Chapter Eleven: The First Drop of Blood

"Let go of that girl!" With a thunderous roar from the doorway, the tightly shut doors were shattered into splinters by a massive fireball. A figure, breathless and a little disheveled, stood at the entrance—it was Bill Armstrong.

Seeing Bill, Andy restrained his actions. Then he noticed the spell Bill had cast—it was the second-level spell, Fireball.

The fireball landed in the center of the courtyard, igniting a patch of weeds. The flames crackled and spread rapidly. Andy felt a surge of inspiration, and the previously dim fire beetles in the yard suddenly blazed up fiercely. Within moments, every weed in the courtyard was ablaze, and the inferno illuminated the entire estate.

John and Compson were stunned. At first, upon hearing the commotion, they thought it was some hotheaded fool who'd read too many knight novels about heroes rescuing damsels. But to their surprise, they recognized the intruder—it was Bill, an apprentice from the wizard's tower.

What they witnessed left them speechless: this mediocre apprentice, usually loud and brash, suddenly appeared before them and casually unleashed a second-level Fireball spell, setting the entire estate alight with a single cast. Was this the mastery of a grandmaster or an archmage?

Bill himself was shocked by the power of his fireball. It had never been this potent during his practice. As he took in the scene in the courtyard, he exclaimed in disbelief, "Compson, John—is that you?"

Before they could answer, Bill shouted again, "So what if it's you? Anyone who dares harm Jera must die!" Bill cried out, hands never stopping as he formed several arcane gestures, drawing fire elements to his palms. Another fireball was forming.

John reacted instantly. With the eruption of his power seed, invisible currents surged through his muscular body. Sword in hand, he prepared to charge in and break Bill's spell at close range.

John was now in combat mode, calmly assessing the surroundings. Suddenly, his body tensed and his hair stood on end. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a shadow lurking silently atop the roof. If not for the flames illuminating the courtyard, he would never have noticed.

"This can't be done. Retreat!" John dashed to the base of the courtyard wall, vaulted over it, and vanished into the darkness without so much as a glance at Compson.

Compson responded entirely differently. Knowing he was no match for Bill, he rushed straight toward Jera, who was tied up nearby.

At that moment, the burning flames in the courtyard formed a wall of fire, blocking Compson's path to Jera. Compson hesitated, preparing to circle around, but it was too late. A fireball struck him squarely. A flash of silver flickered across his body—the gemstone on the necklace at his throat quietly shattered into dust. Though the ornament absorbed most of the damage, the impact of the second-level spell sent Compson crashing hard to the ground. He clutched his chest in agony, unable to rise for the moment.

Just as Bill freed Jera from her bonds, she ran up to Compson and, with no care for dignity, kicked him furiously about the face and backside, all the while cursing him in the local dialect of Collin County.

Midway through her tirade, Jera realized something was wrong. She hurriedly straightened her clothes, turned to Bill, and with a shy smile said, "Brother Bill, I'm not usually like this..."

"Uh... I understand, I understand..." Bill was utterly bewildered.

Jera explained that she'd lost control only because she was so frightened. Bill comforted her gently.

Earlier, when they were at the central plaza, Bill's trousers had been burned beyond repair after several incidents. They had to visit the tailor to buy him a new pair. While Bill was changing, John seized the opportunity to abduct Jera, bribing the shopkeeper to mislead Bill into thinking she'd already gone home.

Fortunately, Bill had mastered the second-level spell, Scent Tracking. He originally meant only to escort the girl home, but the more he tracked, the more uneasy he became, until he arrived at this slum estate.

By now, the fire in the yard was raging out of control, and the commotion was drawing the attention of nearby residents. As the thick smoke made Jera cough violently, Bill quickly led her away from the scene. As for Compson lying on the ground, Bill was at a loss. There was camaraderie among apprentices; he couldn't bring himself to kill him. Besides, Compson was close to Edward—if he died here, it would be trouble. So Bill dragged him out of the burning estate like a dead dog and threw him into the alley.

Bill could not forgive Compson and John for their attempt to harm Jera, resolving to ask Mentor Stein to see justice done upon his return.

After Bill and Jera vanished into the night, Compson dropped all pretense. Slowly, he rose, gazing after them with venomous eyes.

A cold, malicious voice squeezed out from between his clenched teeth, "Hehehehe, you'll regret it—you'll regret letting me live today."

"Shh!" A longsword pierced Compson's heart from behind.

Andy’s voice followed, "I doubt he'll regret it now."

Compson turned his head with difficulty, seeing Andy as if he'd encountered a primordial monster. His eyes widened, staring at Andy, the gaze growing ever more vacant.

With only Listening Spell active, Andy could still hear the faint sounds from Compson's moving lips: "I'll... wait... in... hell..."

No more words would ever be heard.

Neither the Andy of Earth nor Andy Charles of Dolan had ever ended a life with their own hands. Now, confronted with Compson's wide-eyed death stare, Andy’s legs gave way and he collapsed, vomiting onto the ground.

He emptied his stomach almost entirely before feeling marginally better. Leaning against the wall, he staggered away.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. He returned, quietly staring at Compson's corpse. Ugh! Unable to contain himself, he vomited again, though this time only sour bile.

He came back yet again, face-to-face with the cold corpse, forcing himself to keep his eyes open until he couldn't endure it and vomited once more...

When he finally calmed down, he dragged Compson’s body and threw it into the burning estate. Watching the flames slowly devour the corpse, Andy’s pained expression gradually faded.

He muttered to himself, "There should really be background music here."

"First blood!"

Caressing the spoils he'd found on Compson, Andy mused silently, "So this is a secret treasure—able to control a person for forty-eight hours. Incredible." The thought of such power reminded him of the girls he'd met since crossing over: petite Lucy, the long-legged slender girl, the electric-eyed beauty Linda, mischievous Cathy, and the mysterious Ahri.

"Such a powerful effect, yet it only works on mortals. No, I'm not that kind of person!" Andy emphasized to himself while carefully stowing away the voodoo doll.