"Damn it!" Luix screeched in rage as he punched a tree with his fist. Cruet watched as the tree fell to the ground, and sweat ran down his face. He was wrapping a bandage around his head to stop the bleeding from the fall from earlier and was sat on the step of his carriage. "He knew we were there! He knew we were coming!"
"It was probably someone at the tavern that gave him a warning..." Cruet muttered with a sigh as he scratched the back of his neck. He looked away from the mercenary after he finished wrapping his wound. "Plus, since he's been threatening that town you got your job from, he's apparently increased in security."
"We're going back tonight, and we're going to kill him." Luix stated, clenching his fists tightly. His knuckles were turning white from how tightly he had clenched his fist. Cruet turned his head back to the mercenary.
"What about the Assassin?" Cruet questioned. Silence filled the air as a gentle wind flew by. Cruet stared at the back of Luix' head, waiting for an answer. Luix looked up at the sky, a frown forming on his face.
"If she's not dead, we'll help her too I guess." Luix sighed as he folded his arms. Cruet tilted his head to the side slightly while furrowing his eyebrows.
"Here I thought you two were close. I mean, considering how cosy the two of you were when I-!" Cruet's sentence was cut off as Luix pointed his sword at Cruet, the sharp point close to touching the skin on his neck. Cruet swallowed a hard lump in his throat, and sweat began to drop down his paled face.
"Listen here you good for nothing thief. All I care about is killing that sick son of a bitch, and claiming the money for his head. I don't care if she dies, if you die, or if anyone else dies. Money is all I want from this. You got that?" His voice was cruel and the look in his eyes turned cold. Anger visible on his face as he glared at the small thief, who continued to back away from the sword steadily.
"As clear as day." Cruet mustered up the courage to say as he slowly moved his hands up for surrender. Luix pulled his sword away from the thief before turning his back to him. His eyes were full of bloodlust; he was determined to not be made a fool of for the second time.
.
.
.
The sky had turned dark as the full moon gave light to the two men standing outside of Chankason's manor. Waiting for the right time to attack, they made their mood and began running towards the gates of Chankason's Manor. Luix had his sword in hand, while Cruet held a pack of cards. The guards seemed to have noticed the two men charging towards them, and were in the process of drawing their weapons when Luix gave Cruet a command.
"Now!" Cruet released a small sigh before he threw one of his cards at one of the guards. The card seemed to have flown past them, before making a sharp turn and sliding across the bare skin of their necks. Blood splattered before the card returned to Cruet like a boomerang. The guards witnessing the death slowly backed away, fearing their lives would be next.
Dashing towards the gate made of wood, Luix used his body to charge through, causing the gate to break into hundreds of pieces. Cruet watched as Luix charged through like a mad man, using his sword to end the life of anyone who got in the way. Cruet couldn't help but feel both amazed and terrified at the same time.
"He sure is a terrifying guy... Is he even human?" Cruet followed after the larger male; however, he had stopped for a minute when he noticed something strange about Chankason's Manor. A part of it was missing, as if there was some kind of fight beforehand. Cruet raised an eyebrow as he stared at the broken Manor, questioning if this was Arisu's doing.
"Oi thief, you coming?" Cruet turned his attention to Luix and was taken back by the sight he saw before him. The front of the Manor was covered in bodies, and Luix had blood stains in his clothing. Cruet followed after Luix, and the two ran through the golden painted halls. They were welcomed by a group of guards with spears, who were already charging at the pair.
"Get out of my way!" Luix shouted as he charged full force into the group of guards. While he fought them off, Cruet jumped onto the wall and held himself up by holding onto one of Chankason's golden painting frames. Cruet watched from above as Luix fought off all of the guards. He threw a few cards here and there to give Luix a hand, but overall, the thief felt as if he wasn't needed here at all.
"The man's an animal. Sheesh." Cruet muttered to himself, however as he watched he was amused by Luix. He was even more terrifying than all the stories he had heard about the mercenary. Soon enough, the guards had been dealt with; many of them were dead, however, there were a few who ran away since they weren't ready to die just yet.
Cruet jumped down from the wall and the two continued their search for Chankason. They followed the halls until they reached the grand hall, where they found Chankason sitting at a banquet table full of food by himself. He turned his head to the two men, a chicken wing in his mouth. His face seemed to have paled at the sight of the mercenary and the thief. Chankason shrieked at the two. After swallowing his chicken, he was screaming.
"Guards! Guards!"
"Enjoy your meal, it'll be the last one you'll ever have." Luix spoke coldly as he walked towards Chankason. Chankason continued screaming for his guards, when suddenly two Paladins appeared in front of him. Luix growled lowly as he saw the paladins. He charged towards them with the intent to kill. He swung his sword, however, just like last time the blade went straight through them without a scratch. Luix was thrown back by the second paladin, forcing him into the wall once again. Cruet looked at Luix, before turning his head back to the Paladins.
"Full force won't work against these. It seems he has Illusion Entrustia." Cruet explained as he walked over to Luix, trying to help the larger male up. Luix looked at Cruet as he took his hand and rose from the rubble of the wall. He turned his gaze to Chankason, who had stood up, and was smiling sinisterly.
"Then what do you suggest?" Luix asked, irritation clearly visible in his voice. Cruet sighed as he looked at the tall Paladins who towered over them.
"If we're able to fill the room with complete darkness, they should disappear." Cruet explained as he looked at Luix. Luix raised an eyebrow at the thief, unsure on whether to trust him or not. "Trust me. My heads on the line as much as yours is." Luix released a sigh; he looked at Chankason, who continued to grin sadistically. He looked as if he was enjoying watching them lose, and it pissed off the mercenary even more.
Luix looked around the room, searching for a way to destroy every little bit of lighting available, however, an explosion suddenly distracted everyone. Everyone looked up at the ceiling, watching as the chandelier fell onto Chankason's table. The rich man screamed, tears forming in his eyes as he watched the table collapse with all the food falling to the floor.
"Who...Who did this?! Show yourselves!" Chankason ordered, tears falling down his face as he stared at the destroyed furniture. All of a sudden, Arisu jumped through the hole in the ceiling and jumped at Chankason. Chankason screamed as he hit the ground. Luix and Cruet looked at each other and nodded. They ran towards the windows and closed the curtains before the Paladins could attack Arisu, casting the room into darkness. As the room darkened, the paladins had disappeared. The two males looked back to Chankason and Arisu.
Arisu was sat on Chankason, using a knife she picked up from the table and attempting to end his life. Chankason was holding her arms back, however, his arms were shaking as his grip became weaker and weaker. Sweat dripped down his face as the knife got closer and closer to entering his neck. Fear was visible on his face as Arisu's crimson eyes looked as if they were glowing with rage. Unable to fight anymore, his arms became weak and the knife entered his throat.
Once the knife had entered his neck, and Chankason had stopped moving, Arisu released her grip on the knife. She stood from his body and looked down in disgust. Cruet and Luix approached the assassin, now able to see her full visible traits, they almost didn't recognise her if it wasn't for the cold crimson eyes and the unique crimson hair.
"Glad to see you survived." Cruet grinned, placing his hands on his hips. Arisu huffed, looking away from the two, annoyance clearly visible on her face.
"No thanks to you two." She muttered coldly under her breath. Luix walked over to Chankason's dead body and kicked his head lightly just to check for any movements. He stared at the poor pathetic man, feeling nothing towards him. No remorse, not sympathy, nothing.
"So, what now?" Cruet questioned as he looked between the assassin and mercenary. Arisu and Luix looked at each other before looking back at the thief.
"Didn't you want to check out that treasury? I found it on my way here." Arisu stated in a calm tone. Cruet's eyes seem to light up with money signs at the mention of the treasury. Drool began falling out of his mouth as he thought about all the gold he could take.
Arisu and Cruet began to walk off towards the direction of the treasury, while Luix stayed put. He stared at Chankason's lifeless body, still no sign of remorse in his eyes. Kneeling down, Luix stared into Chankason's eyes; the fear was still there, as if he actually died of fear.
Luix closed Chankason's eyelids, however, as he touched the man's skin, some form of surge went through his body, and in his mind, it was as if he was having a vision. He could see a tall muscular man, the man in the paintings, walking through a crowd cheering him on with two other people. He couldn't quite make out who the other two were, but they looked to be covered in beautiful platinum armour. Chankason was in the centre of it all, and everyone seemed to have loved him.
Taking a step back, Luix came out of the vision. Sweat ran down his face as an expression mixed with confusion and fear came over him. He looked at his hand, shaken from the vision, questioning what just happened.
"You coming?" Luix looked over at the exit, and found Arisu standing at the door, preventing Cruet from running off with the greedy look in his eyes. Luix managed to stand up, still staring at the body. "We're not going to wait for you to feel remorse." Arisu stated calmly. Luix shook his head to get rid of this shaking feeling, and followed the pair to the treasury.
The three wondered the golden halls; Cruet was amazed by every little bit of gold; he was like a child on Christmas day. He pointed out every little bit of gold to the pair following him. Arisu watched uncomfortably, while Luix sighed, shaking his head. Soon enough, they found a pair of grand doors; they were larger than any average sized human, coated with gold on the patterns.
"There's something really valuable here! I can feel it!" Cruet grinned as he put his head against the door. Luix sighed once again as Arisu helped Cruet push the doors open. They were heavy, which just showed how much value was in the doors alone. Once opening the room, a bright light shined upon the trio. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise at the amount of gold laying around. Cruet had already jumped into a pile of gold coins while the other two were still standing at the doors, stunned.
"This is enough gold to feed and build a country." Luix gasped, his mouth open. Arisu nodded in agreement, but then something caught her eye. She walked over to a corner, where she found her cape, gloves and mask. Luix then walked through the room, looking at every corner. He was still amazed by the amount of gold in front of him.
Cruet was running past the male, arms full of golden coins as he dug into the next pile. Luix walked over to where he saw a pile of jewellery. He picked up a golden necklace with a beautiful amethyst stone. He stared at the necklace for a while before shoving it in his pocket. Turning back around, he found the greedy thief filling his bag with valuable items, while Arisu, who was now wearing her cloak, mask and gloves, was staring at something on the wall.
Luix walked over to the assassin to see what she was staring at. He watched as she stood on her tiptoes and picked up a sword with some kind of family crest. Luix raised an eyebrow as Arisu stared at the sword, as if it was something important.
"Whoa! What's this?!" Cruet excitedly called out. Arisu and Luix turned their heads to the thief, and found him picking up a box that seemed to be emitting a powerful magical energy. The two approached the thief as he opened the box, only to instantly cover their eyes at the blinding light that emerged. After a couple of minutes, the light dimmed down, and once uncovering their faces, they found it was a stone with some kind of marking engraved, as well as a letter.
"What's that?" Arisu questioned, raising an eyebrow. Luix went to touch it, but as he did, the makings began to light up. Once his hand came into contact, Luix instantly pulled away as a burning sensation came over his hand. Cruet stared at the stone, as if he was enchanted by it, as if the stone itself was drawing him to it.
"Damn thing is as hot as lava." Luix groaned as he blew on his hand, but his words didn't go through to the thief. Cruet put his hand over the stone, and went to touch it. The markings began to light up again, but this time, they were brighter than before as Cruet picked up the stone. He didn't flinch as there was no burning sensation emitting from it whatsoever.
"Cruet?" Arisu spoke up, causing the thief to shake his head, coming out of this strange form of enchantment. Cruet looked at Arisu and Luix in confusion, before looking at the stone.
"You alright there?" Luix raised an eyebrow as the thief examined the stone.
"I don't know... It's like it was calling for me... I couldn't look away." Cruet explained as he put the stone back into the box, closing the box once it was securely inside.
"There's a strong Light Entrustia coming from it, I could sense it from outside the room." Arisu explained as she folded her arms. "We should ask Lord Patrick about it."
"Who?" Luix questioned as he looked at the assassin in confusion. Arisu stared at Luix, a look of disbelief on her face.
"The man who gave us the job." Arisu stated, shaking her head with a sigh. She couldn't believe he had forgotten who had given them the job. The mercenary scratched the back of his neck as he looked at the assassin, an eyebrow raised. Before he could speak however, the sound of footsteps echoed throughout the halls. The three turned their gaze to the door, where they found several guards standing there, armed and ready for a fight.
"There they are! The murderers!"
"Welp, time to leave this place." Luix said as he picked up Cruet and Arisu, throwing them both over his shoulders. Both argued back, however, Luix ignored them as he charged through the guards, knocking several of them over, and jumped through a nearby window.
The moonlight shone upon the three as they seemed to fly through the night like the wind was carrying them. Cruethad his eyes closed in fear, while Arisu was hitting Luix' back. Luix however, continued to grin as the adrenaline rush got to him. Oh, how he enjoyed it when a mission ended like this.
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Hey guys! I hope you liked Chapter Three! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!
Also, if you enjoyed it, maybe recommend it to a friend or two? I'd love for this story to get out there with your help!
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