Chapter 112: Skill issue

Chapter 112: Skill issue

And who would you be? Drayan asked, pulling his blade from the ground and pointing it at Chance. We dont often get Rank Three cultivators coming through our small sect, and even less often are they foolish enough to try to attack.

Oh. You must be misunderstanding, Chance said with a laugh.

Going to try to talk your way out of it? Amusing, but pointless, Drayan said. His gaze flicked to Jie, who took a step back. Drayan snapped the fingers of his free hand. Stop moving.

Jie froze in place.

Tell me, then, Drayan said with a cold smile. Since youre so willing to talk, Ill let you get a few last words out before I Bind you. I felt you snuff the life of my subordinate out. If that wasnt an attack, what was it?

Ah. Thats an easy mistake to make, Chance said. I understand. I didnt attack him, though. I executed him. He was a terrible person.

The ground beneath Drayans feet from the force of his lunge. He thrust his sword at Chances chest. Chance drew on his Essence, letting it flow through him, and let his body relax. He laughed as he leaned back and the blade passed harmlessly over his nose.

Drayan jerked the blade down and Chance twisted to the side, bringing the hilt of his urumi whipping up into Drayans chin. The man grunted, staggering back. Hed been taken by surprise, but it didnt look like the blow had even injured him.

Chances urumi scraped along the walls of the alley as he flicked it out. It curved toward Drayan, who ducked to the side and let the segmented blade whistle over his head. He jerked his hand forward and Jie leapt at Chances back.

Spinning to the side, Chance gave Jie a gentle shove and stuck his foot out. Jie tripped over it, hitting the ground with a grunt. Still laughing, Chance cartwheeled forward, dropping to the ground as Drayan tried to sever his head from his body, then drove his shoulder up into the larger mans stomach. Drayan grunted, but he didnt budge. It was like striking a brick wall.

You think thats going to do anything to a Rank Four, boy? Drayan let out a snort of laughter as his hand swept through the air, his fingers clawed as he reached for Chance.

If he gets his hands on me, itll be bad. I dont know how he establishes the usage of that Binding magic, but Id bet it requires him to grab onto me.

Chance vaulted backward and poured Essence into his urumi. Its blades glittered a warm gold as he flicked it out once more. Drayan shifted his footing and let the blades whistle past him, but Chance yanked them back right as Drayan started to advance.

The blades nearly carved into Drayans neck, but he managed to bring his sword up just in time to block it. Metal screeched against metal and Chance yanked his urumi back into its sword-form, twirling and sending it flying out once more.

Drayan grunted, forced back. Despite his words, the glowing blades of the urumi were clearly more than enough to make him pause. Chance pressed on that advantage, keeping a flurry of spinning blows pressing down on the man.

A tight alleyway isnt the best spot to use an urumi, but Ive got so much practice fighting against Soothounds in the Old City that its nowhere near as problematic as it should be.

Jie leapt at Chances feet, controlled by Drayans Binding Essence, but it was like trying to catch an oiled fish. Chance slithered out of his grasp, then pirouetted right past Drayan, avoiding a sword slash and bringing his urumi down on the mans back.

The blades scraped against Drayans skin, ripping through his clothes and carving a line of blood across his side. Drayan spun toward Chance with a roar and lunged, thrusting his sword. Chance slammed the hilt of his urumi into the blade, knocking it out of its path before whipping his foot up into the mans chin.

Drayan ignored the blow and reached out to grab Chance by the neck. Chance flashed him a smile as he stumbled drunkenly, slipping right out of the mans grip before it could close. Chances third eye burned with power as he reached out and grabbed one of the strands of Karma running out of Drayan.

A golden blade formed in the air behind Drayans back and, before he could react, it plunged into his back. Drayan let out a strangled hiss of pain, but the blow didnt go as deep as Chance had been hoping it would.

Drayan snapped his fingers. His sword, which was still embedded in the alley behind Chance, suddenly leapt into the air and flew toward him, hilt first, with blinding speed. Chance twisted to the side, but the sword moved so fast that he couldnt completely avoid it.

It cut a deep line across his chest and side as he spun, and the blade slammed back into Drayans hands.

Bands of ice-cold energy enveloped Chance, and he stiffened. He jerked at his limbs, trying to move, but it was like hed been encased within a rock. Drayans smile grew as he ran a finger along his blade.

What was it you said? Guess you dont have as much control as you thought, Drayan cackled. Welcome to the Brackern sect, boy.

Chance drew deeply on his Essence. He felt it flow through his limbs, storming within him, as Drayan took a step closer. One of his fingers twitched. Drayans eyes narrowed and he redoubled the pressure bearing down on Chance.

Essence clashed in the streets violently, swirling around both of them like a storm. But, even as hard as Chance fought, Drayan was a Rank higher than him. The man simply had more Essence to work with.

Millimeter by millimeter, Chances strength started to erode. Drayans Essence wound tighter around him, claiming more control and pushing Chances power away. But, despite all that, the grin never left Chances lips.

What are you smiling about? Drayan snarled.

Drawing on all the Essence he could muster, Chance ripped a single eyelid out of Drayans control.

Then he winked.

Drayan only had an instant to ponder what the gesture meant before Bellas fist crashed into the back of his head. A thick wall of translucent blue crystal erupted from the ground directly in front of Drayan, even as the loud crack of her knuckles connecting with his skull rang out.

His head snapped forward, slamming into the crystal. A vibrant ringing note rang out from the crystal as it vibrated with the force of the blow. Blood splattered across sit as Drayans nose broke.

Bella didnt give him time to react. Crystal encased her arm as she reared back and brought it forward once more, her eyes as cold as the crystal surrounding her.

The ringing note shattered.

Since arriving at Gleam, Chance had seen people and monsters die in a multitude of ways. Eaten, ripped to death, cut apart none of them had ever looked like particularly inviting ways to die.

But, in all that time, hed never seen someone do a perfect recreation of a grape in a blender. Drayans head vanished in a spray of blood and gore, and the crystal shredded through his body as it broke, fragments of it spinning through the air and reflecting the sunlight.

The force of the blow sent Drayans body hurtling through the crystal wall, ragdolling as it tumbled down the street. It slid to a stop right at the front of his mansion, then slumped down.

Control returned to Chances body and he straightened.

Thanks, Chance said. I wasnt ready for how fast he could Bind me. I thought it would be a lot harder. Good surprise attack, though. That wouldnt have gone nearly as well if you hadnt caught him off guard.

Dont worry about it. We need to get out of here, Bella said, nodding to the alleyway. It wont be long before reinforcements arrive.

Chance blinked. The street had emptied during their fight, but he hadnt even realized because of how focused hed been on Drayan. He turned, running over to Jie and helping the boy to his feet before sprinting back over to Bella, joining her as they ran back into the darkness of the alleys.