It was midnight and most people were deep asleep.
A dark figure was moving in the shadows around the Guild, quietly and carefully, avoiding any night guards.
The figure ultimately stopped below a window and took out a knife. The blade shined in the moonlight for a second, before it was jammed between the cracks of the wood.
With a quiet clack, the window opened and the dark figure quietly jumped in.
It was a room of one of the warriors. It was nothing special; a table and a chair, a chest for personal belongings, and a bed.
Currently, a person was peacefully sleeping there, completely oblivious to the unwanted guest.
It was Gerald's room, and he was the one sleeping.
The assassin did not waste any time and grabbed the dagger with both hands and stabbed it towards Gerald's chest, where his heart was. The blade easily pierced the blanket, but then…
Clang!
"Clang?" The assassin turned his head in confusion. He just hit something metallic on the victim's chest.
Gerald, of course, woke up from the impact and sound. He sat up and shouted, "Who's there?!"
The room was almost pitch-black so he quickly used his Magic Eyes to see better. The shape of the attacker was immediately clear in his mind.
The assassin did not want to give him any opportunities to react and quickly attacked again, this time going for Gerald's unguarded neck.
But just before the dagger reached the skin, an iron hand grabbed the dagger and blocked its advance.
"Shit," the assassin quietly cursed and let go of the dagger. He jumped a few steps back and took out a short sword and another dagger, each in one hand.
Then started a chant:
"By the power of my mind,
With the omnipresent wind,
Guide my hands out of despair,
And let my beauty, of twin blades, sing! Wind Body!"
Gerald noticed how the assassin's Mana surged and he suddenly sped up, his hands becoming a blur.
It was like he became one with the wind, and the attacks fell upon Gerald like rain. The clothes on his body were shredded in a second, but his flesh was surprisingly just fine.
Every time the knife or sword tried to cut or stab in his skin, it was like it encountered stone, leaving only a shallow mark on the surface.
Gerald was unable to follow the attacks and could only passively defend, but that didn't mean he was at a disadvantage. After all, his enemy was completely unable to harm him.
"What is this?!" The assassin noticed his attacks had little effect so he stopped and jumped back once again.
"By the power of my mind,
With the omnipresent wind,
Lend your power now to me,
To cut in half my enemy! Wind Blade!" The assassin chanted right after putting away his dagger.
Gerald suddenly detected the Mana in the assassin concentrating on his palm and he tried to dodge, but the spell was too fast.
In the blink of an eye, it already reached him, and Gerald felt a sharp pain on the left side of his chest. The Wind Blade managed to cut through his defensive magic and made a wound on his left side.
It was not a mortal wound, barely reaching the muscle, but it hurt like hell. It finally removed the last bit of the sleepiness that plagued him, completely enraging him.
"Enough!" Gerald shouted and a Wind Blast was triggered, blasting the assassin against the wall.
"Ow!" The assassin was not ready for a wordless spell-casting fight so he was unable to guard himself in time. He tried to get up again, but Gerald was already there to pin him against the wall with his metal hand.
He grabbed the aggressor by the neck and smashed him against the hard stone walls, and then gave him a strong punch in the gut.
He then released the assassin and just as the latter fell to the floor, Gerald kneed him in the chest.
Coughing out blood, the assassin fell to his knees, barely able to take a breath.
Gerald simply waved his hand in the air as his fingers made a few motions. The stone walls suddenly became soft and malleable, like clay, and swallowed the assassin's limbs.
The stone then hardened again, keeping the assassin trapped, unable to move a muscle.
"Huff," Gerald breathed out hard and sat on the bed to take care of his wound. He cast a healing spell and the blood stopped flowing and the wound started slowly closing. With all the healing he was doing, he became a little better at it over time and so his magic also advanced.
It was not too much, but it was at least 50% more efficient than at the beginning when he first learned it.
"You've made a big mistake, buddy!" Gerald looked at the assassin, "I don't know who sent you, but you are not going back in one piece."
He stood up and ignited an oil lamp to see better.
"Let's see who has the balls to try and assassinate me!" He grabbed the hood of the assassin and pulled it back, showing a young face.
"Hm? A child?!" Gerald was shocked, but then he looked closer, "Wait, no. An Elf? A Dark Elf?"
He examined the Dark Elf and then quietly chuckled as he sat down, "Well, well, well! A female Dark Elf assassin!" His eyes shined as they reflected fire's light, as he stared into the eyes of the Elf. "Interesting! Now tell me, lady, who sent you?"
The elf gave him a pitiful look, but Gerald started laughing before she could say anything, "Haha, don't do that! You are dying, either way, so don't even bother begging for mercy. The only difference is, are you going to die fast? Or slow? Your choice."
The Elf lifted her head and spoke, choking on her own blood, "Please, I had no choice, they have my sister…"
"Boring!" Gerald interrupted, "You can kill me, but I can't kill you, huh? That's now what I want to hear, honey! I'm asking you who sent you, nothing else."
"I… I can't say… If they discover I leaked information, they will torture her!" she tried to explain her situation.
Gerald lowered his head and frowned. Then he nodded, "Hmm, yes… I see…"
He lifted his eyelids to look at the Elf and shook his head, saying, "You know, It's just that… I. Don't. Fucking. Care!"
Knock, knock!
Someone knocked on the door of the room from the outside. Then a voice came, "Is everything alright in there? Sir?"
"What now?" Gerald rolled his eyes and waved his hand. The stone morphed once again and swallowed the Elf whole.
"Yawn, can I help you?" Gerald pretended to be sleepy and opened the door with a tired face.
Outside was a night guard, "Excuse me, sir, but I think I heard a commotion coming from your room, is everything alright in there?"
"Oh?" Gerald rubbed his sleepy eyes, "Yeah, yeah… I just had a bad dream, nothing to worry about."
"I see," the guard threw a casual glance at the room and then said, "Well, sorry for disturbing you then, good night!"
"Yeah… Good night…" Gerald squinted as he watched the guard leave.
He then waved his hand once more, and the Dark Elf assassin was released from the stone prison. She fell out, spitting blood and desperately gasping for air at the same time.
"So, where were we?" Gerald sat on the bed and then smiled, "Oh that's right…" His countenance darkened and all emotions disappeared from his face.
"I got a proposition for you, Elf. Tell me who is your master, and I promise they won't discover your betrayal before their death. That way your death also won't be in vain and your sister will be set free, what do you think?" Gerald casually proposed.
"Cough, why should I… Cough, trust you?" the Dark Elf said the words with difficulty, coughing out blood.
Gerald shrugged, "You shouldn't, but that's the only choice you have… The only other option is for me to torture you until you tell me what I want. Believe me, you wouldn't like that one bit."
"Ptuey!" The girl spat blood at Gerald, "I would rather die than risk putting my sister in danger!"
Gerald placed his palm across his face and started laughing, "Ahaha, you would rather die? It's not that easy, I'm afraid!"
He stepped closer and struck the girl's chest with his right palm.
"What are you doing?" the Dark Elf shook in fright, but then she felt a foreign Mana invading her body. "You are healing me?!"
Gerald laughed, "But of course! I can't have you dying on me too early now can I? How else am I going to torture you long enough to break your spirit? You didn't think we would be done in a few minutes, did you?"
The bleeding stopped and color soon returned to the Elf's face.
"Wait, we can talk about-" she started.
"Sssh," Gerald placed a finger on her lips, "We will talk later."
With a silent rumble, the wall once again swallowed the Elf, only leaving the top part of her head exposed.
"Comfortable?" Gerald asked.
The girl shook her head in panic. She couldn't move or speak since she was encased in stone, only her nose and eyes were exposed and her chest could expand just a tiny bit, allowing her to barely breathe.
"Good! Gerald patted her on top of her head and smiled, "Let's get some rest first, we can continue this tomorrow. Yawn, I'm so tired." He stretched himself and then jumped on the bed.
"Well, good night and sleep tight! No pun intended, haha…" The lamp suddenly extinguished and peaceful darkness enveloped the room once again.
"Mmph!" the Elf protested in the wall, but then she soon gave up from the lack of oxygen. She couldn't speak to cast spells, and she also couldn't move a single muscle to free herself.
She was at the mercy of her captor and this was going to be a long and sleepless night for her.