The assassin gasped, feeling the insane bloodlust rushing out of Arad. Even though he looked like a human, his glare resembled that of a large beast.
âDo you think you can protect them? Itâs only a matter before you run out of steam.â The assassin grunted, pointing his dagger at Arad.
âYou talk a lot,â Arad smiled, lifting his sword. âNo one will get hurt while I stand here.â He lifted his blade above his head, and sparks of red flame ignited it.
The assassin blinked. ^I saw that before.^ It didnât take him longer than a blink to notice, and the fine hair on his body stood.
^Itâs that bastard who came here several years ago and almost killed Lord Xaviin.^ He could see Alcottâs image in Arad, lifting his blade with zeal.
âAction Surge!â Arad growled. BOM! His sword exploded with a burst of flames.
VROOM! BAM! Arad bent his knees and jumped into the sky after the assassin, swinging his blazing blade.
The assassin lifted his daggers. âYou bastard wonât win!â He shouted, [Action Surge]
Arad aimed for the assassinâs neck, but that strike got deflected, so he aimed at the torso. The assassin wasnât letting go easily, deflecting and attempting to counter Aradâs strikes.
^Those moves, this raw power. Itâs just like him.^ The assassin grunted, deflecting Aradâs third strike. ^I wasnât able to fight last time. I didnât have any skills.^ .đđđ
CLANG! He redirected Aradâs fourth strike. ^But now itâs different. I have trained and become stronger. I wonât sit powerless like the last time.^
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! After a few rapid strikes, Arad reached the end of his eight-strike combo.
The assassin felt the lag in Aradâs movements. This was the time to strike. He pulled his dagger and tried to stab him in the neck.
^Itâs my chance. Most fighters canât attack right after using an action surge. But Iâm a trained assassin. I can pull a last strike.^ The assassin smiled, seeing his blade racing toward Aradâs neck.
SWOSH! Arad took a deep breath, loudly pulling air into his lungs. âACTION SURGE!â VROOM! He only has enough stamina for another five strikes.
[SP: 108/310] ^Just like with the bandits. I will be able to do five strikes but fail on the sixth one.^ Arad thought, but he didnât care. The assassin is in front of him.
CHOP! Arad swung his sword upward, cutting the assassinâs arm.
^The fuck? He can action surge twice? Is he a level 40 fighter?^ The assassin couldnât believe seeing his wrist flying. CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!
Arad chopped the assassinâs other limbs alongside his torso. But on the sixth strike, Aradâs vision turned red as blood started pouring from his eyes and ears. A throbbing headache devoured his head as he fell to the ground.
[Heal with blood. Some of your veins have burst.]
BOOM! The assassinâs necklace exploded as the body disappeared.
BAM! Aradâs body fell on the street.
***
BAM! The assassin reappeared inside their headquarters alongside his severed limbs. The necklace stopped the last fatal attack and teleported him back.
âDamn it! I was saving this for a big mission! Healers!â He screamed in pain, and two men rushed toward him.
âEdary, what happened to you?â One of them gasped, seeing the bloody mess.
âShut the fuck up and attach my arms and legs! Itâs fucking burns!â Edary screamed his lungs out. Aradâs flame had seared his wounds, preventing him from bleeding too much. But also making it harder to reattach his limbs.
The two healers looked at each other. âWe will put you to sleep for the time being. Donât resist the magic.â One of them put his hand on Edaryâs forehead.
[Sleep] And the assassin fell asleep. After two hours he woke up again in an empty room. His limbs are attached, but feeling awful.
âThat fucker! I will kill him.â He growled.
âNo, you wonât, Buffon.â A womanâs voice came from the room corner.
âShut up fuck up, Eris! Itâs not your job!â He glared at the brown-haired woman, glaring at him with glowing red eyes.
Eris smiled, approaching Edary. âYou need to rest for the twin mission. Itâs Connorâs decision, but I will take over for now.â
Edary sighed, âFine. I understand. We canât mess up the job.â He turned toward the bedside table, but it had no water.
âWant something?â Eris looked at him with a gentle smile.
âWater, where is it,â Edary asked, feeling his lips as dry as sand.
âYouâve been flailing your arms around, so I moved it away.â She turned around and walked toward the table at the room corner. She picked up the water jug and handed it to Edary.
âDonât drink too much. You might hurt yourself,â She said with a gentle face.
Edary looked at the jug and then at Eris. âSorry for yelling at you. Youâve been here by my sideâŚâ
âItâs my job as your mentor,â Eris sighed, âIâm used to people like you, so donât worry about it.â She shook her head, resting her fists on her hips.
Edary lifted the jug and took a large gulp of water.
âDrink slowly,â Eris sighed.
âI just need a bit of water. I lost too much blood.â Edary put the jug down with a smile. âThat felt refreshing.â
âThat guy has been spotted with Scarlett. Conner wants him dead as soon as possible so there are no unknown variables.â Eris said with a worried face. âSeeing how he defeated you, heâs dangerous.â
âThe motherfucker reminded me of that Alcott. The way he swings his blade is very similar.â He looked at Eris, âItâs possible he trained him. And heâs also a werewolf.â
Eris smiled, âI also heard he pulled the rug from beneath the thieves guild feet. Connor was right to see him as a large problem.â
Edary felt a slight burn in the back of his throat and coughed.
âAre you okay?â Eris stared at him.
âSomething is burning in my throat.â Edary grabbed his neck, gasping for air.
âI told you to not drink quickly.â Eris sighed, handing him the jug, âJust take a sip. You might feel better.â
Edary took a sip, and his head started spinning. The last thing he saw was Eris smiling, with a small paper pouch in her fingers that said. [Anti-salt]
Edary started shaking, having a stroke as Eris walked to the window. âBad luck for you Edary. But I found someone more interesting.â She smiled, jumping out.
^The anti-salt poison draws salt from the blood. Causing water to flow from it to the cells in a matter of seconds. (Water moves toward salt.) Eventually, causing Edaryâs brain to swell and crush at the walls of his skull and cause the stroke.^