Chapter 932 (2/2)

When he returned, Mrs. Hamilton grinned at him. “What did they say?”

“...nothing of note. Just their usual banter.” Stan said bitterly.

Mrs. Hamilton chuckled. “Didn’t we have a talk about lies?”

Stan felt his heart squeeze itself into a knot. Blinking rapidly, Stan considered the chances that he would be able to dodge an attack from her at this range. Even his numbed instincts quickly returned a negative. But Mrs. Hamilton’s hands stayed neatly folded in her lap. Slowly, Stan felt his hackles tremble and lower toward something close to relaxation.

Or more likely, his nerves simply had given up hope.

She continued to speak. “From your expression… ah, they said that they shouldn’t even fight this rung. Interesting. They have good instincts, you know. They are not Squads 1 and 2 for nothing.”

Stan pressed his lips together. Truthfully, he also didn’t know how much these two Squads could accomplish. Even Clarissa’s attempt had felt dubious to Stan. There was only so much they could accomplish alone against Randidly.

Even if they needed the information the brief skirmishes could provide, throwing small numbers against Randidly just seemed foolish. It was better to wait until they had the weight of numbers on their side, then spring it all on him at once.

Yet… the back of Stan’s shirt was soaked in cold sweat. The look he had seen in Mrs. Hamilton’s eyes… she had planned on killing him. She would have done it, had his motivations not been sufficient to placate her.

Hers was the hand that guided Donnyton in Randidly’s absence. And for the first time since Stan had received his Soulskill from Randidly, he realized that this was his fault. At some point, he had given up control of his life and treated it like it was a game. Had he not been so callous, or lazy, or apathetic, he could have steered himself away from this point.

Yet now that he felt the hungry fangs of consequences sinking into his flesh…

Stan was desperate. He needed more information. So he clasped his hands to hide the trembling and ignored Mrs. Hamilton’s amused gaze. His eyes narrowed to slits as he looked out at the arena.

He needed this.

*****

Randidly cracked his neck as he walked toward Kayle and Paolo’s Squads. “You know, I don’t think we’ve ever fought all together before.”

Paolo grinned. “Unfortunately not. Before you left Donnyton, we were simply minor characters. It took me a while for my natural talents to shine through the chaff. And yet somehow I still feel obstructed.”

“If you want to come for the Squad 1 spot, I’ll welcome the challenge anytime,” Kayle said smugly. Then he bowed at the waist to Randidly, fully 90 degrees. “It is wonderful to meet you here. There is no better way to know a man than to fight him. And truly, I have long admired everything you have accomplished.”

Randidly’s gaze slid from one to the other. “...then the two of you must know each other pretty well.”

“Unfortunately.”

“There were some sacrifices on the road to greatness.”

Both answered with grimaces, such perfect mirror images of each other that Randidly laughed. “Well then. This match will certainly be fun. You are both… you feel strong. And out of everyone here… it is the two of you that seems the closest to where I want Donnyton to go.”

Both grinned, Kayle’s sharp features and dark hair contrasting perfectly with Paolo’s blunt face and clearly broken nose. Randidly had meant the compliments; both were strong. And it wasn’t just them. A scan with Aether indicated that part of their strength came from the fact that everyone in these two Squads was over Level 62. There were no weak links here to exploit.

As he examined the Squads, there was abruptly a change in the air. Quickly, he refocused on Kayle and Paolo. Randidly was sure that both were thinking of the small bits of advice that he had given them in the past.

The air around Kayle sharpened, as though he steadily transformed into a naked blade that stood aloft, glittering with vicious deadliness. His hands flexed, abruptly reminding Randidly of the vicious readiness that he had sometimes seen from Hank and his revolver.

Paolo raised his hands to the sky and Randidly could distantly hear the sound of cheering. The noise grew increasingly thunderous, especially as people in the crowd got caught up in his rising nascent image and began to cheer. Some of the vigor that Randidly had stolen from the audience emerged again until people were stomping their feet and screaming out all of the stress and confusion they had felt watching the previous challenges.

This was the pinnacle of Donnyton’s Squads. This was their pride. The dying embers of Donnyton’s strength were stoked and came surging back into focus. This was Donnyton. They would not fall. And all of that pride and confidence swirled around Paolo, giving weight to his movements.

Randidly grinned. He looked sideways at Helen, who bright eyes seemed to sense the same thing that he did. This was going to be fun.

On cue, the referee announced the start of the match and all twenty-four of the figures on the stage surged into motion.