Chapter 32: Duo

Peace jumped to the side as he watched the tanned woman twist away.

"Hey! What the—"

’Oh.’

As he dodged the swipes of the Bone Ravagers’ scythes, he heard the woman call out:

"I’m not like you, jackass."

A moment later, he heard a dull thud followed by the shattering of bone. Before he could even process what had happened, the two Bone Ravagers halted their attacks on him and whirled toward the woman, racing after her.

Looking down, he saw the caved-in skull of the wolf he’d immobilized.

The woman had merely been lowering herself into position to smash the beast’s skull, not fleeing like he had.

Even if she had fled, he wasn’t really in a position to complain. Actually, such a thing might have even been good for him, as she was the one being targeted by the Skeletal Stalker.

In any case...

’If she is a Soul Stealer and has played the game...’

There was a clear reason why she’d taken to finishing off the injured Bone Ravager instead of trying to inflict damage on the mobile ones.

’She wants to juggle aggro.’

Whether that was her true intent or not, Peace wasted no time getting into position. With his Threat Level not nearly as low anymore, there was a higher chance he’d be sensed if he got too close. So, he waited...

He waited for the woman to dip and dodge, landing a few blows with her mace against their scythe arms, slowly increasing her Threat Level while decreasing Peace’s.

When the moment was right...

Peace lunged, plunging his sword into the same cavity between the hip and left leg bone. Instantly, the Bone Ravager collapsed to the floor. Yet, the third stayed locked onto the woman.

Circling around to its right to stay behind its back, Peace kept driving the Bone Sword into its spine and the gaps between its joints, trying to sever its other leg or maybe even its spine. The goal wasn’t exactly to kill it, but...

Eventually, the Bone Ravager attacking the woman twisted around to face Peace.

Smiling, Peace exclaimed:

"Perfect!"

Just as he expected, before the bone wolf even reached him, the woman had already bashed in the second Bone Ravager’s skull, splintering it open and killing it. That, in turn, prompted the last one to snap its attention back towards her.

With her Threat Level far too high to be reversed, having killed two of the ’pack,’ Peace easily slipped behind it and gave it the same treatment as the first two, eventually allowing the woman to finish off the third.

Smiling as he looked down at the Spirit Stones that had fallen to the ground after getting dislodged from their skulls, he muttered:

"Phew... that was—"

"Prick! Why did you run away?! And where did you even come from?!"

Peace’s eye twitched as he crossed his arms, tucking the hilt of his Bone Sword under one. He was already in pain from the constant corrosive blood rain, but now he was being yelled at after helping her?!

"Hey, I was under no obligation to help you! Be grateful I did at all."

’I didn’t even get any EXP from the kills; I let you get the final hits.’

"...Wow. Conceited much. You barely did anything."

"Seriously...? We both know that’s—"

The woman sighed and rolled her eyes, then interrupted him.

"This isn’t the time to argue."

Without saying anything else, the woman turned and began walking in the direction of the River of Blood.

Awkwardly, Peace stood beside the rib where the whole fiasco had begun. Scratching his head, he watched her back as she walked away.

’Damn...’

Whether she was a Soul Stealer or not, that one fight with the two of them working together had really put into perspective how much easier it was to survive in a group.

Furthermore...

He felt kind of guilty for leaving her in the first place, even if he had gone back to help in the end.

So... not only did he not want to leave a potential compatriot in quite such a shitty predicament, but he was hoping he could make an ally of her. After all, she was one of the few people with whom he saw a chance of actually securing a relationship free of scorn.

After clicking her tongue, the woman spat:

"Why are you following me?"

Peace smiled, then gazed up.

"Oh, finally... the blood rain is letting up. Good, that was seriously starting to get on my nerves."

The woman’s head, drenched red by the rain, swiveled to the side. Her eyes locked onto his.

"Not what I asked..."

"Well, you see, I’m sorry for leaving you back there. But, well, you said the Stalker was after you. Who wouldn’t run away after hearing that?!"

"Is that so...? Well, then why are you following me?"

Peace gave her a light smile.

"Ah, because I realized... you’re one of the first to treat me equally despite my appearance."

The woman’s eyes suddenly widened in realization as she looked him up and down. Something like an ’oh shit’ look crept into her eyes as her grip on the hilt of the mace tightened.

She took a deep breath and collected herself.

"Night Elf... I was merely too panicked in such a despairing situation to even consider fearing you."

"You don’t seem all too panicked right now."

"Is that truly how it looks?"

’Ah...’

Peace studied the woman’s stern expression alongside the tremble in her hands and the way she bit her lip.

’I guess not.’

Though maybe those reactions were due to her realizing her mistake if she was a Soul Stealer.

Sighing, Peace decided to give her both a reason and some exposition to help her out in case his hunch was right. After all, anyone who dared partner up with him would immediately be put under scrutiny. It would only be right to tip her off about the consequences of treating him cordially.

"Well, my kind is pretty hated, y’know. Not to mention my uncanny appearance being identical to one of the Night Parade. It would be no surprise for someone to see me in the dungeon and think I was a monster. So... asking for my help was kind of soothing. I apologize for running, but I came back for one reason, really... I thought I’d be a fool to abandon someone like you; someone who looked past pride and prejudice. Let me put it like this... I’ll help you escape, but I want to form a party with you."

The woman paused for a moment. Peace stopped as well.

She looked him up and down. It was clear that a raging storm of thought was churning through her mind. Then...

Her eyes went wide and she shouted:

"Duck!"