"Whew—damn, this guy is really tough! If I don't use some dirty tricks, there's no way I'll take him down!" Shawn Young withdrew his power, and immediately felt a wave of dizziness and weakness wash over him, his steps faltering as he nearly collapsed.
His fight with Gerhard was so brief it could only be described as "lightning fast," but that's how it is between masters—if you don't go all out, a single mistake could mean death! So Shawn pushed his true energy to the limit, because Gerhard was one of the toughest opponents he'd ever faced.
Because he burned through so much true energy in such a short time, Shawn could still taste blood from his bitten tongue, and his right middle finger—cut by the Raikiri Dagger—was bleeding profusely. Dizzy and seeing stars, he forced himself to walk over to Gerhard's corpse, nudging it with his toe. Sure enough, Gerhard was long dead. His once-sleek silver hair was now a wild, tangled mess from the impact of true power, looking like a silver bird's nest. The look on his face was one of utter unwillingness, dying in agony, with none of the elegance he'd had when sipping wine alive.
"Ha! All that showing off, and you still died looking so ugly. Heh—" Shawn finally let out a heavy sigh. With his strongest enemy dead, this trip to Raveneye Mountain wouldn't have many obstacles left. The nerves he'd been holding taut finally relaxed a bit.
Shawn pulled the Raikiri Dagger out of the back of Gerhard's head and found that the blade wasn't stained with a single drop of blood. After claiming Gerhard's life, it looked even colder and more menacing, radiating a bone-chilling murderous aura. Truly a legendary weapon.
Just then, Shawn heard rapid footsteps and the sound of a door being yanked open behind him. He turned to see Leo Chen already flinging open the door and dashing out. Leo had seized the moment when Shawn was distracted by Gerhard's corpse to make his escape—he knew if he didn't run now, he'd be next on Shawn's hit list.
"Oh! Nice try, Leo Chen—thinking you can slip away right under my nose? Not so fast!" Shawn, fired up, was about to give chase. He knew Leo wasn't much of a fighter, but as a high-educated criminal mastermind, he was full of dirty tricks. If he let Leo escape, it would spell endless trouble.
"Cough—cough—so cold—cough—so cold!" At that moment, a violent coughing fit echoed from the innermost cell, mixed with a strange tremor. Shawn was startled and stopped in his tracks, turning to see Fiona Tang waking up from her coma. She was still sprawled on the floor, her delicate body curled up, shivering uncontrollably.
Shawn immediately abandoned the chase, because he could already tell from her voice that Fiona Tang had been hit by Gerhard's dark power. She was now extremely weak—her soul was scattering, and she could slip back into a deep coma at any moment, maybe even become a vegetable who'd never wake up again!
Shawn quickly turned and walked over to Fiona Tang. Meanwhile, Max was already struggling to his feet from the floor. Like Leo Chen, he'd been half-killed by the force Gerhard unleashed. But Gerhard had shown some mercy to these two—he hadn't hit them with his terrifying dark power, so Max and Leo's injuries weren't too serious.
"What, you want to pull a Leo Chen too?" Shawn said coldly to Max, who was getting up.
"Uh—no, no, that's not it, sir, you've got me all wrong—I just want to help you—" Max waved his hands quickly, trying to explain.
"Help me? Why would you want to help me?" Shawn asked him.
"Because—I don't want to die in this hellhole, sir! You're so powerful—take me in, please! I want to work for you, okay?" Max pleaded with Shawn, his face full of hope.
"Oh? Work for me? I don't exactly need mercenaries right now, and besides, we're still kind of enemies. What makes you think I'd take you in?" Shawn found Max's request a bit unbelievable.
"Uh—sir, hear me out! I know you might have some misunderstandings about me. I'm just a mercenary—I only came to this hellhole for money, working for Nika. No grudge against you! Most of Nika's guys were trained by me, so I know how to deal with them. If Leo Chen gets control of those men, it'll be bad news for you and your people! Plus, you need time to save that lady! I can help you deal with Leo Chen! If you trust me, let me go after him right now—if he gathers his men, it's going to be trouble." Max was getting desperate.
Shawn gave Max a cold look, realizing he made sense. He needed time to save Fiona Tang, and if Leo Chen rounded up his men to cause trouble, it would be a real headache—even if Shawn wasn't afraid of them.
"Just take me in! I don't even want your pay—just give me a job! I won't be dead weight, okay, sir?" Max kept begging, trying to prove his loyalty. Truth was, he knew if he didn't plead with Shawn, Shawn might just kill him for being a nuisance. Throwing in with Shawn was his best shot at survival.
Shawn thought fast, then stepped forward and placed his right palm on the crown of Max's head—"smack!"—sending a burst of true energy into his brain. Max shuddered, feeling a strange, burning sensation as the energy drilled into his head. Terror flashed across his face and he begged, voice trembling: "Sir, please spare me! Don't kill me—I don't want to die! If I die here, my son in Italy will have no one to take care of him! His tuition and living expenses—gone!"
"Oh! Didn't expect you to have a kid—guess you're a decent dad after all! Fine, I'll give you a chance. I just put a binding spell on you. Go deal with Leo Chen for me—dead or alive, bring him back. When you return, I'll lift the spell and give you a good job. But if you dare to trick me, heh—I'll make your head explode like a watermelon!" Shawn sneered at Max.
"Got it! Thank you, sir! I'll go take out Leo Chen right now!" Max, terrified but relieved, grabbed a pistol from the floor, bolted out the cell door, and sprinted off to hunt down Leo Chen.