Chapter 76

◈ Chapter 76: Calsapha Assassin (2)

Ludger had been waiting for this situation from the beginning.

He already knew that the assassins were hiding in the crowd, waiting for him to tire.

Ludger had no intention of playing by their rules.

‘If I break the loose encirclement and try to escape quickly, they will have no choice but to reveal themselves.’

Assassins are incredibly calm when given a situation, moving in the darkness with stealth.

In other words, if I can break the situation they’ve created, they will have no choice but to show themselves.

The moment the situation turns, the assassins are left with only two choices.

Either retreat and plan for the next move.

‘Or step forward to complete their assigned task at all costs.’

They belonged to the latter.

As Ludger climbed to the rooftop, he didn’t forget to observe the group chasing him.

Sure enough, as he had predicted, the assassins, unwilling to let Ludger and Viola escape, revealed their true colors and quickly ascended to the rooftop.

There were three of them, just as he had initially guessed.

He waited for the first one, who was quickly climbing the external stairs, and thrust his sword cane at the right moment.

“Two left.”

“Just how...”

Viola looked at Ludger in disbelief.

“Just how did you know they would move like that?”

“Southern assassins are usually like that.”

Ludger was confident because his opponents were assassins from the southern continent.

Specifically, the Calsapha Assassins led by the Fatima Dynasty.

They are the most famous and notorious assassination groups on the continent.

Typically, assassins would retreat when the situation turns like this, but not the southerners.

To put it nicely, they are strong-willed; to put it harshly, they are stubborn.

As a result, they rarely retreat unless absolutely necessary.

They were taught in an environment where a mission must be completed no matter what.

This brainwashing, which combines with the doctrines of their religion, has made the Calsapha Assassins very famous.

Their strict discipline allowed them to grow and become stronger.

‘But the discipline that a mission must be completed at all costs can also tie their hands.’

However, it would be wrong to call them foolish for this.

They were just bad at dealing with unexpected situations.

Who would have thought a magician could fight in close combat and even be armed with strange gadgets?

“I just exploited their weakness.”

“...You seem to be quite knowledgeable about southern assassins.”

“I’ve faced them a few times.”

“Really?”

Viola asked, seemingly disbelieving.

Ludger suddenly recalled his past.

When he was still a novice, he had been targeted by the Calsapha Assassins.

At that time, he thought he was going to die.

‘If it weren’t for my master, I would have been dead already.’

Because of that experience, he could handle the situation so easily now.

Compared to the ones who had chased him back then, the ones targeting him now were mere novices.

Judging by the flow of the diffusion incense, they had probably failed a mission in their original territory and were sent here, or they came to improve their skills.

Regardless, objectively speaking, they were still professionals.

But compared to the real assassins from the south, they were far inferior.

“Here comes another one.”

Ludger’s gaze turned to the alley below.

In the darkness where light barely penetrated, two assassins moved briskly.

They soon disappeared from view, hiding in the shadows.

“So, what do we do now?”

“Hmm. What should we do?”

While Ludger was pondering, the assassins who had hidden in the darkness began to move.

They suddenly emerged from the gap between buildings and quickly threw their daggers.

“Hmph!”

But Viola didn’t just stand there.

She unfolded the black umbrella she was holding.

As if proving it wasn’t made of ordinary material, the sharp daggers couldn’t pierce her umbrella.

However, it only lasted once.

Squish.

“Oh dear.”

“It seems this umbrella has no resistance to poison at all.”

The poison on the tip of the dagger corroded her umbrella.

Meanwhile, the assassins hid their bodies.

“How...”

“Calsapha Assassins use specially prepared poisons. They can seep into your body through the skin and are dangerous. They can even decompose most armors.”

“To throw a dagger coated with poison?”

“It’s a specially prepared dagger. Specifically, it’s coated with kelvantium, a rare metal from the south. Kelvantium is a special product of the Fatima Dynasty, known as the metal of the gods, with very strong resistance to corrosion.”

“Wow. Impressive.”

As information flowed smoothly from Ludger, Viola decided not to ask him any more questions.

She accepted that nothing he said would be surprising.

“So, what’s the countermeasure?”

“Wait until they run out of daggers to throw.”

“Can we do that?”

“With the umbrella corroded, it’s practically gone. And using magic is impossible for now.”

In other words, if we can’t avoid the next attack, we die.

“Then we should make the first move.”

“To where?”

“Back down.”

Being in an open area on the rooftop made them easy targets for the assassins.

Ludger silently extended his hand to Viola.

She hesitated but then took his hand.

“Hold tight.”

“...”

Ludger held Viola with one arm and jumped down the alley.

“Eh?”

Crack!

One of the Red Society members, who had scattered to chase Ludger and Viola, had his head crushed by Ludger’s shoe.

The assassin chasing them had to make a judgment.

‘There’s no way he left her behind. It’s probably a trap. Is he trying to lure me in?’

The sudden escape to the rooftop was also a trap to catch them off guard.

They weren’t fools; they had learned from experience.

James Moriarty, the man, was likely hiding somewhere nearby.

The assassin, holding a dagger coated with poison, slowly approached Viola.

His eyes were on the lone Viola, but his ears were alert to any sounds around him.

Swish.

At that moment, a small sound reached his ear from the right.

‘There!’

The assassin judged that Ludger was hiding there and immediately threw his dagger.

But there was nothing to be seen.

‘What?! I clearly heard a sound.’

He had been trained to react in such situations; he couldn’t have misheard.

“Too bad.”

But the voice came from behind him.

It seemed as if it had appeared out of thin air.

Ludger stood behind him.

How, and when did he get there?

The assassin, in a panic, swung his dagger behind him...

Thud!

But Ludger’s sword cane, which he held, was faster, piercing him from behind.

“Gasp! How...”

The sound came from the right, but he appeared on the left?

How could he not be seen or heard?

“This is a magic trick.”

Ludger said this as he pulled out the sword cane.

With the remnants of the diffusion incense still present.

But Ludger had cleverly used the diffusion incense to his advantage.

Sound magic.

The moment a faint sound was cast with coordinate-setting magic, it spread through the diffusion incense, making it hard to determine the direction of the sound.

The assassin had managed to roughly determine the direction due to his extensive training, but it was a deception.

It was an ambush he couldn’t avoid.

“Got him?”

“Yeah.”

Viola turned around.

She had been surprised when he suddenly asked her to act as if she had been abandoned. She did as he asked, but she didn’t expect this method to actually work.

Of course, it wasn’t just a simple trap.

The assassin knew it was a trap.

But he didn’t expect a double trap.

‘Well, a magic that makes sounds from different directions. Even from the receiving end, it must be confusing.’

But in a fight for life, there was no need to consider the opponent.

It’s unfair for the one who dies, but what can be done?

‘Now only one is left.’

A cool breeze blew through the alley.

‘The diffusion incense is gradually dissipating.’

Even diffusion incense doesn’t last forever.

It needs to remain in the air to be effective, and while it lasts longer in an alley, it will eventually dissipate with the wind.

Now the time was on Ludger’s side.

At that moment, a black shadow dropped from above Ludger’s head.

“Ah! Above!”

Viola reacted, but it was too late.

The assassin threw something at Ludger.

“Hmm.”

Ludger raised his sword cane as if he had expected this, but the assassin didn’t throw a poisoned dagger.

It was a hook attached to a chain.

The hook caught the middle blade of the sword cane and pulled it with great force.

Thud!

The sword cane slipped out of Ludger’s hand.

The assassin, now on the ground, threw the hooked sword to the floor and lunged at Ludger.

A sharp dagger was drawn from his waist.

“Danger!”

Viola shouted. The assassin was confident he had the upper hand.

There was no time to use magic. Ludger’s sword cane had been taken away.

All he had left was his bare body.

Two of his comrades were dead, but he had completed his mission.

The assassin saw Ludger’s calm gaze, even in the face of death.

‘What is it? Why that expression...’

Was he too shocked to understand the situation? But he didn’t seem like the type to react slowly.

But his thoughts didn’t continue.

In the instant he lunged, Ludger’s hands moved faster, like lightning.

Swish!

“Eh?”

Faster than the assassin’s dagger, Ludger’s hidden blade cut him.

The assassin, whose neck was precisely severed, collapsed, his body going limp.

“You let your guard down at the critical moment.”

Ludger lightly wiped the blood from the crescent-shaped karambit dagger he held.

The assassin had revealed a weakness, believing he could kill Ludger.

When facing an opponent, one must never let their guard down and must always give their best.

“That moment of complacency killed you.”

Ludger picked up the sword cane from the floor.

He checked if the blade was damaged and, finding it intact, sheathed it.

Swish, thud.

Ludger, holding his cane, lightly adjusted his collar.

“...Did you just take down a southern assassin in close combat?”

“Why? What’s so surprising?”

“No, I just... I won’t ask anymore.”

Viola was so surprised by today’s events that she couldn’t count them.

She had always manipulated others to do her bidding, but perhaps she was still far from the real deal.

Shouts from the Red Society echoed from a distance.

“There! The sound came from there!”

“Hurry, catch them! If they escape, we’re all done!”

Viola looked at Ludger.

“What do we do now?”

“What do we do? What do you think?”

Ludger shrugged.

“The diffusion incense is all gone.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“I guess I have no choice.”

Under the black veil, Viola smiled mysteriously.

Being able to use magic again, which had been temporarily forbidden, meant she could now take action.

She raised her almost skeletal umbrella.

It was both a defensive weapon and a wand to focus her magical power.

“I’ll take care of the rest.”

The sound of footsteps grew closer.

The Red Society members appeared, moving busily beyond the alley.

“There! They’re over there...!”

And what greeted them was...

A sharp blade of wind that cut through the darkness.