Chapter 99: Deception
— PRESENT TIME —
"Hey, 8, I think we should r—"
Before 7 could finish his sentence, he blinked. He looked up at the collapsed stone wall where his partner had just been sitting.
8 was completely gone.
’What the hell?! That traitor... did he seriously just ditch me?!’ 7 thought, his eyes widening in shock behind his mask.
’Sigh... I should have expected it though. Noone is trustworthy in this line of work, but I thought we were better than that since we always did jobs together.’ 7 thought while sighing.
"What’s wrong?" Adam’s voice suddenly asked from directly behind him.
7 jumped, ’What the hell?! Wasn’t this kid just standing in front of me a minute ago?! How did he appear behind me?’ 7 thought, spinning around in total confusion.
’And why is he not terrified of me? He’s acting like I won’t do anything to him at all!’
"Looks like your buddy left you behind," Vincent said coldly, staring at 7 with a dead-serious look.
"What are you talking about? I’m right here," Adam standing behind 7 suddenly replied to Vincent.
"Huh...?" 7 was completely startled by what he was hearing. ’Are these guys right in the head?! Or are they just looking down on me that much and messing with me?!’ 7 gritted his teeth, folding his hands into tight fists as pure anger flared up inside him.
"Adam, stop playing around and step away from him," Vincent asked, sweating slightly as he shifted his stance, preparing to move.
But Adam didn’t react to Vincent’s warning at all.
’I guess this noble kid really is crazy. He doesn’t even react to his own name, and that guard seems genuinely afraid that I could do something to him!’ 7 realized. A cruel smile formed under his mask.
"If I’m gonna go down today anyway, I should at least make you suffer a bit!"
Just after shouting that, 7 activated his Aura. He dashed backward with blinding speed, raised his steel sword, and drove it straight through Adam’s heart!
"What the hell...!" Adam gasped from his original spot in the rubble, staring in absolute shock and anger at the assassin who had just seemingly attacked him out of nowhere. But 7 didn’t care about the background noise at all.
’I killed his Young Master. He must be burning with a lot of anger now,’ 7 thought triumphantly. He turned back around, fully expecting to see Vincent rushing at him in a blind rage.
Instead, Vincent was just standing there... smiling.
"That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. Is he actually happy that I killed one of his Young Masters?" 7 murmured in confusion.
Frowning, 7 quickly looked back down at Adam he had just impaled on his blade.
Suddenly, the boy’s body started to blur and warp like a mirage. In the blink of an eye, the illusion shattered, and the dying body morphed into the familiar black armor of Number 8.
"What the... 8?!" 7 gasped, his mind completely shattering as he stared at his dying partner sliding off his bloody sword. "Didn’t he... didn’t he run away and leave me?!"
"What are you so shocked about? You just stabbed your own friend," Vincent said, suddenly appearing directly behind 7’s shoulder. "It’s funny how the human senses work. When poisoned, they can easily deceive your own eyesight."
"YOU BASTARD!!!" 7 roared, spinning around wildly.
SWISH!
"I don’t know exactly when it started, but no matter how weak my opponent is, I always find enjoyment in watching them die in sheer shock as they realize how they were tricked," Vincent whispered.
With a clean, effortless swing of his glowing red blade, Vincent cleanly severed 7’s head from his shoulders.
He let out a long sigh, staring down at his twin blades, which were still steadily releasing thick red smoke.
’I’m starting to think I’m getting addicted to using this aura technique,’ Vincent murmured internally. ’I could have killed them fast and easy the normal way. They were only Fifth-Stage, after all. But I just had to go and use this mist blood technique to play with them... sigh.’
"Hey, guys, do you have any idea what is going on here?" Zena asked, squinting through the dust at the bloody scene that had just unfolded. "Man, to think that guy randomly betrayed his friend and stabbed him, and then started acting completely shocked about why he died... these assassins are crazy!"
Isaac and Adam didn’t bother to answer him. They just stayed perfectly quiet, staring at Vincent.
’Is this guy completely stupid?!’ Sam panicked internally, staring at Zena with a highly complicated look. ’Can’t he tell that the terrifying red-eyed guy who just appeared obviously did something to them?!’ Sam let out a shaky breath.
’Anyway, thank God I didn’t run away, from these nobles when the thought came. If I did, I don’t know what that monster would have done to me. He probably would have cast a spell to make me kill myself for ditching the Young Masters!’ Sam thought, staring at Vincent with absolute reverence and fear.
"Hey. Vincent," Isaac called out casually, breaking the silence.
"Mmmm?" Vincent hummed, looking over.
’What the hell?! Can’t you at least call your elders with a tiny bit of respect?! And you didn’t even thank the guy for saving our lives!’ Sam panicked, terrified that Isaac’s cold tone would anger Vincent.
"T-Thank you so much, sir, for saving us!" Sam suddenly blurted out, stepping forward and giving Vincent a deep, trembling bow.
"...?!"
Everyone in the rubble was completely taken aback by the kid’s sudden, overly dramatic actions.
"What’s up with your new friend there?" Vincent chuckled, amused by Sam’s terrified respect.
"We don’t actually know him, so don’t concern yourself with him," Isaac said bluntly.
’Did he really have to say it exactly like that?!’ Sam thought, his face flushing with deep embarrassment as he stayed bowed. ’Am I literally the only normal person here?!’
"Can you sense where my mother is?" Isaac asked, his usual cold demeanor replaced by deep concern.
"Actually, yeah. I can feel their specific auras. They seem alive at least, but they are not moving at all. It seems they are trapped under the debris somewhere. Follow me," Vincent instructed, casually walking past the group. He paused and looked back at Adam. "And Young Master, if you are concerned about the maid’s survival, we should find the Mage first before we try to pull her out of the rocks."
"Sigh... can you hold on and wait just a bit longer? We will go find the Mage fast and come right back," Adam promised.
Tracy, still pinned under the stone pillar, just nodded weakly, her breathing shallow and ragged.
...
Meanwhile, miles away, Ian and Sarah were riding their horses rapidly toward the other Thorne Estate. Suddenly, Ian pulled his horse’s reins, drastically reducing his speed.
"What’s wrong?" Sarah asked, slowing her horse to match his pace.
"There are people up ahead on the road," Ian said, his eyes narrowing in the darkness.
"That’s good news, then! It must mean we are getting close to the estate, right?" she asked hopefully.
"Yeah... but I just don’t feel easy about this for some reason," Ian muttered. "Two people walking away from the estate in the absolute middle of the night? Something is definitely up."
"I guess you might be right. With all the crazy assassination attempts happening today, it makes total sense to be a little on edge," she agreed, her own guard going up.
Through the gloom, they finally spotted the figures. It was a man walking down the dirt road, wearing the familiar armored uniform of a Thorne Family guard. But his right arm was completely missing, bandaged at the shoulder. Slung heavily over his remaining shoulder was the limp body of an old man.
’Thank God I sensed someone coming down the road and removed this old guy’s mask in time,’ the one-armed guard thought, maintaining a steady, exhausted pace as he watched the two riders approaching.
He squinted through the dark. ’And... who would have ever guessed that the person approaching the estate right now would actually be the son of that terrifying woman?’ he realized, immediately recognizing Ian’s face and remembering Caroline’s monstrous wind attack.
The guard slowly looked down at his own bandaged stump—the arm he had lost back there.
’Should I get a little bit of revenge while we are here?’ the guard thought, a dark, sinister smile forming on his lips as Ian rode closer.