CHAPTER 49: BETRAYAL AT VICTORY

The words startled Tatehan immensely.

"You did it." Kael said, forcing a small smile.

Tatehan looked into his eyes, confused. Why was he saying this?

"No. WE did it."

Kael smiled again, but it wasn’t one of his good smiles. This smile was different. Wrong even. Tatehan stored that in his brain.

’Let me take the core, and you live.’

Casual as that sounded, Tatehan considered it a threat.

When he thrust his sword into the mauler’s brain and the monster-beast died, there had been a moment of camaraderie. The two had actually felt like the best of friends, deep friends. Like they owed each other their lives. They’d been smiling, happy to have won.

And now what were they? Enemies.

From strangers, to friends, to life-owing friends, to enemies, to...

Tatehan couldn’t imagine the next part. He knew it would be nasty.

"You could have told me." Tatehan’s voice was quiet. "Your aim for wanting to kill the Hexapod mauler was to take its core."

Kael smiled again, this time almost real.

"Well..." he used his free hand to scratch the back of his head. "This means a lot to me. I’ve been lurking in that cave for almost six months. Six whole months of leaving everything I had and coming here to seek the core."

Tatehan blinked twice. He didn’t know what to say.

"I did too," he paused, finding the right words. "I didn’t stay six months in one place, though..."

As soon as Tatehan said those words, in that split second, he realized something. When Kael saved him from the mauler, Tatehan had looked into the mauler’s eyes and saw recognition. It knew Kael.

If the mauler had been human, it would have sighed or facepalmed. That meant Kael must have been losing against it all those months.

Every time he lost, he would return to his cave and add to his discoveries about the mauler. Building his list of what to do and what not to do when facing the beast.

Before they came to the amphitheater, Kael had told Tatehan valuable things about facing the mauler. Things that had helped him during the fight.

Kael had sacrificed a lot for this too.

"...but I was unconscious for a month when I failed to kill this thing. I sacrificed a lot too."

Kael’s face darkened. Rage flickered behind his eyes.

"I thought you were different, kid. Smart. Someone who could be reasoned with." His voice took on an edge. "Allow me to get the core and I’ll take you with me to my clan. We’ll explore the cities of Mars together. Just let me take the goddamn core!"

The last words came out as a shout. He held Tatehan’s hand even more tightly now, digging deep into his flesh.

Tatehan stood upright, facing Kael, the helmet still covering his face.

"Leave me alone!" His voice was a shout too.

Kael didn’t.

"Then let me take the core!" He shouted very loudly. "Let me take the goddamn core!"

"Leave me alone!" Tatehan kept protesting.

"Take off your helmet and speak to me." Kael stared at Tatehan’s covered face. "Take off the helmet so I can see who I’m talking to. Your reaction to this, kid! Let me see your face!"

Tatehan unsummoned the helmet. The dust explosion happened and suddenly they were face to face.

For a moment, Kael seemed surprised by the small explosion, the helmet vanishing into thin air.

He noticed Tatehan noticed, and quickly tried to cover: "Fancy tech you have, I see. I don’t believe in magic, so there must be a logical reason for that."

He doesn’t believe in magic? That was surprising to hear.

But Tatehan didn’t care about that right now. "Leave my hand alone. Leave my hand alone! The fuck is wrong with you!"

Kael’s grip only tightened. "If I leave it, then you’ll take the core."

That was it. This wasn’t even the height of how much of a jerk Kael could be. The once helpful and kind man Tatehan knew was gone, replaced by someone so hungry for something they would do anything to get it.

"I trusted you!" Kael yelled into his face, and Tatehan could feel the heat of his breath. "I saw you as my son. I even trained you. And now this is how you pay me back! Without me you would be dead! Without me you wouldn’t even be looking at the core!"

Kael was spitting his words now, all of them directed into Tatehan’s face. The spit decorated his skin.

Something inside Tatehan changed.

A profound power began surging through him. It had been building before, but now it rose like a wave. Surging with the speed of a cheetah at full sprint.

Surging with intense, overwhelming power.

Tatehan could feel himself activating the armor unconsciously.

He didn’t know it was the final shriek of the Hexapod mauler— stored by the armor, that was building up inside him.

He didn’t even realize when he grabbed Kael’s arm. With his other hand— the one holding the sword, he tossed the man down from the mauler with tremendous force.

THOOM!

Kael was forced to release Tatehan’s hand as he crashed hard into the ground.

Tatehan turned to face the bio-neural core. Just as he reached to take it, something struck his hand with brutal force.

A chakram.

If not for the gauntlets he was wearing, the weapon would have pierced through his skin and potentially ripped off his hand.

He could only be grateful for the gauntlets.

He looked down. Kael was already on his feet, aiming the chakrams for his eyes, he’d caught the one he’d thrown and was now sending both.

Tatehan quickly summoned his helmet. It materialized just in time, protecting him from the attack.

When the first chakram had met the gauntlet, it had absorbed the attack. Same with the helmet now. That meant he had just one absorption left.

"Since you refuse to let me take the core alive," Kael’s voice carried up from below, cold and final, "I’ll kill you for it."