41 Chapter 41: Alex and the Condemned Priest Part 1
Morgan Point of View.
As the three made their way towards the peak, they were endowed with breath-taking sceneries.
The sound of water trickling downstream, leaf rustling, and the sensation of a cool gentle breeze refreshing lathered their senses. If Morgan did not know that he was on a mountain peak, he would have mistaken it for a buddha's sanctuary.
'This is probably why the Marquese rented this estate; besides the exhausting trout uphill, this place is paradise in itself. Maybe I cou' midway through his thought, Morgan froze. He felt a tiny speck of darkness behind him.
Being a light Elementalist, Morgan was highly susceptible to dark attribute elements. Without hesitation, he invoked a shield of light to protect himself. At that moment, the only thing he could think of was an assassin.
Even after invoking the shield of light, Morgan still felt a tinge of danger, as if the elemental darkness would pass thru his shield.
Not Wasting even a fraction of a second, Morgan picked up Laurel, securing his hand around her waist, and grabbed the bodyguard by the back of his shirt collar, dragging him along as he jumped away.
For Morgan, the assassination attempt wasn't a surprise since Liam had predicted this. Back at the barn area before the duke left with his wife, he whispered this to Morgan before having him escort Laurel to her estate. The duke had specified that it was merely a 1% possibility that the royal mages would assassinate Laurel in a bid to send the noble faction plummeting into an internal conflict. Liam thought of this because it was something he, too, would do.
Liam was right about the assassination, but Morgan was sure that it wasn't Theodore or Brittney. Both mages knew his elemental affinity was light and would not have made the mistake of using elements with dark attributes against him.
"That's him," Laurel screamed while still being carried by the priest, "it's him, that space bastard that killed my sister."
Hearing Laurel's words, the priest was ecstatic. He would rather face both Alex and Luke than any of the royal mages.
Even though the priest was running away at top speed, Alex could still catch up to him.
Seeing that Alex was already swinging his sword behind his head, Morgan kept his current pace. He then smiled at the bodyguard before flinging back towards Alex's sword.
'Don't worry, I will say a prayer for you, so go and embrace the afterlife,' the priest tittered inwardly. while laughing outwardly, "hahaha".
"Wha?" seeing her remaining bodyguard tossed, laurel was about to say something, but the priest's remarks interrupted her.
"He didn't deserve to live, useless trash!" The priest responded as he attached an escape talisman on laurels back before giving laurel the same pristine smile he gave her bodyguard as if saying,
_I don't mind saying a prayer for you too_.
Knowing who he was dealing with, the priest activated several talismans before stopping beside a river. Putting at least 8ft between him and Alex.
Morgan touched the back of his head and looked toward the ground where Alex was standing just to see pieces of his natural blonde dreadlocks.
Pulling out his bone daggers, Morgan placed Laurel beside him while looking around his environment. He saw Alex, but what he was searching for was Luke.
'Based on Laurel and Amelia's report, the beastman was the one with the shadow element, and the human should have space. Therefore, the one who initially attacked him was Luke. unless Alex has a piece of equipment with dark or shadow attributes which gave away his position, causing him to fail the assassination.'
Morgan's line of thought wasn't wrong, considering the information he knew about Alex was incomplete. The speck of darkness that he felt came from the small hole Alex opened in the void when he pierced his sword through it. If Morgan had any other element, he would have surely died in Alex's hands.
Morgan looked at Alex, who calmly walked towards them, declaring, "she wanted to kill me, so she has to die!"
"Whether you join her is up to you? If you leave, I can guarantee I will not kill you," Alex said sincerely.
Before Morgan could reply, Alex burst out laughing, clenching his stomach as if that was the funniest thing he had ever said.
"I'm sorry I couldn't keep a straight face," Alex said while panting from his uncontrollable laughter, "Of course, I'm Lying! I'm going to gut you like a chicken."
Morgan smiled. 'the golden chicken is here.'
He, too, was excited.
He also was after Alex. Alex was the key to getting it all, the staff, and the marquess's loyalty.
With space locked he had all the advantages; he knew most of Alex's skills, and Alex knew none of his.
'He doesn't even realize that he's the chicken,' Morgan chuckled inwardly, 'something must be wrong with him,'
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Alex's Point of View (beginning of the fight with the priest)
After talking with Star, Alex drank multiple mana potions refilling his mana to the max.
His blade immediately pierced the void aimed at the priest's butt-hole.
'Since you're a condemned priest, you must have touched a couple of kids here and there; here I am to return the favor.' Alex thought, smiling at the idea of pricing the priest's most sensitive area, turning him into a shish kabob.
Before Alex's blade could reach the priest's rectum, a massive shield of light came crashing down from the sky, lighting up the dark mountain peak as it blocked Alex's blade.
'Fuck'
Seeing his sneak attack fail, Alex immediately faded his blade, allowing it to pass through the shield of light, on the same course to the priest's rectum.
The priest wasn't idle; as soon as his shield of light blocked the blade, he grabbed laurel by her waist and the bodyguard by the back of his shirt collar and jumped away.
Alex tore a rift and jumped after the priest. He would not let the priest escape that easily. Laurel was a quest; the priest was a sub-quest and a future threat; none of them would survive tonight.
None.
The priest began running at full speed, capriciously in a zig-zag pattern, trying to lose his attacker. But with blink, Alex would readily catch up to him.
Alex launched his body forward into the air, closing what little distance separated them, and swung his blade, intending to decapitate the priest.
The condemned priest reacted by throwing the bodyguard in Alex's direction.
If Alex's Blade stayed on the same course, the guard's body would be chapped in half horizontally. In theory, the bodyguard's corpse even if split open would still push Alex back down the mountain, giving Morgan enough time to create some distance.
If the assassin was anyone else, maybe Morgan's plan would have worked. Forget about Alex's skills; there was still another reason why Morgan's plan would not work. Out of everyone here, Alex needed the bodyguard alive, and the reasoning was very simple!
If the priest's stats were almost triple his own, Alex could only imagine the Stats of the Duke; for him, it would be better if a motivated grieving father took care of the duke. Alex knew full well that with tragedy comes opportunity!
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bodyguard (Marcas) pov
Seeing the priest smile at him, Markas felt chills down his spine. He had yet to process why the priest was smiling at him when he was hurled toward Alex.
"Noooooooooooooo" Marcas screamed, knowing he was destined to die. He had yet to meditate to recover any mana. In the air, he was vulnerable, literally diving headfirst into a madman's sword; the only thing he could do was close his eyes and pray.
'today, I swear to the gods if I live past today, I will not convert wealth, I put down this life and become a farmer, I will be kind to all those.....'
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Back to Alex's Point of view
Alex was about to take a risk and blink in front of the priest to decapitate him to avoid killing Markas, but he couldn't. Space was locked. As soon as Morgan threw Markus, he activated several space-locking talismans.
Seeing his "precious ally" coming into his blade, Alex's blade faded, staying on the same course. Even if he couldn't decapitate the priest, Alex was determined to at least graze him. A superficial wound would be Morgan's one-way ticket to hell.
Once the guard's body passed the ghost blade, Alex's body faded, allowing the guard to pass thru him. His blade stayed on course as it materialized, cutting off pieces of the priest's blond dreadlocks.
'If he was only 1/16 of an inch closer...… Fuck' Alex thought to himself.
Laurel's bodyguard, who was still in the air at the time, landed on his knees, breaking them, as he continued to roll downhill before his body slammed into a tree, causing him to vomit blood.
'ruthless bastards, I hope you all die! No fucking compassion' Macas cursed, not realizing that his prayer for a miracle was answered.
Once Morgan was eight ft away from Alex, Morgan placed laurel back on her feet, Pulling out two white bone daggers to confront Alex. The shield of light he conjured was still shining bright like a beacon illuminating the mountain peak.
Alex smiled calmly at them, eight feet between them, ignoring the priest. Alex pointed at Laurel, stating: "she wanted to kill me, so she has to die!"
"Whether you join her is up to you? If you leave, I can guarantee I will not kill you," Alex said seriously, knowing that there was no way the condemned priest would believe him.
Not waiting on morgans reply, Alex burst out laughing, clenching his stomach as if that was the funniest thing he had ever said.
"I'm sorry I couldn't keep a straight face," Alex said while wiping a tear from his eyes before shouting, "Of course, I'm lying! I'm going to gut you like a chicken."
