Chapter 108: Let the Snake Strike First
━━━━━━━━◇━━━━━━━━
Alias: Vex
Affiliation: Black Star
Strength Assessment:
- Combat Prowess: ★★★☆☆ (Elite Assassin)
- Gift: [Phantom Veil] – Can mask his presence completely for short durations.
- Preferred Methods: Poison, psychological manipulation, ambush tactics.
- Weakness: Overconfidence in his poisons; relies too heavily on them.
Present Goal: "Extract information, then eliminate the target."
Threat Level: ★★★★☆ (4 Stars)
━━━━━━━━◇━━━━━━━━
The poison in my lunch had been subtle. It was probably a slow-acting paralytic, designed to weaken my muscles gradually, making me sluggish by evening.
I’d noticed it the moment the first bite touched my tongue—a faint metallic aftertaste, something only someone trained in Zephyr’s "drink every toxin known to man" regimen would catch.
But I ate it anyway.
Because the culprit watching me—Vex—wasn’t just some low-tier thug. He was a professional. A four-star threat with a Gift that made him nearly undetectable when he wanted to be.
And if I’d reacted, if I’d so much as flinched, he would’ve vanished, waited, and struck again when I wasn’t ready.
Worse, he might’ve gone after someone else.
Someone who was close to me, be it Emory, Aeron, the twins, or the others.
I couldn’t put the kids and other innocent lives in danger either.
So, I crafted another plan.
First, it was better to let him think he’d won.
___ ___ _
The carriage rattled as we veered off the main path, the forest swallowing us whole. I let my body slump, my breathing shallow, playing the perfect victim.
Vex’s voice was a smug whisper from the driver’s seat.
"Tch. Wasted my time just for this? Pathetic."
I almost laughed.
If only he knew.
That I had a 70% resistance against this type/level of poison by now. And also for the second one, he forced me to inhale soon after. The only thing I had to do was to make him believe he succeeded.
And so, when he pressed that cloth to my face, I’d held my breath just long enough to sell the act.
Now, bound to a chair in some crumbling warehouse, I waited.
Patience was key.
But damn, I didn’t expect him to suddenly slap me, was he venting on me or what?
But hey, they didn’t hurt that much, only stung a bit. Compared to Dono’s staff cracking my ribs or Leon’s sword pommel slamming into my jaw, it was nothing more than a flick. Still, I let my head loll to the side, exaggerating the impact with a soft groan.
And as I answered his questions, I also learned some valuable info.
Vex’s knife hovered inches from my throat, his grip steady, his eyes sharp.
"You really don’t know?" he repeated, voice low.
I blinked sluggishly, keeping my breaths shallow, my limbs limp. The ropes bit into my wrists, but the paralysis was an act—one I had to sell perfectly.
I really didn’t know about the assassins.
The only time I’d been aware of an attempt was when Virion had intervened while I slept, and even then, I’d only learned of it through the System’s notifications. I never asked the winged tyrant about it, and he never volunteered the information.
But if even more assassins had been sent before—and vanished without a trace—it only made sense that it was Virion who had been silently disposing of them.
But why didn’t he tell me about it?
And why was this guy so fixated on their belongings?
Did they carry something valuable? Something tied to their organization?
I had too little information to guess.
Vex’s frown deepened when I didn’t answer. His knife tapped against my collarbone, the cold metal a warning.
"Speak."
I exhaled, letting my voice slur. "I... really don’t know."
"I... never saw any assassins," I continued, letting my eyelids flutter weakly. "Nobody’s attacked me before."
A muscle twitched in Vex’s jaw. He withdrew the knife and paced the damp warehouse floor, his boots scuffing against cracked stone. Silence stretched between us, thick with his suspicion.
Then, under his breath, he muttered:
"Those idiots all vanished inside the academy..." A pause. His gloved fingers tightened around the hilt of his knife. "Then it’s not this rat. Hell, he’s just a weakling; it’s obvious it’s not him. Then... there must be something wrong with the academy itself. Could it be... a powerful resonator?"
"Yeah, that makes sense. Those guys probably alerted them and got killed in the process." A sharp exhale. "Thank goodness I didn’t infiltrate it."
Virion.
He was the only one who fit that description. But if this guy suspected a guardian lurking in the academy’s shadows, that meant—
He doesn’t know about Virion specifically.
Well, only me, Zephyr, and Luna know about it, so it’s not that much of a shock.
Vex whirled back to me, his shadow looming over my chair. The killing intent in the room spiked like a blade pressed to my throat.
"Tell me," he hissed, leaning down until his breath—reeking of that disgusting smell—ghosted over my face. "Do you know someone like that in the academy? A resonator strong enough to make seasoned assassins disappear?"
I forced a shaky exhale, playing the terrified, paralyzed victim to perfection. "N-No... I’m just an ordinary student and a low-ranking noble’s son. I don’t... know any powerful resonators..."
His eyes narrowed. "Hmm."
The knife returned, its tip pricking the skin under my chin. "What about the strongest resonator there?"
I let my voice waver. "I... I only came this semester. The teachers I know are all... low-ranking..."
Vex studied me for a long, suffocating moment. Then, with a disgusted click of his tongue, he straightened.
"Useless."
It’s not me who’s useless, it’s the academy stuff, they probably don’t have a powerful resonator, or even if there is one, they are really good at hiding themselves. They didn’t even bother to help in the phantom prison incident after all.
"..."
Vex turned his back to me, his cloak flaring as he strode toward a worn wooden table where his tools gleamed under the flickering lantern light. His fingers trailed over the blades, selecting a thin, curved dagger with deliberate care.
"Hmph. Since you have no value..." He tested the edge against his thumb, a bead of crimson welling up. "...it’s time to finish the job. Don’t worry—I’ll make it clean."
My breath hitched—just enough to sound panicked. "Y-You said you wouldn’t kill me!"
"Haha, did you really think a promise from someone like me meant anything? Tch... I really wasted my time with you."
"Well, goodbye kid."