Once again, Briar launched herself into the attack. She ran at full speed, placing her hands on the ground as if imitating a four-legged animal. In just a second, she was in front of Darius, aiming the blades of her swords straight at his face.
Darius skillfully maneuvered his axe and struck Briar's blades. The grinding sound of metal against solidified blood rang out, sparks flying and briefly illuminating both their faces. However, he didn't stop there. After blocking her attack, he tried to grab her by the neck again. Briar was small and light, so for someone like Darius, incapacitating an opponent like her was fairly easy—but Briar didn't fall for the same trick.
Using the clash between her swords and the axe, Briar flipped backward, her feet skidding across the ground as she landed. Her gaze burned with hunger and misfortune, and for the first time, her manic smile wasn't the only thing painted across her face. Yes, the smile was still there—but something else was keeping her composed. Her hunger wasn't as uncontrollable as before, and her thirst for blood felt… quieter this time.
She leapt forward again, confident she could trade blows with Darius once more. Briar was agile and relentless, moving across the terrain as if it were her natural habitat. She struck her swords against Darius again and again at remarkable speed, jumping back whenever she felt he might split her in half with the edge of his axe.
Darius's speed and skill were no joke. This man was a monster wearing human skin. His strength and reaction time were flawless—so much so that Briar couldn't land another cut on him.
"Are you getting tired, girl?" Darius said, noticing her heavy breathing.
She simply laughed.
"Hehe. Not at all. I'm just really excited right now."
And once again, she slammed her blades against his.
Whenever Darius blocked, Briar slid back across the ground from the recoil. She tried to win at every moment—but it seemed impossible. Her strength wasn't enough, her hunger wasn't as overwhelming, and her rage had turned into a strange feeling that hurt her in a different way.
As she fought, Midas was dying behind her.
Even though her memories were hazy due to the madness she developed from years of confinement, she still remembered every moment she had spoken with Midas.
Beyond the wall that once separated them, Briar imagined the boy who had been locked away, growing up alone in a dark corner. The first time she saw him, he was a seventeen-year-old boy with his hands bound by that same inhibitor. Back then, Midas's gaze had been disturbed and depressed—as if he had just lived through the most traumatic moment of his life.
But Briar saw more than that.
The first time she saw him, she thought he would be different from the monsters around her. And the first time she heard him cry while apologizing to someone in particular, she understood just how different they truly were.
The wall between them wasn't just physical—it was also metaphorical.
A human who had grown up as one.
A monster born with the urge to kill and devour.
Briar reflected on that many times. Despite being somewhat foolish due to her lack of education, she would sometimes feel strangely alone, asking herself questions about her own existence.
Why am I here?
Why am I so hungry?
What am I?
Is there a place for me in this world?
When she asked herself those questions, a desire began to take root deep within her heart—the desire to be like everyone else.
Even now, as she fought desperately to defeat Darius, back then Briar had been nothing more than a helpless monster, caged with twisted and lonely thoughts.
"Die, die, die!"
Her efforts led to nothing. Darius was a formidable opponent. No matter how hard she tried to kill him, nothing worked—and that made her realize the vast difference between strength and madness.
'Midas is dying,' she thought.
Briar could still feel life clinging to Midas's body—but that would end soon. She didn't fully understand why she felt this way, but somehow… she hated it. It hurt.
It hurt more than an insatiable hunger.
What she failed to realize all this time was that Darius hadn't been counterattacking—he had only been defending against every strike. Unfortunately, she didn't notice that he had merely been measuring her potential.
And when he finished doing so…
It was time to strike.
Briar lunged for Darius's legs, but her movements were slow compared to his. He lifted his foot and stomped on her hand.
She screamed as she felt her bones crack beneath her skin—but Darius didn't stop there. As she struggled to escape with her hand pinned under his foot, he raised his axe to behead her.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Driven by her madness, Briar forced her own hand free—ripping it off at the wrist. Bone could be seen through the severed stump as her hand fell to the ground.
Darius widened his eyes slightly, surprised. This girl's resilience had no limits—and that was something he respected.
In his eyes, she was a true warrior of the Noxian Empire.
Without wasting time, Briar used the only sword she could still hold. Her movements were faster now—more desperate. Her madness pushed her into a frenzied state. Her attack speed increased drastically, and her thirst for blood drove her forward.
It didn't matter that she had received little education—there was one thing that made her the perfect warrior:
The instinct of an insatiable fighter.
With her single blade, she hooked Darius's axe and used it like a catapult.
Against Darius, his back was his weakness—and Briar aimed to exploit it.
She launched herself upward and climbed onto his back. The moment she did, she opened her mouth and bit into his neck.
Darius growled and dropped his axe. He desperately tried to throw her off—but when he felt a surge of blood gush from the wound on the right side of his neck, he fell to his knees, his vision distorting.
Even in that bad position, Darius turned his weakness into an advantage.
He grabbed her by the hair and, with a swift, powerful motion, slammed Briar into the ground.
She groaned in pain, spitting out the blood in her mouth. As she tried to stand again to defend herself, Darius kicked her in the stomach, forcing her to spit out the remaining blood she had taken.
The impact sent Briar skidding back several meters. She fell to her knees, staring at the ground.
She vomited Darius's blood, unable to process it and fully heal. However, the kick had unintentionally helped her—it brought her close enough to her severed hand.
The hemolith suddenly trembled—and her hand reattached itself.
In that brief instant, Darius decided not to waste any more time. He raised his axe once again to execute her—but from the ground, Briar spun like a tornado, using her blades as a shield. When Darius struck, the spinning swords collided with the axe, knocking it back.
It should have been a solid defensive move, but…
"It's over," Darius whispered.
He tightened his grip on the axe and, as fast as lightning, struck Briar in the chest.
She was sent flying backward. The force of the blow made her slide across the ground until she landed beside Midas.
Briar hadn't even seen the counterattack—and in the end, that was her downfall.
Now close to Midas, she looked at his face and felt… something. Even though he had told her to run, she had been stubborn and stayed to fight.
Now they would both die together because of that choice.
As Darius approached to deliver the final blow, Briar looked at him—and felt a chill run down her spine.
'I'm going to die…'
Her thought was correct.
'I'm going to die…'
She would die beside the person she had called a friend.
'I'm going to die…'
There was no freedom without a little death.
Perhaps it was that thought that, for the first time, made Briar feel a strange kind of fear.
But it wasn't just that.
Midas was still breathing.
Barely—but alive.
"He's dying. There's nothing you can do to save him," Darius said, now standing in front of her, looking down at her seriously.
Saving someone…
How ironic.
Briar thought it was almost funny—but Darius was right.
With effort, Briar sat beside Midas. She looked at him—the boy who had been imprisoned ten years ago. She thought about how scrawny and pitiful he looked… and smiled softly.
Whenever her power was unleashed, her face would take on that demonic expression—but strangely enough, she didn't see Midas as something to kill.
"We're free…" she whispered.
She leaned over him and opened her mouth.
"Are you going to eat the one you called 'friend'?"
Briar smiled.
"Friends aren't food."
And in one swift motion, she bit into Midas's cloak—then ran away from Darius.
In truth, Darius did nothing to stop her. He knew that both Briar and Midas would die from their wounds sooner or later. While Briar might survive if she drank Midas's blood…
Midas would not.
Briar had lost this fight.
Meanwhile, Darius sat down on the ground, watching the girl flee in desperation. Though he didn't show it at first glance, he was on the verge of passing out. Fighting a magical being was already difficult—and he had lost a significant amount of blood.
It was a miracle he was still standing after all that.
"If you don't die along the way, there will come a time when we meet again. Until then… I hope you're ready."
"Because I'll be ready to kill you."
Despite everything, Briar and Midas managed to escape the Immortal Bastion. Afterward, the soldiers who had witnessed the fight asked Darius why he had let the assassin escape.
This time, Darius had no excuse.
He simply wanted to fight her again.
Deep down, he thought it would be a waste to kill someone with that much potential.
In the end, Darius only shook his head.
"They won't get far. The man in the cloak is already dead. As for her… we'll find her."
The soldiers were uneasy with that decision. They thought Darius was taking the matter too lightly—but the truth was, in some way, it had been a remarkable battle.
And that was why he let her go.
Darius knew she would return someday.
And he wasn't wrong…