Shinobi From Hell

"Let's go," Klautz whispered in a light tone.

Their destination? The centre of the island but Klautz couldn't reach there before fighting some more weakened manticores along his way. If it was anyone else in place of Klautz he probably would even dare to call these monsters 'fake'.

Seeing his skills and the way he moved Verona could only look at him in awe and admiration but couldn't voice it out cause she felt ashamed at being useless. Which was quite in contrast to what Selena had in mind.

With half an hour of walking and finghting they reached the centre of the island. There they found a dead manticore's body with its wings severed. Unlike Klautz who had slashed their wings apart with smooth cuts of his sword, this one seemed to have its wings pulled and uprooted from the shoulder bone itself using brute strength. 

"Hah," Steve yawned. After defeating the beast he had chosen to rest using the beast's belly as his bed. After all, Steve desperately needed to recover his stamina.

But once he perceived Klautz approaching he got down off the manticore's dead body.

"My, my... who do we have here," Steve smirked as he stretched his neck. Resting after so many battles had made his muscles stiff with lactic acid.

Klautz knitted his brows in annnoyance.

"Do you wish to stand in my way as well?" He spoke while gritting his teeth. It was as if he was speaking through the teeth with forced restrain.

But Steve shook his head to deny.

"I am not. But you are not here to use the portal, are you? You are here to send them away anyway. If you don't even plan to use the portal how can I stand in your way?" Steve said as he raised his shoulders and his eyebrows to stress as if it was the most obvious thing to deduce.

Steve's eyes drifted to the girls behind him. He didn't know much about these girls, one of them was probably at the safe zone back in the tutorial stage. But...

Klautz was not the type of person to put himself in danger for others. If the girls were with Klautz there was only one meaning to it. Klautz was leading them, and now that they had realized that they cannot survive here anymore, they are planning to leave through the escape portal.

The escape portals themselves weren't much safe either. Not because of the functionality of the portal but because of the humans that may be around them. Back in the four islands of the bonus stage, participants would stay in wait around the green portals to ambush the pariticpants once they approached the portal to escape.

But Steve had never done that. It was an inefficient method for him if anything. He could kill much more running around than lurking in the bushes. Not to mention there were no bushes at the desert!

Klautz nodded.

"You are right," he showed his agreement. Klautz had indeed came to drop the two girls at the portal.

He walked past Steve and watched the two girls leave through the portal.

"Take care," Verona said as she left.

*swish*

Her visage disappeared into the green light.

"You go too," Klautz ordered Selena.

But she had other plans. Selena pulled herself closer to Klautz as she landed a peck on his lips. Having seen the show Steve could only blink in shock. Klautz sharing kisses? Why does that sound so impossible?

'I had completely misunderstood him till now,' Steve thought. The image he had of Klautz was indeed the right one. But after a lot of experiences Selena's love for him had made him accept her. but Steve didn't know about that.

"See you soon," she gave off a beaming smile as she left through the portal.

*swish*

Klautz nodded as he watched both of them leave. It was time to go back to his solo ways. He had so many manticores to hunt.

But as he was about to leave…

"Won't you kill me? Don't you want to win this?" Steve asked.

Klautz didn't turn back to respond but he did halt his steps.

"Tell me one gain that I would have by killing you and I will think about it." 

Steve laughed. Is it so hard to guess what gain Klautz would have by killing him?

"Why? Won't you become the Last Survivor after you kill me?" Steve asked trying hard to hold back his laughter. But the next words that Klautz spoke made him stop.

"There is no need since you didn't come in my way. Soon you would realize that you cannot survive here any longer. Not with the state you are in. Once you are convinced of that. you will leave this stage through that portal yourself, making me the one clear victor."

Steve was shocked. He couldn't stop blinking. With just a glance at him Klautz was able to predict what state he was in. What kind of amazing deductive skill is this?

It was clear to Klautz that all other participants had either died or escaped. And Steve wasn't any better.

'The reason he didn't move away from the portal is because he doesn't wants to risk his life. As soon as he feels danger he would escape,' Klautz concluded. There was no other reason as to why he would be looming around the portal if he was not intending to ambush others.

Klautz saw no point in fighting Steve. After all, even if Steve died or escaped through the portal Klautz cannot be the victor without fighting the last wave. Being the last man standing is only the first criteria; one had to also clear the waves.

"Then what if I come in your way?" Steve asked as he held onto his chin.

"Then I would kill you," Klautz said with an intense amount of killing intent leaving his body.

***

Author:

Creation is hard for authors. Cheer me up with your power stones!

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