Book 2 Chapter 65: I Win
Dantes walked through the threshold. There were a few dead men in his path as he walked into the building. He could hear what few men Mondego had left struggling against the guard outside as he moved deeper into the manor, but inside was quiet.
They made their way toward the basement where Jacopo had found Mondego’s offering and the magic mirror. Dantes remembered the layout from Jacopo’s exploration of the Manor what seemed like ages ago, but had been less than a month ago in reality. He rolled up his sleeve to check his vermin marks. They were all nearly empty, but he had a few slivers left. He then cycled through the wands he had left in his arm. There were only two. One was a simple push spell, and the other was a rust spell. Next time he’d have to invest in more offensive options. Mondego’s resources had to be similarly depleted by this point, otherwise he wouldn't have run back into his Manor after blasting all of them back.
Dantes saw a number of empty vials as he reached the steps into the basement. Potions of some kind, meaning that Mondego was likely refreshed, healed, and possibly even enhanced down those stairs. Dantes stood at the top of them, starting to gather all the nearby vermin to him, at least all of those he could afford to gather. Once he was as ready as he could be, he walked down the steps with his pistol in his hand. The eyes of his accompaniment glistened in the faint light of the hallway.
About halfway down he could hear Mondego talking.
“-everything I have. Every scrap of gold, every carpet fiber, every servant, every piece of silverware. I’ll give it all to you. I’ll give every single scrap of everything I have. Just let me kill that bastard. Let me put my hands around his neck and watch his eyes go dark.”
There was a pause, and Dantes heard only the sound of his own and his vermin’s footsteps as they went downstairs.
“Greed! You fucking OWE ME! I’ve done all that was asked of me! Just let me kill him.”
Dantes reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the wide basement. He could see the shattered mirror against the wall, the massive pile of gold and goods, and Mondego kneeling in front of it.
“Greed doesn’t give a fuck about you,” said Dantes aiming his pistol. “You’ve already served his purpose for you, and now the only value he has left to extract from you is your soul after you’re dead. He wants me to win. He wants to collect.”