"How did you find me?" A raspy, rough tone emerged from the figure hidden behind her oversized cloak.

"We never lost you in the first place." Conveyed Renata cold.

"Fuck!" Maybe it's due to Renata's condescending attitude, or perhaps she was scared when we suddenly found her when even the pursuing soldiers couldn't. But one thing was sure: she ain't going down without a fight.

Even all the cussing and frustrated looks were nothing but act she put in order to buy her time to condense enough mana into what I assumed to be an artifact in her hand.

"So, what? Am I going to have my head flying, or are you fuckers going to start asking me questions, huh? Which is it!?"

"Cuss Him one more time, and I'll pull your tongue out, you dirty whore!" Threatened Renata, gripping her dagger.

'Yea, you don't want to do that...' I could only hope the woman was not an idiot who liked to try her luck. Because God knows Renata would do it.

"Hah, you're making it sound like I'm not goin' to hell today. So, if I hold my tongue, ya'll gonna spare me? That's really funny, bitch. But I gotta say, you pick a shitty place to slit someone's neck, ain't you? What're you goin' to do with these people watchin-"

"..." Renata said nothing and crisply snapped her finger, cutting the woman's rambling early.

Several people then stood up and moved toward the servers, the barkeep, and the kitchen at the back. They knock them out with pinpoint accuracy and then walk back to their seats in silence as if they're taking a brief walk to a park.

And that was about the last thing we heard from the busy tavern. Not a voice nor sound was heard from thereon. It was eery and daunting at the same time.

"What eyes? I saw nothing but the Shadows moving." Taunted Renata. The greenish gleam in her eyes shone mysteriously, hidden beyond the black mask that was without a face.

'Dang it. Now that's how you deliver a line...'

"Since when...?" More alarmed than before, the woman scanned the surroundings.

"Like I said...We never lost you." A chilling declaration came out of Renata's lips.

"Are you from the Dawson?"

"Do we look like we're from the Dawson?"

"Are you the one who talked to me earlier?" The woman finally removed her hood, revealing the irritating visage hidden beneath. She was glaring at me, who hadn't opened my mouth even once from the start.

"You're not worthy to talk with Him. You answer to him when asked to and not the other way around." Said Renata sharply.

"Fuck...What happens to the other assassins? They're supposed to raise a riot."

'It's obvious, though...'

"Who are you aiming for?" Renata returned the question with one of her own.

"What are you talkin' about?" The woman winced deeply in response.

"Tell us what we want, and your reward will be a quick death."

"Hah! fuck me...You people don't have a fuckin' clue about negotiating, don't you?" Spat the woman harshly.

"Negotiating? With you? Aren't you mistaking something, woman?" A playful tone rang out from Renata's lips as if she was enjoying it.

"Don't test me, bitch! I'll bring down one of you with me even if it's the last thing my rotten corpse will do."

"Are you that strong?" And finally, I opened my mouth.

"Huh?" Baffled was she, looking like she couldn't understand what I was saying.

"Tell me, are you really that strong? I'm asking because I'm curious. How you'll fare in the outside world." I was genuinely curious.

"..." She glared at me in silence, drowning deep within her thoughts.

Zing!

A dagger popped out in the blink of an eye, pointing gently toward the woman's neck, and clashed with the transparent barrier that protected the latter. Renata, who had been calmly sitting a second ago, was now leaning forward, eyeing the enemy quietly like a psychotic killer in the action.

"When my Lord asks you a question, you answer Him. I told you that, didn't I."

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The woman was tempted to move and risk everything, but we both knew she needed more time.

And so, she gnashed her teeth in frustration and rage, glaring murder at me.

'What's with the hate? She's the one who points a freaking dagger at your neck.' I complained inwardly.

"As you can see, I'm strong enough to escape the Dawson's Duke and Duchess while having their entire regime raining spells on me." Said her after a while.

"Yes, I know. It was good...Now, if you fight against, say, a magician of the royal palace, what will happen?"

"...I am stronger than most magicians out there. Can't say much of 'em in the royal palace, though..." Answered the woman while studying my eyes, trying to figure out why these odd questions popped out of nowhere.

"Hmm, I see...Then what about the Lion of Dawson? Can you beat him?"

"Can I beat him? Are you kidding me? That old man is a living monster. They say he's the only one who can hope to reach sainthood in this lifetime after Boreas's saint guardian, Pierce Demeria Boreas."

'So, Rygor is that strong, huh? Well, this is great. I can more or less know where I stand now...'

"I'm done, Assassin. Go on."

"Yes, my Lord," Answered Renata. "I'll ask you again, who're you aiming for?"

"...The twins. One of the Dawson's young. Or maybe the Duke and Duchess themselves? Who knows? The rumor has it Dawson's lovebird can't live without their mate. If I'm lucky enough to kill one, maybe the other one will follow their spouse into the river of hell by their own feet? That will be a wonderful surprise, ain't it?"

"Ha..." I didn't know why, but her words had affected me more than I was willing to admit.

"M-My lord?" Renata was trembling fearfully as she noticed the shifting mood.

"Shadows. Seal out the area. I don't want a soul to go near here." The Shadows always received their commands from Renata, who took the seat of Darkness in the council as the Assassin. It was the first time I'd ever given them a direct order, so it's understandable why they appeared bewildered initially.

Still, since Renata revered me like a god and trained them almost like cult members, it didn't take long before these highly capable assassins snapped back to their minds.

"By the Lord's will!!" A united answer came from the dozens in the dimly lit tavern.

They immediately moved, following my commands, and within seconds, all that was left was the three of us—sitting at the round table where silence reigned true.

"Don't move," I growled low, dumping my brewing anger into the firm image in my head.

The word magic roused and flared forward, razing the woman's barrier to pieces, and began dominating her mana that tried to fight back the foreign power.

"W-What have you done to me!?" The woman hissed loudly, realizing that she had lost control of her body. She began burning her mana rampantly to escape from my clutches, but her effort was for nothing.

If she had prepared more beforehand, maybe she could've done something about it, but now that I've caught her like this, it was easier for me to squash her and harder for her to break free.

"I know you've been buying time to dump mana into that artifact of yours. I don't care, honestly..." I ignored her and kept on speaking.

"She did say we are not from Dawson, but did it ever occur to you that we might have a good relationship with them? So much that I am willing to kill you on the spot because of a single Knight?"

I could see the swirls of mana as she tried to shove her mana into the artifact forcibly. Judging by the looks of it, she must've abandoned the notion to try and break free from the spell I placed on her body and gambled everything on the artifact. A wise move, I must admit...

Little did she know, I was way ahead of her.

"A Domain, was it? The thing that brings you so much pride and glory. How about I'll show you something similar?" I felt my head burn green with spite. Pride and arrogance were mixing as one.

It was so unbecoming of me, but I couldn't help it...

'A Domain in this tavern. A Domain that exists only for me...'

A massive amount of mana exploded from within my body, interlocking and weaving using the very fabric of time and reality to form the prison in which I held the absolute rule.

I think I know why Helena was making such a huge fuss about this spell. It was a familiar feeling since I used the image from my memory. The time when I met God...

Hence, why it took so much mana, exorbitantly depleting more than half of my mana reserves in one go.

Then again, the result spoke for itself. I really did feel like something was different when I was inside it. Like I was fundamentally above everything that existed there, whether living or dead. As if everything existed solely for the absolute king.

The spell to bind her came undone by itself, as I didn't see the need for it anymore.

The shields she tried erecting had turned into nothing the minute she tried to gather her mana.

"You must think you can escape with your life, seeing how you kept running your mouth without a care in the world."

'Crush that artifact.' I commanded.

Her pupils shook uncontrollably as the remnants of whatever was left on her hand fell into the ground.

"You shouldn't have said that..." Feeling the last wisp of my anger leaving me, I muttered again. "...Let's hope you can survive this."

I tried to recall the sensation when God sealed a piece of their divinity and a fragment of the world's fate in my soul.

How I scream. How it felt to have your soul stitched. What true pain tasted like...

And now it was her turn.

"AARRGGHHH!!!" A blood-curdling shriek.

"Silence." And I took even her ability to express that.

The woman was twitching, screaming yet quiet as though the sound had left her. Her eyes rolled white while she foamed with bubbles.

It was cruel and vicious...

'...Damn it...This feels strange...' Frustrated by my inability to grasp my emotions, I moved away from the table. 'Enough...'

Everything was over, and silence presided over the tavern.

"I'm going back first, Assassin...Report what you find out to me tomorrow."

And I left, catching the same usual response from Renata.

"By your will, my Lord!"