonkin who had just saved him from having his head lopped off.

“Hello, brother.”

Ash stood over his kneeling brother, blood dripping from several wounds across his body. It was obvious Clear had only a sliver of HP left.

“Clear…”

Ash’s eyes drifted toward Nora, who plucked an arrow from her shoulder with a grimace.

“Would you mind explaining to me what that was about?”

“…”

Nora didn’t respond. Instead, she simply locked eyes with Ash.

‘It was clear they’d been in that position for some time, so…’

The Dragonkin Champion lowered his bow slightly as he continued:

“Why did you only begin to execute him once I appeared?”

Clear chuckled, then looked up into his brother’s eyes.

“She’s a wild one, Ashley. I don’t know what you did to piss her off, but she wanted you to watch me die.”

Ash took a long breath before speaking.

“Even if she had a reason, why would she think I’d care?”

Clear hissed:

“Same old, same old… You just attacked her to save me, did you not?”

Ash’s eyes fell to Clear’s.

“Don’t play these games with me, Clear. You know I didn’t save you.”

Clear shifted his knee to the side, revealing a dagger he’d summoned beneath himself.

“Pshee… it seems you noticed.”

‘I saw that ludicrous Agility stat…’

It wasn’t simply the stat alone that was special. For it to be that high, he likely either had an item that synergized with speed or some other method of capitalizing on it.

Even if he hadn’t…

‘He’s my brother.’

Ash knew he’d never simply accept death. His eyes were far too calm for someone whose life was supposedly seconds from ending.

Beyond that…

Ash had already figured out his Class through his stats.

‘Assassin. How fitting.’

Ash ignored him, looking back toward Nora.

“Still… why did you do that?”

Even if unsuccessful, even though Clear had something prepared, she had consciously done something she likely believed would wound Ash.

Nora growled back:

“I hate you.”

Jack shouted the moment her voice faded into the forest.

“Woah! I don’t think it’s my place—”

Ash glared at the bird boy.

“Stay out of this, kid. Go back to healing them.”

Nora’s grip tightened around her sword as she screamed:

“I hate the fact you still haven’t caught on despite my name!”

‘Nora… Waverly.’

‘Waverly…?’

It wasn’t ringing any bells.

Nora screamed:

“My brother… you took my brother’s spot on the Ravagers!”

Ash paused for a moment, sorting through his memories, though he remembered neither the face nor the name of the man whose spot he had taken to fit on the team.

Either way…

“What of it…? If he was replaced, that only means he was inadequate. That’s simply the world we live in. You can’t fault me for being more suitable.”

A tear streamed down her face as Nora cried out:

“You didn’t have to be so harsh to him!”

“I’m afraid I remember neither him nor what I said to him. Though if words could wound him to such a degree as I think they did, he simply wasn’t cut out for the real world.”

Nora’s mouth opened, but she paused, words failing to come as tears continued to fall down her face.

Clear’s laughter filled the silence.

“‘Real world.’ Huh, Ashley? Still using their terms?”

Ash’s gaze narrowed.

“It was the one thing they got right.”

“Ha! Who would have thought you’d ever develop a sense of humor!”

Ash clicked his tongue, then replied:

“…Why are you still on the ground, anyways?”

Clear’s lips twisted into a wide grin.

“Because this was just getting fun! Come on, keep ignoring her while she pours her heart out! Bahaha!”

Ash’s gaze returned to the crying woman.

‘What… should I do?’

The last thing Ash needed was one of his Vassals actively trying to kill him.

‘I’m surprised she hid that intent for so long.’

It clearly wasn’t newborn animosity. Nora had probably wanted to get back at him since day one. Not that he knew exactly what for…

But it was obvious whatever he’d said to her brother had caused him to do something drastic. Perhaps he had become a complete shut-in, fallen into psychosis, or… met the ultimate end.

‘Is that why she always sat away from us?’

She had sat on the other side of the Totem, gazing off into the horizon…

Perhaps it had all been to calm herself and conceal the hatred beneath her indifference while she waited for a chance to stab him in the back.

‘It seems she thought killing Clear before my eyes would make me “suffer” in whatever way she has.’

This…

‘This is why I hate “human” factors.’

Ash had been thoroughly fooled.

Nora took a step forward and cast [Vortex].

‘Shit…’

And now, Ash’s generosity was coming back to bite him in the ass. He’d given someone an ability that perfectly countered him.

Seeing the swirling droplets, Clear finally shot to his feet and darted out of range. Ash quickly followed suit.

Nora walked after him.

Keeping himself just outside the boundary of [Vortex], Ash said:

“Whatever choices your brother made, he made them of his own volition.”

Nora slammed her feet into the ground.

“Shut it.”

A rough voice sounded from behind Ash.

Éloi was apparently awake.

“Y’know… putting it like that… your outlook finally makes sense, Nora… However… put down… the sword.”

“Shut it, happy-go-fuck yourself!”

Clear clapped from the tree he’d perched on.

“Come on, girl! Show me some violence! Tear his throat! Claw out his eyes! Woohoo!”

Though he said that, it was obvious he merely wished to watch her struggle against Ash. — an insurmountable opponent. He had as much trust in his brother’s abilities as Ash had in his, even if neither knew what the other was capable of in this world

In any case, he merely wished to see the depths of her violence.

[You have unequipped [Evercrestian Recurve Bow]]

Just before the droplets struck him, Ash activated ‘[Focus]’ and muttered:

“Crude. Untempered. Insignificant. Inadequate… If I call someone anything, that’s my truth. It’s their job to reject that truth and build their own. If someone was so weak as to succumb to my truth, then they deserve their lot in life.”

Clear began kicking his legs.

“Adding fuel to the fire, Ashley! Haha! I love it! Give me a good show!”

Éloi’s whisper barely overcame the whirling droplets.

“Stop.”

But, even if the two heard, they kept approaching one another.

[You have equipped [Sealed Fate]]

A deep voice sounded from behind Ash.

“Did you not hear him…? He said stop.” Claude had arrived with quite the stern expression plastered on his face. “I will not tolerate this behavior, Nora… I get you have a grudge, but I will not allow anyone to jeopordize my chances of seeing my family again.”