Chapter 101: You Are A Monster!!
[Outside.]
THUD!
Twenty people in stealth landed lightly on the ground, none making even the slightest of sound, all clad in full black outfits, each armed with Daggers and short swords. They moved with the synchronized, predatory grace of an elite underworld unit, utterly confident that the night belonged to them.
"Alright, we already knocked out all the guards, our target here should be inside." The Leader said, staring at the closed door.
"We split into four teams with five members each, this Villa is simply too huge... So we must split apart to locate them." He instructed.
"You don’t need to split up."
"...?!!"
WHOOSH!!
Everyone only saw a flash of a red blade, and Instantly, five dropped on the ground, dead, their necks slashed opened in the silent way possible.
"....??"
The remaining fifteen quickly leaped backward from the Villa, standing close to one another, their elite training barely keeping their rising panic in check.
’What just happened?!! The weakest here is S-Rank, and we have five SSS-RANK amongst us, then why?!! How did this person killed the whole five SSS-RANK in one strike?!! We were also in stealth!’ The Leader thought, staring at the dead bodies on the ground. His mind fractured as he tried to process the impossibility of the slaughter.
Before this unknown variable, even SSS-RANK were cut down in seconds without a hint of resistance, they are only SS-RANK, and below, how would they even fight?
He gritted his teeth, looking over his shoulder at his men, they were as calm as ever.
’Fool! Do you think we are scared?! I handpicked these men, each one of them had fought enemies higher than them... You can never survive!!’ He thought with a smirk, holding his dagger, his eyes moving all over the place in desperate defiance.
"Circular formation..."
The 14 nodded, and turned around, forming a circle, their gazes moving all over the place, ready for any sign of an attack.
’We are all in stealth, but why can’t we detect him?!! I don’t understand what’s going on here. When Assassins are in stealth together, we could at least see the other’s form like a black shadow, but I can’t even detect anyone... He must be an SSS-RANK Assassin class.’ He clenched the dagger in his hand, sweat stinging his eyes.
Unbeknownst to the 15, Asher stood at the center of their circle, staring at their backs. He wasn’t hiding; his dominance over the shadows was simply absolute.
"Judgement Strike."
".....?!!"
Hearing the voice behind them, the whole 15 froze, but before they could even turn around towards the sound...
BOOOOM!!!
"Ahhh!!"
"I’m dead!!!"
"....?!"
Asher stood still, his Devouring sword in hand, his gaze fixed on the Leader, who collapsed butt first on the ground, frantically moving his head around, staring at the body parts all over the place. The absolute carnage starkly contrasted with Asher’s pristine, unbothered posture.
"Monster! Monsters!!" He yelled, his stealth shattering, revealing him on the ground as his sanity broke.
Asher tilted his head, as he finally revealed himself; seeing Asher, the Leader was terrified.
"You! What are you?!!" He stammered.
"Be quiet, if you continue screaming, I will cut off your tongue."
"....?!!"
The Leader instantly placed his hand on his lips, closing his mouth shut, staring at Asher, who squatted before him like a god evaluating an insect.
"Alright, I don’t like killing; so tell me, who sent you?" He asked. The irony of his words, surrounded by the butchered remains of nineteen men, didn’t even register to him.
There were ten different people today, and out of these ten, they were more than a hundred weak Awakened, those Hundreds won’t dare plan against an Ancient Family, so it must be the ten... He knew it wasn’t Luna, that girl will never send these weakling if she wants him dead, she loves the thrill in battle and killing, so doing it herself was more fun than letting others do it.
He knew this much about her.
But the rest? Asher was actually seeing some for the first time, he knew nothing about their personalities, so this information was crucial. He needs to know who was foolish enough to offend him.
"I... I can’t tell you--"
WHOOSH!!
The Man froze, turning to his arm, which fell off from his shoulder, before he could even scream out, his shadow froze from the ground, and sealed his mouth shut. Asher didn’t even blink; violence was merely another tool for conversation.
"MMMMMM!!!"
"I told you... Stay quiet, now, I will ask again, if you refuse, I will cut off your second hand... I am pretty sure you don’t have that much blood to sustain you for half an hour, so the fastest you speak, the safer." He pointed the bloody red bone Devouring sword at him, the Mythic-Tier sword emanated a chilling eerie aura around.
"Who sent you... If you want to speak, nod your head."
The man quickly nodded his head as like a lizard, entirely broken by the sheer, unfeeling cruelty radiating from the guy before him.
"Good." Asher removed the shadows, and he quickly opened his mouth:
"Lord Eren, and High Priest Gavin! They paid our Assassin guild to Assassinate you, and bring your wives to them! They also asked us to bring the weapons over too!! Please, that’s all I know!" He quickly threw out everything, gasping for breath.
"Eren and Gavin... Those two actually sent people after me, I thought Tyson will have a hand in this, but it seems he wasn’t part." Asher stood upright, staring down at the man, his mind already plotting the retaliatory strike.
"Alright, there is only one more thing to do, drop all the dungeon keys you have, and their location, then I will let you go."
"Alright!"
The Assassin nodded, and dropped five dungeons keys, and maps, bringing them out from his storage with trembling, bloodstained fingers.
"Thank you."
The man only saw Asher smiled, and the next moment, his head was rolling to the side, falling heavily on the ground, quickly followed by the body. Asher felt nothing; a promise to an assassin held no weight in his reality.
"Pathetic." Asher picked up the Dungeons keys, his voice entirely devoid of remorse:
"Three C-Rank, Two B-Rank, and one A-Rank... These are all useless. I need to clear an SSS-RANK Dungeon to be able to use that dungeon key I got from the system..." He sighed, storing everything in his system storage, viewing the dead simply as a minor logistical disappointment.
"Oh well, I can use these to gain Evolution stones for Juliana... Now, time to get rid of the bodies." He opened his hand, as a fireball appeared, ready to purge the yard of the trash that dared to intrude on his sanctuary.