Author Romeru
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[ADAM] Chapter 19: Adam vs. The Duelist of Rose
🕑 Added 2025-04-03 02:00:00 +0000 UTC"En garde."
Sylvie didn't move, her eyes only staring at Adam and his resolution.
But Adam wasn't as elegant; he charged at Sylvie. His knuckles turning white from how tight he was gripping it. Each of his steps felt heavier than the last, but he had no choice but to move forward.
He knew this was futile—like trying to swim with weights attached to his feet—but this is a choice he had already made.
"Please!" He gritted his teeth, swinging his blade in a wide arc. "Let… let us pass!"
But Sylvie moved like a feather on water, her body flowing away from the strike with effortless grace.
Her golden hair caught the soft light surrounding them, and her hazel eyes seemed to glow. She hadn't even swung her weapon once, only avoiding Adam's strikes.
"You truly don't have to do this," she said softly.
But once again, Adam responded with a swing—more desperate than the last. This time, Sylvie moved her hands, casually parrying his attack with a single move.
As their weapons met, tiny red petals made from her blood scattered, dancing between them before withering into nothing.
"It's… beautiful, mommy," Samantha whispered, her finger trying to touch a petal that happened to fly toward them. But it could land on her finger, it faded away.
Grace clutched Samantha against her chest, making sure she wasn't watching the battle.
"Don't look," she whispered, though her own eyes remained fixed on Adam's struggle.
Around them, creeps from both sides had formed a loose circle, their expressions a mixture of awe and dread. Some whispered prayers, others simply stared in silence. They all knew how this would end.
Grace's fingers tensed as she watched Adam struggle. She couldn't just stand there—not while Adam fought for them.
And when she realized that it was hopeless, she leaned close to Hannah, gently pressing Samantha into her arms.
"Hold her," she whispered.
Hannah's eyes widened in confusion. "What? Why!? What are you—"
But Grace had already slipped away, her fingers already wrapped around her sword.
Instead of rushing toward the fight, however, she circled around it, keeping quiet. The other creeps looked at her, but they didn't do anything.
Neither Adam nor Sylvie seemed to notice her, with Sylvie still effortlessly dodging Adam's desperate swings.
No, Grace was not joining their fight—instead, she looked at the Inner Crystal, its glowing blue light now reflecting in her eyes. Grace glanced at the fight again, and when she saw Sylvie not paying her any attention, she took in a deep breath and sprinted toward the crystal, hard enough that her boots slapped against the ground.
Before she could even reach the crystal with her sword, however, a flash of crimson streaked through the air. A blood-red spear slammed into the ground before her, missing her legs by inches.
The weapon quivered, before withering into petals onto her feet.
"Kh!" Grace nearly tripped over her own feet when she stopped. She turned toward the fight, only to see Sylvie already right in front of her.
Her eyes, giving a silent warning.
"No," Sylvie said simply. Her hand shot out, grabbing Grace's jacket at the collar. She lifted Grace slightly, then pushed her back with enough force to send her stumbling back to Hannah and Samantha.
"Mommy!" Samantha cried out, reaching for Grace as her small frame tried to catch her.
Adam glanced at them for a while, but quickly shifted his attention back to Sylvie, who was still focusing on Grace. He lunged forward, the blade directly aimed at her eyes.
Sylvie didn't even need to look at him, she tilted her head, and Adam's blade passed through the empty air.
But Adam didn't truly expect to hit her. His real target lay beyond—the crystal behind her. He gritted his teeth, his foot slamming on the ground as he pushed himself even further.
But before the tip of his sword could reach the surface of the crystal, Sylvie's hand snapped out, catching Adam's wrist.
And so casually, she pushed him back
But Adam was relentless and once again rushed at
"You truly fight well," Sylvie smiled as she parried another strike, her movements still incredibly casual and minute. The crimson petals scattered around them with each strike, and although none of them wanted to admit it, the creeps were all thinking the same as Samantha.
This sight was beautiful. Morbid, yes. But beautiful all the same.
Adam didn't respond, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he continued his assault. Sweat poured down his face, mixing with blood from his lips he wasn't aware he was shedding.
The look on Sylvie's face softened further, and a strange sadness reflected in her eyes—a memory.
"You remind me of myself, before..." She didn't finish the thought, instead spinning away from another wild swing.
Adam's struggle continued, and he grew more exhausted with each swing. This was futile, and the difference between them couldn't be any clearer.
But still, Adam swung.
"I would have loved to have met you outside the Game, sir Adam," Sylvie said suddenly, her eyes welling with unexpected tears.
Adam didn't answer. Couldn't answer. His world had narrowed to the next swing, the next breath, the next heartbeat.
"Raah!" And with a roar that tore at his throat, he put everything into one final attack.
The blade connected. Finally.
But it only bounced off her skin with a dull clang.
He didn't hit her because of luck, or his perseverance, no. Sylvie had simply stopped moving, allowing the hit to land.
Adam stared at her eyes, his arms trembling from exertion. He tried to pull the sword back, but Sylvie's fingers closed around the blade, holding it in place.
"I am sorry," she whispered, and in one fluid motion, drove her blood-forged rapier through Adam's neck.
The pain was... absent. A curious cold spread from the wound, but nothing like the agony he'd expected. His legs gave out beneath him, but Sylvie caught him before he hit the ground, cradling him with surprising gentleness.
Adam was instantly paralyzed from the waist down, but still, he stared into Sylvie's eyes.
"Thank you…for making it painless," he whispered as darkness crept into the edges of his vision. His body went limp in her arms, the sword clattering forgotten to the ground.
And just like that, silence fell like a veil over the gathered creeps.
Sylvie stretched her rapier to the side, and it withered away into petals to be blown by even the lightest of wind. Leaving no trace of the weapon that had ended her opponent's life.
And with the same hand she held the rapier, she gathered Adam's limp body into her arms—his weight, seemingly insignificant against her strength—but still, he felt heavy.
The silence trailed, but Sylvie's mind was actually completely in chaos.
What was that? She kept repeating in her mind.
Right when she stabbed Adam, she felt a sudden pulse flow toward her—no. Through her. It was as if her blood, her entire body reacted to meeting Adam's blood.
For just a glitter of a moment, Sylvie felt… a sense of yearning.
She let her thoughts trail for a few more moments before shaking her head off of it.
"I'm really sorry," she whispered, sucking in her breath as she carried him back to Grace and the others.
"Oh no…" Hannah's already fragile tears broke down the moment Sylvie placed Adam's body down. Her sobs and her trembling shoulders broke the veil of silence everyone was trying to keep.
As for Grace, she only knelt beside Adam, her fingers trembling slightly as she brushed his hair from his forehead, arranging it with the care one might show a sleeping lover.
Samantha also sat beside her, holding Adam's hand, "M…mommy. When… is Mister coming back?"
Her voice and words were uncertain, and yet her eyes were filled with a certain innocent gaze, fully expecting Adam to come back.
Grace didn't answer her, only wiping blood from Adam's face with the edge of her sleeve, and also making sure to cover his wound. Her silence caused Samantha to tilt her head, but the little girl, instead of complaining, joined her mother in cleaning Adam's body.
Hannah saw this, and her sobs grew stronger, her words breaking between each tear. "He's…Adam's gone, Samantha. He's in a better place now."
"No," Samantha only glanced at Hannah, vehemently shaking her head with childish certainty, "Mister will return."
Hannah's face crumpled further at her words, her tears continuing to fall onto the dusty ground, not knowing that there was truth in Samantha's words.
Her quiet sobs made the air around them thick, almost suffocating. All the creeps, no matter the color of the Halo on their head, bowed in awkward respect for a stranger.
"He's... gone," Hannah whispered, her hand hovering inches above Adam's chest, not quite daring to touch. "This... this is the first time he even talked to me, and he's gone."
Grace looked up, her eyes also red but dry. "Can... you tell me more about Adam?"
Hannah wiped her nose with her sleeve, a broken laugh escaping her. "I barely even knew him, he... kept to himself. But I was told that he was very kind, and likes to talk to himself. I...I thought he was special at first but the longer I observed him, he... he's just awkward." The laugh turned genuine for a moment, a brief spark of warmth in the cold reality surrounding them.
"I know. I thought he was special too." Grace's lips curved as a brief chuckle also escaped her, sniffling to contain her tears.
The two continued to exchange stories about Adam, a man they barely even knew—Hannah describing how Adam would mutter to himself during scavenger runs. Grace recounting how brave Adam was and how he always tried to protect them—of course, she skipped the part where Adam doesn't die.
And while they talked, Samantha leaned closer beside Adam's body, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. She watched his chest intently, waiting for any sign of movement, any hint of breath. Her small hand rested on his arm, squeezing occasionally as if trying to wake him.
But when Adam didn't react, she pouted and looked away. Her eyes, however, were still sneakily staring at his face, trying to catch him in the act.
Meanwhile, across the street, Sylvie continued to guard the Inner Crystal; her posture was perfect, but her eyes kept drifting back to Adam's corpse, regret etched across her face.
Her mind had several thoughts circling around it, and when she finally decided to approach, perhaps to offer comfort or just to get to know them, something suddenly caught her eye.
In the distance, a blue pillar of light flickered and rippled, causing a wave to flow on the ceiling of the Dome.
"That's... the East Outer crystal!?" The words escaped her in a shocked gasp.
The East Lane was her lane, but she decided to leave it when she saw the Inner Crystal of the West Lane being attacked.
She and the creeps have already destroyed the Red team's Outer Crystal, and with them being escorted by the Echo Smith and all fully equipped, they shouldn't have had any trouble marching forward till the Inner Crystal.
Something was wrong.
Sylvie's breath began to hold.
Should she rush to defend the outer defenses, or maintain her position at the more crucial Inner Crystal?
If she abandoned the Crystal behind her, the red creeps might seize the opportunity to attack. Her eyes swept over the enemy creeps, observing and scanning them.
With Adam dead, only Grace posed any real threat to the blue creeps she would leave behind—but it was obvious that she no longer had any motivation or will to fight.
As Sylvie weighed her options, she finally noticed it—Adam and Grace's armor had vanished. Even Adam's sword, which had clattered to the ground, was gone.
And then, it finally hit her.
Adam and Grace's equipment was from the Echo Smith, meaning they looted it from someone on her team. And the equipment crafted by Ilyana would only disappear if…
If Ilyana was dead.
How? The question burned in Sylvie's mind. Had someone managed to assassinate her? If so, that meant the East Lane would be completely undefended until Ilyana respawned.
More thoughts danced in the Duelist of Rose's mind—and then—
[Your team's East Outer Crystal has been destroyed! Deploying allied Middle Crystal troops in one minute! Help them!]
"What…?"
***
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AUTHOR NOTES
Lol. Someone's throwing???
