Chapter 176: Cold Iron Promise

William Oh has got so much game that when the system tried to quantify it as a stat, it threw back an error, and the numbers went into the negatives.

• Jason Salazar

“Hold still, I wanna axe you a question!” Will shouted as he sprinted after the young woman, his mind taking notes as she ran.

Pointed ears, able to run at nearly the same speed as me…in total darkness…yeah, this girl isn’t an actual damsel.

Now the question was, what to-

Will’s teeth clacked together as a trap door swung open underneath him, only for the lip of the pit he was standing above to shoot out and arrest his fall about two inches down.

‘Cassandra’ glanced over her shoulder, eyes widening as Will continued sprinting across the open pit filled with poisoned blades. He could smell the acrid venom wafting up from beneath.

“EEP!” Cassandra slapped a button on her way past and fumes began pouring into the hallway behind her.

Will used a Phantom Snake to solidify the air between them and marked himself with a non-terrain exception, allowing Will to cut past the frozen poisonous gas with ease.

Once he was past, he had the snake let go of the air, allowing the gas to continue filling the hall behind them, hopefully cutting off her escape if she tried to double back.

“Shit!” Cassandra shouted, tripping over the hem of her nightgown, ripping the hem before tumbling to the ground, further damaging the sheer material.

She turned to face Will, scooting backwards on her butt, eyes wide.

Will went in for the kill, diving towards the hapless-

What is that?

In that fraction of a second that Will felt something bad signal itself through the Debt, He reeled himself backwards, his neck straining at the sudden whiplash.

A brick sank under Cassandra’s palm, and a spinning disc of metal whipped out of the wall, missing her head by a couple inches and screaming towards Will.

Will’s juke backwards bought him enough time to squash himself violently to the ground, allowing the blade to pass over him before springing forward like a pouncing spider.

“ACK!” Cassandra was only halfway to her feet when Will slammed into her, sending both of them tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

She went to slap him and Will caught her hand. She swung with her other hand, and Will stopped it mid-flight with a phantom snake.

“Now listen-“

A spring-loaded dagger appeared out of her cleavage and nearly stabbed Will in the face.

Will caught the blade with his teeth and tumbled backwards for a moment while Cassandra rose to her feet and started running again. The chase was back on.

Why am I even still chasing her? Will thought, spitting out the poisoned dagger tingling his tongue as she disappeared around the corner. He’d scared her a bit to suss out if she was a threat or not. Now that he knew she was no innocent, there was really no reason to hold back.

Will picked himself up with a phantom snake and crossed the distance between them in a fraction of a second, arriving in a small bedroom. Cassandra was in the process of diving into a secret passage, and Will’s snakes yanked her back out squirming like a rodent being dragged from its hole.

Will used four Phantom Snakes to drag her limbs behind her before using a single one to secure all of them together, using the shapeshifting armor to create an effective hogtie.

Will grabbed the back of Cassandra’s head with his hand and brought her face closer for an intimate conversation, a Phantom Snake holding his tomahawk to her throat.

“I don’t want to kill you, miss Cassandra. I am however, very good at it.”

Her face crumpled into fake tears. “No, please-“

“Shhh…” Will said, forming a gag out of his Phantom snake’s armor. “Just listen for now. I think there’s a way we can both walk away from this alive. All you have to do is repeat after me.”

Another spring-loaded titty-blade appeared and was clamped down on by Will’s Phantom Snake, wrenching it away from his face.

I think Loth might like this lady.

“…Any more of those?” Will asked.

Cassandra’s eyes narrowed.

“Am I gonna have to go looking?” Will asked, leaning closer.

Her eyes widened, and she shook her head.

“Good.” Will then described the oath he wanted her to make, and added an ultimatum: If she didn’t say it within the next ten seconds…Death.

Pretty simple, as far as things went.

Will ungagged her mouth.

“Say it.” Will tightened his hold on the bucking girl to make sure she understood her position.

‘Cassandra’, if that was her real name, swallowed nervously, her throat flexing against the blade of Will’s axe.

8,7,6…

She apparently could see Will’s countdown to murder in his head, because she cleared her throat and started speaking.

“I give you my word as Cassandra, the third Gate Guardian and Mordaine’s daughter, that I will not attempt to harm or sabotage you, nor aid anyone trying to harm you, until you die or leave this castle. I will lead you to Mordaine, and if you come to be in peril, I will remove myself from the situation immediately.”

Will felt the Debt twitch around them as it registered the promise, and he released the fae with a satisfied grunt.

Cassandra stood, smoothing her torn nightgown, her expression quivering with barely concealed rage and…possibly shame?

“So…Mordaine’s daughter?” Will asked incredulously. “Do Fae even have children?”

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“Of course.”

“How does that work? Is it the same as humans?” Will asked, cocking his head. “Or do you do some weird…fae…thing? What’s the process?”

“…So after a certain age-“ She started to speak, but Will held up a hand, forestalling any further explanation.

“Nevermind. Forget I asked, I’d rather figure it out myself.” Will said, taking a step towards the exit beyond Cassandra, his mind wandering.

Cassandra stiffened, her mouth silently opened and closed a couple times as he approached, before she seemed to shake herself out of it.

“Okay?” She said in a trembling voice, her hand reaching up to slip the strap of her nightgown off her shoulder.

“…What are you doing?” Will asked, stepping back with a frown. Does she have some other hidden weapon under there or something? Maybe another knife hidden in the armpit, or a razor-sharp wire concealed in the strap, to wrap around his neck and cut his windpipe?

“I’m…you said…” Cassandra’s face turned red. “Nothing…apparently.” She said, heaving a sigh and fixing her clothes.

“Alright, lead the way.” Will said, motioning to the exit behind her with the haft of his weapon. Cassandra turned to lead him through the halls, a mote of light hovering above her finger.

“…And bear in mind,” Will said, shifting the haft to point at her.

“While being Mordaine’s daughter prevents me from simply burying my tomahawk in you, there are an infinite number of ways I can punish you that don’t involve plunging my weapon into your soft flesh. If you displease me, rest assured I will find creative ways to make your suffering prolonged. I’ll enjoy it, though. Deeply.”

Cassandra shivered and glanced over her shoulder at him, her expression half-exasperated. “Are you doing that on purpose?”

“Doing what?” Will asked.

…He was doing it on purpose.

Will was cribbing a bit from Charnessa’s lecture on women to Badur, hashed together with a few tidbits he’d overheard from Anna and June discussing Loth’s ‘trashy’ books.

Apparently it’s working…whatever that means. Making her more…compliant…I guess? It was all a bit of a shot in the dark.

“…Dear gods.” Cassandra muttered under her breath, shaking her head as she faced forward and resumed walking.

They navigated the abyssal labyrinth, chatting about the difference between Fae and Climbers for a good ten minutes before stopping at a nondescript stone wall.

“Beyond here lies the main hall that leads to my father.” Cassandra said, motioning to the wall. “Unfortunately the peril kicks in pretty much immediately,” She said with an embarrassed half smile. “So I can’t follow you further. Much as I’d like to.”

Cassandra went up on her tiptoes and kissed Will’s cheek.

“Thanks for the stimulating conversation. And for being gentle with me. As gentle as you could have, I suppose. Although I didn’t mind being manhandled a bit,” She said, looking up at him with half-lidded eyes.

Will’s heart skipped a beat, thumping hard to catch up, his guts squirmed and he barely caught his breath.