Chapter 67: Monster

  “I’m surprised you still remember me,” Riven said with a thin smile. He pointed at the deep scar on his cheek, tapping it thrice for emphasis. “I mean, I remember you so vividly. Especially how you shot me and left me for dead that day. Turns out the great Casten Vorrick not only has terrible aim but is also too arrogant to confirm his kills.”

  Prime Vorrick stayed silent, his expression hardening with every word.

  “Casten, what’s going on? Who is this guy?” Alice asked, her eyes darting between Riven and him.

  “A Libra scum who shouldn’t be wearing this uniform,” Vorrick said coldly, gesturing at Riven’s attire. “After what you did, you dishonor every Obsidian Crow – dead or alive – by wearing Ironwatch.”

  Obsidian Crows? Was Riven an Obsidian Crow? Could he be the one who’d been killing me all this time? No…it couldn’t be it. The Crow said he was sent by Vorrick. These two? It was clear to see there was only hatred here.

  “You should personally do proper background checks on anyone joining Ironwatch, Prime Security. You know, so scum like me can’t just slip in under a new identity,” Riven replied with the same smile.

  Vorrick ignored the jab. “You should’ve died in that ditch I left you in. Crawled deeper and rotted there like the traitorous vermin you are, Wesley.”

  Riven’s smile widened. “Damn. Even with the odds stacked against you, and with your precious ward’s neck just a breath away from me, you still don’t hold back on the insults.” His gaze suddenly sharpened. “I go by Riven these days, by the way.”

  Then, immediately as he finished his words, the pistons of his exoskeleton hissed to life. In an instant he lunged at Vorrick, who managed to trigger a Kinetra just before impact – enough to survive the blow, not enough to stop it.

  Riven seized Casten Vorrick and slammed him through the chamber door; both men vanished into the tunnel outside with a crash.

  “Casten!” Alice shouted, then turned to me. “Viktor, we have to help him!”

  Help him? As far as I was concerned, they were both my enemies.

  One was Valdemar’s lapdog and very possibly Dolos’ Champion. The other was also tied to Dolos somehow and additionally was a massive piece of human garbage who tortured Thea.

  The outcome that would’ve made me the happiest was for them to kill each other.

  But that wouldn’t be the best outcome.

  Alice bolted through the ruined doorway without waiting for my answer.

  I flicked a glance at KNOWING. There were still so much I could use it for – to learn so much more, if not about Valdemar’s true identity then at least about Mom. But Becker was huddled in the corner, shaking and unresponsive, and the terminal had already locked itself. Without her clearance I couldn’t activate it again. And threatening her would only make the Déjà vu System kill me.

  My best bet now would be Riven. I needed to make sure he survived – preferably without fighting Prime Security or, worse, Alice.

  I rushed after her.

  The first thing I saw was Riven hurling Casten Vorrick at the Cogwheel’s capstan while laughing maniacally. “I just love how weak you are like this.”

  Prime Vorrick, still enveloped in Kinetra’s orange aura, slammed into the capstan back-first, the impact snapping the Cogwheel’s chain.

  “Alice, stay back!” he roared at her as he stood up, seemingly still strong.

  He ripped the broken chain free and looped each end snugly around his forearms – atop the COG on his left – before drawing the slack taut across his back. Kinetra’s aura spread over the steel as he whipped both loose ends forward, spinning the chain in a blur as he approached Riven.

  “You’re going to be sorry you didn’t die in the Wildlands that day, Wesley.”

  He cracked both ends of the chain against the Cogwheel rails and stone floor, the impact raising a cloud of dust.

  Then he burst through the haze, one end of the Kinetra-empowered chain snapping out at Riven like a snake striking its prey, while the other came whipping down from above.

  Riven’s own Kinetra flared. He twisted aside from both blows, the pistons of his exoskeleton hissing as he used the chain’s recovery lag to lunge at Vorrick again.

  But Vorrick was ready this time. He thrust a leg forward and unleashed a surge of Ignis fire.

  Riven seemed to have already anticipated the move. He released a gust of air with Aero and shifted his trajectory mid-lunge, appearing on Vorrick undefended flank.

  Despite that, Casten Vorrick was still the one to have the last laugh.

  With his flaming right leg still extended, he lifted the left and spun in the air, channeling Aero himself. The rotation drove a Kinetra-empowered heel kick into Riven’s chest, following up with a chain strike from above as he came out of the spin.

  Riven slammed into the wall but caught sight of the incoming chain. He raised his armored forearms just in time to block what would have been a strike that’d split his head in two.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Exactly what Vorrick wanted.

  The chain looped around Riven’s right arm. Vorrick immediately yanked hard, dragging Valdemar’s lieutenant toward him as he snapped the other end of the chain forward to strike him again.

  Riven was having none of it.

  He slipped his body just outside the whipping chain and used the tension on his bound forearm to his own advantage. Twisting his wrist, he coiled more chain around his armored forearm as he advanced, shortening the clack and hauling himself in along Vorrick’s pull. In the same motion, he yanked back hard, fighting for control of the weapon and jerking Prime Security off balance.

  Closing the distance left Vorrick with no room to bring the second end of the chain at Riven. Before he could reset, Riven broke into a short sprint, then leapt – pistons hissing, Kinetra flaring – and drove both armored boots squarely into Vorrick’s chest. The blow forced Vorrick back half a step, but the chain still coiled around Riven’s forearm yanked tight in the opposite direction, jerking him down and forward. The two of them lurched together from the combined momentum.

  Both men rolled and jumped to their feet instantly.

  Shards of ice clattered from Vorrick’s chest as he straightened. Incredible…He’d seen the kick coming and, and the last possible moment, conjured an icy chestplate with a Cryora to take the brunt. Prime Security was fighting a battle-trained man in an Aetherguard Mark II and didn’t even look close to losing.

  Well…not that surprising considering he likely has the highest-level COG in Solvane.

  He probably stuffs his COG full of crystals every morning, then capitalizes on the very long burn times of a maxed Burn Rate. Add to that a maxed Memory Slots and he can rotate freely between crystals without worrying about anything running out.

  “We need to help him, Viktor,” Alice pressed, edging forward, looking for an opening.

  “Help him?” I echoed, rubbing the back of my neck while my eyes searched for an opening to help Riven instead. “Looks to me like he’s doing fine.”

  Alice scowled. “We need to help him end this faster. If Libra really are attacking the Archives, Casten can’t be tied up here with…whoever that guy is.”

  Meanwhile Prime Security used Cryora again.

  Frost crackled over the chain, spreading and crawling across it toward Riven’s end of the coil.

  “Not your shit again,” Riven growled. With his free hand he yanked his foldable sword from it holster, snapped it open and, in one brutal motion, smashed it down on the freezing chain between them. He immediately hurled the coil from his arm and exhaled in relief. “That was close.”

  “What were you saying about me being weak like this?” Vorrick asked, snapping the remaining chain in two and winding each half tight around his fists and forearms until they became makeshift gauntlets. His gaze locked on Riven, sharp and burning with fury. “What? You thought you had the upper hand because you had the suit advantage? Please.”

  “Too arrogant to use a sword…” Riven muttered with a dry chuckle.

  With Kinetra flaring around Prime Vorrick’s chain-wrapped hands, he took a fighting stance. “I don’t need it. I’ll beat you to death with my hands.”

  “You truly are despicable, Vorrick,” Riven said. “I saw the truth and chose to face it and you condemned me to death for it, all the while you turned a blind eye to it all! Is there anyone lower in all Solvane?”

  Casten Vorrick didn’t respond. Instead, he sprinted forward.

  Riven answered with fire – literally.

  A volley of blazing projectiles rained on Vorrick. But he slipped and wove through them under Kinetra’s boost, closing the distance between them.

  Riven switched to ice projectiles. The icicles exploded around Vorrick's dodging form and unleashed fire, unable to hit him.

  Wait a minute...that combination...It's like what the Crow used that time!

  Seeing his barrage fail, Riven cursed and shifted tactics. “Fine, I’ll meet you halfway, then.” He lunged, sword swinging.

  Vorrick slipped the blade to the side and countered immediately, driving a Kinetra-charged chain-wrapped fist toward Riven’s exposed ribs.

  Riven was ready and caught the blow with his free hand – then screamed, jerking back and creating distance.

  Black smoke curled from his palm where the metal had touched him, the exoskeleton around his arm eaten away by Umbrium’s decay.

  “Fucker!” Riven shouted, clutching his hand. But Vorrick was already on him again, pressing the attack and dictating the pace.

  Fuck. He’s going to kill him if I don’t step in.

  My eyes darted to Alice. If I moved on Vorrick, she’d jump in to protect him, and I couldn’t fight her – the System had already marked her as ‘innocent’.

  So what could I even do?

  I glanced at Checkpoint’s timer. Five minutes left. Not much. But judging by the way the fight was unfolding, Riven had even less.

  There was only one thing I could think of…

  I sprinted toward them.

  “Viktor, wait!” Alice shouted, running after me.

  Meanwhile, Casten Vorrick met another of Riven’s swings with his chain-wrapped fist, snapping the blade cleanly in two. His other fist hammered down the Aetherguard’s shoulder joint, shearing the exoskeleton’s actuator. Then he let the chains fall, seized the suit with both hands, and –

  Riven made the only move he could. He flicked the release switches and vaulted out in an instant before Vorrick hurled the empty armor into the wall like scrap.

  But Prime Security wasn’t done.

  Not giving Riven a second to breathe, he closed the distance again, clamped a hand around his throat and smashed him flat against the stone floor. He toppled over him, straddling, fists raining down.

  Riven threw up his orange-glowing arms, defending against the Kinetra-boosted barrage.

  “Die!” Vorrick roared, the impact of his punches rippling through the air and reaching me.

  “You’re not human! There's nothing human about you! You're nowhere near him! You're a fucking monster!” Riven spat back under the relentless assault.

  I decided to play my gamble.

  “Stop!” I shouted. “He knows where Valdemar is!”

  That made Vorrick pause – just enough. Just what Riven was waiting for.

  He heaved up, shoving Vorrick off himself, reversed their positions and rained down his own blows down…but with far less success. Vorrick caught his wrist mid-punch, yanked him close and, still lying on his back, smashed his forehead into Riven’s face. Blood sprayed from Riven’s nose as he reeled away.

  “This trash doesn’t know anything,” Casten Vorrick snarled, rising up and walking toward the staggering man to finish him.

  “Casten, wait!” Alice called out. “He spoke to us earlier – he knows Valdemar personally!”

  Vorrick’s eyes flicked between us but his pace didn’t slow. “I assure you both, this pathetic traitor only acts like a bigshot,” he said coldly. “In truth he’s just a tool caught in something he can’t even comprehend.”

  He snapped open his foldable sword.

  Riven laughed through the blood streaming from his nose. “And what are you, then? Aren’t you just Rose’s dog? Unable to think for yourself like - ”

  “Shut up,” Vorick growled, and drove the blade through Riven’s shoulder.

  Riven screamed in pain.

  I had no idea what else I could do to save him other then shooting Vorrick in the back.

  Suddenly, Riven's eyes found mine, then Alice’s. Through clenched teeth he played his final card. “Does she know?” he rasped, jerking his chin toward Alice.

  Alice blinked. “Know what?”

  “Nothing – “ Vorrick started.

  But Riven cut him off, bellowing, “He’s the one who killed you parents, girlie!”

  Before the realization and shock could fully settle in, Riven’s hand darted inside his uniform’s jacket and came out with a small detonator. “If I can’t kill you,” he hissed, “I’ll bury you with me!”

  He pushed the surprised Vorrick back with a sharp gust of wind, then thumbed the trigger.

  The high ceiling above erupted and tons of rock and metal rained down on us.

  I immediately activated Freeze.