The Outergod's Avatar-Chapter 70: Twisted Fate

Raynoel used the water from the stream to wash the injury he had received on his neck. The coolness of the stream stung at first, but the pain quickly dulled to a faint ache.

"It seems like it’s almost fully healed because of the healing properties of the Old Tree. Doubling back was a good idea, and this way they’ll never suspect that I’m still so close by," he muttered, more to himself than anything.

He grabbed a cloth from his pack, frayed at the edges and stained from previous battles, and tied the wound diagonally across his neck. The knot was messy, but it would hold for now.

"But I can’t believe that b**** and her dog almost killed me," he hissed with annoyance, grinding his teeth together. "That was only because they sneaked up on me. If it was just us two, I would have definitely cut her throat."

He paused, taking a breath. His hands were still shaking slightly, whether from rage or the pain, even he wasn’t sure. His voice cracked slightly as he muttered curses under his breath, still trying to rationalize what had happened.

Then he heard it — footsteps.

’Shit. Somebody’s coming.’

Without thinking, he launched himself up, hiding in one of the thick trees nearby. His breathing slowed. His senses sharpened. He kept his hand on his blade, his eyes scanning for any movement through the underbrush.

Soon, two small figures came into view.

Raynoel blinked, squinting. For a moment, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

’It’s Izikel.’

His eyes widened for a second. But before any emotion could fully register, he caught himself.

’No... wait. Let’s not get excited. If those two are here, Sophia or the captain must be somewhere close by.’

He held his position, watching. Waiting. Minutes passed, and there was no sign of anyone else. No backup. No adult voices. No movement in the trees.

Only Izikel... and the Druid girl.

When he was finally certain they were alone, he descended from the tree silently, landing on the soft earth with barely a sound. He adjusted the cloth around his wound and smiled.

By then, Izikel and Lyzah were just arriving at the stream.

"Lord Izikel," Raynoel called out.

Immediately, Izikel froze in place. His body stiffened, his blood ran cold.

It couldn’t be—

"Raynoel?" the name escaped his lips with dread and disbelief.

His eyes widened, voice shaky, "How are you here?"

’Shit... why did we have to run into him of all people?’ Izikel cursed internally. His heart pounded like war drums in his chest, and beads of sweat began to gather on his forehead.

"Well, I wasn’t really doing anything," Raynoel said, his tone annoyingly casual. "Just hiding from Sophia and the captain. I can’t see any of them — seems like you’re both here on your own?"

Izikel didn’t respond. He just gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly at his sides, trying to suppress the fear rising in his throat.

A disgusting smile tore across Raynoel’s face, the kind that made Izikel’s skin crawl.

"Seems like the Lunar Goddess is on my side after all."

Without another word, Raynoel dashed forward, closing the distance in an instant. His blade came down in a diagonal arc, aiming for Izikel’s face.

Izikel reacted instinctively, raising his arm to block.

’I have to keep my eyes open,’ he told himself, forcing his body to move.

The blade struck — but it didn’t cut.

It hit something invisible. A shimmer of translucent energy flickered for a split second as it absorbed the impact.

Raynoel’s brows furrowed. "What...?"

Before he could react, Izikel seized the moment. He summoned his gun — it materialized in his hand with a brief flash of light — and fired a series of bullets in rapid succession.

The first bullet grazed Raynoel’s cheek, leaving a shallow cut dangerously close to his eye. It wasn’t fatal, but it was close enough to warn Raynoel of the danger of that weapon.

Raynoel leapt back instinctively, widening the gap between them. The rest of the bullets flew past him, a few deflected by his blade, the others burying themselves into the earth and trees.

"Seems like you’re not so defenseless after all," he said, feigning calm, trying to mask his earlier surprise.

"What type of power is that?" he asked, eyeing the gun warily.

"And why would I tell you?" Izikel snapped back.

He turned slightly. Lyzah was still frozen behind him, her eyes wide with fear.

"Lyzah! Snap out of it. All the time you spent training would be useless if you just freeze up now."

His voice reached her, breaking through the terror. She blinked, visibly trembling, but slowly took a cautious stance.

"Y-you’re right," she mumbled shakily. "What do we do?"

"I don’t know. But I think we should find a way to escape for now. We can’t think to fight him."

"Do you think we can make it?" she asked, glancing between Izikel and Raynoel.

"What?" Izikel frowned.

"He’ll definitely chase us down. And he’s faster..."

Izikel knew she was right. Running might not work — but fighting was suicide.

"We don’t have a choice. He’ll kill us if we try to fight him."

"Yes, missy, you should listen to him," Raynoel chimed in, overhearing their exchange. "I can’t even chase you properly because of my injury."

That was a lie, and they both knew it. He was baiting them — hoping they’d run so he could pick them off easily.

"You see what I’m saying?" Lyzah said. "He has no intention of letting us get out of here alive."

"I know... but we still have a better chance if we run."

Raynoel studied Lyzah carefully, his gaze narrowing.

"Little girl, I’m telling you, running is the smarter move... unless... there’s another reason why you can’t leave?"

He took a slow step forward, watching her face.

"Did you by chance receive a Fate Trial?!"

His eyes widened in realization.

"A trial?!" Izikel echoed, eyes snapping to Lyzah. "Is that why...?"

She didn’t answer.

"I’m not going to force you to stay," she said softly, only to Izikel. "But I cannot run away."

"Wait... you actually did receive a trial?" Raynoel sounded shocked. "You? A little girl?"

He let out a dry laugh. "I’ve been in the second stage of Divinity since before you could even walk. And yet a child like you gets a trial before me?"

He shook his head, biting back a bitter curse.

"What kind of twisted games is Fate playing?" he hissed. "Not just that — she made me your trial?"

Izikel watched, his breath caught in his chest.

"Lyzah... is this true?"

"No use asking," Raynoel said, waving a hand. "You know the rules. A Divine believer can’t reveal their trial to another—break that rule and the trial ends. She says anything, she fails."

Lyzah stayed silent. Her eyes locked on Raynoel, unreadable.

Raynoel grinned, dark and cruel.

"That means Fate believes there’s a version of reality where you walk out of this alive... and even manage to kill me... isn’t that just interesting,"

Izikel clenched his fists again, standing a little closer to her.