Chapter 34: Three Of Her

[Shadow Step Card In Effect]

[Shadow Step: 5:30:09 remaining]

Cashel’s eyes widened. He quickly stepped away from Rain when the heat grew intense, thrust his dagger into the wall and hung from it, keeping himself clear of the fire. He made a mental note.

’The flashbangs have significant effects on awakeners, even S-rankers,’ he thought, glancing at Lionface, who had turned his head in his direction. ’He should know this, right?’ He wondered, but quickly turned his attention back to Rain.

She was glaring at him with literal fire burning in her eyes. Her ears were bleeding, staining her white suit.

Cashel smirked. "How do you feel, General?"

General Rain smirked sinisterly and spat out blood. There was a bullet wound in her arm and another in her abdomen. Before the blood could soak her suit further, she sealed the wounds and spat out another mouthful of blood.

She brushed off the burnt rope and exhaled, smoke leaving her mouth and nose. "This is why I was sceptical about her getting married." Cashel raised a brow. "Who would have thought she’d marry a troublesome pest."

Cashel laughed. "I’m flattered, General."

Rain did not even let him finish before hurling a ball of fire at him.

He pulled his dagger out of the wall, dodged the fire and landed on the ground with a soft thud. More balls of fire came at him without rest.

Left, right, up, down.

Cashel simply moved rapidly—sidesteps, backflips and short sprints. The Shadow Step card was still active, but the timer was growing shorter.

[Shadow Step: 1:30 remaining]

He scoffed behind his mask under his breath before reaching for the other flashbang. He charged at her, but paused the moment the heat around her grew so intense that he could see the waves of it.

Cashel snickered. "You scared?"

Rain returned his smile. "Anyone would be scared of a pest like you, but may I remind you, I’m a general for a reason!"

Almost immediately, fire poured out from her body, gradually filling the space within the barrier. Cashel leapt back, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the heat.

The growing flames restricted him from getting closer. He frowned, clenched his jaw and forced his mind to work.

Resorting to his last option, he unfastened the flashbang from his belt and threw it straight into the flames.

The moment the device made contact it exploded, filling the chamber with blinding light and an ear-splitting screech that forced even Lionface to shut his eyes.

The fire fanned out almost instantly. When the light faded, Rain stood motionless, her head lowered and blood pouring rapidly from her ears.

[Shadow Step Card Depleted.]

[Remaining Duration: 00:00:00]

[Deducting Points for Random Instinct Pull: –500,000]

[Total Points: 701,760]

Cashel paused, concern replacing the earlier expression when he saw her condition. He hurried over, dagger still gripped tightly in his hand.

"General?"

Rain did not answer, but her body swayed slightly. Cashel reached out and caught her before she could fall, both hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"Hey."

Rain’s head lifted. Her eyes were still burning red, and Cashel immediately stepped back.

"Ah."

A fist passed through the space where his face had been.

He ducked instinctively and stepped further back.

Rain’s fist stopped against the empty air behind him, but the force still punched clean through the wall. For several seconds neither of them moved.

Then Cashel slowly straightened and let out a breath of relief. "You’re fine."

Rain’s lips twitched. "Did you think I was dying?"

"No."

"You looked concerned."

"I was checking whether I had accidentally killed my wife’s general."

Rain stared at him. After a brief second she laughed. Her voice was rough and slightly strained, followed by another cough that brought a thick line of blood to the corner of her mouth.

"That’s a terrible excuse."

Cashel narrowed his eyes. "I wasn’t joking."

"I know."

She pulled her fist away from the wall and wiped the blood from beneath her ear. The bleeding had already begun to slow, which was a relief.

Suddenly the large screen above the platform flickered to life.

[Recalculating under combat conditions...]

[Class signatures fluctuating...]

[Rank range provisional: –S]

[Warning: Possible demotion pathway detected under prolonged observation]

Murmurs exploded across the observation deck. A voice said, half in disbelief, "Another S-rank. And it falls straight into Lionface’s hands again."

Lionface himself only grinned behind his mask. He tapped his staff on the ground, deactivating the barrier, then turned and made his way back to the observation deck.

Cashel saw the same public readout everyone else did. At the same time his system window overlaid a different truth.

[Actual Classification: SSS+]

[Class Fluctuation Stabilising...]

[Primary Combat Specialisation Confirmed, Title: Human Target Elimination]

Nathan stared at the private feed only he and Cashel could see. He slowly removed his glasses, wiped them with the edge of his sleeve, and looked again.

The SSS+ rank remained there.

He exhaled a short, almost disbelieving laugh. "Well," Nathan said, voice carrying clear amusement through the speakers, "I’ll be damned."

He pressed a sequence of keys. The chamber lights returned and the calculation stopped.

Nathan’s voice returned. "Congratulations, Cashel Altar. Provisional S for the official records. The rest stays between the rest of us for now."

Cashel nodded, returned his weapons to his inventory and deactivated the card then he moved to take off the remaining of the calculating suits; gloves and boots.

Rain had already moved toward the edge of the chamber. She wiped the remaining blood from beneath her nose and looked toward the observation deck.

"So," she said, "S-rank."

Cashel shrugged. "Apparently."

"You don’t sound impressed."

"I was expecting more." Cashel intentionally sounded disappointed, but in truth he was both excited and concerned for reasons he could not yet name.

Rain laughed under her breath. "You’re going to be a problem."

Nathan descended from the observation deck, still staring at the readings on a tablet in his hands.

"Get some rest," he said. "The official report will be sent tonight. Don’t expect anyone to leave you alone after this."

Cashel groaned. He retrieved his jacket and dagger before leaving the chamber.

---

By the time Cashel returned home it was already night, and apparently Amia had gone home before him.

He unlocked the door and stepped inside, only to notice the house was unusually silent. He could not sense Andeen.

"Andeen?" he called, but there was no answer.

Cashel frowned, already raising his guard as he walked deeper into the house, hoping he was not about to deal with another unexpected visitor.

Then he spotted her in the dining area, staring at her laptop screen with her hands hovering over the keys. She was wrapped in a blanket, her hair tied in a neat bun and headphones over her ears.

Cashel relaxed. He carefully walked over, stepped in front of her and leaned in, making her lift her gaze. "How was your check-up?"

Andeen remained silent for a moment. Then she took off the head phones, scanned him from head to toe and smiled. "You look like you had fun," she said, her eyes softening. "I heard you had to go for a reassessment."

Cashel chuckled and nodded. He glanced at the laptop screen. Displayed there were records of dungeons spanning ten years.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

He turned back to her. "How are your ears now?" he asked, slightly guilty because he was the reason she had needed the check-up.

Andeen smiled softly. "Fine. Just don’t use grenades around me next time."

Cashel nodded as she straightened up and began heading for the stairs.

Andeen’s eyes followed him, narrowing slightly.

"Have you had dinner?"

"Not yet," she answered.

"Alright. Let me get cleaned up and I’ll make dinner." He said and made his way upstairs.

Ten minutes later he stepped out of the bathroom in a bathrobe, another towel wrapped around his hair. He walked past the master bedroom toward the stairs and spotted Andeen on the bed, sleeping peacefully with her staff by the bed.

He paused right there, a small smile appearing on his lips, then continued ahead, only to freeze just before the stairs.

Andeen was standing on the second-floor hallway, staring outside the large window.

Cashel blinked. "Didn’t you just..."

She smiled. "Just what?"

Cashel stared at her, then slowly looked back toward the bedroom.

"I thought you were sleeping."

Andeen tilted her head. "I was?" then she smiled innocently. "Maybe you’re tired."

Cashel narrowed his eyes but said nothing. He walked past her and descended the stairs, only to find Andeen still sitting comfortably on the dining chair, her legs drawn up to her chest, scrolling through her phone.

He froze.

Cashel’s gaze moved between the woman upstairs staring down at him and the woman downstairs. Neither of them spoke.

Then suddenly the system screen appeared before him.

[Warning.]

[Multiple identical life signatures detected from Contracted Target/Companion]

[Subject: Andeen.]

[Detected: 3.]