The old man watched Lili. Her breathing was erratic, her skin pale with fear.
The scene around her was chaos, but he had no time to worry about that.
—Take the lady away.
Without hesitation, the sturdy young man carried her in his arms. He felt her body tremble against his. He knew he should not look back, that it was his duty to save her.
But his mind cried out for something else.
What was the point of running away, if the real monster was still there?
Maicol gritted his teeth. He had no choice.
-I'm enough to finish this job... «Dark Attack».
His sword was tinged black, vibrating with a cursed energy. It was his most lethal technique, his last resort.
He attacked. Each strike contained all his desperation, all his fury.
And Luis... only lifted a finger.
Slashes that should have been lethal crashed against him like an insignificant breeze, unable to move even a fallen leaf.
—With your cultivation at the middle stage, though bordering on advanced, it's child's play for me, Maicol.
His heart skipped a beat.
How did he know her name? How did he know her cultivation level?
He had never revealed it. He wasn't supposed to know it.
—Who are you? Or rather, what are you?
Luis smiled.
Nothing I could say would change the old man's fate.
—I'm someone you shouldn't have messed with.
Maicol felt his skin crawl. His instincts screamed at him to run.
But he couldn't.
He couldn't escape it.
—Even if I die, I'll take you with me... «Suicide Shadow».
His body deformed into a monstrous silhouette, expanding like a dark sphere.
The air became thick. The earth trembled.
Luis sighed indifferently.
—I allowed you to die... «Annul».
Effortlessly, he rested a finger on the grotesque shadow.
In an instant, the technique vanished.
Maicol blinked, finding himself back to his normal state.
He couldn't understand it.
How could this young man override his technique so easily?
He tried activating it again. He couldn't accept that he had stopped it once.
But a stabbing pain stopped him.
His lung was burning.
When he looked down, he saw his own sword buried in his body.
Luis had taken it from him.
He didn't know when. He didn't know how.
Panic gripped him completely. Now he was really terrified.
—Wow... it cuts well. Even though it's a low-grade weapon, at least it keeps me from getting my hands dirty.
Before Maicol could react, Luis moved with impossible speed. In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind him.
The old man's legs were severed. A piercing scream filled the air.
And then... the real torture began.
Luis cut off his arms slowly, as if he had all the time in the world.
Maicol felt panic spread through his skin, his mind, his bones.
Terror. Fear. Despair.
He wanted to run. To run away.
But it was too late.
—I told you, if they didn't tell me who sent them, I wouldn't leave a whole body behind. I always keep my word.
Luis whistled. As if he were doing something everyday.
He plunged the sword into Maicol's other lung. Then into every vital organ, carefully avoiding the heart.
Maicol could barely breathe. The last moments of his life were an ocean of agony.
Luis decapitated him without emotion. He took the head indifferently.
—I expected more... Are the sects so weak nowadays? I hope your master will be more entertaining when I meet him in person.
While Luis dominated his combat, Hernan struggled to survive.
The wind whipped across the battlefield, kicking up dust and dead leaves. The air was thick with tension and the metallic smell of blood hung in the breeze.
In front of him, the two assassins moved with murderous precision. Their cold eyes, devoid of emotion, reflected their sole purpose: to kill.
Hernan gritted his teeth.
He could not allow himself to falter. Not now.
He created two wind swords with his newly learned technique as he advanced his cultivation to the Base rank. Although he was at the Low level, he had yet to fully master his power.
The swords were imperfect. Not sharp enough. I couldn't combine them with other techniques.
But they were all he had.
His opponents attacked relentlessly.
-—«Shadow Cut».
The dark blades lunged at him, crossing the distance in the blink of an eye. Hernan felt the impact and recoiled, coughing blood.
But the damage was less than expected.
His wind shield had dampened the onslaught. Without it, he would already be dead.
But the assassins were not going to stop.
Hernan reacted quickly. He hurled his wind blades, one at each enemy.
Both responded, crossing their weapons against his.
But at the instant of collision, Hernan's blades exploded in a devastating blast.
The wind hit them squarely. A second of bewilderment.
That was all it took.
Hernan appeared between them with new wind blades in his hands. He aimed one at the neck of the nearest enemy.
The assassin, surprised, dodged with difficulty.
His companion, seeing the danger, attacked from behind with his sword, seeking to pierce Hernan's back.
But Hernan reacted. He hurled one of his wind swords at him, halting his advance for an instant.
Just a moment.
But it was enough.
He continued his offensive against the first assassin. Strike after strike, weakening his defence, until it finally pierced his heart.
The enemy knew he was finished.
But with his last breath, he plunged his sword into Hernan's arm.
The pain was immediate and deep.
Hernan cursed through his teeth. He had won... but at a cost.
His breathing grew heavy. His body exhausted.
There was still an assassin left.
One who wasn't wounded like him.
When he tried to react, he saw it already in front of him.
He froze.
She had lost herself in her pain and had inadvertently given him the upper hand.
The assassin swung his sword with speed, straight for his neck. It was a lethal blow. Hernan had no way to avoid it.
But then...
The assassin's arms flew through the air, severed from his body.
The cry of pain echoed across the battlefield.
—You still lack a lot of combat experience... You have much to learn.
Luis had thrown the sword with which he killed the old man. The blow was sure, with no margin for error.
The killer screamed, writhing in inconceivable suffering.
—You scream too much... Shut up.
Luis threw Maicol's head against him.
The impact was brutal.
Both heads exploded as they collided.
A pool of blood spread on the floor.
The last assassin had died in the most grotesque manner imaginable.
Hernan surveyed the scene with frozen skin. For him, the battle had been exhausting. For Luis, it was just child's play.
He didn't want to imagine being his enemy. He didn't want to die a death like that.
Luis looked at him calmly.
—Good moves. Good analysis in battle. But you got too close to your enemy without an escape plan. Plus, you lost sight of your other opponent.
He smiled with a mixture of indifference and certainty.
—If I had to give you a grade, it would be a 6. I hope you get better... or die trying.
The words shook him.
hadn't saved him because he cared.
He had saved him because he had yet to learn.
Luis tossed him a pill that Hernan caught in mid-air.
—Eat it. It will heal your wounds. I don't want to see you dragging your body all the way to the capital.
He turned and began to walk, whistling.
As if nothing had happened.
As if the massacre was a mere insignificant detail.
Hernan felt a chill.
"Is he really a human... Or a monster in sheep's clothing?"