Just as the two of them felt Death's scythe about to fall, the pressure on their necks suddenly vanished.
"There are three core tenets of the Assassins," Shaun Cole said with a faint smile, looking at the two with their eyes tightly shut.
"The first: never harm the innocent. You two, however, have already formed a connection with me—so killing you wouldn't violate the Creed."
"But," he continued lightly, "I can give you a chance to live."
Hearing this, the Ancient One and Kaecilius slowly opened their eyes, exchanged a glance, and then stood up.
"First, let me make something clear," Shaun Cole said.
"Although I'm an outsider, I have no malicious intent. In fact, you could say I'm still an Earthling. So rest assured—I won't cause trouble for this planet."
"However…"
He deliberately dragged out the word, smiling as he watched the relief on their faces slowly freeze.
"H-however what?"
the Ancient One asked urgently.
"Heh. I'm a kind person," Shaun Cole said with a grin,
"but you bullied me pretty badly just now. I can't just let that go."
"How about this—this place of yours is pretty nice. Why don't you build me another temple, about the same size, somewhere here in the Himalayas?"
Hearing this, both the Ancient One and Kaecilius quietly let out a sigh of relief.
The request was difficult—but achievable.
If they enlisted the nearby villagers' help, it could be done. Those villagers had long benefited from the temple's protection; if asked, they would surely help without hesitation.
"We agree," Kaecilius nodded.
"As long as you don't do anything that endangers Earth."
"Heh," Shaun Cole chuckled.
"Now's not the time to negotiate terms. Your lives are in my hands. Besides, you were the ones who attacked without asking questions. This is simply compensation for my losses."
At that, Kaecilius fell silent. With his life on the line, he truly had no bargaining power.
"Alright," Shaun Cole continued,
"now that compensation is settled, let's move on to the second matter."
"If you want to live, tell me everything about this world—how it works, and how many people like you exist."
The Ancient One and Kaecilius were silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Good," Shaun Cole said casually.
"Then that's settled. See? I'm actually quite kind."
"Oh—and one more thing I almost forgot," he added.
"I'll be staying here for a while. I'll leave once the new temple is finished."
With that, he turned and walked away.
After Shaun Cole's figure disappeared from the hall, the Ancient One and Kaecilius opened their mouths—then closed them again. Finally, the Ancient One spoke:
"What should we do? Are we really going to give him all that information?"
Kaecilius smiled bitterly.
"We have no choice. All we can do now is hope he meant what he said."
The two fell silent once more.