The south-eastern part of Phoenix city was a bustling trade hub during the day. Shops could be found side by side on both parts of the streets, and where there was a gap, a stall was likely to fill it.

However, at night it was quiet. The merchants, tradesmen and artisans who lived here were usually exhausted and slept so deeply not even the rain and thunder could hope to wake them up. As for occasional whispers and the gurgles of assassins which fell from Tommy’s blade, those noises did not even reach their windows.

Feeling a wind gust from his left and right, Tommy swung his sword through the middle, cutting straight through a masked man’s torso. Simultaneously, Michael smelled steel and blood, so he jumped forward and grabbed hold of an arm.

Something sharp pierced into his shoulder, but his gloves activated immediately. Before the killer could land another blow, he pummeled him into oblivion. As he was getting up, Michael felt a stab to the back of his head, but fortunately, Natalie’s rapier was faster than the assassin’s knife.

The girl saw splashes in the mud moving towards them, so after helping Michael, she grabbed the knife out his shoulder and threw it across the street. Blood poured halfway there, although the killer's wound was likely shallow.

“Let’s put our backs to the wall,” said Tommy.

“No. Run!”

The boys followed Natalie's order. Michael took the lead, guarding his head with his gauntlets. Occasionally, Tommy would cut at random and Natalie would swing towards their back. As they tried to turn a corner, rocks fell from above.

“They’re on the roofs,” said Natalie.

“They’re freaking everywhere.” Michael spit in frustration and accidentally hit someone.

After punching the wet man’s jaw off, the team turned another corner and reached a wider street. A few hundred feet away, a group of young men and women, most likely apprentice merchants, were sitting in front of a meat shop, drinking wine from a small barrel and gambling on dice.

One of them saw the teens and waved them over. However, despite the guy’s terrible eyesight, he soon noticed the three were running, not walking. Furthermore, they were spitting in every direction and slashing the air like madmen.

“Hey, look. I think they’re on shrooms.”

Right as the merchants started laughing, Tommy swung his longsword and blood burst out of thin air. A masked man’s body appeared and fell in the street, cut clean in half with his guts spilling.

Immediately, the girls in the merchants’ group screamed, while the boys grabbed their hands and started to run.

“Go inside!” Tommy shouted.

Unfortunately, the young merchants were not from these parts. They ran in a straight line, while the mud splashes passed the trio and headed towards them. The teens were trying to catch up, but they had to be wary of the assassins left behind.

As the merchants passed by a stall, one of them tripped and fell on her knees. An arrow dropped from the sky and pierced her back. More screams followed, and the group ran towards a large tree for cover. A burly man stayed behind and grabbed the injured woman, although her lungs were pierced and she was choking on her own blood.

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“Don’t stop!” shouted Natalie.

The terrified merchants hid under the willow tree right before arrows and rocks rammed through the canopy.

That’s when it happened. The burly merchant with the injured woman on his back had just caught up to his friends. Just as he was about to join them under the tree, an arrow pierced his leg. The man stumbled, dropped the woman into his friends’ arms and smashed into the tree like a sack of bricks.

Then, the canopy shook. Water from the earlier rainfall dropped from the leaves and sprayed everywhere. For about two seconds, the silhouettes of no less than nine assassins were revealed.

“That’s our chance,” said Michael.

“Let’s go!”

Natalie took a deep breath, as did the others. The limitations they had put on themselves to save energy until now were suddenly removed, and steam burst out of their bulging muscles.

They kicked the ground so hard the cobblestones broke beneath their feet, and they accelerated forward, slamming into invisible bodies every couple of steps.

The assassins cut them and tried to block them with their bodies. The trio killed some of them, while others they were forced to ignore. What was important was that, although each of them had been cut almost a dozen times, in less than three seconds, the teens had reached the tree.

After slamming his gauntlets together, Michael slammed into the trunk like a battering ram, revealing almost a dozen assassins from which to take his pick.

A second later, Tommy and Natalie swung their blades, and a full on massacre ensued. The assassins tried to back off, but the water droplets ruined their camouflage for up to a couple of seconds, and upon being cut, that period extended indefinitely.

Knowing this, while Tommy and Michael went straight for the kill, Natalie made small, precise cuts in their chests or throats. Numerous assassins were outed, and when Tommy swung his blade, he ended up cutting some hidden ones out of sheer luck. Along with the two killed by Natalie and the five crushed by Michael, a total of 18 bodies appeared around the tree.

A couple of merchants fainted on the spot while the others became frozen in place. The trio encircled the group with their backs towards the tree and their eyes on the red puddles and bodies all around it.

“Keep calm, we will protect you,” said Tommy.

“Ha, you guys should’ve kept running.” Michael healed his wounds and passed the gloves to Natalie. However, she gave them to a random bloke and told him to put them on the dying woman with the arrow in her back.

While Michael tried to protest, an unfamiliar voice drew everyone's attention.

“It’s you fucks who should’ve run, not them. With your speed, you could’ve used them as bait, lived to fight another day, but now…”

“Who are you?” asked Natalie.

“But now, you’re all dead.”

A few dozen feet away from the tree, a tall man dressed in black appeared in the street. His face was covered, and only his large, black eyes were revealed.

“You’ve killed half our men, this ain’t just business anymore.” The assassin lifted his hand towards the sky, and out of the ring he wore on his finger, a fireball blasted towards the moon. After reaching a hundred feet above the tallest building, it exploded like a firework into a large, round ball.

“Ha, that's gonna attract the guards,” Michael smirked.

“Our crew’ll get here first. All them guards’ll find are your diced up bodies.”

Soon, the sound of steps could be heard coming from everywhere. The killers weren’t trying to be quiet anymore. They even smashed a couple of the windowsills as they descended the buildings with rocks and crossbows in their arms.

“Looks like we killed a bit less than half,” said Natalie. She signaled to the injured woman to give Michael’s gloves back. The woman hesitated, despite being already healed, but fortunately, another girl ripped them out of her hands and returned them.

“Here. Please keep us safe.

“We will,” said Tommy.

“Really?” Michael's face turned grim. As he put his gloves back on, Natalie took a step forward.

“We don’t have much of a choice. Do you remember Mr. Griffin's words?”

“Never.” Both boys shrugged.

“If you’re cornered, you fight. If you die, you die standing. And if there are weaklings behind your back, then make sure you die first.”