Shadowalker Cedric, also non-affectionately referred to as Assassin Number 38 by his peers, swore loudly as he saw his last partner get her back blown open by a boy half his age.

  “What the fuck!” he yelled in disbelief, parrying the Elathion Heiress’s sabre with his bow. “What pit of Hell did you people dig this monster out from?! The bloody Eye of the North?!”

  Dulcina said nothing, her eyes eerily glowing with silver. Every attack that Cedric launched thus far proved ineffective against the girl’s razor focus.

  It didn’t help that he was running out of shadows to work with, or that he was down one hand, or that his useless partner barely lasted 10 seconds against the boy before she died instantly.

  Also, what was up with these two kids?! The boy was an absolute monster, but the Heiress was giving him a run for his money, as well. She was hitting far harder than she should for a Copper Core, and her speed was absurd.

  Cedric thought he saw a flicker of surprise in her eyes whenever she narrowly dodged his swift attacks or somehow parried hard enough to deflect his blows. It was as if even the Heiress herself was confused as to how she was keeping up so well with a Silver Core.

  But at least her abilities are somewhat within the realm of possibility, he grimaced. Unlike this bullshit coming my way!

  The assassin hastily drew upon more of his mana reserves, rapidly regenerating his missing left hand just in time to form a shadow arrow and parry the boy’s descending strike.

  There was barely any wasted time between when the child brutally murdered Cedric’s partner and when he leapt off the wall, plummeting down with daggers and murderous intent. Just parrying the strike alone made the assassin’s arm shake.

  Cedric would be impressed if he were not also scared shitless at the moment.

  [Shadowalker Arts, First Form — Embrace the Void]

  The assassin sucked in a breath and allowed the shadows to pull him in once more. An eternity and an eyeblink passed, and Cedric teleported onto another empty and darkened corner of the sparring grounds.

  This time, he did not hesitate, immediately rolling to the side right as a cluster of miniature grenades detonated upon the spot he once was.

  Bastard somehow knows where I am and where I will appear. I want to say he has a sensing Arte, but there was that Dagger bullshit he pulled earlier, and then that fiery fist explosion he used to combust my partner into giblets…

  No way he knows three schools of magic at his age… Right?! Not even the bloody Saints learn that quickly!

  “Didn’t I blow off your left hand earlier?” the boy asked, frowning. “How do you already have it back? That’s cheating.”

  “I’m cheating?!” Cedric gasped in disbelief, outraged at his audacity. “You are the one pulling bullshit moves out of your ass non-stop, and somehow, I’m the one who’s playing unfair?! Where do you keep getting those daggers and grenades from anyway? There’s no way those pockets of yours contain anything!”

  “That body of yours isn’t corporeal; You are using your shadows to regenerate.” The boy tsked, ignoring Cedric’s (somewhat justified) tirade. “I hate regenerators. Gunther was a pain to kill.”

  Cedric’s heart nearly stopped in horror. “Wait! You were the one who killed Gun—”

  There was no time to finish as the boy tossed aside his daggers and lunged forward, fist blazing.

  “Cutting you probably isn’t going to work,” the boy said emotionlessly. “I didn’t want to do this, but I’ll have to bludgeon you to death, then.”

  Ah, shit.

  [Unarmed Arts, Ascetic Fire Monks’ Third Form: Explosive Stinger]

  A foot-long needle of pure obsidian burst free from the boy’s right wrist, glowing red with heat. The hissing stinger was jabbed towards Cedric’s ethereal form. The assassin tried to leap back, but it was of no use.

  The stinger blasted free from the boy’s wrist, fired forth like a bolt from a crossbow. It slammed straight into Cedric’s torso.

  A tremor of heat. And then the stinger violently exploded.

  Cedric felt his entire form rip apart. The pain was both distant and agonising.

  Snarling in effort, the assassin sought to pull his ghostly frame together at all costs.

  [Shadowalker Arts, Third Form — Umbral Covenant]

  The Arte ate at his lifeforce. The man felt the precious months of his life wither. One month, then two, then four.

  Only after sixteen months of his life were sacrificed to the Hungry Gods did he feel his form return. Cedric gasped to wakefulness, quickly leaping free from the engagement before the pyromanic child could blow him up again.

  “Interesting. Still alive? I thought for sure I got you that time,” the boy said, leaping back cautiously. “I felt your life fade away, but then it somehow returned… Who are you? What Artes are you using? How come I’ve never seen it before?”

  The assassin ignored the boy’s questions. Instead, he fell to one knee, desperately trying to catch his breath while keeping an eye up at all times.

  The two youths had regrouped some distance away and were studying him with guarded eyes. The boy was checking the girl for wounds. It was the only reason Cedric had those few precious seconds to breathe.

  This was his only chance.

  The Assassin lifted his weapons…

  … and threw all of them on the ground.

  “Parley! Parley, damn you!” He waved his hands frantically. “I surrender!”

  ~~~

  … What?

  Eri didn’t let down his guard. Part of him almost decided to just go for the kill.

  The assassin sensed his intent and began panicking louder. “Wait! I have information! My group is not the only one here. I can tell you about the rest! Even the traitor who let us in!”

  “He’s stalling for time,” Dulcina’s tone was tense. “We need to kill him and move on. Father’s life could be at risk!”

  Eri glanced at her hesitantly. “I mean, if assassins are attacking your father right now, I don’t think we can help. Lord Draevan’s a Jewelled Chosen; the Duskcrowns are hardly going to send someone we can handle after him.”

  “Listen to the kid, he’s right,” Cedric called out. “Going to Lord Draevan without my information is suicide.”

  Eri glared at him. “Don’t agree with me!”

  “Then don’t say things that make sense!” the assassin complained. “Look, the Duskcrown has gone all out for this operation. The Fellhand Lieutenants are here — two Ruby-Cores and one Sapphire have been deployed to kill Lord Draevan.”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Eri stared. Dulcina cursed.

  “All the more reason we don’t have time to waste!” she snapped. “We need to go—”

  In the distance, one of the castle towers exploded. A violent deluge of magical energy was bombarding the interior.

  Seconds later, a crackle of azure lightning blasted out from the structure, further ruining the ancient architecture.

  “Father is already fighting,” Dulcina fearfully said. “He’s strong, but if he’s outnumbered…”

  “Are there any more of you?” Eri interrogated the assassin. “What are your objectives?”

  The man shook his head. “Just two external groups. One for Lord Draevan, and one for his daughter. A three-man team each. My group was supposed to capture Lady Dulcina, but for Lord Draevan, well… He got a kill order on him.”

  “Why?” Dulcina demanded. “This is insanity. To attack this openly with Jewelled Chosens, the Duskcrown risks declaring war on the entire North! Kaldreach won’t let this stand — not the nobility, the Church, or even the imperial military. Your idiot superiors have just united every neutral party on this side of the continent against them!”

  “It doesn’t matter. War is inevitable anyway. Somehow, your father managed to find a code cracker who deciphered the Duskcrown’s secret documents before they could destroy them. It’s only a matter of time before the true extent of their heretical operation gets revealed to the world,” Celdric explained. “They panicked and thought they might as well strike first. If you want to blame someone, blame the code cracker! The Duskcrown won’t have been incited to open conflict if it wasn’t for them!”

  There was a moment of awkward silence. Eri coughed.

  “In my defence, I couldn’t have possibly known this would happen,” the boy meekly told Dulcina.

  “Wait, that was you as well?” Cedric groaned. “Shit. Now I definitely can’t go back. If my superiors knew I encountered the code cracker and left them alive too…”

  “You won’t be going back either way,” Dulcina coldly said. “We are killing you right here and now.”

  “W-wait! I have more information! The Fellhand Lieutenants’ ability and weaknesses — I’ll tell you! That will tip the odds in your favour!”

  Eri snorted. “You’re lying. How could a grunt like you even know—”

  “I’m sneaky, alright? It’s my entire thing,” Cedric interrupted testily. “I was looking for an opportunity to get out of the organisation, so I was stockpiling secrets for a rainy day. I have information to trade. But telling you that information will get me a kill order, so in exchange, I’m asking for protection.”

  “You want to seek asylum with House Elathion after you failed to kidnap their Heiress?” Dulcina snarled in outrage.

  The man winced. “That sums it up, yes. But I swear I can make it worth your while! I know of the Duskcrown’s secret bases on the Slaver Isles! More importantly, I can help you save your father. That kill squad up there is specially tailored to counter Lord Draevan’s lightning abilities. If you don’t do anything, your father is going to be dead within the next hour.”

  Dulcina’s silver eyes burned bright for a moment — fury all-encompassing and incandescent — before their light suddenly died. A tightly-restrained calmness took over. “Start talking.”

  Cedric cleared his throat. “First, I want a guarantee—”

  “No guarantees. Scum like you will get no promises from House Elathion,” Dulcina snapped. “Either you speak now and pray that our goodwill holds after this disaster, or you die like a dog. Or perhaps we will tie you up and deliver you to those superiors you fear so much.”

  Cedric flinched. “I… Alright, fine. The Sapphire Core sent to fight your father is Maelric Halsworn, a noble from the Slaver Isles. An arrogant beatstick — he’s got raw power in spades, but nothing else. It’s those two Ruby Cores you have to worry about — Twin Mirage Minstrels from the eastern deserts. One’s a mana disruptor, while the other is a mana amplifier. Both of them are ridiculously powerful for their Ruby Core Rank, too.”

  In other words, the pair were a perfect support. One bolstered their ally’s power in a duel, while the other weakened the opponent. Assuming the Sapphire-Core Chosen matched Lord Draevan in single combat, then there was no way for the Lord to win.

  “But there’s a catch here: the two of them aren’t here entirely on their own free will,” Cedric continued. “There is a compulsion spell binding them to Maelric. If you can break it, you can get them to turn on the bastard in a blink.”

  “That’s it? That tells us barely anything!” Eri complained. “If the compulsion is already set in their minds, there’s no way we can break it in combat!”

  It wasn’t impossible to break a compulsion spell, but depending on how ingrained it was, it would necessitate a lengthy procedure that required skilled hands and sensitive equipment. Breaking one immediately or in combat was impossible.

  However, Dulcina seemed contemplative. “Compulsion spells don’t usually work as well on Jewelled Rank Chosens. Their minds are extremely resistant to such effects. The only way something like that could work is if the effect was continuously applied to them, non-stop.”

  Cedric smiled and snapped his fingers. “Bingo! You’re right, this isn’t the same compulsion spell the Duskcrown had applied to your retinuers. Maelric has a magic anchor on them, binding the twins to his orders with an uninterrupted stream of his mana: a ring on his left finger that links to a collar on their throats.”

  “So if we destroy the collars or the ring, the compulsion will fail?” Eri asked.

  “Not that easy. The collars and the rings are indestructible — no idea what they're made of, but neither of the twins was ever able to destroy them in their brief moments of lucidity. No, what you need to do… is steal the ring from Maelric and bind the twins to you instead.”

  “Steal a ring from a Sapphire Core Chosen,” Eri repeated, staring in disbelief at the assassin. “That’s your brilliant solution?”

  “Well, you could find a way to destroy the collars instead, or just overpower all three of them,” Cedric shrugged. “But I’m guessing neither is an option.”

  Eri wanted to protest more, but another massive section of the castle’s eastern wing was taken out by an explosion, cutting off his words.

  Dulcina looked conflicted. Trusting the assassin’s words seemed foolish, but if they were genuine, then Lord Draevan’s life was at stake.

  Moreover, Eri just received a notification.

  [New Side Quest! ‘Not On My Watch!’]

  [Save Lord Draevan from an untimely demise]

  [Failure will also dismiss the secret quest ‘Your Princess Is On Another Island’]

  [Bonus objective added: ‘Twins, They were’]

  [Rescue the sisters from a lifetime of slavery (without killing them)]

  Well, if the System gave me the quest, it means I have a decent shot, right?

  There was no time to waste. Eri made the decision for them.

  “You, assassin,” Eri addressed.

  “Cedric,” the man corrected, shrugging at the boy’s confusion. “I mean, no point hiding my name now.”

  “Fine, Cedric.” Eri sighed. “Your shadow teleportation, how many people can it carry? What range does it have?”

  The assassin looked at him curiously. “The most I can carry is four people, excluding myself. As for range… A few kilometres, maybe? It’s more difficult with passengers.”

  “Can you get Dulcina and me to the tower?” Eri asked, pointing to the castle’s eastern wing.

  Cedric clicked his teeth. “Shouldn’t be a problem. But, um… You’re putting a surprising amount of faith in me that I won’t screw you over for this.”

  “Eri, we can’t trust him,” Dulcina said bluntly.

  “We are out of time. The eastern wing’s too far, and most of the passages are likely damaged. It will take us too long to get there. This is the fastest,” Eri countered, before pulling out a syringe and an ampoule from his inventory pouch. “Don’t worry, I’m not stupid. You, Cedric. Turn around.”

  “Hm? W-what is that? What are you— Ouch!”

  With deft fingers, Eri injected the ampoule contents into the assassin’s neck.

  “What the hell did you just put in me?!” Cedric shouted angrily.

  “Basilisk poison,” Eri flatly replied. Cedric went pale instantly. Even Dulcina was taken aback. “Don’t worry, I diluted the contents. You have about an hour before the toxin starts turning your organs into stone. I heard the process is extremely painful. Only I have the antitoxin, and if you want it, you’d better help us.”

  “You’re bluffing,” Cedric sneered, though his voice is shaky. “Basilisk Demons live in the Bloodflame Deserts to the West, and their venom can only be extracted from a living specimen. There’s no way you have your hands on some!”

  Eri scowled. He took out another ampoule.

  A quick injection later, the beheaded corpse of the giant sandsworm that tried to kill Eri early started convulsing violently. Cedric and Dulcina watched in horror (and the latter with great fascination) as the body began turning to gleaming stone, flesh bursting apart as the skin and muscle stretched and deformed.

  Eri tossed aside the now-empty ampoule he used for his demonstration. “That was the non-diluted version. You owe me an ampoule now, by the way. Those cost me a lot of points. Now, are you willing to help, or should I just cut off your head to spare you a painful death?”

  “Y-YES! I mean, I’LL HELP!” Cedric yelled, sweating heavily. “Anything you want, Boss! For the love of the Goddess, just give me the cure!”

  “Later, after the job’s done. Now come on, we need to go!”

  As Cedric hurriedly manifested his shadows, Eri sent a silent thanks to the System Shop and the castle’s resident chirurgeon.

  Who knew Kalisa’s medical stories would come in so handy? Maybe I should ask her more later. Combined with the System Shop and my Medical or Alchemy Skills, I could craft some pretty nasty concoctions to go along with my bombs…