The Assassin

“What is that?!”

Taylor stared in stunned disbelief at the celestial tapestry blooming in the sky above Pekoin City—a giant, spectral Orchid woven from pure starlight. Its soft, sapphire luminescence pushed back against the blood-red, suffocating glow of the dark moon, and the oppressive, life-draining effect of the ritual circle within the city was suppressed by its holy light.

The Marquis’s soldiers, who had felt their strength being siphoned away like sand through their fingers, felt life and vigor surge back into their limbs under the gentle shower of starlight. A defiant, unified roar erupted from the walls as they redoubled their defense.

Taylor’s scarred face turned black with fury. “Orchid of Love?!” he snarled, the name a vile curse on his lips. “Damn the Grand Holy Church!” To have the sacred ground of their order so casually defiled, overwritten with the sigil of their most hated enemy, was the ultimate humiliation. If only the dark moon had risen fully, its power would have snuffed out any chance of activating such a potent defensive formation.

He slammed a fist into a nearby siege engine, the heavy wood splintering under the blow, but it did little to vent the rage boiling in his heart. Shaking his head, Taylor forced the distracting thoughts from his mind and focused on the battle before him.

Although the enemy’s defenders were temporarily resisting the effects of the Dark Moon Sacrifice, this was not a stronghold of the Grand Holy Church. They had no great cathedral here. Even with the Orchid’s protection, it could not last forever. The sacrifice, however, would continue as long as it had blood to feed on. And its power was not limited to simply weakening the enemy.

A cold, cruel smile stretched across Taylor’s scarred face. He watched as the magical beasts they had summoned began to change under the crimson moonlight. A dark moon sigil burned itself onto their foreheads, and their bodies began to swell and contort with sickening, wet cracks. Claws and tusks grew longer and sharper, their muscles bulged unnaturally, and they let out a chorus of insane, blood-curdling roars that tore at the very fabric of the night.

Dark Moon Enhancement. It was the sacrifice’s other, more terrible function, a massive, unholy boost to the combat power of those it blessed. The price was a severely shortened lifespan and withered lifeblood afterwards. But they were just beasts. Their lives were meaningless. Taylor watched them die and transform without a flicker of compassion.

“Taylor, what is the situation on your end?”

The dark moon ring on Taylor’s finger pulsed with a faint, red light, and a voice echoed in his mind. It was a communication ring, a privilege reserved for bishops and above.

“Hicks. I’ve run into some trouble. Our plan was leaked somehow, and we were forced to attack early. That’s the situation.”

“Then I’ll be there shortly to assist—”

“No,” Taylor said, cutting off Hicks’s offer of aid. “I need you to do something else.” He paused, choosing his words carefully. As the overall commander of this operation, he still had to respect Hicks, who was his equal in rank. “Pekoin’s walls are high, their soldiers are numerous, and their weapons are plentiful. It’s a fortress. Even our Dark Moon Sacrifice has been temporarily blocked by the Holy Church’s tricks. I’ve heard the Marquis of Pekoin secretly sent his family and the city’s residents away. It’s been less than a day; such a large group couldn’t have gone far. I’ve already sent a team in pursuit, but with that mysterious powerhouse in the mix, I’m not confident. I want you to check on it. If you can capture the Marquis’s family to use as hostages, it would be best. At the very least, it will shake their morale.”

“Consider it done.”

Hicks agreed without hesitation. Taylor let out a breath of relief. As an operative, Hicks was perfect, specializing in assassination and surprise attacks on enemy leaders. Speaking of which…

“What about Rile?” Taylor asked. “I remember he was also ordered here by the Master.”

“Rile said that with you on the front lines and me on the flank, there was no need for him to ‘add flowers to the brocade’,” Hicks’s voice replied, tinged with a faint amusement. “He said he would act alone, look for opportunities, and support us as he sees fit.”

Taylor frowned. He had never liked opportunists like Rile. But he was right; in a battle of this scale, the power of a single individual was limited. Let him do as he pleased.

“I’m about to move out of communication range,” Hicks’s voice crackled.

“Understood,” Taylor said. “Be careful of that mysterious powerhouse. He is not to be underestimated.”

“Acknowledged.”

The communication cut out. Taylor turned his cold gaze back to the raging battle.

The pressure on the city walls was mounting, and casualties were beginning to increase. But they were still within an acceptable range. Just hold on until morning, the Marquis thought, a silent prayer on his lips. He had never longed for the sunrise so desperately.

———

“We’ve found them.”

The cultists dispatched by Taylor stared with venomous, hate-filled eyes at the small, hidden town nestled in a sleepy valley. It was an unremarkable place with no rare resources or strategic advantages, its population mostly consisting of the elderly and children. It was the perfect hiding spot.

“There are some guards. It will be troublesome. Have the beasts attack first to wear them down!”

Among the group was a beast-caller, a cultist who could bend the will of the savage creatures of the Beast Forest.

“Good! Beast-caller, prepare!” the captain ordered. But his command was met with silence. He frowned and looked back, only to find the beast-caller was gone.

“Where is the beast-caller?” he demanded, a note of irritation in his voice.

The squad members looked at each other, confused. One of them spoke up. “Captain, he said the beasts were getting restless and went to calm them down. He should have been back by now.”

A sliver of unease pricked the captain’s heart. He led his men to find the beast-caller, only to discover his mangled, half-eaten corpse being devoured by the very beasts he was meant to control.

The men’s faces turned pale. “Useless fool!” the captain cursed, spitting on the ground. “Failing at such a critical moment.”

“That’s not right,” one of the men said, his voice trembling as he pointed a shaky finger. “Even if his skills were poor, the beasts shouldn’t have turned on him. We’re all wearing the special incense. They shouldn’t attack us unless…”

“Unless someone killed him, and the scent of fresh blood overpowered the incense,” the captain finished, his eyes widening in dawning horror. “Quick—”

But his word was cut short as the man beside him was suddenly decapitated, a fountain of hot blood spraying over the captain and the others. The beasts, smelling the fresh blood, turned their hungry, feral eyes upon the cultists. They were not tamed pets, but wild monstrosities, and the man who held their leash was dead. With a deafening roar, they attacked. The forest filled with the wet, tearing sounds of slaughter and the terrified screams of the dying.

High above, hidden in the branches of a tall, ancient tree, Yexi watched the carnage below with cold, indifferent eyes. She was untouched by the slaughter, a ghost in the shadows, the beast-repelling incense she wore rendering her invisible to the frenzied creatures.

She glanced down at her pristine maid’s uniform, not a single drop of blood on it, and felt a flicker of professional satisfaction. This is what skilled technique looks like, she thought with a touch of smugness. I hope that barbarian learned something in the afterlife.

With the cultists all dead, she knew her work here was done. The scattered beasts were no longer a threat. Without a leader, they would not attack a human settlement and would eventually return to the forest.

Just then, Yexi noticed torchlight approaching from the direction of the town. The guards must have heard the commotion. She had to stop them before they blundered into the agitated beasts.

Moving swiftly and silently through the canopy, she saw the old, dignified butler from the Trefle estate leading a group of armed men. She dropped down in front of them like a falling leaf, startling them into raising their weapons.

“It’s me.”

The old butler recognized her voice and signaled for his men to stand down. “Yexi! What are you doing here? Weren’t you on a mission for the Lord?”

Yexi nodded curtly. “The Lord instructed me to come protect the Lady as soon as my task was complete. There were some undesirable pests lurking about. I took care of them.”

The old butler, a trusted confidant of the Marquis, knew something of Yexi’s true nature and didn’t question her words. He smiled warmly. “That’s good to hear. With you here, I can rest easy. Come, let’s see the Lady.”

Yexi followed the butler and found the Lady of the house sulking on a velvet chaise, with Elienla trying in vain to comfort her.

“What’s wrong, my Lady?” Yexi asked, a rare note of genuine concern in her voice.

Elienla’s face lit up with relief. “Xi! You’re back! It’s so good to see you.”

“Xi-chan!” the Lady cried, her gloom vanishing in an instant. “You’re safe! Let me see, are you hurt?”

Yexi, seeing the genuine, motherly concern in her mistress’s eyes, let her guard down and walked over, only to be immediately pulled into a tight, suffocating embrace and subjected to a vigorous nuzzling.

“Xi-chan, you have no idea!” the Lady complained, her voice muffled against Yexi’s hair. “Those wretched men, my husband and my son, they abandoned me! They just threw me here! Mmph~”

Yexi felt deeply uncomfortable in the embrace but couldn’t bring herself to push away forcefully. She looked helplessly at Elienla. “What happened?” She knew to only trust half of what the Lady said in this state, and usually the most important half was the one she left out.

Elienla explained, her voice a conspiratorial whisper, “The Lord said Pekoin might be in danger for the next two days, so he tried to persuade the Lady to evacuate with the rest of the townsfolk. But she refused. So… the Lord put a sleeping draught in her breakfast and had us bring her here while she was unconscious.”

The Lady, now rubbing Yexi’s smooth cheeks between her hands, pouted. “In terms of strength, I’m stronger than that big oaf! Why wouldn’t he let me help?”

“My Lady, please stop rubbing my face,” Yexi protested, trying to shield herself from the affectionate assault. “And… you can let me go now. You’ve been hugging me for almost three minutes.”

“Alright, alright.” The Lady reluctantly released her. Yexi immediately darted away and addressed the butler. “I’m going on patrol.”

The old butler smiled and nodded. “Go on.”

And with that, Yexi fled. She would rather kill a hundred men than be held in her mistress’s arms for another second. It was too embarrassing!

She didn’t know that in the dark, silent forest she was heading into, the Cardinal-Assassin, Hicks, had just arrived.