That was what should have happened.
“...!!”
Without warning, the target’s body melted away and vanished.
The assassin’s pupils widened.
‘A-an illusion?’
There had been no sensation of the blade piercing flesh, so there was no doubt.
“Surprised?”
The assassin nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice behind him and spun around.
The target who had been lying on the bed moments ago was standing right before him.
‘I have to kill him.’
He had been discovered, so there was no helping it.
Without wasting time thinking, the assassin charged straight at him.
But—
CRASH—!
In the middle of his charge, his entire body suddenly stiffened, and he fell flat onto the floor.
‘Paralysis magic...? Where’s the mage?’
He forced his rigid neck upward and rolled his eyes around, but there was no sign of a mage anywhere nearby.
Naturally.
The one who had cast the spell was beneath the bed, yellow eyes gleaming from within the darkness.
“You came to kill me, didn’t you?”
The target approached and spoke.
His voice was remarkably calm for someone who had nearly been assassinated.
Almost as though he had expected this situation.
“Who sent you?”
“......”
The assassin didn’t utter a word.
Revealing information about one’s client was something that required being prepared to die.
“You won’t talk?”
Kain took the assassin’s dagger and stabbed him in the thigh.
“Ghk...!”
“Still nothing?”
SQUELCH—!
When Kain stabbed him again, the assassin’s eyes became bloodshot.
But he still didn’t open his mouth.
Assassins were trained to endure pain as well.
“So you’re going to hold out?”
Kain stopped torturing him.
He knew perfectly well that pain wouldn’t work on this kind of person.
“Bernatus.”
[Yes, Prophet.]
Mana flowed from the darkness and entered through the assassin’s nose.
“Gasp!”
Mind Domination.
A Ninth-Circle authority beyond the reach of human magic.
For a dragon, it was a trick as effortless as yawning.
Before long, the focus had vanished from the assassin’s eyes.
“Tell me. Who did you come here to assassinate?”
“Kain Asel.”
“Who commissioned you?”
“Volengton Ragnar.”
“Of course he did.”
Kain gave a faint chuckle.
“Get up.”
Once the paralysis magic was released, the assassin obediently rose to his feet.
He appeared to have completely forgotten the pain in his leg.
“Lead me to your client.”
***
‘What the hell is going on? Did that assassin bastard betray me?’
Flustered, Volengton rolled his eyes around as he tried to grasp the situation.
The target who was supposed to be dealt with had walked in alongside the assassin.
Who wouldn’t be bewildered?
‘Whatever happened, I have to kill him.’
SHING—
Volengton drew the decorative sword hanging on the wall and pointed it at Kain.
“So you’re the bastard who did that to my son.”
“And you’re the father of the bastard who insulted me and my mother.”
“You insolent brat!! You rolled in here from some backwater village without learning a shred of manners!”
Even in the face of Volengton’s furious roar, Kain merely shrugged casually.
“Looks like there’s one more person here who deserves punishment for insulting royalty.”
“How dare you come here after reducing my son to that state!!”
“I wanted to have a little talk with you.”
Kain calmly walked toward the count and dropped into a chair.
“We’re going to talk, so why don’t you sit?”
“......”
“If you don’t want to, keep standing.”
Volengton was still dumbfounded by Kain’s complete lack of tension when—
BANG!
“Father. What’s going—”
Walter, who had come after hearing the commotion, stared wide-eyed.
“You’re... Kain Asel?”
“You should call me Young Master. Like father, like son. Neither of you has any manners.”
Walter’s startled gaze shifted toward the assassin.
He and his father had hired the man together, so there was no way Walter wouldn’t recognize him.
However.
‘His eyes look as though he’s under some kind of spell. Did they feed him hallucinogenic herbs?’
Otherwise, the current situation made no sense.
“Count Volengton. Do you know what crimes you’ve committed?”
“What? Crimes? If anyone is guilty here, it’s you!”
Kain sighed and continued with an icy gaze.
“Red Dragon Camiloas.”
“......!”
“That’s the dragon your family worships, isn’t it?”
Volengton’s expression stiffened.
Because Kain had just spoken of something no one was supposed to know.
“House Volengton made a contract with Camiloas. In exchange for the Red Dragon’s aid, you offered humans as sacrifices and sent jewels as tribute. In other words, you joined hands with dragons, the enemies of humanity. It’s an unmistakable crime that should never have been committed.”
Volengton remained silent.
Walter stared at his father in shock.
“Father, is that true?”
Even Walter, his eldest son, hadn’t known.
“You even kept it hidden from your children. That’s unexpected.”
Kain gave a short laugh as he looked at Volengton.
“Since things have come this far, why not admit it honestly, Count Volengton?”
“I have... no idea what nonsense you’re talking about.”
“So you sold your conscience in the end.”
Kain let out a quiet sigh and rose from his seat.
“Well, the knight order can uncover the details when they arrive.”
As Kain turned to leave—
“Stop right there.”
Volengton’s eyes were already filled with killing intent.
“Kill him, Walter.”
“What?”
“He’s the bastard who crippled Servan. He already knows we hired an assassin! That’s why he came all the way here! He has to die! Kill him now and silence him!”
Volengton shouted in agitation.
Walter found this side of his father unfamiliar.
His anger was nothing new, but this was the first time he had ever ordered someone murdered.
“Then... was what he said about cooperating with a dragon actually true...?”
“You’re better off not knowing.”
“So it... was true.”
Complicated emotions flashed through Walter’s eyes.
Leaving the father and son behind him, Kain approached the door.
He spoke toward Walter, who was blocking his path.
“Move.”
“......”
Walter didn’t move for a moment.
His father’s crime.
The destruction of his family.
A knight’s honor.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in that brief instant.
And then.
SHING—
Walter drew his sword.
Its cold tip pointed toward Kain’s throat.
“My apologies, Young Master. If I let you leave, the knights will storm this estate and begin searching immediately. Whatever happens, they’ll find evidence. And since it’s also true that I helped hire the assassin, I won’t escape punishment either.”
Walter’s eyes had turned cold.
“So you’re going to kill me to silence me?”
“And then I intend to turn myself in. After killing you.”
Walter looked toward his startled father.
“I’m sorry, Father. I’ll sacrifice myself. At the very least, that should allow us to bury the contract with the dragon.”
“W-Walter...!”
Kain’s mocking laugh shattered the atmosphere between father and son.
“Hah. What a ridiculous pair.”
“What...?”
“What is this, a play? Who said I’d let you kill me?”
That was when it happened.
WHAM—!
Kain’s backward kick struck Walter in the solar plexus.
Walter crashed through the door and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Gah!”
More than pain, disbelief was written plainly across his face.
‘...I lost sight of him for an instant.’
Even if he had been caught off guard, how could he, a 5-Star Knight, fail to block an attack from a 1-Star?
That wounded Walter’s pride.
HMMMM—!
Sword Energy blossomed from his blade.
“Prepare to die.”
“You first.”
Walter charged.
Kain calmly predicted Walter’s movements.
With the Prophet’s Eye.
‘Lower right.’
Because it showed him five seconds into the future, Kain already knew everything that would happen next.
He concentrated Aura into his right thigh and detonated it.
His body twisted aside in an instant, avoiding Walter’s sword.
“You dodge well!”
Walter swung his sword with genuine intent to kill.
For someone to direct this much killing intent toward a royal who was only a 1-Star Aura Knight was impossible unless he was prepared to die himself.
‘Did I corner him too hard?’
Kain had that thought even as he continued dodging.
He was approaching his limit.
His opponent was a 5-Star Intermediate Sword Expert.
Even if Kain could see the future, it meant nothing if his body couldn’t keep up.
With a 1-Star body, even dodging was becoming too much.
‘I... can’t avoid all of this.’
Almost as soon as Kain predicted it—
“Die.”
The murderous sword headed straight for his heart.
The Prophet’s Eye showed him its trajectory.
A future in which the blade pierced his heart.
‘If I can’t dodge it, I’ll shift it.’
Kain shoved all his remaining Aura into his left flank and detonated it.
His body was forcibly twisted by half a handspan.
SLASH—!
The sword that had been aimed at his heart grazed past his side.
CRACK.
The sound of his ribs breaking echoed inside his body.
“Ghk....”
The taste of blood spread through his mouth.
He had avoided a fatal wound, but it hadn’t come without a price.
‘As expected, a 1-Star can’t match a 5-Star. My body is far too slow.’
Even with the techniques of his previous life and an eye that could see the future, this was what happened when the vessel itself couldn’t keep up.
‘I need to get stronger. Faster.’
But right now—
‘This is my chance.’
Confusion flashed through Walter’s eyes.
He had been certain his sword would pierce Kain’s heart.
That brief opening.
Kain instantly closed the distance and drove his fist forward.
CRACK—!
The sound of breaking bone rang out, but the one whose bones broke was Kain.
Walter had blocked with his Sword Energy-coated blade.
But the true attack was elsewhere.
“Ghk.”
Walter soon dropped to one knee.
The assassin’s dagger was buried deep in his knee.
While Walter’s attention had been drawn to Kain’s fist, Kain had driven the dagger hidden in his other hand into him.
Walter’s pupils shook violently.
‘Not once, but twice. I let a mere 1-Star Knight land attacks on me twice...!’
Rage surged within him.
It was time to finish this.
Walter endured the pain and began to rise—
“Young Master Kain!”
Walter had no choice but to halt the sword he had been thrusting forward.
Dmitri and the other members of the knight order were rushing toward them.
“Walter! Lower your sword!”
At Dmitri’s shout, Walter obediently lowered his blade.
Several 7-Star Sword Masters were among them.
‘It’s over.’
Walter squeezed his eyes shut as though resigning himself to his fate.
“Young Master! What happened?”
“Perfect timing, Sir Dmitri.”
“We followed the trail of blood from your room. What in the world happened...?”
‘That’s why I left the blood trail in the first place.’
There had been a reason Kain stabbed the assassin’s leg and didn’t stop the bleeding.
The blood trail was an invitation for the knight order.
If they came too quickly, he wouldn’t have time to extract a confession.
If they came too late, it would become dangerous.
‘The timing was a little close, though.’
His broken ribs throbbed.
Kain indicated Volengton and Walter with his eyes.
“Arrest those men immediately. They sent an assassin to kill me. And....”
Then words that should never have come from his mouth emerged.
“They were secretly cooperating with a dragon.”