145 Chapter 145: Assassination Attemp (1/2)
”Whoops…it has already gotten this late, huh?”
I was so engrossed in my training that I hadn't realized that it was already past evening, and that the sun had set long ago. I vaguely remembered Harvey asking me if I wanted to return home together, but I told him to go ahead because I wanted to continue practicing and honing my summoning spells. Thankfully, he agreed in his usual cheerful manner, and mercifully left me alone.
Not that I hated his company. It was better than being alone. Perhaps I should have taken him up on his offer, after all. It felt a little lonely walking home by myself…then again, I would have to take a bus most of the way, so we would have gone our separate ways after a few minutes of walking from the school gate anyway.
After putting away the equipment and locking up the training room, I proceeded to the school gate. At this hour, the campus was completely deserted. All the students and most of the staff had already gone home, and I was but a solitary figure traversing the courtyard. The grass and trees were largely cast in shadow, and the leaves rustled as a cool evening breeze blew through them. I shuddered involuntarily.
”…hmm?”
For some reason, I felt a chill, but I was unable to pinpoint what was causing it. Nonetheless, I was long used to this sort of thing, having been the target of abductions from the enemies my dad inadvertently made over the course of his career.
In other words, I should just do the usual tactic of shrugging off my pursuers…except that I had a strange premonition that this time was different.
These weren't professional mages trying to kidnap me. The prickle at the back of my neck told me it was something more ominous.
”…no, not monsters.”
It was impossible for monsters to be within the safe territory of a city, not unless someone let them through a barrier. But the mages in charge of Jing Tian City would locate such monsters and flush them out in short order. Whatever the case, the feeling felt…human. And from experience, I knew humans could be just as monstrous as beasts.
Just look at Troy's brother, for example. He was nothing short of a monster.
Stepping through the school gates, I hastened my pace and strode toward the bus stop. At this hour, the bus frequency had slowed down somewhat, which would be slightly detrimental to my escape plans. I had to time it properly. If I missed my bus, I would be left exposed for about twenty minutes to half an hour.
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And depending on the caliber of my assailants, that might be more than enough time to overpower me. And this time, being abducted to blackmail Dad would be the least of my worries. These people…I intuitively sensed that they were different from the usual kidnappers somehow.
I didn't have to wait for long.
”!!!”
Three dark shadows dropped down from the nearby buildings, diving straight at me. I managed to jump a few meters back, avoiding a lethal strike from the person in the middle. A silver flash sliced through the air in front of me, and I could see several strands of hair drifting away as the blade cut through my fringe.
”Ugh…”
As I backed away, I took a good look at the three of them. They were dressed entirely in black, their features entirely concealed by hoods and masks. Sort of like ninjas, particularly with such ridiculous getups. That said, I did appreciate the view. I could tell that all three were women, judging from how their tight bodysuits clung to and emphasized their feminine curves and breasts.
However, it didn't matter. They were still dangerous, and I wasn't those kind of guys who looked down on the fairer sex. I would be the first to admit that a girl could kick my ass.
Just look at Cecilia or Kureha, for example. Even Alicia would give me a hard time, and I couldn't afford to hold back against someone of her skill.
”!!”
The other two assassins came from the sides, flanking me. Their daggers streaked toward me in a deadly arc, aiming right for my throat and chest.
”Gemini!”
I managed to summon my twin swords in time and deflected both assassin weapons. Retreating while parrying their slashes and thrusts, I tried to assess what was going on.
Well, one thing was for sure. These girls certainly weren't the typical assailants. I was used to people trying to abduct me without taking my life that I didn't expect assassins to kill me.
And these three were seriously trying to kill me.
”Who are you?! Why are you trying to kill me?” I demanded. I honestly didn't recall pissing off any young master or mistress from some big family or whatever and earning their ire to the point where they would hire assassins to eliminate someone as insignificant as me.
No, seriously…why would anyone waste so much money and invest so much resources into hiring assassins, risking being arrested for premediated murder at the same time, just to ”teach me my place” or because I was ”trash” or some equally preposterous reason? If I was really that insignificant and ”trash” then why would they ever deem it necessary to waste all these resources, money and time into assassinating me?
Typically, none of the assassins responded. They were good. If they were amateurs, they would spouting all sort of bullshit and giving themselves away unnecessarily, but right now they were totally focused on the job. Not that I ever expected them to. Assassins were supposed to keep their clients' identity a secret. Professional code of conduct and all that.
Kind of reminded me of some other so-called assassin who just stood around and did nothing while her contracted spirit did all the fighting, and talked endlessly like a twelve-year-old girl instead of doing her job properly. These professional assassins were worlds apart from her in terms of attitude, even if they lacked her power.
Silently they struck as one, their daggers and knives flashing toward me again. Their attacks were synchronized perfectly, the three of them moving coherently. They covered each other when I tried to counterattack, one of them parrying Castor, the other deflecting Pollux and the third trying to land a killing blow.
”Kuh!”
Flipping backward and avoiding a fatal strike to my throat, I desperately kicked out. The girl in the center managed to twist her body to the side, avoiding my foot, and her fellow assassins intruded with ripostes of their own, forcing me to the defensive.
”Damn it!”
I had to get to a distance, where I would have more of an advantage. The three of them attacking as one unit was too tough for me to handle on my own. They covered each other's weaknesses, and attacked and defended flawlessly. They were making use of their numerical superiority to slowly overwhelm me.
Clang!
Parrying another strike from a dagger, I managed to twist around before I could get my carotid artery severed by a knife. Spinning to the side, I kicked out preemptively to halt another lethal attack before it landed, and then withdraw to evade another slash.
These assassins were good. They were efficiently aiming for my vital spots, and if I allowed just one to hit, I would die immediately. Not only that, I caught a whiff from one of their blades. The girl on my left, the one with emerald eyes – both her blades were coated with poison.
Of the three, she was the most dangerous.
”!!!”
The one in the middle, on the other hand, was the most skilled. No wonder she served as the vanguard. She was the fastest, and given how smooth and impeccable her attacks were, probably the most experienced. It was her dagger that almost sliced within a millimeter of my throat. And her knife almost ended up in my chest if I didn't whirl away. Deflecting her dagger with Castor, I had to use Pollux to parry the poisoned dagger from the assassin on the left before withdrawing before she could stab me with her knife.
At the same time, the assassin from the right thrust her short sword at me. Of the three, she had the longest reach, since she possessed the biggest weapon.
”Huff…”