My heart was surprisingly calm as the man I was stalking sped through an alleyway, despite knowing he was only a few turns away from where Ren lay in wait. I had thought the first time I’d decide to kill someone, I would be a little more apprehensive about it, that I would have to fight with myself over it. But today I felt nothing, had felt nothing since I’d seen Maya’s body in those cursed robes.
The city lord was accompanied by only five men, having left the rest to deal with the remnants of the fire. They were efficient, I had to admit. The city lord would deal with the bulk of the inferno with a single water Arte, powerful enough to handle my fire in seconds, and then leave the rest for his men to handle while he made his way over to the next one. Still, efficient as he was, things were not looking good for him. Currently, he was on his way to the fourth fire, but with four more still raging strong in other parts of the district, there was a constant, growing panic in his movements.
And because of that panic, the city lord was too distracted to notice Ren hiding. As he sped past the nook Ren was waiting in, the boy leapt out of his place, his figure a blur as he crossed the path of the man. Ren timed everything perfectly, as I’d come to expect of him, but the city lord was still an A Rank mage, after all. Although Ren’s dagger was positioned perfectly to glide across the man’s throat as he ran, the city lord managed to lean back just enough to save his life.
Still, Ren was who he was, too, so he redirected his dagger slightly downward as he moved past the man, cutting a deep gash in a curve down his torso. The man had no armor on, since he’d come straight from the banquet, and his fancy silk suit offered him no protection against Ren’s dagger, even with his Flux-hardened skin.
As Ren landed on the other side of the street, all six men turned to face him with some mixture of fear and apprehension. After all, with his dark midnight blue get-up of light armor and the hood and half cape, Ren cut quite a terrifying picture for the men.
“Who are you?!” the foremost guard asked, pointing a spear with flame tendrils spiralling around it at the boy. “Do you know who you’ve just attacked?!”
Ren just grinned at the man, confusing them for a moment before I finally made my appearance, attacking the two guards in the back with my pole. The one to the left I simply bashed in the side of the head with the butt of my pole, knocking him out instantly. In almost the same movement, I placed the tip of my pole against the helmet of the man on the right, igniting the Flux there before he could react. The explosion sent the man flying a couple of meters to the side, not dead but certainly out of the fight.
All that happened within the span of a single second, and while the men gathered were busy registering my attack, Ren leapt forward and stuck his blade through the neck of the guard in front of him, instantly killing the man who’d questioned him.
It was by then that the city lord’s brain finally caught up with everything that was happening. Understanding that he was under attack, the man lashed out like only an A Rank mage could. With a sweep of his arm, he summoned dozens of ice spikes from the ground, each of them long and thick enough to kill a bear. They jutted out from the cobblestone at every angle, making for a deadly obstacle course in the middle of the street, but Ren danced his way through them as they came, moving with that signature grace of his. His agility showed itself as he maneuvered his way backwards, the giant icicles constantly sprouting at his feet.
As Ren moved too far out of range to be a threat for the moment, the city lord whirled around and dashed at me instead, forming an ice machete sword in his hands as he swung down at my head.
A Ranked mages were forces to be reckoned with, each of them a powerhouse in whatever city they were in, but I was undaunted as I faced my first. Given my experience with the A Rank dummy, I was confident I could take one down with enough time. Especially now, when the man had a bloody gash running down his torso.
With that same frozen calm in my eyes, I called upon the Flux around me and met the man’s blow with my own, my flaming pole striking his ice sword with a bang. The force of our collision cracked the stone beneath us, but I held strong, not losing an inch against the man’s overbearing force, even though my palm felt numbed.
A moment later, the man backed off and swung again, from the left this time. I parried the blow almost subconsciously and struck back, though the man dodged out of reach before I could hit him. He came at me again, going for the head this time, but I ducked under his swipe and sidestepped the next one. I was in my element by that point, utterly unfettered by thought or emotion. My body moved like a machine, not missing a single step in the deadly dance the man and I quickly found ourselves in. We exchanged dozens of blows in moments, my years of experience showing itself as I weaved through almost every one of his attacks, blocking only what I had to.
Neither of us gave the other more than a meter of distance, both of us staying close in hopes of ending the fight as quickly as possible. Eventually, though, the man realized I wasn’t going to be dealt with so easily and stepped back, getting just barely out of range of my jab. Before I could even regain my balance, he aimed a finger at my forehead and fired off an icicle. The small but deadly sharp piece of ice shot at me faster than a bullet, giving me almost no time to react. But, fortunately for me, instinct kicked in and I ducked, dodging the icicle by a hair.
But the city lord was not the only one who could make bullets. As I dropped into my crouch, I fired off my own flame bullet, the process so beaten into my brain it was done with barely half a thought.
The city lord was no amateur either, though. He kicked off the ground in the half-second he had, pushing himself over the bullet as he completed a graceful backflip. He landed a few meters away, effectively disengaging for the moment. He took the time to study me from afar, a newfound interest in his eyes.
“Who are you?” the man asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. “I haven’t heard of any assassin group with talents like you. A mage as young as you are, able to go up against an A Rank? It would be impossible to keep something like that hidden. Unless…are you from the Redwing Guild?”
My face was perfectly blank as I answered, only a single thought running through my head. “Who I am is not important,” I answered. Normally, I’d be more inclined to have a little fun, especially when I was up against such a tough opponent, but today, in a fight where I intended to kill someone for the first time in a long, long time, I was not in the mood to mess around.
The man shrugged at my answer. “Very well then. I suppose I’ll simply have to extract the answer from you afterwards.” With that, he rushed at me again, this time summoning a thin kite shield to his other hand as he came.
Scarlet flame leapt to life around my fingers as I formed my claws, shifting into my stance as I prepared to meet the man’s charge. But, just a second before the man reached me, I felt a strange movement in the Flux behind me. I didn’t know what it meant, but I didn’t have the time to check, so I simply ducked and rolled out of the way.
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And not a second too soon, I realized as I shot back up to my feet. An ice statue had formed behind me, the glowing lines of the Arte that created it still under its feet. The thing’s blade had come down on the space I’d occupied just a second after I’d left it, and judging by the strength it swung with, the blow would not have been one I’d have been able to simply walk off. The thing shattered immediately after, though, clearly not meant to be a long-lasting spell.
These damn Artes…! I cursed to myself as I rushed at the man. Having had access to the Nexus Chips for their entire lives meant that most mages of this world had built up a repertoire of Artes and incorporated it into their fighting styles, while I’d only had access to one, and it was one I could use only sparingly.
Still, excuses weren’t going to help me beat the man, so I put the matter out of my head as the fight began again.
I rushed the man as quickly as I could, hoping to lock him in a fight before he could cast more Artes. But, before I could reach him, the man cast another two Artes almost simultaneously. I ran at him as his brows furrowed in concentration, his brain no doubt racing as it maneuvered through the complex processes of casting, but the man succeeded moments before I reached him.
The ground glowed slightly as a paper-thin layer of ice suddenly spread over the stone, starting from his feet and reaching mine within moments. Before I could stop myself, my foot landed on the almost transparent ice, finding no traction to support my speed.
As my foot flew out from under me, my momentum carried me forward still, sending me on my way to the ground. As I fell, the man’s second Arte appeared at my side, the glowing runes drawing themselves on air. I didn’t know what the Arte was going to do, but I was sure I didn't want to be in its way to find out.
In the face of the danger, though, the calm in my mind was unperturbed, and the lack of panic allowed me to think through the situation clearly. With half a thought, the Flux at my feet ignited, propelling me forward as I fell. I leapt at the man, dropping my pole as I stretched out my claws at him. By the time the man's second Arte had drawn itself out, the scarlet flame around my fingers had already sunk into the man’s sides, my momentum carrying the both of us crashing down to the ground.
I rolled off the man as we hit the ground, blood splashing as my claws tore out of the man’s skin. I was back up in seconds, as was the man, and neither of us wasted a moment before clashing again. Having lost my pole, I was at a disadvantage in any kind of ranged fight, so I closed in as much as I could.
The man slashed down at me as I came, but I sidestepped and lunged at his face. Speed was of the essence in this fight, I knew, and things were already dragging on too long. The longer the fight took, the worse the odds of accomplishing my goal would get. I knew I’d be able to handle the man on my own eventually; the important part was doing it quickly and quietly.
Fortunately for me, I had Ren.
As the man leaned back and away from my claws, Ren’s voice whispered in my head, speaking through the call that we were still on.
“Ruby, catch,” was all he said, but I figured out what he meant a moment later.
The city lord, suddenly sensing something behind him, bent his head to the side as fast as he could, and not a moment too soon. Right behind his head was the tip of Ren’s flying dagger, shooting at me with incredible speed.
My eyes narrowed as time slowed, my brain kicking into a higher gear in the face of the sudden danger. The dagger blew past the man’s ear and was headed straight for my forehead, but I tilted my head just in time. My outstretched hand swung back in an instant, catching the handle of the dagger just as the blade passed over my shoulder.
At the range we were at, coupled with the incredible speed at which everything happened, there was nothing the man in front of me could have done. I swung the blade down in a diagonal arc, crossing through the man’s chest again, marking a bloody X on his torso.
The man screamed and stumbled backwards, but Ren and I weren’t done with him yet. I threw the dagger at the man with all the force I could muster in the short moment, the silver of the blade a glint in the air as it sped across the space. The man, though stunned in pain, lived up to his rank and stumbled to the side just in time. Or, almost in time. The blade cut through the man's side as he dodged, wrenching out another pained yell from the man.
But his misfortunes weren't over yet.
Waiting on the other side was Ren, who’d only just gotten there. But the boy’s reaction speed was fast enough to catch the blade before it struck him, as I'd expected. Before the city lord could even fall to the ground, Ren caught him from behind, sliding his blade through his back and straight into his heart.
With a slight push from Ren, the man fell forward to his knees, but, as a testament to his grit, he did not fall further, the last vestiges of his vitality keeping himself up.
The man’s dying eyes held a powerful hatred in them as they met mine. “I… remember now,” he forced out, his voice gravelly and rough. “You’re that damn Mountain Devil, aren’t you? The one-” the man hacked a cough, blood splashing out of his mouth, “the one his Highness claimed. I was going to threaten revenge, but I’m sure whatever that sick boy has planned for you will be worse.” He attempted a raspy chuckle, sick and evil sounding, but it ended in another bloody cough. “But mark my words, you damn Devil, I will have my revenge. I don’t care what I have to give up, what deal I have to make, I remember your face, and when I come back, I will-”
Ren snapped the man’s neck then, abruptly cutting off the man’s tirade. His lifeless body slumped down to the ground, leaking blood onto the stone of the street.
“Well, that was enough of that,” Ren said simply, wiping off the blood on his hands and blade with a scrap of the man’s suit fabric.
I stared at the man’s body, unable to respond as I waited to feel something. The man’s death marked the second time I’d ever decided to kill someone – and succeeded in doing so, even if I hadn’t quite been the one to land the final blow.
And yet, as I stood over his lifeless husk, I felt absolutely nothing but that cold numbness that had taken hold of my body. It was nothing at all like the first time. That day had been a nightmare, one that I didn’t really want to relive ever again, but I remembered vividly the emotions that coursed through me after the act. I’d felt every bit of it, every emotion potent and clear. Today, I just felt hollow.
A moment later, though, I did suddenly feel something. But it wasn't an emotion – it was Flux. A sudden torrent of the energy poured into my body, like water rushing out of a broken dam. I could feel the potent warmth filling my body, patching up the small wounds I’d received over the day, nourishing and strengthening every cell in my body before topping up my Flux reserve with whatever was left. It was a wonderful feeling, like a Revive without the pain. What I didn’t understand, however, was where the Flux was coming from. The only comparable feeling I could think of was draining a red Flux Core, but this was greater even than that.
Ren, noticing my confusion, smiled at me. “Oh, you feel it too?” he asked.
I looked up at him and nodded. “What is it?”
The boy shrugged. “Not too sure, honestly. Just know that ever since my chip got synchronized, it's happened every time after I kill someone. Though, it’s never been this much before. I guess it depends on the person you kill.”
“Huh,” I said. “That’s interesting.” I looked back at the dead man at my feet, wanting to check one last time if I would feel anything, but still, nothing sparked in my chest
Heaving a sigh, I turned my gaze back to the boy. “Well then,” I said, “guess I don’t mind killing people now. I’m officially a murderer.”
Ren grinned at me, nudging me with an elbow. “Technically, not yet. Pretty sure I finished it.”
I shook my head in disbelief at the boy, not quite so far gone yet to joke around about it, before turning to look in the direction of the banquet hall. “Well, if I’m not yet,” I said finally, determination flaring in my eyes, “I’m sure I will be before sunset.” Now that I was sure no naive instinct would kick in to stop me from doing what I needed to do, I was all the more confident in achieving my goal today.
“Let’s get going then, shall we?” Ren said, still smiling as he started to make his way over to where he’d abandoned his sword in the chest of a guard. “The city guards should be able to curb the fires a little, but we want to make sure we get to the banquet before they shut things down, if they do decide to.”
I nodded, following after him and picking up my pole. “The Tesserpine people probably haven’t left yet, and if the banquet gets shut down, I’d be willing to bet Zayr will go after them in retaliation. We should get there as soon as possible.”
With that, the two of us quietly slipped away, leaving behind a ruined street and the assassinated body of Wolfhaven's mayor, headed at last to the banquet, where Zayr's trap undoubtedly lay in wait.