The Oath

Whoosh!

As the sword moved in a downward swing, an array of knives and other small objects appeared in the way. The sword effortlessly slashed through the purses, pouches, papers, clippers, and more. However, it couldn't slice through the knives as if they were made from harder metal.

Perseus summoned a knife into his hand and slashed across Jason's cheek. A trail of blood appeared. Jason quickly took a step back and ignored the bleeding wound. At the moment of retreat, Perseus lunged forward and slashed repeatedly as he were trying desperately to hit his opponent.

As Jason continued side-stepping, back-stepping, and dodging the knives, he had a moment to think. Perseus abandoned his previous fighting style, which relied on his ability. Now, he focused mainly on close quarters, which he was familiar with.

'He is overconfident in his abilities, arrogant even. That's why I managed to escape back then. However, he has now reigned in his arrogance.' Jason still didn't show any signs of fear or hesitation. 'But there is a clear lack of confidence in his movements. He isn't any longer sure of his victory!'

"Hah, hah... hah!" Perseus panted heavily as he continued swinging his knife-wielding arm. He had reached the limit of his stamina. However, he continued grinding his teeth as the desire for survival and victory overwhelmed his mind.

'I should have gone for Stamina Pathway. God damn it!'

Perseus swung the knife one more time. As the knife was slashing down, Jason suddenly grabbed him by the wrist and side-stepped to the right to close the distance between them. Then, with his sword-wielding arm, he backhanded Perseus across his face.

Perseus' head twisted to the side with a bloody nose. A red mark appeared on his cheek and went slightly over his bent nose.

Jason took the opportunity that was presented to him. He used the wrist-grabbing hand and pulled Perseus closer with force. Then he raised his left leg and kneed his stomach. Perseus coughed out saliva as the air was knocked out of his body.

"No... no!" Perseus desperately wrapped his arms around Jason's waist. The black-haired young man smashed his fists at his back, but Perseus didn't let go. Instead, he opened his clenched fists and summoned all the knives on the floor to fly straight towards him. However, since there was Jason's body in the way, the knives would first go through him!

Seeing the peril he was in, Jason quickly kneed Perseus deep in the gut and felt the wrapped arms loosen. He took that as a chance and escaped the hold. Before the knives arrived, he had jumped over them as he rolled forward as soon as he landed on the messy floor.

"Ugh..." Perseus put his shaky hand forward and stopped the flying knives. However, as his hand continued shaking, all but one knife fell to the floor. Since his stamina had reached its limit, he couldn't use his ability properly!

Jason lunged forward with the one-handed sword in hand. His stamina was vastly better than Perseus', even though he was rank lower. The main reason was his torture-like training as a child.

Perseus gritted his teeth and pointed his finger downward. The knife plunged down into the floor, the blade piercing through the wooden floor.

"Slippery." Perseus whispered with a painful tone. As soon as he said that, the wooden floor turned slippery, as if it had been turned into a floor of soap!

Jason's vision swam as he suddenly saw his vision go from Perseus' figure to the far-away ceiling and then into the floor as he fell. He lost his balance after the sudden slippery effect.

"Hah... hah... hah..." Perseus took the knives from the ground around him and began throwing them at Jason. However, the black-haired young man quickly rolled out of the way as the knives continued stabbing the ground beside him.

Jason stopped rolling, turned to the other side, grabbed the knife from the ground, and swung his arm from an awkward angle. The knife slipped from his grasp, flew through the air, and slashed into Perseus' shoulder. His unpleasant groan resounded in his ears, and as soon as the knife hit him, the slippery floor disappeared.

Jason flipped back to his feet and grabbed another knife from the ground before hurling it at Perseus. The second knife landed on Perseus' thigh, causing him to fall backward onto a pond of blood.

"Whew..." The black-haired young man dragged the one-handed sword behind him as he approached the frightened Perseus.

"W-wait..." Perseus groaned in pain. "I-I gave you half... of the ingredients in Horror Realm... Because of me, you are System Apprentice. I could have killed you and taken everything for myself... but I didn't."

"You only honored the agreement; it doesn't spare you." Jason stopped before Perseus and lifted the sword. He grabbed it with both hands and was ready to stab it down.

"P-please... I-I still considered you as my first friend..." Perseus grimaced in pain as his eyes moistened. "Please... take the bags. Take them!"

"You made me realize something." Jason looked at Perseus' teary eyes. "The reason you didn't kill me in Horror Realm wasn't because you wanted to honor the agreement. You were afraid of what your brother would have said to you if you were the only survivor. The reason I am alive is because you didn't want to get yelled at..."

Perseus' eyes widened as he realized that the dawn of death was upon him. As he looked at Jason's scary, emotionless eyes, his body started to tremble in fear.

"No more..." Jason closed his eyes before whispering. "The Death 'Themselves' have to come in person if 'They' want my soul. I will defy death as long as I can."

His eyes opened, and he stabbed the sword through Perseus' heart, into the wooden floor below.

"Cough!" Perseus coughed up a mouthful of blood as the sword's cold steel went right through him. He tried to grab the sword and pull it out, but he severely lacked the strength to do so. His vision turned ever so blurry, as if everything he saw was turning into a messy painting.

At least, he lost his vision as darkness engulfed his entire being. However, that wasn't the last thing he saw. Instead, in the darkness, a flame-covered door appeared out of nowhere. It was like a beacon in the darkness.

The door had engravings of flaming skulls and burning chains. The door slowly creaked open, revealing a black castle surrounded by a flaming sea and desolate land. There, screams of agony reverberated across the unknown land.

Perseus' eyes shook as he tried to scream. However, his mouth was missing. Replacing his mouth were strings that kept it shut. He tried to rip the strings, but it made his pain much worse. Then, from inside the door, flaming chains flew out and wrapped around Perseus, pulling him inside.

He tried to scream in pain and horror. As he tried to claw his way back into the darkness, the flame-covered door closed shut, and then the door disappeared into the darkness.

...

Jason removed his hands from the hilt of the sword as Perseus' body stopped moving. The light had left his eyes as if he had turned blind. The corpse was still warm, but it was growing colder by the minute.

'I wonder if there is Heaven and Hell...' He let out a sigh filled with emotions. He then took a good look around him. The lounge was a mess. Overturned chairs, cracks on the floor, blood seeping into the wood, and several corpses. It looked like a hellish place.

'I have to leave before anyone arrives. I can't explain killing Percy's brother.' Jason was about to run out of the building before he remembered something. He turned to the three heavy-looking bags. They looked incredibly valuable.

'I need to become stronger; otherwise, my oath will be nothing but a joke.' Jason made up his mind and went to the bags. With the help of the straps, he carried all three bags at once. He stomped out of the building and saw that the streets were empty as the sound of battles echoed from some distance away.

'I can't stay in Inner Circle. The battle will continue, and the longer I stay here, the higher the chance of others finding out what happened here. They might also find these bags... This is risky, but the Death Incarnation is already after me. Everything I do is risky.'

After the decision was made, Jason turned towards Main Street, which led to the Realm Station. It was a common sight to see someone carrying bags. Especially now that the war had reached its boiling point. Many were moving out into their vacation homes, waiting for the war to end.

'Keep walking. Don't stop. I can't stay here any longer.' He had spent his entire life in the Human City. The visits to Horror Realm and Mach Island were the first times he had left. Now, he would have to leave for a longer duration.

'I won't return until I am System Champion. Its not safe otherwise.' Jason sighed and continued walking down the street. Soon, his figure had disappeared from the Workers Street.

...

"Argh!" Percy screamed as two Metal Paladins tried to drag him to the ground. Around him, battles raged as if it were a free-for-all. He used his overwhelming strength to escape the hold and smashed his lion-faced hammer across their faces, shattering their skulls in the process.

"Push them back!" He screamed, but at that moment, a lightning storm appeared at the end of Iron Wall Street. It appeared out of nowhere.

"The Watchdogs are here!" A scream that was heard by everyone rang from the direction of the lightning storm. The Realm Association's Watchdogs have entered the war!

'Whew, finally.' Percy sighed in relief, as this meant that today's fighting was over. The Watchdogs were sent by the Realm Association's higher-ups, who were tired of seeing their beloved Inner Circle getting destroyed to the ground.

"Everyone, return to the headquarters!" Percy waved his hand as a sign of retreat. The Metal Paladins and Scarlet Arrows didn't follow them and retreated as well. No one wanted to go against Watchdogs.

After arriving on Workers Street, many Golden Lion members were mending their wounds, and some were carrying heavily injured members on stretchers. There weren't many that were unscathed. Even Percy had a long-running cut going over his left eye. It would definitely leave a mark.

After seeing the headquarters in the distance, many sighed in relief and smiled. However, after arriving at the entrance, everyone's faces were filled with shock and anger.

"What in the world..." Percy dropped his hammers in disbelief.

"Was it those despicable Metal Paladins and Scarlet Arrows?!" Russell screamed in anger.

Percy looked over the corpses until he saw a blond-haired figure impaled on the ground. Sword going through his chest.

"Perseus... Perseus!" Percy ran into the building and kneeled next to the corpse of his brother. His hands trembled as he touched his brother's cold cheek. "No... Perseus!"

"Boss, the vault has been robbed!" Russell went first to check on the vault and immediately came back in anger after seeing all the potion recipes missing along with some gold coins.

"Give me a moment." Percy raised his hand.

"But we need to find the thief." Russell looked at Perseus as if he wasn't worth crying over.

"Give me a moment!" Percy's shout silenced everyone. "He is my brother... Let me close his eyes, at least."

He slowly closed Perseus' eyelids.

"Mend the wounds. Take care of the wounded and bury the dead." Percy said with a heavy look, as if he had aged a decade.

"Y-yes, sir." Russell started to bark orders as the building turned busy. After doing so, he turned to Percy before hesitantly saying. "What about the stolen recipes? They were the only ones we got."

"We can always get more." Percy pulled the sword out of his brother's body and looked at the blood-stained blade coldly. "Now, we can't lose more soldiers. However, if there are some with heavy injuries, don't waste medicine on them. Even if they survive, they won't have any strength to fight, becoming utterly useless."

Russell gulped after hearing his guild master's ruthless words. He nodded. "Alright, I will go check on the injured and tell the medics to skip the heavily injured ones."

Percy nodded and continued to silently look at the blood-stained blade.