Chapter 24: Primal Hatred

The female assassin’s face grew incredibly pale. Her eyes couldn’t leave the heads of her former comrades.

’This… wasn’t supposed to happen…’

Her plan was simple.

She would hold Aden’s attention for as long as she possibly could—pressuring him, probing for an opening, even attempting to finish him off if the chance arose.

Once he was fully committed, her comrades would strike from above, launching their aerial formation in perfect sync, a maneuver designed to leave him with no room to escape.

But the three heads that laid at her feet painfully reminded her how much she had underestimated her opponent.

She wasn’t allowed to wallow in self pity as a faint whistle sounded dangerously close to her ear.

Her instincts screamed and she immediately backflipped away from the imminent danger.

“You’re rather good at running, aren’t you?”

Aden spoke smilingly as the blade whizzed continually through the air, cutting dangerous arcs close to the assassins face.

The assassin desperately dodged the deadly attacks, her outfit had grown tattered and bloody marks slowly accumulated over her body.

Aden’s lips remained curved, but his arms bulged, veins tracing his shoulder to the edge of his fingers that gripped the handle of the blade.

“You’re unlucky, you’re going to suffer for the sins of your comrades,” Aden declined.

The weapon flew towards her in a predictable path, the blade reflecting the moonlight with cold beauty.

Her teeth clenched as she bent over and attempted to wrap the chain around her thighs, in order to distort the trajectory of the blade.

To her horror, the golden chain curved at an unnatural angle, causing the blade to aim directly at her exposed thigh.

*Slash*

“Ahhh!!”

A pained scream left her lips as she rolled across the forest floor in a weird manner. Her body collided with a rock, causing a small crack to sound in the jungle, accompanied by irregular curves of crimson in the air.

The female assasin clenched her foot in pain.

At least what was left of it.

The blade spun steadily and caused deep gashes within the soil as Aden walked towards the assasins slouched form.

The smile on his face grew wider, but his eyes remained frostily cold.

“Problem solved,” he whispered.

The stifled grunts of pain grew clearer as he approached and crouched in front of her.

“No hard feelings, teehee”

Her hands covered the stump of her foot, her expression turned ugly as she faced Aden with fury in her eyes.

Aden chuckled, then placed his palm on her head. The left eye she had injured finally revealed itself from beneath the curtain of his silver hair.

Shivers ran down her spine once again as her eyes flashed before her eyes as the empty ones locked with hers.

The smile fell. Then Aden spoke, calmly, and clearly.

“Tell me exactly why you’re here.”

The assassin’s eyes widened to the limit. She wasn’t sure if the gods were on her side or the monster before her had suddenly developed a conscience, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was she was given another chance at life.

And she was going to grab it with everything she could.

“I–i’ll tell you everything I know” she spoke, her voice shaky and hoarse.

Aden remained unmoving, his piercing gaze causing her breath to become hindered and her body impossibly stationary.

“My name is Number 7– Aghh!!”

Her free arm grasped her left shoulder in shivering movements but was met with a larger and rougher one.

“I asked why you were here, not your backstory.”

Aden’s hands released the assasin’s shoulder, the sound of decompressed bone sounding in his ears as he did so.

Small tear marks appeared on the assasin’s masked face but Aden’s eyes traveled to her waist.

“Let’s try that again, shall we?”

She nodded frantically.

“Lord…Baldric sent us here to retrieve the… ring…” She confessed.

Aden’s expression remained unchanged, but a flicker of confusion passed through his eyes.

“Why would they send an army just to retrieve a family ring? And who is this Baldric person?”

Taking a gulp amidst heavy breaths, she replied, “I–i’m not supposed to say this…”

Aden’s hand clenched tighter on her head.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Aden’s eyes flitted to her waist once more.

“Baldric is our leader, I swear that’s all I know about him, and the ring is…” her voice descended to a whisper. “Something Sir Redwyn wants…”

Aden’s eyebrows furrowed. “That explains nothing.”

She shook her head vehemently as if to prove just how true it was.

“I’m telling you the truth! I swear!”

Aden’s eyes glowed faintly, his head focused on her chest for a moment, causing a strange expression to form on her face.

Then, his lips parted, a suffocating heaviness following his words.

“You’re lying to me. That will be strike one. The next strike shall lead to your death.”

Only the distant explosive sounds and the rustle and thuds of the vegetation remained after his words faded out of existence.

He could feel the subtle vibrations in her body in reaction to his words, but if he’d learnt anything from this female throughout this battle, it was that her level of deceit surpassed his expectations.

Hence, why she was allowed to live as long as she did.

He wanted to see how far she could go.

“I ask again. Who is Baldric and why is this ring so special?”

A loud gulp could be heard, along with a pained hiss caused by her adjusting movements.

“Lord Baldric is an unfathomably strong warrior who battled in the First Great Demon War.” She started.

“He naturally became the head of military staff after the war, but he stripped himself of the title and handed it to his younger relative with the excuse of it being too boring…”

Aden nodded, his memories corroborating most of her words.

Deciding to mull on that topic afterwards, Aden pressed.

“And the ring?”

The hesitation in her voice was more apparent this time.

“I…the ring is said to hold something of immense value to Sir Redwyn, your father—”

“He’s not my father.”

“…I’m sorry,” her expression still pained, she continued. “It is said that the ring is of immense value to Sir Redwyn”

Aden’s expression remained unchanged as she rambled.

’Could it be the treasures that resided within them? No, that’s doesn’t make sense. He’s one of the strongest people in this kingdom, there’s no reason for him to go this far for a few treasures…so why?’

His eyes refocused on the assassin, and gestured for her to keep quiet.

“So, one of the strongest people in this kingdom sent eighteen of fairly standard assassins and still left the comfort of his home,” his face grew closer to hers. “All for a ring?”

“I–i swear that’s all I was privy to,” she stammered, her back pressing harder against the wall.

Aden’s eyes glowed again as he studied her closely, then he moved back with a hum.

“Very well. You’re free to–!”

Without warning, a small orb that hung closely to her waist shone a bright green, highlighting the assassins horrified face.

Before either of them could do anything, the ball exploded, releasing a large shockwave unbefitting of it’s size.

Aden blasted backward and stumbled on his feet, his eyes remained on the location the assassin laid, waiting patiently for the smoke to clear.

He clicked his tongue after he saw bits and pieces of her clothing littered around the explosion site, small spatters of blood plastered on the stumps of the surrounding trees.

“I would’ve killed her anyways.”

Aden took two steps forward before his face twisted in pain, and he fell to his knees, blood flowing from every orifice.

The voice in his head resurfaced:

’Good show, good show!’ it applauded. ’You managed to keep your act going to the very end, I’m impressed.’

Aden muttered through clenched teeth, “You said if I lent my body to you, you’d offset the price of the Overuse.”

’Bwahaha! You actually believed me? How foolish. I just wanted to have some fun before I’m sealed again.’

The cheerfulness in the voice dissapeared. ’Don’t ever think for a moment, that i’m on your side.’

Aden’s face twisted in anger, the pain from his injuries reared their heads as the adrenaline wore off.

“I’ll get you out of my body, no matter how long it takes…”

The voice laughed, his voice echoing out of existence. “I’d like to see you try.”

Aden’s eyes blurred, his hands shook violently and he collapsed on the moist floor.

His eyes snapped open again almost immediately.

“Master’s still there…”

***

Kaelthorn stared unflinchingly at Baldric, a large crater forming under their feet from the sheer intensity of their gaze.

A cold, hateful expression remained on Baldric’s face as he spoke:

“So your cowardice drove you to dwell in this jungle like a wild animal. How dissapointing.”

Kaelthorn’s expression remained unchanged.

Baldric’s teeth clenched and massive shockwaves followed.

The surrounding vegetation faded out of existence and an oppressive bloodlust filled the air.

“Only one of us are going to leave here alive today. And I swear on everything I hold dear; it won’t be you, Kael.”

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