Chapter 289: Don’t Do Something You’ll Regret

"Percival, calm down," Lukas said, keeping his voice even as he raised an open hand. "Take a deep breath. Don’t do anything you’ll come to regret."

Percival didn’t lift his head. His hair hung in strands over his face, hiding his eyes from view.

"You forced my hand," he hissed, his voice cold. The killing intent around him slowly grew without any sign of stopping. "You made this choice, not me. You!"

He still didn’t move from where he was. His feet stayed planted on the ground, and his hands hung loose at his sides.

Lukas glanced over his shoulder at Akira.

Akira met his gaze. Her hands held her flail ready, and she gave him a firm, single nod.

Beside her, Melody tightened her grip on her mace, and Karrakas kept his arrow pulled tight to his cheek. They were in position and ready to move. They had his back.

Lukas turned back to the blond man and took a step forward.

"Think about this logically, Percival," Lukas said. "Listen to reason. Even if we let you come along with our group, it wouldn’t work out. You have your own business down here, and you also have your own places to be."

"We came into these caves separately, and we’re going to be leaving separately. That’s just how Climbers operate."

Percival stayed silent for several seconds.

Then his shoulders began to shake. A low, faint murmur drifted from beneath his hair.

He began whispering indistinctly.

Lukas couldn’t pick out the words, glancing back with a look of mild confusion at the others behind him.

"What are you saying?" He asked, turning back to Percival.

He took another step closer, lowering his stance.

Percival’s voice grew louder, and the rhythm of his speech sped up, turning into a fast, ragged chant.

"You’re going to abandon me," Percival whispered. "You’re abandoning me. Just like all the others. You take what you need, you smile to my face, and then you leave me all alone in the dark."

The words climbed in volume, echoing off the walls of the cavern.

"Throwing me away. Leaving me behind. Abandoning me. You’re going to abandon me. Abandon me. Abandon me."

Then he stopped all of a sudden.

The sound cut off instantly. The cavern went dead silent.

Percival went completely still, his body freezing in place.

Lukas opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Percival exploded forward.

The man crossed the distance between them in a blur.

He was faster than Lukas had expected, but that didn’t mean he’d been caught off guard.

Percival’s fist blurred towards him, and Lukas raised his poleaxe with both hands, catching the strike with the haft.

Clang!

The impact rang out as Percival’s fist hit the weapon. His hand bounced off the surface like rubber, but the rest of his body did not stop.

His body folded like a piece of fabric, dodging Lukas’ attack without losing speed, but before he could do anything more, Lukas activated [Void Step].

The cavern turned grey as Lukas slipped out of reality.

Percival lunged through the empty space where Lukas had just stood.

Lukas appeared directly behind him, planting his boots on the stone.

He slammed his hand down and activated [Bone Wall].

White bones erupted from the floor in a ring, locking together to cage Percival.

Percival turned on the spot, his fists hammering into the barrier. The bones began to crack under his bare knuckles, shards flying off the structure.

Lukas raised his hand, gathering mana to call [Smite]. He glanced up at the ceiling of the cavern, where jagged crystals hung overhead.

A blast of holy energy here could bring down the whole roof on their heads.

Lukas paused, holding the skill back, and that hesitation was all Percival needed.

Percival drove both hands through the cracked bone wall, tearing a gap open and bursting out into the open tunnel.

Lukas swung his poleaxe in a wide arc, aiming the axe head at Percival’s neck.

Percival bent his spine backwards until his torso flattened against the floor. The blade passed through empty air inches above his chest.

Two arrows swished through the dark, fired by Karrakas in rapid succession.

Percival twisted his torso sideways, dodging the first arrow.

He pulled his head back, and the second shaft skated past his cheek.

He caught one of the standing bone pillars with his arm, spinning his whole body around it to gather momentum, then he launched a kick at Lukas’s head.

Lukas raised his poleaxe to catch the strike on the haft.

But before his very eyes, Percival’s leg twisted to the side like a snake.

The foot slipped past the haft, bypassing the block and slammed directly into the side of Lukas’ face.

Unlike what Lukas had expected, the attack landed with brutal power.

Lukas’ head snapped back. His vision blurred, and copper flooded his tongue as blood welled inside his mouth.

He didn’t wait for the follow-up, simply activating [Hex Shield].

A plane of dark cursed energy materialized between them, catching Percival’s second kick.

Crack!

The barrier fractured and blew apart into black motes under the sheer impact.

Percival pulled his leg back to strike again, but Melody and Akira arrived.

Melody swung her mace at his ribs, while Akira drove the spiked head of her flail towards his neck.

Percival’s spine bent sideways at an impossible angle.

His ribs compressed, with the mace passing through empty air. He ducked under Akira’s flail, his feet sliding across the floor.

He didn’t bother fighting the women. He pushed off the ground, gunning straight for Lukas.

Lukas wiped the blood from his lip and dashed forward to meet him. He raised both hands to intercept the incoming attack.

Percival threw a straight right punch.

Lukas braced to catch the blow, tracking the fist.

Mid-swing, something shot out from Percival’s fingers.

The small projectile hissed through the air, and in that split second, Lukas’ eyes glanced at it.

It appeared to be just an ordinary rock. A distraction at best, so he ignored it as it landed to his right.

But before he could do anything about the attack coming from Percival, the air above him split.

A crushing pressure dropped from the ceiling without warning.

The force slammed into Lukas from above, crushing his guard and driving him face-first into the hard ground.