Towards evening, Seleria led us into the hidden corners of the capital. Ancient catacombs beneath the city served many purposes, but now they served as a sanctuary for the dark guilds of Leran.
"And many people know about this place?"
"Enough, although no one would dare enter without an invitation," Seleria spoke through the cloth, and her voice sounded lower.
"And will they let us in?"
"They will definitely let me in; as for you... I'll try to get you in," Seleria looked us over, "you can pass as my companions. I'll say you're newcomers, and I need them for a major job."
After half an hour of wandering through the dark corridors, we arrived at an inconspicuous iron door, resembling the entrance to some closet.
"Here we are," the princess softly knocked on the door.
There were no traps, secret rooms, or intricate corridors, although considering how the equipment store for assassins was hidden, one could guess how assassins covered their tracks. Better to hide something in plain sight than behind a hundred locks.
A small window on the door opened, and the person on the other side exchanged glances with Seleria and whispered a couple of phrases.
"I need to speak to the guild's leader," the princess calmly replied to the guard, who glanced at us suspiciously, "these are my mercenaries; they are not very talkative."
"Fine," the door opened, and we were allowed inside. The guard was a rather hefty man, wielding a short sword at the ready. Apparently, there had been incidents before.
"So, we've come to meet the head of the assassins' guild?" I followed Seleria uncertainly through the dark corridor.
"Keep quiet," after opening another door, the girl entered a spacious hall, which appeared to function as a tavern judging by the tables, "they won't be pleased to see you here, and you can't count on me either."
The hall could easily accommodate a couple of hundred people, and half of it was already occupied. Despite the ambiance, hardly anyone was drinking, and even fewer were eating. Suspicious individuals mostly huddled in groups of two or three in the corners.
"Come here," Seleria sat down at a large table next to the bar counter. The room was illuminated only at the center, so there was no one at the nearby tables.
"And?" Miriam asked.
"We'll wait; he'll come over soon."
"So, when there are assassins hunting for your head, we come straight to their lair?" Miriam grumbled discontentedly.
"Don't worry; the assassins protect our family. I can't vouch for the others."
"Do you think they are involved in the assassination attempt?"
"No, but they surely know something about it."
"And they'll just spill everything to us like that?"
"Of course not."
The last voice was unfamiliar to us. Unnoticed by everyone at the table, another person in a black cloak with a hood had appeared.
"How long has he been sitting here?" I quietly asked Seleria.
"I don't know; they're experts at sneaking up on people."
"Mmm," the assassin leaned back peacefully on his chair, "what did you want from the assassins' guild?"
"We certainly won't reveal it; you already know the answer," Seleria spoke calmly and measuredly, but it was difficult to read the assassin's attitude toward us.
"Riz," Miriam leaned towards the necromancer, "does it only seem to me that there's no face under this hood?"
The shadow tightly veiled the assassin's face, leaving only the edge of the chin visible in the light.
"I don't see it either, and it seems to me that familiar magic is concealing it," Miriam remarked.
"Do you want to know if we have any information about the attempt on the king?" Seleria conducted the negotiations on our behalf.
"So, you've already investigated the matter?" the assassin replied.
"We tried, but we were not allowed to act freely in Verania and Nordrune, so we never found the assassins."
"Are you sure the assassins are not from Leran?" Seleria inquired.
"Absolutely, no one would dare oppose us."
"Then will you share the information with us?"
"Mmm, no."
"But you serve the king! Isn't that so?" Rizel slammed the table with a stern expression. "If you won't help us, they might attempt again."
"And we will protect the king."
"Maybe Leran, but what about the others?"
"We don't care about them; let them deal with it themselves," the assassin tried to remain emotionless, but it was evident that he harbored some dislike towards the other royal families. "Our intelligence will implicate other assassins' guilds that are associated with us. I can't hand it over to the guards, especially not the Veranian guards."
"Then give it only to us."
"Don't pretend I don't know what you need it for. You want to protect your friend at the trial, but I also protect my comrades."
"And it seems he knows about us," I leaned towards Seleria.
"Of course, assassins gather information about everyone in the royal family's circle."
"And so, I can't just trust you with this information."
"And what do you want for it?"
"Heh, bribing assassins is futile; you must earn my trust," a faint smirk seemed to flash under the black hood. "And what would that mean?" I glanced at the princess.
"It seems he wants to challenge you to a fight."
"Well, as you wish. If it's necessary to get information out of you, then I agree."
"Follow me."
The assassin disappeared into a narrow corridor at the far end of the tavern.
We descended to a spacious arena located directly beneath the main hall. The fairly capacious stands began to fill with people. Among the crowd of suspicious individuals, several figures stood apart, dressed in black cloaks and dark purple attire. Their faces were hidden, but they kept a keen eye on the events unfolding in the arena.
"Hmm, more people than I expected. The fight of one of the assassins is quite an entertainment for them. It doesn't happen very often," Seleria observed while discreetly surveying the stands. "And here come the others."
The princess gestured towards a couple of sections in the stands. Amidst the gathering suspicious figures, a girl in a dark purple outfit, quite reminiscent of the new attire of a necromancer, silently sat next to Rizel.
"What's this?," Rizel looked puzzled at the strange girl, whose face was also concealed by the shadow of her hood.
"Wait, is this a fake?" The girl made an abrupt attempt to pull off the hood of the necromancer, but the latter intercepted her hand. They engaged in a tense standoff for a moment. "Trying to pretend to be an assassin? Well, be prepared for the consequences then."
The mysterious girl straightened her other hand, revealing a silver blade from her wrist. In one swift motion, the blade was already at the heart of the sorceress.
"What is this?" The girl looked at the thing gripping her hand. A black, swirling shadow clung tightly to her hand, squeezing it harder, making her wince in pain.
"That's enough!" Another figure in a black cloak intervened in the struggle. With a single strike, he broke the grip of the two girls and deflected the blade away from Rizel's chest. As soon as the threat disappeared, the shadow neatly concealed itself under its owner's cloak. "Sister, don't attack unknown people, especially if they are stronger than you."
Rizel moved away with disgust from her assailant, and the empty spot was taken by the second assassin.
"Why did you intervene? Or now, anyone can pretend to be an assassin? Impostors need to be put in their place."
"First of all, you mistook her for an assassin out of carelessness. Secondly, her outfit is not exactly the same as yours, and thirdly, why do you think she was sitting amidst a group of unknown people?"
"But still, her clothes and her cloak!"
"If you suddenly forgot, your costume, like that of the other assassins, is made to the same pattern, and it seems like it has finally found its rightful owner."
If you look closely, the costumes indeed differed slightly. Rizel's attire had more shades of purple, and the neckline was smaller, ending with a high collar.
"But where did she get the shadow?" Miriam asked.
"Don't you figure it out yourself? She's a true necromancer, controlling shadows is a breeze for her," Seleria explained.
"If you don't mind, would you sit somewhere else?" Rizel snapped with a green glint in her eyes. "I don't make friends with those who once tried to kill me."
"Oh, forgive her, she is too devoted to the guild's rules. We have met before, although you probably don't remember us," the other assassin said.
"No, I don't remember."
"Wait a moment," Miriam raised an eyebrow. "Assassins, brother, and sister... I've heard this somewhere before."
"That's the couple that was in the Asuran lands," Seleria muttered under her breath, sitting far away from the two assassins, not too eager to interact with them.
"Oh, the ones who tried to kill us," Miriam said.
"Well, let's not be so quick to judge. We reconciled later," the assassin replied.
"Ah, I wonder if Krito had given you an opening back then, would you have spared him?"
"Haha, maybe," the assassin awkwardly turned away. "But he wasn't so bad either. He almost fought me on equal terms, and that deserves respect."
"We'll see now how he deals with your comrade," Miriam pointed to the arena.
"That's him? The battle will be short," the girl assassin said with a bored click of her tongue. "I was hoping for an interesting fight."
"He's not as battered now as in that encounter, so he can take on any assassin," Miriam proudly rested her hands on her hips.
"Against me, he might have had a chance, but against a master, I doubt it," Seleria said, her face hidden by the fabric, but she was probably smiling.
"Hmm?," the assassin looked thoughtfully at the princess's crimson eyes. "Familiar gaze. I almost guess whose it is."
"Better watch the battle," Seleria replied.
The hall soon filled up, and my opponent finished his preparations.
"I don't suggest fighting to the death, only until one of us surrenders or gets a serious injury," I said.
"That works for me," I smoothly drew two blades. I hadn't seen any weapons on my opponent except a pair of daggers, so I had an advantage from the start.
"Let's begin."
The assassin swiftly closed in on me without drawing his weapons, attempting to strike with his fist at my chest. I flipped the blades, using them as a shield, and his fist bounced off with a clang. Following the momentum, the assassin spun and delivered a kick to my side. The blow was powerful, but I managed to partially absorb it by blocking.
"You're slow to react," he taunted.
"Well, sorry, it's challenging to attack while trying not to kill the opponent."
"Ha, try to kill me if you can," the assassin straightened his arms, revealing thin silver blades from the backs of his hands.
The length of the blades was no more than twenty centimeters, and considering the length of his arms, I should have had an advantage. However, the pain in my side reminded me not to underestimate his speed.
Now it was my turn to attack the opponent. Strikes from below, from the side with a twist, but the assassin easily deflected my attacks with his small blades. I continued with a barrage of strikes, gradually pushing the enemy back, and finally, there was an opening. As he evaded another strike, the assassin leaned back, exposing his right side, and I kicked him with all my might. Just before impact, he extended his arms, softening the blow. Performing a backflip, he quickly regained his fighting stance.
"Not bad, but weak," the assassin smirked. "I can just wait for you to run out of breath."
He was taunting me. Although my attack range was clearly larger than his small blades, he used less energy for defense. I had to change my strategy.
I shifted the blades, aligning them along my arms. It significantly reduced my attack range and posed a considerable risk, but it was the only chance I had to defeat him.
"Hmm, a different style, or just a modification of what was before," the assassin chuckled, but he became notably more serious compared to the beginning of the fight.
We closed in for another exchange of blows. Now, he had the advantage in attack, but I could parry his strikes. The blades slid against each other, leaving numerous opportunities for counterattacks, but the assassin was a master of his craft. He parried my attacks and immediately launched a new offensive. Several strikes hit their mark, and now, he couldn't block them as easily, but I was also letting some of his attacks through. The battle was taking its toll on both of us.
"Hmm, a second fighting style," Rumy, who sat behind her students, thoughtfully stroked her chin.
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, initially, the dual-blade style was created to deal with opponents whom regular techniques couldn't handle. But later, it had to be adapted to fight against close combat experts. Using the blades solely for defense and delivering strikes hand-to-hand requires even more precise control over one's body."
"And you're good at that?" The assassin sitting next to Rizel couldn't contain his curiosity.
"Yes, I've had battles like this before. This fighting style is excellent for facing warriors like you. It's almost identical to your katars' style, but here, the blades are only used for defense. Now, we'll have to wait and see who slips up first."
I knew I was inferior to my opponent in experience and endurance, but I didn't know how to defeat him.
"Yes, it's best not to drag out the battle," the assassin seemed to be thinking along the same lines as I was. Perhaps he was more exhausted than he let on. He flexed his fingers, and with a soft grinding sound, something changed in his blades. "Now you better not let any strikes through."
I carefully inspected his blades. They were not solid but divided into two halves. In the center, there was a small cavity where something glinted.
"A needle?" I almost forgot who I was fighting against. "Decided to poison me?"
"Don't worry; it's a paralyzing poison. One prick, and the battle is over."
Damn, that didn't make my task any easier. I was already trying my best to avoid his strikes, and now this. I urgently needed to come up with something, something I would be good at...
"If you want, you can use magic; I think it's fair," he said.
"No, thanks. Then it wouldn't be a fight," I replied, unsure if my bravado made any sense. But I doubted that speeding up with magic would bring me any closer to victory. I might become faster than the opponent for a while, but he would easily predict my moves.
I bent closer to the ground and approached the assassin. My first strike was from below, upward, with the hilt of the blade, but the enemy easily dodged it. Continuing the movement in a circle, I delivered a kick, but the assassin evaded again. I struck at his legs, and he somersaulted backward. While he was still in the air, I leaped forward, landing another blow, but the experienced opponent deliberately left a gap in his defense. He deflected my arm and ended up behind me.
"That's it," he said, and with one precise strike to my back, everything happened so fast that all I could do was shift slightly to the side to avoid a hit to vital organs. "It won't help."
The blade cut through my cloak and went about half a centimeter into my skin, but it was enough for the poison to start taking effect.
"It's over."
"Can't say that," I smirked and swiftly turned to face him.
I managed to deceive the assassin for just a couple of seconds, but it was enough. Swinging around, I struck with the hilt into the solar plexus, jumped, and landed a knee strike to the jaw, then finished with a spinning strike that sent the opponent flying.
The blows were strong enough to knock down an average warrior, but against this opponent, it was not enough.
The assassin was thrown back about three meters, and his hood slightly fell back from the impact. As the haze began to clear from my eyes, I started to discern his features better. He appeared much larger and more muscular than I had initially thought, and he didn't look as exhausted as I did. That meant my trick didn't bring me any closer to victory.
"Why don't you finish me?" The assassin smoothly rose from the ground.
"I'm not used to finishing off someone lying defenseless, and besides, you don't strike me as someone who would passively accept their fate," I readied myself for another round, but the assassin relaxed his hands, and the blades disappeared back into his wrists.
"I think that's enough. Very impressive for an Academy student, but if we continue, you won't last long."
"Alas, I agree with you there," I tried to act cool not to disappoint my fans in the stands, but hiding my exhaustion was challenging.
"And by the way, can you tell me why I couldn't pierce your armor with that strike?" The assassin smirked and extended his hand.
"That wasn't armor; I placed sheaths there to trick you into relaxing, and it worked," I concealed the blades and shook hands with my rival.