Chapter 251: NineLivesLeft
Kumoe’s right head barked, and a hooked blade cut through the rain toward her throat.
Alexandra caught it between both swords. The impact buried her boots in the mud and sent a shock through her arms hard enough to loosen her grip.
Before she could trap the hook between her blades, the attacker planted one boot against the nearest trunk and launched himself away. He turned once in the air, landed on a thick branch several meters above the road, and crouched there as though he had only stopped to inspect them.
Kumoe pressed against Alexandra’s side. Her curious head stared up at him, the sleepy middle watched Alexandra, and the right continued searching the surrounding branches.
Dark leather armor covered the man from throat to ankle without adding visible bulk. Silver lines scratched across the fitted material in patterns resembling claw marks. A short hooked blade rested in each hand, their inward-curving tips built to snag guards, wrench weapons aside, and tear through tendons.
His nameplate appeared when Alexandra focused on him.
[NineLivesLeft Lv. 60]
[Guild: Just Die]
[Class: Beastslayer]
Alexandra tightened her fingers around both swords.
"Just Die."
NineLivesLeft smiled at the recognition. He looked a few years older than Martin, with wet brown hair stuck to his forehead and pale gray eyes that kept returning to Kumoe.
"Did Victoria send you?" Alexandra asked.
"No. She doesn’t know I’m here."
His answer came too easily to sound defensive.
"I saw you fighting those hounds and followed. The public clips of you and Emperoar gave me the broad shape of your setup. Watching you on the road filled in the rest."
"Then Victoria has even less control over her guild than I thought."
"That sounds like her problem."
Kumoe’s right head growled.
NineLivesLeft’s eyes shifted toward her. "That one really does cover the widest angle. I suspected as much."
"How long were you watching?"
"Long enough to know you brought the wolf out alone."
Alexandra pointed one sword at him. "You should’ve spent that time running."
"Nine lives."
"Bring all of them."
Kumoe answered with a growl from every throat.
Alexandra flicked open the Night Espresso officers’ channel and sent an emergency location ping.
The message remained gray.
[External communication is unavailable inside the Beastslayer Zone.]
Of course.
She turned toward the nearest crimson stake and slashed at it.
A pulse of red force cracked across her sword and threw the blade aside hard enough to twist her wrist.
[Marked prey cannot damage Beastslayer Stakes.]
The road behind NineLivesLeft offered the only clear path to the boundary. Tangled roots and thorn-covered brush crowded the left side, while the earth on the right dropped into a steep slope slick with rain. Kumoe could normally force her way through either route, but not while someone waited for one bad step.
They would have to get through him.
NineLivesLeft looked from one head to the next. "The curious one applies a damage effect. The middle handles restoration. The right strengthens both."
"You memorized her build."
"I pay attention when something interesting appears online."
Kumoe’s curious head snapped at the air, eager to reach him, but Alexandra stayed between them.
She had promised herself that Kumoe would fight beside her instead of behind her. The permanent-loss warning and the first blade that came within inches of Kumoe’s throat had shattered that resolve before the fight had properly begun.
"Did you also watch what happened the last time your guild came after us?" Alexandra asked.
"Raze Dawg lost a legendary sword and made himself look stupid in front of two guilds."
"Then you know the ending."
"I know how his fight ended." NineLivesLeft rose from his crouch. "Mine has better preparation and no sentimental baggage."
He vanished from the branch.
A boot struck wet bark somewhere to Alexandra’s left. She turned toward the sound, but Kumoe’s right head barked toward the opposite side.
Alexandra switched her guard.
NineLivesLeft came from the right after using another trunk to change direction in midair.
[Prowler’s Rebound]
[Kick off solid terrain to redirect yourself while airborne. Striking Bloodscent-locked prey allows one additional redirection before landing.]
Both hooks dropped toward Alexandra’s shoulders. She stopped the first, but the second caught the edge of her sword and dragged it away from her body.
The opening lasted less than a heartbeat. His knee still found her stomach before she could close it.
Alexandra lost her breath and staggered as the other hook flashed toward Kumoe.
"Stay close!"
Kumoe twisted away. The curious head snapped at his wrist while the middle gathered green light around her muzzle.
NineLivesLeft pulled back before the bite landed. One boot struck a tree, and he came at them again from a new angle.
This time, Alexandra kept up.
He dropped from above and crossed both hooks toward her neck. She leaned back, watched the blades pass over her face, then answered with an upward slash.
Her sword struck the armor beneath his ribs. The material refused to split, leaving only a pale scrape across the dark surface.
NineLivesLeft landed several steps away. His HP had barely changed.
"Full anti-beast set," he said. "I built it after unlocking Beastslayer. Cost a stupid amount, but it works."
"Money can’t fix bad taste."
"It fixed my defense."
Kumoe rushed him before he could return to the trees. Her curious head went for his thigh. When he turned the leg away, she adjusted and sank her teeth behind his knee.
Red light spread from the bite.
[Damage Amplification has been applied.]
[The target’s equipment has partially resisted the bonded-beast effect.]
NineLivesLeft glanced down at the jaws locked around his leg.
"Worth every coin."
One hook came down toward Kumoe’s skull.
Alexandra intercepted it and stepped inside his reach, driving her second sword toward his throat. NineLivesLeft twisted away while ripping his leg from Kumoe’s mouth.
The bite wound began closing almost immediately. His armor had not stopped Kumoe’s effect completely, but the glow around the injury was already weaker and fading faster than normal.
He retreated into a low stance, only to find Alexandra following him. She kept him away from the trees with alternating cuts, one blade forcing his guard high while the other threatened his stomach.
NineLivesLeft caught the first sword inside his hook.
The second slipped through and opened his side.
[Pride Mark: 1]
He glanced at the crimson symbol above him. "So that part works the way I thought."
Alexandra smiled. "Keep testing your little theories. I’ll show you everything you missed."
She lunged, and he met her halfway.
Their blades scraped and locked. NineLivesLeft tried to catch both swords inside his hooks, but Alexandra changed her grips before he could secure either one. She ducked beneath his arms and struck his chest with her shoulder as Kumoe attacked beside her.
The curious head went for the wound behind his knee. The middle stayed turned toward Alexandra, ready to restore her, while the right kept checking the branches for his next escape.
NineLivesLeft dropped low.
Alexandra’s sword passed over his head. Kumoe’s teeth met empty air, and NineLivesLeft spun beneath them with one blade extended.
Alexandra twisted away, but the tip opened her upper arm. Blood mixed with the rain and ran to her elbow before a dark-red symbol appeared over the wound.
[You have been affected by Bloodscent Lock.]
[The Beastslayer can track your position while the wound remains open.]
[Chaosgraphy has been marked as prey.]
NineLivesLeft stepped back and breathed in through his nose. His pupils narrowed as his gaze settled on her.
"There you are."