Matthew stepped a few steps closer to the approaching cloaked figure before he called out loudly as he lowered his stance and grabbed the hilt of his sword
“That’s close enough!”
His voice boomed out with clear hostile intent and while it succeeded in stopping the approaching Marquis Lea Maitner, who clearly had used some sort of Mystic ability to discover and track him down it also drew a lot of attention to the both of them, however that attention was immediately tripled when Lea Maitner removed her hood and feel to her knees as she cried out
“Please—!”
‘That idiot!’
Time stretched to a near halt for Matthew as he kicked off the ground and threw caution to the wind as he sped towards the young Marquis, as he made it around halfway the assassins sprung into action and 4 of them sprung out from their hiding spots rushing towards the young Marquis while the last 3 fired at her with heavy crossbows, the blots sprung towards her with deadly precision, however the first two were deflected by Matthew’s sword and the last was blocked as it sank into his forearm
[Trauma detected, limited nanite deployment in effect]
‘Hold the nanites completely! I’ll patch myself up’
Matthew slid across the ground as he spun around, deflecting another crossbow bolt with his sword as the 3 assassins fell upon him, they acted in almost perfect unison, one moved to his right, the next moved to his left and the final charged right at him
‘Anytime Ripper!’
[8 seconds, I’m sure you’ll be okay Major~]
Matthew gritted his teeth and made a split second decision as he instantly discarded his only weapon by throwing it at the assassin on his right as he retreated backwards towards the young Marquis
‘Bet you didn’t see that one coming, heh!’
His superhuman strength and the unexpected act of discarding his weapon ensured that the blade flew true and dug straight into the neck of the assassin, severing his jugular and spine, killing the first assassin instantly, the other two instantly changed their target to Matthew and fell upon him like wolves now that he seemed defenseless.
They must have figured that it would be easy to get rid of him first now that he was weaponless. The closest assisting sunk their blade into Matthew’s chest, just then his wide grin proved one thing for sure. They had assumed Matthew would be less dangerous without his weapon. They assumed wrong.
“That’s it, come to papa!”
It happened too fast for the closest assassins to react, with what might as well had been one fluid motion Matthew grabbed their weapon hand before reaching out with a open hand that instantly clutched their neck and dug right through their flesh instantly turning the neck of the 2nd assassin into a thick red paste before he flung the now headless corpse at the 3rd assassin
“You..!”
The 3rd assassin exclaimed, revealing her gender as she deflected the corpse of her deceased comrade, at that moment she checked on her other comrades and only found Ripper sitting on a crate with 3 served heads placed at her feet, she let out a breath before she turned back and faced Matthew that pulled the knife out of his chest, the moment it emerged the blade turned red with heat as his wound fused shut with inhuman regeneration, the last assassin spat out her words in a spiteful tone
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“I see, a Mystic”
She looked at Matthew for a few seconds longer before she lowered her stance and discarded her two daggers as she drew a short sword from her hip as she spoke
“Please grant me a worthy death!”
With those words she kicked off towards Matthew that flicked the dagger in his hand towards her face, she was forced to deflect it with her sword which gave Matthew all the opening he needed to close the distance and grab her blade wielding hand before he stabbed his hand right through her the center of her chest, the assassin showed a brief grin before she coughed up blood a, a moment later Matthew pulled out his hand and her corpse were instantly set ablaze as it fell over
‘Secure the heads Ripper, I’ll deal with the other headache’
[Sure thing boss~]
Matthew let out a sigh before he turned around towards the young Marquis, the first impression Matthew got from her is that she looked hopeful, however he quickly noticed the black circles under her eyes that weren’t completely hidden by her makeup. No it was that they couldn’t be completely hidden, along with that he could tell she were scared by his show of violence but she hadn’t run away or even moved as she gazed upon him with what could only be described as zealous hope, she snapped out of her daze as she spoke again
“Please… Please save the empire… Only you can…”
Matthew remained in stunned silence for a few moments until Aea gave a sudden report
[Fully geared Mystic knights are approaching this position rapidly, I recommend immediate evacuation M1]
Matthew took Aea’s advice, however he quickly approached the young Marquis grabbed her arm as he spoke
“Excuse me miss”
Then he quickly rolled and swooped her up on his shoulders before she could act
“Eh..?”
“Don’t talk, you’ll just bite your tongue”
With those words, he instantly kicked off the ground as he accelerated with the full might of his strength as he sped off towards the outer walls, however before he could make it very far Aea sounded the alarm
[Alert all personnel: Code blue, local net disconnect]
Matthew clicked his tongue as he continued running while scanning the buildings nearby for an open door, and sure enough after a few moments the rapid clang of a large bell echoed out over the city and Matthew quickly entered into a building, a few people entered after him before the last person shut the door, in a few moments the lively city of Tweni became still, a few moments later a haunting pale light illuminated the city and surrounding area
‘Screw you Wicka, I don’t have time for your shit right now…’
After internally complaining, Matthew put down the young Marquis and looked around the inside of the building, it was a personal 2-story home which most likely belonged to a merchant, including Matthew and the young Marquis 5 people had entered off the streets, only a few moments passed before the door further into the house was opened by a servant that ushered the group inside
“Come further inside quickly”
The group of 3 quickly brushed past Matthew and the young Marquis, Matthew let out a sigh, with Wicka overhead Aea had disconnected the local net as a precaution in case the mad ship borne A. I. turned mind rending comet somehow detected them from it, Matthew offered a hand to the young Marquis that still sat on the floor and started at him in a daze, after a few moments of her not reacting in the slightest he let out a cough before he spoke
“...Your hand, my lady”
This seemed to stir the young Marquis out of her daze, and she grabbed his hand, however instead of getting off the floor she resumed pleading with renewed vigor
“Please, please young hero, save the empire!”
Matthew narrowed his eyes, he was slowly coming around to the idea that getting involved with the young Marquis would be more trouble than it was worth, still he asked
“What does the mighty Willmir empire need me to save it from? I am just one man”
At this the young Marquis’ eyes suddenly lit up with white radiance, her eyes illuminated the room as she spoke hysterically while tears rolled down her face
“I SEE IT! The great cities of the empire consumed by horrible fire! The countryside consumed by rolling firestorms! AND ALL THAT REMAINS BLANKETED BY POISONOUS ASH FOR CENTURIES TO COME!”
Matthew blinked twice, he didn’t need to think long about what would cause such a future, however it seemed like the young Marquis wasn’t finished with her grim prediction of a nuclear winter
“TWO FIGURES, BOTH OF CAST OF IRON, UNLEASHING LEGIONS OF UNLIVING SOLDIERS, THE ENTIRE WORLD COVERED IN THE LIGHT OF THE MAD COMET!”
The outcries of the young Marquis had attracted the attention of the people seeking refuge in the house, they started at her with horror on their faces and in grim realization of the future she foretold, however in stark contrast to the grim atmosphere Matthew’s chuckle betrayed his indifference, after a few moments he spoke
“I see… I see, young Marquis, Lea Maitner mind if I pick your brain about that subject a little more?”
Lea showed an expression of clear relief as she quickly nodded her head, she had understood Matthew’s words as an agreement to stop the horrible future that haunted all of her hours, so when he placed his hand on top of her head she didn’t react, it was only when she felt a prickling sensation on her neck she noticed something was wrong, however at that point in time it was too late, her hopeful expression paralyzed on her face as Matthew turned around and grabbed the servant by the neck and with a quick twist of his wrist a horrible sound echoed out as he shattered his vertebrae, a moment later his voice echoed out
“Sorry about this, I can’t have any words of this get out”
It was over before any of the last 4 could do anything about it, Matthew turned around and faced the paralyzed Lea, the expression of relief and hope still frozen on her face had distorted ever so slightly Matthew showed a grin and kneeled down to her face level as he spoke
“Sorry about that princess, this ain’t no bedtime Fairy tale”