167 Chapter 167: Tragic Turn (2/2)
”…are you all right?”
”Yes, yes, I'm all right. You will be too, okay? We'll get a healer…just hang in there. Don't you give up on me, you hear?!”
I dropped to my knees, unable to control my emotions. For all the magic I had learned, healing was not one of them. If only the damned Holy Spring blessed me with healing magic or something! If only we had thought to bring Pearl along, no matter how exhausted she was! If only…if only…
All those speculation was useless in the present.
The sergeant advanced toward the assassin, his face a mask of rage and his carbine aimed at the fallen man.
No, not man.
The assassin was rising to his feet now, his deformed features melting away and reforming into a more feminine face. Her chest was swelling a little and her pants expanded as her hips widened.
A shapeshifter!
”An Assassin from the Deceivum Sect.” Vincent's tone was murderous. ”So you've always been hiding among us.”
”I don't think I've to ask what happened to the real Rayner,” the stocky man muttered dryly. I glanced at the both of them, bewildered.
”The what sect?” one of the soldiers asked.
”Deceivum. The Assassin Guild is broken into several sects, each with their own specializations. The Frenzor Sect, as you've experienced, is a master of terror tactics, unleashing superhuman berserkers enhanced by combat drugs and experimental surgeries to wipe out entire command hierarchies and intimidate organizations into submission. The Veneneum Sect specializes in poison – you saw that female Assassin with the poisoned daggers earlier. The Umbra Sect teaches its followers the art of stealth and swordsmanship, stemming from the shinobi arts of ancient Japan. The Pavlichenko Sect, which specializes in snipers and guns. And the Deceivum Sect, who trains its assassins in shapeshifting magic and infiltration.”
Holy hell…then how do we know if any among us wasn't from the Deceivum Sect?!
”That is correct,” the shapeshifting woman agreed. She shook her head and sighed in disappointment. ”Just when I thought you had lowered your guard…I didn't expect your daughter to sense the threat and react in reflex.”
”Who hired you?! And why are you trying to assassinate Director Vincent Violet?” the sergeant demanded as he closed in on her. The lady merely chuckled as she toyed with her phase sword, not at all intimidated. It was clear that she thought she could easily eliminate the sergeant anytime she wanted.
But the moment she did, the other two soldiers and I would shoot her.
”I thought the answer would be obvious. Don't you already know who my employer is?”
”The Dark Church,” the stocky man murmured. ”Of course.”
”Exactly. As to why I targeted Director Violet…it's nothing personal, really. My mission was to eliminate the City Council, but he always had his guard up against me. He remains the biggest threat, being the only combatant in the City Council. It was only now that he temporarily lowered his guard, in the lull of battle, that I finally found a chance to strike. But even then, I didn't expect his daughter…”
”Bitch…!” the sergeant snarled. He reached out to apprehend her. ”I'm sure the Intelligence Agency will have some questions for you…”
He then suddenly jerked back when the Deceivum Assassin's phase sword flashed through the front of his face. He raised his carbine in reflex, parrying the block, but the shimmering blade vibrated so rapidly that it was able to cut through partway. Fortunately, the sergeant's gun was still a magical weapon and it held strong.
”Why, you…”
The sergeant was about to retaliate, but the Deceivum Assassin kicked him in the gut. The sergeant grunted and stumbled back, doubled over from the blow. However, she continued to hold him close, almost using him as a shield against the ranged weapons of the other two soldiers and me.
Damn it! I realized that she had planned this all along. The reason why she hadn't attacked earlier was because she wanted to lure the sergeant in, and then use him to block our line of view, thus neutralizing our ranged firepower!
”Thank you,” she told the staggering sergeant before plunging her phase sword into his collarbone. The two soldiers beside me shouted in impotent anger, and my fingers tightened on my arrow, but I suppressed the desire to release it.
I wasn't going to kill an innocent person for the sake of my revenge.
However, at this rate, the sergeant would die anyway. Even if I didn't shoot him along with the Assassin, her phase sword would carve him apart in the next two seconds. I might as well…
Her weapon never reached him.
”…eh?”
The Deceivum Assassin blinked before stupidly staring at her right arm. Or what remained of her right arm. It was nothing more than a bleeding stump, the entire limb torn off right below the elbow.
She then turned around and spotted Vincent Violet beside her. He casually tossed away the severed hand he had just ripped off – the phase sword still clutched tightly in its grip, and then sank his fist onto her chest. The punch erupted from her back in a shower of blood and bone, and the Deceivum Assassin slumped over.
”T…thanks…”
The sergeant gasped as he straightened up, bowing gratefully. Vincent Violet merely nodded and then callously dumped the shapeshifting assassin's corpse onto the ground.
”Shouldn't you have captured her, to interrogate her?” the stocky City Council member asked as he approached.
”She killed my daughter,” Vincent Violet replied simply, his tone icy.
”I understand how you feel, but you can better avenge her by finding out where the Dark Church and other Assassins are…if there are any more of her kin planted among us…”
”She's an Assassin. Do you think she will give her secrets up?” Vincent Violet turned to stare at the stocky man, who faltered when he saw his frosty expression. ”They are trained to withstand torture, never mind the…comparatively mild interrogative methods that the Global Federation employs that align with human rights and whatnot. If anything, she will kill herself before we'll be able to extract any useful information from her. At worst, she'll escape, leaving a trail of blood and death behind. And with her shapeshifting abilities, it'll be near impossible to catch her again.”
”You are right, of course.”
”The Dark Church…” Vincent Violet clenched his fist violently, the furious Armament Ba Qi still coating it and visibly manifesting in a near-solid form. ”I'll make sure they pay for this.”