Chapter 1555 (1/2)
“How did you know I was here?” Randidly asked quietly. Although the Web had narrowed somewhat as Randidly descended, the space was still massive. His words echoed off the walls.
Velio Dunn wagged a finger at him with his other hand on his hip. “Shush. Why must you question the details of our meeting? It was ordained by fate. To always dig at the trivialities of existence is to live drowning in a sea of grey inanities. You completely miss the revelries of existing! Is that the way you want to live, Mr. Ghosthound?”
Randidly pressed his lips into a thin line. The reason he had decided to come to the Web was that the Stillborn Phoenix had been nagging at him lately and Vualla had casually offered the fact she was curious. He had presumed the field trip to be safe for two reasons. First, his experiments with truly powerful individuals indicated that no one could sense the activation of his Philosopher’s Key. Which didn’t mean that no one would have the ability to sense it, but that it was a relatively stealthy method of transportation. He was confident in its secrecy.
Which was why I want to know how, Randidly thought with a frown. Were you waiting for me… or can you track my movements…?
Second, Randidly had confirmed Edraine to be in her dwelling, on standby should an unfortunate accident occur. He had assumed that he would be able to send her a message when any sort of danger appeared. He didn’t expect Velio Dunn to arrive with some sort of array to cut off his ability to send messages. She had warned him to take care with the depths of the Web, but this...
Randidly’s gaze shifted from Velio and to the darkness behind the man. They were using the same array that suppressed messaging to hide their presence, but Grim Intuition was much more exacting than Perception; there were two figures skulking behind Velio. Based on the sophistication of the array… either they were simply geniuses when it came to Engraving, or this was a trap they laid here for him.
That was almost the more intimidating option. They had prepared for this.
“Bah, yes, I must admit that I did not come alone… but they have assured me that the array would not suppress your combat abilities at all.” Velio Dunn shrugged. Then, to Randidly’s surprise, he pouted like a toddler. “What was I supposed to do? You refused to finish our duel when I visited you. I was so exhilarated to meet someone who thrilled me with just a look...… and then you fled and hid. Do you know how that made me feel?”
Randidly’s gaze turned heavy. He was already tired of Velio’s ridiculous and self-absorbed way of framing their interactions. He released a breath; his heartbeat was steady even as his muscles tensed in the savored moments of preparations. His previously frantic mind had already settled upon the most likely way that this confrontation would end, but that Path was fraught with difficulty. So despite his distaste, Randidly decided to stall for time, in case Edraine could notice something was wrong and would arrive to assist, as had happened with Octavius.
But of course, she was much closer to Octavius… Randidly couldn’t help but reflect.
Outwardly, Randidly smiled and pointed to his nonexistent left arm. “I haven’t yet recovered from our previous fight; perhaps we could push it back a few decades?”
Velio Dunn shook his head. The cool blue glow that was coming from his rune-covered sword was gradually spreading out to illuminate the Web. This assassin was preparing as well, with much more frightful results. “Relying on external help for power will only bring you grief, Mr. Ghosthound. I was doing you a favor; that metal limb was a length of chain wrapped around your potential. Honestly, you should be thanking me.”
Randidly’s smile faded. Although his heartbeat increased in frequency, he was still relatively calm. Because after listening to Velio’s last response, he began to realize something. He took a more exacting look at Velio. The muscular man continued to grin down at him, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. In those delicate orbs, there was only a chilling intent to kill Randidly. The tattoos along the man’s arms seemed alive, undulating in the shadows.
Anticipation. Randidly thought. He’s savoring this.
“You are playing coy,” Randidly said, surprised at the realization. “You know just how unreasonable you are being. Do you get off on watching your victims think that they have a chance of talking you out of the duel…? Accidental victims my ass. Those eyes of yours… you love the sight of blood.”
Velio Dunn froze for a half-second. Then his expression shifted. The corners of his eyes crinkled and he released a booming laugh. “Ha! Hahahaha! Mr. Ghosthound, would you believe me when I say that the first time I saw you that I knew you were special? Heh. In fifteen hundred years… It’s probably been fifteen hundred years since I’ve been called out like that. If it wasn’t for the fact you reminded me of someone I hate… I might even let you live after I shatter your image. But… that resemblance dooms you.”
Velio reached up for his sword. Randidly watched the movement. The light from Velio’s sword began to surge. The muscles of Velio’s arm bulged. Randidly just pressed his lips together and watched. His images spiraled together in his chest, preparing for his defensive effort.
But as Velio seized the hilt of his sword, he paused as he was staring intently down at Randidly. The man reached up and scratched his cheek, as though embarrassed. “Umm… aren’t you going to do anything? This should be where you say something cliche like ‘if you think I’m the same me that you beat last time, you are making a mistake’ or ‘this time will be different’. Can you have an outward reaction? Truly, moments like this are the only way to break the monotony. Don’t ruin it for me.”
“You want me to help you enjoy your life… by regurgitating cliche lines back at you?” Randidly quirked an eyebrow upward. His nerves thrummed in his chest now that Velio was gripping his sword, but he couldn’t help but tease the man who came to kill him. “For someone who spends so much time complaining about how boring life is, you seem to be embracing the predictability. What’s so scary that you seek out and kill anyone with potential, Velio Dunn?”
Velio’s expression vanished, as though his emotional wattage had been exceeded and the breaker failed. What was left was dead flesh, still bearing the resemblance of expression but only out of necessity. There was only despair and darkness animating his feature. A chill ran through Randidly. It felt like he was looking at a thin sheet that had been drawn across a rotting corpse. Although the shape was blunted somewhat by the covering, Velio’s soul was so warped that the gross deviations from the norm were clear, no matter the obstructions.
Even worse, Velio’s image changed. That pale blue light radiating from his sword became suffocating. The array that isolated the two of them began to sizzle from the force of his presence. Randidly couldn’t tell what they were doing, but the two shadowy figures moved quickly to stabilize the situation.
“You ask heavy questions for a man about to die,” Velio said quietly. “If you don’t plan on volunteering the information, I’ll drag out the source of your confidence and crush it. And just so you know, your teleportation trick won’t work twice.”
As Randidly shrugged, he would see the knuckles of Velio’s hand tightening on the hilt of his sword. “It’s no secret. And I didn’t want it to come to this, but I don’t think I have a choice. I have a superpower, just one. In most locations, it wouldn’t end up mattering. But here…”
“A superpower?” An expression of shock returned to Velio’s face. Then he snorted as some of his facade recovered. “Heh, is that so? Then I’m looking forward to it. With death below and death above, let’s have a fun duel- Hey! What the hell are you doing?!?!”
Halfway through Velio’s words, Randidly began to rapidly shoot downward. If there was one thing that he could trust, it was that Velio Dunn valued his own life. And considering the fact that Velio now considered Randidly trapped here, it seemed logical that even someone as powerful as Velio held some wariness toward the mass of significance below.