OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 203: A 'Good' Man's Farewell

Chapter 203: A 'Good' Man's Farewell

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"???????????????????!"

Emir cried out in agony as blood sprayed from the grievous wound.

"...Deserved I'd say. You look down on people too much—"

"???????????????????!"

"Does it hurt that much? You should be used to this... you were tortured-"

"???????????????????!"

"SHUT UP! STOP FUCKING SCREAMING!"

"AAHHH.... Uhhh, alright."

Sigh...

"But still... it hurts a lot, you know. Even though I'm used to it. Though I guess there's a first time for everything."

Alex dumbfoundedly stared at Emir, his mouth agape.

"... You, you're not scared? I'll kill you, you know?"

Emir's twin swords hovered before his head as if saying hi to their owner, whom they were about to kill.

"Well, I don't know, to be honest..."

"I just can't believe it."

"...I always won, against all odds, with plans in mind that had always worked."

Emir scoffed.

"I guess it just didn't this time..."

Alex's confusion continued.

"Seriously?"

After a slow nod, Emir confirmed:

"Yeah, though it's sad..."

"I'll die at the hands of an unnamed character, someone absolutely worthless."

But that wasn't the truth.

Throughout the fight, hidden from Alex's view, Emir had been secretly crafting a multitude of Aether constructs in the form of swords, like gleaming phantoms, forming them above the battlefield.

The entire confrontation had been a cunning ruse, designed to buy him the time he needed to prepare this formidable arsenal.

Emir had forged them with every ounce of his Aether, waiting for the right moment to reveal his secret.

"Me? A worthless unnamed character? You dare?!"

"Cat got your tongue or something?"

"No, Alex..."

"Yes? Your last words?"

"Not that, I just want you to look up."

"What do you-"

"GATES OF ETERNITY!"

With Emir's roar, the battlefield was transformed into a spectacle of Aetheric blades.

They were all summoned with a forceful command as they descended upon Alex like a relentless storm...

An army of shimmering blades.

"DAMN YOU!"

Alex, caught off guard by the sudden attack, attempted to kill the source, but Emir's blades met others, blocking the attack from going through.

Now that he didn't have enough time to attack, Alex focused on his defense instead.

With his telekinetic prowess, he deflected and blocked the tens of the blades coming for his head.

Some came to his back, others to his front, his right, and left. And many more shot from above.

But Alex's defenses proved insurmountable.

A fortress of rock and augmented suits, which allowed nothing to reach him.

Yet, as the blizzard of swords continued to rain down, one remained concealed.

Another card that Emir housed.

"YOU'VE GOT NOTHING ON ME!"

Just as Alex thought he had thwarted Emir's last-ditch effort, a single sword materialized right before him.

In that fraction of a moment, it became a blade of reckoning.

With a precise motion, the blade cut through Alex, cleaving him in two.

"AUGHHHHH!"

Crash!

Bang!

Rumble! Rumble!

Alex's floating weapons began to fall to the ground all around them.

And soon, the battlefield fell into a sinister hush as the dust and debris slowly settled.

Emir then gradually felt his control over the augmented suit return as he too fell to the

ground.

A sigh echoed in the aftermath.

"...I did it."

"I actually won...."

After a moment's rest, a smiling but wobbly prince stood back up.

He checked his pockets, and swallowed some old-world medicine, hoping to stave off the

pain.

"Heh..."

Yet it felt like almost nothing changed.

However... it was something he expected.

After all, Emir's arm was now severed, he wasn't only covered in dirt and blood like usual.

His remaining hand trembled with effort and pain, yet his eyes didn't show anything but a

fiery glean.

Across the field, Alex's fate was far more gruesome.

His upper body lay separated from his lower half.

His uniform, once regal, was now stained with a grotesque scene of crimson.

Alex's face bore a twisted grin, and his countenance had turned pale.

His once-confident eyes, which had taunted Emir throughout the battle, stared at the

darkened sky above.

Cough! Cough!

".....Hey, I'm still alive, you know... my suit's doing wonders right now."

Alex spoke, his voice raspy, dizzy, and confused.

Emir remained silent, simply staring at what remained of Alex.

Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!

"Ahhh, stop coughing, ya fuck!"

"...Whaaat? Then why don't you kill me?"

"...Even though I look like this, I can still attack you, you know?"

Cough-

"Shut up; we both know that you won't."

Emir snickered.

"You're not strong enough to kill me, and besides, you came here to control me, maybe even

force me into your fold, not to kill me..."

"You just got too excited at the end."

""

After a moment of silence, Alex's coughing fit returned, which stopped after an 'eternity' of

struggle.

"...So you're making excuses for me now?"

Emir shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever. I've got a question for you. Stay alive till then."

Cough! Cough! Cough!

"...Go ahead."

"How did you figure me out?"

Cough! Cough! "...Oh, quite simple, really.... I used our network to find out any inconsistencies and or special

circumstances..."

"The usual."

Alex scoffed or rather coughed at Emir's comment, and continued:

"After finding one out, I only needed to raid your sector, and yeah... the rest was history."

Emir nodded, understanding his words in an instant.

'So he was after the breach back when I was five....'

'He even came to the convoy to watch over me.'

"Your men?"

Cough! Cough! Cough!

"...Rattlers Group."

"I see," he mumbled.

Emir's face presented extreme happiness at the news that he didn't need to waste time

cleaning up another hunter group.

"Why send an assassin after me?"

"I wanted to-"

Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!

Emir let out a sigh and fished out some old-world medicine from his pockets.

After shoving them down Alex's throat, a few seconds passed and the man finally stopped his

constant fits.

"It'll work its magic; c'mon, speak."

Ignoring Emir's urging, Alex spoke slowly, his every word an inward tussle:

"I wanted to test if you were really the Order's chosen or not."

"...That makes sense, but why act now?"

"I knew you were up to something-a counterattack against the Elite-"

"So you came along, and it only confirmed your suspicions." Emir guessed the obvious.

"Exactly... so I acted. I knew way back then. The... the moment

knew... I knew that you were something special, and this..."

"It only proved it."

Emir sneered.

I met you in that convoy, I

"So you're happy to be proven right? Even if you're about to die?"

Alex would've nodded his head if he could, but now he could only speak.

"Yes, a man that dies with pride is a happy man..."

Emir shrugged his shoulders.

"Is that why you lied?"

"To who? I lied to many."

"That's exactly what I meant... Why did you lie to everyone about me?"

"Why tell them about the Old World Network but not this?"

The Spell Weaver closed his eyes, which were twitching, his state appearing to enter its final

moments.

"...I wanted the credit. All of it."

Alex coughed out a chuckle.

"What? I was greedy, there's nothing wrong with that. Or did you expect some sort of noble

cause?"

He took Emir's silence as an answer and continued:

"No then? Well, that was your 'role' in the first place, but it looks like you won't be playing

it."

A long sigh escaped Emir's lips.

"Alex, I'm done... You got any last words?"

"How the turn tables..."

"That-"

"I know, I know, it's just a dumb joke."

||||

Emir stared blankly at the grinning Alex.

"So?"

"Well, no... but I've got a question I want to ask."

"Go ahead." "Do you think you're a good man?"

Emir's brow quirked as he replied:

"Not really... but are you... A good man?"

"Yes... I think so."

"..."

"Then, Emir... are you corrupt?"

"Oh, yes... Are you?" "Mm-hmm..."

"...But what brought up that question?"

Emir waited for an answer, but it never came.

He looked to his right and finally noticed that Alex had long since passed.

His face no longer sported a grin, but a... smile.

That of a fulfilled man, as if he had done his life's purpose.

Alex... he who once was an acquaintance, a momentary comrade, a formidable adversary, now

lay dead.

No more than a lifeless, broken corpse.

His blood painted the ground red.

The upper half of his body, especially his face, bore the signs of relief, while his lower body

twitched feebly, like a lizard's lone tail. 'Aether is probably recking his body right now...'

It was a gruesome sight, one that would haunt the memories of anyone who witnessed it.

But that didn't affect him in the slightest, in fact, he almost felt pity, for he knew the journey

of this man's head wouldn't be pretty.

Anyone else in his position would've hated Alex to the core, after all, he killed and most probably tortured those he held hostage, using them for information.

Kiera and the other five he dove with might've died as well, ruining his plans that involved

them.

Simply said, It was bad, really bad. Yet Emir was indifferent. He only took that as a possible

fact and moved on.

He let out a chuckle and stood up, balancing himself as he did so.

Still not used to having a single arm.

Emir stepped closer to the chilling aftermath.

He then raised his left, which now wielded his betrayer of a sword, and swung down, cutting

Alex's head off.

Thud!

"...Rest in peace... my 'good' friend."

Emir's gaze never left Alex's dismembered form.

He who had stayed his cards until the right and final moment had won.

An undeniable victory.

However, the cost of his triumph was etched across his body.

A hulking toll, that left him maimed and bloodied. Emir knew that he needed to regroup with Lyra but for a moment...

He simply stood there.

With a heavy heart.