The sounds of metal striking against metal drew everyone’s attention away from the Library of Ancients. In the snow, Gaius could vaguely perceive two people fighting, although without being able to see the attire the combatants wore, the little boy couldn’t tell their affiliation.
This Harvest, however, was turning out to be a impromptu meet and greet session. One where swords met and people greeted strangers with instant aggression. No one wanted to approach the silhouettes, although Gaius doubted that they were actually that cautious.
Below him, the small group had drawn their weapons and artefacts, and were spreading out slowly in preparation to encircle the two fighters. The little boy above them grunted silently in approval…but he wasn’t going to let them have their way. His hands danced, creating a sigil that would call upon a small gust of wind, another basic sigil from the cheap guide he’d purchased on the Exchange.
The guide had introduced a wide variety of sigils that were designed to make one’s life easier in the wild. But although it didn’t have sigils that could produce a giant golden beam, the ones that it did had just required some levels of imagination to affect any ongoing battle. Pinching the sigil, Gaius smirked.
It shattered, and a gentle wind picked up. Within seconds, the two fighters had lost all cover, revealing two people, both of which were draped in a red cloak, and were busily choking each other. On the ground beside them was a handful of gemstones, and the only thing that prevented Gaius from assuming that these gems were the cause of the conflict was the fact that they were rather common in Heritage.
The two people in red froze up as what seemed like eight people appeared in their vision. As for the group from the Western Holdings, they too had frozen up the moment the mist dispersed.
A moment of awkward silence passed, in which Gaius imagined himself ringing a bell to start off the fight. From his vantage point, it was far more amusing than anything else. The two people in red looked like tussling animals suddenly surprised by a giant spotlight, while the group from the West reminded Gaius of the time he’d caught a bunch of students trying to sneak out to the nearby city on Earth.
Gaius held his head as it pounded slightly. A memory had surfaced within him at this time, although it was far more fortunate that nothing of the sort had happened when he was conducting his first assassination against one of those who stood at the pinnacle of the world. The little boy couldn’t help but wonder what the absence of such a phenomenon for his first assassination meant, though.
Or maybe his body was suppressing the memory, preventing it from causing undue stress to him at such an important juncture. Either way, the fact that no memory had returned for his first true assassination on Orb was undeniably better than the alternative.
Shaking his head, Gaius returned his attention to the duo in red, whose hands were still around each other’s necks. It seemed to him that they were already communicating through their eyes, although the little boy didn’t know how that was possible.
That fact wasn’t lost on the people from the Western Holdings, however.
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“Get them!”
“Don’t let them run!”
“We’ll beat you if you resist!”
And you won’t beat them if they don’t? Liars. Gaius retorted in his mind.
A wacky chase scene ensued…or it would, if not for the fact that one of the two in red had reacted immediately by tossing three knives at the incoming pursuers. Two of them died on the spot, collapsing on the spot as a knife buried itself up to the hilt into their throats. The third closest pursuer managed to sidestep the knife, but she — the hood had flown up in her desperate dodge — wasn’t unscathed. She took another few steps, and then dropped onto the ground, her arm clutching at her left shoulder.
The others took a step back in fear, and the duo vanished, making use of that window of opportunity.
Gaius raised an eyebrow at that feat — throwing knives weren’t as easy as it looked. Sure, it was an acquirable skill, but everyone here — exceptions like Yong Yue aside — was probably under twenty years old. No one would train in the art of throwing knives when there are more stable combat options out there, especially at such an age.
He himself probably started training his skill to throw knives only in his later years, when his body was beginning to decline. Judging from his fragmented memory, Gaius never really got a chance to use it for real, but it was a skill that would awe his students all the same. After all, handguns existed for a reason.
“Clara!” The leader of the group ran over to the fallen girl, tearing her left sleeve away to reveal a hideous purple wound. He sniffed it, before recoiling immediately. “Damn it. They managed to get Melloi and Sanda too. Retrieve their bodies — we’ll retreat immediately. Clara’s wounds have been inflicted with a slow-acting poison.”
Rummaging through his pockets, he took out a bandage lined with purple, and wound it around the knife. “Let’s go.”
Gaius grinned wolfishly, before placing the Auspices of Concealment on his face again to mask his true face. Dispelling his invisibility, he levelled the Moonshot towards the girl on the leader’s back. “Not so fast. Move, and I’ll fire immediately.”
The others trembled, and the leader’s face twisted as he recognised the item in Gaius’ hand. “The Moonshot?! Anything’s negotiable. What do you want from us?”
“The secret of this weapon,” replied Gaius. “Tell me the truth, and I’ll let everyone go free. I’m quite sure Michelle and company must have told you what happens if I don’t get my answer, no?”
He glared at Gaius, who was floating from above. “A Knight eavesdropping on us…where’s your sense of pride?”
“Lost in the war. Now, I haven’t gotten around to shooting yet, but if you don’t tell me, I will,” replied Gaius. The Moonshot danced around merrily in his hands, at a speed that his conversation partner couldn’t follow.
“The Moonshot,” said the leader, “has a long-range function. There’s a button hidden underneath the barrel, covered by a false cover. Remove it and click the button to change its form.”
Gaius nodded in satisfaction as the small handgun-lookalike transformed into something that now resembled the Straight Shot, just that it was more sophisticated. He glanced at the group one last time, before ascending to the skies.
Gaius’ voice echoed from the sky. “Perhaps you lot shouldn’t have plotted against me, eh? You’re lucky I’m in a good mood today. Now, before your friend dies, you should make your way out of this place.”
Leaving a fearful squad behind, the little boy sped towards the exit.