-chapter eighty-four-
____________________

He looks like death. And I might just be a little bit in love.

"WHAT A wonderful situation! The Oddcredibles rogue is now facing the number one rogue in Arth! Mendeleev is also known for his legendary rogue and assassin gameplays in countless games. Would the feisty rogue be able to handle him?"

"Partner, let us also not forget the fact that Feyre is one amazing rogue despite, well, despite of her quirks. She was able to stand against Night Growler's Sena and sparred with the Leev before!"

The announcer's voice rang in the whole arena. Most of the screen, even the main one, now shows the current scene where Feyre and Mendeleev are facing each other. Ang Warbeast leader ay kanina pa nakikitang nakikipaglaban. Killing any rogue that comes his way without sweat.

The Oddcredibles rogue was also shown, for a quite bit, fighting against an assassin from Huntres Nation. The crowd are impressed by the rogue's skill, especially with how she easily masters her chains.

Feyre smiled. Seeing the famous rogue with blood splattered around him, looking like a personified death, makes her heart beat faster. At naalala niyang sinabi noon ni Voldmir that it is a symptom for falling in love.

Feyre is a simple woman, after all. Handsome men are always her priorities. Warbeast rogue is not as handsome as the male Sol, but he's 0.2 percent better than Hex. Although, Feyre doesn't like his height. Para siyang bata. Para siyang si Priamos.

Feyre is a simple woman. Blood and the affinity for killing. Ngunit siguro ay dahil lang ito sa bloodlust ni Feyre.

"We meet again." aniya.

The Warbeast rogue tilted his head. There was recognition in his eyes but he can't seem to pinpoint where exactly he met the rogue. The cat-like eyes are familiar to him.

And because he doesn't really have a filter, he blurted out a, "Who are you?"

He wanted to say it nicely, but his rough and scratchy voice made it more intimidating and mildly bored. Mendeleev pouted mentally. He doesn't like making a bad first impression.

On the other hand, Feyre is beyond shocked. Iba't ibang emosyon ang nararamdaman niya ngayon. Gulat at galit ang nangibabaw, until the shock was replaced by the burning anger and she saw red.

It's not a stretch to say Mendeleev was surprised when the rogue began to attack him. Siguro nga ay talagang nameet niya na ito noon pa. But why can't he remember her when her cat-like eyes are so familiar?

Inikot ni Feyre ang chains bago ito ipinalipad sa Warbeast rogue. It went past the male, and the dagger began to make a turn, aiming for his back. Ngunit pinigilan ito ng rogue nang hawakan niya ang chains at ni-pull, dragging Feyre forwards. Feyre yelped, as the strong force made her fly towards the Warbeast, but she regained her balance mid-air, spinning and slashing her boot-knife into the rogue's head.

Mabilis itong iniwasan ni Mendeleev. Hinawakan niya ang paa ng chainmaster at inikot ito, letting the female fall to the ground. However, she was fast to turn around, straddle his waist and pull back her chains, encircling it to Mendeleev's neck, who struggled to keep the chain from choking him.

It all happened no less than a minute. Feyre huffed, eyes blazing in excitement and thrill, keeping her balance through the rogue's waist. She was hanging upside-down, her legs clutching tightly for dear life.

Mendeleev took his knife and slash at her. Panay ang iwas ni Feyre habang nakakabit. Sumimangot siya. The warbeast is too strong to keep her from choking him. So...

She crossed her feet and held tighter onto the rogue's waist. And without further ado, she used all her upper strength to change their positions. Ang pag-ikot ng katawan nila ang naging dahilan para matumba si Mendeleev sa lupa. Feyre is now on top of him, straddling his waist, and her chaindagger are pointed at his neck.

Mendeleev's gasped at the new feeling. His heart was beating excitedly. Matagal na nang maramdaman niya ang ganito sa pakikipaglaban. It's hard to see players who can spar with him. But this cat... this-

Natigilan siya. He remembers. That certain feisty rogue who always sticks to the elfed warrior side. The cat-like eyes that stared at his equally crazed look back at the preliminary quest. The certain name that always cause trouble and is not afraid to play dirty while still following the rules.

"Oddcredibles Feyre." he said out loud, unconsciously holding the female rogue.

Feyre rolled her eyes and stood up, creating a distance between them. "Wow. Magpaparty na ba ako dahil naalala mo ko."

"I see," he pulled another knife from his back. "Have you come to add yourself to the body pile?"

Feyre licked her lips, summoning her chains back. "I prefer to have your body on it."

His eyes glinted. "Good luck, then." and before the wind can blow, he was already lunging forwards.

Mendeleev slashed at the rogue, who seemed unsuspecting of his attack. Feyre hissed at the large wound on her chest, almost tearing her tunic. The male rogue was unrelenting with his attacks, almost looking dazed as he continuously slashed his knife. Feyre tried to keep up with his attacks, whipping and crossing her chains as she staggered backwards.

Feyre glanced at her HP bar. Hindi niya mapigilang magmura mentally nang makita ito. Her past battle against that assassin took some of her life. And this rogue's strength is immense, almost comparable to a medium-level fighter. Feyre's HP bar already reached the 50% line. There's still 35 minutes before the event ends.

Hex' eyes twitched. Kanina pa nakatingin ang mga guildmates niya. Hindi pa nakakatulong na may tukso ang mga mata nila. They all look so annoying.

Even more annoying than that damn cat on screen.

"What?!" singhal niya.

Solace laughed beside him. "Oh, easy ka lang diyan."

Hex heavily sighed and glared at Voldmir who was staring at him closely. He has this smug look on his face that irritates Hex so much.

"Ano?" may iritasyon pa rin sa boses niya.

"Ayiee," Voldmir teased. "Selos si soro."

Nanlaki ang mata ni Hex dahil sa sinabi ng kaibigan. He then proceeded to shut him by covering his mouth. Kahit na gano'n, ay nakikita pa rin niya ang malaking ngiti nito.

"I am not!"

"Ang galing ni Ate Feyre makipaglaban. Kakaiba." ani Priamos na nakalimutan na ang pagkaing kinakain.

"No, Priam. Bad 'yon for our eyes." saway ni Minerva sa kaniya na tinatago ang mata.

Priamos frowned. "Why?"

"Adults only siya, duh."

Hex glared at Minerva's choice of words. Dahil doon ay nakuha ni Voldmir ang kamay niya at malakas itong tumawa. Hex rolled his eyes and walked away, ignoring his guildmates calls and laughs.

"Oh, Hex, saan ka pupunta?" tawag ni Halcyon na mukhang papunta sa mga kaibigan niya.

"Banyo lang."

Halcyon was taken aback by the fox's answer. Ang alam niya ito ang pinakamabait at cool-headed sa grupo pero parang galit na galit ito ngayon. Shrugging, he didn't think about it too deeply and went his way.

Hex frowned, leaning on the wall. Nasa likuran na siya ngayon ng arena and he is currently glaring daggers at the screen. That damn cat.

That damn cat was freaking trying her best to not run away. Ipinalibot niya ang kadena sa binti ng binata at itinapon ito palayo. The Warbeast hit the pile of rocks with a loud thud. Mabilis na pumunta si Feyre doon at inihagis ang chaindagger papunta sa nakahigang rogue.

Her dagger was deflected by the male's knife, who quickly jumped towards her and did a circle kick. Sinalo ito ni Feyre at nagpalitan na naman ulit sila ng mga atake. The force and strength of their attacks destroyed the area around them.

Feyre glanced at her HP bar again. Malapit na itong bumaba sa half. It sucks that she can't also see her enemy's HP. Talagang patayan ito, shit. Parang gusto niyang magkaroon ng skill ni Sol kung saan uulan ng mga swords. She also wants to rain daggers around here.

The time limit showed a blinking 25 minutes. At tanging ang mga tao lang sa loob ng arena ang nakaka-alam ng status ng health nila.

Solace gnawed on her lip, watching the leaderboards. Feyre is not at the last, and Solace doesn't really care about the ranks. However, comparing Feyre and her current enemy, the status is bad.

Feyre is nearly arriving at 49% while her enemy, the Warbeast rogue, has 88% still on his HP bar.

If only Feyre would get away from that area. Flight for now and fight later.

But, Solace knows. Feyre is stubborn as hell and she's freaking-

"She's too ambitious."

Napatingin si Solace sa nagsalita. Cord stood beside her, observing the screen where Feyre and the Warbeast are attacking each other.

Ambitious. That's what Feyre is. She will never let go of this opportunity despite her obvious lacking.

"Sa tingin niyo po ba mamamatay si Ate Feyre?" tanong ni Priamos.

Sol watched the screen again. The Warbeast rogue is a menace with his speed and strength. Parang blur lang ang bawat atake niya sa kutsilyo. Feyre is fast and chains quick, but their difference is obvious. Feyre can't defend herself most of the time from the continuous attacks, her body mostly moving in auto-pilot from the adrenaline.

"She can but she'll be upset with the results," sagot ni Solace. "The Warbeast rogue is simply eliminating to make the situation favorable. The lower the number of rogues, the higher the chances of his guild surviving and his spot at winning. Feyre, however, is more passionate about fighting. And you know how she gets when she's on a fight."

"Lalo na kapag sobrang thrilling nito," tatango-tango si Voldmir.

Vesta smiled. "But she knows when to quit, too. Because, while Feyre loves to fight, it's getting out alive that she wants more."

And, Vesta's words are true. Dahil sa ngayon ay naghahanap si Feyre nang pwede malusutan. She cursed at her head when she realized that she wants Vesta's special bullets. That would at least be enough distraction.

At that time, Feyre developed a great idea! What if she'll use Poro to make acid or venom bombs? That would be great! May plano na siya pagkatapos ng labang ito.

However, she still needs an escape route. Ayaw ni Feyre igamble ang natitirang life na mayro'n siya, especially that her enemy's bar is unknown. Kaya naman she purposely sought the male rogue, lunging herself onto an incoming attack.

Mendeleev activated his skill, crossing his knives thrice, creating gust of wind that sliced through the female rogue. Naitapon nito si Feyre palayo, creating a cloud of dust and smoke at the destruction. Lumapit doon si Mendeleev, readying his knife for any of the rogue's surprise attacks.

But, nothing came.

And, no one was there on Feyre's place anymore. Only a small circle lie on her wake.

Kumunot ang noo ni Mendeleev at lumapit siya dito. Tiningnan niya ang papel na hugis bilog. And he struggled not to laugh.

May isang mukha na nakadraw sa papel. A face with it's tongue out. Para itong isang emoticon.

Mendeleev chuckled under his breath and tucked the paper into his pocket. He twisted the knife on his hand and looked around. There's no sign of the female rogue anymore. He sighed and started to walk away, hoping to catch sight of green cat eyes.

However, what he saw was a different person. Isang lalaki ang naglalakad papunta sa kaniya ngayon, dark hair messy and clothes torn. Para itong nagmula sa ilang delubyo.

"Ah. Gio." he nodded.

"Leev. Have you seen a female rogue around here? Her weapon's a chain with a dagger on its end. Short cinnamon hair with green strikes and cat-like eyes." tanong nito.

Mendeleev hummed and continued walking. "Nope."

Gio frowned, looking at Mendeleev. It's unusual to see him sport some wounds and looked tired than usual. Umiling siya at nagbuntong-hininga. Whatever, he still have a rogue to find.

The said rogue is currently patching herself up, breathing heavily and occasionally cursing, "Putangina mo, soro."

Natigilan siya nang may maramdamang presensiya. Isang pigura ang sumugod sa kaniya habang sumisigaw. Feyre's tensed body immediately calmed. She huffed and impaled her dagger to the incoming rogue's heart and kicked him off the terrain.

She smiled when the minutes was shortening and no predator has found her safe space. Patuloy lang siya sa pagtago sa dilim at pagatake ng mga unsuspecting rogues na dumadaan. Eventually, the event ended.

Feyre actively avoided anyone when they were back at the hall. A screen popped up in front of her, bringing information about the recent leaderboards. Out of 649 participating rogues, only 459 survived.

But what pissed her off was the name at the top of the rankings. Mendeleev, from the guild Warbeast, having 86% HP left. Feyre frowned, looking for her name. She already scrolled past Sena, Life, and Irusu's name but she's not-

"Tch." she scoffed.

Feyre, from Oddcredibles, previously under the Top 5, now under the Top 300 who survived. What a letdown.

She gritted her teeth. Maghanda sila sa susunod.

____________________
-chapter end-

[NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW]:

Vesta unloads her gun. She also becomes the hunted rather than the hunter?!

____________________