192 Chapter 192: Fall of Azpire City

Once we cleared out the vicinity of monsters, we made a report to Feng Hai, who listened grimly.

"We'll continue to search for survivors," I told him. "I doubt these low and mi -ranking monsters could have wiped out everybody. There should still be some alive somewhere."

"It is also possible there's a far deadlier enemy lurking somewhere in the city," Anastasia added, her voice cold and her eyes hard. "If there is, we'll locate it and destroy it." she pondered for a moment. "I believe the Assassin might be involved. The target could be the city council, just like in Jing Tian City. Wipe out the leadership so as to leave the city vulnerable and disorganized as it falls to a monster invasion."

"Be careful, you two." Feng Hai still looked concerned. "Our reinforcements will get through as soon as they can. And if you're able to, get out of the city. Especially you, Richard. We'll need your Strategic-scale spell to…" he broke off sheepishly. "Wait, hold that thought. Before you nuke the monsters, please let us know or you'll hit our own people. They're still engaging the horde of monsters."

"Will do." I glanced up at one of the skyscrapers. "Maybe, if I can get into a high place, I can summon Scorpio and nuke them from above. I'll let you know when that happens."

"Good. Do your best, you two."

"Yes, sir!"

As I switched off the holographic screen, we proceeded to the next stop. Behind us, hundreds of monsters lay mutilated, courtesy of our stroll through the area. Ahead, fires and smoke billowed from the blackened husks of buildings, the ruined cityscape resembling a warzone. Spells and elemental attacks had been hurled from both sides, heedless of the collateral damage they might have caused. After all, homes and buildings could be rebuilt.

But the dead couldn't be brought back to life.

"Ana." I paused a moment while scanning the entire area with my glasses and relying on the equipment on the lenses to pick out the tallest building in the vicinity. "I think I'll head toward that Villard Tower over there, get to the rooftop and begin casting my Strategic-scale spell to help the reinforcements from outside."

"I understand. I'll help you." Anastasia nodded and picked up the pace, staying a few steps ahead of me but not too fast that I couldn't keep up. As much as I hated to admit it, she was fitter, faster and stronger than me. I was better at magic, but that was the only edge I had over her (an overwhelming edge, admittedly, since my summoning magic directly countered her poison magic). Not that I wanted to turn this into a competition.

At any rate, I was glad I had her on my side.

However, we didn't get very far.

"!!!"

My instincts screamed something, and I jumped to the side on reflex as one of the buildings beside us exploded.

"Ana! Watch out!"

Even before the warning could leave my throat, Anastasia was already vaulting away, flipping herself gracefully in midair before landing on a piece of debris several meters away. Fiery chunks of broken concrete rained down on us, but missed us entirely thanks to our reflexes. As I skidded back and raised my head, I saw a massive silhouette lumbering through the wreckage.

"That's…not a monster."

Even as the disbelieving words spilled from my mouth, I could feel the potent demonic aura oozing from the giant's figure, an ocean of qi that blanketed even the rank A monsters I had faced before, such as the Hellfire Drakes.

A heavy, evil and overpowering dark presence that weighed upon me tremendously, almost crushing me. I could feel my legs buckling from the sheer pressure, my throat constricting as something intangible suffocated me.

Glancing at Anastasia, I saw that she was experiencing something similar. However, she was able to better control herself and remain upright. Her gleaming daggers, their blades coated with lethal poisons, were already out in her hands as she faced the new threat.

The dark silhouette burst from the crumbling building, but I still couldn't see his features. They were concealed under his massive cloak that covered his entire body, his face hidden under the shadow of his hood. Towering over nine feet, he was a giant with an imposing figure, his muscles bulging through the thick fabric. In one hand he wielded an enormous scythe, its gleaming, sharp blade dripping with blood. A skull decorated the hilt, which was longer than an average male human's height. For some reason, his scythe looked extremely familiar, but I couldn't remember where exactly I had seen it before.

Even as I tried to search through my memories, Anastasia's voice broke through my thoughts.

"You are right. He's not a monster." she regarded the newcomer. "…the Grim Reaper, I assume?"

The gigantic man didn't reply. Instead, there was applause from someone else. A second figure hopped out from nearby, appearing from nowhere to join the silent giant.

"Bingo!"

A woman with long dark hair and dressed in a tight, black bodysuit that was completely at odds with Anastasia's green, frilly dress. Well, one was an Assassin and the other was a retired Assassin, so I guess it was natural that their clothes differed. Anastasia would probably wear something similar if she was still performing her old job.

As for me, I frowned when I realized I recognized the woman.

"Selina Wright."

"Oh! You remember me! I'm so touched!" Selina sounded delighted as she clasped her hands together.

How could I not remember? She was one of the deadliest and most powerful foes I had faced in my life. Even when working together with Cecilia Stuart and Alicia Violet, the three of us weren't able to defeat her. We only succeeded in driving her away.

"You are…" Selina frowned as she faltered a bit, then she stuck out her tongue sheepishly. "Sorry! I forgot your name! But I remember you…after all, you're that boy with that extremely powerful arrow! That performance back then was really impressive! Few people I've fought tend to stick in my mind like this!"

"I'm flattered," I said sarcastically, but I was already preparing a spell. If she didn't want to attack immediately, then it was her funeral. I wasn't going to pass up on the chance she offered me when underestimating me.

"What are you doing here?" Anastasia's voice was steady. "Who was your target?"

"Hmm…and you are…?" Selina tilted her head when she spotted Anastasia. "I don't know you. You're different from the two girls accompanying that boy last night." she then turned to me mischievously. "That's not good, young man. You shouldn't be cheating on your girlfriend. But my, I didn't expect you to be such a player."

"One of those two girls is dead, thanks to the Dark Church you're working for."

"Oh…?" Selina raised an eyebrow, and then turned to survey the destruction of Azpire City. "I can't say I like their hobbies, but as Assassins, we don't get a say on who our employers are. We get our orders and we kill who we're told to kill. It's just that simple."

"Who did you terminate this time?" Anastasia repeated her question coolly. Selina glanced at her in surprise, and then her eyes narrowed.

"You…you are one of us, aren't you?" she placed her hands on her well-curved hips. "Then you should know that protecting our clients' privacy and information is of the utmost importance."

Anastasia said nothing. Selina studied her for a few more seconds, and then a light went off in her blue eyes.

"No…you are a deserter." She began laughing. "Someone who failed in the mission and was marked for elimination because you refused to kill yourself to deny the enemy information. Very good! As per stipulated by our rules, I will have to terminate you as well."

"I was the one who incapacitated her and stopped her from killing herself." I quickly intervened, even though I knew it would be pointless. "Her life belongs to me now. You have no right to take her from me."

"Oh?" There was no way for Selina to know that I was bluffing, but she didn't care. "So you went and got yourself a personal Assassin? A Veneneum one at that? You really have quite the horrible taste, young man."

Since I was just throwing out bullshit and bluffing her, I didn't muster a retort. I merely shrugged, though honestly I didn't see what Anastasia's sect had to do with anything. She had a bright, cheerful personality and good humor. What else did I need?

"But let's see…I guess I'll tell you anyway, as one final professional courtesy." Selina was placing a finger on her chin somewhat playfully. "And because your cases are so very similar."

"Similar?" Anastasia's voice was guarded, her emotions suppressed.

"You're both Traitors!" Selina laughed, practically prancing about in front of the cloaked giant, whom I now knew to be Hades. "I was originally sent here to terminate a former Dark Church priest who thought he could walk away from the organization without any consequences. Even though he hid himself pretty well and didn't defect to the authorities, we still can't leave him to his own devices, you see?" she tapped her head. "He possessed too much information, too many of their secrets. The Dark Church just couldn't take the risk."

"I assume you got him," I said unnecessarily. Selina grinned gleefully.

"Of course I did. Who do you think I am?"

"The Grim Reaper," Anastasia whispered under her breath, a sense of reverence and awe in her voice. Lady, all we had was her word to go on, we didn't know if she was bluffing. Not that it mattered to me one jot.

However, it was a missed opportunity. If we knew who that Dark Church deserter was, perhaps we could catch him and obtain a lot of information from him. That way, we could more easily locate the main base of the Dark Church and destroy them once and for all.

No wonder the Dark Church was so bent on eliminating him, to the extent that they requested the Assassin Guild to send one of their best killers.

"And…I'm sure the Guild will thank me for terminating a defector," Selina was continuing. She turned to Hades. "Hades, go kill the girl."

Anastasia tensed, but the silent giant immediately crunched his feet against the crumbling ground and unleashed a roar before springing at the former Assassin.

He never reached her.

Several arrows slammed into him, knocking him off course. Even as Hades' cloak disintegrated, revealing his obsidian skin and flaming red tattoos, the goliath bellowed as he turned to face me, swinging his scythe to slash apart my volley of arrows, each of which was striking him with the force of a tank shell. Despite their firepower, Hades remained completely unscathed.

Not that I intended them to hurt him. They were just the prelude to the main appetizer.

As Hades turned to face me, I readied a single fresh arrow in my Constellation bow.

"Sagitta."

The arrow slammed into Hades before he realized what was happening, engulfing him in a colossal explosion that gouged a crater in the already ruined streets of Azpire City. A massive inferno raged, the tongues of flames licking away at his skin.

However, with a single slash of his scythe, Hades sliced through the inferno, dissipating the flames. Even as he stepped out, the last of his cloak crumbled away to ash. For some reason, he was still wearing a cape underneath that poor cloak, which was chained to a silver pauldron that supposedly protected his right shoulder. Other than that, he was clad only in black pants and boots, just like that night. His bare torso continued to display those red cryptic tattoos over his black skin. A couple of horns jutted from his bald head, and his blazing red eyes narrowed at me as he assessed me as the new threat.

Even so, he looked completely unscathed from the encounter.

"If you want to be Hades' opponent so badly, I guess I can indulge you." Selina was giggling, amused. Clearly she was excited by the spectacle of destruction. "Hades, go get the boy instead. You can play around with the girl later. Or…are you perhaps going to double-team him like you did the other night?"

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"No need for that." I glanced at Anastasia. "I'll leave the woman to you. We can't let her get away. I'll take care of her summoned spirit."

"I understand. Be careful." Anastasia lunged forward, her daggers flashing. Selina's eyes narrowed and she dodged them while drawing a sword of her own.

Snarling, Hades twisted around and launched himself at Anastasia, probably to protect his mistress, but I kicked him in the head. Hades roared and swung his scythe about to decapitate me, but I ducked before surging forward and slamming both my palms into his solar plexus. Using physical reinforcement spells, I managed to enhance my strength to the point where I could actually knock him several paces back.

"Your opponent is me," I told the giant coolly.