Thud.
In the quiet room, another faint sound suddenly mixed in, as something hit the floor.
It was a sound that, even for someone like Christian, who prided himself on his sensitivity to sound, was not discernible now that he had fallen asleep.
Rustle.
Following that was the faint sound of clothes, even softer, barely audible, so quiet that even Christian's breathing sounded louder.
A man dressed in black had actually entered through the window. He had an imposing yet slim frame, with a hood covering his head and a mask concealing the lower half of his face. Aside from his glinting eyes, which seemed to mock the situation, nothing else about him was discernible.
He moved toward Christian's side, each step slow yet steady, having waited long enough for him to fall fully asleep.
Now, he seemed intent on completing his task.
Perhaps it was the rush to complete his job, or maybe because he was simply underestimating his opponent. But, despite his careful steps until now, as he stood over Christian with a knife in hand, ready to deliver the final strike, he allowed a slight lapse in his professionalism, a small, careless sound escaped him.
It was hardly a noticeable sound, barely even a mistake. But Christian, with his heightened sensitivity due to his constitution being at ten, and having only just drifted off and wasn't in a deep sleep yet. He twitched slightly, then slowly, groggily opened his eyes.
Seeing Christian's eyes open, the man lunged forward with the knife, feeling a flash of irritation but confident it was still a done deal, and knowing Christian hadn't fully come to his senses, he kept his composure, dismissing any need to panic.
In that split second after opening his eyes and seeing the knife coming toward him, Christian's survival instinct kicked in, fueled by his mastered martial arts, and with the help of his trained body, despite his grogginess, he reacted swiftly, he raised his hand and intercepted the descending knife with his palm.
But, despite his swift reaction, the surprise of the attack and his vulnerable state made it difficult for Christian to fully grip the man's hand. Instead, his grasp closed directly around the knife's blade, feeling its cold, biting edge against his skin.
With the blood dripping down his face and the searing pain from the cut on his palm registering in his head, sobering him up completely, Christian felt like screaming.
But with pain came awareness, and the desire to scream and vent was pushed aside as he clenched his teeth, as with that awareness came realization and understanding.
It was an extreme situation, a situation where a suspicious man, wearing all black, had intruded into his room at midnight with a knife in hand. So, it was clear that he was an assassin, here to take his life.
And under this extreme situation, Christian's constitution, comprehension, and even his skills seemed to be screaming into action, screaming to do their intended roles.
In this fucked up situation, his brain went into overdrive, with his first thought being of his sister, what would happen if she heard him scream, woke up and came running in now?
"Augh."
The assassin's eyes widened in extreme shock and pain, his voice muffled by Christian's grip on his mouth, but the light in his eyes had not faded.
And noticing that, Christian immediately pulled the knife out of the assassin's neck, causing blood to flow abundantly.
The assassin quickly tried to cover his neck with his hand, as the blood loss and the injury had already started making him feel lethargic. He was also going to resist with his other hand.
But again, Christian was faster than him, as with the sharpened knife intended to take his life, he struck the owner of it again and again.
Christian, not in his right state of mind, didn't register the sickening sensation from his knife-stabbing actions. Had it been otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to do what he had done. For someone like him, even the act of beating someone was new, let alone stabbing, after all.
In the end, in his current situation, with all his focus on taking down the enemy, he didn't have the mental space to think further.
It took three more strikes in the end for the light to fade from the assassin's eyes and for his struggle to cease.
And Christian, looking at the assassin beneath him, at the now still corpse, finally came back to his senses.
Everything barely took a moment. From the instant he woke up to find an assassin trying to kill him, to ultimately taking the assassin down instead, it all happened in a flash, a lightning-fast series of events where everything occurred in an instant.
So, as the situation finally registered in his mind, and calming down a little, Christian slowly backed away, the reality of him killing a person settling in.
Looking at his bed, covered in blood, and the man's body, now a lifeless corpse, he felt an urge to vomit.
But knowing he couldn't afford to be weak right now, and with more pressing matters at hand, he tried to suppress his discomfort.
Christian had previously thought he was in an extreme situation, but now, thinking more carefully, he realized it was all due to his inexperience. In the end, the difference in abilities was quite large. Had he been a little more calm, he could have incapacitated the man without needing to kill him, if he had wished.
But it was already too late, and despite the outcome, the significance of an assassin coming after him held more weight now.
"Fuck."
Cursing under his breath, Christian, now slightly calmed, was filled with frustration and irritation. The remorse for killing could also arguably be said to be there, but he tried to push it aside. If one was going to kill another, he thought, they should have already prepared themselves to be killed, so, he tried not to dwell on what he had done.
Still, knowing that he couldn't stay still any longer, he finally started taking action.