8 Chapter 8 - The Assassin (1/2)
Kenji strode down the hall, finding more bodies as he went, all the walls splattered red. And amidst the blood were spots of blue.
Blue blood.
Whatever had attacked, it had been hurt. Kenji followed it down the hall, a little trail of blue leading to the owner of this rampage. Kenji kept his sword directly in front, ready to block at any moment.
Up a stairwell, Kenji went. And another, to the third floor. To the young knight's strategy room, a pair of guards slumped against the walls on either side of a closed door.
More blue blood, one of the guard's swords had become bathed in it. At Kenji's feet he stood upon it, and leaning down he removed a gauntlet and touched the shallow pool.
Ice cold.
”Stay back assassin, by the all-knowing one, I command you!” came Arthur's voice, the young knight roaring. Light flashed beneath the door to the chamber. Kenji kicked at the door, it shuddered, yet held strong.
”Sir Arthur! Reinforcements are here!” Kenji lied, hoping the assassin would attempt to flee. It would be much easier to stab someone in the back, according to the guard's stolen memories at least. Those same memories reminded Kenji that guards kept keys. Whipping out his own, Kenji unlocked the door. Shielding his eyes, Kenji was immediately blinded by a bright light.
Sir Arthur had a blazing white eye in his forehead, his sword aglow with a bright white flame. Around the room guards and servants were slumped against the ground amidst pools of blood, and yet there remained no assassin in sight.
”You- close the door! Don't let it escape!” Arthur shouted, Kenji unable to comply as he fell to his knees, grasping his throat. He saw no blade, but felt blood gushing out his throat as if he had been pierced.
”HYA!” Arthur swung with practised speed, cleaving through the air. Thinking fast, Kenji grappled the air, arms clasping something invisible.
”The hell is this?” hissed the voice of the unseen. Arthur's next strike bit into something, blue blood splattering the wall. Another invisible blade slipping into Kenji's eye. Darkness, he was dead again.
But if Kenji were dead, how could he think? Indeed, he could hear the roars of battle still, feel the vibrations of footsteps and smell the stench of blood.
Hesitantly, Kenji worked on instinct, and pulled away from the corpse of the guard, reforming as an old man once more and entirely unharmed. Arthur lay slumped over a little shrine, eyes forever open, hands clutching a silver candle. Turning, Kenji found the doorway open, blue blood spilling in spurts down the hall.
'[F Ranked hero] to [E Ranked hero], 10XP has been awarded' stated a computerised voice in Kenji's head.
Kenji froze, peering left to right.
'Well done' Noir said with Arthur's blue lips. 'Seeing his guards die so valiantly awakened this boy's innate potential. After many years of training, the boy finally increased his class from Holy Knight to Crusader. I advise that you take his body as your own. Since his soul survived intact, we could recover Arthur's spirit and put it to good use within worlds that need the conviction of such Heroes. You have earned your reward.'
”Bring him back then, Noir,” Kenji said, grasping the boys fiery-haired head, staring into those beautiful eyes like pools of gold, framed with dark cracks. ”I wanted to save him, the point of me being a Hero Scout at all was to save him.”
'Kenji, the point of you is the same as the others. To push budding heroes to the limit. So if you could just-'
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”I deny your system,” Kenji spat, brushing fiery hair from Arthur's eyes, ”I deny you!”