Alaric looked at the man before him, his face betraying no emotion; there was little to betray anyway. Logically, he should rage. But his mind stayed clinical, partitioning grief like a dismissed equation
"What is your name, boy?" Jack asked the young boy as he gripped his sword tightly.
Alaric tilted his head, confused by the sudden question, but he decided to answer, "Alaric, my name is Alaric Voss."
Jack chuckled a little, "You are talented, Alaric, the most talented I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. You have the strength of one who is almost on the verge of breaking his limits."
There was silence as they both measured each other up.
That silence was broken by the shriek of Kong, who was on a tree nearby holding a stick like a staff, ready to jump on Jack and go full-on attack mode if Alaric needed him to.
Jack looked in the monkey's direction and commented, "Your monkey is quite loyal; you raised it well."
Kong shrieked louder at being thought of as home-bred.
Alaric, unbothered by his comment, tried coming up with efficient ways to finish the man in front of him. He knew he was different from the rest; in fact, the man had been going easy on him from the very beginning. He knew the man was faster than he portrayed on his earlier pursuit, and judging from those defined muscles, and his comment earlier, he could safely say he was a 'limit human', one on the verge of breaking his limiter.
"Do you wish to get out alive?" Jack asked another question, looking directly into the boy's piercing purple eyes intently.
"I would like to leave alive and intact if I can help it," Alaric answered with an indifferent voice, "but beggars are not choosers".
"Hehehe, kill me then, give all you have to kill me. If you don't, you will live a life worse than hell," Jack replied in an ominous voice.
"Ok," Alaric replies as he moves with speeds that should be impossible for someone of his muscle mass and young age.
Alaric closed the distance as he swung his dagger at Jack's exposed thigh. Jack dodged as he swung the side of his blade at the boy in front of him.
Alaric dodged with finesse, letting the blade move above him as he dodged. He could feel the overwhelming air pressure pass by him above, as the blade swung past him.
'damn' Goosebumps prickled Alaric's arms, he quickly put distance between them. 'That was dangerous.'
Taking a deep breath, Alaric closed the distance again, dodging Jack's blade with supernatural efficiency, the air pressure no longer fazing him, as he predicted the trajectory of the blades and moved to avoid them.
'he's still holding back a lot of strength and speed, why?' Alaric thought as he saw the way the man moved with clear hesitation in capturing him.
'This boy…' Jack thought, 'amazing, he's learning from each step he takes, he couldn't maneuver like this earlier.' his smirk widened. 'Such monstrous instincts, he dodges before I even move.'
Alaric was within his range, so he could see his actions clearly. The boy wasn't normal, and he sure as hell wouldn't believe otherwise.
During the time he had these thoughts, Alaric seized the opportunity to step on his thigh while he was making a stance, launching himself upwards as he rotated his body, bearing his dagger at Jack's naked neck.
Jack barely dodged by bending backwards, surviving on pure instincts, but Alaric wouldn't let jack's slip up go without him paying for it, so before landing on the ground, he swung his dagger again towards jack's thigh, shredding his clothes as it met flesh, ripping his muscles to pieces with practiced ease.
Blood splattered on Alaric as jack screamed in pain "Ahhhh, fuck"
'Good, I didn't miss.' Alaric thought as he observed the place he had cut.
The thigh has always been Alaric's target; he knew he couldn't approach Jack like the others he had killed, targeting his thigh first would have caused him to dodge, so he went for the neck as a distraction.
He knew his opponent was holding back, and should he choose to stop, he would be captured. So, he had to incapacitate him before he decided to use full force.
The wound was deep, deep enough to reach the femoral vein and artery, severely damaging both.
'If left unchecked, I will die,' Jack thought with a mad grin on his face. For the first time in years, he first exited, and it reminded him of his younger years, when he was excited about cultivation. 'So, this is what talent looks like, I am not it. I need to push him more.'
Jack forced down the pain with pure will, as he charged at Alaric using his uninjured leg to boost himself forward.'
Thankfully, Alaric already predicted this; he dashed to the side, rolling on the floor as he picked up a sword from the damp soil, swinging it towards Jack's right ankle, completely incapacitating him.
Alaric pivoted, driving the sword through Jack's chest before gravity could claim him. The blade grated against ribs, then silence.
Jack, feeling the pain, started to breathe heavily; he was dying, no doubt about that, but he felt happy feeling his life draining out of him. His life flashed past him as he turned to look at Alaric.
"Ah, ah, ah, thank you, Alaric, I…. am…. finally... free," Jack said as he took his final breath, knowing that his soul had become unbound.
Alaric, seeing his foe take his last breath, relaxed his shoulders, breathing a sigh of relief. 'It's finally over, now where should I go? Kong should know….'
A twig snapped somewhere behind Alaric. Too late, he realized—someone else was here. Kong shrieked louder than he had ever, as if telling him to run.
Clap clap clap
His monologue was suddenly interrupted by applause from behind him.
"Fascinating…".