Jason looked at Veronica and Ivor with an emotionless face before speaking up.
"Bert Chu, my ass. Those moves and that stare. I can clearly feel that it is Ivor. The guy is set on killing me for his personal grudge. I guess he didn't take it very well when I abandoned him inside Purgatory."
Jason clenched his fists and forcefully dispelled Ivor's mana trying to invade his body through the injuries. After all, he had been wounded by Ivor's attacks. Ivor would have managed to mortally harm him with his next move if he hadn't used his Ability in such a crafty manner.
The Duke's son had come to realize that harming Ivor while he was wearing the Armor of Pride was nearly impossible. Plus, he was also a bit intimidated by Ivor's identity as the butcher.
So he walked closer to the fallen Veronica and spoke up.
"I don't want to test my luck any more than I have to against the fabled Osan Woods' butcher. Plus, my father would offer me more benefits if he finds out that I took care of him inside the Sansara World.
I don't know how he managed to get inside the event or who gave him the courage to do so. But that can be found out after he is dead."
Veronica wanted to register the injustice she felt. But it was cut short even before it began by Jason's next words.
"I know it is unfair to you. I really do. But you'd have to forgive me for being cautious. I'm only doing this for my own survival. I hope you can understand."
Ivor started laughing when he heard Jason speak to Veronica. He had to say that the Duke's son wasn't as gullible as he had thought.
Ivor looked at Veronica and felt some pity for her. The girl was unjustly tangled in their mess just by being with Jason. And she was going to die because of her mistake in trusting Jason. The Duke's son had not only betrayed Ivor but also managed to backstab Veronica in the end, no matter how valid his reasons for doing so might be.
Ivor removed his Elven mask. There was no point in using the mask or trying to hide his identity at this point. He dispelled his Sin Series Ability before speaking in a grim voice.
"Veronica had nothing to do with this conflict, Jason. Spare her. If you want to kill me, that's fine. Come and get it. But let the girl go."
Veronica and Jason both were shocked by Ivor's move. The Duke's son made an "I'm impressed" face before commenting.
"I'm sorry, guys. I don't want to let the fact out that I'm a demonic ranker. At least not yet. My step-siblings would try to use that against me.
But I didn't take Osan Woods' Butcher to be such a kind-hearted soul. It's a bit shocking if you ask me."
Saying this, Jason stabbed Veronica once again with the tip of his swordâ€" this time near right above her belly button. The girl screamed some more and tried to get away from her attacker. But too bad, Jason had already used a Perk on her.
Ivor spat a mouthful of blood as he felt his internal organs being damaged by Jason's attack on Veronica. He didn't know Jason was such a sadistic person. He could only conclude that turning into a demonic ranker had changed his psyche a bit.
Ivor was about to don his Armor of Pride and battle Jason till his last breath. He wanted to die an honorable death while fighting. But suddenly he felt something. He looked around him as if to confirm something. The fake Bert Chu started laughing when he found something out. He flashed a wicked smile with his bloody teeth before commenting.
"You are shocked, huh? Well... don't be. Because I'm not the Osan Woods' Butcher."
Jason was about to stab Veronica with his sword. But he stood still when he heard something strange from Ivor. The guy had removed his mask in front of Jason. He didn't think Ivor would lie at this point.
"What do you mean? Who is...."
Blink. Swoosh. Stab.
"I am."
A casual voice was heard from Jason's behind. The Duke's son was startled by that presence. But by the time he could respond, he found out that his throat had been slit by someone.
The newly appeared figure spun around Jason and stabbed his vital spots in one go. The reverse spin also took place and Jason felt his body being stabbed once again.
The attacks were too fast for Jason to follow with his pain receptors. He was yet to see the face of the person who had metaphorically slapped a "you are already dead" sticky note over his forehead.
The attacks took place one after another. And nobody could see who was attacking the Duke's son. Jason was so psyched by these attacks that he lost control of his mental faculties and the debuff acting on Veronica vanished.
By the time the attacks stopped, the Sansara World's defense mechanism against Veronica had kicked in. With her eyes clenched, the girl was safely teleported away from the scene. As a result, Jason's Ability on Ivor stopped working.
"You.... Ere..."
The butcher drove his dagger through Jason's right cheek and poked it out of his left cheek before he could utter his name. He kept the pierced dagger in place to make Jason stop speaking.
He had attacked all of Jason's vital spots. But they weren't enough to kill him. That was because he wasn't supposed to kill Jason in the first place.
"Sigh*. You couldn't even take out this easy kill. I'm disappointed in you, Ivor."
Jason's face and Eren's back were visible to Ivor. He heard Eren's insults at him, which infuriated him. He coughed something and spat it out before replying with a voice coated in suppressed anger.
"You... you were supposed to be here yesterday. Without you, I had to improvise. I had to do everything by myself. I spent most of my Karma points on this job. And you still have the gall to complain."
Eren scratched the back of his head and shrugged his shoulders before responding.
"Yeah. About that. I got held up due to some work."
