Chapter-9

There were two acts of consideration that Vahan showed to his friend:

First he didnt drag his friend's family into it.

Second he didnt took him by surprise.

Jack knew that for an assassin, these were important advantages. To make use of the most their surrounding, suppress their opponent's skills and make the best out of their own skills. So he considered it even, their last favor.

George used gyo and vowed silence for the rest of this match, he had to follow the first and possibly the last order of his future Great Grandfather in law. He also made sure that the man with light blond hair called Silva won't interfere.

Vahan had a distant look in his eyes, before he said.

"Reminds you of the time when we fought for that woman Rika, doesnt it ?" Vahan said with a little disgust in his tone.

Jack just smiled. They both knew, words wont change anything.

Jack grabbed the empty air as a construct of rapier manifested itself, it was black in color.

This was his nen ability, 'The seven arms', it had seven tools and wepons, each with a different purpose, the black contained the intent to kill and harmed whomever was hit with 'weakness' and 'madness', something he used only when he was truly prepared to kill.

He rushed to his opponent and started stabbing at him with a speed invisible to naked eye.

Vahan dodged all of the strikes as Jack hastily retreated from a few wines that suddenly emerged from the ground, trying to grab at him with their threatening spikes.

"Still as intuitive as always"

This was the ability of Vahan, 'green thumb' , he could control the plants and accelerate their growth. He carried with himself seeds of many types of plants; poison, food, medicine, weapons and more, he could provide them all.

Vahan let loose a storm of vines upon Jake, but they were always easily deflected, dodged or cut. Jake didnt even had to move unless there was a vine coming from underground, no matter how high or how low nor fast or slow the vines attacked, what met them was a blade unlike the body they were aiming from.

Jack changed his weapon for a red mace, which had the power of 'explosion' and 'destroy', charging it with a dense nen he threw it towards Vahan, who used ackerstorm vines and cudfon plant , both famed for their strength and flexibility to intercept the mace in form of a spiraling net, effectively slowing it down, as he himself rushed towards Jack with an armor of vines induced with his nen and sharpened nails coated with seeds and poison.

Jack cutting the vines that emerged from the ground intercepts Vahan with a yellow saber which had 'sharpness' and 'reach' and a purple dagger which had 'Paralysis' and 'Decay', in a clash that followed between the nails of Vahan which tried to hit Jack and poison him and Jack who evaded those attacks all the while dealing with vines that poped up randomly from both his armor and ground, and his saber which tired to cut Vahan's regenerating armor and followed up the attacks with purple dagger to deal even just a gaze.

Blood poured from between Vagan's armor as Jake overwhelmed him with relentless strikes every moment, and then he saw that the purple knife gazing him without the need make an opening in his armor with the yellow saber at all, Jake had done him good, knowing that there was no saving his arm he sacrificed it for a strike at Jake's abdomen, Jake saw it and and evaded, when he felt a strike from the back as the vibration from the ground always gave the vines away, he sidestepped only to feel a little pain in his shoulder, the vines were carrying something, they were carrying the arm of Vahan that Jake cut and used it as a weapon to attack him.

They both separated, Vahan cut the stub from his arm near the shoulder to stop the paralysis from spreading and Jake grabbed his shoulder.

The match was decided.

Jake smiled "This makes it 2 by 1" His head started feeling faint and eyes became heavy.

He had lost. From the start, he was growing weak by the minute by the poison in the air released by Vahan, who stalled for enough time to weaken him enough and injected a good amount of poison to kill a few elephants into him with that last strike.

"Now tell me Jake, where have you hidden it, and I promise I wont kill that brat over there."

"It is not something that men should possess, but sure, if you want it" He took out an amulet from his robes. And injected some nen into it "you can have it " and threw it upwards in the direction of Vahan.

He looked over to George who was a little distance away. "Sorry kid". He wished he had done this sooner, much-much sooner, then maybe he wouldnt have to fight to death with his friend, but then again, maybe it was meant to happen. He remembered the days when he traveled around the world with him and 'her'.

The amulet produced a high pitched shrill, before exploding.

George, Silva, Vahan, all tried to get away from it with Vahan, a little numb and tired, took the worst of the hit, George loosing his leg and part of his torso to a projectile and Silva mostly escaping except for a few burns.

The whole Harlequeen estate shook, Amelia and Jacob rushed and saw Silva taking the corpse of Vahan and as Jacob was going to pursue him, he heard Amelia's scream, stopping him in his tracks.

Amelia was at a loss for what to do, she wanted to deny reality , she wanted to believe that it was all a dream, but there she was, staring at her dying lover, someone she had promised to spend her whole life with.

'No! I won't let him...I WON'T LET HIM DIE!!'

An aura bursts from inside her, completely enshrouding her in green.

'I dont care if i am not able to heal people anymore, I dont care if he is the last person I heal, But please, please!...'

The complete aura concentrated on her hands as she leaned on George's chest, making him cough up some blood.

"HEAL HIM!!!"

The green light was absorbed into George and then exploded into his body making him flinch as he was covered into a hemisphere of light green.

His leg regrew, his innards regenerated, his lungs which were punctured mended themselves and he coughed up blood once again.

Amelia felt the worst of exhaustion she had ever felt and collapsed beside George.

Jacob, who watched the whole thing knew that his Granddaughter had just sacrificed something important to save George and wished for the best. He was forced to take them both to a safer place, calling an ambulance just in case before burying the charred body of his father.

***

Amelia was hospitalized, she was weak as if suffering from malnutrition for years, but they said she would be fine with a bit of rest and a healthy diet.

Amelia opened her eyes, only to see George holding her hand with a worried, almost pitiful look on his face and dark circles underneath his eyes.

"Honey..." Amelia whispered, she wanted to say something but was just wasn't able to due the lump in her throat.

"Amelia!" George hugged her gently as she was still very weak, but Amelia grabbed him with all the might she could muster with her now frail hands.

'I am glad, thank god you are safe' she wanted to say it, but all she could do was try to hug him tighter.

George consoled her and coaxed her into resting while he informes the doctors.

But he just didnt want her to know, he didnt want her to ask about the explosion, about how one of the only two members of her living family died.