Chapter 801 (2/2)

Her right hand flashed out and seized the attack of Silo’s left arm. The ridge of sharp bone along the side of the spear cut deeply into her hand, but Helen endured and pushed that blow to the side.

Unfortunately, Silo adjusted the angle of attack on the other arm. Gritting her teeth, Helen could only put her hand in the way of the thrust. The powerful spear ripped through the center of her hand. The pain was excruciating. And as it pushed deeper, the wound spread upwards across her palm, until the two sides of the hand were connected only by thin strings of flesh.

But afterward, the thrust smashed into her shoulder and deflected upward; too much of the momentum had been robbed from it when it had impacted her hand.

“Fuck-” Helen said as she gripped with her right hand and curled her lower body up off the ground into a tightly wound spring.

“You-”

Her legs exploded outward. Her heavy, steel greaved feet smashed directly into Silo’s face. For all that the rest of his body was covered in armor, his nose broke easily in a spray of black blood. Barely able to stand, he reeled backward.

Helen used her right hand on his spear to jerk him back upward. Even though he was barely conscious, having spears attached at his elbow made it pretty simple to manipulate his body. After tapping her feet against the ground, Helen leaped up once more.

“Prick.”

Helen kicked the butt of her spear, shooting the entire weapon through the hole she had made in his chest. She had kicked hard to be sure it would pierce through his back, but it looked like the design of the natural bone armor was to prevent outside attacks; her spear pierced easily through his back from within.

Finally, she let Silo collapse and frowned at his gurgling belch. Heaving a relieved breath, Helen looked at her left hand. Already the flesh around the wound was inflamed and twitched. Some of the black goop that Silo used as blood has splashed on her wound, and it sizzled painfully. The edges were red and inflamed. Luckily, a river of energy was coming to her from Randidly to heal the fucking thing.

Honestly, the fact that he didn’t even need to be near for her to steal his energy… Truly too convenient.

Wincing, Helen looked over at Silo’s wriggling figure. He was attempting to sit up. Helen’s eyes hardened.

What the fuck was this prick thinking? Attacking during a Wight attack? It was like he didn’t fucking care about what was happening around him.

There was a split second of hesitation, but then Helen’s resolved firmed. If he truly was so mad that he couldn’t realize what he was doing, it was her duty to put him down. After walking over to pick up her spear, she approached Silo.

“Helen-” Silo struggled to speak.

Helen brought the spear down on his neck, severing it from his body. “Just sleep. You don’t deserve to be heard any longer.”

*****

Dying is strange, Silo reflected as he stared at the clouded sky.

After his head was severed from his body, he felt everything growing more clear. Hazy memories sharpened into focus. His vision, which had shifted to being mostly based upon movement, one more returned in all of its colorful glory. All of the emotions that had been suppressed by the energy of the stone surged to the surface. As his blood trickled out of the stump of his neck, Silo began to cry.

Perhaps strangest of all, Silo still maintained sensation in his body. He could feel it failing. Portions of his organs twitched and swelling. Even though the nerve endings were severed. It shouldn’t be possible. Yet Silo felt it all.

Including as the… thing in his stomach began to move.

As it began to stir, Silo shivered. His uncles had given him a ring. Why hadn’t he realized something was wrong when rather than shrinking, the stone had grown to the size of an amulet?

The stone shivered in his withered stomach. Eight legs stretched out from it, slowly picking the stone up. It skittered around his stomach, climbing up his esophagus.

“...why am I not dying…?” Silo whispered.

BECAUSE YOU ARE NOW WIGHT, the rumbling answer came. As Silo watched with horrible fascination, his body from the shoulders down stood above him. It seemed like some terrible, shambling thing as it staggered closer. Because it didn’t have hands, it could only spear him through the mouth in order to lift him up. NOW STAND, PUPPET. THERE IS MUCH TO DO.