Chapter 288: The Third Path in Practice
...Seriously.
I sighed, looking in the direction of the hideout through my enhanced perception. Fifteen ’assassins’, likely armed and possibly with some combat training, even if they weren’t professionals. It would be tricky, but not impossible, with my current capabilities.
(Alright, but don’t let them die, please.) I said.
(Of course, and don’t let it be boring, please.)
(...This is not an entertainment mission, you know.)
Were all the primordials like this?
(Everything is an entertainment when you’re as old as I am. Now go, show me what my student is capable of.)
Guess they were.
With that in mind, I started moving, hoping the targets were asleep. It was almost midnight after all. Unless they planned to attack tonight, there was no reason for them to be awake at this hour.
Oh, I guessed it right.
Using the Pulse of the Unseen, I confirmed most were indeed asleep. I silently approached the two scouts near the cave entrance, pressing a cloth soaked with sleeping agent against their faces until they went limp. I dragged their bodies and positioned them against the rocks and headed inside using Silent Veil.
Inside, only two remained awake on watch duty - the young man who’d coughed blood earlier and the leader guy. I moved behind the leader first, clamping the cloth over his mouth and nose while simultaneously casting an illusion on the younger guard to make it appear the leader was still sitting upright. Of course, I did it with Seren’s help.
The leader struggled a bit, but the effect was strong, so his body went limp in a few seconds.
The young man never noticed what was happening till I did the same to him. But maybe his immunity was really low; it didn’t take even 3 seconds to make him unconscious.
And to ensure everyone else stayed unconscious, I went around to each sleeping figure and pressed the cloth for about 10 seconds.
Within minutes, all fifteen were secured without a single drop of blood or sweat spilled.
Strangely, I didn’t sense any shadow moving, making me wonder whether the mastermind was alerted or only that guard guy was being monitored.
(Sigh. I was expecting a battle, I guess I’ll get it next time.) Lady Nisha’s voice echoed in my mind as she appeared beside me.
The next second, those two scouts’ bodies appeared beside the others. In the next moment, those familiar black flames engulfed everyone.
Five seconds passed.
The flames slowly disappeared.
(Done.)
I looked at her, holding myself from asking what exactly she had done to finish so fast.
(Show me your Resonator Mark.)
She said while turning to me.
I became confused but nodded, pulling up my sleeve to reveal the mark right above my wrist. I noticed there were no changes in it, still the same colorless mark I’d always had after awakening.
She extended her hand toward it.
(This might feel... uncomfortable. So brace yourself.)
The moment she touched it, a strange and powerful aura flooded into me. The sensation was indescribable - alien, overwhelming, and even painful.
Already black mark seemed to have gotten even darker. And the next moment-
!
-My mind went blank.
I suddenly found myself burning in black flames, bloodied and screaming... dying, while Nisha watched it happen with cold, emotionless eyes.
My eyes widened in horror, but before I could process what I was seeing, my consciousness snapped back to reality.
(...Focus.) Nisha’s voice commanded, cutting through my disorientation.
I nodded shakily and began channeling the foreign aura to activate Glacia Sinfonia, barely keeping my chaotic emotions in check.
...What the heck was that?
... She... Was she killing me?
...That b**tch!
"!"
My eyes widened in shock as my thoughts began to turn sharp and dark.
Urgh, what’s this?
The unconscious figures around me looked so... fragile. My fingers twitched toward the dagger at my side.
Why am I wasting my time with this elaborate charade?
A few swings and the problems will disappear forever.
Heat spread through my chest, pooling behind my eyes like molten metal.
They’re assassins. They deserve death. Let’s just-!
Cold ice suddenly washed through my veins, extinguishing the burning thoughts.
My breathing steadied, the violent impulses fading like smoke.
...The ability was finally activated.
I felt the familiar power coursing through me, steady and controlled.
Let’s be quick about this.
{As you wish, friend.}
I manifested our aura, letting it touch each sleeping figure. The moment the connection was forged, we used Memory Weaving on them all, and fragments of their memories began flooding our consciousness.
The young assassin staring at his bloodied gloves, their long journey here, cramped in a wagon. Him kneeling before his sickly mother, promising through tears, "Everything will be ok, I promise."
The leader’s cruel laughter echoing in a secluded alley. "Fools, dream all you want, but you’ll all be dead before seeing even a single coin. Hahaha, I’ll take them all myself!"
A middle-aged man clutching a letter, his daughter’s handwriting pleading for medicine money.
Another figure counting coins with shaking hands, muttering about debts that would kill his family if unpaid. Another one promising his children that he will rescue them soon.
While another one licking his dagger in anticipation, planning to rob the others once the mission finished.
Everyone had their own story.
And each of them revealed everything I needed to know: their circumstances, their characters, their motivations. Some were desperate fathers and sons driven by love and poverty. Others were either petty robbers or opportunistic predators who saw easy prey in their companions’ desperation.
But there were no clues about the mastermind. Most had been recruited either by the leader or that guard, with no knowledge of who really pulled the strings.
With no choice, I peered deeper into the leader’s memories, but they were strangely foggy, as if obscured by an external force. Through the haze, I glimpsed him talking with someone, his head pressed to the floor in absolute terror and awe, but the other person remained a shadow, their face and voice completely blocked.
Urgh...
The ability began to strain against my consciousness and body - time was running short.
I quickly withdrew from the connections and deactivated Glacia Sinfonia, gasping as the foreign aura left my body.
"Cough-!"
(Careful, boy.)
"I’m couug-fine." I replied, wiping away the blood. My body felt hollow, and my veins ached.
But it was all worth it.
I now knew what exactly needed to be done with each of them.