— Oberon was standing by the door, his back pressed against the wall, a knife in his hand —
'Krax is really strong; I'm a little envious of his sword techniques. His life must have been intense for him to become so strong—well, that doesn't surprise me when I look at where I am.
How could I become stronger, too? I have to start thinking two steps ahead; I can't keep putting my life on the line.'
— Oberon sighed as he continued to play with his knife —
"He's taking a long time. What could he be doi…?"
— Oberon's question was cut short when he saw a massive hammer burst through the door he was guarding, smashing the wall in front of him —
'What the hell was that?'
— He saw a giant guy emerge from what was left of the rubble where the door had been. Oberon quickly hid around the corner of the building, watching as Krax jumped from building to building while being chased by two armed men —
'Someone must have cursed me. This isn't possible.'
— Krax, sword in hand, dodged every attack from the duo, number one and number two. Number one wielded a Khopesh sword, unleashing heavy strikes, while number two, with his knives, kept bombarding him with attacks, forcing him to retreat. He leaped toward another building from the rooftop. Seeing them closing in, Krax decided to descend by jumping down the stairs. Using his Malice, he coated his boots with it, altering the material's mechanical properties so it would better absorb the impact upon hitting the ground. This increased his resilience, though he still couldn't avoid all the damage, but he had no time. He ran toward a window at full speed, using Malice again to alter the mechanical properties of his clothing, increasing the material's resistance and hardness so it couldn't be easily pierced. He broke through the window to reach another building while shielding his face, where, unfortunately, he found Number Three waiting for him with a spiked whip in hand—
"You're very energetic"
— said Number Three, though contrary to what he said, he didn't seem very excited. He launched an attack at Krax, who managed to dodge it and hide behind a wall—a very bad idea. It wasn't difficult for Number Three to make his whip snap and strike Krax's shoulder, causing him to let out a slight groan of pain —
"You can't escape my whip. Even if you hide behind objects, it's not hard for me to attack you. On the contrary, you make my job easier by not being able to counterattack."
"May I ask what the famous quadruplets are doing in this part of Caelum-Vena?"
— Krax said, buying time while quickly tending to his wounds. In truth, he didn't even know them; he'd never heard of them —
"Ohh! We're not that famous, and your flattery won't save you!"
— Number Three attacked Krax again, whipping his whip to strike, but unfortunately for him, Krax didn't let himself be caught a second time. In the blink of an eye, he predicted the whip's trajectory, dodging it just as it grazed him to drive his dark sword, coated in Malice, into his opponent's leg, immobilizing his weapon, to follow up by lunging at him—who didn't have time to bring his whip back—Krax grabbed the dagger from his leg, and with a speed that Number Three couldn't react to, Krax pressed the dagger against his throat just enough to prevent any screams; he didn't let him escape, keeping his dagger as deep as possible in his opponent's throat as the man struggled for the air that was escaping him, striking Krax repeatedly but to no avail, ending his life at the hands of the mercenary in the red raincoat.
Krax released him once he was sure his heart had stopped beating, letting him fall to the ground so he could go retrieve his sword —
"Three left. This isn't looking good for me. Oh! Speaking of the wolf…"
— Krax saw Number One and Number Two arrive; they stood frozen, staring at the lifeless body of their brother. Number Two went to take him in his arms, and Number One, whose eyes were redder than Krax's pupils, wore nothing but an expression of hatred toward his little brother's killer —
"Who sent you?"
— A question from Number Two, who was crying as he gently laid Number Three on the ground —
"Don't make me repeat the question."
— As if deep in thought like Oberon, Krax took his time before answering, raising his gaze as he faced his surrender —
'He would have found an answer to anger the enemy. Well, it doesn't matter.'
"If you're curious, I also have scores to settle with the one who sent me here; I was never told there would be enemies of this caliber."
— Sword in hand, Krax lunged at Number Two, who was still on the ground, only to be stopped by Number One in a clash of blades.
Number One was furious; his attacks were heavy, forcing Krax not to block them but to deflect them so as not to waste energy needlessly. Gradually taking control over his enemy, he swung his sword as if in a dance, once again using the unique shape of his blade to gain momentum, making each of his attacks heavier and heavier while maintaining a steady energy expenditure, but what was going to be a critical blow to his enemy was stopped by Number Two, who threw one of his knives at him. Krax managed to step aside in time, the knife grazing his shoulder. Now he had to fight a two-on-one battle —
"You're going to pay for what you did."
— The brothers moved toward him, taking two separate paths to attack both sides of Krax. He quickly decided to run to his right, where Number One was coming, jumping on him just as their swords clashed. As soon as his feet touched the ground again, he delivered a kick to push him away, watching as Number Two leaped onto his brother with a heavy downward strike from his knife, an attack that Krax barely managed to deflect, losing his balance in the process—an opportunity not wasted by Number One, who was already charging an upward strike. In that situation, Krax used the technique he'd practiced with Oberon a second time: bracing himself with his sword, he delivered a powerful kick to his opponent before quickly creating distance.
He was exhausted; his two enemies surely were too, but they didn't feel it because of the hatred they harbored toward him. He was already preparing for another combined attack from his enemies, who were already starting to run toward him again, but as if it were an earthquake, he could feel the building shake for an instant. Krax seized that moment of inattention from his enemies to leap toward the one who was already down, grabbing him and hurling him toward the window. Number One saw this and quickly went to catch his dead brother's body, not hesitating to use it as a distraction. Dodging Number Two, Krax leaped to push with all his might against Number One, whose hands were occupied by his brother's body, sending him crashing through the window. At last, Krax was in a one-on-one fight.
Number One quickly hoisted his brother's body onto his shoulder; by planting his sword into the wall, he managed to slow his fall, saving him from a three-story drop—
"Shit, I have to get back fast, before…"
— Not a single word more could escape his mouth because of the knife pressed against his throat, a knife held by a hand coming up from behind him, and when he finally hit the ground, he could see it: the cold gaze of a man holding an axe, watching him breathe his last breath —