It was early in the morning when a scream resounded through the palace halls. Genji looked up from his desk to see the shadows of people running past his door.
"So they've found the body," he said.
Genji ignored the commotion and returned to writing. This is the last thing he can do before he goes down fighting. He wants to record his experiences in this writing, to let the world know that an assassin named Genji once lived. To show the world the horrors of a cornered madman.
He wants everyone to feel the pain and chaos he brought so that he will be comforted by the curses of his victims when he suffers the torment of hell. It is a very disturbing way of thinking, but Genji doesn't care anymore. His life is going to reach an end and there's nothing he can do about it.
A bunch of shouting was heard as more figures gathered around the emperor's room. The rumbling of footsteps on the wood was very loud. With this stampede, Genji also heard the clanging of swords in their sheaths. Minutes later, a loud creaking sound of closing gates sounded. These were the large front gates that separated the manor from the outside world. A very sturdy construction made of pure iron built over many months.
Then more silhouettes ran by the room.
"They probably think I had already escaped," Genji smiled to himself. "Under normal circumstances, this would be true. But my circumstances, however, are far from normal."
An hour passed as the chaotic lockdown of the place was established. Nothing seemed able to get in; no one could leave. In a way, this had become its own secluded world. Genji couldn't help but think back to the assassination that started this whole mess. Not the emperor's death or the lord's, but the one in the bamboo forest.
It was weird how the two places paralleled each other - both secluded so no outside force could intervene, both leading to an intense battle and eventually, both were to be his final resting place. It was as if the realm was mocking him.
"Seems I failed to take over your role, unnamed target," Genji chuckled to himself. "No matter. I will make sure there is plenty of company for us."
The sound of sliding doors was heard in the distance. A few minutes passed before another one sounded, this time a little louder and clearer.
"It's getting closer. I wonder how long it will take them to find me."
Genji returned to his writing, dipping the calligraphy brush into the ink and writing as he had been doing for the last 6 hours. This was the last thing he would leave behind, so he had to make it count.
Eventually, the door to the room opened. Genji looked up to see a maid. She looked at him for a few seconds before realization set in. Her eyes widened as she scrambled to get away from him. Genji put down the brush and got up from the table.
A scream was heard outside his door. Genji smiled and drew his daggers, then walked out to prepare himself for the onslaught of attacks that would greet him.
In a matter of seconds, two guards showed up. Seeing Genji, they quickly drew their swords and pointed the tips at him.
"Who are you?" they shouted.
Genji ignored them. Rather than answering their questions, he sized up his opponents, judging by their gait and calmness, they were much stronger than the guards of the lords, probably at the level of master swordsmen. Genji expected no less from the emperor’s guards.
Genji dashed at them and swung his daggers at the guard on the right. He blocked it but Genji stabbed at his chest with his other hand. The guard jumped back to avoid it.
Genji then kicked backward just in time to stop the other guard's arm. As he was recovering from the aftershock, Geji threw one of his knives at his thigh. The guard flinched at the sudden pain and Genji capitalized on this moment by pouncing on the other guard in front of him.
Another parry, but this time, Genji gave the neck a hard chop. The guard wobbled. Genji then gave the back of his leg a hard kick, forcing him to kneel. As he was falling, Genji brought his dagger to his throat and gave it a fast slit. Blood sprayed everywhere. Genji then used this cover to charge back at the other guard. By the time he reacted, Genji had hooked his blade with his dagger.
Genji then reached down and painfully ripped out the dagger stuck in his thigh, making sure to catch flesh between the grooves. The guard clenched his teeth in pain as Genji stabbed his stomach. The guard tried to step back, but Genji pushed down, causing a nasty-looking cut to appear.
As the two of them separated, another three guards appeared in the corner of Genji's vision. Seeing the blood on the ground, they drew their katanas and surrounded Genji. Ignoring the severely injured guard in front of him, Genji ran towards one on his side. A clang of metal sounded as Genji kicked the samurai hard in the stomach. As he curled up from the pain, Genji pushed aside his blade to stab his heart.
Then Genji kicked off the dying guard to do a backflip a few feet off the ground. The edge of a blade flew by underneath him mid-flip, cutting off a few strands of hair, but Genji paid no attention to it. On the way down, Genji slit the throat of the attacker and landed on his feet.
The other two samurai were astounded by the quick work before them. Seeing things were about to get dangerous, the uninjured guard slowly retreated. Genji ignored this and rapidly finished off the bleeding one. As he turned to the last guard, he realized he was surrounded once more by even more guards.
Here are a few suggestions:
"Need to move. Otherwise, I will be overwhelmed soon," Genji said.
Genji dashed at the guard that was in front of a wall. Genji swung his right dagger to force the person to parry. As the two metals were about to collide, Genji flicked his wrist to move his blade out of the guard's path. Just as the guard braced himself for a severe wound, nothing happened. He looked around in confusion to see Genji had run past him and started accelerating. As Genji approached the wall at an angle, he started running up the side. Just when Genji used up all his upward momentum, he stuck his right dagger into a crack in the wall.
Then in one smooth motion, he pulled himself up and continued running. This repeated itself until Genji got to the top of the wall. He stared down at the guards before turning around and started running.
A second later, everyone else snapped out of their daze and started chasing after Genji. Genji paid no attention as he ran toward a nearby building. As he got near, he bent his knee and jumped with all his might. Moments later, he landed on the roof and dispelled his momentum with a roll. When the group saw this, they frowned, wondering if the intruder was going to get away.
Genji ran for a little while, hopping from roof to roof until the guards lost sight of him.
"Those guys are tough," he muttered to himself. Although the fights looked easy, he had to use a lot of force to overpower them. Just for comparison, he had fought groups many times their size when assassinating the lords with just a sword and came out victorious. On the other hand, he didn't have confidence in surviving a battle against that group of eight, even with daggers. That's why he ran.
The goal was to kill as many as possible before time was up. Not to die after only a few kills. Thinking about time, Genji pulled up the mission tab:
4:58:51
Five hours left, Genji mused. He looked around and decided to find a small group to ambush. After a few more minutes, he found a group of 3 guards. He made sure he was in their blind spot as they approached his location. When they were directly under him, Genji slipped down and decapitated one of the unsuspecting guards. When he landed, he rolled a few times on the ground to dispel the momentum and make some distance from the other two.
When they saw what had happened, they took a few steps back. Genji turned around and noticed them exchanging a look. Then one of them drew his sword and rushed at Genji. Genji sidestepped the attack but failed to land his own, as his opponent had jumped back the moment he realized he had missed.
"They've become more cautious," Genji thought.
He then turned to see what the other guard was doing. His eyes widened at what he saw. The guard had pulled out a cylinder, twisted open the side, and popped a few steel balls into it. Then he threw it hard into the air. The moment the container left his hand, a loud banging sound resounded from the tube.
"Crap! I miscalculated," Genji thought.
As Genji was distracted, the other guard attacked him again. Genji hurriedly blocked the attack and rushed forward to deliver a fatal blow without any consideration for possible injuries. The result was a small cut on his forearm in exchange for stabbing the guard's heart. Then he pushed the dying guard down and turned to the other guard. What Genji didn't expect was for the guard to turn around and start running.
"I don't have much time anymore," Genji thought.
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Genji also turned around and started running for a nearby wall. What he didn't expect was the sound of footsteps - the guard who had been running before had started chasing him.
"Is everyone as unexpected as you?" Genji asked.
The guard didn't answer, so Genji ignored him and continued running. He couldn't try a wall run now with someone so close behind. He would be cut down before having enough time. As Genji turned a corner, he quickly turned around, hoping to stab the nuisance pursuing him from his blind spot. The guard, though, seemed to anticipate this. A few seconds passed and no one came around the corner.
If anyone was looking from above, they would have seen the guard slow down when Genji turned the corner, stopping a few feet away as if he knew what Genji was planning.
Realizing his trick had failed, Genji started running again. He couldn't do a wall run now because he had lost all his built-up speed, and he couldn't afford to wait any longer for the guard to lose patience. A second loss meant a second for the other guards to surround him.
After a few more steps, Genji saw someone run toward him from the front. When he saw this, Genji sped up instead of slowing down. The guard got into position for a quick draw attack and waited for Genji to approach. When Genji got in range, the sword came out of its sheath at an extreme speed, but it failed to cut anything. Genji jumped into the air and twisted his body in a way that allowed him to bypass the diagonal strike.
As Genji was falling, he positioned his daggers so they should cut the guard's neck. The guard quickly shifted his body out of the way but Genji reached out his arm, causing a small cut. When Genji landed, he stumbled a little to maintain his momentum. As he was about to speed up again, his instinct screamed of danger. Trusting this feeling, he rolled to the side.
When he looked up to see the source of his feeling, he saw a katana flying by. The guard had thrown his weapon when Genji's back was turned.
"What a stupid decision," Genji commented.
"It was enough," the guard replied before Genji killed him.
But the guard was right about one thing - that throw was enough. Enough for the pursuing guard to catch up and engage Genji. Genji tried to trade an injury for an opportunity, but the guard was far too cautious. Every time Genji tried, he would back off no matter the cost. Then when Genji tried to run, he would chase. There was even one time the guard threw his sword at Genji like the other person.
"What the hell is wrong with these people?! Who tries to stop someone like this? And why would they try so hard that they would throw away their lives?!" Genji thought, frustrated.
Eventually, the rate at which guards showed up surpassed the rate at which he could kill them.
*Huff huff*
Genji stopped and looked around. There were at least 20 elite guards around him. His worst fears had come true. Now he couldn't escape even if he wanted to.
As he was catching his breath, one of the guards stepped forward. From his different armor, Genji assumed he was someone of high standing.
"Give up. You can't run anymore. If you surrender, you will live a few days longer," the guard offered.
*Huff huff*
"Why do you go so far to stop me?" Genji asked.
"It's to ensure stability for the empire. You wouldn't understand," the guard replied.
He was right - Genji didn't understand. All his life, he had been fighting for himself. He couldn't comprehend what it was like to defend something with everything he had.
Genji closed his eyes and felt the warmth of the sun on his skin.
"Is this really how I will die?" Genji asked no one in particular.
"But I resent everything about this. I hate how powerless I am. I despise that there are people I can't kill," he thought bitterly.
Genji opened his eyes and a sharp glint appeared in them. The guards quickly raised their swords in response.
"I don't care what you think. Are you going to surrender or not?" The leader asked him.
Genji didn't reply. He crossed his arms so that his right dagger was above his shoulder and his left was next to his ribs, under his right arm.
"Let's gamble on this," he muttered to himself.
Dagger Arts: Threading the Needle
At this moment, Genji's voice sounded demonic to the people around him. Something about the way he said that sent shivers down their spines. And his next actions validated this feeling. In the blink of an eye, Genji had disappeared from their sight. Moments later, they felt a gust of air from the vacuum left by Genji's movement. They quickly turned to see a silver light that flowed from the necks of one guard to another.
"It's so beautiful," thought one guard.
The next moment, the light disappeared, and all the guards fell with blood spraying from their jugulars. At the end of this path stood Genji, holding his two daggers out by his sides. Genji turned around and gave them a cold look. Seeing this, fear overtook the guards' hearts. What was this killer? This was a killer. A reaper of death with no regard for the lives of others.
As they stood there paralyzed, Genji capitalized on this opportunity and started building up speed for another wall vault. By the time everyone reacted, Genji was already halfway up the wall, far too high for them to interrupt him.
Genji continued running on the walls until he reached the roof of a tall building. Collapsing on his back, he started wheezing with unseen intensity.
The Dagger Arts were a series of trump card techniques that pushed his body past its limits for a short period. Combining this limit break with his martial arts, he could unleash unbelievable attacks that were beyond fatal. Although powerful, there were problems with them.
For one, they put a massive strain on his body. Using just one would take him out of combat for days. This was why he had quickly retreated after unleashing it, nearly slipping off the wall several times from fatigue during his escape.
Secondly, there was the damage his daggers took moving at those speeds. Despite steel being more resilient than flesh, his daggers were cutting through iron armor at high velocities. If he wasn't careful, his weapons could break before he finished an attack.
But both of those flaws were nothing compared to the third - he had never tested these techniques before. So far, they had been merely concepts in his mind, untested theory. He didn't know what side effects he would face, or if they were even possible. A true gamble when he decided to unleash them.
As Genji lay there in pain, he heard a whistling sound approaching him. Sensing danger, he rolled to the side just in time to avoid an arrow to the head. When the arrow smashed into the roof tile, Genji saw it vibrating rapidly. It was clear the arrow had been shot with great force.
Genji got up and looked to see where it had come from. On the ground, he saw a group of guards aiming at him with bows drawn. Seeing this, Genji scurried to the other side of the roof.
"Fire!" he heard a shout from below.
Dozens of arrows flew up and arced around the roof. Genji's pupils dilated as the world slowed down. This mysterious state had come over him only a few times, but it had saved his life with each occurrence. This time, it was no different.
Genji stood there and wove between the storm of arrows. The two he couldn't dodge were knocked down before they could pierce him. A flawless defense. But as the world returned to normal speed, Genji fell to one knee, the little stamina he'd recovered, now drained.
Genji got up and started running again. He would hide to recover some stamina before the guards found him and tried to shoot him down. Occasionally he pulled out the arrows and flung them back with little effect. After realizing the futility of this, Genji stopped and focused solely on recovering as much stamina as he could for one final rampage.
But the time for battle came faster than expected.
1:30:16
The guards had finally gotten a ladder to reach the rooftops. Swordsmen ascended as archers below supported them, attacking Genji on the roof. Genji was able to solve this by tripping the guards and pushing them off the roof, or sustaining some damage to slit their throats.
When archers came up with swordsmen as protection, Genji kicked the swordsmen away or used them as meat shields against the archers. Getting close enough, he killed an archer and took his bow. After that, any arrow they shot at him became a potential threat against them, which Genji exploited ruthlessly.
Although not proficient with a bow, he only needed to imitate the archers below. After a few tries he got the hang of it, pelting the guards in return. Unfortunately, the armor blocked most of his shots, and he couldn't manage a kill.
An hour later, the guards finally coordinated to cut off any path of retreat, surrounding him completely. Both on the roof and ground. Everything has become a dead end. The only way now was to fight. To fight and to kill. To make his last stand.
Genji jumped down to the ground, pulling out his daggers.
"Come!" he shouted emotionlessly.
The archers stepped back as the swordsmen drew their katanas, taking formation with blades at the ready. Genji dashed at them, swinging his daggers at the armored samurai. Seeing the attack go toward their chest armor, the samurai decided to ignore the attack.
This was what Genji hoped would happen. He flicked his wrists upwards, inserting both blades into their exposed necks, stopping the attacks coming for him.
Squatting to avoid two more attacks from his side, as soon as the blades moved away, he pushed off the ground, passing through the two falling bodies in front of him.
As Genji was midair, the samurai behind the two swung his sword down at him. Genji parried it and stomped down to redirect himself, making a deep cut in the side of the attacker's throat. Then he twisted his torso to avoid being impaled by another sword, though he did receive a shallow cut.
Landing, he parried another attack and stabbed his dagger behind him, catching the samurai turning around off guard and adding another kill. He then reduced the force of his left arm, letting the blade glide over his tricep to kill another. After getting past this row, he came to another clearing, this time with a row of archers facing him while warriors flanked him.
The samurai behind quickly backed up as Genji realized his situation. He scurried to find cover behind an armored man, taking a stab to the abdomen to dispatch him and use the body as a shield, just in time to block most of the arrows. After the barrage ceased, Genji reached down and broke the arrows in his legs, keeping the shafts in the wounds.
He couldn't afford more blood loss now so he will have to bear with it. Tossing aside the shield, he got into a stance with his left arm facing the archers, both daggers in front of his chest with tips pointed at them.
Dagger Arts: Side Winder
Genji disappeared again. By the time the samurai realized where he was, Genji had cut down half the archers from behind. The rest tried to retreat but he gave them no chance, killing the last one before the warriors could reach him.
*Huff, huff, wheeze*
Genji's knees shook. His body screamed in pain. After the second Dagger Art, his stamina was completely depleted. He felt he could collapse and die at any moment, but he persevered through sheer willpower.
"Who's next?" His voice was hoarse, but no one dared charge him. The bloody display had terrified them. How could this be human? Those movements and suicidal exchanges were clearly the devil's!
A few seconds later, someone shouted, trying to lift their spirits.
"Don't worry! He's on his last legs. Just one more charge and he will perish."
And it worked. Their fear was shaken off and their courage reignited. Unleashing a loud battle cry, the samurai at the front charged at Genji.
"I have enough to drag the rest down with me," Genji said, not backing down. As doing so in a life-or-death battle is akin to surrendering the initiative to the enemy.
The samurai hesitated for a split second, and Genji seized it, charging into the crowd again, trading heavy injuries for kills. It was bloody. It was numbing. Both in spirit and body. For both the guards and Genji. Everything descended into a fervor. By the end, only bodies remained. Genji lifted his eyes to the archers behind the samurai, who stared back in fear.
The bloody, mangled man before them exuded a disregard for his own life that terrified them. It was an unknown trait to these ranged combatants. Genji raised his trembling dagger and pointed at them. Seeing this, they panicked and fled, unwilling to sacrifice themselves. Genji smiled and his body finally gave out, falling backward onto the corpse pile. Only his fuzzy consciousness remained as the last of his life slipped away. However, his mind had no regrets, as this was his final desperation.