RELEASE

The sound of metal defecting off a hard surface echoed in a certain region of the dungeon. Neal who was in a battle with yet another Lizard man, circled his prey with swift but efficient steps.

His taxation on his body was not all for nothing as he had managed to improve in some of aspects of his abilities. Moving from side to side, Neal used his feet as a way to get the upper hand in the fight. This was due to the fact that the creatures found his movements hard to predict.

Striking multiple areas of the beast's body, he clicked his tongue, retreating backwards. The creature on the other hand did not let him off so easy. A fast charge at Neal however, only left it open for more strikes to it's body.

A tightened grip on his weapon as he backed away as well as a repeated gritting of his teeth showed his displeasure. Even though he had been training for more than a month now, he was still incapable of damaging Lizard men.

The only sign of progress he had to show for his hard work was the marks he could now create on their bodies. This was something he could not even do back when he started.

Not wanting to back down, the Lizard man charged once again, swinging it's claws frantically. This was no issue though, as Neal dodged each one with ease before getting in position to strike again.

Even though he was pissed off at the fact that he could not injury Lizard men, he could not deny the benefits had obtained because of that. Longer fights meant more movement. Evading attacks had increased his dodging skills dramatically.

Along with that came about the discovery of a fighting style which suited him perfectly. This style consisted of parrying strikes, getting into one's blindspot, sneak attacks, as well as kicks and punches.

Sure these were not effective enough to take these monsters down; however, it was what supported him in surviving battles all this while.

Aggression filled the monster's attack pattern as it swung it's hands and tail over and over again. It was obvious it was getting tried of missing all of it's assaults.

This only made it easier for Neal to get his strikes in, not that it mattered. Just then, his muscles began to contract in pain and vibrate out of the blue. As a result, he could not move his body the way he intended to.

Deep down, Neal could tell it was because he had pushed his body too hard. This was not the first time it had happened though. A refusal to change from his ways resulted in this.

The beast seeing an opening tackled Neal hard, blasting him to the ground. Wide open, the Lizard man attempted to finish the job only to be defected to a wall.

Not even two seconds after, a metal shield dented it's skull, before a series of bashes erupted. Neal upon recovering could already tell who it was. The shield said it all.

"Neal, are you okay," Evans asked breathing in and out audibly.

"Yeah, I am fine," Neal responded as he rose to his feet, clenching his aching side. Soon after he began to walk in a different direction, opposite Evans.

This in return would only cause him to call Neal's name, dragging his attention to himself once again.

"What do you want?"

"Neal, if you keep on going like this, you are going to get yourself killed," Evans expressed his concern.

Squeezing his fist tightly, Neal stared a hole into the ground. He knew Evans was right, but he didn't want to stop. The feeling of being useless was just too overwhelming for him to handle. How else was he going to survive without solving that issue?

"I can't.."

"You can Neal. You don't have to handle all of this on your own. We are here for you."

The thought of not being alone in this situation swirled Neal's heart with joy; however, reality was not so welcoming. If he was being honest with himself, it felt like anything but that.

"The first time we came out of the dungeon together, I knew how you felt but hesitated because I didn't know what to say to you. This time it's going to be different," Evans stated as he stared at Neal with determination.

His words only made Neal curious. The claim that he could be talked out of his current state sounded like a sham.

"What I need now is a solution, not some lecture," Neal voiced out as he prepared to leave.

"Xavier told me to come here."

Upon hearing this, Neal stood firm in place. This was something that he did not believe after all.

"Well he said it indirectly, but to me it's all the same," Evans corrected with a soft chuckle. "Just hear me out, okay. After that you can choose to do whatever you want."

After an audible sigh, Neal looked straight into Evans eyes. The rage he once carried in his eyes had subsided, and he obviously considered this a good thing. But he also knew it could revert back to how it was at anytime.

"I will hear you out this once, but not here. Let's get out of here first."

The duo walked out of the dungeon heading to an area they could talk freely. A bunch of crystals clustered together turned out to be the best place for this conversation to take place.

Taking a sit, Neal observed as red particles sipped into his injuries, fixing them. His sight did not move from them though, even as Evans proceeded to speak.

"I know you probably think Xavier is the worst leader we could ever have. Heck, you probably even wonder how he became leader in the first place. Well, the thing is that he wasn't always like that."

Evans words succeeded in catching his attention with this. One of the sources of this problem was Xavier after all.

"According to Xavier, he was the seventh person to appear in the tower. That is back then when they were trying to discover things about the tower. Early on, he was just like you, still trying to figure things out. As the numbers grew, so did his confidence of escaping the tower. That was not the case though, the people he trusted in died, some even before his very eyes."

"Naturally, he became tough on himself, hoping that this would make him stronger. However, he soon discovered his source of strength was those around him. His harsh attitude towards us stems from a place of fear and care. Back then, he only called you useless because he was getting inpatient about leaving the Forge tower. To be honest, none of us know how long he has been here. I am sure you could imagine how he feels. I am not trying to dismiss what he did, i am just saying you should see it from his own point of view. He probably believes he should have died instead of his friends. I know I would."

Silence ensued as Evans felt pained for what Xavier was going through. Even with this, he knew Neal would never stop. So he brought something else to the table.

"Finally, I have a suggestion. I am not telling you to stop training and fighting monsters entirely. I say we show Xavier that you are the opposite of useless, together. That way, if you are in serious danger I can intervene; however, you need to fight monsters in moderation."

At this point, a smile crept unto Neal's face. He liked the idea that Evans brought to the table.

"Well who could have guessed. You did come with a solution after all."

"Though before we do that, you should probably go take a bath," Evans stated with a comical face.

This in turn caused the two to burst into laughter. Relieved that the wrathful eyes of Neal had vanished, he was blithe by the fact he was able to break the Assassin's class curse on him.