Execution

I continued to approach Gray, ready for battle, but his words stopped me in my place.

"So you know that I did it then?" He said, now turning to face me. "That I contacted the Defenders and set up Bleacher?"

To hear the words come from his mouth was all the confirmation I needed. My decision was already made, but he helped me make It easier to accept.

My grip tightened around the shard.

"I know. And it disgusts me. Does the gang mean so little to you, that you'd betray one of your own?" I snarled, barely able to contain my emotions.

But Gray seemed to have none.

The man let out a sigh.

"What do you know about the gang, Red?" He questioned in an uncaring tone. "Or anything about StoneCity. You're a newcomer. You don't know about the history of the Heartless. So what earns you the right to avenge one of its members?"

The words struck me. Hard.

He was right, even more so than he knew. I knew nothing about the history of this world, or even its current conflicts.

But regardless of my lack of knowledge, there was one thing that I was certain of.

"Betrayal is a coward's game. That's a universal law, no matter where a man's from." I answered with confidence. A fact that I believed wholeheartedly.

But Gray only let out a chuckle as he held his arms out to the side and shrugged his shoulders.

"And so what if it is?" He questioned. "I'm a coward, and I've betrayed one of the Ten Pains. Now what the fuck are you gonna do about it, Red?"

His last words were laced with threat, which I didn't want to admit, but filled me with doubt about the upcoming fight.

Gray slowly drew his red katana from his back and held it limply by his side so that the point rested on the ground. Above, I heard birds screeching as they flew past and watched the scene

"You are a Tier 1 Slasher, and I am Tier 2," Gray said as he began to slowly pace the rooftop, circling around me. "You're new to the world of magic; it's obvious that you're uneducated."

Then, he stopped and pointed his blade towards me.

"You probably have, like, what, 1, or maybe 2 skills? That's how many I had when I was a Tier 1."

As he made his accurate guess, Gray activated one of his powers. The same one I had seen yesterday during our patrol.

His blade became enshrouded in a blue magical essence that increased its overall size until it resembled a greatsword.

As the skill was released, I again felt an understanding of the man's level.

[Tier 2: Slasher]

Gray's lips twisted into a smirk, as his singular eye glared at me.

"Do you want to know how many skills I have, Red?" He asked with a sincere tone.

A chill shot through my body from the bloodlust I sensed coming from him.

"Five. The answer is five."

The last word of his faded, as the man's form began to slowly vanish into thin air.

At first, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. That I was going crazy.

I swivelled my head in each direction, trying to see if he had just travelled too fast for me to see.

...

...

...

There!

I felt a presence suddenly coming from behind me, and instinctively turned and ducked my head low.

A humming sound flew over my head as the magical blue blade just whizzed past me.

Gray had reappeared after having missed and pivoted on his feet to face me once again.

There was a smirk on his face as he stood there casually, one hand resting in his pocket, the other hand on the blade handle as the sword rested over his shoulder.

"The Vanishing Blade II." He announced nonchalantly. "If I used that skill four more times, do you think you could dodge them all?"

I gritted my teeth at the man's cockiness. Not only was he a murderer, but he was taunting one as well.

My anger was cut short, as he charged his blade behind him and widened his stance.

I prepared for him to dash in again but was caught off guard when he swung his blade, releasing from it a vicious arc of blue energy travelling towards me rapidly.

It was the same attack he had used during our patrol!

Remembering how the Tainted gang members evaded the strike, I jumped high. Higher than I felt was natural.

Just barely did the arc miss, passing directly under my feet.

But before I could land, I noticed that Gray had vanished again.

"Shit," I mumbled to myself midair, trying to predict where he would come from, but there was no chance.

A heavy force smashed into my face from the left, sending me crashing to the ground and tumbling over myself.

I had to scrape my fingers into the material of the roof to stop myself from sliding further. Otherwise, I would have fallen off of the end of the building.

That would've been the end of me.

As I lay on my side, I watched Gray land gracefully to his feet, clenching and unclenching his fist.

He had punched me. A fisted strike from a Slasher.

He doesn't want to kill me then?

I pushed myself to my feet, feeling at my face where I had been cut by the blow. Blood seeped from the wound gently.

"I don't wanna kill you Red. Two murders in a day will weigh on my conscious." Gray called as he slowly approached, making me grip my shard tighter.

I ignored his words.

It didn't matter if he didn't want to kill me.

Because I needed to kill him.

Deciding not to let the man take the initiative anymore, I dashed forward myself. Grey let out a sigh as he watched me approach.

"Suit yourself."