As the smoke thickened and the flames spread rapidly, it became evident that all the people inside the mansion were in grave danger. Their fate was sealed, whether the fire or death from smoke inhalation would engulf them.
"Wow, you're pretty confident to be looking elsewhere in your current situation," says the person with the spear, catching my attention. He closed the distance in the blink of an eye, but his companions didn't even flinch. They were confident, thinking only one person would be enough to handle a slave. I was going to prove them wrong about me.
I waited patiently with my weapons lowered, biding my time for the opportune moment to strike. Furthermore, I planned to make my opponents believe I was inexperienced until the very end. This tactic had worked for me in the past and was my only hope for success in this particular situation.
With a movement larger than necessary, he tried to take me down with a leg sweep, attempting to assert dominance over me. With a kick charged with my energy, I struck his face, breaking his mask. Small fragments entered his right eye, blinding him.
The hatred on his face was evident. I seized the moment while he was kneeling and kicked a handful of sand into his remaining eye. With him completely blind, I thrust both daggers into his eye sockets. The blades went in with an ease that felt like a small knife slicing through a piece of butter.
Before he could even scream in pain, I pulled the weapons again, and with a quick movement of my right hand, I severed his head.
I took advantage of the slumping body to throw one of my energy-infused daggers towards the archer's head. I had calculated her movements well and, for a brief moment, the blade entered her blind spot, quickly piercing her skull. With two of my three opponents now dead, only the most challenging one remained.
"Impressive job, kiddo," the masked man with the sword said with a sarcastic tone in his voice. "If we didn't have orders from higher-ups, I would have taken you along with us." He had started to approach me in slow steps as if savoring the moment. He dragged his sword, which was larger than him, with a single hand. As he passed, it left a visible mark on the ground. Look, man, it's not personal. I kind of liked your attitude, but today's just not your day. You're gonna die, unfortunately."
We were face-to-face, and I had no idea how I would get past him. The man in front of me was much larger and more muscular than me, not to mention the weapon he was wielding. Its range was much greater than that of my daggers.
I made a swift movement to strike his chin, but I didn't want to engage in a fight with someone who had more natural advantages than me. He evaded my attack by throwing his body backward and, taking advantage of the situation, tried to strike me with his sword while in the air. Although it was an instinctive move, it was almost fatal. If I had hesitated for just one more second, the injury would have been much worse. As it happened, I ended up with a small cut near my left eye, but it wasn't serious enough to cause blindness.
The masked man leaned on his weapon and began laughing euphorically. "You know what? Screw what the bosses want on this mission." He extended his hand toward me and said, "How about joining me? Of course, this will have to be our little secret."