Sebastian has been clearing monsters for some time now, and he stood amidst the carnage, his silver sword dripping with blood and all sorts of fluids, his chest heaving with exaggerated breath. Around him lay the broken bodies of drowners and rottfiends, their corpses steaming in the cold, damp air. A ghoul lay twitching at his feet, its claws still scraping weakly against the stone before it finally went still.
He had made it look hard, that was the trick, not too hard he didn't want them to think he was weak, but hard enough that they would believe he was spent and tired, his shoulders slumped. His breath came in ragged gasps, a fine sheen of sweat covered his brow, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand, smearing blood across his forehead.
Behind him, Cyprian Wiley and his remaining men watched with expressions of grudging admiration, the bald giant, was shaking his head slowly, a low whistle escaping his lips.
"Never seen anything like it," the giant muttered. "Never."
Cyprian stepped forward, his boots splashing in the shallow water. His eyes swept over the carnage, then settled on Sebastian's face, to him the witcher looked exhausted, his shoulders were sagging, his sword arm trembling slightly, his yellow eyes, usually so sharp, seemed dulled with fatigue.
"You've been doing an excellent job," Cyprian said. His voice was warm, almost solicitous. "You can rest if you desire, I think we've cleared most of it already and you earned a rest." He paused, shaking his head in genuine admiration. "Never seen someone fight so fiercely."
Sebastian straightened slowly, and he sheathed his sword. "No," he said, his voice rough, strained. "We'll continue, let's get this over with."
Cyprian's smile widened, he nodded, stepping back to rejoin his men.
'Good,' Cyprian thought, his eyes gleaming in the torchlight. 'Good. What a fucking fool.' 'Wear yourself out, witcher. Make it easier for us when the time comes.'
Sebastian watched him turn away, and his expression shifted just for a moment, just enough for anyone who was looking to see the real him beneath the mask of exhaustion.
'You won't be leaving this sewer alive.'
He turned and began walking down the passage, his boots echoing against the wet stone. His medallion was trembling again, but this time it was not the vibration of distant danger. It was the vibration of something close and waiting.
"One more left," Sebastian called over his shoulder. "I can sense it at the end of this path. After this, all paths that lead to that vast underground chamber will be cleared, it will be safe to host whatever you want." He glanced back, his expression carefully neutral. "Fighting ring, deals, whatever you desire."
Cyprian's smile was sharp. "Excellent."
Sebastian turned forward again.
'Well,' he thought. 'At the end of this path there is a katakan, Signs were everywhere, I'm positive of it.'
The passage opened into a circular chamber, its walls lined with ancient stone arches. The ceiling was high, and there was a faint smell in the air, the smell of old blood.
And in the center of the chamber, waiting, was the katakan.
It was magnificent in the way that predators were magnificent, all lean muscle and sharp angles, its skin pale as moonlight, its eyes burning with a feral red light, its claws scraping against the stone, its lips peeled back to reveal rows of needle-sharp teeth. It had been waiting, it had known they were coming.
But it was not prepared for what happened next.
Cyprian's men laughed, so far, they had seen the witcher slaughter drowners and rottfiends and ghouls. They had seen him carve through monsters like a scythe through wheat, this was just one more. One more corpse for the pile.
"Just one?!" the bald giant chuckled. "It won't stand a chance against this witcher."
Sebastian drew his silver sword.
Then he smiled, it was not the smile of a man preparing to kill a monster. It was the smile of a man who had been waiting for exactly this moment.
He turned. His free hand swept up, fingers curling into a sign, the air shuddered, and a wave of telekinetic force slammed into the passage behind them, the stones groaned and collapsed, sealing the exit with a thunderous crash.
The laughter died.
"What the fuck!" one of the men shouted.
Another ran to the collapsed passage, pounding his fists against the rubble. "It's sealed! He sealed it we are trapped here!"
Cyprian's eyes went wide, he stared at Sebastian, his face filled with disbelief and horror.
"What are you doing?!" Cyprian demanded, his voice cracking. "What is the meaning of this?!"
Sebastian turned to face them fully, his exhaustion was gone, stripped away like a mask, revealing the cold yellow eyes now. Alert and deadly.
"You think I don't know what you were trying to do?" Sebastian's voice was calm, "You never planned on letting me walk away from this, I was supposed to clear the monsters, exhaust myself, and then you and your men would finish me off. take the coin, claim the credit. Move up the ladder."
Cyprian's face went pale. "That's...that's not.."
"Don't." Sebastian's voice was quiet, but it cut through Cyprian's stammering. "Don't insult me by lying, we both know the truth. But let me tell you something, I accepted this contract for the same reason, I never planned on letting you live the moment I saw you.""
Cyprian's mouth opened and closed, his men were drawing their weapons now, forming a loose semicircle around him, their faces a mixture of fear and confusion.
"But why?!" Cyprian demanded. "I never offended you! I never met you before! Why would you do this?!"
Sebastian's expression did not change, but something flickered behind his eyes.
"Let's just say," Sebastian said slowly, "I'm trying to prevent a terrible future. I also know that you are one fucking psycho degenerate, and you shouldn't be kept alive."
Cyprian's face twisted. The fear was gone now, replaced by something uglier, rage, the rage of a man who had been caught, exposed, denied what he believed was rightfully his.
"KILL THE WITCHER!" Cyprian screamed, his voice echoing off the chamber walls. "KILL THE MONSTER TOO! I DON'T CARE! JUST KILL THEM BOTH!"
The katakan, which had been watching the drama unfold with the patient stillness, chose that moment to act.
It lunged and Sebastian was ready. He moved to the side, letting the vampire's claws rake through empty air. But he did not counterattack, instead, he parried, deflecting the katakan's blows with precise, measured strokes, and used the creature's momentum to guide it toward Cyprian's men.
The bald giant swung his cudgel at the katakan's head, the vampire caught it with one clawed hand, ripped it from his grasp, and backhanded him across the chamber. The giant crashed into the wall and did not rise.
The others attacked, swords, axes, desperate swings born of panic. The katakan tore through them like paper, a scream, a wet, tearing sound, a body falling, another scream. The chamber filled with the sounds of slaughter.
Sebastian danced through the chaos, his silver sword moving in precise arcs, he did not kill Cyprian's men. He did not need to, the katakan was doing that for him, he simply made sure that every blow aimed at him found another target, every desperate swing meant for him found the vampire instead.
Cyprian watched his men fall. One by one, they were butchered, sliced, dismembered. Their screams echoed off the ancient stone, mingling with the wet sounds of the katakan's feeding.
"Fucking bastard!" Cyprian screamed, he had a crossbow in his hands and he aimed it at Sebastian's back.
The bolt flew.
It struck Sebastian between the shoulder blades.
The bolt caught fire before it could penetrate, flames erupted around the iron tip, consuming the shaft in an instant, leaving nothing but ash that drifted to the ground. Sebastian did not even flinch, he turned his head, just enough to look at Cyprian over his shoulder, and smiled.
"Forgot to mention something else," Sebastian said. "I'm no ordinary witcher."
Cyprian's face went white, the crossbow fell from his nerveless fingers, clattering against the stone.
The katakan finished the last of the men, a final scream, a wet gurgle, a body crumpling to the ground. Then it turned its attention to Cyprian.
The young crime lord did not have time to scream, the katakan was on him in an instant, its claws raking across his chest, opening him from shoulder to hip in a spray of crimson. Cyprian fell backward into the sewage water, his hands clutching at his ruined torso, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air.
Sebastian walked toward the katakan.
The vampire turned to face him, blood dripping from its claws, its red eyes burning with hunger. It was fast and it was deadly, and it had just killed six men in less than a minute.
Sebastian raised his left hand.
The fire erupted from his fist, not a stream, not a bolt, but a concentrated lance of white-hot flame that punched through the katakan's chest and drove it backward into the wall. The creature screeched, its body engulfed, its flesh blistering and blackening, it tried to claw its way free, but Sebastian's fire held it pinned, relentless, consuming.
Then Sebastian walked forward.
He drew his silver sword, and the blade burst into flame, the fire dancing along the edge, turning the ordinary metal into something that looked like it had been forged in a sun.
The katakan was still writhing, still trying to escape, still screeching in pain and rage. Sebastian raised his sword.
One stroke and the katakan's head separated from its body and tumbled to the ground. The flames around its corpse died, leaving nothing but ash and charred bone.
Sebastian sheathed his sword, he turned and walked toward Cyprian.
The young crime lord lay in the sewage water, his chest a ruin of torn flesh and exposed bone. Blood poured from his wounds, mixing with the filth, his hands still clutching uselessly at his body. His eyes were wide, wild, filled with terror and pain.
"Fuck," Cyprian gasped. "Fuck, fuck..." Tears streamed down his face, cutting tracks through the blood and grime. "Please..."
Sebastian looked down at him, his expression was unreadable.
"How pathetic," Sebastian said.
Cyprian coughed, spraying blood. His voice was barely a whisper. "You... you fucking cunt. You bloody betrayed me!! You'll pay for this!! my father... my father will make you pay..."
Sebastian laughed. It was a soft sound, utterly without humor.
"Oh, I'm sure he won't," Sebastian said. He crouched down beside Cyprian, meeting his eyes. "You said it yourself, he doesn't know about what you do. He thinks you're just his dutiful son, working on the family business, he doesn't know about the plans you've made. The alliances you've forged behind his back." Sebastian's smile was cold. "I also know that you were planning to kill him, after you secured this place, after you took over his businesses, after you became the new Whoreson."
Cyprian's eyes widened. "How... how do you..."
"Doesn't matter." Sebastian stood. He drew his steel sword, the blade ignited with a soft whoosh, the flames dancing along the edge, casting flickering shadows across the chamber walls.
"All you need to do now is die," Sebastian said quietly. "You piece of human shit."
Cyprian's hands came up, pathetically, desperately, as if he could ward off the blow. "Wait... wait... I'll give you anything. Money! Power! Anything you want. Just.."
Sebastian's sword descended.
One stroke, clean and precise.
Cyprian's head separated from his body and rolled into the water, his expression frozen in an eternal mask of terror.
Sebastian stood over the body for a long moment, then he wiped his sword clean on the dead man's clothes, sheathed it, and turned away.
/-\
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