"Grrr!"
Valmeil trembled, staring at the blade protruding from his chest.
"How… how could this happen..."
He hadn't let his guard down for a moment since entering this place. He had passed the items to Lesia and kept his senses sharp until she disappeared.
The only time he relaxed was when he was about to pluck out the eyes of the brat who dared to provoke him by mentioning the name of his family.
It was less than a second, maybe even less than a blink of an eye, but the one who stabbed him in that instant didn't miss the opportunity.
A silent dagger severed the throats of hidden assassins, and the attacker predicted where he would move, driving a blade into his heart.
A perfect sequence with no gaps. This monster had honed his martial skills and assassination techniques to the extreme.
'Could it be... the Transcendent Warrior?'
As Valmeil thought of Roenn, Raon roughly pulled out the knife lodged in his heart.
Splurt!
Scarlet blood splattered on the floor, and Valmeil collapsed like a marionette with cut strings.
"Who... who are you..."
"I'd like to extract information, but unfortunately, there's no time."
Raon frowned at the convulsing Valmeil.
'If anyone sees this, everything will be ruined.'
Assassins and necromancers filled the area above.
If he tried to extract information from Valmeil through torture and got caught by others, the whole situation would be compromised. It was better to kill him here.
"Who are you... why..."
"Ask your master."
Raon swung the blood-soaked sword with cold eyes.
"Ugh..."
A thick red line grew from Valmeil's throat, cutting off his breath.
-Hmph.
Wrath snorted at Valmeil's corpse, eyes wide open.
-Do even such scum know the feeling of injustice?
He shook his head as if he couldn't believe it.
Raon glanced at Valmeil for a moment, then untied the sword he had been carrying and strapped it to his waist.
"Gasp."
Malto, the second son of the Sikeron family, trembled with his remaining eye fixed on Raon.
'A monster...'
This man had killed nearly twenty assassins with a single throw of a dagger and pierced the heart of a master he couldn't even face with a single strike.
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't avoid the blade art and the controlled killing sword. Cold sweat dripped down his spine.
'Who is he?'
A monster with such power couldn't be an unknown figure, but no matter how much he thought, no one came to mind.
"Hey!"
"Save us!"
"Please get us out of here!"
The martial artists who had been staring blankly at Valmeil came to their senses and shouted for rescue.
"..."
"Gasp..."
"Ugh..."
When Raon sent a chilling gaze similar to when he killed Valmeil, the martial artists in the iron bars turned pale and shut their mouths.
"Aren't you here to rescue us?"
"I'm the successor of a merchant group! If you save me, I'll give you anything!"
"I'm also from the Yufen family. If you let me out, I can give you as much gold as you want!"
Despite their fear, the martial artists pleaded for their lives.
"Be quiet."
Raon silenced them with a voice that seemed to split, then examined Valmeil's face.
'The nose is high, the mouth doesn't protrude. Not hard to disguise.'
-Disguise?
Wrath tilted his head as if questioning what Raon meant.
'This guy didn't take off his robe or mask. He's about my height, so it'll work.'
Based on the conversation between Lesia and Valmeil, their relationship wasn't that deep.
If he utilized this situation well, he might be able to deal with the troublesome necromancers at once.
-Chasing two rabbits at once means losing both.
'When did you start talking sense?'
-I always talk sense!
'The one who wanted to grill fish from the lake before coming here...'
Wrath had babbled about catching and eating the fish when they were passing by the lake while tracking Valmeil.
'Anyway, it'll be fine.'
Raon smiled, rotating his right arm.
'My arm is long enough to catch two rabbits at once.'
Shupel, the Jade-Faced Ghost Spirit, and Juran, the Demonic Beast Necromancer, were high-ranking necromancers.
He might be able to assassinate one, but there was a chance he'd miss the other.
If one of them escaped, it would cause a troublesome situation, so he wanted to eliminate both at once.
'Instead, I must prepare thoroughly.'
Raon transformed his eyes to the same brown color as Valmeil's, adjusted his nose, eyebrows, and cheekbones slightly, and then put on the mask.
Finally, he pulled the hood down deeply and stood up. From the silhouette from the nose to the mouth, it was almost impossible to distinguish him from Valmeil.
Raon, now disguised as Valmeil, looked at the iron bars with the same cold gaze.
"Ugh..."
"Ugh..."
The martial artists still couldn't grasp the situation and gulped dryly.
"If I let you out now, we might get caught by the ones above. Someone will come to rescue you soon, so wait a bit."
Raon's voice, which started small and grew larger like gentle waves turning into big ones, soon perfectly resembled Valmeil's.
"Really?"
The martial artist of the Sikeron family, who lost his eye to Valmeil, grabbed the bars, his jaw trembling.
"Wait quietly."
Raon tossed him a powder to ease the pain and stop the bleeding, nodding.
"Understood."
Perhaps hopeful for survival, the martial artists bit their lips and backed away.
'Whew...'
After taking a slow breath, he straightened his back.
He poured transparent water onto Valmeil's sword and headed for the stairs.
Utilizing the Ring of Fire and the Evil Eye of Wrath, he mimicked Valmeil's fierce aura as he ascended the stairs.
'Valmeil's personality was cold and sharp.'
And he felt an inferiority complex towards his family.
The only time Valmeil showed a gap was when the Sikeron family was mentioned. He must hate prestigious families for some reason.
'He's not close with Lesia or the necromancers either.'
As he organized Valmeil's information in his head and climbed the short stairs, he met Lesia, who was coming back down.
Having sensed her presence in advance, he stopped without reacting.
"Valmeil?"
Lesia's eyes filled with suspicion as the person who said he would wait below came up.
"There was one more item I needed to give to those old men."
Raon suppressed his rapidly beating heart with the Ring of Fire, speaking in a sharp tone.
'This is right.'
Valmeil called Shupel, the Jade-Faced Ghost Spirit, and Juran, the Demonic Beast Necromancer, old men. It meant he didn't see them as superior. Speaking in a dismissive tone was correct.
"What item?"
Lesia didn't step back as if still suspicious, asking what the item was.
"If you give it to me, I'll pass it on."
She held out her hand as if asking for the item.
"I don't want to see those old men either, but he ordered me to deliver it personally."
"Forgetting such an important order is unlike you, Valmeil."
Lesia's eyes narrowed to a sharp point. She was definitely suspicious.
"You're right. I made a mistake because of some trash."
"Trash?"
"A worm who kept mentioning his family from the moment we kidnapped him. I only remembered after plucking his eye."
Twisting his lips, he revealed Valmeil's hatred for prestigious families.
"Did you tamper with the item?"
"Only one eye."
"Honestly..."
Lesia sighed, lowering her raised hand. She gazed at Raon's hooded face with her clear, unreadable eyes.
'Is it not working?'
As Raon bit the inside of his cheek and moved his aura to his fingertips, ready to draw his sword, Lesia slowly nodded.
"Understood."
Lesia turned her back as if to follow, but she still had her senses open, not completely trusting him.
-Huff!
Wrath clutched his chest, gasping.
-Even I'm nervous. How can you not be?
He shook his head more intensely than when facing the Transcendent Warrior.
'This much is nothing.'
Such acting was a daily routine during his time as an assassin. Always ready for an emergency, he tried to stay as relaxed as possible.
Raon followed Lesia, scanning the factory with his senses.
'The positions are the same.'
The assassins hidden in the walls and ceiling, and the necromancers working on the Water Demon Guests were in the same positions.
However, unlike two days ago, the completed Water Demon Guests stood in front of the pillars.
'Those might be dangerous.'
Rolling his eyes to count and assess the state of the Water Demon Guests, he slowly moved.
Knock, knock.
Lesia stopped in front of the laboratory of Shupel, the Jade-Faced Ghost Spirit, and Juran, the Demonic Beast Necromancer.
She cautiously knocked and opened the door.
"I was just about to head down. Long time no see, Valmeil."
Shupel, the Jade-Faced Ghost Spirit, smiled, wearing a neatly pressed coat.
"I heard you brought many fresh ones. May I taste some?"
Juran, the Demonic Beast Necromancer, rubbed his withered hands together, grinning.
"Valmeil said he brought another item. He says it was given directly by him."
Lesia stepped aside. Raon walked to where Lesia had stood and looked at the two necromancers.
"Given by him?"
"What kind of item? Doesn't seem like a human."
The two necromancers licked their lips with curiosity at the mention of an item from Derus.
"He said..."
Raon pulled out the sword he had hidden in his robe, the blade shimmering with a silvery light, and simultaneously slashed the throats of the Jade-Faced Ghost Spirit and the Demonic Beast Necromancer.
Slash!
He was about to kill Lesia as well, but she reacted and stepped back when the two necromancers were attacked.
"Ugh..."
Thanks to that, her neck wasn't fully cut, only a thin line of blood trickled down.
But the heads of Shupel, the Jade-Faced Ghost Spirit, and Juran, the Demonic Beast Necromancer, fell to the floor, splattering a fierce amount of blood.
"Fool! I don't die from a mere sword slash!"
The Demonic Beast Necromancer laughed, holding his severed head.
"Seems you thought we were ordinary magicians. Unfortunately, we are already as good as dead."
The Jade-Faced Ghost Spirit also laughed, picking up his head.
"We'll find out who you are from that body of yours... huh?"
"W-what? Why isn't it regenerating?"
The two necromancers trembled, seeing their bodies melting like candles.
"Arghhh!"
The Demonic Beast Necromancer screamed as his body melted to the shoulders.
"What did you do..."
"Damn it! It's holy power and holy water! We're completely affected!"
The Jade-Faced Ghost Spirit recognized the holy water and holy power on the sword but couldn't do anything as his upper body melted away.
"You know it well."
Raon nodded, watching the two necromancers melt like spring snow.
When he slashed them, he had imbued his sword with Divinity Born from Darkness.
The holy power condensed on the sword, sprinkled with the highest-grade holy water, nullified their necromancy.
"Damn..."
"I curse you..."
The two necromancers glared, seeing their bodies turning to ash, and died.
"Who... who are you..."
Lesia drew her sword, trembling.
"Do you think you have the right to ask questions?"
Raon coldly approached Lesia when the laboratory walls crumbled, and the Water Demon Guests came rushing in.
'Does she have command over them too?'
He thought only the necromancers controlled the Water Demon Guests, but it seemed Lesia also had command authority.
'Well...'
Raon was about to rush at Lesia when the nearest Water Demon Guest hesitated and exploded.
Boom!
The explosion was stronger than before, collapsing the laboratory ceiling and blowing out the floor.
Whoosh!
Raon endured the blast with his back and jumped over the collapsed wall into the factory.
'Not one can be left alive.'
If even one escaped, information might reach Derus. He couldn't let anyone here slip away.
"What's going on?"
"Why are the Water Demon Guests moving?"
"Even exploding? Is there a problem with the signal?"
The necromancers and assassins outside hadn't grasped the situation and didn't leave their positions.
'Perfect spot.'
Raon launched a dagger with his left hand and sent a wind-infused sword strike with his right.
Slash!
The black dagger pierced the hearts of the approaching assassins, and the blade strike split the heads of the necromancers.
'About half left.'
When Raon was about to prepare his second attack, the Water Demon Guests surged through the black smoke.
Bam!
When the closest Water Demon Guest was about to explode, Raon stepped to its left and kicked its waist.
With strength and speed beyond human, the Water Demon Guest was flung away, exploding only after being thrown.
Boom!
The fearsome explosion reduced four assassins lurking in the corner to a pool of blood.
Swish!
Raon dodged the attacks of the other Water Demon Guests without even using his footwork, then sent a sword strike at the fleeing necromancer.
"Get lost!"
The necromancers tried to block the sword strike with their shield of evil spirits, but it was no ordinary sword strike.
Screech!
The sword strike, infused with holy water and holy power, instantly shattered the crude shield, splitting the necromancers in half.
'It's over.'
All the assassins and necromancers he had confirmed on his way here were down. Only Lesia and the Water Demon Guests remained.
As Raon was about to turn around, Water Demon Guests charged from the left and right.
"Kill him!"
Lesia screamed, and the Water Demon Guests' movements changed drastically.
'They've gotten faster.'
The Water Demon Guests moved faster and more fluidly than before, like being surrounded by living assassins. They encircled Raon to prevent escape and began to turn red.
'So they've already improved.'
He had heard the Water Demon Guests were being enhanced, but he hadn't expected to see the results so soon.
"Impressive. But..."
You're not the only ones who've gotten stronger.
Raon activated the Ring of Fire and the Evil Eye of Wrath. Seeing the demonic energy emerging from the Water Demon Guests' centers heading for their hearts, he swung his sword.
Slash!
The sword strike, like sunset reflected on the sea, split the Water Demon Guests in half.
Thud.
Even though their bodies were split, none of them exploded.
"How... how is this possible..."
Lesia's face turned deathly pale.
'No way! The signal is cut off!'
The Water Demon Guests could still explode even if their bodies were severed. She couldn't believe the signal was cut off just because their bodies were split.
"I severed the fuses."
Raon lowered his blood-soaked sword, approaching Lesia.
'The gunpowder and spark couldn't meet, so they didn't explode.'
The Water Demon Guests explode when demonic energy seeps into their stopped hearts.
Using a sword infused with holy power and holy water, he had cut off the flow of demonic energy, halting the self-destruction.
"Who... who are you..."
"You don't get to ask questions."
Raon tilted his chin, standing in front of Lesia.
"Sorry, but you won't get any answers from me..."
Raon struck her chest as she tried to stimulate the Rage Worm for suicide.
"Gah!"
Lesia coughed up blood, trembling.
"What... why..."
She looked up with trembling eyes, shocked that the Rage Worm didn't respond.
"Until now, torture was too easy because they spoke too quickly..."
Raon's red eyes flashed with blue lightning.
"How long will you last?"