only fatalities

Karkal stared at General Khalifa, breathing heavily. His armor was in a sorry state—one of his swords was broken, and the other was dented. He looked around and noticed that the general's men had already dealt with his troops and were on their way to the mansion. Not that it mattered; the rest of his forces were headed there too, so all that awaited them was another battle. There was no real rush in joining them. His mission was to stall, and what better way to do that than to hold the enemy's commander down in a life-and-death battle?

Speaking of the enemy's commander, he should have asked Rashid to pay him more. Who would've thought he'd be facing such a pain in the ass of a general?

The general was also weakened like Karkal, with a gaping wound on her head that was bleeding. But the injury didn't dim the light in her eyes, not for a second. She still had far more energy than Karkal would have liked.

Seeing that their battle might lead nowhere, Karkal decided to speak.

"You're strong, General. Strong enough to make me doubt whether Rashid paid me enough to deal with someone like you," Karkal said. "So, I have a proposal for you."

General Khalifa raised an eyebrow. She had been enjoying the fight with Karkal and had, for a while, forgotten she was here to take Bintan and not to have a brawl. She smiled wearily at her capricious behavior, then stabbed her spear into the ground.

"Let's hear it," she said in a stern voice.

***

In the Jasim mansion, chaos reigned supreme. The stalled general's army had arrived first, easing the burden on Meliesse and her men as they faced off against the formidable Ramon and his troops. Their losses had been so great that, if the reinforcements hadn't arrived, Meliesse was certain Ramon would have wiped them out completely. With the general's men now present, hope seemed to return—but it was dashed again when the Men of War arrived mere minutes later.

Now, it was an all-out battle.

Everything was chaos, and the smell of blood and sweat filled the air.

Meliesse looked around at her exhausted soldiers and shook her head. Even with Majeed's help and the support of General Khalifa's men, they were struggling to hold their ground. They weren't exactly losing, but that was only because she was doing her best to keep Ramon in check. She couldn't face him alone, so she'd selected six of her men to help her deal with the seasoned and incredibly strong warrior. But now, four of those men lay dead, one was gravely injured, and it was only a matter of time before the last one fell, leaving her alone to face the demon.

That was something she couldn't afford. If Ramon took her down, the battle would be over.

She glared at Ramon, both worried and enraged. The demon wasn't unscathed either. Their coordination had been carefully planned, so they had landed several hits, but Ramon appeared unfazed. Even when stabbed through with a blade, he barely slowed. He had simply pulled the sword from his body and killed the assailant who had dared to strike him.

She had known Ramon was strong, but Majeed hadn't done justice in describing just how powerful he truly was. The Ramon she faced now was more monster than man. How had Rashid managed to get someone like this under his employ? Surely, it wasn't for wealth alone. Ramon was a member of Ghyaz, a well-compensated order under the King, and they didn't need money.

Perhaps the demon owed Rashid something. Whatever the case, it was good for Rashid and bad for them. She needed to end this fight, and fast.

As Meliesse pondered her next move, Ramon spoke.

"Aren't you going to use that curse of yours?" he asked. "Or don't tell me an assassin like you can't hope to defeat me in the form where you're strongest?"

The truth was that Meliesse couldn't use her curse on Ramon for one reason: Ashell had injured her soul, weakening it. If she dragged Majeed's soul into her soulscape now, she wouldn't be able to defeat him easily. His soul will was strong and wouldn't break like Nasim's had. It wasn't an option. If she wanted to use her curse, she needed to weaken Ramon further first. Only then would she stand a chance.

Ramon noticed her hesitation and smiled.

"You're better off taking your men and leaving, Lady Meliesse," he said. "If you do, I'll convince Lord Rashid not to pursue you."

Meliesse looked at Ramon and smiled brightly.

"I don't make deals with a talking corpse," she replied.

"I wonder which of us will be proven to be the talking corpse," Ramon shot back, taking a stance.

He leaped from his position and attacked Meliesse. She responded by blocking the strike with her twin knives. The attack was heavy, forcing her to slide back. Ramon moved to strike again, but a soldier attacked him from the side. He dodged the blow and lunged at the soldier, severing his arm in one fluid motion. The soldier screamed in pain, and Ramon was about to finish him off when he sensed a sharp object coming toward him. It nearly took his eye, but he was quick to block it.

The wounded soldier, refusing to die quietly, grabbed a small knife with his remaining hand and stabbed Ramon in the stomach. But, like before, Ramon shrugged it off and finished the soldier with a swift stab to the throat.

Now it was just him and Meliesse. Ramon wasted no time, lunging at her with all his might, his sword cutting through the air toward her heart. Meliesse parried just in time, her twin knives barely holding against the force of his blow. The impact shook her arms, and she was pushed back again, nearly losing her footing. Her breath came in short, heavy, but she refused to let her fear show.

"You can't keep this up forever," Ramon warned, advancing on her with relentless precision. His eyes were cold and calculating as if he already knew how this would end.

He slashed again, and Meliesse barely ducked under the blade, countering with a quick swipe of her knife. It grazed his arm, drawing blood, but Ramon didn't even flinch.

He swung again, this time with more fury, forcing Meliesse to retreat. She sidestepped a downward strike that would have split her in two, but Ramon was too fast. His sword swung from the side, and she barely blocked it with one of her knives. The impact shook her wrist, and her blade trembled in her hand.

Sweat dripped down her face as she darted to the side, throwing one of her knives at Ramon. He swatted it away effortlessly and moved in for the kill. His movements were swift, methodical—like a predator toying with its prey.

"You're strong," Meliesse muttered, her eyes flashing with defiance, "but strength alone won't be enough."

Ramon smirked, clearly amused. "We'll see about that."

With a roar, he charged again, his sword crashing down. Meliesse dodged to the side, her body aching from the strain of battle. She tried to counter, slashing at his midsection, but Ramon caught her wrist and twisted, forcing her to drop her last knife.

Disarmed, she staggered back, desperate. Ramon advanced, raising his sword for the final strike. Meliesse's eyes widened—this was it. She braced herself, knowing she had no way to stop what was coming next.

But just as Ramon's sword descended, a sharp whistle cut through the air.

Suddenly, a spear flew from afar, roaring in the chaos of the battlefield. It struck Ramon in the side, driving deep into his torso with a sickening thud. His eyes widened in shock, and his sword faltered just inches from Meliesse's neck.

Ramon staggered back, grabbing at the spear embedded in his body. Blood poured from the wound, and his breath grew ragged as he tried to process what had just happened. He turned his head, scanning the battlefield for the source of the attack.

From a distance, a lone figure stood atop a pile of debris—spearless now, but with a cold, determined gaze locked on Ramon.

Ramon's legs wavered, and his grip on his sword loosened. He tried to take a step forward, but the strength drained from his body, and he collapsed to his knees.

Meliesse, still gasping for air, stared at him in disbelief. Ramon, the demon of Rashid's army, had finally fallen.

Meliesse looked at the direction the spear flew from. She was a wounded but breathing general Khalifa standing there.

"Looks like you took your time," Meliesse said to General Khalifa.