Chapter 207 – Dark Night (3)

Assassination. It was the act of secretly killing people. When the Kronos Empire said they would assassinate Roman Dmitry, Kevin briefly thought of Roman dying.

The Lord he trusted was not someone who could be assassinated. He didn’t know how he would die, but if his death came, it wouldn’t be in a meaningless way like that.

Roman Dmitry was his sky and his God. Just the mere thought of the death of the being who was in the sky made his blood boil in rage.

At first, he was worried, but soon he got angry. If anyone tried to assassinate him, he wanted to tear them down limb by limb. He was going to set an example of what happens when someone tries such things on Roman Dmitry.

And now he has found Cort. The moment Cort gritted his teeth and tried to run away, Kevin rushed toward him.

Whoosh.

“It is you!”

Ecorche’s Sword. It was the target that Lucas had told him about. Kevin quickly closed the distance with his opponent, and Cort frowned as he raised his aura.

He didn’t have the confidence to shake off Kevin with his wounded body. And if he fought him face to face? With his skills as a 4-star aura swordsman, he was confident of at least wounding Kevin.

Wheik!

The aura was splitting the space. Kevin dodged the attack and then moved close enough to feel his breath.

Slash.

“Kuak!”

The sword cut through his legs. It was fast. Cort turned his dagger and tried to attack Kevin, but Kevin kept a good distance from him and didn’t back down at all.

From a distance, they clashed again. It was obvious that the moment he made even the slightest mistake, his neck would fly off, but Kevin followed him like a hunting dog with no fear.

Blood splattered. While avoiding Cort’s attacks, Kevin was leaving wounds on his opponent’s body. Clearly, Cort should have the upper hand. Kevin’s aura was weaker than Cort, but losing his arm hindered him from demonstrating his skills.

Besides, the opponent was also moving boldly. Kevin was following him like a ghost who coveted death.

Huk.

With the distance of a hair, the attack missed. The screams of the demons within Kevin’s head indicated the direction the attack would come, so Kevin tilted his head.

It was truly such an unconventional way to fight. It had been just two years since he trained swordsmanship through Roman Dmitry, and it was only normal for him to be defeated by a 4-star aura swordsman.

However, Kevin lived in a world beyond the normal sense. As he followed Roman’s path, he realized that aura wasn’t what made one win.

Everyone was the same. Even an aura swordsman would die if their neck were cut, and he had experienced things that convinced him about that. The beings that he had encountered in the past. All of them were stronger beings than Kevin, but they were all stained with pain, unable to accept reality.

It was the same now. Kevin went for his opponent’s weak point—since he had lost an arm, he attacked him on that side. His attack disrupted his balance, and even though Cort was stronger, he couldn’t do much now. The martial arts of Crazy Demon had seeped into Kevin’s presence.

The moment Cort targeted his vital points, Kevin jumped into the aura and responded back in the same way.

Pak!

They clashed. Cort’s eyes shook as he was a step late. Even in the situation where the aura hit his face, Kevin boldly chose to attack the opponent’s vitals.

How could one make such an absurd decision? There was no fear in Kevin’s eyes as he looked at him. Rather, it seemed like he was sure that his decision was right.

‘… We took the wrong request.’

He wasn’t Roman Dmitry. He wasn’t even Chris, whom they evaluated as the next dangerous one, but he was Kevin, and he was beyond their imagination. Unless they were dreaming, they were bound to fail at this request right from the start.

Pak!

And his head was hit. Seeing Cort lying on the floor, Kevin looked down at him with cold eyes.

“If my Lord hadn’t told me not to kill you, I would have cut off your flesh one by one while you were still conscious. Do not feel so grateful, though. You won’t feel happy to be alive.”

With those words…

Puak!

It was the last scene that Cort remembered.

How long was it? When Cort came to his senses, he could see candles shining on a table in the room. Pain rose. He wasn’t dead yet. Then, it was clear why he was still alive.

‘Roman Dmitry wants something from me. If it’s not for that reason, there is no reason for him to save me. I will tell him what he wants. I will give him information if he wants information and loyalty too. I need to be alive so that I can make him pay for the humiliation I have gone through.’

In the world of assassins, if they saw this, his life would be over. He gritted his teeth at the pain from his arm, and his eyes showed intent to take revenge. It was then…

Creak.

The door opened, and a man entered inside. It was Lucas. Cort tried to look at what Lucas would do, but Lucas didn’t even meet his eyes once and placed something next to him.

This made Cort lose his mind. What was revealed inside the leather cover were clearly weapons for torture.

“Ah, no, let’s start with the conversation… Kuak!”

It started with his nails. One by one, Lucas removed his fingernails and then his toenails. When all of his nails were gone, and he was profusely bleeding, Lucas took out another tool and gave a new form of pain to the opponent.

There was no conversation. For a whole week, Cort was tortured. With his mind slowly crumbling, Cort no longer even groaned.

“… Please, please, just kill me.”

In a week, he gave up hope in life. He knew that the thought that he might live was useless.

And then Lucas looked at him and said,

“Cort, Ecorche’s Sword. We are not going to kill you. The Lord instructed me to make an example of the men who try to attack Dmitry and what happens to them. Except for you, all the assassins are dead. And the traces of pain I have left on you will let everyone know what happens if they touch Dmitry.”

He went closer. Then he took out a vial of clear liquid and poured it into Cort’s mouth.

“Drink.”

Gulp.

It wasn’t like he could refuse. Since he hadn’t even had a sip of water until now, Cort drank it, knowing it was poison.

“A week ago, the Lord left for the Kronos Empire and found out that your stronghold isn’t too far from Cairo. From now on, I will release you. Therefore…”

He smiled. Lucas wasn’t a kind person.

“If you want to live, run at full speed. Before my Lord kills your Lord.”

The master of Ecorche, Bracan, received a call from his client.

[It has already been a week. Isn’t it enough to know the mission has failed?]

“Please wait a little longer. Our Sword never fails. There aren’t any rumors about a failed assassination either, and the whereabouts of Roman Dmitry have been unknown for the past week. Now is not the time to speak of the results, but please wait and be confident in our abilities.”

[I get it. But keep in mind that the price of failure will not be small.]

Tuk.

The communication was cut off. Bracan felt dizzy at the words of the other person.

‘Is it a failure?’

It had already been one week. Actually, it was already past the deadline. Although he had already accepted the possibility of failure, Bracan didn’t reveal that because the client was the Kronos Empire.

The Emperor had announced that he would assassinate Roman Dmitry, and what would be the price if he failed? A great reward was offered by the empire, and the guild accepted it, only to realize how foolish it was.

But he could not give up. Kronos’s request was Roman Dmitry’s death. Although their Sword failed, they had more assassins in the guild.

‘From now on, we must cancel all our current missions and aim to take down Roman Dmitry first. Even if it means losing most of the members, if we can kill him, then we can make a comeback with Kronos’s support.’

It felt like he was bleeding. Their assassins had completed numerous missions, and the assassination industry recognized their achievements.

And the fact that the opponent was a 5-star aura swordsman didn’t matter. Of course, it was a dangerous mission for them too, but they were certain that they would succeed.

Cliff, Cort, and a dozen more assassins. They had the power to kill the King of Cairo if they wanted to, but not a single one of them made contact.

Driven to a corner, Bracan rose from his chair and admitted that it was time for him to step in. It was then…..

Swish.

The light of the lamp went off, then it turned on again. At Bracan’s office, he was alone late at night. As the lantern flickered, he moved to fix it. At that moment….

Flash!

The lights turned on, and at the same time, the mysterious presence in the room made his heart sink.

One second. The opponent’s face was familiar. At first, he couldn’t recognize the face properly because it was in the darkness, but based on the data he was looking at a couple of seconds ago, it told him.

The order to kill Roman Dmitry. The very first page had Roman Dmitry’s face, and this man had the same face.

Two seconds. He opened his eyes. The moment he was convinced it was Roman Dmitry, Bracan took a step back while swinging the dagger from his waist.

Three seconds. All of his attacks were blocked, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t even think he could kill Roman in the first place.

He was in the Kronos Empire now. It was said that their base was not far from Cairo’s border, but only a few people knew about that.

The plan to assassinate Roman Dmitry failed. Figures like Cort would have died on the spot, and how Dmitry found their location was clear. Then this was an opportunity. He had to kill Roman Dmitry right here and complete the request.

Four seconds. While throwing more daggers, he groped for something under the table. It was the emergency bell. If he informed them of the situation, the dozens of assassins outside would rush in.

Five seconds.

Slash.

“Kuak!”

His arm fell. Bracan’s face was stained with pain, and he fell to the ground. Blood splashed everywhere.

Roman Dmitry had pulled out his sword before Bracan even realized it and cut off his arm.

His head was spinning, and it felt like his thoughts were blocked. While stepping into the assassination industry, he knew that he would not die nicely, but he had no idea that Roman Dmitry’s assassination mission would have such an outcome.

This was Kronos. What madman would step into an empire because someone tried to assassinate them?

“… Kuak.“

He groaned. Dragging his other arm, he tried to get away from Roman Dmitry. He hoped his subordinates would hear the commotion and rush inside. However, those were false hopes that would never come true.

Glance.

Roman Dmitry confirmed the emergency bell’s location.

“Pressing this will call your men here.”

Roman knew what he was thinking, and when he looked up at Roman with a pale face, wait….

Beep!

Roman Dmitry pressed the emergency bell while looking straight at Bracan.

TL/N: Sky like the limit, which cannot be touched.