"Can you sense them now?" the 6th asked in concern. Mane didn't reply but sent his thoughts to state that he had.
"His scent has been carefully masked, but it's still discernible." Mane conversed solely in his thoughts. He didn't want to be seen talking to 'himself', especially when those stalking him were his enemies. Although he lost his concentration for a moment, allowing the assassins to come ridiculously close, once he regained it, he had noticed their presence. These assassins were very clearly professionals, not daring to underestimate him even though they didn't feel an ounce of energy from him. Actually Mane wished they would be unprofessional so he could take advantage of them.
Due to his heightened senses, his nose had immediately picked up two strange fragrances in the air. He assumed that was a feature of his new physique, because he was certain that assassins didn't use perfumes. That would be very silly since it would just give them away. He knew that what he smelled was actually the body fragrance unique to each person, one that many chose to hide with perfumes. It wasn't anything unusual in a place that was usually filled with people. There were many times Mane had come across 'sneaky' couples in his walk, so this shouldn't have been a cause for alarm. However, their movements were so well practiced that even their footsteps were like whispers, audible only to the keenest of ears. Their steps were too well practised to be considered normal, meaning they were high level wielders. Although they hadn't leaked out any of their energy, their actions put them in the bracket of 'high level' wielders. According to Zandor's rating, they should be SSS level wielders. These were wielders at the peak of the mortal Realm. Although Mane's level of strength wasn't common knowledge in the Academy, it seemed like overkill to send such powerhouses after him. Of course if he could use the edict right now, or even access chaos, they would be ants in his sight. Now though, the wolf had been miniaturised into an existence smaller than the ant. But it was still a wolf.
Mane walked calmly, not giving away the fact that he had discovered them, whilst thinking that whoever wanted him killed must surely think highly of him to send such existences after him. After all, these were existences at Zandor's peak. Not only were they incredibly expensive to enlist, they were way too rare and would hardly work under anyone. His enemy must be very influential here on Zandor.
His keen ears had also picked up their faint voices, informing him that they were aware that he was currently without any energy. This allowed him to understand that there was either a traitor in his extremely small circle, or that they had an energy assessment equipment. Mane was highly doubtful that there was a traitor amongst his friends. Even Selina and Frederick weren't considered as suspects. This wasn't because he had great trust in his friends. But he would rather believe in them than he would accuse them. Plus his brain calmly analysed and excluded this possibility. Abe definitely had the backing to pull this off, but the boy was too proud to have someone take care of things for him. He knew Abe well enough to know that the brown haired prince would rather kill him personally if he wanted Mane dead, than to send a bunch of shadows after him. The twins also had this level of capability, since they belonged to an influential and wealthy family. However, their adoration for him wasn't feigned. Even if it was- that is a tiny possibility of course- their father was known for being an upright man. There was no way he would hand over two powerful assassins for such a 'silly' cause. Plus both the twins and Abe were ten year olds. Their parents would never hand such power over to them. Only if they knew their kids were way stronger. Mane got distracted again thinking of what their reactions will be when they found out what kind of strength their kids had.
"Kid?" the 6th called out. "Oh right. Two guys are after me." Mane ruled out Selina. And Frederick too. Frederick may have a good reason to come after him, vis a vis his injured brother, but he didn't have such 'fire power'.
This left the second option as the only viable one- an energy assessment artefact. These kind of artefacts were very rare and extremely expensive. It served to emphasize the kind of backing that these men had. In the midst of his thoughts, he kept track of his 'guests'. He noticed that one of them had disappeared, meaning they were ready to attack. In war, numbers were always an advantage. But in assassinations, this wasn't always so. At times, having someone you were not familiar with, working with you caused your strength to plummet, and not rise. This is why training as a team was so crucial. From the way these two acted, this wasn't their first rodeo and it definitely wasn't their second. They seemed to have a pretty good understanding of each other.
Meaning that the 'missing' partner was going to implement the known rule of acting from different fronts. They were just two, but they had him surrounded. He knew they wanted him to turn before they killed him, an excellent move if he could say so himself. In that brief moment when his balance was slightly compromised, it would be perfect for any of them to attack. Plus added to the fact that when he turned he would be able to see the assassin who wasn't hidden was brilliant. This was meant to disorient the blond haired boy, who would be expected to be surprised at the new entry and respond with the reflexive yet cliché question, "Who are you?" With his focus fully on one, the other would strike him from the back, finishing him off with only one blow. A meticulous plan. One that would waste no time and prevent a commotion so that they could escape afterwards without much trouble. They may be at the peak of the mortal realm, but this was the Wielder Academy. There were famous figures who resided here, so they had to be cautious.
"Stop praising people who want to murder you and prepare yourself. There is no way you can escape them. The strength you have must be saved for an all out fight." Mane blushed at the first sentence of the 2nd. The redness on his cheeks disappeared with the sentences that followed. He prepared himself for the bitter fight. This was definitely not his enemies' first rodeo, but Mane was hoping he could make it their last.