Chapter 198: Genius

“I… don’t know… if there will be a war… hic*, I honestly don’t want to… hic* fight. But I ju-oh, you’re sleeping already.”

When midnight arrived, and the dim light of bedrooms replaced the blinding brilliance of the different stores, Colt decided to leave.

Sister Mary was on the rooftop, asleep, while Colt staggered as he got up.

“…Sera.”

“Yes, Master?”

With a mention of her name, a figure appeared by Colt’s side.

“Can you take Sister Mary back-ah, you’re here… Fer.”

Beside Sister Mary, Fer was crouching down and poking her cheeks.

“Hello, Young Master Colt. Did you have a good time?”

“The wine sucks.”

“Oh, they are, don’t they?” Fer laughed as she carried Sister Mary on her back, “Did Sister Mary tell you?”

“Yeah… and *hic* the others suck for hating her want to live her *hic* life,” Colt shouted in a drunken rage. But, he raised an eyebrow realizing one simple face, “How come… you went to find… her? Didn’t she take your eyes?”

Fer simply smiled, “Hehe… let’s just say the moment I lost my eyes was when I managed to see things brightly.”

“…that makes no sense.”

“Gahahaha, it doesn’t, does it? Well, thank you for spending time with Sister Mary. I will be taking her back to the Cathedral. Let’s talk some more later, Young Master.”

Colt did not say anything, just waved his hand. He mumbled some things as Fer disappeared into the night.

Sera watched her disappear with light steps. Practicing assassination arts, she was keen on soft movements. Though Fer was a fighter, she was more proficient in light movement than Sera.

“Then, Young Master, let me assist you back to the Cathedral… Young Master? Young Master! Wait!”

Colt was already walking away before Sera could call his name.

Sera wanted to assist Colt, but he just motioned to let him be alone. Though his every step caused him to sway, he continued forwards without any difference.

Reaching the edge of the restaurant, he stepped forward and plummeted down.

“Young Master!” Sera shouted, worried about Colt. She hurried to rescue Colt, but all she saw was him walking away, unscathed and unbothered, ‘This… that’s a 15-meter drop. I know the Young Master is strong, but… he didn’t even use Aura.’

Watching Colt disappear in the next turn, Sera sighed, ‘I suppose Master and Butler Neun was correct… I should just get better at espionage than in fighting.’

She felt even more helpless seeing Colt.

The road had barely any people. Some drunkards couldn’t identify Colt, and some couples spent some time in the back alley corners.

In the dim lighting of the night, Colt was unknown to them.

Swaying back and forth, he was nothing more than one of the drunkard Nobles who visited the Night Market.

“Young Lord, why not spend time with this Older Sister?”

“Aiya, are you starving for a companion tonight, Sir Noble Knight? Let Ely accompany you.”

‘Accompany them? Hehe, if I do that, a single whiff of my clothes would most likely get all our heads lopped off… I wonder what would happen if I suddenly wore female perfume? Hehe, perfume, that’s a funny word.’

Prostitutes, Guards, and other drunk people tried to approach Colt, but the unsung Hero Sera intervened and made sure to stop them. The guards stopped after Sera showed them the mark of the Cathedral thrown to her earlier by her master.

Colt would’ve noticed her if his senses weren’t so dulled.

Sera could not help but sigh. Even though she did not see Colt’s past, she heard stories from her Master, ‘I couldn’t believe he was a wastrel a year ago. But seeing him like this, I can only imagine how much worse the Young Master was in the pa – Young Master?’

Her words trailed off as she found the road empty of her Young Master. Sera looked around and checked for any signs, but… there was no one present, ‘Where did he go?’

It was like Colt had just disappeared.

“Where are all the people?”

Still inebriated out of his mind, Colt wondered why the City suddenly became empty.

The streets were empty, and the lights from the buildings were snuffed out. Only the radiance of the moon was present to bring light.

Everything was dark, and in the middle of this darkness was Colt. His mind was not with him, and in a moment of intoxication extended his leg to walk, only to falter and begin falling.

With a woosh, a flash of light passed his shoulder.

“What’s *hic* that?”

He looked behind, and three craters were now on the ground where he previously stood. Checking to see the crater, Colt again fumbled his steps, kissing the ground and eating dirt and dust.

Tak!

Another one hit the group a few meters away from Colt, but instead of it creating a crater, what followed was a blinding light.

BOOM!

An explosion caused Colt to be blown into the building behind him.

Crashed!

Getting up, the first thing Colt noticed was the number of chairs and tables scattered about, ‘Is this… a restaurant?’

Colt felt bad flying into a restaurant, knowing what the owner would think the day later, ‘…he’ll lose… a business… day.’

The drunk Colt felt guilty about what happened and, as he was getting a light entered the building through the windows. Three beams of orange light passed him by, “What’s this?”

BOOM!

A barrage of explosions bombarded the building. What was a two-floor establishment was transformed into a pile of burning wood. A fire pillar rose to the night sky, illuminating the lifeless dark world. The fire was grand and tall. Its intensity was so strong that an average human would feel it from dozens of meters away.

From the darkness emerged ten men tightly holding swords. Dressed in all black from head to toe, surrounded the burning building.

“Damn it, this slippery bastard was almost impossible to catch. To think we’d have to resort to this kind of thing.”

“How fast is this man’s reaction speed to dodge those poisonous arrows?”

“Stay alert. He’s an Obsidian-Class Target. Until we confirm the body, any lapse in judgment will result in death.” A voice deeper than the darkness of the abyss drowned the others’ words. From behind the others, another man stepped forward. Unlike the rest, he was wearing blood-red clothing.

For an assassin, it was laughable for someone to wear such a thing, but anyone below Rank-8 of Aura would be unable to detect him if he was standing right next to them. Even to his companions, they took no less than a second to fully register his presence.

To an assassin or even a High-Class Warrior, that was a time that would have resulted in their heads flying. His name was unknown, but those who knew of his existence called him Stalker.

“You have to be kidding, right, boss? That was a bombardment of Rank-8 Fire Bomb Arrows.”

“Yeah, Captain. He may have slipped from the bombardment, but he won’t be able to survive this. Besides, he was injured in the fight with the monsters of Fate. We confirmed he was knocked out by the Valkyries. No matter how strong he is, he couldn’t have recovered in a single night.”

Though information about the fight earlier was tightly restricted, they caught glimpses of the battle. Colt was out of commission for the most part and even had to fight a Valkyrie.

Physical trauma and injury could be healed, but the aura and mental fatigue couldn’t.

“That’s right, Captain. He must’ve been drinking to numb the pain of the fight. We were lucky he strayed off that woman.”

‘Is that so?’ Stalker’s eyebrows touched. He felt uneasy, “Maybe, but this son of a bitch is the son of the bastard Black Tiger. The Regalus Kingdom has been sharpening its claws. He’s not someone we can just regard as easy pre-.”

Stalker was alert, but the instant he split his attention, it emerged from the inferno and arrived in front of him.

A golden arc leaped from the hellfire and displaced the assassin’s words into a heavy grunt. Stalker felt a set of steely fingers grab his left arm.

With a trail of fire coming from his body, a stout figure stood next to Stalker. Its eyes were glowing an ominous golden light.

It was none other than their target – who was supposed to be burning in the building – Colt Edgeworth.

While the other assassins retreated to get some distance, Stalker could not even step back if he wanted to.

Colt’s gold right hand held Stalker with a vice grip.

‘What’s happening… this strength… I can’t get his hands off me!’

Colt’s upper right half was naked. His clothes burnt to a crisp, and the owner of the eyes the bearer of mild irritation. Colt slowly opened his mouth to speak, “Do not badmouth my Parents. They’re both amazing *hic* people.”

His words were calm – too calm for someone who had been ambushed – that it set off Stalker’s instincts.

He was thinking about how to respond until he saw Colt’s eyes.

When he finally realized, Stalker’s eyes dilated, and his heart raced. With a primal scream, Stalker drew a hidden knife from his waist.

An arc of silver drew blood, and to Colt’s surprise, the man in red suddenly took off running after severing his left arm.

“Retreat!”

Stalker ran and ordered the others to do the same. They were ready to fight. They lay down their lives to complete the mission just as they were taught.

But Stalker ordered them to run away.

“Run away, and don’t hesitate!” Fighting head-on against someone like Colt would prove fruitless, ‘Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! How is this possible!?’

Upon his and the others taking ten steps, three explosions fell upon Colt from all directions.

‘That should be enough time to buy us time.’ Stalker sacrificed an arm to escape, but it did not weigh heavily on his heart. It was a little price to escape a monster.

He was a master assassin.

Many times he had been in situations more dangerous than the next.

Not every plan ever sails so smoothly.

To adapt was simply the nature of business, and Stalker had survived twenty years of such a life.

Stalker had always come out on top, no matter how strong the enemy was. But when he and Colt exchanged gaze? Stalker understood everything.

‘He used himself as bait.’

Stalker didn’t know when they were noticed, but Colt’s eyes told him everything.

Those eyes veiled with the hazy mist of alcohol were all a facade.

He seemed disoriented to Stalker, but underneath the mist was a golden glow of a ferocious beast. A vertical slit could barely be hidden behind his obsidian gaze,

‘Because of the Tiger’s tight leash on his territory, nothing much is known about Colt Edgeworth other than what kind of person he was. He used our preconceived knowledge against us. He must’ve planned everything when we were watching him in the plaza… wait, does that mean he anticipated that there would be someone aiming for his life in the Holy Lands?

‘Did he orchestrate that fight against the Knights and those Valkyries? All that so he could draw his enemies out!? I never should’ve taken this job, no matter the payment. He’s a master of manipulation. To bait me so masterfully, that’s not something any normal man can do. But I have no other choice… those people will not take no for an answer. I have to reorganize everything and try again. It will be much harder, but we’ll at least have a second chance.’

Stalker could finally see through Colt’s true self.

He was not just a Hero… he was a monster.

“Hey-“

While his mind was wandering, Stalker heard the last voice he wanted to hear.

Stalker’s eyes quivered slightly as he turned to look who the voice belonged to, ‘…shit.’

“-you forgot your arm.

Colt was staying with him to his right, holding up his severed arm with the biggest of smiles.

While they were moving at high speeds, Colt tossed Stalker his own arm, “You’re going to need this.”

“What!?”

Right as Stalker asked, Colt stopped.

He stood in the middle of an alleyway, with a smile on his face watching Stalker leave.

Stalker and the others disappeared into the night. Leaving the Night Market and somewhere else.

Stalker was alone, out of breath, with his back against a wall and holding the arm he severed. The darkness lifted, and the soft moans of the night returned…

‘I’m going to need my arm?’ Stalker repeated what Colt told him, ‘… He’s going to come for us soon.’