Slash! Amir was Caught off guard. However, he managed to barely dodge the old man's strike. Still, he was caught by the dagger and sustained a small would on his shoulder.
Amir winced in pain as he stumbled backwards, trying to get some distance between himself and the old man. He could feel blood trickling down his shoulder and knew he needed to act fast if he wanted to survive this encounter.
Taking a deep breath, Amir focused on the old man, trying to gauge his next move. The man was clearly skilled with the dagger, and Amir knew he had to be careful. Furthermore, Amir could not see an opening in the old man.
Surely, the old man is a veteran, or perhaps this only proved that Amir is a rookie. However, the word rookie might not be a good word to describe Amir. After all, he is a hunter.
Suddenly, the old man lunged forward, his dagger flashing in the dim light of the alleyway. Amir leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the blade. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he tried to come up with a plan.
As the old man came at him again, Amir saw his chance. He feinted to the left, then quickly spun around to the right, slamming his fist into the old man's jaw. The man staggered backwards, giving Amir the opening, he needed.
With a quick thrust of his own dagger, Amir managed to disarm the old man. The man stumbled backward, his eyes wide with shock as he realized he had been defeated.
"This… this young man looked like a trained wolf," the old man thought as he looked at Amir at this time. It was as if this is not that 'assassin' that hesitated to kill him.
"Is this really that man?" the old man asked again in his mind. However, before the old man could come up to an answer, Amir is up with another move.
Amir didn't waste any time. He knew he had to finish this quickly before the old man could recover. He rushed forward. He drew his weapon, a scimitar, and struck the old man.
But at the last moment, Amir hesitated. He couldn't bring himself to deliver the fatal blow, even to someone who had attacked him. Instead, he stopped his blade just short of the old man's neck.
"Tsk…"
Seeing that Amir hesitated once again, the old man took this chance and struck back at Amir. He held his dagger tightly and was prepared to take Amir's life with one move.
"Dire Hit!"
The old man used his skill which deal a lot of damage to Amir.
Thud!
At this moment, Amir staggered backward. He lost his strength in all of a sudden and collapsed on the ground.
As Amir lay there, his vision blurred and his body weakened, he couldn't help but wonder where he went wrong. He was a hunter, after all, trained to face dangerous situations and enemies. Yet he had hesitated not once, but twice, and it had almost cost him his life.
But he couldn't dwell on his mistakes now. He had to find a way to survive this encounter. With all the strength he could muster, Amir tried to stand back up, but his body was too weak. He knew he needed help, and fast.
The only that he regretted is that he could no longer continue his search for his sister.
"Sis, I'm sorry. I can no longer find you…" Amir softly said as tears trickle down his cheek.
"Finish me, old man," Amir added with his closed eyes. He gave up fighting.
Although he managed to hit the old man, he did not inflict too much damage. After he landed his strike, Amir could no longer see openings on the old man.
Swish!
Meanwhile, whether Amir will tell the old man or not, the old man would definitely kill him. In fact, even before Amir could say his words, the old man's dagger is once again coursing towards his neck.
"Sis…" Amir called on his sister as his life flashed before his eyes.
Spurt!
In the next second, his blood spurted like a fountain and tainted the ground.
"Call someone to wash up his blood. We cannot taint the ground near the sphynx," the old man said. After that, he turns on his back and left.
…
"Fuck this little bastard. He is so thin but he is heavy."
Meanwhile, in the public cemetery of the city, a pair of man was complaining as they were carrying a corpse into the hole six feet below the ground.
It is the corpse of a young man that was killed with a dagger. This young man is none other than Amir.
Thud!
"Let's stop for a while. My hand is aching…" one of the men complained.
"Fuck… let's get this over with. The hole is only a few meters away…" the other one also complained because of his colleague.
"Who do you think is this young man?"
"This…? I think he is a criminal from the Brotherhood of Shadows."
"The Brotherhood of Shadows is on the move again?"
"Yes, I heard they are very active lately."
"Really?"
"Apparently, they have found a lady with an ancient bloodline."
The two men gossiped. But what they failed to notice is that the corpse's fingers began to twitch. Not long after, they heard a gasp which startled the two of them.
Gasp!
Crack!
The gasp was followed by a series of sounds which seemed to came from cracking knuckles.
"Shit! The dead is moving!"
One of the men panicked as they saw Amir's dead body move.
"Run!"
Without further ado, they left the place without finishing their work.
"Where am I?" he asked himself. "Am I not dead?"
Amir opened his eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the dim light of the cemetery. He felt sore and weak, but he was alive. He couldn't remember how he got here or what had happened to him, but he knew he had to get out of here before anyone found him.