227 Chapter 227: Fleeting Reunion (2/2)

To his horror, Shun Yin realized that there was little point in his presence. All of the clan elders had been brutally murdered and torn apart. He wasn't sure who the leader was, but he had to be one of the corpses lying amidst the carnage. In the center of them all, a single massive Assassin stood, his face concealed behind a skull-like mask and his bulging muscles barely contained within his black synthetic skinsuit.

A Frenzor Assassin.

The mana signatures and life-signs he had sensed just a minute earlier were all gone, not a single one of them remaining. They had been gradually fading all this time, but now he could sense that they were completely gone.

They were too late. He was too late.

With an enraged howl, Shun Yin launched himself at the Assassins. His first target was the huge Frenzor Assassin in the center of the room. The burly man merely swiped at him, his heavily muscular arm swinging at near supersonic speed.

”!!!”

Intuitively Shun Yin realized the danger. He brought his sword up to parry the blow, but the sheer strength behind it sent him hurtling several meters across the room. Even with his breath knocked out of his chest, Shun Yin managed to flip himself up and land on his feet.

”Huff…”

Before he could recover, two Assassins descended upon him, their gleaming blades flashing in a deadly arc. Shun Yin could only parry one of them, but the other's sword swung toward his neck. The two Assassins had acted in perfect synchronization, having anticipated his reflexes, but their superior amount of experience and training had made the difference.

”Damn…!”

Fortunately, Shun Yin was not alone. A lightning blast snaked out and struck one of the Assassins. Or tried to, but the Assassin spun around and evaded it effortlessly. Even so, he had failed to decapitate his target.

Gritting his teeth, Shun Yin forced the other Assassin away with his sword. Flames ignited around his blade even more ferociously than before and he unleashed a torrent of flames at pointblank range.

However, this Assassin was far more skilled than any of the other professional killers Shun Yin had faced before. Twirling his sword around, he merely cut apart Shun Yin's flames before thrusting his sword forward.

”Ugh…!”

Shun Yin was unable to avoid the sword, despite twisting to the side. The tip of the blade scraped the skin of his cheek, leaving a thin line of blood trickling down his face.

If that blade had been poisoned, I would have died from that!

Fortunately, Shun Yin intuitively understood that this Assassin was not someone who used poison. His skills were too different, too…specialized. His weapons didn't seem designed for poison. This was someone who had trained and perfected his sword skills.

Another slash and Shun Yin staggered backward, blood spurting from his shoulder. He tried to counter, but his opponent responded with a riposte that cut across his stomach, slicing through the uniform.

”Damn it…!”

Shun Yin realized that he was outmatched. Even with his training at the Miyamoto dojo, this Assassin was far superior to him in terms of swordsmanship.

Behind him, the bellow of White Tiger resounded as Glen finally finished summoning him. The roaring Soul Beast pounced on the Frenzor Assassin…

…but the massive man merely batted the massive creature aside. The White Tiger vanished in a shower of splinters, roaring in pain as it crashed through the wall. The Frenzor Assassin didn't relent, however, and dove after the White Tiger, who had gotten back onto its feet. Snarling, the White Tiger met the charging Frenzor Assassin with its claws, but the berserk killer merely swatted its paws away before pummeling it.

”Kuh!”

Glen tried his best to defend himself from the second Umbra Assassin, even as Shun Yin found himself cornered. The two high school kids were completely out of their league, even as they struggled to launch fire and lightning spells at their opponents. The shadowy killers merely wove in and out of their elemental projectiles or easily cut them down.

As if in perfect synchronization again, the two Umbra Assassins managed to disappear before appearing from the two high school students' blind spots. Before Glen could react, the blade was reaching his neck. As for Shun Yin, he found his blade deflected and the opponent's sword thrusting toward his throat, unstoppable.

”No!”

Both Assassins froze, their swords resting on the skin of their targets' necks. Shun Yin and Glen also stayed still, not daring to even breathe. One wrong move and their carotid artery or jugular vein would be slit respectively.

”I told you that those two are not to be killed.”

Shun Yin's eyes twitched as he tried to locate the speaker. He recognized that voice, knew who the owner of the voice was, but he had to confirm it with his own eyes. He just couldn't believe that she would be here…

Stepping out of the crackling flames, Angelica Porter emerged and stepped over the dead bodies of her kinsmen. With a single nod from her, the two Umbra Assassins melted away into the shadows and disappeared. Behind, the Frenzor Assassin continued pummeling the weakening White Tiger, who vanished at Glen's discretion.

The berserk Assassin bellowed in frustration at the lack of a target, but he was suddenly pacified by some spell, and he silently turned away to also disappear into the flames.

”Angie, you…” Glen began. Angelica gave him a sad smile.

”What are you doing here, Angelica?” Shun Yin blurted out. She turned to him, a look of sorrow on her face, but she didn't reply.

”Isn't it obvious?” Glen growled. ”Angie was the one who orchestrated the assassination of the Porter clan elders and the leader! She's the one who masterminded everything!”

”They had to die,” Angelica replied coldly. She then lowered her gaze. ”I told you not to get involved.”

”People are dying. What would you have me do?”

”Endure.” Angelica looked up. ”Just a bit more, and we can be together again.”

”This isn't what I want!” Shun Yin snapped. ”Do you really think I can just overlook this and be together with you after all that you've done?!”

”…you will.” Angelica gave him one last look of grief before she turned away and disappeared into the raging flames. ”Soon, the whole world will be consumed in fire…and the few of us will be the only ones left.”