Von walked through the dense forest remembering what he carried around his neck: his collar. A silver lanyard with his wanted number from the High Command. It was ironic to wear this. He really was a dog, not just a simple dog, but a BloodHound.
The farewell to Norgard was something Von would never forget. He had presented him with tailored clothes, a map, and an apprehensive look. A strange look that he managed to decipher. General Chasseur was not a man who showed his real emotions, but he had let Von in and spied on his feelings through a small loophole.
.
.
.
Von had picked up his blade-glove for this mission. It was his favorite weapon, and he always used it on special occasions. The assassin thought about what really was the special occasion for the use of this weapon. Was his own safety important? Was the mission important to him? Was Sophie important to him? He had answered in agreement to the first two questions, but the last one was still a mystery to him. If it were up to him, this information would always be a mystery. He decided to leave the blade-glove in the room. It was better to leave the uncertainties hidden.
The possibility of failure was always considered, he never counted on luck. There wasn't much to do on his first mission, but his arsenal was complete. Ever since the General's sword pierced his body, his attention had redoubled.
His steps through the forest were fast and precise, between jumps and runs, Von followed his route. The embassy was on the border of Dendalion, a long way from the city state of Cermina. He spent many hours running without stopping. All this to protect the Cerminian assassin.
He was lost in his thoughts when he quickly passed a dirt road where a mother and small child were walking. He considered the idea of robbing them, but for the first time, Von ignored his target. Seeing those two, he thought about what it must be like to have a decent life. He laughed at his own thoughts as he continued walking. His life was decent, the life of others was dull.
There was no better feeling than thinking you were going to die.
It was the moment when his blood boiled, the moment when he felt most alive. Nothing else mattered in those minutes, it was like being in a crowd or being hit by the breaking of several waves. He could think about everything and think about nothing. And winning was always necessary so that this wouldn't be his last time having that lovely feeling.
He walked slowly, feeling the pure forest air entering his nostrils. He rarely breathed that way, the air of nature. The air of human rot was already familiar.
The sound of the trees swaying in the wind was almost welcoming.The assassin liked the life that was forced upon him, but he wouldn't trade normality for anything,
There was too much fun in that life, he wouldn't replace the feeling of superiority with the false sense of peace. At the age of twenty-two, Von had been everything in life. From robbing merchants using a kitchen knife to killing for hire.
As if it was fate he didn't believe in, he knew it was now official: He was General Chasseur's shadow. Norgard would no longer need to get his hands dirty, it was Von's turn to do so. Not that the assassin cared about that. This was his apex, the moment when he would feel alive. The general had taken his freedom, but gave him food and a home. The home he wanted so much was already there, made, as if it was entirely for him. As if he would ever get used to it. But he knew it was only a matter of time before everything fell apart.
Von had been lost in his reveries for the past day. He had thought, martyred himself, and understood many things. Things that were in the depths of his soul, stored away so that he himself would no longer be harmed. But Von didn't care anymore, the futile worries of his life could burn at will, it was better than carrying more unnecessary burdens. What mattered most was where he was at the moment, since it seemed the forest was never ending.
BloodHound lost count of how many times he had thought he was lost. The compass and the map said no. It was then that he saw lights on. It was two o'clock in the morning, past the time Norgard had told him. Twelve hours in the closed forest with most of the time running.
He approached and saw two modern cars with the symbols of Gran Tlaboc in front of a large three-story golden residence.There were banners scattered throughout the territory, demarcating that the area was Dendalian property.
There were Dendalian soldiers quickly escorting the Tlaboquian diplomat and the Dendalian diplomat to their cars. Von found that movement strange, it was all very hectic for an embassy at two o'clock in the morning. He walked around the perimeter discreetly among the trees, calculating every position, every weapon, every soldier, and above all, looking for Sophie's presence. He watched the chaotic movement for a long time without knowing for sure if she was still there.
It was almost three o'clock in the morning when his initial despair began to awaken. Had Sophie failed? Had she given up or run away? Could she live with her failure? Would she do this to her father, to her nation? Von's dark eyes searched euphorically through the red hair. He felt his stomach clench, he felt craving, disgust at her. His first mission had failed.
But it all dissipated, and he was relieved to see a body being thrown out the second story window and the white face of the woman with the long red hair watching the body fall. Von could hear the sounds of blades, gunshots, and cries of pain. Sophie was doing what she was created to do: kill.
Shots shattered the windows, screams blurred between the second and first stories. Soldiers with severed limbs ran out of the embassy, through the gates and falling to the ground soon after, dead from loss of blood.
A group of ten Dendalian soldiers gathered in front of the main entrance of the building, waiting for the assassin to leave, all visually frightened by the slaughter that was taking place there.
A noise of a window breaking was heard, a red figure was perceived coming out of the window. Ten blades thrown. Ten heads. Ten soldiers killed instantly. Von was in shock as he watched what Sophie was doing, it was beautiful. The way she killed, her skills, her precision and speed. He had never seen anything like it.
He took pleasure in watching her kill.
The proof that Sophie was a good killer was there. What the young Chasseur had done would be forever stained on Dendalion's honor and soul. When Von noticed more soldiers coming, he immediately jumped out of the tree and ran to the outside of the embassy entrance. Barring passage, he would not let anyone interrupt her.
He released the two swords stored in the sleeves of his robes, making them emit a beautiful sound of blades as they cut through the wind. A macabre smile was born on his lips, defying those soldiers. The first brave one threatened him with a beautiful spear, but not as beautiful as those swords. Von laughed as he watched the soldier advancing towards him. In one simple horizontal movement, with incredible speed, the assassin cut the Dendalian soldier in half. Cut in half, the soldier screamed in pain as his blood drained from his body. Von brought his swords to his mouth, wiping the blood on the blades on the mask he wore.
Another soldier tried to attack him in revenge for his dead teammate. The man struck several blows with his sword that were easily deflected by Von. With each missed blow the soldier gave, he had a small cut on his body in response. The BloodHound was playing with him, like a wild beast plays with its prey. What the Dendalian soldier didn't know, was that with each small cut he received, a vital point in his body was injured. Gradually the man became tired until he was too unwell to deliver more blows. His body was gushing blood in several places. Von had cut his main arteries and let the poor man gush out his own blood with each movement he made.
Eleven more soldiers appeared to confront Von. Unlike the other men who carried swords and spears, these eleven soldiers carried rifles with them. They all fired without hesitation.
The look on the assassin's face at that very moment was one of astonishment. Von did not fear dying, he always wanted to die fighting, so this was not his concern. But as he realized what had occurred at that moment, he discovered that it was not only his past that was hazy, but his abilities as well.
Von's entire vision was taken over by shades of purple, green and silver. Every person and environment around him was painted by this color. Everything was moving slowly, unlike the assassin, who felt his body moving normally. There were eleven shots in his direction, Von could see the trajectory of each one, each particle of air being split by the pressure of the gunpowder and the steel. Von had always had good reflexes, he had dodged bullets before, but what was happening was totally different, it was as if time had stopped for him. He regained consciousness after seconds of contemplation of that moment, he didn't know why this was happening, but he would make the most of the power he was witnessing.
Von moved to each soldier moving in slow motion and beheaded them one by one. Their heads still held in place. After a few moments of killing all the sniper soldiers and the other men holding spears and swords, his vision returned to normal.
The soldiers moved about still in consciousness, having their heads detached from their bodies with the movement they made. They were dead before they even realized it.
The Bloodhound looked at the bodies he had slaughtered, although confused, he felt euphoria for every blood he had shed, this was his fuel. He knew that this was not his mission, but if it was, he could do it every day. He decided to look for Sophie in the middle of the slaughter, but came across a man, apparently a troop commander, standing in front of him. The man was wearing striking golden armor with white details and lion shoulder pads, a helmet that also seemed to have the image of a lion, and in his hands, two golden tridents. This man showed honor in his stance, he would die fighting for his nation, alone, one on one. Von lowered his mask so that the man could see the face of his challenger, despite being enemies, the assassin valued the honor of a fair battle.
It was two minutes, two long minutes starring the unique movements of two singular combatants. Each one with his own aptitude. Von with his agility and precision, and the Dendalion Commander with his strength and technique when handling the tridents. Two minutes watered by the sounds of gunfire in the background. Two minutes... Two... One winner.
The tridents on the ground revealed the winner, the man in golden robes was kneeling on the ground in reverence position. He was not pleading for his life, but honored by the battle. An honorable man who accepted his defeat, awaiting his imminent death. Von recognized the value of the man he had just defeated, the value of a fair battle, but would not spare his life. That's what they call war. With one swift movement, the assassin decapitated the Dendalian commander, killing him instantly, without pain. Sparing that man from suffering. Commander Dendaliano's head rolled to the ground with a bitter smile on his face.
The sound of gunfire in the background continued, Von paid attention to the noise he had ignored for so many minutes. - Sophie...- he said to himself as he remembered the redhead. As he looked for her, he realized that the Dendalion embassy was on fire. The smoke made it difficult to see the place. Only gunshots and the clinking of blades could be heard. As the smoke cleared, it was possible to see two figures moving, as if they were dancing for their lives.Sophie was dodging shots with her acrobatics, and a tall, strong man with short blond hair, wearing a suit and tie, holding a shotgun and a sword was shooting at the girl.
Sophie Chasseur dodged the shots while throwing blades at her opponent. The man, on the other hand, walked slowly while shooting at Sophie, he did not seem to mind the impact of the daggers against his body. The blades did not seem to hurt him.
-Tell me your name, Cerminian.- the voice was deep and confident. Von watched the confrontation from afar and deduced that the man was twice his size.
-Sophie Chasseur, you worm.Not that it's necessary for you to know my name, since you'll be dead in a few seconds.- Sophie shouted as she threw dagger after dagger at the man. Von hadn't noticed before, but Sophie Chasseur had a unique power too. Magic, sorcery, whatever you prefer to call it, was not taboo in Verulian, but few possessed these skills. And at that moment, the daughter of General Norgard was demonstrating her abilities. The redhead was able to clone every type of blade that touched her hands, and this explained the thousands of daggers with the same appearance that lay on the ground of the territory. This ability, combined with her technique and precision with bladed weapons, made Sophie one of Verulian's deadliest assassins. Von followed every movement of the battle from a considerable distance.
-By the way, my name is Lance Asten. -
The Prince of Dendalion
Sophie was tired, constantly running away from the shots. Her body had a few scratches, some of them made by the shots Lance had fired. After some time defending herself, Sophie Chasseur felt a strong burning sensation on the left side of her abdomen. One of the Dendalian's bullets had hit her. When she became aware of her wound, she felt the pain growing more and more throughout her body.
The girl tried to run with difficulty and felt something on her back. Von saw Sophie's face tremble in pain. There was another bullet lodged between her ribs. He took a deep breath and before Lance could continue firing, she ripped the bullet out of her ribs with a dagger. The redhead gasped in pain, and Von held on not to help her.He couldn't let her die, but he knew that was not the limit for the Chasseur assassin, so he just watched her.
She would not die yet. She was prepared for death, but she would not die in that place. She was Sophie Chasseur, daughter of the best assassin in all of Verulian.
Sophie tried to attack the Dendalian prince again, throwing some daggers, but as she noticed more soldiers approaching, she ran into the forest, trying to replenish the air that was missing in her lungs. But first she had whispered to Lance that it wasn't over yet.
He couldn't let her die, but he knew that was not the limit for the Chasseur assassin, so he just watched her.
She would not die yet. She was prepared for death, but she would not die in that place. She was Sophie Chasseur, daughter of the best assassin in all of Verulian.
Sophie tried to attack the Dendalian prince again, throwing some daggers, but as she noticed more soldiers approaching, she ran into the forest, trying to replenish the air that was missing in her lungs. But first he had whispered to Lance that it wasn't over yet.
She ran, limping through the forest with the energy she had left, wishing that what he had just done was a lie. But it wasn't. She didn't care about the physical pain, only the word echoed in her mind: "FAILURE".