The door gave way with a loud CRASH! The guards stormed into the room, swords drawn, their torches casting threatening shadows on the walls. What they saw left them speechless: blood everywhere. The bodies of the villa's master and his wife lay in a crimson pool, their eyes wide open in terror.
But the killer was nowhere to be seen.
"Check the windows!" barked the captain, his face stiff as the smell of death filled the air.
One of the guards approached the shattered window. The cold night wind rushed in violently, bringing with it the sound of rain. "He must have jumped," the guard said, pointing to the garden below.
Upstairs, the man in black seemed to have vanished, but Ares, hiding among the garden's shadows, was still there, waiting. The blood-stained knife glinted faintly in the moonlight. His heart pounded, but his eyes stayed focused on the outer wall. There was no time to waste.
Moving as silent as a shadow, he crossed the garden, skillfully avoiding the torchlight of the guards searching the area. He headed toward the stables. The doors were locked with a rusty chain. Without hesitation, he struck it with his knife: CLANG! CLANG! The chain broke, and Ares pushed the doors open.
Inside, the horses neighed nervously, frightened by the rain and the noise. Ares chose the nearest one, approaching it carefully. "It's going to be okay," he whispered, stroking its neck to calm it. When he mounted, the horse let out a loud NEEEIGH!
"There! Someone's in the stables!" a voice shouted, and torches immediately turned toward him.
There was no more time for stealth. He spurred the horse, which burst into a gallop. The guards appeared in front of him, trying to block his way. "Stop! Whoever you are!"
The horse, under firm control, didn't slow down. The men jumped aside to avoid being trampled as Ares headed for the main gate.
Reaching the gate, Ares jumped down, hit the switch, and quickly got back in the saddle. The mechanism creaked slowly, the sound mixing with the rain, while behind him, the clatter of hooves announced that mounted guards were in pursuit.
"Catch him! He must not leave the city!" the captain shouted.
Ares didn't look back. His black cloak flapped behind him as he urged the horse forward on the cobblestone streets. The heavy rain made the ground slippery. The narrow alleys shielded him from arrows, but the sound of his pursuers grew closer.
A turn, then another, and finally the city's north gate appeared before him. It was locked, but a small side entrance used by late merchants had been left slightly open.
"This is my only chance," he thought. He gave the horse a sharp kick, pushing it toward the narrow opening. With a sudden leap, the animal squeezed through, leaving behind the chaos of the chasing guards.
"Who is that man? No one saw his face!" one of the guards yelled.
"I don't know, but he can't get far!" the captain replied angrily.
Ares kept riding under the pouring rain, his soaked cloak sticking to his body. He could still hear the sound of his pursuers, but the open land outside the city gave him an advantage.
Behind him, the captain gritted his teeth. "I don't care who he is. We'll catch him and make him talk. Ready your bows!"
The hunt had just begun.