Chapter 205: Catch Me If You Can

Name：Rebirth of the Nephilim Author：
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Chapter 205: Catch Me If You Can

Jadis Ahlstrom

Race: Nephilim

Primary Class: Mirror Knight (29)

Secondary Class: Perverted Ritualist of D (21)

Tertiary Class: None

Combined Level Rating: 50

Health: 355/910

Magic: 310/310

Attributes

Strength: 136

Dexterity: 36

Agility: 132

Vitality: 61

Fortitude: 46

Endurance: 48

Arcane: 0

Divine: 0

Eldritch: 132

Focus: 1

Resilience: 15

Will: 5

Jadis’ health had dropped by close to six hundred health points and she was still standing, a testament to the power of being a walking slab of beef in terms of vitality. A fighter like Bridget or even a higher-level mercenary like Kerr would have died three times over by then. Not Jadis. She could take the hits like few others could. That didn’t mean she felt any less pain, though.

“Mother fucker!” Syd cursed as she whipped around and stabbed at the hazy air.

Her lance hit nothing but dust and shadows. However, as she watched through teary, irritated eyes, a movement on her right caught her attention and she thrust at the source with as much speed as she could muster.

“Gods be damned you’re a fast one,” the voice of a man responded as she once again missed her mark. “If I weren’t trying to kill you, I’d be making marriage proposals. I love a woman who can keep up with me, and I can’t say the height scares me off neither!”

“Why are you trying to kill me?” Syd growled out as she searched the dust cloud for signs of her assailant. Despite being a talker, the man was hard to pin down, the source of his voice constantly changing direction. “I don’t even know who you people are!”

“It ain’t nothing personal, sweetheart,” the man replied, his accent unlike most other humans she’d met on Oros. He sounded more Irish than German, reminding her of the gnomes like Nora. “It’s just business.”

At the tail end of his sentence a shadow moved nearby on Syd’s left side. Another burning stab wound blossomed from her ribs as the man once again bypassed her armor in a location it had no right to. This time, though, Jadis was ready.

Ignoring the pain in her ribs, Syd released her grip on her lance and lashed out blindly with her left hand. Her fingers met resistance as they closed around the wrist that held the dagger that was withdrawing from her ribcage. Pulling the man around, she grabbed hold of him with one hand firmly on his left arm and the other wrapped around his neck.

“Got you,” Syd snarled as she effortlessly lifted the struggling man even with her helmeted head.

It was hard to make out the man’s features with the tears still screwing with her vision, plus the dust and the partial invisibility spell that was still affecting him, but from what she could see the guy was definitely human. Brown hair, hazel eyes, and a serious case of bad skin. He was pock marked to a degree that Jadis could see the splotchy marks despite his features being obscured. He also had a terrible set of jagged teeth that needed serious dental work. As she brought his face close to hers, he attempted to smile with those awful teeth in an almost embarrassed, conciliatory expression.

“Oh, well, so you have,” he squeaked out around her right fist squeezing his neck. “With positions changed, as they are, how about we not get too hasty here, alright lass?”

“Shut it, shark face,” Syd growled menacingly. The irritation in her throat from all the coughing helped make her sound rougher than normal. “If you don’t want me to twist your balls off in the next three seconds, drop the knife and surrender.”

The knife, still held firmly in the man’s left hand, was obviously enchanted. A long, wicked-looking blade with serrated edges, the metal glowed with an ominous orange light despite being translucent. Jadis honestly wasn’t sure how she could have missed the glow, even with the poor visibility combined with the partial invisibility spell. Maybe the man had some way of masking the dagger?

“Oi, it’s my prized possession,” the man pleaded in a surprisingly pitiful tone. “You wouldn’t make me part with it, would you?”

“Yes,” Syd growled, this time giving the man’s neck a shake that made his eyes bounce in his head. “I’m not asking again. Drop it.”

As she made her ultimatum, Syd saw that her companions were approaching through the dust cloud. Thea and Bridget were leading the way, the orc’s lantern glowing brightly and catching attention as they marched cautiously forward. The dust was starting to clear, and the sight of her figure standing there while holding the man had clearly caught their attention.

Jay and Dys were also approaching by that point. She wasn’t sure if there were any more of the invisible assassins stalking the shadows, but since she wasn’t hearing any more sounds of combat, she was feeling fairly safe in assuming that the battle was over. Taking her eyes off of the man for a half second, Syd called out towards her approaching teammates.

“How is she still not dead?” the unnamed blond man said with a wondering, almost gleeful tone.

Jadis herself could hardly believe it and she could see her health dropping directly.

Jadis Ahlstrom

Race: Nephilim

Primary Class: Mirror Knight (29)

Secondary Class: Perverted Ritualist of D (21)

Tertiary Class: None

Combined Level Rating: 50

Health: 168/910

Magic: 310/310

Attributes

Strength: 136

Dexterity: 36

Agility: 132

Vitality: 61

Fortitude: 46

Endurance: 48

Arcane: 0

Divine: 0

Eldritch: 132

Focus: 1

Resilience: 15

Will: 5

As she watched, her health lowered even further, dipping down to the low one hundreds, then double digits as Legs twisted the knife into her, the crossguard on the blade scraping against her armor.

“Fuck, she’s still standing,” Legs said as sweat dropped down his brow. “Where are the other two? If this goes on any longer, they’re going to catch up.”

“I don’t see them,” the injured woman said as she leaned against the small spellcaster. “Wait, what’s that?”

“I don’t—shit, time’s up,” the blond said as his manic smile turned to a frown. “Let’s go, the cavalry just arrived.”

The cavalry had, in fact, arrived. Jadis would have sagged in relief if she could have as she watched her health slowly start to tick up. The numbers increased massively as Legs pulled the blade from Dys’ torso, his attack no longer countering Eir’s healing spell.

Eir and the others had caught up to Jay’s paralyzed body. She and several of the others were gathered around her as more charged forward, heading in Syd and Dys’ direction. As every second passed, Dys could hear them growing closer.

“Next time,” the blond man said with a scowl that morphed into another unsettling grin. “I’ll have some more traps built for people of your size! Exciting! Make sure you come and test them for me!”

“No!” the tiny green woman shouted as she jogged after group of fleeing assailants. Her words carried as they disappeared into the brush. “We do NOT want those monsters to follow us! Do you have any survival sense in your empty skull? How much damage did that one just eat from Legs’ attack alone? Why are you such an insane bastard—”

Her voice trailed off a few moments after Dys lost sight of them. A few seconds after that, the paralysis that was holding onto Jadis released its grasp as she fell forward.

“Are you alright?” Eir asked, her voice full of concern as Jay slumped down before her.

“Syd, are you okay?” Aila asked as she put an arm around her shoulders while she knelt amongst the wreckage of her fall.

“Hey, big stuff, you alive?” Kerr asked as she drew up next to Dys, her bow drawn and at the ready. “Which way did they go? I’ll see if I can catch up.”

Before Kerr could chase after the escaped ambushers, Dys reached out and grabbed hold of her wrist, preventing her from leaving.

“No, I’m not really feeling well,” Jadis said from her three selves, answering the questions she’d been asked all at once.

“Let’s call this one a draw, okay?” Dys said with a croak.