The third round itself went on for many hours, with the fights getting more and more interesting as time progressed as the difference in skill between opponents reduced, however, Leo did not linger enough to enjoy them.
Collecting his participation token and instructions for the grand tournament opening ceremony, Leo took his leave as he reunited with Ben who was waiting for him at the exit.
"How did I do?" Leo asked him with a smile, however, Ben did not reply and instead looked at him with a serious expression.
"You're being tailed, someone has placed a tracking spell on you, It's fight time-" Ben said as he passed Leo a handful of smoke bombs and began looking around for any signs of assassin's.
Leo had no idea as to who placed a tracking spell on him or when, as he was pretty sure that he had not let anyone approach him after his match ended, however, he did not doubt the words coming out of Ben's mouth.
Since Ben said there was a tracking spell placed on him, there must be one…. He was just too low leveled to detect it.
Almost instantly, Leo turned serious as he equipped his utility belt and restocked it with daggers and smoke bombs, as he prepared himself for combat.
Dem Paltrow had placed a hit order on him after watching his third round qualifier performance as although he wore a mask, Dem had managed to identify him as Ben's disciple and singled him out as a target to take out.
"What's next?" Leo asked Ben, who seemed to be focusing on the sound of footsteps near them, trying to see if they were facing any immediate threat.
The grand arena was built at the heart of the city and outside the actual stadium there was a few dozen meters of fenced ground whose boundary was being guarded by royal soldiers.
While Leo had exited the grand arena itself, he and Ben were still standing within the guarded vicinity as their immediate environment felt safe for the time being.
"They won't attack us while we are in the building, too many guards- if a fight breaks out, they will be at a disadvantage, however, the moment we step out they will try and take us out.
Usually, I'd suggest waiting for preliminaries to be over and the crowd to disperse so that we can use the masses as a cover to escape, however, I don't think we should use such solutions today as sending a clear message first is important.
Since you have been marked as prey, it's important to show the consequences of trying to come and kill you, as if we run away now, we will have to remain running like cowards everyday from here till the tournament ends.
However, if we kill them all today, Dem will have to think twice before sending more men to be sacrificed" Ben said as his eyes turned ice cold.
Although unwillingly, Ben had been a part of the Assassin Alliance for a long time so he knew how it functioned.
Running away from assassin's was akin to trying to outrun time as it was impossible to avoid them forever.
The only viable option was to eliminate them through lethal means, as portraying oneself as a formidable adversary capable of ending their lives was the sole method of evading them.
"Alright- we fight them" Leo said, as he agreed with Ben's assessment on the necessity to fight, as the duo began to slowly move out of the arena.
Without making any suspicious movements that would reveal the fact that they knew they were being pursued, Leo and Ben made their way out of the arena bounds with calm.
Soon they walked out of the grand arena's relative safety, their steps casual, betraying none of the urgency that pulsed like a hidden heartbeat between them.
They chatted like usual, however, both their senses were really in hyperdrive as they tracked the movements of the shadows behind them.
The city sprawled around them, a labyrinth of light and shadow under the setting sun, its beauty lost to the two men with a darker purpose at hand.
To any onlooker, they were just two more faces in the crowd, moving with the flow of the city's life. But beneath their calm exterior, Leo and Ben were acutely aware of every glance, every shift in the crowd that might indicate their pursuers closing in.
They communicated in subtle gestures, a language formed in the crucible of their shared past, each turn and pause measured and deliberate.
The route they took was a deliberate winding path through the bustling streets, leading their pursuers away from the main thoroughfares and into the older parts of the city where shadows clung closer to the ground.
Once they entered the impoverished slums, where the alleyways lay twisted and unplanned with the public lighting dim and sanitation questionable, they found the perfect stage for what was to come.
While the other assassin's thought that Leo and Ben were walking to their own graves by entering dark alleys, little did they know that unlike themselves who merely adopted the dark, Leo and Ben were masters of it.
With a final turn, Leo and Ben stepped into a dark alley, seemingly a dead end and a perfect place for an ambush. But this was their chosen battleground.
The duo instantly used 'vanish' and blended into the shadows on opposite ends as they awaited their pursuers to follow.
*Step*
*Step*
*Step*
*Step*
Four assassin's moved like the wind as they silently entered the alley, hoping to find Leo and Ben there, however, they found no-one.
"It's a dead end, where did they go?" One of them whispered, however, before the others could reply, Ben and Leo emerged out of the shadow they were hiding as both took out one target each using the 'Kill Strike'.
*SPLAT*
*SPLAT*
Blood spilled as two assassin's had their hearts pierced within a second, leading to instant deaths, while the two others turned with visible horror etched on their faces.