Assassin Guild Leader POV
The wind was loud.
But not to me.
To others, the sky roared with rushing air, with distance and speed, with the endless currents that swallowed sound.
To me—
It was silent
Three observation targets.
The Empress.
The guard, Valen
And—
Him.
My gaze settled on the third.
The Twelfth Lord.
The Monster Lord
New.
Unknown.
and Unverified.
That alone was enough reason to be cautious because an assassin without caution is a dead assasin.
I did not rush, I observed him.
Time meant nothing when patience ensured certainty.
Ten hours.
I followed them for ten hours
Not closely.
Never closely.
Distance did not matter.
Presence did not matter.
I did not exist in their awareness because I carried a treasure which helped me with observation from a very big distance.
That was enough.
The guard was disciplined.
His posture never broke.
His attention shifted with precision, scanning the horizon in measured intervals.
He was trained well but he was predictable.
The Empress was composed.
Her gaze moved less frequently, but when it did, it carried intent.
She did not waste attention.
She did not react unnecessarily, Expected from her.
Then— There was The Twelfth Lord.
He was - Still and Relaxed.
Wrong.
No tension.
No readiness.
No instinctive awareness of threat.
He stood as if nothing could reach him.
Careless.
Or pretending to be.
I watched him longer.
Measured his breathing.
His posture.
The rhythm of his stillness.
Nothing changed.
No subtle shifts.
No concealed awareness.
Either he was truly careless—
Or he was hiding it perfectly.
I do not trust perfection.
So I tested him
I moved.
No sound, No presence, No warning.
My blade cut through the air.
Not toward the guard.
Not toward the Empress.
Not Toward him.
An ambiguous strike to test awareness and to bring them to ground because I researched he can teleport with his wyvern , he did so in Empire during The Hero ceremony.
And I do not want my target gone.
But it was intercepted by the guard.
As I expected from the guard.
I did not linger.
I vanished.
Observation continued.
The Lord— Did not react.
No movement , No awareness and No delayed response.
Nothing.
Just a warning for the guard but that meant he still had awareness, expected from a Lord of The Coalition of The Twelve Lords.
But it was still ...Wrong.
Even if intercepted—
There should have been something.
But...There was nothing else.
He spoke.
"We are landing."
Calm.... Too calm.
The Empress followed.
The guard obeyed.
They descended.
I got off of my beast , Abyss Stalker.
Abyss Stalker is a S-Rank beast which is very fast and can overtake even wyvern in short distance but wyvern can travel longer.
---
The forest was better.
Denser.
More shadows.
More absence.
Better for killing.
They landed.
The guard moved first -Protective.
The Empress remained behind him - Controlled.
The Lord— Stepped back.
Detached.
Why?
Then— He spoke.
"Not guests… just guest."
He knew.
Not fully, But enough.
He knew there was one and yet— No change and No preparation.
Instead— Dismissal.
"Well… looks like this isn't my problem."
I paused.
That—
Was unexpected.
The guard reacted immediately.
Shifted.
Took control.
The Empress observed.
The Lord withdrew -Detached and Uninvolved.
I analyzed the possibility— Arrogance.
Possibility— Confidence.
Possibility— Deception.
Insufficient data.
The guard's stance sharpened.
The Empress narrowed her eyes.
The Lord—
Remained still.
Unmoved.
The guard spoke or should I say Challenged.
Irrelevant.
But it's good.
I can handle the guard better since his hands are tied protecting The Empress.
If I pretend to be after her the guard will fight.
Meanwhile I can pretend to be fighting guard and analyze The Twelfth Lord and if chance comes..... assassinate. If the chance doesn't comes observe, analyze and plan for next assassination attempt.
I spoke.
"You're in the way."
The guard responded as expected with Aggression and Commitment.
Good.
He would engage.
And the Lord— Would not.
That simplified things. If The Twelfth Lord also decided to join now then it would have become problematic.
I moved.
The first strike— Test.
The second— Measurement.
The third— Confirmation.
The guard was strong.
The demon slayer was nicknamed as such not just for slaying demons but for strength and skill.
And today I saw it.
However today his hands were tied
He was Precise , Experienced But restrained.
His movements adjusted constantly.
Not for advantage—
But for protection.
The Empress. That was his weakness.
I shifted.
Angles changed.
Targets adjusted.
Not attacking her.
But threatening.
To force a response not giving him time to get into a rhythm
Forcing limitation.
But The guard adapted Quickly.
But not freely.
Never freely.
I can't allow that or I would lose the edge.
Good.
Then—
I tested again.
A brief shift.
A moment of absence.
Position change.
But I didn't forget what I was doing and occasionally see behind
Observe The Lord.
Still No reaction.
Wrong.
I returned my attention back to fight and continued the fight.
Something was off.
The Lord did not behave like prey
But neither did he behave like a hunter.
He behaved like— Nothing.
And that— Was the most dangerous possibility.
Something was wrong.
I had already confirmed it once....Then twice.
And yet— It remained unresolved.
The Lord did not react....Not when I struck, Not when I revealed myself and Not even when I shifted positions behind him.
That level of detachment did not align with survival, even arrogance had limits and even confidence required awareness.
But he showed none of that.
I continued the engagement.
The guard pressed forward.
His blade moved with precision, each strike calculated, each motion refined through experience.
He was not weak.
Far from it...But he was restricted.
His stance told me everything- His angles, His spacing and His priorities.
He was not fighting to win.
He was fighting to protect.
That made him predictable and that's exactly what I needed.
But he was getting used to me again..... troublesome.
I shifted my approach since direct confrontation would yield nothing...Not yet.
So I adapted — Speed increased , Angles narrowed and Intent divided not toward the guard— But around him.
Each movement carried two possibilities.
One real.
One implied.
The guard reacted to both.
That was enough.
His focus fractured.
Not completely.
But enough, for now.
I moved again a step, a flicker and I was Behind him.
Near The Empress.
Not close enough to strike.
But close enough to force reaction.
The guard responded instantly.
Too fast.
Too committed.
Good.
His blade intercepted before I completed the motion.
Steel met steel.
The Force redirected but I did not push instead I withdrew.
The pattern continued — Engage, Shift , Threaten and Withdraw.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Each time—
The guard adapted.
But each time—
His restriction remained.
He could not abandon defense.
That was his flaw.
But not my objective.
My objective remained unchanged.
The Lord.
I observed him continuously through absence, through motion and Through stillness...and response was Nothing.
He did not follow the fight.
Did not track my movements.
Did not adjust his position.
He simply stood there.
Uninvolved.
Or pretending to be.
I tested him again with a deeper shift and Position change but his response remains same no reaction, no tension and no awareness.
Frustrating.
I returned my attention more to my fight with guard.
The guard attacked harder now, more aggressive. He was attempting to force control and I allowed it...Briefly.
Our blades met again and again. He pushed and I gave ground not because I was forced— But because it allowed better angles , Better observation and Better positioning.
The Empress remained still watching, analyzing , at least as much as she could.
She understood partially But she did not intervene.
Correct.
Interference would disrupt the pattern.
I moved again faster now and the guard followed.
Not perfectly.
But sufficiently.
Then The Empress took out the scroll.... Troublesome.
That will either send The Empress to Empire or bring another Powerhouse here.
Either was a situation I did not want.
Because if The Empress goes then I can't pretend she is my assassination target and I will have to end my observation.
If another Powerhouse comes then my life might be in danger.
But I continued and fought the guard.
But then The Twelfth Lord shifted ....his back towards me which was perfect for me.
I shifted.
Not toward the Empress.
Not toward the guard.
Toward The Twelfth Lord.
A path.
A line.
A possibility.
The guard warned.
Too late.
That was enough.
I vanished.
Complete absence.
No presence.
No trace.
I moved....Behind the Twelfth Lord.
This time—
No test.
No observation.
This was execution.
My blade rose.
Position perfect.
Angle precise.
Distance minimal.
No sound.
No warning.
A single strike and it would end.
The Lord did not move. He did not turn. He did not react.
Nothing.
And yet— Something was wrong.
Not in his posture.
Not in his breathing.
Not in his stance.
But in the absence of reaction.
Too complete.
Too absolute.
But the window existed.
And hesitation was not part of my function.
The blade descended and in that instant— He disappeared.