Killer's Intent

《 Chapter 19 》

"Where are we going?" Kieran asked.

They had been walking for a while now, and he was beginning to feel frustration building up with being kept in the dark. No matter how hard he tried, the feeling that Daemon was hiding something persisted.

And Kieran knew from experience to always trust his instincts.

"You'll see," was the only reply he got.

Curt, cryptic, and cold.

How fitting.

"I don't like being kept in the dark," he stated, his steps coming to a halt. "Either tell me or you can proceed alone."

Sensing his stillness, Daemon gave a slight turn, angling his body just enough to maintain eye contact. "But aren't you curious?" He asked, his voice dripping with confidence. "I'm sure you're burning with anticipation to find out where I am taking you, yes?"

Kieran hated how it was true. He hated how disadvantaged he was in this situation, hated how Daemon knew it and chose to purposefully leave him curious, grasping at straws.

It was so damn infuriating.

"Damn it, stop beating around the bush and tell me, Daemon. This isn't the direction of the coordinates," he snapped, anger and frustration building up inside of him. He refused to be clueless any longer. He would either extract the information from that tight-lipped asshole or leave to figure it out himself.

"They say ignorance is bliss," Daemon responded, still in that frustratingly leisure tone. Kieran fought the urge to punch him. "Are you sure you want to find out?"

"Sure, it might be blissful," Kieran retorted, "until I get myself killed. I'm asking you for the last time, Daemon. Where are we going?"

"The situation is worse than I expected, so we'll go to the coordinates later." Daemon said at last. "Right now, we need to go to the opening of the abyss."

"The abyss?" Kieran repeated, his eyes widening with recognition.

"Yes," Daemon affirmed. "The one you fell into."

The abyss. The place where it all started. Kieran would be lying if he said he wasn't curious.

"But why—"

"Quiet," Daemon hissed. Striding toward him, he slapped a hand over Kieran's mouth, his expression dark. "You'll alert them."

"Them? Who?" he urged, his voice muffled by the rough palm. Just when he thought they were getting somewhere, Daemon just had to revert back to his original cryptic self. Reeling his leg back, Kieran kicked him hard in the shin, earning a muffled grunt as the other shot him a murderous expression.

That's more like it.

Looking him dead in the eye, Kieran kicked him a second time.

That's right. There were plenty of ways to get an answer out of him.

Taking advantage of their close proximity, Kieran grabbed the hand covering his mouth and twisted his body, breaking free from the hold. He took a step back, creating distance as the two gauged the other's reaction.

He was just about to speak when he felt a wave of murderous intent flashing behind him, chilling his bones. Instinctively, he abandoned all thoughts of communication and threw himself to the side, feeling a current of air rush past him. Turning just in time, he saw a black blur crash into the wall, hard enough to form a noticeable dent.

His breath caught in his throat.

No, it couldn't be. He must have seen it wrong. There was no way that was a—

"Demon," Daemon hissed, his expression cold as he unsheathed his broadsword. He shot an accusing glance at Kieran. "I told you to be quiet."

"I would have, if you had just told me what it was," Kieran snapped back, reaching for his daggers. "Get out of the way. I'll handle this one."

"Too late."

In the next instant, the demon slumped motionless to the ground, bleeding from a wound on its chest, its black blood spilling onto the ground.

Surprised, Kieran whirled around to find Daemon calmly sheathing his sword, his expression unfazed.

Since when did he move?

Feeling his stare, Daemon turned toward him and raised an eyebrow. 

"Yes?" he asked, his tone carrying a hint of smugness.

Kieran scowled. Keep calm, keep calm, keep calm.

He took a deep breath, reigning in his emotions.

"I must say, Daemon," he started, giving his signature grin— one designed to specifically infuriate his opponents. "I never knew you wanted to impress me this much."

As expected, Daemon's expression froze. "Don't flatter yourself," he said at last. Kieran didn't miss the slight strain in his voice. "You were the one who was not fast enough."

"We'll see about that," Kieran replied, rejoicing at the fact that he had caught him off guard. An idea came to him as he leaned forward, letting his lips curve in a conspiratorial smile. "Shall we make a bet?"

Daemon paused, and Kieran fought the urge to laugh. As he thought, that guy would never back down from such a blatant challenge.

"On what?" he said at last.

"On who would take care of the next one, of course," Kieran replied, a playful hum in his voice. "You did say them after all."

"Alright," Daemon responded.

Gotcha.

It was obvious from his tone that he thought he had an advantage. But that didn't mean Kieran was going to let him win.

He had a plan, after all.

Kieran smiled, feeling his Skill beginning to fluctuate. "I look forward to it, darling."

He felt the killing intent before he saw it.

Relying on his previous experiences with the demons, Kieran made some quick calculations regarding its height and anatomy, and hurled the dagger into that direction without a second to spare.

He watched as the blade twirled gracefully in the air, sinking straight into the heart of the snarling demon that had just appeared in front of them.

Unable to defend against the attack, the demon fell to the ground with a thud, dead.

Kieran turned around just in time to catch a flash of surprise flicker across Daemon's expression, lasting only a second before it was masked away by his usual cold indifference.

Oh, how the tables have turned.

"Well, I must say, Daemon, I'm a bit disappointed." Kieran couldn't help but grin. "I was expecting a much faster reaction speed than that, based on your previous performance."

The man in question scoffed. "Again with those petty tricks."

Kieran shrugged. "All's fair in war, darling."

"Is that so?" Daemon drawled, stepping towards him. "Then shall we test those marvelous skills of yours some more?"

"Of course," Kieran replied, matching his step. "Give me all you've got."

"My, how confident," the other smiled. "In that case, would you like to fight something more challenging?"

"Like what?" Kieran inquired, curious.

"Me."

Daemon widened his smile, closing the distance between them even further.

"We never declared a winner for our previous fight, did we?"

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Author's note:

Here's chapter 19 I hope you liked it! Sorry if this chapter is a little short, I've been really busy lately. Feel free to tell me what you think in the comments~

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