"Mortal Men Must Die."
The corner of Osenfott's mouth lifted on the right side, and he suddenly suggested:
"Want to compete with me once more? If you win, I'll tell you something important."
"Compete at what?"
"With swords. We'll see who can kill the other."
As he spoke, he bent down, his rough hand reaching for the earth beneath the snow. Then he pulled a stone sword from the soil. This was the only supernatural power he had displayed so far, yet Shade still felt that he was an ordinary man.
"Why would I suddenly duel you?"
"Because you need the information I can provide."
So Shade picked up the rusty longsword:
"Fine, then. I hope you can tell me exactly what you want to say before you die. If you die, I'll take your corpse to your manor and retrieve the statue I want."
He actually knew that Stone Osenfott possessed a certain degree of an Undying Body. Haila Osenfott had mentioned it that morning.
Clang!
The stone sword smashed down toward Shade's head, but Shade raised his longsword to block it. The force behind the stone sword was far beyond his expectations. Even with Shade's current physical abilities, he felt that the other man was stronger than him.
The rusty sword in his hand was fairly sturdy, but its blade had already bent into a subtle curve. Seeing that Stone Osenfott truly intended to kill him, Shade stopped holding back as well.
He raised his right foot and kicked hard at the man's abdomen. As Osenfott bent over and staggered backward, Shade immediately followed, gripping his sword with both hands and bringing it down fiercely from the upper right without mercy.
This time, Osenfott raised his stone sword to block. The impact of stone against metal made both