Chapter 70. Hunting Competition (3)
A fight between a first-class assassin and a genius magician.
Where else could one see such a precious scene?
For Radel, it was a good opportunity.
He could observe the assassin's skills and also gauge Leon's skills.
The assassin persistently aimed for Leon's openings to drag him into close combat.
However, as a magician, Leon had no liking for close combat.
Leon poured out firepower to prevent the assassin from getting close.
Thus, magic power of a different dimension from that of a normal magician poured onto the assassin in a stream of water.
Boom!
It seemed there was no place to escape, but the assassin had already moved to the side and was preparing for the next attack.
‘So that’s the kind of person who was targeting me.’
Radel, who had observed the assassin's skills, swept his chest in relief. They were skills that would have taken him down long ago if he didn't have the ‘Superhuman Intuition’ skill.
He had believed they would show themselves at the hunting competition, but now that he saw the assassin, it seemed difficult to face them alone.
If Leon hadn't suddenly appeared, he might have faced a crisis before he could even show his skills.
More than that, Radel focused on the fact that the assassin had actually appeared at the hunting competition.
It meant that there was an accomplice inside the Imperial Capital who was helping with Radel's assassination.
There was no way just anyone could enter the imperial-hosted hunting competition.
Someone had vouched for that assassin and let them into the hunting competition.
To get rid of Radel.
To find out who was behind it, he had to catch the assassin.
‘I won't have a chance if we fight one-on-one.’
Radel coldly judged his own level.
To capture an assassin of that caliber, he had to either ambush them or wait for them to tire out while fighting Leon.
‘But what if the one who wins kills me?’
Radel suddenly realized the reality.
This was a situation where the two of them were fighting over who would kill Radel first...
‘Then who should I be rooting for?’
It was a fight where he couldn't easily root for just one person.
Radel watched the increasingly thrilling exchange of blows between the two with a complicated feeling.
Boom!
Leon summoned the earth element in the air and slammed it into the ground.
A huge amount of sand and soil covered the assassin. It was a powerful attack that could have blown away one side of the forest.
After a thick cloud of dust rose, the masked assassin was seen staggering, and Leon summoned the water element without a moment's rest.
“Freeze!”
And then he immediately created a huge ice pick and shot it at the assassin.
Leon's greatest weapon, his endless magic power, flowed from his hands like a waterfall. It was an amount that made the surrounding mana swirl.
‘It’s certainly overwhelming.’
Radel felt the tremendous vortex of mana and focused his mind.
This was the first time he had seen Leon release this much magic power. If he was careless here, he could be swept away by the unwanted flow of magic power.
“Go!”
Leon swung his staff and shot countless pieces of ice at once.
It was a simple but powerful attack.
Boom, boom!
The ground shook and the sharp ice picks slammed into the ground.
Ping!
In the end, unable to withstand the relentless magic, the mask the assassin was wearing cracked.
The assassin flinched for a moment as if in frustration and finally took out a smoke bomb from their pocket and threw it on the ground.
Poof!
The smoke instantly covered the surroundings.
Taking advantage of that, the assassin desperately fled.
‘Now’s my chance!’
Radel, who had noticed it, also quickly moved to chase the assassin.
Since he had been concentrating on the flow of mana, he could immediately tell that the assassin had disappeared.
Radel had been continuously practicing erasing his presence during his mana training.
It was important to move without being caught by Leon. If he didn't leave here quickly, he would have to face Leon from now on.
That was absolutely not an option.
Besides, it seemed that an unwanted guest had come from afar after seeing the two of them fight.
‘Leon, I’m leaving the back to you!’
Radel left the back to Leon and secretly disappeared.
* * *
“A smoke bomb?”
Leon scoffed.
He was dumbfounded at the sight of them using such a cheap trick.
Weren't smoke bombs something that incompetent people used as a last resort?
“They were nothing special after all.”
As expected, when the smoke cleared, there was no one there.
He had to admit that their escaping skills were one thing.
Now, the time had finally come to dispose of his pathetic brother without any interference.
How pathetic must he be for an assassin to follow him all the way here?
Anyway, a weakling like this was destined to disappear at the hands of someone, even if it wasn't him.
There was no big problem in moving that up a little.
“Did you see? Skills you could never imagine. Now it’s your turn.”
Leon spoke coldly and looked back at where Radel was.
He might be begging for his life right now. Seeing that might make him feel a little better.
However…
There was no one where Radel was supposed to be.
Shashashak!
Only a desolate sound echoed.
It was the sound of the segments of an arthropod wriggling and moving.
- Kkieek!
What appeared instead of Radel was the red-headed fire centipede.
It seemed to have returned after smelling Radel's scent. Or maybe it had smelled another prey.
Either way, it was an unwelcome situation for Leon.
“To suffer this humiliation again…”
Leon clenched his fists and his shoulders trembled.
The last entrance exam came to his mind. It was the incident where he had been tricked by Radel and attacked by the ancient tree spirit.
How much trouble he had gone through to get out of there!
But here too, he had fallen for that guy's trick.
As expected, he had to get rid of that guy quickly.
As Leon drew up his magic power with the power of his anger, magic swirled to his fingertips.
Shashashak!
The red-headed fire centipede opened its poisonous fangs and rushed at Leon.
Leon also faced the centipede and chanted the next spell.
Boom!
The forest shook again.
* * *
As expected, as expected.
Even though they were injured, the first-class assassin's escape was incredibly fast.
It was not easy for the untrained Radel to chase after them.
However, Radel persistently followed. If not now, there would be no other chance to find out the assassin's identity.
“Wait a minute! Can we talk?”
Radel shouted as he chased the assassin.
He actually had no intention of fighting the assassin.
He had seen their skills enough when they fought with Leon, and he knew that there was nothing to be gained from a one-on-one fight.
Radel's primary goal was appeasement.
Tunia Fiore gritted her teeth at the sound coming from behind.
Her pride was too hurt.
Although assassins were skilled in ambushes and surprise attacks, Tunia was also quite confident in close combat.
She had not neglected her close combat training, not knowing what might happen.
Her outstanding skills were the biggest reason she had become the successor of the ‘Black Fang’. It was because she was by far the most outstanding among the assassins of the ‘Black Fang’ who had undergone harsh training.
‘I thought I could beat the 9th Prince.’
But the 9th Prince was stronger than Tunia had thought.
She hadn't known when she was taking classes at the academy. She could tell that the 9th Prince had not shown his full skills until now.
‘I misjudged. It was my mistake.’
On top of that, she hadn't known about the relationship between the 8th Prince and the 9th Prince.
She hadn't thought that they would have such a strong bond, unlike what was shown on the surface.
‘I lacked information. That’s my fault too.’
If she failed, the next person had to go.
That was the rule of the organization.
It was also the thing Tunia wanted to avoid the most.
Tunia had younger siblings. Although they were not related by blood, they were siblings who had grown up like brothers in the ‘Black Fang’.
They called the guild master father and followed him, and they relied on each other.
If she failed, not only would she lose her life, but her siblings would have to do this job next.
To prevent that, she had to succeed.
“It's not a bad story! I have something I'm curious about!”
She kept hearing the 8th Prince shouting from behind.
At that hateful voice, Tunia's emotions swayed.
An assassin had to thoroughly control their emotions.
But it was not easy now.
Tunia eventually stopped.
“Alright. You already know who I am anyway.”
Tunia, who had suddenly stopped, said, turning to Radel.
‘You know who I am?’
It was a completely incomprehensible statement.
Radel tried to recall when he had found out the assassin's identity, but nothing came to mind.
But it would be foolish to ask back in a situation like this.
He kept his mouth shut and stood still.
As Radel remained silent, Tunia continued to speak.
It was a very cold voice.
“You won, 8th Prince. You get to live a little longer. Congratulations.”
Although she said congratulations, it didn't sound very celebratory.
I just asked to talk, so why is she speaking so menacingly?
Besides, judging by her voice, she seemed very angry for failing the assassination.
“What do you mean by that? That I get to live a little longer?”
When Radel asked, she answered.
Tunia's hand, barely holding onto the almost shattered mask, was trembling slightly.
“If I can’t kill you, I die anyway. Then another assassin will come.”
“If you can’t kill me, you die?”
“Yes. Because that’s the rule.”
The more Radel talked, the more he felt puzzled.
Did one have to die for failing a mission?
Even if he got rid of the assassin, if the next person was deployed, there was no reason for Radel to get rid of the assassin in front of him right now.
And judging by her voice, she certainly seemed to be someone Radel knew.
‘Considering the assassination methods, I expected them to be an academy student…’
After all, to be able to switch out poisoned utensils, it would have been difficult unless they were a fellow academy student.
After talking to her, it didn't seem like they couldn't communicate.
‘It’s worth trying to persuade them.’
That seemed to be the best way.
If they could get past this without fighting or taking a life, it would be beneficial for everyone.
Radel approached Tunia and asked.
“Then what do we have to do for both of us to live?”
Tunia's eyes, hidden by the mask, trembled.
Both of them?
The world Tunia lived in was one where it ended only when one person died. She had never thought that both of them could live.
“Tell me. We can find a way together.”
Radel proposed to Tunia as if it were a matter of course.
In her entire life, Tunia had never heard anyone say that they would find a way to live together.
But how?
How on earth could she escape from the ‘Black Fang’?
Tunia was surprised at herself for even thinking about wanting to leave the organization.
‘Could it be… am I being swayed by that madman’s words? What am I trusting?’
Suddenly, the words she had heard at the cafeteria came to mind.
The time she had waited after poisoning the 8th Prince's utensils.
The time she had fallen into despair after failing the assassination so easily.
Tunia had been sitting behind the 8th Prince and had heard the story of the 7th Princess and the apprentice holy knight.
She couldn't understand why she, a first-class assassin, was failing. She had wanted to know the reason for her failure at all costs.
The words the apprentice holy knight had said back then remained unusually clear in her mind.
So much so that it was coming to her even at this moment.
‘A truly pitiful person. If they knew the Prince's profound intention in letting this slide, they would surely repent on their own.’