"Glad I'm amusing y—" Another strike pierced my side as he moved. Too fast for me to see, his blade struck my right side this time.
The wound was deep, and blood trailed down to soak into my pant leg. It trickled down my thigh, growing heavier with every step I took on the uneven floor. All right, I'll have to use my shield now. I stepped closer to Magnus and gave him the opening he needed, he thrust with his blade, and I brought my left hand up and activated Chitin Shield. Black chitin pooled out of my skin and tore through my leather armor to form a small shield, about two feet in width and length, and perfectly round. It solidified in less than a second and stopped his thrust cold.
Magnus's cane-sword sank into the chitin but did not break through, leaving his sword lodged in the shield and giving me the best chance I'd have to end this. I brought my sword up and slid it into his chest. Dead center, I speared through his heart—a fatal wound.
He was dead.
Magnus sagged against me. I pulled my blade out and waited for him to drop to the ground. Which didn't happen. He stood stock-still; blood fountained from his chest, but not nearly the amount that it should be given I'd hit his heart.
He lifted his head in a grim smile, a shadow of pain across his face. I hurt him, should have killed him, but guess he has more tricks up his sleeve than I first thought.
Magnus inclined his head to me. "I must commend you on your performance thus far; you've put on one hell of a good show here, young man," he said. "Nobody’s forced me to use so much power like this in…well, ever, truth be told."
Magnus gave me a theatrical bow, flicking his hat in the process. A tip of the hat to a well-deserved actor.
"Time for the second act."
Without warning, Magnus stood before me. His sword pierced through my Chitin Shield, chestplate, and studded leather with ease, hitting dead on my heart. The only thing that saved me was my Exoskeleton. It stopped him from killing me on the spot. I fell back, hitting my head on Eris's cage.
I still had the key in my hand. With the Chitin Shield covering my left arm, Magnus hadn't noticed. I need her help. I can't do this alone. With a look, I slipped the key into her hand. The chains that bound her bore the same lock as the cage, an oversight on Magnus’s part, but a blessing for us. I left Eris to free herself and stood up, trying to hold him off as long as I could.
I only have a few more minutes left in me; battle fatigue is nearly maxed. I'm going to have to play this smart. I had to deactivate Chitin Shield as it caused my battle fatigue to rise much faster while active. It retracted back under my skin, leaving me feeling naked and my left arm very much exposed. The tattered remains of my vambrace hung limply on a few strands of leather. Gil's going to murder me when he sees it.
Magnus practically glowed when my shield disappeared. "Can't keep it up, eh? What a shame."
I slashed at him in anger, but he didn't dodge this time. Instead, he parried with his cane-sword. He's slower. Not by much, but it's there. Did the poison actually harm him? Or is it the chest wound that should have killed him? Whatever the reason, I was grateful. I wouldn't have survived much longer if he'd been at full strength.
I couldn't just rush him with a flurry of attacks; my fatigue was too high for me to be reckless. I needed to be precise with my attacks. A creaking groan startled the both of us, even though I'd been expecting it. Eris walked out of the cage with anger on her face. Pure hatred for the man who'd imprisoned her.
Raucous laughter roared from his mouth, and he clapped his hands. "Ho! Snuck the key from right under my nose. Clever, clever." He held up his hand, stopping the fight for a moment. "All right, Sam. Let's stop this before someone gets hurt.”
"What?"
"You've impressed me. You fight well, and you've proven to have quite a sharp mind behind that thick skull of yours. Something lacking in most of my subordinates. I’d like to offer you a job."
I scoffed at him. "Why the hell would I ever agree to that?"
"It saves your life," he said, walking over to the table and reaching for a health potion.
"You touch that potion, and all bets are off," I said just before his fingers brushed the glass.
"Fair enough," he said, his grin deepening. "How about a gesture of good faith?”
“What do you mean?”
“I haven’t been entirely forthcoming with you, dear boy,” he said. “My name isn’t Magnus.”
What?
“Bullshit!”
“Unfortunately, not. Believe you me, I wish I were. If you think I’m hard to kill, oh, you haven’t seen anything yet. No, I’m merely a humble servant to my master.”
I backed up, placing myself between Eris and Not-Magnus, “Then who the hell are you?”
He took off his hat and swept it across his chest as he bowed. “You may call me Liam.”
Liam stood from his bow, and with a flick of his wrist, rolled his hat up his arm and to the top of his head.
“So, what do you say, Sam? I’ll pay you better than anything you could dream of, and I'll even let you keep the girl. She's what brought you to me, after all."
We could keep fighting, but there's no guarantee that we'll win. Not that I
