The Crack In Heaven [A LitRPG Progression Fantasy] Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Tonio Breaks

Read chapter 43 of The Crack In Heaven [A LitRPG Progression Fantasy] by Adamus_Auguste on NovelPedia.

Chapter 43: Tonio Breaks "Shit. Kill him!" Charging behind Tonio, Kael pulled the knife tucked behind his back. His limbs went colder than when the Quiet Hand's spawn had chased him through the mines. No matter what, they had to kill Joss, or he would sell them to Silma. You're not getting Tonio! He gripped his weapon hard enough for his palm to hurt, his eyes locked on Tonio's descending nails. They whistled in five dark streaks toward Joss' chest, but the wet tearing of flesh didn't echo... neither did Joss' screams. Instead, he stood on Tonio's right, both hands pulling out two machetes from leather holsters at his waist. Tonio froze, his red eyes narrowed on his own hand as they had whenever he called Kael a traitor. Then, he tilted his head the way he always did when he couldn't understand something. Even Kael's charge faltered for a split second. Not a dodge; a single stride—a heartbeat before Tonio began to swing... as if Joss read the strike's angle and let it slide harmlessly. Had Joss always been that strong, or was it his truth? No time to think! Joss' machetes already glinted in the flickering light. Kael stomped into a leap, slicing his knife at the man's throat. Calm grey eyes reflected on his blade, and his target quietly stepped back the moment he entered its range. The knife carved air, a fist too far from Joss' neck. But he didn't fight alone. "Tonio!" At his scream, Tonio gave up on resolving the unsolvable equation of how faster nails missed a slower target, and swiped his left nails horizontally. He was fast, always fast, and he squeaked it. "Tonio faster!" Before Tonio's hips betrayed the movement, Joss squatted under the swipe. An expression of bored contempt twisted his face as the dark nails rustled his short hair. He exploded upward, machetes out like a serpent's fangs. Breath caught in his throat, Kael dropped beneath Tonio's arm and lunged in, arms spread, a single thought filling his mind. Destabilise him. But Joss' feet spun out of his reach just as he closed his arms. He slipped around Tonio's side, wrapping an arm around the rat-man's neck and using it to swing himself onto Tonio's back without slowing. Unable to stop after missing, Kael crashed into the junk wall headfirst. Instantly, he tried to get on his feet, but his legs buckled, and the shelter fractured into undulating patterns. Gripping the wall for support, he forced himself up. With a groan, he held the left side of his head, while his eyes darted for Tonio through the patterns. At the back of the shelter, Els reached for something on the ground. Tears trailed, then distorted on her trembling arms. He barely glanced at her. He had to save Tonio before anything. "Enough!" Joss' command yanked his mind. Pain from the dripping gash on his forehead slapped the waves flat into walls and people slowly. His chest tightened when Tonio gazed back at him. His red eyes cried without tears even as two weapons pressed against his neck. Pressed against Tonio's back, Joss smirked. "Well, well. I wanted to commission the freak to escort me out. Hahaha. It was the rat-man Garrick searched for all along! How did you hide him?" He nudged his head toward Kael. "Better, how did you hide yourself? I remember you. Kael, right? The lad who supposedly stole a chunk of the treasure that Garrick hired him to excavate. A lie, of course, confirmed by my men along with your death. Wait, let me guess." "You became a binder that night. Truly impressive. No... the men who reported you..." Kael bit his lip. Joss knew. Not yet, but he began to piece the clues together. And it didn't take him more than five seconds. "You killed them a week later. Then you freed the rat-man from the sewers and pinned its disappearance on Fen. This whole war happened because of a brat who refused to die?" His trembling blades carved two thin lines on Tonio's neck. Kael's fingers twitched on the wall. Except for the blame part he had no idea about, Joss nailed everything... Shit... "There