The trio walked across the dense forest without any further problems except for a few beasts that intercepted them but since the forest was under the territory of the Imperial City, the beasts were mostly unawakened ones and even if there were awakened ones, they were of the lowest tier.
Ellara and Lyla walked ahead while Raze followed behind them. His mind was still occupied with the aura he had awakened.
He could feel the world differently now as every step and every movement in the air seemed to echo more clearly than before, as his already enhanced senses were pushed even further.
Each muscle in his body was brimming with more power than before. He wanted to test his aura immediately, but he decided to do it in private later.
The sun was close to setting when Raze suddenly heard a faint rustling sound from some distance. He immediately whispered,
"Stop."
Lyla and Ellara halted at once, their bodies tensing as they too began to hear the noise. Just then, a hooded man jumped out from one of the bushes to the side. His rank was barely at the three-ring gray core.
Their gazes immediately met his.
The man held a small orb in his hand as he channeled his mana into it quickly, preparing to inform his boss as the orb began to glow before the man prepared to speak. "Sir, I have fo—"
But before he could finish his words into the glowing orb, Raze appeared in front of him, his sword already swinging toward his neck.
The man's eyes widened and before he could form a proper shield, his neck was severed.
Still, it was too late as the moment the man died, the orb started glowing a bright red.
"We don't have much time. Run." Raze ordered.
Lyla and Ellara understood immediately and started running wildly through the forest toward the city and Raze joined them.
From what Lyla had told him, they were already close and once they reached the city gates, the assassins wouldn't dare to follow. Lyla had no problem running but Ellara, who seemed tired, couldn't move nearly as fast.
Raze glanced at her.
"Sorry." He said before lifting her onto his shoulder effortlessly.
"Ahh! What are you doing?" She let out a startled cry but Raze didn't care and immediately increased his speed.
Lyla looked at him for a moment, slightly stunned, before continuing forward, since she was the only one who knew the way.
Even while carrying Ellara, Raze was slightly faster than Lyla. He could have abandoned them and escaped alone but that would be pointless.
The assassin wouldn't allow a witness to live and more importantly, the people of Blackgate City had already seen him leaving with Ellara. If he were to return alone, he would become the perfect scapegoat for her uncle and it would drag him into endless trouble and even if he somehow proved his innocence, questions about his identity would follow him everywhere.
Running together was the only choice.
They ran desperately, moving like a blur through the calm night forest.
"We are close, just a few kilometers more and we will be in the Imperial City," Lyla muttered, a small smile appearing on her face as she slightly turned her head to say that but just then, the ground beneath her left foot exploded.
"Arghhhhhhhh!!!!!"
She screamed as her leg was completely crushed and her body crashed onto the ground.
"Tsk… tsk, you guys are so slow."
A man walked out from the trees, wearing a black cloak, his golden eyes fixed on Raze and Ellara. Half of his body was burned and slightly deformed.
Raze recognized him immediately.
The red-core mage….
"I have been waiting here for a while, you know. Since the moment you killed that poor weak guy." He said with an amused smile.
Raze's eyes scanned everything around him with cold calmness. He saw Lyla lying on the ground, wincing in pain while Ellara, on his back, was trembling uncontrollably.
There was no escape route in sight.
"How did you know we would be here exactly?"
He kept talking to buy time, even though escape seemed nearly impossible.
"Well, there are merely sixteen routes toward the Imperial City, and I had sent different scouts in all directions. The moment I was informed of the death of one of them, I knew which direction you were taking… so I decided to wait for you here."
He explained it leisurely as if he were teaching a lesson rather than trying to kill him and the moment his explanation ended, Raze's survival instincts screamed. He jumped to the side as right on cue, the ground beneath where he had been standing trembled before erupting into flames.
Seeing him dodge the attack, the mage smiled.
"Hmm, you're even more interesting than I thought but that only gives me more reason to not keep you alive." His voice turned chilling. "You see, I don't like leaving enemies alive for them to grow strong enough to kill me…"
"I usually do it painlessly but please forgive me. That bitch from before nearly shattered my core, so my powers and control are a bit messy… so be prepared to feel the pain."
His smile twisted as he raised his hands, and the ground all around them began to tremble.
"So, try to die quickly, will you?"