HELLO EVERYONE! I hope you are as excited for this chapter as I was when I was writing it. But before we get to it, my thanks goes out to the following readers who reviewed over the past 2 weeks, which have been an extremely difficult and trying time for me: A happy reader, Dragons boy, FierceDeity24, Thiazzie, HumanicHedgeHog, Jallex, Random, RobbWells(I remember you! You're Bobb Wells, right? I'm so glad to hear from you again), Clytuis, DeathDrayanD, pyro159 and Najeh202.

Before I go on, I'd like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to those who have been affected by recent shootings in Orlando over the last week. First there was the passing of Christina Grimmie, and then came the mass murder in Pulse which claimed fifty lives. These are horrific tragedies, and if anyone reading this has been personally affected by these incidents, I hope you take comfort in knowing that we are all behind you.

This chapter is the longest and possibly the most exhausting chapter I have ever written. But the epic showdown between Gregor and Ripred deserves nothing less than that. There may be some unrealistic elements occasionally- I've taken some liberties with their abilities as ragers, and I've counted on their abilities and anger to drown out their pain. But apart from that, this is the most gritty, desperate and emotional fight I've written in a long time. Please read my remarks at the end of the chapter for a little bit more details about the fight. But only read that after you've finished reading the entire chapter.

And so ladies and gentlemen, I present to you chapter 15, the unprecedented battle between the son of the sun and the rat killed by claw, since resurrected.

It is with a great deal of excitement that I present to you:

Gregor vs Ripred.


Chapter 15: Gregor vs Ripred

Gregor swung his sword at Ripred's left, but the rat blocked the strike with a lightning-fast reflex. He then countered with a vicious swipe of his own at Gregor's left, but Gregor responded with an equal amount of strength and speed, blocking the claws from reaching his left side.

Ripred may have been old, but he was certainly far from being out of the game.

For a few seconds, they strained against each other, trying to get the upper hand. As Gregor pushed hard against Ripred, he stared into the rat's eyes and found himself staring at a wave of cold ruthlessness. In that moment, Gregor knew Ripred wasn't going to hold back. The old rat was fighting for his life and would be prepared to do whatever was necessary to stay alive. This was the Ripred he was frightened of fighting- savage, merciless and cruel.

As time wore on, Gregor began to gain the upper hand, pushing harder against Ripred. Realising he was outmatched in terms of strength, Ripred disengaged with Gregor's weapons and pounced backwards. He then began to circle Gregor, assessing him from head to toe.

Gregor wasn't going to give Ripred the luxury of analysing his weaknesses. He burst forward and feinted at Ripred's right shoulder with his dagger while jabbing at Ripred's left cheek with his sword.

The old rat read Gregor's intentions and parried both attacks aside, before lunging forward at Gregor's chest. Gregor sprang backwards, slashing his sword to ward Ripred off. The old rat halted his lunge halfway, backing off slightly and returning back to circling Gregor.

Gregor raced forward yet again, switching up his actions this time. He made a double feint with his sword, first thrusting at Ripred's left eye, then at Ripred's left shoulder, before finally making a move for Ripred's artery on his neck.

Somehow, the rat spotted Gregor's intentions from a mile away again and blocked the final thrust headed for his artery. Gregor then seized the opportunity to catch Ripred off guard and jabbed his dagger at Ripred's eye.

But with an unearthly reflex movement, Ripred brought his right paw up and blocked the attack with a resounding clang.

Gregor stared at the scene in bewilderment.

"That was… unexpected," Ripred admitted himself, before lashing out at Gregor with his right paw. Gregor swung his sword wildly and batted the attack aside, before retreating quickly to get out of Ripred's range. Ripred was proving to be much more difficult to fight than Gregor imagined.

The old rat suddenly rushed forward and launched a flurry of swipes and slashes with his claws. Gregor triggered his rager senses, swinging his sword and dagger to knock aside the numerous attacks being thrown in his direction. One claw broke past his usually impenetrable defence, but luckily for him it only scraped the edge of his shoulder armour.

Gregor's hands were now a blur, as Ripred's attacks increased in speed and conviction. Gregor couldn't even see what he was blocking. The old rat gnashed his teeth in frustration as he tried to launch multiple attacks at Gregor's limbs, but Gregor was just about able to ward off all the swipes and slashes. He then took a flip backwards to get out of range. That half a minute of defending against Ripred's attacks already made him feel breathless and exhausted.

"Is that… the best… you have to offer?" Ripred goaded Gregor, panting heavily himself. The physical exertion of the fight played visibly on his strained expression, but his tone suggested that he was far from done with Gregor.

Gregor's anger intensified once more, and with a roar of fury he charged straight at Ripred. The rat responded by throwing himself forward, opening his jaws wide to clamp down on Gregor. But Gregor had long expected that leap to come from Ripred. He ducked under Ripred's leap with a roll, slashing upwards as Ripred's body soared above him.

Yet somehow, Ripred miraculously blocked Gregor's slash with his left claw.

The rat crashed to the ground unceremoniously and skidded across the floor of the High Hall, but he was still relatively unharmed. He stumbled to his feet and righted himself to face Gregor once more.

Gregor got back up onto his feet and readied himself for a charge at Ripred for the umpteenth time. But the moment he took a step forward, he knew something was wrong. A searing pain shot up his right leg, causing him to grimace underneath the mask. The injury he had sustained when fighting in the Fount earlier was starting to hinder his movement and his speed.

But he couldn't show any of this to Ripred, and neither could he think it. As long as he exposed a vulnerability or weakness to Ripred, the rat would exploit that weakness until it came back to punish Gregor.

He was going to have to man up and fight the pain back. If Ripred even got a whiff of Gregor feeling pain in his right knee, then the battle would be firmly in Ripred's control. Breathing heavily, he continued to advance towards Ripred, but this time he took slower and more deliberate steps.

If Ripred noticed any change in Gregor's physicality, he showed no signs of it. He hurled himself forward and threw a right claw at Gregor's head, which Gregor blocked. His left claw then headed straight for Gregor's groin, which Gregor knocked aside with his dagger. Then a right claw was headed straight for Gregor's right shoulder, forcing Gregor to bring up his dagger to parry the attack. Ripred's left claw was now being swung at Gregor's legs, which made him spring up into the air to avoid the attack. Man, Ripred was not slowing down and Gregor was slowly but surely being pushed onto the back foot.

Gregor took a couple more steps back to give himself a breather, but Ripred was not letting him rest. The rat rushed forward with an inhuman burst of speed while slashing at Gregor's chest with a couple of savage swipes.

Again, Gregor was able to bring his blade and dagger up to deflect the attacks aside. But Ripred caught him off guard by throwing himself at Gregor's chest headfirst. The rat's head connected with Gregor's chest, sending Gregor crashing to the ground. Ripred then heaved more than five hundred pounds of fat and muscle onto Gregor as he pinned him to the ground. Ripred's claws locked Gregor's wrists in position, preventing Gregor from using his blade and dagger.

Ripred then looked triumphantly down on Gregor.

Swearing under his breath, Gregor quickly improvised by using his legs. He slammed both feet into Ripred's belly with as much force as he could possibly muster, sending the old rat stumbling off him.

But before Gregor could pick his sword and dagger up, Ripred was throwing himself at Gregor again. This time, he opened his mouth and revealed his hideous, razor-sharp teeth while unfurling his claws completely.

It was a monstrous and frightening sight to take in.

Swallowing back his fear and panic, Gregor swung his right fist wildly. To his surprise, his right gauntlet landed on Ripred's cheek and sent the rat flying to one side, but not before one of Ripred's trailing claws left a long scratch mark against Gregor's chest plate.

Gregor stumbled back from the shock of the blow Ripred had landed, but he quickly regained his composure and picked his weapons up. Ripred, meanwhile, lay sprawled across the floor looking partially dazed. Gregor took this opportunity to inhale gulps of air as if he was downing gallons of water. Even the fight at the Fount was not as mentally and physically taxing as this.

Ripred struggled to his feet with a groan, shaking his head violently as he stretched slightly. Gregor almost grinned when he saw blood staining the grey fur on Ripred's left cheek. The gauntlets could leave a devastating and permanent mark if he could get enough momentum behind the punch, even for a veteran fighter like Ripred.

Ripred seemed self-conscious of the blood trickling down his face. He brought his left paw up to feel his wounds, before looking down at the blood which now stained his paw. An air of confusion seemed to float by as Ripred seemed genuinely perplexed by the wound Gregor caused. When he finally accepted that Gregor had drawn first blood, he looked up at Gregor and smiled bitterly. "Blood had to be spilled eventually," he said with a grin devoid of emotion or humour.

Gregor advanced forward menacingly. Ripred had the advantage when attacking Gregor, so he was going to have to attack Ripred relentlessly to prevent the old rat from devising a plan to injure him through a complicated series of swipes and slashes. Ripred was not at his physical peak, but he was arguably a smarter fighter than Gregor. Gregor was going to have to play to his physical strengths. With luck, he might even tire Ripred out so as to land the killing blow.

If Ripred seemed exhausted, he showed no signs of it. He jogged forward to build up momentum, before accelerating towards Gregor.

This time, Gregor made the first move. He stabbed his sword at Ripred's snout, forcing the rat to bring up both sets of claws to block the strike. Gregor capitalised on Ripred having to use both claws by jabbing his dagger at Ripred's side. Once more, Ripred's right claw flew out to parry the strike.

But Ripred was already slightly disoriented. And in battles with ragers where the margins between life and death were so fine, being disoriented could be fatal.

With Ripred having to use his right claw to defend against Gregor's dagger, Gregor feinted towards Ripred's neck before suddenly switching targets to Ripred's left shoulder. The rat flailed his left paw about in alarm, but was unable to stop Gregor's blade from piercing the flesh on his left shoulder. Gregor felt a surge of satisfaction course through his veins as he felt the tip of his blade going right through the flesh of Ripred.

With a hiss of pain, Ripred jerked back violently and sprang out of range. Blood soaked the grey fur on his left shoulder and some drops of blood even stained the floor of the High Hall as he retreated away from Gregor.

The blood on Gregor's blade seemed to glimmer radiantly, almost as if it tried to signify that the blood which was spilt was unique. Gregor almost ended up grinning at the sight, before replacing the half-grin with a frown. Why did the sight of blood make him smile?

For a brief second, he wondered why he was doing this. Why was he sacrificing his own life to bring down Ripred? Was it really necessary? Was Regalia really worth both his life and Ripred's life?

But these questions were quickly silenced by his rage, which devoured any faint doubts that straggled on in Gregor's head.

He looked up at Ripred, who was panting pretty heavily. The wound on his shoulder stood out even more when contrasted with the harsh grey of Ripred's fur. Ripred limped forward slightly, seemingly shaken from the injury he sustained. But then he straightened his back, and suddenly the injury seemed like nothing more than a minor nuisance for him. The old rat launched yet another sprint heading straight for Gregor.

Gregor brought both his sword and dagger up as he parried at least half a dozen slashes from Ripred in two seconds. The old rat was pulling off feint after feint, causing Gregor to panic and swing both his sword and dagger about wildly to handle the sheer intensity of Ripred's attacks. He slowly but surely took step after step back, swiping Ripred's attacks aside.

Gregor soon found himself with his back literally against the wall. Ripred then increased the aggressiveness of his attacks, feinting for Gregor's left hip before moving in for his neck, while the other paw feinted at his right shoulder before heading for his hip. Gregor blocked both strikes, but Ripred was far from done. He swiped straight at Gregor's chest, pressuring Gregor into throwing both his sword and dagger up in order to counter the pure power of the swipe.

Big mistake.

Ripred brought his left paw up and slammed his claws into Gregor's chest, leaving Gregor winded. He slumped to the floor, gasping desperately for air as he felt his ribs flex claws may not have penetrated his armour, but the full impact of the blow was too much for Gregor. Gregor then swung his sword with violent speed, catching Ripred by surprise and cutting the rat's lower lip. With a rare howl of pain, Ripred bounded back to nurse his injury as Gregor struggled to his feet.

Gregor had barely recovered his breath before Ripred launched another ferocious series of strikes. This time, Gregor used his sword alone, spinning it with extreme speed to parry any attacks directed at him. Initially, Ripred seemed frustrated as the spinning sword thwarted any kind of attack.

And then he lunged for Gregor's legs.

Gregor tried to bend down and block the attack, but it was far too late. Somehow, as if the devil's hand was guiding Ripred's paw, his claws managed to slip through the chink of Gregor's knee armour…

And sliced an even larger cut on Gregor's right knee.

Screaming in agony, Gregor threw himself to one side as the pain gripped his entire right leg. He staggered to one side, using one of the pillars in the High Hall to prop himself up.

Ripred spared him no mercy. The old rat rushed straight at Gregor and launched another series of swipes and slashes, forcing Gregor to endure the pain and fight him. Gregor was now relying purely on his rager senses. His arms were no longer in control. All he could see was yet another splintered perspective of Ripred, revealing the rat's numerous weaknesses.

But despite entrusting all control to his rager side, Ripred was far too experienced with his own rager capabilities. He danced out of the way pounce in a while, before launching a counter-attack which often came close to inflicting another injury on Gregor.

With the pain in his right knee beginning to escalate sharply, Gregor gritted his teeth together and swung the hilt of his dagger instead of trying to block a strike from Ripred. The hilt of the dagger struck Ripred's snout, sending the old rat reeling back from the shock and the pain of the strike.

Gregor then looked down to inspect his right knee. A couple of criss-crossing injuries now made its mark on his knee, an eerie parallel to the criss-crossing scars which marked Ripred's face. Warm blood trickled down his right leg as it oozed out of his injury.

"I could smell the blood there earlier," Ripred called out to Gregor, "Did you really think I wouldn't know your little weaknesses?"

The old rat's snout was bleeding quite heavily from the blow to his nose, and even Gregor felt his stomach flip at the sight. "You don't look too good either!" he gibed back.

Ripred didn't seem close to disconcerted or perturbed by the fact that he was bleeding at all. Instead, he grinned and replied, "Looks like we're both going to die today then."

Gregor bit down on his tongue to stop himself from screaming as he pushed the pain in his right knee to the back of his head again. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted, even if he was badly wounded and bleeding profusely.

Both of them charged at each other again. Sparks literally flew all over the place as Ripred's claws connected with the metal of Gregor's weapons. They were now locked in an even battle, as they took turns to attack and defend against each other.

Ripred suddenly increased the pace of the battle by launching a lightning-fast double feint, leaving an opening under his right forelimb. Both ragers traded blows, with Ripred managing to slice Gregor's skin through a small chink in his shoulder armour, while Gregor's sword cut through the supple flesh near Ripred's heart.

Growling in pain, the both of them retreated back to take a quick break. Of the two of them Ripred had sustained more injuries, but that was hardly an indicator of how the battle had gone so far. Gregor had been in many lopsided battles, even lopsided battles where he was the losing party, but he had never fought in a battle which was so evenly-matched. Even when fighting Conrad, it was clear that he had the advantage and that Conrad was surviving only because Gregor was exhausted.

But this fight with Ripred? While he may be stronger than Ripred, the rat was still a brilliant strategist in battle and was far more experienced than Gregor was. Ripred was hurting Gregor, and he was hurting Gregor badly.

And then, as if the old rat had become disinterested, he turned his back on Gregor and ran towards the edge of the High Hall. Perplexed by his actions, Gregor suppressed his urge to scream in pain as he chased after Ripred.

Ripred leapt off the edge of the High Hall and onto the roof of a tower nearby. He then spun around and shot Gregor a devilish grin.

"Stop in the name of her Majesty the queen!" a voice called out behind him.

Gregor turned away from Ripred and found three soldiers emerging from the royal wing of the palace. Damn it, fighting with Ripred had attracted far too much attention. Gregor quickly weighed his two alternatives- the first being to surrender to these guards, and the second being to chase Ripred around the rooftops.

As fearful as he was of heights, Gregor was not going to give in meekly to the guards.

With his heart pounding against his chest like a thunderous drumbeat, Gregor choked down his fear of heights and charged towards the edge of the High Hall. Ignoring the yelling from the guards behind him, he threw himself off the edge of the High Hall and landed on the roof of the tower Ripred was standing on.

But the old rat clearly didn't intend to fight Gregor on this roof. He leapt off the roof onto another, and then another. Sighing aloud to himself, Gregor ignored the butterflies fluttering about in his stomach as he leapt off from roof to roof in pursuit of Ripred.

Immediately, he knew he was on enemy turf. Ripred almost glided across the towers of Regalia, seemingly comfortable moving across different roofs at a time. As Gregor tried to keep up the pace, he noticed his heart starting to crash against his chest harder and harder, on the verge of punching its way out of his ribcage and out into the billowing winds that now swirled around him. They weren't really distracting, but it added to the fear-inducing effect of jumping from roof to roof.

Gregor almost slipped off on occasion when his feet failed to adjust to the slippery and mouldy roof tiles, but his rager capabilities somehow aided him in keeping his balance. Gregor could have fallen off any moment and made a bloody mess of himself landing headfirst on the ground, but it seemed as if he had an angel supporting him each and every time his foot slid across a clump of damaged tiles.

Not that his rager senses were his angel.

The old rat finally began to slow down, a clear indication that even he was growing tired. Spurred on by that belief, Gregor sprang from roof to roof with more vigour in a bid to catch up with him.

Suddenly, Ripred halted his wild escapade across the roofs of Regalia and stood on a very familiar-looking roof. Gregor struggled to fish out the memory of that roof, but when he did he gasped out loud.

It was the same Gothic roof he had fought Conrad on.

Breathing in deeply to settle his nerves, he finally landed on the roof with another terrifying leap across the roofs. By the time Gregor landed, cold sweat drenched his entire body like a shower and he could feel his muscles still as tight and tense as ever. He could feel a slight throb on his right knee, but he allowed his fear of heights to hold back the feeling of pain. He would rather feel fear than feel pain right now.

"That's enough, Ripred," he wheezed out, "You've lost. We can still end this here before anyone dies."

Ripred grinned maliciously and responded, "Not a chance."

He then gingerly took one step back, and then another, and then another. Gregor, gripping his sword and dagger tighter than ever, instantly strode forward to keep up.

Yet another tactical mistake.

His knee suddenly buckled underneath him as numerous tiles began to break loose and slide off the roof. With a yelp of surprise, Gregor tripped over and landed on the roof. Its slanted shape resulted in him beginning to slide down on his back, causing him to scream in fright as the sharp descent invoked the feeling of fear, which gripped his body in a cold embrace. Gregor's mind was a frenetic mess as he tried to figure out what to do.

But just before he was about to slip off the roof, Gregor pulled out his dagger and slammed it into whatever was left of the roof, giving him a lifeline in what was literally the very last second. He hung off his dagger for a few moments, suspended in the air as his feet dangled about over the edge.

The old rat had tactically outwitted him again. Knowing Ripred, he probably planned the fight on the roofs all along to play to his strengths and Gregor's weaknesses. He probably knew that the tiles were damaged. He probably knew that Gregor would slip on them and panic.

Damn, he was still way out of Ripred's league.

As he thrashed about in the air, his fear of heights took control of him again and he found himself paralysed in that spot. A quick glance upward showed Ripred slowly but carefully sauntering down the roof to meet him. So this was how it ended- this was how he met his death. Dangling over the edge while hanging on for dear life, leaving Ripred to find a dozen creative ways to end his misery. Meanwhile, all Gregor would be able to do was… nothing. He was effectively at Ripred's mercy.

NO.

He had to confront his fear.

Forcing himself to swallow down the sheer fright and with sheer iron resolve, he mobilised his limbs and activated whatever remaining strength he had left in his muscles.

And he did a one-arm pull-up.

He somehow did a one-arm pull-up.

He hauled himself back onto the roof and stood up on both feet triumphantly to face Ripred one more. The old rat, for once, genuinely looked impressed. "You've got grit, Overlander, I'll give you that," he remarked, "But grit doesn't get you far."

"It'll get me far enough," Gregor snarled, before warily making his way up the slope of the roof. Ripred had the advantage of the higher ground, but against Gregor it wouldn't count for much.

With a menacing yell of fury, he lashed out by swinging his sword at Ripred's head while thrusting his dagger at Ripred's neck. Ripred barely reacted in time to block both strikes, but it mattered little since momentum was already with Gregor. He then feinted lower for Ripred's leg with his sword, before changing direction mid-thrust and going for Ripred's head.

Ripred again found enough speed to deflect the strike, but it wasn't enough. The tip of the blade sailed past is eye but grazed the top of his head, nearly invoking a scream of anguish from the rat. Gregor then took advantage of the minor distraction to jab at Ripred's right side with his dagger.

Yet again, Ripred was just about able to deflect the strike, but it grazed his right forelimb. Ripred bit down on his tongue to prevent himself from unleashing a scream while he retreated up the roof, clearly outmatched for now.

Gregor made his way up the roof until he was on equal grounds as Ripred.

Then he made his move.

Ducking under a desperate swipe from Ripred, he stabbed his blade straight at Ripred's chest, forcing the rat to swat his blade aside. Gregor then followed up by a couple of feints with his dagger, before swinging his right sword at Ripred out of the blue.

It nearly caught Ripred by surprise, but the rat was able to bring up a left paw to block the strike. Gregor then closed the gap between the two of them and drove his knee into Ripred's jaw. His knee slammed into Ripred's chin with a resounding crack, while the rat himself stumbled backwards and nearly slid off the roof in the process.

Gregor, buoyed by his success against Ripred, immediately moved forward to close out the victory. He unleashed a deadly combination of swipes, slashes and thrusts with his dagger and sword, moving so fast he couldn't even see his movements properly. He could catch a glimpse of a flash from his dagger, and hear the sound of sword and claw clashing together, but he couldn't tell what on earth he was doing.

Ripred on his part seemed to be keeping up. The rat's claws moved about with a speed which was absolutely blinding to the naked eye. But even he couldn't hold back against the barrage of attacks coming from Gregor. He had completely surrendered to his rager sensation, allowing it to launch devastating attack after devastating attack.

The rat's claws flew all over the place in an attempt to mitigate Gregor's attacks, and he even used his teeth on occasion to counter some of Gregor's strikes. The fighting was so intense that sweat was gathering over his brow and falling in front of his eyes like a waterfall. Every emotion that he had felt over the last twenty-four hours- disgust, hope, hatred, frustration, anger, sadness, disappointment, fear… They all fueled his soul as he bellowed out a battle cry and increased the speed of his attacks.

This was Ripred's last stand. This was where he would fall. This was where Gregor would achieve retribution for every last filthy act of injustice that Ripred had inflicted on him.

So Gregor slashed and swung his sword with every ounce of frustration he had left.

And he swung.

And he slashed.

And he swung.

And he slashed.

When he was satisfied that he had sufficiently wounded Ripred, he backed off slightly and took a deep breath to pacify the myriad of emotions that had controlled him.

But to his utter shock, the rat seemed relatively unharmed from that series of attacks. If anything, he looked more relaxed and calm.

Gregor wanted to howl in fury. He wanted to succumb to the pounding anger which was tempting him, coaxing him into surrendering complete control to his rager side. It was taking all of his willpower to keep himself balanced. Whatever he threw at Ripred never seemed to be enough. The old rat was just too invincible.

Desperate to find a chink in Ripred's proverbial armour, Gregor scanned his entire body for vulnerabilities. But he soon realised it wasn't the weaknesses that were the issue. Ripred had laid them bare for all to see, but it hardly mattered. As long as Gregor couldn't get the tip of his sword past Ripred's claws or teeth, all those weaknesses amounted to nothing.

Ripred dusted himself sardonically to taunt Gregor, before looking up innocently.

At the precise moment, Gregor's eyes settled on a glass panel of the Council hall. The massive glass panel was grimy and layered in dirt from decades of collecting dust and filth. Gregor ran some estimations through his mind. The glass panel probably lead into the main building of the Council hall, whose roof they were currently standing on. The glass panel was situated behind the stage, so he could definitely use that as an opportunity to bring the fight somewhere else. Judging from their positioning, Gregor suspected that they were on the roof of the left wing of the Council hall, meaning that if he could get Ripred through that panel and into…

Gregor didn't have much more time to work out the calculations. The Gothic roof stretched on for yards across, and the only way to get him back on level ground would be through that glass panel. That was the only way he was going to be able to gain an upper hand against Ripred. Up here, where Ripred had the tactical advantage, Gregor was not going to break him down.

Gregor was going to have to throw up some tactics of his own.

Ripred's back was facing the glass panel, so the plan would be to slowly push him in that direction. Taking in a deep breath, he walked forward and launched another furious attack. Ripred tried to catch him off-guard with a swift counter-attack, but Gregor turned his claws away with his dagger and swiped with his sword, making Ripred back off a few steps.

He then lunged at Ripred's limbs, forcing the old rat to take another couple of steps back. Gregor noticed a loose tile where he was standing, and decided to use it to his advantage for once. He kicked out at the tile and sent it flying like a projectile at Ripred, forcing the rat to duck underneath the quasi-missile. Gregor then swung his blade wildly, again forcing Ripred to backpedal.

Ripred was now just a couple of steps away from where Gregor wanted him to be. And this was what troubled Gregor the most- shouldn't Ripred have noticed by now that Gregor was trying to force him back?

Gregor swung his weapon a couple more times, attacks which Ripred parried aside. Gregor then sprang a surprise by thrusting his dagger forward, which shocked Ripred into retreating two steps back.

That was the trigger for Gregor.

Now.

Gregor feinted with his blade and his dagger at the same time, leaving Ripred to open himself up by trying to block the attacks. With a bellow of rage, Gregor then leapt into the air and fired a flying kick at Ripred's throat. The impact of the kick sent the rat flying off the roof.

And crashing through the glass panel.

The glass panel broke into a thousand little fragments as Ripred's body flew right through, disappearing into the darkness of the Council hall.

Breathing heavily, Gregor almost unleashed a triumphant howl of relief. But then a cynical side of himself reminded him that Ripred wasn't truly down until he was dead. Restraining his celebrations for later, he threw himself through the hole which was once the glass panel to find Ripred's body.

Gregor landed with a heavy thud on the stage of the Council hall, which was on an elevated position in the hall. His right knee once again nearly collapsed from the amount of damage it had endured, but he managed to keep himself upright. Stumbling forward slightly, he allowed himself a few seconds to gain a better view of his surroundings.

Before realising he was in complete darkness.

He instinctively clicked his tongue to take in his surroundings. He could see what was just around him- some chairs where the Council normally took their seats, the stage he was standing on, the basic outline of the Council hall… While Gregor was glad he could still see in this darkness, he immediately regretted not practising his echolocation.

To put things nicely, it had become patchy and disoriented. Gregor could barely make out the shapes of objects around him. As he wandered forward, his boot stepped on something slippery and he nearly fell over unceremoniously. Sheathing his dagger, he leaned down and reached out towards the substance he had slipped on.

After taking off his left gauntlet, he felt the substance's texture. Warm, sticky… That meant blood.

He was touching Ripred's blood.

At first, he thought that the rat was dead and the battle was over. But when he clicked his tongue one more time, he couldn't find any shape resembling that of a rat on the stage. Ripred was injured, but he was definitely still alive and physically intact.

And now he was hiding amongst the shadows watching Gregor.

With a lump beginning to grow in his throat, Gregor continued to click his tongue, gaining a better "view" of his surroundings. He could see the chairs and benches where the audience and some of the high-ranking members normally sat, but they all appeared in a dim and hazy manner. Every single thing around him was obscured by jagged vision.

Gregor crept as quietly as possible around the Council hall. He stretched out his sword so that it would be the first point of contact with Ripred if they bumped into each other. But knowing Ripred, the rat would sneak up on him from behind.

As the air in the hall seemed to grow oppressive and hair-raising, more cold sweat rolled down Gregor's face. Every single step he took was a mocking laugh from the darkness, taunting him with his fear of the unknown, goading him for being so vulnerable in the sinister darkness. The shadows seemed to rear back and laugh every time he stepped near them, and the silhouette of Ripred always appeared to be hovering over them. The chilling fear that engulfed Gregor made his spine tingle and his fingers tremble.

Then an idea struck him. He slowly and cautiously made his way over to the corner of the Council hall, where the flames were usually lit to light up the entire hall. Quickly sheathing his sword, he grabbed a couple of matchsticks and lit them up, his tongue still clicking to ensure that Ripred wasn't anywhere near enough to sneak up on him. As the radiant glow of the fire lit the hope in his heart up again and dispelled his fear, he happily ignited the candles in the corner of the hall, and they began to catch each other's flames, creating a faint but clear glow of flame to light up his surroundings.

He yanked out his sword and spun around, reverting to using his eyes to scan his environment. Nothing seemed to fidget or move about in his vicinity. There was quite literally no threat coming his way. He could hear a couple of agitated voices coming from outside the Council hall, which probably meant they were going to have company soon.

But there was still no sign of Ripred.

Suddenly, a small package flew out from the side and landed in front of his feet. Vibrant red and pale green smoke rose ominously from the package, wafting through the air and into his nostrils, whilst simultaneously shielding his vision in front of him. The smell from the smoke wasn't putrid or rancid, but seemed almost… enchanting. Gregor felt he was being drawn into the smoke rather than the smoke being drawn into him.

Amidst his clouded vision, he spotted Ripred trotting out behind a bench, his usual aura of arrogance floating about him. So much for trying to block Gregor's vision. He had Ripred right in front of him, which was exactly where he wanted the rat to be.

"Your plan is to kill me with smoke?" Gregor scoffed.

"That's not your ordinary smoke," Ripred said with a smile, a hint of morbid satisfaction playing on the edges of his lips, "It's called the Murk."

Gregor began to gag and cough violently from the smoke. He doubled over when his gut was consumed by excruciating pain out of nowhere. His eyes began to tear as everything in front of him became a blur. He stumbled to his feet and tried to swing his sword, but he ended up doubling over in pain again.

His coughing intensified and Gregor felt as if his throat was torn to shreds. It was as if it had become sandpaper- coarse, rough and unpleasant. He tried to lift up his blade, but his muscles had become far too fatigued for him to even stand up straight. Dropping to his knees, he tried to let out a frustrated scream of despair, but even his voice was failing him now. A muffled croak escaped his lips, but that was as loud as it got.

His lungs felt like they were being compressed and were on the verge of exploding. Desperate for air, he throw his mask off and tried to inhale as much oxygen as possible. But none seemed to enter his lungs. If anything, the open air seemed to cut off his air supply even more with every breath he made.

He dropped his sword and now groped about wildly for anything that might help him. But he literally found himself grasping at thin air as his lungs filled to the point where he felt they were going to burst into a messy fountain of blood.

Gregor now fell back on the floor and began to writhe about in agony. His stomach seemed to churn about more vigorously than ever, and soon he choked out liquid from his mouth. Through the small slits of his eyes he could see what he had coughed out.

Blood.

Another cough escaped his lips again, and blood splattered against the floor. "It's from the jungle," Ripred's voice somehow filtered through his chaotic mind despite sounding distant and faraway, "It can kill with its hallucinations, which should be particularly vivid for you."

Gregor felt the ground underneath his feet give way and let out a shrill scream of fright. His heart began to palpitate violently as he felt himself falling through the air down a never-ending pit…

"We train our soldiers to resist it," Ripred's voice entered his mind again, "But you haven't tried it out, have you? How do you find it so far?"

Gregor unleashed another muffled scream as he began to pick up speed while falling. Suddenly, he hit the ground and his heart produced a strong jolt.

The falling had stopped. The falling had stopped. The falling had stopped.

Then the Bane's face emerged from the shadows, invoking yet another muted scream. The Bane pulled Ares' dead body out from the shadows, causing Gregor's heart to throb painfully. It ached so bad to see this- to see Ares' dead body in the claws of the Bane.

He tried to get up, but he couldn't. He couldn't move a muscle. He couldn't even lift a finger.

Twirltongue now sauntered out, dragging Luxa's dead body. His heart let loose a gut-wrenching howl of anguish as he saw her mutilated body, covered from head to toe by brutal scratches that left a mark in his heart just as much as it left a mark on her body.

Gorger was the next to come out, his teeth clamping down on Apollo's head. Apollo's decapitated body fell from above and landed next to Gregor, causing him to wince from having to look at his friend's corpse.

Flavius now entered the fray, yanking Calvin's body out into the open. The boy's eyes were blank and his face seemed to be etched with horror. His throat had been slit, and even know blood seemed to flow out agonisingly slowly, torturing him by having to see the blood of the boy who was the closest Gregor had for a brother.

Then the most grievous pain of all stabbed him right in the middle of his heart. The bodies of his family hung in front of him with nooses wrapped about their necks. Of all the regrets he had in the world, the greatest of all was not reconciling with his family. Not reconciling with Boots, or Lizzie, or Dad… but most of all, with Mom. The sight of her body caused a tear to slip down Gregor's cheek.

"Having a good time?" a voice echoed through the darkness.

Gregor opened his eyes, which were tearing profusely from the Murk. Ripred stood over him with a savage smile stretching across his face. Spurred on by the pain and tragedy he had just witnessed before his very eyes, he grabbed his sword and wrathfully swung it upwards.

But Ripred parried the attack with elegant ease, before wrapping his claws around Gregor's throat. With an almighty roar, he flung Gregor's body as far as he could across the hall.

Gregor crashed into benches and chairs, his vision rocking about turbulently. His head felt sorer and heavier than it had ever been in twenty-three years of his life. His vision fluctuated like a damaged light bulb flickering on and off. One moment he could see the imposing figure of Ripred striding towards him, the next he was in the middle of a dark pit, surrounded by his most diabolical enemies.

Gregor's vision flashed back to Ripred, who was now upon him. Gregor swung his sword again, but Ripred blocked the strike nonchalantly. A thin object suddenly flew out of nowhere and slammed into Gregor's neck, almost crushing his windpipe on impact. It then began to constrict him, and Gregor could see stars beginning to twinkle in front of him as his vision began to fade away.

He was slipping into unconsciousness… he needed to do something. Fast.

He swung his sword up again, forcing the thin object to retract itself. Through his splintered vision, he could barely make out Ripred slowly moving his tail to the back of his body where it normally was. So that's what the thin object was- his tail.

Fighting back the pain and fear which was lodged into his senses, he stumbled to his feet for the first time since inhaling the Murk. A strong wave of nausea hit him and he nearly threw up on the spot, but he stood his ground and faced Ripred.

The old rat, however, spared him no mercy and rammed into him, sending Gregor flying backwards. He crashed into a wall and slumped down, too consumed by pain and exhaustion to continue.

"The people see you as a god," he heard Ripred snarl, "But it's time for us to show them that deep down, you're just a man."

Gregor tried to get back onto his feet, but Ripred slammed into him and pinned him against the wall. The rat's foul breath now entered his lungs, smelling just as bad as the Murk. Gregor wrinkled his nose in disgust and tried to turn his head away, but Ripred locked his claws around Gregor's neck and held him in place.

"It's time to show them your fear and your weakness," Ripred growled, slipping his other set of claws through a chink in Gregor's shoulder armour and penetrating the skin on Gregor's left shoulder. Gregor yelled in pain for the umpteenth time as he felt blood bubbling out of his newest injuries.

Ripred had won the battle for Regalia. He was going to dethrone Luxa and assume control for himself, because the only enemy that still stood against him was dispatched of. Gregor was defeated.

Or was he?

If he was going to go down, he was going to go down fighting. Realising he still had a sword in his right hand, Gregor forced himself to endure the pain and fight. He thrust his sword weakly, hoping for a miracle.

And he got the miracle.

The blade cut through Ripred's left side, leaving a significant gash as its mark. Ripred immediately sprang backwards, hissing in pain. As his claws left Gregor's body, Gregor almost let out another cry as his shoulder stung with pain.

Gregor's vision suddenly cleared for a brief second and his complete rager vision returned, showing him Ripred's numerous weaknesses once more. It quickly dissipated back to its clouded fashion, but this could only mean one thing.

The effects of the Murk were wearing off.

Encouraged by this turn of events, he advanced towards Ripred. But even in his recovering physical state, he was still way out of his depth. Ripred parried all of his attacks before responding with a sharp jab from his claws, nearly slipping through a chink in Gregor's hip armour. Gregor replied with a vicious swing of his blade, but Ripred was still up to the task, parrying it and slamming his left paw into Gregor's chest, which sent him stumbling back against the wall.

Ripred then closed the gap with a powerful leap, before clamping his jaws down on Gregor's right shoulder armour. Although Ripred's teeth were razor-sharp, Gregor's armour still just about protected him. Ripred's teeth hadn't penetrated the armour, but they were leaving serious dents in it.

The rat then used his phenomenally powerful jaw muscles and lifted Gregor off his feet, before hurling Gregor across the floor of the High hall. Gregor skidded across the floor, disoriented and still smarting from the injuries that Ripred had inflicted on him. He reached out with his right hand to feel his head, and then glanced at his hand.

It was stained with blood.

Gregor's hand quivered slightly. He couldn't continue fighting like this… At this rate, he was going to die from his head injuries. He staggered over to his mask and fitted it back on as quickly as possible.

When he turned back around, he found Ripred limping towards him with a determined look plastered on his face. The old rat wasn't going to give up.

Neither was Gregor.

He whistled as softly as possible once. And then twice. And then thrice.

If anything happened to Apollo, Gregor would sincerely regret it with all his heart. But this was a matter of life and death. Ripred had played his ace with the Murk bomb. It was time for Gregor to reveal the card hidden up his sleeve.

His hands suddenly shuddered, and then his body began to convulse. Gregor backed away from the incoming Ripred, and licked the sides of his mouth. He was greeted with the metallic taste of blood lining his teeth and the inside of his mouth. The Murk's effects had a devastating effect on his physical condition.

Gregor had to end this fight as soon as possible, or he was going to die.

And if that meant killing Ripred, then so be it.

Ripred now closed the distance between the two to a mere six feet, and the rat made his move first. Gregor was barely able to deflect the multiple attacks that the rat strung together. His sword flew all over the place to parry the attacks, but he found all his movements slow, sluggish and sloppy. Every parry felt laborious, every thrust felt unconvincing, even breathing felt exhausting.

But somehow, Ripred couldn't seem to break past his defence. With a frustration on Ripred's face reminiscent of Gregor's own frustration when trying to break down Ripred's defence earlier, Gregor found an opportunity to wind Ripred up.

"I thought I'd be dead ten minutes ago," he goaded Ripred, "I guess things do change."

The old rat, however, seemed far too experienced to let himself get hooked by Gregor's bait. Clearly unwilling to give in to his irritation, Ripred backed off and watched Gregor closely. Gregor quickly scanned his surroundings to see if he could use anything.

To his surprise, he found his jewelled dagger lying at one side quietly. Gregor inched over to it, watching Ripred as he made his move. He quickly snatched out with his left hand and grabbed it, before facing Ripred with full focus once more.

But the rat didn't make any attempt to rush forward and assault him. Instead, he eyed Gregor from head to toe with mild amusement. "So here we are," Ripred remarked, "Battered, bruised, bloodied, but no where close to finding a winner. I think this is called a stalemate."

Gregor's enhanced rager hearing picked up the sound of the beating of wings. Within two seconds, he heard the sound of glass behind him breaking. "Things change," he snarled at Ripred, before leaping as high up into the air as possible and stretching out both legs.

He found himself landing on Apollo's back. The big black bat towered over Ripred and glowered at him, before launching himself straight at the rat.

Hollering a battle cry at the top of his lungs, Gregor felt adrenaline rush through his body as Apollo slammed into Ripred. The bat then smashed through another glass panel of the building and shot back out into the streets of Regalia. Gregor winced slightly at the force of the impact, which must have been enough to break Ripred's neck. But amazingly, when Gregor looked down, he found Apollo gripping hold off Ripred, who was dangling in mid-air as the bat flew across the streets.

Apollo began an upward ascent, but just as they flew over the arena, Ripred lashed out with a claw and tore through Apollo's right wing.

"APOLLO!" Gregor yelled as the bat began to plummet in a downward spiral towards the ground. Gregor's heart raced like it was running for its life as his world spun around and around and around. He could barely hear his own thoughts above his screaming, and he was vaguely aware of Ripred shouting out loud too, and he was…

He landed with a resounding thud on the sand of the arena. He heard a second thud, and then a crash that reverberated around the walls of the arena. Groaning aloud to himself, he stumbled to his feet and found himself staring at Apollo's body. His fear and shock during the fall was replaced by horror and guilt within a second.

"APOLLO!" he screamed out again as he sprinted over to the body of his friend. No, no, no…. Not again… He swore he would never forgive himself if he let it happen again… He can't live with this… Not like Ares. He couldn't have done it twice, but… Fighting Ripred wasn't worth the life of Apollo. That stupid bat… he shouldn't have come… but Gregor had called him…

What had Gregor done?

"I'm alright," the bat suddenly breathed, shooting his head up and swivelling it around to face Gregor, "I am alright, Warrior."

He was bleeding heavily in his right wing and he looked badly bruised, but at least he was still alive. Gregor let out one of the heaviest sighs of relief he had ever made in his life.

His sigh was cut short as a force crashed into him from behind, sending him flying across the sandy floor of the arena. Moaning in pain again, he rolled around the floor for a while, before getting back up onto his feet slowly. His right knee nearly collapsed suddenly, causing him to stagger about. But once more, through sheer mental determination, he forced the pain back down his throat and looked up.

Ripred, with his fur caked in a combination of blood and sand, faced him with a look of determination on his face too. A quick glance at the state of the old rat's body could reveal the broken bones he had sustained and the deep wounds which he bore. But against all odds, the rat was still standing on all four legs, albeit barely. He looked like even the gentlest breeze could knock him over like a bowling pin.

His snout looked out of shape, and his lips were cut and bleeding. His left and right flanks were covered in scratches and injuries, while his left cheek smeared with blood leaking out of the cuts which were caused by Gregor's gauntlets. The top of his head was stained with blood too. All in all, he made a sorry sight.

But pity was the last thing on Gregor's mind.

With all the energy he still had coursing through his veins, he rushed at Ripred and began what felt like his final attack. He feinted up with his sword before launching an attack with his dagger. Ripred was barely able to block Gregor's strike, panting heavily as he did so.

Gregor thrust his sword at Ripred's ear, which the rat also just about deflected off course. The tip of Gregor's blade whistled right past his ear, but he remained undeterred. He slashed his dagger upwards, trying to catch Ripred by surprise, but Ripred met the dagger with a counter-slash to block the strike.

He responded by slashing his claws at Gregor's chest, but Gregor was able to pull his blade back in time to parry it. The rat followed up with a double feint before slashing at Gregor's throat, an attack which forced Gregor to use both his sword and his dagger to defend.

Gregor then crossed the blades of his sword and dagger, before slashing outwards at Ripred with both weapons. Unable to fend off the attack, Ripred backed off a few steps.

Just as Gregor was about to close the gap, the rat caught him off-guard by leaping forward and crashing into him. As they tumbled about the sandy, grainy floor of the arena, Gregor saw Ripred raise his claws into the air.

And he brought them down on Gregor's mask.

The claws nearly raked themselves through his mask, with one claw in particular actually penetrating the armour and leaving a scratch mark on Gregor's right cheek. Disoriented and shaken, Gregor lashed out with a powerful kick from both his legs.

His feet connected with Ripred's underbelly and sent the rat flying off him. Gregor tried to get to his feet and prepare for another onslaught by Ripred, but he couldn't even see what was in front of him. Ripred's claw attack had damaged his mask beyond repair. Gregor couldn't fight in its wrecked state.

He pulled it off and chucked it to one side, before facing Ripred, who was back on his feet but was lurching about. Maybe Ripred was right. Maybe this was destined for a stalemate all this while.

But Gregor couldn't afford to think that way. Not when the fate of Regalia hinged on whether he could stop Ripred now.

So Gregor steeled his nerves yet again, and began to walk towards Ripred.

There was no rushing, or racing forward, or trying to engage the old rat with as much speed and force as he possibly could. He was going to have to fight tactically from now on and beat the rat at his own game. He could hear a commotion beginning to brew outside the arena, which meant that those incompetent Regalian soldiers finally seemed ready to coordinate an effort to break up the fight- if they had the balls to do it.

Gregor thrust at Ripred's right cheek before turning his thrust into a slash at the rat's mouth. Ripred managed to twist his head out of the way just in time, but Gregor's blade came inches close to hurting the rat, the tip of his blade shaving off half of Ripred's whiskers.

Gregor now switched over to go low for Ripred's feet, forcing the wounded rat to back away once more. Ripred tried to start a counter-attack with a couple of slashes, but Gregor parried those attacks comfortably. Gregor then changed to bringing his blade down on Ripred's head, forcing the rat to bring both claws up to shield his skull.

Spotting a gap, Gregor jabbed his dagger forward, but Ripred was able to bring a right paw down to swat the attack aside. Ripred's breathing had become a lot more strained as he struggled to fend Gregor off.

This was it.

The rat was finally going to break.

Gregor infused more effort and determination into his attack, pounding his sword against Ripred's claws harder than ever. He unleashed a triple feint, going up and down before stabbing at Ripred's snout. Ripred's rager abilities allowed him to deflect the attack, but he was slowing down. Every single action he made screamed out how tired and injured he was.

Every broken bone and cut was weighing him down by a ton. Ripred bounded away as far as possible to catch his breath, but Gregor wasn't going to allow him to even out the fight again. Even if Gregor himself was bleeding heavily and was suffering an immense amount of pain, he couldn't let victory go now. Not when he was so close to saving Regalia.

He sprinted after Ripred and slammed into the rat aggressively. His sword and dagger flew out of his hand, but he didn't care. Ripred tried to attack him with a couple of wild swipes, but Gregor was able to bring his gauntlets up and block the attacks. He delivered a solid punch to Ripred's bruised jaw, provoking a gasp from the rat. He then pinned the rat down and pulled his arm back to knock Ripred out.

But just before he punched the rat squarely between the eyes, Gregor heard the fluttering of wings. He glanced up and found Apollo flying lop-sidedly to the entrance of the arena, where Regalian soldiers were trying to squeeze through.

"FIGHT HIM!" Apollo yelled, "YOU HAVE TO FINISH HIM!"

The bat slammed into the Regalian soldiers, sending all of them tumbling outside. He then stretched out his wings and stood in front of them to deny them an entrance into the arena. A couple of fliers tried to fly in, but he launched himself up into the air and engaged them in an aerial battle.

Gregor turned back to face Ripred, who suddenly leapt at him with his jaws wide open. Gregor ducked underneath the leap and rushed over to his sword and dagger. He grabbed them and spun around immediately, blocking another attack from Ripred in the last possible second. He then parried a couple of furious attacks from him, before slashing his blade outwards.

The edge of the blade sliced along one of Ripred's scars, reopening the wound. Ripred staggered back in shock, reaching up with his claw to feel if the blood was real. Then, with his eyes blazing with fury, he turned to look at Gregor.

Gregor would have been lying if he said he wasn't intimidated.

Ripred charged straight at him, belting out squeaks which must have been profanities in gnawer tongue. Gregor triggered his rager abilities yet again, reacting purely based on instinct.

Amidst the intense fighting, Gregor found another weakness on Ripred. He suddenly fired a savage kick at Ripred's throat, sending the rat flying back and gagging from the blow.

This was his chance.

Gregor, having practised this a million times in the arena, threw his dagger at Ripred. As the dagger flew through the air, Gregor made a silent prayer that those million times would pay off.

The dagger spun through the air vertically, before…

… embedding itself in Ripred's right shoulder.

Bellowing in pain, the old rat sank to the ground in defeat.

Defeat.

Gregor had won.

Gregor trudged over to the rat, who looked like he had collapsed for good. "It's over, Ripred," Gregor told him triumphantly, "It's over."

Gregor lifted his blade up, preparing to bring it down on Ripred.

"Please… " Ripred croaked out hoarsely, "Don't do it. You're better than that. You… you know you are."

"Why should I?" Gregor snarled, even though inside he had softened up. He couldn't kill Ripred, could he?

But then he remembered all the pain and suffering Ripred had inflicted on him, and then the conversation with Apollo returned to him. "There will be no guilt. Not after what he's done," Gregor had said.

And he was right.

"You've taken everything from me all my life," Gregor said bitterly, "You've destroyed everything I've ever cared about. And for what? For Regalia? SINCE WHEN DID YOU CARE ABOUT REGALIA?"

"I'm sorry," Ripred mumbled.

Those two words from Ripred lowered Gregor's guard. His hand faltered slightly and he lowered his blade, because those were the two words Gregor had been waiting to hear from Ripred.

Ripred suddenly threw himself at Gregor, brandishing his claws and swinging it. But once again, Gregor's rager instincts proved to be too much.

He parried both attacks with a lighting-fast reaction, before stabbing at Ripred. The tip of the blade whistled through the air, hindered by nothing as it shot forward like a bullet, heading straight towards Ripred's face, piercing…

… Ripred's left eye.

With an ear-splitting scream of anguish which left Gregor reeling, the rat fell back onto his back, with blood oozing out of his left eye. The old rat finally sagged to the ground, his breathing shallow and his legs all limp.

Gregor had blinded Ripred in one eye.

Shocked initially at hurting Ripred so badly, he then hardened up and ice froze over his heart. It was time to handle Ripred with the same amount of cold ruthlessness he used to throw at others.

It was time to kill the Peacemaker.

"DO IT, WARRIOR!" Gregor heard Apollo scream.

He turned around and found Regalian soldiers filing in, with Apollo's wings bound in chains and with a couple of Regalian soldiers pushing the black bat in.

"HE WON'T SHOW YOU ANY MERCY!" Apollo yelled.

Gregor looked back down on Ripred and found the ice in his heart melting away from the fiery fury which consumed him. Gregor's policy in life was trying to avoid hating people, but here, standing over the rat who had broken him and destroyed him on the inside, he could barely contain the bitter hatred pouring into his soul.

Unable to translate his wrath into words, he lifted his blade up and prepared to plunge it down into Ripred's skull. That action alone was worth more than all the words in the world used to describe Gregor's hate for Ripred. That action was the greatest form of expression that Gregor could produce.

That action completed justice in an unjust world.

But a mere second before Gregor brought his blade down, he heard Ripred mumbling softly, "Just… do it. Why don't you just kill me?"

Gregor's mind flashed back to a time when he was lying helplessly on a cavern floor, struggling to breathe as blood was drained out of his body. He remembered how much he had given up- how he thought he was going to die.

He remembered how he was at the mercy of Flavius.

And he remembered how he had said those exact same words.

Why… why… don't you… just kill… just kill me?

Why don't you just kill me?

The epiphany takes less than a second, but the shockwaves of the revelation are almost enough to send him to his knees beside the rat he hated beyond measure.

He was in the exact same position Flavius was in two years ago.

The diabolical, murderous, cruel, insane fox.

He was essentially…

He was a diabolical, murderous, cruel, insane human.

No matter what Ripred had done to him, he couldn't just kill Ripred out of his own insecurities or anger. He spent the last thirty-six hours brutally hurting people who didn't deserve it. They were just doing what they thought was right. The Fount soldiers, York, Susannah, Luxa, Ripred…

They were just like him. They were doing what they thought was right.

And he had hurt each and every single one of them in the process.

So as Gregor stood over Ripred, with the power to end yet another life, he hesitated.

Even with the most pent-up rage and bitter hatred, he hesitated.

He was the Warrior. Every Regalian soldier standing in the arena, staring incredulously at the scene in front of their eyes, looked up to him. People worshipped him like a god. Soldiers honoured him as a good man, and sometimes even joined in the silent and unspoken adoration of Regalia's saviour.

But here he was, threatening to undermine all he stood for. All the goodness, all the inspiration, all the courage… All given up just to end Ripred's life.

All given up to be just like Flavius.

As Gregor looked down at the one-eyed rat, a single tear rolled down his face.

This was Ripred, a rat who had sacrificed so much and protected him so much when no one else would have or could have done the same for him. This was Ripred, a rat who appeared to be a monster on the outside but cared deeply for the people around him and the city he loved. This was Ripred, a rat who had done so much for Boots and Lizzie, Gregor's own little sisters. Ripred, a rat he admired, respected… and loved.

Memories began to flood back slowly. Meeting the rat for the first time and seeing his intelligence, his deadliness, his pain…

Saving the rat from being backstabbed by Henry.

Watching the rat take on Gorger's minions as he sprinted towards the cliff.

Forcing the Bane into the rat's hands to protect the peace.

Going deep into the jungle with him and learning how out of control he was as a rager.

Turning, turning and turning again with him.

Saving him from a prison made by the Bane.

Getting advice about his love with Luxa from the rat- one of those rare, serious and poignant moments he shared with Ripred.

Fighting in the tunnel while Luxa was carried away to safety.

Training with echolocation.

Watching the rat calm Lizzie down.

Talking to the rat before he flew into battle with the Bane.

Hearing the rat talk about the death of his family, and how much it had hurt him… especially the loss of Silksharp.

Talking to the rat for what felt like the final time before flying into his final battle with the Bane.

Finding out that the rat was supposedly dead, and feeling like part of him had died as well

Finding out he was alive- One of the most joyous moments in a dark and painful war.

Saying goodbye to him and getting some last bits of advice about being a rager.

Returning back to the Underland and seeing him again.

Fighting together in battle with the fate of Regalia at stake.

And now, standing here with the opportunity to take his life away.

Gregor and Ripred may not have, and probably never will admit it to each other, but the reason why the both of them were still alive was because of each other. All the narrow escapes, the close shaves, the burdening on each other… Gregor had lost count how many times he owed Ripred for saving him from dying.

And yet, somewhat ironically, after all Ripred had done for him, Gregor was going to pay Ripred back by killing him and taking his life.

Ripred, behind the masquerade of indifference, had sacrificed everything to protect Regalia. The old rat had abandoned his dignity, ignored his deteriorating body to the point where his every breath was a painful inhalation, and suffered tremendous psychological pain. He had given up his LIFE for the city and the Underland.

And in that very moment, Gregor realised something- He realised that deep down, Ripred had even more humanity in his soul than Gregor ever had.

Gregor couldn't stop the tears from falling freely down his face now. He was a monster.

The very monster he thought he was fighting against.

He looked down at Sandwich's blade, his Excalibur. The blade designed for the greatest of kings was now no different from any other ordinary bloodstained sword out there- corrupted by the blood of the innocent. It grew heavier in his hands, as if it was being turned into a slab of stone by the atrocity he was about to commit.

Unable to recognise the killer he had become, Gregor backed away from Ripred's body. He looked around, struggling to make sense of the world, trying to find an answer to what he was.

He could hear shouts in the background from Apollo and the Regalian soldiers, but he was beyond caring about what they said. It didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was how much of himself he had lost over the years.

How did he turn from a hopeful boy with a moral code to a cold-blooded murderer?

Roaring out loud in frustration and despair, Gregor threw his sword to one side, disgusted by how he had used it.

He sank to his knees, and with sobs escaping his lips for the first time in years, he uttered the words he never thought he would ever say to Ripred again.

"I'm sorry."


And that's a wrap for this chapter! I hope that the action and emotion in this chapter sated you. Technically speaking, Gregor is the victor of this battle, but following the catharsis at the very end, is he really? Hopefully this chapter has triggered as much emotion in you as it did in me, having to write about my two favourite characters do battle against each other.

But more than just that, this chapter is a huge turning point in this story, especially in terms of characterisation. Gregor's been a very dark and bitter character in my stories, but after this chapter there WILL be a return to who he truly is- a hero who embodies the best in all of us.

By the way, the Murk is a gas which features in my first story. If you want more context to this chapter, check out my first story: The Warrior's Legacy, Chapter 16. Calvin encounters the Murk on that occasion.

I'm very excited to hear your thoughts on this chapter, so please review! Even if you didn't like it/disagreed with it, I'd be happy to hear your opinions too. Favourites and follows are encouraged too, of course.

Question: Who did you think deserved to win the fight? Who did you think truly won the fight? Please let me know ALL your thoughts in the reviews section.