The orange-red glow blankets the horizon, signaling sunset. A strong wind sweeps through the city's deserted streets, drawing the eye toward the guild.
Suddenly, a man is hurled through the guild wall, flying into and smashing through several houses. He lands on the rubble, barely alive. Almost at the same instant, a fireball tears through the guild's roof and explodes in the sky.
Silent redirects the arcanist's hand upward, causing him to miss his Ancient Art. Then he strikes the arcanist's neck, knocking him out instantly.
Inside the guild, dozens of adventurers surround Silent, charging in from every direction.
Silent leaps up, escaping the encirclement. Still holding the arcanist, he hurls the body into the adventurers.
The adventurers scatter to avoid it, then charge again.
A swordsman brings his blade down, but misses.
He sees a foot, completely clad in black, slam into his chin. The force of Silent's kick sends the man crashing straight through the guild's roof.
More adventurers charge.
Silent knocks an elf to the ground.
An elbow drives deep into another man's stomach.
He blocks the beastwoman's punches and counters with a flurry of fists, sending her flying.
An adventurer rushes toward Silent with swift strides.
Wielding a spear and shield, he skillfully thrusts the weapon, trying to pierce him.
Silent dodges the strikes, traps the spear beneath the man's arm joint, and steps in, ready to throw a punch.
The adventurer quickly raises his shield, but it shatters on impact. The punch slams into his face, launching him out of the guild and straight through the wall.
A group of four assassins, daggers in hand, closes in.
Silent dodges the attacks effortlessly. In one swift motion, he strikes one of the assassins on the back of the neck, dropping him instantly.
The other three leap back, but he grabs two of them by the ankles and hurls them into the wall.
The two slam into the guild wall back first. Even so, they get back up and rejoin the fight.
An arcanist points his staff forward, reciting an Ancient Art.
"Chain Bind!!"
Hundreds of chains burst from the ground, wrapping around Silent. At that very moment, many adventurers seize the opportunity and charge together.
Clenching his fists and bracing his body, Silent shatters the chains with sheer strength.
One adventurer sees Silent's fist coming far too fast.
The next instant, he's already on the ground, along with everyone else who charged at the same time.
Those still standing are stunned. None of them can keep up with the assassin's incredible speed.
The same arcanist tries to cast the chains again, but Silent is faster, dodging the Art.
He points his staff at the enemy.
"Impact!"
A powerful shockwave drives Silent backward, but he plants his feet firmly on the ground and keeps moving forward, completely unfazed.
The arcanist sees it happen and immediately begins reciting another Art.
Before he can even open his mouth, his enemy is already standing right in front of him.
The arcanist's eyes can't keep up with his speed.
The punch to his stomach forces the air from his lungs. A moment later, he's grabbed by the head and slammed into the guild floor.
"Oof... oof... you... monster..."
Silent lifts him by the head, studying him. Then his arm drives straight through the arcanist's body, killing him.
Even in shock, the adventurers keep charging. Their assaults are relentless, but not a single attack reaches Silent.
A human swordsman clad in armor tries to strike him. Silent dodges, grabs the swordsman's arm, and lands a punch that sends him flying.
An arcanist and an assassin rush in to catch the swordsman, but all three end up being hurled into the wall.
The oni arcanist, dressed in a black robe, speaks to the swordsman.
"What do we do, Titio?"
"He's too strong!"
Titio furrows his brow as he stares at the enemy before him.
Damn!
"I don't know, Bruno!"
He takes a deep breath.
The rumors were true.
He's far stronger than I imagined.
I was arrogant to think I could stop him. But now isn't the time to hesitate!
He grips his sword, ready to rejoin the battle, but the assassin places a hand on Titio's shoulder.
"What is it, Marcos?"
Marcos is human as well. Dressed in green clothes and black pants, he silently conveys his intent.
"I have a plan."
They crouch down, gathered in a circle.
Marcos looks at Silent, then turns his attention back to Bruno and Titio.
"Here's how we'll do it. You two keep him distracted, and I'll come up from behind and take his head."
Everyone nods in agreement. It isn't the most elaborate plan, but it's the best they've got right now.
The group stands, ready to fight.
A dead body drops beside Titio's feet, but it doesn't shake him.
"Alright, everyone! Just like we planned!"
Titio grips his sword with both hands, then activates his Fire and Light Skills, which envelop the blade.
He quietly murmurs an Ancient Art.
"Acceleration."
He becomes so fast that he vanishes into thin air.
Behind where Titio had been standing, the arcanist Bruno pulls a simple wooden staff from his storage ring, though its power is anything but ordinary.
He grips the staff firmly and focuses on his Ancient Art, gathering Source.
Beside Bruno, Marcos pulls up his hood, daggers already in hand, and whispers his Ancient Arts.
"Concealment."
"Acceleration."
"Invisibility."
Vanishing from sight.
***
A few minutes earlier, Silent defeats adventurers without showing the slightest effort, leaving many unconscious or dead with a single blow.
Two sisters step in front of Silent, both wielding spears. One comes from behind, the other from the front.
Silent rolls across the floor to evade them, then rises to his feet.
The two charge at him side by side.
One of their spear tips aims for Silent's foot, while the other tries to pierce his arm. But with attacks that straightforward, Silent could easily intercept them.
They were feints.
The first redirects her spear toward his head, while the other raises hers to pierce his chest.
But it doesn't matter. With swift movements, Silent leaps, his feet landing against the guild's ceiling.
The two sisters raise their weapons, about to jump after him. But Silent is no longer on the ceiling.
To their eyes, a blur flashes right past them.
Before they realize it, they're struck at the pressure points across their bodies and, a moment later, grabbed by the neck.
They try to fight back, but their bodies won't move.
Silent hurls them away, and their bodies crash straight through the guild's side walls.
A towering man, almost a giant, broad-shouldered and bearded, brings his axe down on Silent, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The man grins, showing his broken teeth, certain that he landed the blow.
When the dust settles, Silent stands there completely unharmed. With just one hand, he firmly grips the axe's blade.
The man furrows his brow and tries to pull his weapon free, but he can't.
Silent suddenly shoves the weapon forward with tremendous force, causing the back of the axe to slam squarely into the man's forehead, making him stagger.
"Grrr!"
"Damn you!"
He charges in furiously, gripping the axe with both hands and bringing it down at Silent again and again, but none of the blows land.
Once more, he unleashes a relentless barrage of strikes, but the assassin remains untouchable, only making the man grow more enraged.
Silent leaps, reaching the height of the man's head, and swiftly drives an elbow into his face, sending him crashing heavily to the ground.
Silent is still falling.
Behind him, a wolf-type beastman runs forward and leaps.
"Silent!"
While still in midair, Silent twists his body.
Silent's punch collides with the beastman's punch, but the beastman is knocked back, bouncing across the floor until he comes to a stop near a table.
One of his companions, a fairy wearing golden armor, calmly walks over.
"Martins, are you alright?"
Martins, his body covered in fresh wounds and bruises, raises his head. Even without saying a word, his expression says it all: Seriously? You actually asked that?
His reply drips with sarcasm.
"Of course I'm alright, Celina. Can't you tell?"
Celina smiles, answering in the same teasing tone.
"Ah, that's good to hear... Then I guess Rit doesn't need to help you."
An elf dressed in green clothes and a matching cloak walks over to the two of them.
As he raises a hand toward Martins, Rit recites a healing Ancient Art.
The fresh wounds vanish, allowing Martins to get back to his feet and take his place in front of his group.
Rit watches the assassin kill yet another adventurer.
"So? What's the plan now?"
Celina folds her arms.
"What plan?"
"He's just going to run in there and try to fight Silent, hoping for the best."
Martins lets out a sigh, ignoring Celina.
"I'm analyzing him."
Damn it, I hate just standing here watching that bastard.
But I have to admit, taking on so many adventurers alone is something only a handful of people could pull off.
Still, that's not necessarily a bad thing. If they can't stop him, that just means a bigger reward for us. But how am I supposed to beat him?
As he looks to the other side, Martins notices a group of adventurers gathered in a circle. They seem to be discussing something before quickly moving into formation. Two vanish from sight, while another begins gathering Source, concentrating energy.
Martins already knows what to do.
"Everyone, get over here. I have an idea."
Celina and Rit move closer. They all understand the plan. The three of them glance at the oni arcanist on the other side of the hall, then at Silent.
Martins' thoughts begin fueling his anger. His fur stands on end, and his rage grows so intense that he lets out a growl.
The overwhelming fury sends him into berserker mode. He grows larger and more muscular, his fur thickens, his snout becomes more pronounced, and he takes on even more wolf-like features.
His companions can feel his strength increase severalfold.
Martins' words come out tangled with growls.
"Grrr... On my... Grrr... signal."
"Now!"
In an instant, Martins closes the distance to Silent.
Trying to keep up with such incredible speed, Celina follows close behind, her body radiating sunlight.
Rit stays back, already beginning to invoke an Ancient Art.