"You guys all right?" I asked as I proceeded toward the surviving soldiers. They were limping toward us, the sergeant helping one of his severely wounded comrades who was missing an arm. They had hastily tied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, but we had to get him to a healer mage as quickly as possible.
Then only it would be possible to restore his arm.
"Yeah. We survived. That's more than we can say for the others."
The sergeant looked grim and weary. I didn't blame him. They had just been through hell, after battling against a surgically and combat drug-enhanced killing machine designed for the sole purpose of wiping out entire command hierarchies. I was surprised that they actually won and survived. Even White Tiger had disintegrated from the earlier bio-meltdown, unable to withstand the deadly explosion. I had to dismiss him before the pain got too bad.
"We'll have to get him back to the northern shelter," Alicia said urgently, but the soldiers waved her back.
"We will. But first we've to make sure everyone is safe."
A scream from the civilians from another group near the stairs alerted us to a new danger. A couple of Dark Apes had emerged from somewhere and ambushed them. I was worried about my friends who had already left the shelter and were supposedly scouting ahead upstairs to ensure that there were no other dangers. If the Dark Apes managed to slip past them, then it could mean one of a few things. That they were…
"Go help them," Vincent told me tiredly. He was still wounded from his combat against the Frenzor Assassin and wasn't in any shape to fight. He gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry, but you're the only one who's still in any condition to battle."
"Ah, right." I snapped out of my stupor. This wasn't the time for pointless speculation. My friends were either all right, or they were not. Regardless, I would only find out after slaying these Dark Apes and checking on them upstairs. Kicking off the ground, I drew Gan Jiang and Mo Ye before lunging at the Dark Apes. Behind me, Alicia provided long-ranged fire support, but she was hindered by the civilians who were blocking her line of sight from the Dark Apes that were attacking them. The people who we were supposed to save were between us and her targets.
No wonder Vincent told me to go over to help. Alicia's long-ranged attacks weren't going to be of much use here.
"Kree!"
The Dark Apes screeched and hooted as they maimed a couple of fleeing civilians. One man went down, screaming as his back was torn open, revealing his spine. A woman's shriek was cut short as her head was severed from her shoulders, flying across the air and striking the wall like a damp ball before crashing back down with a wet thud.
Damn it…I was too late. There weren't many civilians left to save. This mission would be largely written off as a failure.
But at least I had achieved my objective. The priority was to rescue Alicia's father, and we had achieved that. I might sound callous, but that was the whole reason why I volunteered for this in the first place. That wasn't to say I wouldn't feel regret or guilt over the lives lost, and I briefly wondered if there was anything I could have done differently to save more people. I was still a long way from becoming like my dad.
Dad saved me, a complete stranger. He was selfless, valiant and noble, despite his cavalier attitude. I doubted he prioritized any life over others – if he was here, he would have saved the majority at the expense of the minority without any hesitation. Even if I was in danger – in the end, I was just a boy he adopted at a whim, to train to be his successor. If my death expedited the rescue of countless civilians, he would sacrifice me without a second though.
Unfortunately, I couldn't be as selfless and unwavering as him.
What I could do, however, was save the people right in front of me.
Cutting in between the Dark Apes and the escaping civilians, I swung both swords out and caught two of the Dark Apes by surprise. The first one went down when my blade cleaved through its throat, almost decapitating it. The second one staggered back, a cut on its chest. It snarled and lashed at me.
Then Capricorn materialized right above it and stomped it into oblivion with his hooves. The goat then twisted its head around to head-butt a third with his horns, flinging it against the wall.
I finished it off by beheading it. With my Capricorn standing guard, I began to lead the exodus up the stairs. Without the Frenzor Assassins, there was no reason for me to stay behind and maintain my soul beasts.
Already feeling the slow burn of exhaustion and mana drain, I had dismissed Black Tortoise earlier, after the messy and explosive death of the second Frenzor Assassin. Alicia and her father seemed safe, and more than willing to take up the rearguard with the soldiers…
"Father, watch out!"
I spun around at Alicia's warning. One of the city council members had sprang forward while everyone was distracted by the Dark Apes to plant a sword in the back of Vincent Violet. However, Alicia sensed that something was amiss, and she reacted in time. Pushing her father out of the way, she ended up being stabbed in the chest.
The assassin's sword flickered, almost seeming invisible. A phase weapon that could penetrate any magical barrier. Even if Alicia had conjured a defensive spell in time, it would still pass through her mana shield and plunge into her heart.
"Ah…"
Alicia glanced down dumbly at the sword that protruded from her chest. Blood dribbled from both her lips and the wound on her chest, and she slumped down.
"Alicia!"
Vincent punched the assassin furiously, crumpling his face and breaking bone. The man flew across the shelter and slammed into the ground before bouncing several times like a rag doll that had been thrown by a brat in a tantrum.
I recognized the man as the guy who mentioned earlier about me gaining an attribute. About me obtaining total immunity to poison because I trained next to the Holy Spring. Even though his face had been bashed beyond recognition, I could still tell that it was him from his clothes and unmistakable figure.
The stocky guy and Vincent immediately knelt by Alicia's side, trying to stem the bleeding. The soldiers hurried over, but even though their movements were urgent I could tell from their expressions that it was too late.
No way…
I sprinted over, ignoring the outraged civilians and abandoning my duty to save them. Fuck them. Alicia was dying over there, and they only cared about their own safety? How many of us had sacrificed ourselves to save them?
Of course, that was just me spouting raging hyperbole. They probably were just as shocked by the sudden murder as we were. At that moment, I wasn't thinking clearly, and I was raging at everyone and everybody. The whole world couldn't be trusted. The whole world was out to get us. Understandably, this was right after a moment when I thought we were safe, that we were among comrades.
Then this treachery happened.
"What the fuck are you doing, Rayner?!" the stocky man hollered furiously. "Why the hell did you kill Violet's girl?!"
"He wasn't even aiming for my daughter," Vincent corrected, his voice trembling. "He was aiming for me. Alicia…Alicia took the hit in my place. She saved me."
"F…Father…"
Alicia forced a weak smile as she raised a hand to his cheek. Vincent's hands, bloodied from trying to stop the bleeding in her chest, immediately rose to clasp hers.
"Don't speak, darling. We'll get you healed, I swear…"
"…are you all right?"
"Yes, yes, I'm all right. You will be too, okay? We'll get a healer…just hang in there. Don't you give up on me, you hear?!"
I dropped to my knees, unable to control my emotions. For all the magic I had learned, healing was not one of them. If only the damned Holy Spring blessed me with healing magic or something! If only we had thought to bring Pearl along, no matter how exhausted she was! If only…if only…
All those speculation was useless in the present.
The sergeant advanced toward the assassin, his face a mask of rage and his carbine aimed at the fallen man.
No, not man.
The assassin was rising to his feet now, his deformed features melting away and reforming into a more feminine face. Her chest was swelling a little and her pants expanded as her hips widened.
A shapeshifter!
"An Assassin from the Deceivum Sect." Vincent's tone was murderous. "So you've always been hiding among us."
"I don't think I've to ask what happened to the real Rayner," the stocky man muttered dryly. I glanced at the both of them, bewildered.
"The what sect?" one of the soldiers asked.
"Deceivum. The Assassin Guild is broken into several sects, each with their own specializations. The Frenzor Sect, as you've experienced, is a master of terror tactics, unleashing superhuman berserkers enhanced by combat drugs and experimental surgeries to wipe out entire command hierarchies and intimidate organizations into submission. The Veneneum Sect specializes in poison – you saw that female Assassin with the poisoned daggers earlier. The Umbra Sect teaches its followers the art of stealth and swordsmanship, stemming from the shinobi arts of ancient Japan. The Pavlichenko Sect, which specializes in snipers and guns. And the Deceivum Sect, who trains its assassins in shapeshifting magic and infiltration."
Holy hell…then how do we know if any among us wasn't from the Deceivum Sect?!
"That is correct," the shapeshifting woman agreed. She shook her head and sighed in disappointment. "Just when I thought you had lowered your guard…I didn't expect your daughter to sense the threat and react in reflex."
"Who hired you?! And why are you trying to assassinate Director Vincent Violet?" the sergeant demanded as he closed in on her. The lady merely chuckled as she toyed with her phase sword, not at all intimidated. It was clear that she thought she could easily eliminate the sergeant anytime she wanted.
But the moment she did, the other two soldiers and I would shoot her.
"I thought the answer would be obvious. Don't you already know who my employer is?"
"The Dark Church," the stocky man murmured. "Of course."
"Exactly. As to why I targeted Director Violet…it's nothing personal, really. My mission was to eliminate the City Council, but he always had his guard up against me. He remains the biggest threat, being the only combatant in the City Council. It was only now that he temporarily lowered his guard, in the lull of battle, that I finally found a chance to strike. But even then, I didn't expect his daughter…"
"Bitch…!" the sergeant snarled. He reached out to apprehend her. "I'm sure the Intelligence Agency will have some questions for you…"
He then suddenly jerked back when the Deceivum Assassin's phase sword flashed through the front of his face. He raised his carbine in reflex, parrying the block, but the shimmering blade vibrated so rapidly that it was able to cut through partway. Fortunately, the sergeant's gun was still a magical weapon and it held strong.
"Why, you…"
The sergeant was about to retaliate, but the Deceivum Assassin kicked him in the gut. The sergeant grunted and stumbled back, doubled over from the blow. However, she continued to hold him close, almost using him as a shield against the ranged weapons of the other two soldiers and me.
Damn it! I realized that she had planned this all along. The reason why she hadn't attacked earlier was because she wanted to lure the sergeant in, and then use him to block our line of view, thus neutralizing our ranged firepower!
"Thank you," she told the staggering sergeant before plunging her phase sword into his collarbone. The two soldiers beside me shouted in impotent anger, and my fingers tightened on my arrow, but I suppressed the desire to release it.
I wasn't going to kill an innocent person for the sake of my revenge.
However, at this rate, the sergeant would die anyway. Even if I didn't shoot him along with the Assassin, her phase sword would carve him apart in the next two seconds. I might as well…
Her weapon never reached him.
"…eh?"
The Deceivum Assassin blinked before stupidly staring at her right arm. Or what remained of her right arm. It was nothing more than a bleeding stump, the entire limb torn off right below the elbow.
She then turned around and spotted Vincent Violet beside her. He casually tossed away the severed hand he had just ripped off – the phase sword still clutched tightly in its grip, and then sank his fist onto her chest. The punch erupted from her back in a shower of blood and bone, and the Deceivum Assassin slumped over.
"T…thanks…"
The sergeant gasped as he straightened up, bowing gratefully. Vincent Violet merely nodded and then callously dumped the shapeshifting assassin's corpse onto the ground.
"Shouldn't you have captured her, to interrogate her?" the stocky City Council member asked as he approached.
"She killed my daughter," Vincent Violet replied simply, his tone icy.
"I understand how you feel, but you can better avenge her by finding out where the Dark Church and other Assassins are…if there are any more of her kin planted among us…"
"She's an Assassin. Do you think she will give her secrets up?" Vincent Violet turned to stare at the stocky man, who faltered when he saw his frosty expression. "They are trained to withstand torture, never mind the…comparatively mild interrogative methods that the Global Federation employs that align with human rights and whatnot. If anything, she will kill herself before we'll be able to extract any useful information from her. At worst, she'll escape, leaving a trail of blood and death behind. And with her shapeshifting abilities, it'll be near impossible to catch her again."
"You are right, of course."
"The Dark Church…" Vincent Violet clenched his fist violently, the furious Armament Ba Qi still coating it and visibly manifesting in a near-solid form. "I'll make sure they pay for this."