Horis spotted a cloaked figure standing to the side, pressing the door alarm to an invisible room. He smiled and walked closer.
Suddenly, Zakar popped his head through the rift, but the cloaked figure vanished immediately. Horis stared in shock.
’Why did it knock and then vanish? What’s up with this guy?’ he thought to himself as he continued toward the door.
"Check him up." The feminine voice boomed again. Horis’ face tightened.
He hadn’t expected her to still be on the line. The girl didn’t know when a man wanted privacy.
"Are you still on? Damn." Horis cursed silently. That single distraction cost him dearly.
In the next instant, his body was violently yanked into the air and slammed into the ground.
Before he could even recover, an invisible force seized him again and smashed him against the floor a second time. His body scraped across the ground as he was dragged several meters away.
Horis slowly lifted his head and saw the cloaked figure standing before him. Its face remained hidden beneath the darkness of the hood, but the ominous red energy radiating from its eye immediately caught his attention.
’What the fuck? I lost my guard. It had noticed me from the start. That’s why it vanished the moment it knocked. Fuck. I was too slow to figure that out.’ he cursed.
"You are one of a kind." Horis muttered as he slowly pushed himself back onto his feet. The cloaked figure didn’t respond.
In the next instant, it exploded forward. Its leg shot toward his face with enough force to crack the air. Horis raised his elbow and blocked the strike at the last moment.
BOOM-!!
The impact released a violent shockwave that tore across the floor. Horis’ feet slid backward several meters, but he managed to hold his ground.
"You’re a strong one. We can actually avoid fighting, you know. I’m not sure you want a gathering at this spot because of you." Horis said as he pushed its leg away.
"So what brings you here? Anything special? And why the coat? You’re hiding something, right? What is it?" he continued, but the cloaked figure remained completely silent.
"I see you’re dumb. I’ll just report this incident to General Lemon. That should do. So wha—"
BAM-!!
A sudden kick crashed into his stomach.
Horis was thrown backward, his feet leaving the ground as he slammed into the ground. Blood escaped from the corner of his mouth.
He wiped it away, licked the blood from his lips, and smiled.
He turned toward the figure. He still couldn’t determine its gender, but he was certain of one thing.
It was an assassin breed.
"Your combat is too blunt. I could have dodged that. For a side attack, that was really weak. I—"
His body suddenly froze. The ground beneath him cracked.
An invisible force violently dragged him upward, launching him several meters into the air.
The cloaked figure raised both hands.
Red energy erupted from its body.
Horis’ eyes widened as the pressure around him intensified. His body was being crushed from every direction as gravity itself seemed to bend around him.
"Fuck. What sort of system did it awaken?" he cursed, clenching his fists.
The pressure increased. His bones strained beneath the force.
Suddenly, blue energy erupted from his arm.
The blue energy surged through his body before exploding outward. The red gravitational field shattered apart, sending a violent wave of energy across the area.
THUD-!!
Horis landed heavily on both feet. His head remained lowered for a moment.
Then he raised it.
Blue flames burned fiercely within his eyes.
Across from him, the cloaked figure lowered its body into a perfect battle stance.
"Mmh. You really are a stubborn one. I underestimated your strength, but it seems like you’re a good rank." Horis said calmly as blue flames began swirling around his arms.
The figure vanished. Horis’ eyes sharpened.
WHOOSH-!!
The figure appeared to his right.
Then his left.
Then behind him.
Multiple afterimages surrounded Horis as the figure moved at a speed his eyes could barely follow.
Horis immediately released a wave of blue flames.
BOOM-!!
BOOM-!!
BOOM-!!!
The flames tore through the afterimages one after another.
Nothing.
His expression changed.
’Which one?’
A cold glint suddenly flashed beside him. Horis tilted his head.
SLASH-!!
A sword tore across his chest.
"Argghh!"
Horis staggered backward and clutched the wound as blood dripped down his chest.
"Horis, are you okay? This opponent isn’t your rank. You have to back off." The feminine voice echoed inside his head.
"You’re still here?" Horis muttered, sounding more annoyed than pained.
The cloaked figure raised one hand. Red energy gathered around its palm.
A sword suddenly materialized from the energy, forming piece by piece before settling firmly in its grip.
"You really are one of a kind." he muttered.
He thrust his hand forward. A concentrated mass of blue flame erupted from his palm.
BOOM-!!
The attack swallowed the surrounding area in blue light.
The cloaked figure was blasted backward and crashed into the ground.
Horis exhaled.
"I was beginning to think you were invincible." he muttered with a laugh.
But his smile slowly disappeared. The figure lying on the ground began to fade.
An afterimage?
Horis’ pupils contracted.
"Fuck. It’s fast."
He spun around.
Too late.
SLICE-!!
The sword stopped just an inch from his neck.
Horis froze.
Nothing happened. Not like he was praying to die but he expected it to lay off a finishing blow.
Only the faint sound of his heartbeat filled the silence.
Horis slowly turned his eyes toward the sword beside his neck.
The figure had deliberately stopped. It had spared his life.
"I do not want you on me again." The voice of the figure finally came out, cold and commanding.
Despite the disguise, the voice was unmistakably feminine.
"What? Don’t tell me..." Horis muttered in disbelief.
The figure slowly raised the cloak. Her face emerged from beneath the darkness.
Her hair shimmered beneath the light, and her beauty completely contradicted the terrifying presence she had displayed moments earlier.
Horis stared at her. His expression slowly collapsed.
Then his legs gave out. He dropped to the ground.
"That’s one hell of a humiliation." he muttered weakly as he looked up at her.
"Really? Melissa? You’re a damn witch." he cursed bitterly.
Melissa smiled before bursting into a rough laughter.
"Real taunting huh?" Horis muttered in annoyance.
"Yeah. Just a little test. Now let’s go before anyone sees us." Melissa said with a smile.