Cassian Valmont.
They all lunged straight for the four individuals and instantly the king turned his gaze towards the position where Cassian was relaxing at and quickly began to speak.
“Cassian Valmont—”
“No.”
Cassian’s voice cut through the place like thunder, halting the advances of the assassins as they were confused as to the reason why this boy would refuse the call to aid from his king.
And so quickly at that?
Who was he?
Silence that lasted only a heartbeat pervaded the entire place and yet, it somehow felt longer than the entire battle surrounding them.
The assassins looked confused, the guards looked confused and the nobles forgot to scream their heads off for nobody, absolutely nobody…
Had expected someone to reject the King’s plea so casually and not even the King himself but Cassian simply folded his arms, his expression remaining completely indifferent.
As though refusing the ruler of the kingdom was no different from declining an invitation to dinner.
<I already died once because of all of you.>
<I’m not making that mistake again.>
“I’m not a good samarithan, I won’t help you for free.
General Barley would do that but not me….never me.”
He said and the assassins each took on a mocking look as they turned once again towards the king whose face had tightened when Cassian rejected him without even letting him finish his words.
As if the boy had already predicted this scene about a hundred times over in the seconds it took the king to turn towards him and had been waiting for him to start.
“And I’m not cheap,”
Cassian added after a second and the king felt his eyes twitch violently as Cassian glanced away and continued watching as General Barley took on three assassins all by himself.
And from what he was seeing, General Barley was not going to be coming out on the winning side by the end of that ordeal.
Who even made this man a general?
Oh yes!
It should be one of the Dukes.
His eyes shifted over towards the place where the entirety of the surviving nobles and ministers all stood huddled together as they stared at the scenery before them in horror and fear.
“One thousand silver—”
“Gold,”
Cassian interrupted once more but the assassins seemed to have had enough of their bantering as they all let out battle cries and surged forward.
The guard quickly came forward to intercept them as the king looked at him being pushed back quickly by the assassins and tightened his face before conceding.
“One thousand gold coins!”
“Ah ha, you have witnesses.”
Cassian smirked as he stood up ever so slowly, and began to dust his clothes of imaginary dirt before he slowly walked up to a dead noble with a sword sticking out of his chest.
It looked like a baron but the blood caked all over his face was making it hard to even identify him properly so Cassian didn’t even let it deter him much as he bent down.
“Hey, I’ll be needing that sword.”
He simply said before cruelly pulling it out of the chest of the noble.
Cassian turned the sword over in his hand once before giving it a small swing.
“Hm.”
It was not bad for a sword but also far from being good either as the edge was chipped in several places and there were tiny cracks running along the blade.
<What a very bad craftsmanship!
Well…it’s only going to be used once anyway.>
He adjusted his grip on the hilt before glancing towards the five assassins surrounding the king.
His eyes swept over each of them one after another and an eyebrow raised in surprise when he found all of them standing in front of the king and his siblings were all staring at him.
<All gathered together?>
<How thoughtful.>
<That saves me the trouble of coming after each of you individually.>
The assassins looked at one another in confusion.
What was this boy doing?
Did he really think he could save the king with a sword he had just picked off a corpse?
One of them couldn’t help but laugh.
“Boy, if you’re so eager to die, then come over here and we’ll grant your wish first.”
Cassian ignored him completely as instead, he took one step forward and then he took another before he raised the sword slightly.
And then before anyone could blink, he flexed his arms and threw it.
SHIIIING!!
The sword tore through the air like lightning with frightening speed, spinning violently as it headed straight for the five assassins.
One of them sneered with disdain and mockery as he raised his blade to knock it away.
“You think something like—”
SCHLICK!!
His words came to an abrupt halt as the spinning sword sliced cleanly through his neck before it continued on without slowing down in the slightest.
SCHLICK!
SCHLICK!
SCHLICK!
Three more heads were severed one after another as though the blade had merely passed through empty air.
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
Four headless bodies crashed heavily onto the polished floor almost at the same time while their severed heads rolled in different directions, eyes still wide open in disbelief.
Blood erupted from the stumps of their necks like crimson fountains, splashing across the marble floor and staining the robes of everyone standing nearby.
The fifth assassin froze where he stood and his pupils contracted violently as he stared at the four corpses that had been standing beside him only a heartbeat ago.
His mind went completely blank at the sight of the fountain of flowing blood erupting from the heads of four of his brethren whose bodies laid on the polished floor.
What…what just happened?
The entire Hall of Ascension fell deathly silent at that moment as not a single person moved and not even a single person dared breathe too loudly.
Every pair of eyes slowly shifted away from the bleeding four corpses…and landed on the young man who had just thrown the sword.
Cassian merely dusted his hands together before glancing at the lone surviving assassin with a look of irritation.
“Hm.”
“It would seem like I missed one.”
He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“Blame that rusty sword, not me.”
He dusted his palms together as if he had merely finished moving a chair instead of sending four heads rolling across the floor.
<Four out of five but still acceptable.>
<Though I really should start carrying my own weapon around.
Using other people’s swords is honestly such a pain.>
His gaze lingered briefly on the blade that had now embedded itself deeply into the stone wall after completing its journey.
The poor thing had almost snapped in half.
<You served your purpose, now rest in pieces, my dear>
He didn’t even bother with the last assassin as he turned around and began for the large window at the other end of the Hall Of Ascension.
He stopped beside the passed out figure of his father and then glanced back at the remaining assassins and when he saw that they were so few of them actually remaining, he nodded and continued on his way.
General Barley had finally managed to cut down the last of the assassins fighting him and the remaining palace guards were beginning to gain the upper hand as well.
Steel continued to clash throughout the throne room but the overwhelming pressure that had nearly crushed everyone moments ago had all but disappeared.
Victory now was only a matter of time now and Cassian saw all of this with a single glance.
<Good enough but there’s really no point staying any longer.>
<If I keep hanging around here, someone will eventually ask questions I don’t feel like answering.>
The king on the other hand stared at the bleeding corpses in shock, the others around him echoing the same sentiment as they didn’t know what to make of what they were seeing.
How had that even happened?
Nobody could understand how that had even been possible because it had only taken just one throw, not even a quick battle or an exchange of blows between him and the assassins…
He had simply thrown a sword and instantly, four trained assassins had died.
Just like that.
Several nobles subconsciously swallowed as they suddenly remembered every single thing they had said to this boy earlier.
They recalled every insult, every accusation and every demand for punishment and cold sweat instantly soaked through their backs.
How could someone be so…..precise when it came to killing others?
It was at this moment that a strange thought filled the head of the king as he watched the boy walk up to the large window and glance down towards it as though he was weighing something.
Is it true what this boy says?
He has gone through a past life?
If he really has….
The king shuddered,
…then killing them all would be but a matter of time if he really wanted to and set his mind on seeing it to completion.
His eyes never left Cassian as his mind raced with such thoughts, not even for a second for he couldn’t believe that this was simply luck.
It wasn’t even a coincidence for fuck sake!
The boy hadn’t even looked nervous before throwing that sword, almost as though he had known exactly what the outcome would be and was expecting it before it happened.
The King’s breathing became heavier.
Could someone truly return after death?
Could someone really carry memories from another lifetime?
Had he dismissed the impossible simply because it sounded absurd?
His gaze drifted toward the four headless corpses and then back to Cassian for if everything this boy had spoken was true and if he truly possessed memories from another life…
Then the greatest danger to this kingdom wasn’t the assassins and it wasn’t even the foreign powers waiting beyond their borders or the other kingdoms trying to control their kingdom…
It was…the boy calmly walking toward the window.
Cassian rested one hand against the edge of the massive window before glancing down.
Quite high, far higher than he remembered but it shouldn’t be much of a problem even though it’ll probably hurt a little.
<Better than staying here.>
<I’m already tired of looking at all your faces.>
He clicked his tongue.
<Especially yours.>
His eyes briefly met the King’s once again.
“Your majesty?”
He snapped his head up towards the visage of Cassian who was smiling devilishly at him as he waved his hand at him.
“I don’t have the time to wait until that door is opened but I’ll be expecting my one thousand gold coins soon!”
A vein bulged on the King’s forehead as he heard those words.
At a time like this and after everything that had just happened, this boy’s greatest concern…was still his reward?
Even Trevor’s lips twitched uncontrollably.
Was this really the same young noble who had just killed four assassins with a single throw?
How could someone switch between terrifying and infuriating so effortlessly?
Before anyone could stop him, Cassian placed both hands on the edge of the enormous window frame and without the slightest hesitation on his face, he climbed onto it.
“What are you doing?!”
Several voices cried out at once but Cassian ignored every single one of them as he glanced down one last time before looking back over his shoulder.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
“Don’t forget my coins!.”
And then, he leaned forward as his body disappeared beyond the window and gasps instantly echoed throughout the Hall of Ascension.
“No!”
“He jumped!”
“Is he insane?!”
Even the remaining assassins instinctively rushed toward the window, unable to believe someone had willingly leapt from such a height.
The King stood rooted to the spot even as Trevor hurried over and the Eldest Princess covered her mouth in pure shock but when they finally reached the window and looked down…
Cassian was nowhere to be seen.
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