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Chapter 12: Blood for blood

When Cael turned the corner, he already had a spell ready—an Arcane Arrow that waited to be let go—and he could sense that the spy didn\'t. He relaxed too early.

As soon as Cael stepped into the alleyway, a dagger whizzed towards his chest.

He ducked, dodging, then gasped in pain when the dagger struck his left shoulder and stuck a knuckle deep in the muscle. The Arcane Arrow Cael was going to aim at the spy, fell from his fingers and hit a wall with a thud and a crash of a breaking spell.

The spy already had a second dagger in his hand, aimed for a throw.

"Fuck." Cael cringed, both from pain and self-deprecation. He should\'ve known that a spy won\'t be weaponless, even if he looked that way.

He clenched his teeth, and while adrenaline still blocked out some of his pain, pulled the dagger out of his shoulder with a grunt. Blood poured from the gash, staining his shirt, but not too much of it.

The next moment, he had to dodge another knife. This time, Cael was ready, and his magically enhanced feet easily carried him away from the attack.

In response, he threw the bloodied dagger in his hand at the spy. It was a small knife, only a palm long and without a guard—made for hiding in boots and throwing at people. Cael missed by a large margin, but it gave him a moment to gather himself.

He had a rapier on his belt, anyway. As good as this did to him. After a week of training, Cael learned how to cast cantrips with one hand, but the first circle of spells still took him two.

"Give up, spy, and my father might be lenient towards you!" Cael said, not expecting a positive answer.

He didn\'t get one. The spy had pulled out a third dagger. This one was a longer blade, more appropriate for close combat; but instead of using it, the spy read a spell.

"*Arrow of magic, fly true!*"

Cael didn\'t need a hint to tell that an Arcane Arrow was going to fly his way. He dodged this projectile, too, but didn\'t hurry with his own. Cael wanted to catch the man alive. He could be interrogated for a lot of information.

Instead, he began to read a longer, harder spell. At least here, with ground and even some stubborn weeds under his feet, Cael would have an easier time using it.

"*Spirits of nature, awaken and grow—no trespasser shall leave thy domain!*"

Thrice during that time, Cael had to dodge enemy\'s arrows, but even within the narrow confines of the alleyway, Cael did so with ease, thanks to the last vestiges of his Windstride spell. It sputtered out and ended, together with the mana put into it, just when Cael finished his second spell.

The weeds in the alleyway rapidly transformed, growing into long, grasping vines under the spy\'s feet. They filled half the alleyway in a second, climbing even the walls. Their long stalks entwined the spy\'s legs and even a hand that got too close to a vine-covered wall.

Like a fly in a spider\'s web.

This was when Cael pulled his rapier out of its sheath. In a single dash, he got near the spy, the sharp tip of his blade touching the spy\'s throat.

"Drop your weapon," Cael said, still breathing heavily. "Tell me your name."

The spy panted, too. Despite his position, his lips curved into a smirk. He didn\'t drop his dagger, but didn\'t move, either. "My master knows my name, and he\'s the only one who should. He\'ll build a good grave for me, and my spirit will rest in it, even if my body won\'t."

Cael grit his teeth, both from the spy\'s stubbornness and from the increasing pulse of pain in his shoulder. "You won\'t die if you surrender."

"Stupid boy," the spy bared his teeth at Cael. "There are things worse than death—like being a traitor."

His dagger-wielding hand moved, and Cael acted on reflex, pushing his rapier forward into the spy\'s neck all the way to the spine.

The man\'s hand weakened, dropping the dagger half-way towards Cael\'s arm. With a wet gurgle, he fell down, blood pouring out of his neck in bursts.

Cael inhaled sharply, its metallic scent filling his nostrils, and shook his head. Then he wiped the rapier on the dead man\'s clothes, sheathed it, and pressed his hand over his wound, trying to ignore the pain.

No sounds came from the nearby houses. If people there heard the sounds of a fight, they must\'ve wisely ignored them. The alleyway didn\'t even have any windows looking at it.

"Death over dishonor… The only way for a man to live," Cael muttered, looking at the spy\'s corpse. "You weren\'t a noble, but you lived as one. Father will send your body to Nuvoloso to be buried properly. He can recognize honor, too. He pestered me about it way too much."

"Anyway," Cael added after a brief pause. "You are dead, anyway, soon to be worms\' food. You might as well help me save the world and protect my family."

Cringing, he pulled his hand away from the wound. Left hand reached towards the dead body, while the right held at chest level, with fingers spread as if holding an invisible ball.

"*Crimson river, follow your master!*"

This was the last of Cael\'s mana. His knees shook from exhaustion, but the result was worth it.

Following the command of the Lesser Exsanguination spell, rivulets of blood flew from the growing puddle on the ground and from the spy\'s wound. They went towards Cael\'s right hand, gathering in a fist-sized ball over it. Then, with the knowledge that came from the same place as the spell itself, Cael made the spell consume the gathered blood.

*You have gained 42 BP. 45 BP until the next upgrade.*

Cael shut his eyes. This was going to take a long while. But actually…

*Hey, System, how much BP to heal this wound?*