May you return satisfied to your rest.

He stepped out onto the roof and greeted me.

"Hello, Harold"

"Do you remember your name?" I asked.

"My name is Sergei Korchaviv. More commonly known as The Faceless Bastard."

I nodded.

"You ready?"

I nodded and pulled my guns out.

"To the death?"

"It wouldn't be right otherwise," I answered.

He nodded this time. I pointed my guns at him and he placed one hand on his mask the other holding his machete flung out to his left.

I fired and he darted to the right sliding his mask up. The birds launched outwards obscuring my view of him as they flew towards me. I shot at them rapidly thinning their numbers before they reached me. They struck and I dodged and fired. Then suddenly they retreated and he struck. I blocked his slash with my gun and brought my gun up to shoot him but he grabbed my wrist.

We stood like that, Face to Faceless, for a few minutes. Then the birds flew back in. I dropped backwards pulling him over me to block the attack and heard him hiss in pain as the birds unintentionally stabbed him with their beaks, I tossed him off quickly fired at the birds taking the last few out then rose getting on him before he could recover. I placed the gun under his chin as my other hand held his sword arm down. His lips twisted into a smile.

There was a catch. There was always a catch. I had known the catch going in. I knew the worst possible outcome. The worst thing that could possibly happen. I'd win.

I pulled the trigger.