"Where is it?"
The mid pitched voice ringed.
Regis felt the sound waves echoing from the ends of his skull.
Cough! Cough! The blow back from his potion was getting stronger.
"Do you have it?"
The air around him changed.
He felt a bubble of mana wrap around him.
His body began leaving the ground towards the silver haired giantess.
Shadow dash.
The burst of speed was barely enough to escape the telekinetic grip.
The residue momentum carried him past her.
His body stabilized for just a brief just enough for him to kick the wall and lunge himself into an alleyway.
"This one's fast"
Shadow dash. A burst of speed.
Executing it twice in quick succession puts tremendous train on his body.
The giantess did not pursue. He sensed her leap off in another direction. Despite that, he could still feel her lingering presence.
Regis crashed. He slumped against the wall in exhaustion. Breathing heavily, he took out a small vial with his trembling hands and took a seep.
A warm feeling spread throughout his body. His heart rate stabilized. The pain in his arms and legs dissipated.
"This is the stuff. What's this called? The tears of Herda. Heals quickly. No drawbacks. It's just so darn expensive that even most noble houses can't afford it."
He got up and stumbled towards the end of the alleyway. The narrow space was only wide enough for him, making him feel as though he had escaped.
"Three doses. That's all I got. Can't believe I have to use one just for a piece of lingerie. F*ck, i really bit off more than i can chew."
He staggered towards the alleyway. The healing effects of the potion were quickly taking effect.
He felt like he was getting back to normal.
"Yeah… No wonder I got chased for a few weeks straight after I pinched this from that fat a**. It even gives me a stat boost without the normal penalties."
His walking was back to normal. The night had gotten still. It was probably past midnight.
But the drum beats of the parade and the cheers were still heard.
The warm green light of the hearthstone crystals at the end of the alleyway.
"Lets call it a night. It hurts my pride to go back empty handed. From what I've seen, I'm glad to be still in one piece."
As he emerged from the alley, a huge hand reached for him.
"Sh*!" Shadow dash.
He turned and watched the fair skinned hand disperse his clone in an instant.
Ruby red eyes glared at him. He froze. His body felt heavy. It was like staring down an abyss.
"Do you have it?"
He felt as though his head was going to burst as he watched the giantess's lips move.
The air around him suddenly changed. He felt suffocated.
The wooden crates around him rattled. The sound of splitters as they were pulled off the ground towards the giantess.
"Sh*t! Telekinesis?"
With quick reflexes, he shot his grapple blindly behind him. It latched onto something.
His body was yanked into the air. Without double checking, he retracted his grapple, causing him to swing upwards in an arc, barely allowing him to escape the suction cone.
In midair, he could see the glowing ruby red eyes tracking him.
A quick sleight of hand, he unleashed his smoke bombs, creating a screen as he dropped onto the roof top. But his grapple hook was stuck, he had to abandon it.
As soon as he touched solid ground. He dashed towards the nearest alleyway he could find.
He was safe between the narrow corridor where the giantess chasing him could not fit into.
"A giant spellcaster. They are so incredibly rare that I'll never expect to face one in a lifetime. Her magic sure is powerful. At least their reflexes are slow."
He dashed at top speed along the narrow corridor. He has traversed the city many times. The keeps actively clear the alleyways of blockages to regular the air flow of the city.
But it meant easy movement for criminals as well.
The assassin drew his blade and swung in front of him as he pressed on at full speed. The snapping sound of wires against the edge.
"Just gotta watch out for those wire traps. I don't sense that giant chasing me anymore."
Just as he thought he was in the clear, his senses tingled as a faint wave of mana came over him.
"Sh*t? Mana sense? From this distance? No matter, it's not like she could catch me."
As he turned the corner, a massive blob of cotton barreled down towards him from the side.
With a backflip, he narrowly dodged its impact.
His nose twitched. A strong stench had stuck onto his nostrils.
It was repulsive. It smelled like sweat. Strong, concentrated sweat.
"What!?-"
His knees started feeling weak all of a sudden.
It smelled good. Like the smell of a woman. Something he had been sorely missing. He felt his crotch tightening.
"Sh*t! Some kind of mind effect fumes? My Hortifern is wearing off. Gotta run."
He could hear the mass of cotton coming back for him. This time he timed the dodge better, holding his breath as it passed him.
"I can't stay here."
The more times it passed him, the more of the fumes seemed to stick to the surrounding walls, weakening him further.
Then, as he focused on dodging, he heard the faint noises of the streets.
"Thats it."
He immediately changed course.
The ball of cotton flew straight towards him in a collision course. Using wall kicks, he gave himself the alleviation to jump over it.
At the last moment, the ball's trajectory tilted upwards towards him.
His well trained reflexes allowed him to flip forward just above the ball's trajectory. The tip of his nose brushed against the rough damp cotton.
As he landed, he exhaled forcefully, expelling as much of the stench from his nostrils.
He felt his knees shaking a bit. His crotch hardens.
He punches himself in the face and focuses forward.
Another mass of cotton barreled down on him.
"Two of them?"
Shadow. Clone. Two copies of the assassin went straight for the ball of cotton, one jumping upwards and one sliding low on the ground.
The ball of cotton tilts its trajectory upwards, dissipating the shadow clone with its momentum.
Droplets sprayed onto the real one sliding below.
The assassin punches himself in the other cheek. He can't afford to slow down.
He burst forward.
There was a fork in the alleyways up ahead.
He could sense the balls braking behind him and starting to gain speed on him.
Shadow clone. He reached the fork. The ball of cotton was following close behind. It was a coin toss. The crowded streets were just another corner beyond the fork.
The mass of cotton closed in the shadowy figure.
Poof. The shadow clone dissipated.
The second ball immediately turned into the other fork.
He was just close to the corner.
He turned. He could see the merchant stalls in the streets just outside the alleyways.
The ball crashed into the corner behind him and bounced. Its force knocked him forward and out of the alleyway, landing him right in the middle of an apple stand.
He struggled out of the pile of apples and recovered his stance, the store owner was cursing and swearing at him.
He could see the giantess standing above on the rooftop glaring down on him. But she did nothing. After a few tense seconds, she leapt off.
He took out a pouch and slapped it onto his suit, causing a cloud of blanch to coat his suit.
He then grabbed a bundle of flowers from a nearby store and shadow dashed into the crowd.
The streets were still as lively as ever. Regis walked at the pace of the crowd. He could no longer sense the giantess's overwhelming presence. But still he stayed in the streets.
In the brief scuffle, it was clear to him that the shadows offered little cover from her.
But the crowded areas do.
He took stock of his surroundings. It appeared that he had ended up somewhere around the middle levels. It wasn't too far from a secret exit point where he could leave the city for a hideout in a nearby village.
The festival is known to last all night. He just had to wait until everyone went to sleep in the morning before attempting to leave.
He walked towards a ledge. He ducked his back immediately.
It was the silver haired giantess. He peered over the ledge.
She was with several hearthstone keepers and they seemed to be arguing over something. Against the wall, several of the opposing assassins were being tied up and pressed off.
He continued watching. For as long as he has eyes on his hunter, he knows his hunter was not stalking him.
They continued bickering. He watched intently. For some reason, he noticed that the giantess was constantly glancing towards something.
Then something strange started happening.
The hearthstone keeper that was arguing with the giantess laid flame on the ground. A bulge appeared that was visible even to Regis from an entire floor up.
Soon after, several female keepers approached her and began escorting the giantess away.
The assassin sat down and leaned against the railing.
He reached into his pocket for a stick but he had none left. Even the fake one he uses as a prop was used.
He closed his eyes and meditated for a while.
Then, he peered over the ledge again. The giantess was gone. Only a handful of hearthstone keepers were left.
He looked around. More keepers had filled the streets. He could no longer see nor sense the presence of the rival assassins.
His grapple hook was gone. He had expended his potions and throwing knives.
The night was winding down.
With a deep breath, he jumped over the ledge and glided down to the floor below.
"No harm checking it out. Besides, I'm not afraid of a bunch of keepers. I'd hope that that giant won't come back to an area that is already being searched."
There were just a handful of keepers for a relatively large area. Most of them are just auxiliaries.
Common guards that wear a badge and follow the keepers who possess the mana form.
The assassin moved along the rooftops. He just needs to avoid the detection range of the keepers.
Mana sense.
A common technique that allows a mana user to scan the surrounding, at risk of being detected by others.
Uncommon for assassins to use it also gives their own position away unless they are sure they are up against mere riflemen.
"Whats that?"
The guard below felt a sting on his neck. Seconds later, he fell unconscious.
The assassin landed on the ground before a stack of hay. He dragged the guard and buried him inside.
"I'm sure I sensed something around here."
He looked around the area. He didn't want to use mana sense again as he didn't have the vantage point to track the hearthstone keepers.
Nothing but stone. The only thing conspicuous was the stack of hay.
He walked towards it, placed his ears to the wall. He could hear a faint moaning sound.
Squeezing into the haystack, he found a hole behind it, landing him in a cellar.
He couldn't believe what he saw.
It was one of the assassins. A white cloth covered his face. One of his hands pressed against his face. The red stain visible between his fingers. He was taking deep, muffled breaths.
As for his other hand, Regis would rather forget that he saw.
A prick of a needle to his leg. In a few seconds, the man was unconscious.
"This must be the one. It sure is protected by mind fumes. I'll just hold my nose."