Chapter 32: Battling Thalia

Talia held a Japanese-style weapon in her hand, its sharp blade gleaming with a chilling light. Jekyll had no doubt that if he were struck by this blade, his flesh and bones might be instantly separated.

Her eyes, filled with murderous intent, scanned the passage, seemingly searching for Jekyll's position. The latter remained motionless, maintaining his invisibility. He knew well that for a skilled fighter like Talia, hearing footsteps in a silent place would immediately pinpoint his exact location.

Jekyll tightly gripped his dagger, vigilantly watching Talia while cautiously reaching into his pocket. It seemed that now was not the time to conserve the use of poison.

Unable to locate Jekyll, Talia furrowed her brows slightly, then slowly approached step by step, the blade in her hand naturally hanging towards the ground.

"You are indeed ruthless, it seems you have inherited the traits of your original. But I'm curious, where did you get your other abilities and knowledge from? Although I wouldn't mind dissecting you to find out, surrendering yourself for observation is also a good choice."

Though Talia's whisper was very soft, Jekyll wasn't foolish enough to believe the words of this female assassin. He waited for Talia to gradually approach him, intending to catch her off guard at the moment when their distance was shortest.

Three meters, two meters. Just one more step forward and it would be the chance to strike—

Swish!

Suddenly, accompanied by the sound of flesh being cut, the blade flashed in front of Jekyll.

However, Talia's target wasn't Jekyll but a corpse on the ground, pierced by the tip of her Japanese sword. With a flick of the blade, blood showered down like raindrops.

Shit!

As a drop of blood splattered onto Jekyll's cheek, he immediately realized that things were going south. He quickly aimed at Talia, who had already spotted his location, and hurled the dagger in his hand.

Bang!

Talia's blade traced a smooth trajectory, easily deflecting Jekyll's flying dagger. With a cruel yet alluring smile, she charged towards Jekyll.

At the critical moment, without hesitation, Jekyll played his final trump card—

"Wait! I surrender! I give up!"

Jekyll raised both hands at lightning speed, and his lightning-fast surrender seemed to have worked. Because in the moment Talia closed in on him, she didn't swing her blade but instead drove her knee fiercely into his chest.

Thunk!

Jekyll thought his ribs were about to break as he was sent flying backward, crashing hard onto the ground. Then, the next moment, he felt someone sitting on his abdomen, pressing down heavily, while a cold, sharp sensation touched his throat.

"Your choice is wise, clone. Rest assured, once I figure out what happened to you, I'll dispose of you painlessly."

As she spoke, Talia's knee pressed down harder, and the cold blade pressed closer to Jekyll's throat.

Jekyll cautiously caught his breath before coming to his senses. Seeing Talia smiling triumphantly in front of him, he could only force out an awkward grimace.

"Talia, it's our first meeting. I want to remind you of your promise before. You assured that as long as I came here to exchange, you would ensure the safety of Harley and Gordon. Someone of your stature wouldn't go back on your word, right?"

"Hehehe... You're quite bold, aren't you? After killing five people, you still want to negotiate with me?" Talia chuckled coldly, then looked down at Jekyll with a stern gaze.

"I remember my exact words were to send them home unharmed. Rest assured, their bodies will have no visible injuries. I can still accomplish that."

Jekyll seemed to have anticipated this, letting out a sigh.

"I guess it's as I expected. But since you're resorting to sophistry, then my surrender just now doesn't count either. I surrendered, but we didn't specify whether it was a single match or best of three, did we?"

As Talia frowned at Jekyll's cryptic words, about to retort, her expression suddenly changed, and she swiftly swung the blade away from Jekyll's throat.

Puff!

A fear toxin canister had just appeared but was swiftly sliced apart by Talia, dissipating into a wisp of smoke. As expected, this skill wasn't effective against prepared enemies, just as Dinah had said. But it diverted Talia's attention for a moment, which was enough.

Crunch!

The sound of glass being crushed came from Jekyll's mouth. In the instant the poison entered his body through the broken vial, he felt the seemingly boundless strength returning to him.

"Don't make any rash moves. Do you want to die—"

Talia's face turned icy as she was about to execute Jekyll with her Japanese blade, but she saw Jekyll's face rapidly enlarging in front of her. Despite being pinned down by Talia's lower body, Jekyll, with inhuman speed, unleashed a headbutt towards Talia.

Bang!

Even with the most exquisite martial arts skills and physical abilities nearing human limits, in such close-quarters physical combat, it ultimately boils down to sheer strength and speed. Undoubtedly, Jekyll, having the ability of Bane, could briefly be considered superhuman in these aspects after ingesting Poison Ivy's venom.

Talia was thrown off balance by Jekyll's headbutt, and Jekyll didn't miss the opportunity. He immediately flipped over and pressed down on Talia's body, switching their positions.

However, Jekyll, despite having a beautiful woman pinned beneath him, was far from enjoying the moment. He unhesitatingly conjured a new dagger in his hand and prepared to mercilessly stab Talia's throat.

Clang!

At the critical moment, Talia used her Japanese blade to block Jekyll's dagger, but her strength was no match for his. Moreover, the Japanese blade, designed for sharpness and resilience at the cost of fragility, soon emitted a metallic crack, on the verge of being snapped by the dagger.

The roles of predator and prey switched in a matter of seconds.

Talia felt the tip of Jekyll's dagger piercing her fair skin, just a centimeter away from severing her blood vessels. As she looked into Jekyll's eyes, filled with confusion, she couldn't comprehend why a mere clone possessed such monstrous strength. She also regretted her carelessness and harbored various complex emotions— in this moment, even this seasoned professional assassin couldn't help but feel a hint of despair.

Unexpectedly, just as Talia felt she couldn't hold on any longer, she suddenly felt Jekyll's grip loosen, and he voluntarily withdrew the dagger, then swiftly leaped away from her.

With a lingering sense of fear, Talia touched her still bleeding throat, quickly got up, and looked at Jekyll, puzzled.

Jekyll wore an enigmatic smile on his face as he toyed with the dagger in his hand, his gaze fixed on Talia.

"Now you should understand—just now, I could have killed you with my strength alone, but I chose to spare your life."

"Let's talk, Talia. Perhaps we don't need to fight to the death."

°°°

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