Kill steal

Dido looked at Meylin — she shook her head.

It wasn't her. She wouldn't lie to Dido either.

Dido looked at every other War Beast.

They all shook their heads.

Concerned, Dido cautiously moved over to the Whiteclaw Snake King's head before sending a few stabs with her spear.

No response.

So it was definitely dead.

"Check the surroundings! Only one reason remains — someone's kill stealed us!" Dido shouted with anger.

One group in particular was already on her mind at the mention of kill stealing. The Radiant Slayers.

Beast Slayer didn't hide his shamelessness, he openly kill stealed others, and had even done it to the War Beasts before on multiple occasions.

Just not when Dido was involved in battle, and it was the first time with a Radiant Beast too.

While Dido pushed her thoughts aside, she moved over to the Whiteclaw Snake King's stomach and started slicing a vertical line where she spotted a human sized lump.

A second passed before juices and acid spilled, and the body of Nick dropped out.

He was completely unconscious, naked, and without a weapon in sight.

'Couldn't have been him.'

Dido ruled Nick out.

But, she did a double take a moment later.

'Wasn't he in a tragic state when we saw him? Why does he look completely fine now?'

Only a few blisters blemished his skin from the stomach acids of the snake. But other than that, Nick looked fine.

Dido was sure she remembered blood pooling all over Nick when he came running over to them in his desperate state.

'Whatever, that probably dissolved with everything else in the acid.'

She eyed Nick and his... little brother hanging freely, before turning away, expressionless.

She pushed her idle thoughts aside and turned to another area of the Whiteclaw Snake King's upper body after confirming that Nick was breathing — albeit barely.

The real prize was in there — the Radiant beast core.

Those were the reason she even set out every day to hunt Radiant beasts.

***

Nick stirred.

His eyes fluttered open to a dim, unfamiliar ceiling — wooden planks everywhere. He lay in a bed, uncomfortable yes, but a bed was a bed in his eyes. 

He blinked a few times, dazed, then slowly turned his head to the side. 

A warm yellow light flickered from a lantern resting on a small wooden table. A faint scent of herbs and incense filled the air.

"…I'm… alive?"

His voice was hoarse, but that only lasted a few seconds after he coughed, then it went back to his usual tone. 

'That's weird.' He noted.

Then a laugh bubbled out of him — a weak, breathy thing, but filled with disbelief and relief.

"I'm alive," he spoke again, louder this time. 

"Holy shit. I actually made it!"

He propped himself up slowly, finding that it was easier than he expected.

'Wait, where's the pain? Where's the constant aching?' 

He questioned, confused.

If he remembered correctly, which he unfortunately did, his body was completely ruined.

And that was before he'd even been swallowed by the Whiteclaw Snake King — he didn't even want to imagine the state his body was in after that had happened.

He was silently thankful that his vision was obscured inside…

But now, his body was basically back in its normal state?

No — it felt even better than it usually did?

Not only was it healed, but he also felt slightly stronger than usual.

'This is fucking freaky.'

His thoughts weren't reflected externally though.

He was grinning now. Ear to ear. A raw, unfiltered grin of someone who'd stared death in the face and said not today.

Then the door creaked open.

Nick froze.

He'd just remembered he was in an unfamiliar room, wearing unfamiliar clothes, after being blacked out in a fight with a Radiant beast.

He glanced at the opening door with caution.

…And watched Meylin step into the room.

And just like that, his grin vanished.

"Oh," he muttered, narrowing his eyes.

"It's just you."

Meylin's eye twitched when she heard his comment, but her gaze remained composed. Cold.

Her sharp eyes glanced over him with barely concealed judgement. Arms crossed, wearing her armour as if she was ready to storm a battlefield. 

"Well," she started. "You're not dead. Congratulations."

Nick stared at her. "Thanks," he answered, not a single hint of gratitude in his tone. 

"That's exactly the kind of heartfelt concern I needed from someone like you." 

Meylin raised an eyebrow.

"Don't be dramatic. You got lucky."

Nick clenched his jaw, staring at Meylin with his deadpan expression.

"And whose fault was it that I was in that situation in the first place? Not like I had any choice in the matter."

He took in a deep breath, feeling a faint sting in his lungs after speaking so much.

His lungs were the most damaged after that battle, so it seemed they weren't fully healed yet.

"And you just called me lucky? I was eaten alive for gods sake! I nearly died dragging that damn snake to you. And where were you? Oh, right — standing around, twiddling your fingers while you waited."

Meylin didn't flinch from his words.

"You were bait. That was the agreement. You run, we kill it. You ran, and… well, we killed it. You were just too slow."

Nick scoffed but didn't answer.

He wasn't interested in arguing with someone as shameless as her anymore. It was like she had no bottom line with how shameless her words could be.

"Right," he sucked in and let out a deep sigh, trying to compose himself. "So what are you here for then? I know you would rather be doing something like, I dunno? Sucking up to Dido? Rather than in here talking to me."

Meylin's entire face twitched at that.

Seemed like Nick really struck a nerve with that one.

Meylin took something out of her pocket before throwing it at Nick with quite some force, not caring whether it hurt him or not.

It was a pen and paper.

"Write your bank details on here, and we'll send you your payment after all the procedures are finished." She spoke, clearly hating every word she was speaking.

But, a deal was a deal.

Nick was owed a hundred thousand credits for his part in the battle, and Dido held up her end of the agreement. Meylin was just there to deliver the message.

She turned to leave without so much as a goodbye as soon as Nick was finished, but Nick stopped her right before she was about to step out the door.

"Wait, how long have I been out?" 

He sounded a little anxious asking this.

"12 hours."

Meylin answered, leaving before he could stop her for any more questions.

"FUCK!" Nick exclaimed.

'Luna! She must be worried sick!'