Chapter 140: The Coldness of a Born Assassin

Chapter 140: The Coldness of a Born Assassin

Brett wasn’t given a chance to worry about the fact he was now missing an arm as a warrior in heavy armour charged forward holding a two-handed axe.

“Brett!” Leena screamed and sprinted forward, intercepting the warrior.

The warrior swung his axe in a wide arc. Leena immediately formed a purple shield on her arm and took the hit head on. The impact caused her feet to submerge into the soil below as the sound of the axe hitting metal screeched at her ears.

The axe glided off the shield and slammed into the floor, but he seemed to expect it.

A sound of screeching metal entered his ears. Ignoring it, the warrior snapped his knee to Leena’s chest, but she was more solid than he had thought.

Leena didn’t move an inch as she had activated her Metal Condensing Skill. She used the warriors rooted stance to her advantage and used Thrust. Her metal lance weighed as much as a building as it pierced straight for his throat.

He widened his eyes.

Just as her lance was about to penetrate the man’s throat and reap his life, there was a smell of rotten-eggs that pervaded through the air.

It tickled her nostrils.

Brett acted in a flash as he grabbed hold of her. Gritting his teeth, they absolved into a cloud of black shadow and reemerged a few metres away.

The haloed man clicked his fingers. A spark was created. In the next moment, a wide area where Leena was once standing, suddenly, and violently–exploded.

“Your arm–” Leena mumbled.

“Quiet,” Brett interrupted.

Leena gazed into his eyes. Every second that went by, his eyes transformed into an eerie uncaring nature. It was as if his humanity was slipping through his grasp. Being so close to him, she could hear his teeth grinding against each-other.

“Brett Matthews,” The haloed, masked man sauntered a few steps forward. His golden black robe with golden accents flapped gently from a stray breeze from the explosion. “Son of Steven Matthews, bound to the group of the Severing Paths, created by Lord Christian Sinwen many moons ago. Like father, like son–a repugnant tumour of the shadows.”

Brett ignored the taunting words, and glanced at Leena with the corner of his eyes. All his focus remained on the group in front of him.

“Get out of here–”

“Don’t you dare, I won’t be able to escape regardless.” This time, Leena interrupted as her expression turned serious–and wild. “Besides, I am a battle-maid of Sinwen.”

Leena stepped forward as the purple voidbent metal covered her face, her words turned muffled. “I made an oath to my lady–to Astrid. I will never back down again. Fight, bleed, and die.”

“You’re an idiot.” Brett smirked, a hint of feeling returning to his hollow eyes. “That’s why I like you. But I don’t plan on dying. I have so many things to experience in this life of mine. I will not turn into the monster my father once was.”

“If I attack you, don’t be mad.” Brett said as a cloud of shadow emerged from his heart, then swirled around them both.

Brett disappeared, then reappeared from the tree-line as a stream of shadow seeped out from his eyes. He moved so fast the warrior on the far flank had no time to rest before Brett’s dagger sliced past his throat.

It happened so fast that by the time Brett moved onto the next masked person, the warrior's head was still glued onto his neck.

His shadowed blade lunged forward like a vicious, primal viper, but it was swiftly met with resistance. It clanged against a heavily armoured tower-shield. The impact rang up Brett’s arm as the blood vessels popped within his arm, but he persisted.

She hesitated for a moment, but with the strongest warriors among them dead. Her escape was more assured than before. It was time to make a move–to survive.

The man laughed and with a click of his finger, obliterated his own men–and Brett along with them.

Leena’s shoulders recoiled at the sight, but Brett reappeared behind her, then her vision turned black for a millisecond. In the next moment, Brett and Leena had reappeared at the tree-line.

Without waiting, they bolted into the distance–away from the beacon of light. They sprinted non-stop for around an hour before they were both certain that there was no-one chasing them.

Leena gasped for breath. She had over-utilised her Skills and was nearing the point of exhaustion. But Brett was no better off. No, he was far worse.

The shadows were no more, he stood with his back turned to her. She could see every wound gauged into his naked back. Parts of his skin were burnt to a crisp, while bloodied cuts were etched into his skin. However, it was the older scars that caused Leena to tighten her grasp.

They were old, but she could tell each and every one was a wound capable of killing off anyone. They were raised against the skin, obviously not having healed properly by a professional healer Class.

“Brett, we need to find–”

Brett moved as swiftly as the wind as he stood in front of her. She recoiled back a step.

Leena looked down. A black blade of unknown metal had been lodged into her stomach. The familiar hot, wet liquid trickled down her stomach, and down her legs.

Her vision returned to his face. It was void of any emotion. Like he had lived a life filled with death at every corner. They weren’t the eyes a human should own.

They were the eyes of a demon that wanted nothing but to slay. Whether it was beasts, monsters–or humans.

Leena’s expression didn’t waver. What had he gone through? The thought surged within her mind.

She reached her hand forward and placed it against his face, hoping the warmth would get through to him.

“It’s all okay,” Leena said with a sweet smile, ignoring the wound in her stomach, “it’s over now.”

Brett dropped his trembling hand. A spark of life returned to his vacant eyes. His vision moved to the knife in the Sinwen battle-maids stomach. A twang of regret tugged at his lips.

“Don’t be mad?” Brett dipped his head.

“I’m not.” Leena pulled the dagger out her stomach and handed it over to him.

Brett hesitated.

“You chickening out?” Leena taunted.

“Like hell I am.” Brett snatched the dagger back with a chuckle. He took out two high-grade health potions from his belt. He swallowed one, and handed over the other. The stumpy arm was already scabbing over from the intense healing properties of the potion.

He gripped his hand over the blade's hilt in an attempt to stop the trembling. He was so cold.

Leena took a step forward and embraced the trembling assassin. Her hand patted his back.

Brett’s lips quivered behind the battle-maids ear. It was warm.