A Choice

Thomas looked at Jason as he said with both annoyance and disappointment. "You claim you hate all Slashers associated with the Slasher Clan, but you believe Half-Slashers are inferior just like them!"

Jason looked both annoyed and angry as he gritted his teeth and said, "Don't lump me in with them, you bastard!"

Thomas shouted at Jason. "Why shouldn't I?! You're exactly the same!"

Jason yelled out with pure rage. "What did you just say?!" He instinctively tried to reach for the sword on his back with his left hand but was immediately stopped by Kuria. Kuria pressed her knife deeper into Jason's throat. Blood began to drip from Jason's throat and fall onto the ground beneath him.

Kuria spoke coldly into Jason's ear as she said. "Don't try anything! Don't forget that I'm still here."

Jason grunted with annoyance and looked at Thomas.

Thomas smirked as he looked at Jason.

Jason thought with annoyance as he stared at Thomas. "He is purposely trying to get me to attack him so she can kill me. What a coward. He knows a Half-Slasher like him can't kill me on his own which is why he was with Jack." A slight pain went through his skull, but he continued his thoughts. "However, Jack isn't the type of person to be used by other people for their goals. He is the type of person to use other people for his goals!" The pain in his skull slightly increased. Jason thought with confidence. "So, now Thomas is trying to have a true Slasher kill me!"

Kuria looked over at Thomas and said with a cold tone. "The target has already been captured. There is no point in trying to antagonize him." She said with a threatening tone. "If you continue, I'll release him!"

Thomas looked at Kuria and Jason fearfully. He then put his hands up and said with worry. "Wait! Hold on! Think about this for a second! The mission was to bring The Anti-Slasher either dead or alive, right?"

Kuria said while confused. "What's your point?"

Jason had a confused expression on his face as he thought. "Bring me either dead or alive? Bring me where? And why even bother bringing me alive? Wouldn't it be safer to just kill me?"

Thomas said to Kuria. "Wouldn't it be safer to just kill him?"

Jason thought with surprise. "He said the same thing I was just thinking!"

Kuria shook her head and said, "No. Somebody at Headquarters wants to see him."

Jason thought with surprise. "She is bringing me to her Headquarters?! Isn't the Headquarters of NYC that new section NYCS0?! Why would she bring me to such a big city?! That doesn't make any sense! Slashers are usually imprisoned in the middle of nowhere! So why am I being brought there? And who wants to see me?! I don't know anybody that works for the Empire!"

Thomas said with surprise. "You're bringing him to Headquarters?! But what if he escapes before you get there? We should just kill him now!"

Kuria said with confidence. "He won't escape. There is already somebody waiting for me there. I can teleport straight there."

Aeolos yelled out. "Hold on! You two aren't going anywhere!"

Jason looked over at Aeolos.

Aeolos held a long black knife in his left hand and a slightly shorter black knife in his right hand. Engraved on the side of the blades that were facing inward toward Aeolos had the number thirty six on it.

Thomas had a look of annoyance on his face as he said. "Didn't I tell you not to interfere?" He grabbed the sword on his back with his right hand and said, "Why couldn't you just follow simple instructions? Do you really want to die that badly?"

Aeolos said with confidence. "You can't kill me."

Thomas said with annoyance. "Huh?! Do you think just because you're a pure-blooded Slasher that I can't kill you?" He pulled his sword off of his back and said angrily. "I'll prove that you can die just like anybody else!"

Kuria sighed and said to Thomas. "I'm leaving. Meet up with me at Headquarters after you're finished here."

Aeolos yelled out. "Wait! You can't leave!"

Kuria looked at Aeolos and said, "Huh? Why's that?"

Aeolos declared. "This is a duel! You can't leave! You have both of the prizes I want for winning!"

Jason and Thomas both said while confused. "Both?"

A slight smile formed on Kuria's lips as she said, "So you want to turn this fight into a duel?"

Aeolos nodded as he said. "That's right." He pointed at Thomas and said, "If he wins, he gets to take Jason and keep you." He smiled confidently as he said. "But when I win..." He pointed at Kuria and said, "I get both you and Jason!"

Jason and Thomas both said. "What?!"

Kuria smirked and said to Aeolos. "You only get one prize. So, which one is it going to be? Would you rather have me... or The Anti-Slasher?"

Aeolos looked like he was deep in thought as he looked between Kuria and Jason multiple times.

Jason yelled out. "You idiot! What is there to think about? The answer is obvious!"

Kuria continued to smirk as she said. "Which one is it going to be?"

Aeolos continued to look between Kuria and Jason with a look of deep thought on his face.

Thomas looked at Aeolos angrily and then looked back at Kuria. Before Thomas could say anything to Kuria, he noticed her nod to him. He smirked and then looked at Aeolos again. He mumbled to himself. "Understood." He dashed toward Aeolos with his sword in hand.

Jason yelled out at Aeolos. "It's a trick, you idiot!"

Aeolos still had a look of deep thought on his face as he looked between Kuria and Jason.

Thomas said annoyance. "Did you honestly think you could have my darling?!" He swung his sword in a downward diagonal slash toward Aeolos's right side.

Jason yelled out at Aeolos again. "Look out!"

Aeolos blocked Thomas's sword with his right dagger. He smiled as he said confidently. "My goal is to become the greatest of all Slashers. The next eighty seven!" He repelled Thomas's sword backward and swung his left dagger toward Thomas's chest as he said. "But I also want a harem too! I want at least ten wives!"

Thomas jumped backward managing to completely avoid Aeolos's attack and said, "I don't care how many wives you want!" He swung his sword horizontally toward Aeolos's chest as he said. "You can't have my darling!"

Aeolos blocked Thomas's attack with his right dagger again.

Kuria said to Thomas and smiled as she said. "Don't take too long. I'll be waiting for you."

Aeolos repelled Thomas's sword away again and yelled out at Kuria. "Wait, you can't leave! That goes against the agreement!"

Kuria said coldly, "I never made an agreement with you. I gave you a choice of which prize you wanted, but you were too indecisive." She smirked as she said. "So, you get neither!"

Aeolos yelled out. "Jason! I choose Jason!"

Thomas swung his sword toward Aeolos's neck.

Kuria smiled cruelly as she said. "Too late." Both Kuria and Jason disappeared from where they were standing.