The Final Battle Between Mortal Enemies

The agents drew closer and closer Chris's position. He took a small vial out of an inner pocket and carefully coated his remaining dagger. An eerie green tint colored the knife's edge. With that done, Chris then applied a small coating to his gloves' fingertips.

The effects wouldn't last for long in the air, but were highly potent on contact with living matter. All Chris had to do was touch his target's skin within half an hour. Then their fate would be sealed.

Cracks still remained in the barrier surrounding them, giving Chris some leeway to use magic. Still, whatever he had was nothing compared to what the insurgents could cast. Exhaustion and the barrier didn't bind them as much as Chris. Some dirty methods could help ensure Marc died here and now.

Only a handful of buildings remained unchecked on this side of the restricted area. The remaining forces had split up to search them. Chris watched as the enemies entered his building. As they destroyed the floors below, Chris prepared a small surprise for them with the remaining magic that he had.

Just as they reached the floor that Chris was hiding on, the trap activated. An enormous boom rocked the building. Half of it tumbled down immediately, taking with it the rebels who had gone inside. More dust clouded the air as the other half began its slow drop to the ground.

The sudden collapse took the enemy by surprise. A few jumped into the dust to begin the search for their fallen comrades. Chris snuck into the alleyway during the confusion. He grabbed a rebel agent and pulled him out of sight. A few minutes later, he emerged dressed as a rebel.

"What are you all doing?! Ignore those idiots. If that wasn't an accident, then Chris and the others should be nearby. Continue the search! Don't let them escape."

Marc instantly took charge of the situation. The other insurgents paled when Marc ordered them to stop looking for their comrades, but didn't hesitate to follow his orders. Their allies' lives didn't measure up to their own. Their advisor looked ready to tear off someone's head. They didn't dare to disobey.

Chris clicked his tongue. With the chaos subsiding, getting closer to Marc would be that much harder. Still, his little present wasn't done yet. Another search party was sent to check the section of the building that remained standing.

Standing next to the other agents, Chris pretended to guard the area. With his hooded cloak and silent demeanor, he didn't look out of place compared with some of the other agents. He kept his eyes on Marc, who stayed to watch the progress of the search.

"All of you better hurry up in there! I don't have all day. Have you found anyone hiding inside of that building yet?"

No one responded from the building no matter how much Marc yelled. Marc became convinced as another search team simply seemed to vanish after the second one. That was Chris's second surprise in action.

He had set up a magical formation to temporarily confuse those who entered what remained of his floor. Though nonlethal, it could help mislead Marc. Chris could see the rapid calculations taking place in Marc's head. No one dared to disturb his thoughts.

That weasel hesitated to choose between just destroying the building or going in himself to see who was hiding inside. On one hand, if Daren wasn't inside then just destroying the building would safely handle his companions. On the other, if Daren was inside then their target could die.

"How vexing… I'll just have to go inside and check myself. There's no way that Chris will just let them surrender."

Marc slowly wandered around the building. Looking at it from each angle, he tried to find any clues that might tell him who was inside and where they were. Four guards accompanied him. Two stood in front of him and two stood behind him.

Chris carefully concealed his killing intent as he gripped the knife hidden in his sleeves. Every second that ticked by seemed like an eternity. Soon, the first two guards passed him. They glared at each person standing guard around the building.

One of the guards' gazes landed squarely on him. Chris slightly shook and pretended to cower like the rest. The gaze lingered for a second before moving on. Chris continued to shake for a couple of seconds before pretending to recover.

Finally, Marc Lupton stood right in front of him. Distracted by his careful inspection of the building, Marc didn't see the person jump out of the guard line straight at him. Out of instinct he moved his body to the side. A knife barely missed plunging into his neck and hit his shoulder instead.

Chris continued his attack on Marc. The body guards quickly reacted and began to cast their spells. Chris was forced to back off. He threw Marc to one pair of bodyguards, who quickly caught and began to treat their master. The barrier above began to shudder as Marc screamed in pain.

The other pair was violently assaulted. Chris nimbly dodged their spells. In such close quarters, they didn't have time to cast more. With a flick of his rest, the first fell to his blade. The second lasted for a few more seconds, but died just the same with a slashed throat.

Returning his attention to Marc, the other bodyguards had begun to drag their master away. An awful green tinge like rotting flesh had started to spread from Marc's shoulder wound. Still, Chris wanted to finish the job personally.

A smirk appeared on Chris's lips. The other agents seemed stupefied and hadn't taken any action. That worked heavily in Chris's favor. Chris activated his final surprise. With a loud rumble, the rest of the building began to collapse.

Before the remaining guards could react, Chris dashed towards them. With the loud noise distracting them and the dust obscuring their vision, another opportunity presented itself. Chris slashed at the remaining guards. His dagger got several cuts onto their arms and faces.

Before the remaining guards could react, Chris once again went for Marc's throat. Marc had finally regained some of his senses, and dashed away into the dust cloud. His assassin hurriedly pursued him. Both then disappeared into the dust cloud.

The bodyguards cursed and ran after them. The other agents looked on in shock and confusion. They didn't understand what just happened. With Marc gone, they began to run around in disorder to contain the situation.

In the dust cloud, Marc launched his counter attack as the shock wore off. His left arm was basically useless now. Though pain dulled his senses, Marc could still cast spells and went into delirious frenzy. Chris stayed close amid the falling debris and tried to stab the knife into Marc for one last time.

"You think you can live after trying to kill me? Hahaha, I'll make sure that you die a death worse than a dog's, you insufferable fool!" Marc sneered as he went crazy out of pain and anger.

The viper was forced to keep both Chris and himself alive as debris fell from the sky. Chris knew exactly how to position himself to keep Marc partially distracted by the falling debris. But the debris couldn't fall forever. This battle would need to end soon.

Before the remaining bodyguards arrived, Chris pushed himself to the limit again. He didn't bother to dodge Marc's latest spell. An evil smile broke out on Marc's face, which soon turned into horror. With a final burst of strength, Chris ignored the pain jolting through his body and stepped right next to Marc.

The dagger plunged deeply into Marc's heart. Time seemed to stand still. As Marc peaked under his assailant's hood, he realized the other's identity.

"Christopher Vear… you…" he gasped in rage. "It's always you… getting in my way…"

Chris coldly looked down at Marc. He plunged the dagger deeper into his enemy's heart. This weasel would die today. Marc began to hysterically laugh. Just as Chris wouldn't let him live, Marc wouldn't let him live either.

Marc grabbed onto Chris's arm. With a vicious glare one last time at his longtime foe, Marc began to gather all of his remaining power between the waves of pain from his shoulder. He would take this bastard down with him. No matter how Chris struggled, Marc wouldn't let go.

On the verge of life and death once again, Chris struggled vehemently to break free. He wouldn't survive Marc's final spell from such a short distance given his current weak state. The final battle was between Marc's spell and Chris's poison. Which ever activated first would lead Chris to doom or victory.

At this moment two shadowy figures emerged in the dust cloud. Marc gleefully cackled as Chris's face paled. If the bodyguards arrived at this time, Chris was really doomed.

"Christopher Vear, today is your last day on Tellus breathing! I may die with you, but your precious young master will soon become a member of the True Order. You have failed! I FINALLY WON HAHAHAHAHA!"

A wind spell swept the dust away. Then, the figures took out their swords and struck one final blow.