Chapter 140: Violent Current (1)

The Order of Assassins.

It was a religious organization that had murder as its trade. They mastered secret techniques for moving through shadows and, thanks to this, had reaped countless lives while amassing wealth and infamy.

But not just anyone could wield those hidden arts.

They took in orphans and trained them in environments as toxic as parasitic venom, and only a small minority managed to become assassins.

The rest of the candidates were discarded.

That’s why the truth about the Order of Assassins remained buried in the shadows for a long time.

Not even within the order itself did many know how it was possible to move through shadows or kill with such stealth.

Only a few high-ranking members knew those techniques.

And now that the Order had vanished, only one person remained with that knowledge.

Asana.

She placed her foot on a shadow. Then, that entity spoke to her.

‘Will you accept the darkness…?’

Her body began to sink into the shadow, as if falling into a swamp.

The god of assassination spoken of by the Order was not like the others—it truly existed.

But Asana did not consider it a god, but a monster.

The training within the order was nothing more than a cruel game to entertain that being. Through torturous and repetitive drills, the whim of that creature decided to whom it would grant its power.

In the entire history of the Order of Assassins, Asana was one of the few who frequently received the god’s favor.

‘You shouldn’t go…’

“Shut up.”

Asana showed no respect toward it.

‘It’s dangerous…’

“You’re scared of humans even though you’re a god?”

‘…’

The god of assassination seemed reluctant to enter the imperial palace. As if it were truly afraid.

The time Asana spent away from Yuri, under the excuse of training, was actually used to persuade that being and absorb more of its power.

Thanks to that, she could now access even deeper darkness.

‘Move cautiously…’

“I told you to shut up.”

‘Huhu…’

The voice of the god of assassination echoed directly inside her head, as if embedding itself in her mind.

‘You damned bitch…’

“Then disappear.”

‘I have no choice. You’re all I have left. Huhu…’

Some assumed that entity was a spirit. But Asana had no interest in its true nature.

She only used it because her employer, Yuri, needed her help. Asana swam through the darkness and crossed into the imperial palace.

‘This place is ominous. I sense a power you cannot endure…’

The god of assassination would not stop talking.

Asana ignored it.

She had been aware of the danger from the beginning. When she was nearly expelled from the shadow in Yuzes, she understood that black magic could detect her presence.

So she had to move with even greater stealth and secrecy. And that was what she did best.

Even without the god’s power, her skills were acknowledged as the finest in the entire history of the Order.

‘Is this where the human emperor lives…?’

Ignoring the god’s words, Asana infiltrated the deepest parts of the imperial palace. The corners between walls, the gaps between doors—every shadowed space became her path.

Finally, she reached her destination.

It was the first time she had come this far.

“Today’s stew is salty. Did I put in too much salt?”

“Sorry. I’ll tell the chef.”

“No matter. I like things salty.”

In the imperial hall draped in red cloth, the emperor dined alone.

On a glass table so polished it gleamed like gold, an endless array of luxurious dishes was spread out.

The emperor sampled them one bite at a time.

The god of assassination chuckled.

‘The human emperor is a gourmet. Huhu…’

Asana, hidden beneath the shadow cast by a statue, carefully observed the emperor of the empire—Ivar.

She had yet to see any trace of what her employer had hoped to find. The emperor chatted while eating, speaking to his bowed servant.

“What kind of meat is this?”

“Beef, Your Majesty.”

“I know it’s beef. I mean which part of the animal?”

“The glute…”

“You’re feeding me butt? The cow’s butt? Hahahaha…”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? It’s delicious!”

Though he seemed picky, he wasn’t scolding seriously or calling for the chef.

Asana thought the emperor wasn’t such a bad guy. Many people changed completely when they gained power. And for someone who had a whole continent under his feet, his attitude wasn’t so bad.

He kept joking with his servant.

‘All this risk just to see this? Huhu…’

Asana waited until the emperor finished his meal.

The dishes he had barely touched were cleared away, and something like white ice cream remained as dessert before Ivar.

He scooped a spoonful with a small tea spoon.

“Oh, I’ve never had this before. It’s sweet and soft. What is it?”

“The chef made it especially for Your Majesty. It doesn’t have a name yet. If Your Majesty gives it one, it would be a great honor.”

“It doesn’t even have a name? Hahaha. They made a dish just for me… being emperor was a good choice. Let’s see…”

Ivar smiled again as he scooped another bite. After two more spoonfuls, a cheerful look still on his face—

His hand stopped.

His face no longer held even a trace of a smile.

“I have to name it too?”

“Your Majesty?”

He rose from his seat.

“You dare give me orders?”

“Huh? Th-that wasn’t my intent…”

“You damned worm!”

Ivar screamed and flung what he held on the table. The dish shattered against the servant’s forehead, spilling blood.

It was a sudden change.

The imperial guard watching outside burst into the room.

“Your Majesty?”

But Ivar didn’t stop. He stood up with the spoon he had just used for dessert. The servant, bleeding, was sprawled on the floor.

Ivar grabbed him by the hair and forced his head up.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Please forgive me.”

“If you’re sorry, you shouldn’t have done anything to regret.”

What he did next made even Asana scowl.

“Aaaaaaargh!”

Like stirring ice cream, Ivar plunged the spoon into the servant’s eye and twisted it.

Blood and vitreous humor poured from the eye.

“Y-Your Majesty…”

Even the imperial guards were stunned, not daring to stop the emperor.

Ivar let go of the servant, who was nearly unconscious, and tossed the spoon to the floor with a clank.

“Bring me another spoon.”

“P-pardon?”

“Do I need to say it twice?”

Seeing Ivar’s gaze, two guards bowed and immediately left the hall.

The servant convulsed on the floor, but no one helped him.

‘Huhu…’

Only the god of assassination laughed gleefully. Asana silently watched the scene.

When the guards returned with a new spoon, Ivar resumed eating the dessert as if nothing had happened. The guards now stood beside him instead of the servant.

“It’s delicious.”

He closed his eyes to savor it. It was hard to believe that someone who had just gouged out a man’s eye was now so serene.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Ivar spat out the food. There was blood in it.

“Eh?”

He stared at the spoonful, and in the next moment, began coughing up blood.

“Khagh…!”

A guard rushed to support him and shouted.

“A priest! Call a priest! It’s poison!”

“Poison!”

Everything descended into chaos in an instant.

The guards burst in en masse, and the emperor, leaning against them, was vomiting foam and blood.

The word “poisoning” echoed again and again within the great hall.

‘Who would’ve thought today would be so eventful. What a show. Huhu…’

Asana asked the god of assassination.

“Is the emperor going to die?”

‘He won’t die. His vitality is intact…’

“Was it really poison?”

‘That I don’t know.’

As she watched the emperor being carried out of the hall on a stretcher, Asana sighed.

She didn’t know how to interpret what she had just seen.

In any case, it was time to leave. Due to the palace’s magic barrier, the god of assassination’s power was quickly depleting.

‘Get out of here!’

At that moment, the god of assassination’s voice turned urgent.

‘You must go…’

“What?”

‘Something’s there.’

The god said nothing more. Instead, Asana’s body was dragged even deeper into the shadow. It meant he was using his power to the fullest.

Asana moved immediately.

‘Quickly!’

Retracing the path she had taken to infiltrate, she raced along the trail of shadows leading out of the palace.

And now she could feel it too.

Something was following her. A dark and ominous presence.

‘Don’t look back. Don’t look back…’

The god of assassination warned her.

But Asana ignored the warning and looked back. And she felt a jolt so strong that her heart nearly stopped.

A monstrous figure with blood-red eyes was racing alongside her through the shadow path.

Its form shifted constantly like a flickering flame’s shadow, but its grotesque eyes remained locked on her.

Her body wouldn’t respond.

Even the shadows that normally helped her turned to quicksand, slowing her down.

‘React, damn it!’

The god of assassination shrieked. Only then did Asana snap out of the strange trance, as if waking from a dream.

‘Run!’

Asana ran like mad. She was certain that if that thing caught her, she would not die peacefully.

Finally, she reached a small slit of shadow on the edge of the outer wall.

That was both the entry and exit point of the palace.

Asana quickly slipped through that gate.

“Haah…”

Outside the palace, the shadow paths split in every direction.

Asana clung to the first one she found and kept moving. There were so many routes that the unknown being couldn’t follow her any farther.

She kept passing through shadows for quite some time.

And only when she felt completely safe did she emerge.

“Ah…”

It was a filthy back alley.

She collapsed to the ground, drained. After using so much power, she would need to lie down and rest for quite a while.

The god of assassination seemed to be saying something, but outside the shadows, she couldn’t hear him clearly.

She sighed deeply.

She didn’t even know where she was. She tried to get up but had no strength.

Then she heard footsteps approaching from a distance. Alert, Asana reached for the hidden dagger at her side.

This was an abandoned alley in the imperial center. Nothing was out of place here.

“Well, well. A lady collapsed here…”

It wasn’t just one voice.

There were several chuckles.

Asana tried to rise with all her might, but exhaustion held her down. It was the price of having momentarily abused the god of assassination’s power.

“Maybe she overdosed or something?”

“Doesn’t she know how dangerous this area is? Hehehe…”

She took a deep breath.

She prepared to unleash all her energy in a single burst.

“Looks like we should help her, don’t you think?”

“We have no choice. Hihihi…”

“We’ve gotta help each other out, right? Hehe…”

“Quiet, everyone. The lady’s scared, can’t you see? Hihi…”

“It’s been a while since we’ve done a good deed. Hehehe…”

Just as someone was about to touch her—

Asana sprang up and drew her dagger to strike.

Her head was spinning from the effort, but she couldn’t stay still.

However, she was stopped.

“I think…”

A black glove grabbed her wrist.

“You’re misunderstanding things.”

On the other side was a familiar face.

“Aren’t you seeing things a bit too negatively, Miss Asana?”

“You’re…?”

It was Gorio.

And behind him were his subordinates. They held up signs with messages like.

「Let’s expel drugs from the streets.」

「Drugs turn people into idiots.」

「Medicine is for pharmacists, drugs are for the patrol.」

「Drugs are a road to self-destruction.」

「With drugs, straight to the grave.」

As he helped her to her feet, Gorio said.

“Don’t tell me you learned to get high in that time?”