186 Sika, Sika! Part 1 (2/2)

If the assassin was in great pain, he did not show it. Instead, he used his other good hand to take out another weapon – a gun. That firearm was very small. In fact, the gun could have been sandwiched between Saleen and the assassin and they would have still had room to spare.

To put it into perspective, the distance between Saleen and the assassin was only three steps. In such a short distance, Saleen knew that the assassin’s speed would match up to that of the magic spells he could launch.

”Saleen!”

”Sika!”

”Master…”

A cacophony of voices rang in the air as the members of the group shouted at one another, hoping that the others were alright.

Keeping a neutral expression, Daniel released a Bone Shackle spell in an attempt to take down another assassin that had suddenly appeared behind Sika’s back. He had done it even if he knew that he was just wasting his energy. His attempt at stopping the assassin would be futile as the powers of the assassins they were up against were at least grade-6.

Assassins attacking one after another, especially when the second one launched a surprise attack, was one of the most common ways to defeat a mage. However, the fact that two grade-6 assassins were needed in order to kill a grade-4 mage was fairly unheard of.

Grade-4 mages like Saleen had very keen senses. The more assassins they were, the more heartbeats he could hear, and the greater the risk that the assassins would be discovered.

The only thing complicating this was the fact that the two assassins were evil spirits. They had no heartbeats, nor did they breathe. The only way they survived was by hiding their essences within the purple flames. Sika’s attack had only been successful in crushing one of her opponent’s hands. The other assassin had leapt towards Sika from behind, his hands brandishing a long scimitar.

Not caring about the boomerang that was approaching him from behind, the assassin who had the firearm in his good hand charged towards Saleen. Sika, who was not too bothered about the scimitar that was about to stab her from behind, attempted to pursue the assassin in front of her. Right now, the person who was in shock was actually Nailisi. She could not believe how much danger Saleen was in. All she had done was leave Saleen alone for less than a minute.

Shots fired by a grade-6 assassin, especially within a three-step point-blank range, were attacks that Saleen would be unable to defend himself from in time.

With a slicing sound, the assassin’s scimitar scrapped against Sika’s back, effectively slicing apart the armor that Saleen had custom-made for her. Sika, struggling to stand, threw the wooden club that she had in her hand in a last-ditch effort to protect herself from any further injuries.

Saleen felt his mind go blank as he witnessed Sika fall onto the floor in agonisingly slow motion. He glanced at her wounds and winced. Her entire back had a slash mark almost two feet long. It was so deep that the bone was visible. Instinctively, he released a spell called Mutating Wind.

A layer of fog started emanating from Saleen’s body. He did not attempt to dodge the gun. In fact, he rushed towards it. The evil spirits were creatures with no emotion. Thus, they were not affected by Saleen’s odd behavior at all. The gun was making its way towards Saleen’s abdomen…

No, the assassin was not about to utilize his bullets. As soon as the weapon was close enough to Saleen, he would flick his wrist and the spear hidden within the gun would reveal itself. By the time Saleen realized this, it would be too late for him, and the spear would already have plunged deep into his heart. Stabbing someone’s lower abdomen would not kill them. However, as soon as the heart ruptured, even grade-9 mages would not be able to save Saleen.

Saleen, too distraught for words, leapt towards the gun. Only one thought was flashing frenziedly throughout his mind – save Sika.

No sooner had the wooden club thrown by Sika made contact with the assassin’s back than the crunching sound of bone breaking could be heard from afar. Her attack had expended her remaining energy. Falling onto the floor, she felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. The scimitar that the other assassin had used against her did not contain poison, but it was a serrated knife. These types of knives, after making contact with skin, would immediately draw a never-ending flow of blood.

It was the first time that Saleen had seen such a fearsome assassin. He knew that with Sika’s throwing ability, even the strongest magical beasts would have been rolling on the floor in pain after the wooden club struck them. However, the assassin that had been struck could still find the energy in him to continue charging towards Saleen.

Saleen had momentarily lost his agility from the earlier attack. All he had now was his speed.

The fog that was coming from Saleen’s body was already one foot thick. However, the assassin was easily able to slice through the fog using the gun-and-dagger device, and stabbed the weapon into Saleen’s ice plate armor.

A deep crack appeared on the armor almost immediately. Saleen’s body, with some momentum from the fog, launched up into the air. The assassin, whose arms were tired by now, could only watch as the tip of the gun which contained the blade slipped down from the ice plate armor. Saleen saw red. His left hand immediately reached out towards the assassin’s face.

Although he was a mage, Saleen realized that he would not be able to finish off his opponent with just one spell as the distance between them was too small. Technically, since his opponent was an evil spirit, he would likely would not care about life and death.

”Now you’ll see what actual hell feels like,” Saleen roared as his left hand, glowing a brilliant green, silently punched through the assassin’s face.

Seeing that his companion was in grave danger, the second assassin, the one who had the scimitar, immediately came to his aid. Upon seeing that there were remnants of Sika’s flesh on the tip of the scimitar, Saleen felt an anger that he had never felt before consume him. His azure blue eyes flashed a menacing red.

”Sika!” Saleen screamed at the top of his lungs, hoping that his loud volume would somehow startle his injured comrade into consciousness. He pulled his left gand back from the assassin’s face and charged towards the second assassin that was brandishing the scimitar.