Chapter 48: The Hunter And The Hunted
[Twenty Minutes Later.]
"Boss, why are those two heading back inside the haunted house?" One asked in confusion. They had tracked their targets perfectly, but instead of fleeing into the crowds, the prey was isolating themselves.
"I have no idea, come on, we mustn’t lose them."
The three rushed inside the house, and paused, staring at the dark decorations all over the place. The haunted house was dimmed, with candles, and torches all over... The three stared at the passage before them, a slight frown appearing on the Leader’s face. The atmosphere was designed to be scary for tourists, but to trained killers, it felt unnervingly like a tailored execution ground.
"Watch your back... I can no longer sense him, but I can still sense our target." He said, his professional instincts screaming that something was fundamentally wrong with this layout.
"Did he leave her behind?" One asked in confusion.
"No, with the intel we got, he isn’t that type." The Boss said, drawing his dagger, the dark metal absorbing the sparse candlelight.
"But it’s Impossible, we three are SS-RANK Shadow Assassin, with Dark elements; only a light element Assassin can detect our presence... Not to mention he is just a B-Rank Awakened." One said in shock, drawing his dagger. To them, the laws of the Awakened world were absolute. A B-Rank could no more hide from an SS-Rank than a mouse could hide from a hawk.
"Don’t you fools get it yet... If he is truly a B-Rank, why would they send three SS-RANK? One is enough to deal with him." He said, and started walking inside the narrow hallway, his guard raised to the absolute maximum.
"But no matter what he is up to, today, we will show him we aren’t ordinary Awakened." He said, as the darkness seems to merge with him, and he turned invisible.
The other two nodded their heads, and also vanished, turning invisible. They melted perfectly into the artificial shadows of the attraction.
Asher walked out from their back, his eyes cold: ’By using Killing Intent, I concealed my presence, even SS-RANK Shadow Assassins couldn’t detect me, but I can’t turn invisible like these guys... Although I have an ultimate defense, there are still abilities that bypass defense, and the description says soul Defense blocks attacks, not magical attacks... I will have to test this out, if I can’t block magical attacks, this skill will be lacking.’
He was no longer just a reactionary fighter; he was analyzing his System with the critical eye of a scholar, constantly looking for his own fatal flaws before his enemies could find them. If he wants to grow stronger, he have to take in any possible scenarios.
Asher walked into the passage, following the Aura of the three assassins ahead of him:
’If it can’t block against magic Attacks, I will have to train harder. Anyway, I still have two more powerful skills, and two Divine-Tier Skill books I haven’t used yet.’ He thought, staring at his hand.
’My other skills are Flash, and soul Linked. Flash is an Assassin skill, as a swordsman, I gained such a skill; it only means I can use all skills from all stages. Soul Linked proves this, this is a Priest ability, not for combat but best for tracking...’ He clenched his hand, as Juliana’s Heaven-Tier sword appeared.
{Skill: Sword Proficiency Activated - Rank increased from B-Rank to A-Rank.}
__
After walking through the dark house, the three finally reached the main hall, they moved their gazes around, taking in their surroundings.
Around the hall were torches lined up on the walls, and at the center was a bone throne, sitting on it was no one other than the cold Queen. She was relaxed, her posture exuding an absolute, terrifying authority that didn’t match her zero spirit energy signature.
They blinked, they were still invisible, and Kelly was an ordinary human, so there was no way she could see them, but why was she smiling?
WHOOSH!
Feeling the cold air from behind them, deep in the hallway, the three quickly leaped forward, turning midair, and landed lightly on their feet, not making a single sound. Their coordination was flawless, born from years of slaughter.
They pulled their also invisible daggers, staring at the entrance in disbelief and surprise, as Asher walked inside:
’It is already so late, so we are the only ones here... Just what I wanted.’ Asher thought, turning his head to the three invisible Assassins. He didn’t want civilian casualties, and he didn’t want witnesses.
"Stop hiding, I can see through your stealth." He said, his voice flat, devoid of any fear.
"....?!"
The three looked at one another, and shook their heads. There was no way a B-Rank Awakened can detect their existence, so he might be trying to lure them out.
’But still, why didn’t we sense him? We are the best assassins for tracking, but we couldn’t sense him at all.’ The leader thought, a cold bead of sweat rolling down his neck, and the next moment, Asher vanished.
".....?!"
{Flash Activated.}
He instantly appeared behind one, and swung the space splitting sword, going straight for the kill. He moved with the sudden, violent grace of a natural disaster.
’He actually saw through our skill!!’ The Assassin quickly turned around, raising his dagger to defend, relying on his superior SS-Rank stats.
BAM!!!!
Asher’s sword smashed right into the dagger, instantly shattering the blade into halves. The Assassin leaped backward, creating distance from Asher, as he revealed himself, staring at his half blade in shock:
"This is an Earth-Tier weapon... And where did you gain a Heaven-Tier weapon?" He asked, his voice trembling as the sheer financial and martial impossibility of the situation set in.
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk... So that’s why they sent three of us."
The other two revealed themselves, staring at Asher with killing intent, realizing they were not the hunters, but the prey.
"Okay Husband, why don’t you put on a good show for me to watch? I can’t remember the last time I watched a fight between Awakened." Kelly said with a smile, resting her jaw on her fist, staring at them with a smirk. She wasn’t just completely unbothered; she was entertained, which confused the three.
"....?!"
The three Assassins stared at their target with small frowns, they were three SS-RANK Shadow Assassins, while her husband is only a B-Rank, why was she so confident he will win? It was an insult to their pride.
"If that is your wish, I can only accept." Asher said, stepping into his role as her shield and executioner. The next moment; a wave of red energy burst out from him, smashing heavily on the three Assassins, instantly reducing their speed by 90%.
"What is this?!!!"
"My Agility stats!!!"
"Shit!!!"
{Sword Sovereign Activated.}
The three exclaimed, panic finally overriding their training, as Asher moved, vanishing, and reappearing behind them in less than one second. The world seemed to pause for him alone.
The three Assassins stared at their bodies, which were still rooted on the ground, their eyes wide opened:
{Judgement Strike Activated.}
’Wait, isn’t that our bodies?’
THUD X3
Their heads struck the ground, followed by the bodies. The fight was over before they could even formulate a counterattack.
"Uh? So boring, I thought they were strong, it seems SS-RANK are nothing." Kelly said with a slight frown, genuinely disappointed by the brief spectacle.
Asher shook his head, looking down at the carnage. They are indeed strong, but the skills he just used were all Divine-Tier, and adding to Sword Proficiency which was Celestial-Tier, and his Celestial-Tier Sword Physique... They were simply not a match. The hierarchy meant nothing when measured against the System.
’Skills indeed create huge gaps between ranks... Normally, A B-Rank, no, even an SS-RANK rank won’t be able to use a Divine-Tier Skill, but I am different, this difference is my greatest advantage.’