Chapter 73: ~Assassin.~ (1/2)

***Norfolk, Fellmar***

***The Nameless***

He walks slowly through the crowd of people and searches for his prey. The excitement of the impending kill sends a shiver through his body. That's what he exists for. To kill his prey silently and watch the life exiting its body is his greatest joy. Killing is his purpose.

And he is good at it. In fact he is the best. The idiots who paid him and appointed his targets called him an assassin. But he thinks of himself as a hunter. He gave up on his name and a normal life to follow his desires.

He gave up on thinking of himself as a man and turned into a hunter, a monster. He got rid his emotions to become the best of his trade. He even cast aside his humanity. Just in the rare moments of the actual hunt, he allowed himself to feel the joy of killing.

That's why he is here tonight. The crazed maniac who hired him paid well. He had met the man in a dark alley. His informant had decided on it as the meeting place to get his mission briefing.

But the client felt dangerous this time. Not because he seemed strong, but because he seemed like a fanatic. The man talked constantly about gods and destiny. He thought of himself as the hero who'll save the world.

The nameless was in his business for long enough to know that there are no heroes. Just normal mortal men who had a few screws loose.

But he still accepted the job, even after finding out who his employer was. It was nobody else but the great leader of the Inquisition himself.

Normally the Nameless would have ended the negotiation right then and there. If it wasn't for the target. The Nameless had long since learned to distance himself from his work and to think very careful about every employment before accepting it.

Otherwise you won't live for long in this business. The name which the client wanted to remove from the world of the living sent shivers down his spine.

It was a name that became famous in the world of assassins. And that's because almost nobody who took a job on this name returned. And the few who did spoke of escaping with their lives.

The Nameless doesn't care about his reputation, but he actually wants to slay this prey. A prey that had taken the lives of so many assassins had to be formidable. What a thrilling hunt it'll be.

The huge amount of money became secondary as the Nameless accepted. Up until now his strict working ethics had forbidden him to hunt this prey on his own. But with a proper employment it was different.

So he started to prepare. Until he was finally here. Everything lead to this final moment, when he could finally end the life of his prey. It was so close! Just ten metres away from him is Ascathon Asceron.

So close and yet so far! He can't start the hunt right now. There are too many people around. And the guards around this man didn't seem like humans. The Nameless knows their scent. He had met prey like them. They were dangerous foes, but only if you met them unprepared and outnumbered.

The Nameless would wait for his chance. Slowly he retreated into the crowd and continued to observe his prey. Actually there were many targets here tonight. The nameless had contracts for everyone with the name Asceron and the white haired woman, who was sitting beside them.

But he would go for the head first. It didn't excite him to hunt the weak.

They talked until late in the evening and the Nameless waited patiently. His time would come. Waiting was an important part of the hunt. If you attacked too early, your prey might flee. If you waited too long it might spot you. The time and place have to be right.

The Nameless waits as his prey leaves and he continues to play one of the guests. There is time. He already knows where he will find his prey.

A long time later he slips away from the festivity and enters a rest room. But he is in no need of relieving himself. The window is what he is looking for.

He waits until he is sure to be alone and climbs through the window. It's a long way down because the rest room is in the third floor. His fingers grip the facade like steel and he closes the window behind him.

Then he starts to climb with a steady pace. He did this many times before and soon he reaches the top floor of the building. There he waits for several seconds and steadies his breath.

There is a window above him and it leads to a dark corridor. The corridor itself leads directly to the chambers of his prey. He feels the mana circulating through his body and his senses reach out for the corridor.

Two guards are patrolling along it. They don't need light, so that means that they belong to the special ones.

Silently the Nameless reaches for the window and places his hand on the locking mechanism. He infuses his mana into the locking mechanism and the window unlocks silently.

But he doesn't open it. These guards would smell him, or sense him otherwise as soon as he enters the corridor. He won't underestimate them.

He waits for their return and prepares his body. Everyone of his muscles is tense like a steel spring. The guards have to be silenced without fail. His face distorts into a grin. Soon he will kill again. Once the guards pass the window, there will be no hesitation.

His muscles start to scream as he waits, not moving, not thinking. One of his ears is pressed to the wall under the window and he listens for the closing footsteps.

The steps get closer until they seem to be directly in front of him. He explodes in a flurry of movement. His body is catapulted upwards by his feet as he opens the window and enters the corridor, flying directly into the two guards faces.

A sharp dagger appears in his hand and he slices the closer guard's throat from ear to ear. Prey with a sliced throat doesn't scream.

The second guard is farther away and has time to react with his lightning reflexes as he grabs for the hilt of his longsword. But big weapons are a disadvantage in an ambush, as it takes time to ready them.

The Nameless's next step is placed on the sword hilt and the half drawn sword slides back into its sheath. The prey tries to scream, but he rams his guarded arm into the prey's mouth and the dagger slides through it's shoulder into the prey's left lung.

A muffled voice escapes, but it's nothing which would alarm others. The Nameless wraps his legs around the prey and pulls himself into the tight embrace of the guard while activating his his battle aura. Both of them go to the ground.

The flailing hands of the prey don't manage to inflict serious harm on him. A few blue spots will be the worst.

Then the prey's body starts to change. Hair sprouts, the head grows longer and the teeth grow larger and sharper, threatening to pierce the protecting bracer of the Nameless.

The Nameless isn't distracted. He knows that his prey is already dead, it's just a little slow to realize the truth. He presses his ear to the prey's chest and listens for the slowing heartbeat. “Sccchhhh... don't struggle. Or I can't listen.” He whispers and twists the blade.

Seconds later the heart makes a final beat and the Nameless pulls his blade out of his victim. He grins with joy and ensures that both guards won't rise again. He experienced too many surprises with their kind. Better to be sure.

Then he sneaks silently forward on all fours, like an animal. Like a hunter.

He reaches the door to the private chamber of his target and listens. There are noises coming from inside. So the target isn't sleeping yet. Too bad, but that makes the hunt more exciting.

The question is if he should rush in and do it fast? Or announce his presence? No, he will do it fast. It will be a shame if the prey dies too fast, but underestimating it may be a mistake. And there are two of them.