The A-Rank assassin was hiding inside the house of a family.
This was the third house where he had hidden. He had been hiding here for several hours already, using his stealth abilities to enter the house undetected. Even the family of beastmen living here knew nothing of his presence.
Even so, it did not mean the situation was good.
He had lost one arm, and although he had already applied first aid himself, a sharp pain attacked him occasionally, reminding him of his now gone arm.
Moreover, he could hear the sounds of beastmen soldiers combing the streets of the city, searching in each house for traces of him.
That was the reason he had changed hideouts twice already.
Even so, he knew he could be found at any moment.
In fact, around half an hour ago, he heard sounds of battle coming from the distance. When the assassin heard it, he instinctively realized that the other assassin that escaped the silver-haired demon had been caught.
… The silver-haired demon.
Even now, each time the assassin remembered her, he felt shivers in his spine.
Her beautiful face, her ice-cold eyes, and her chilling killing intent suppressing everything around her.
Furthermore, her overwhelming power.
He felt he had used all the luck in his life when he escaped her.
He had already prepared himself to die when he accepted this mission. But when he found himself facing the power of that silver-haired demon, he was overwhelmed by fear and his mind turned blank.
He only managed to evade her attacks thanks to his sharp instincts honed after years of missions.
In fact, when he just escaped the silver-haired demon, he found his luck quite suspicious.
With the strength of that demon, he was sure she could easily track and then kill him.
That was the reason he did not return to his boss when he escaped and instead moved from hideout to hideout. Because he suspected he had been let escape in purpose.
But that suspicion had disappeared almost completely now.
No matter what trick he used, he could not detect traces of the silver-haired demon or anyone else tracking him.
Thus, he finally believed that his escape was real.
Thinking about it, perhaps the reason the silver-haired demon did not chase after him immediately was that she needed to treat the girl they injured.
In other words, he was lucky.
Sighing in relief again, the assassin continued waiting in this hideout silently.
Soon, he realized the sun was about to rise again.
The assassin started to move then. He knew that the soldiers were still searching for him, but at this time of the day and after one night of harsh search, even the most disciplined soldier could not help but become slightly lax.
And as an experienced A-Rank assassin, he was confident he could make use of the gap created by this to move through the city undetected.
Everything went according to his expectations. Making use of his outstanding stealth, he moved through the city undetected, finally climbing over the walls and advancing towards a forest nearby.
He kept his guard up during the entire time. Even when he entered the forest, he was carefully observing his surroundings to make sure nobody was following him.
But when he failed to find anyone, even an experienced assassin like him could not help but let out a sigh of relief.
He then moved through the forest at great speed. Finally reaching a cave hidden behind dense foliage and entering in it.
Inside the cave, there was a maze with countless possible paths. Even the most experienced explorer would need several weeks to find the right path through it.
But the assassin moved through that maze with great familiarity, as though he had been here hundreds of times. And finally, he reached his destination.
A small room located in the depths of the maze.
A man was waiting for him there.
Nothing could be seen about this man besides the black cloak covering his body. Even his face seemed covered by shadows and was impossible to recognize.
"You are here." The cloaked man said.
The assassin kneeled respectfully and bowed his head. "Boss."
"Were you the only one that survived? You were not followed, right?"
"Nobody followed me. As for the others, I fear they died."
"It means you failed, huh."
"… Yes." The assassin said with a bitter voice. "We only managed to injure one of the girls, but I don't know if she survived or not. Before we could injure the others, a demigod arrived and killed almost all our men."
"Is it so?" The mysterious man sighed regretfully. "It's a shame. Things would have been easier if you succeeded."
"I'm sorry."
"It doesn't matter. This was just one of our many plans. It would have been great if it succeeded, but we will not be affected even if it failed." The mysterious man said indifferently. He then looked at the assassin kneeling in front of him. "You know what to do now, right?"
The assassin nodded silently.
"… I must pay the price for failing the mission of our god." After saying that, he took out his dagger, and without hesitating, he stabbed his own heart with it.
The mysterious man nodded satisfied. "Your soul will be received in our god's divine realm. Rest in peace."
After saying that, the mysterious man prayed silently for several seconds before his figure vanished from the cave.
Even until the end, he failed to notice the small insect on a wall of the room.
No, he noticed the insect. But in the end, there were tens of insects like that spread around the caves.
There was nothing special about one more.
…
At the same time, in the Boerner Elven Forest.
*Swish!*
With a swift movement, an elven demigod decapitated a man.
He was the last of the assassins that attacked their group.
"How strange." The elven demigod said with a frown. "These assassins are a bit too weak to attack a group guarded by demigods."
"Perhaps they just wanted to test the waters?" Another elven demigod shrugged indifferently. "Anyway, we were already expecting an attack."
"… You are right." The first elven demigod nodded. He then looked at the six young elves that would represent them in the battle for the mines.
Including Princess Elwha, each one of the six elves was an outstanding member of the younger generation.
And of them, only one had been injured during the attack of the assassins.
"Are you alright, Ethen?" The demigod asked.
"… I'm alright. It was just an injury on my arm."
The demigod nodded.
"That assassin was pretty good. If I'm one second later, Ethen would have died."
"Who do you think the ones behind it are?" Princess Elwha asked while frowning.
"Is it not obvious?" One of the B-Rank elves sneered disdainfully. "The assassins were humans, and only humans like to play this kind of trick."
Princess Elwha thought for a moment before nodding.
"… It looks like the Sun Kingdom is determined to get the mines this time."
...
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