Klaus stood there, staring at a shadow to his right. If anyone else were around, they might think he was drunk, unable to tell left from right. That is because he was just standing there looking to his right for no reason, however, he knew why he was staring there. He remained fixated on the shadow, waiting for something to happen.
He stood like that for a whole minute, but nothing changed about the shadow. Still, Klaus didn’t move.
“Look, I’ve known you were there for a while. I even gave you time to make a move, but you didn’t. So it’s best if you come out and we talk. Maybe you’ll get a third chance to stab me,” Klaus said suddenly, smiling at the shadow.
This time, after half a minute of waiting, the shadow shifted and began to transform. In an instant, a woman appeared. She had short dark hair, dark eyelids, and a refined bone structure. Some might think a woman with short hair couldn’t compare to a long-haired beauty, but this lady wore her hair with confidence.
Klaus raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. Given what he knew, he wasn’t about to guess her age. Even though she looked like someone in her early twenties, she was a Great Sage. That alone is enough to tell him she wasn’t someone young.
“That wasn’t hard, was it?” Klaus said, eyeing the lady who held a dagger with an emotionless gaze. She wasn’t wearing her mask this time, clearly not in the mood to play games. After all, she was there to kill him.
Klaus, for some reason, didn’t know whether to laugh or take the lady seriously. She stood there, looking back at him with emotionless eyes. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of coldness; it was as if she had no presence at all.
“Are you going to just stand there, or are we going to have a conversation?” he asked, crossing his arms. He didn’t mind staring at her all day; he was confident she wouldn’t be able to kill him.
The woman tightened her grip on the dagger but remained silent. Her eyes stayed cold and devoid of emotion.
“Look, you’ve already had two chances to kill me, and you failed both times. So I think it’s safe to say the third time won’t be any different. Besides, I don’t think you really want to kill me. After all, as an assassin, you shouldn’t let your target know who you are. Am I wrong?”
He watched her closely, searching for a reaction. The tension between them hung in the air, thick and palpable.
Suddenly, she spoke. “How did you notice my presence?” Her tone was flat and matter-of-fact, sweet.
“Good question. I don’t mind telling you, but before that, can you put that dagger away? If someone walks by and sees you holding it, they might get the wrong idea,” Klaus said, pointing at the dagger in her grip.
She hesitated for a moment before dropping the dagger into her shadow, where it vanished from sight.
“Fascinating,” Klaus said, mesmerized by how she handled the dagger. He looked back at her and smiled.
“Although this may seem unorthodox, do you want to grab a drink or something? Standing here feels weird. We might as well find a nicer place to talk before we go back to being hunter and prey.”
This time, the lady showed a reaction to hearing Klaus’s request. She raised an eyebrow, clearly taken aback by his suggestion. “You want to have a drink with me?”
Klaus shrugged. “Why not? It’s not every day you get to chat with an assassin. Plus, I find it hard to believe you’re just a mindless killer. There’s got to be more to you than that. Plus, don’t you want to know me more in other to plan your next assassination attempt, not that you will succeed anyway”
She studied him, her expression back to her unreadable state. “You think this is a game?”
“Not a game, just a different approach to the situation,” Klaus replied. “Besides, if we’re going to continue this dance of hunter and prey, it might help to know each other a little better. I also want to have a drink or something so that helps too”
After a moment of silence, she relented. “Fine.”
“Deal,” Klaus said, his smile widening. “There’s a café just down the street. They serve great coffee. We can talk there.” He had already used his senses to pick the perfect spot for a drink with his assassin.
Without saying much, they made their way to the coffee shop and sat down in a corner where the light was dim. Klaus didn’t know what her talent was, but with her affinity for shadows, he guessed it had something to do with darkness. So, he chose a darker corner for their conversation.
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A waiter soon arrived and served them a hot pot of coffee. Klaus, being Klaus, immediately took a gulp, not even glancing at the assassin who was now observing him with a curious gaze.
She couldn’t believe her eyes. She had come to kill him, so how on earth had she ended up sitting across from each other, drinking coffee? It was unbelievable, yet here they were, and she couldn’t wrap her mind around it.
“What are you doing?” she finally asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Just enjoying my coffee,” Klaus replied, leaning back in his chair. “You should try it. It’s pretty good.”
“Is this some kind of strategy?” She asked, narrowing her eyes. “You think this will distract me from my mission?”
“Not at all,” Klaus said, shaking his head. “But why not enjoy a moment before we dive back into the serious stuff? Life’s too short to be all business.”
She stared at him, still unsure. “You’re very calm for someone who should be on high alert.”
Klaus chuckled. “You’ve had two chances to kill me, and you didn’t take them. I think it’s safe to say I have a little time before I need to worry.”
She frowned, her curiosity growing. “So, what do you think will happen next?”
“I’m hoping we can talk,” Klaus replied. “I want to know more about you. Why you do what you do, and maybe, just maybe, we can find some common ground.”
She leaned forward, intrigued despite herself. “You really think we can find common ground?”
“Why not?” Klaus said with a grin. “We’re both just trying to navigate this crazy world, right? Who knows? You might even find me interesting.”
Once again, she raised an eyebrow at Klaus. Interesting. He really was intriguing. Not everyone would be bold—or foolish—enough to break bread with their assassin, yet the white-haired young man was doing just that.
Klaus’s behavior struck her as strange. She wanted to believe this wasn’t happening, but as she looked into his eyes behind the sunglasses, she knew she wasn’t in a dream. This was reality.
“Why are you so relaxed?” She asked, her curiosity piqued. “Don’t you understand the danger you’re in?”
Klaus leaned back in his chair, a confident smile on his face. “I understand perfectly. But if I spend all my time worrying, I’ll miss moments like this. Besides, if you really wanted to kill me, you would have tried it by now.”
“So instead of dwelling on the danger I’m in, why don’t you tell me who placed their seal on you and turned you into their killing machine?” After gulping down a mouthful of coffee and savoring every flavor, Klaus suddenly asked.
The Assassin lady’s hands shook as she was about to reach for her coffee. Her gaze shifted, and she looked at Klaus with wide eyes.
“How… How do you… How do you…?” She tried to form a sentence, but she was so shocked that she didn’t know what to say. Her mind went blank, not knowing what to say in response.
Klaus smiled at her reaction. “Why don’t we do this another way? I am Klaus Hanson, and you are…”