Rising from the Ashes (Andrew) novel Chapter 2613

Alfredo roared, "Shut up! Reginald, our battle back then was just the beginning. Do you want to see if Firefly's gotten rusty or useless after all these years?"

Reginald waved him off lazily. "Relax. I'll beat the crap out of you soon enough. That's a promise, not something I'm rushing. You picking on my son is one thing. But Sheena grew up under my watch. She's my brother's daughter, the only girl left in the Lloyd family."

He added, "She came to the Eastern Regions to challenge you, to sharpen her skills, remember? You agreed to that years ago, right before I pounded your face into the ground. Did you forget?"

Alfredo stayed silent.

Reginald looked up at the sky, then back at him.

He sighed and continued, "Alfredo, you've got talent, I'll give you that. But you never keep your word. Sheena's training here wasn't some random whim. Guillermo himself approved the plan. It was part of the royal Chetvine family's agreement with you; a win-win situation.

"You were supposed to help her advance beyond the martial emperor's third level, and in return, Swordhaven Keep would naturally earn the right to claim Godslayer. That sword isn't meant for ordinary hands, and its hunger for blood fits you perfectly. Anyone else who wields it would end up killing themselves with it. Yet instead of letting things unfold as planned, you just had to stir up trouble with the Cunningham family."

Alfredo's eyelid twitched. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Reginald snorted. "Whether you know or not doesn't matter. You'll understand why I'm here soon enough. Otto's been itching to tear down my family. But on paper, the Cunningham family doesn't have the strength to go head-to-head with the Lloyds.

"Three-tenths of Holtrien's entire national power lies within the three great Chetvine royal houses. Sure, Guillermo and the others dislike my family, but they'd never risk weakening Holtrien itself. But you and Otto… You both decided to defy logic and go against the balance of power."

He growled, "Otto used you to assassinate two young heirs from the Lloyd family, draining two-thirds of our family's fortune and strength. In return, you got Godslayer, and the Cunninghams helped Swordhaven Keep secure a place in Chetvine's territory. Tell me I'm wrong."

Alfredo was silent for a long moment, then suddenly laughed. "You're not wrong at all. In fact, you're completely right. Reginald, I knew you'd come."

The moment he finished speaking, Reginald blurred into motion, his figure vanishing into a storm of afterimages as he lunged forward.

Alfredo's veins bulged across his face, his expression feral. "Reginald! No matter how damn monstrous you are, you'll still die by my hand! Die!"

The last word echoed even through the forest.

The Godslayer in Alfredo's hands descended like a falling pillar of heaven, a torrent of pure destruction aimed at the space before him.

At that moment, all sound vanished. An absolute, profound silence fell over everything.