Oddity
Now that I know how the shadow clones work, I’m not afraid of it.
I can just close in the distance faster and corner him to the point where he doesn’t even have the time to use the skill at all.
I now also understood that this man chose a dagger as his weapon precisely to stop his opponents from approaching too close to him.
I once again activated [Leg Strength enhancement] and [Gale] and charged in towards the robed man.
Not just the shadow clones, his own technique was also quite good, as he was able to react against my horizontal slash aimed at his upper body and blocked it with his dagger——however just blocking my attack took everything from him as he had no margin or scope to counter back.
“——Uohh!? Your attack’s fast as well. Shit, this is………nothing like what we’d heard!!”
I one-sidedly continued to overwhelm with my attacks, and the robed man desperately continued to deflect with his dagger. Just then, I decided to activate [Black Mist] on top.
It was already the dark in the back alleys at night but, now it was completely enveloped in pitch black darkness.
For a second, I heard a pathetic cry that leaked from the robed man who was suddenly surrounded in darkness.
I already got his position from that little noise even without using any skill but still, there was no harm in being cautious so I activated [Sound wave detection].
Once I knew the robed man’s position perfectly, I quickly circled behind him and made a deep slash at his both feet.
My first clean kill using Black Mist with the right timing.
The robed man had no way of reacting to it and I could tell that he fell limp to the ground from the sound of his body falling.
I had slashed both his legs to make him unable to move but just in case, I used [Sticky String Manipulation] and [Hardening] to completely restrain his body by wrapping him up and then carried him inside the run down base that Ralf and Esta once used back in the day.
I put the man down on a chair and then began my prep to interrogate him properly.
There should be no problems even if he makes some noise in a place like this so I can be a little bit more forceful as well.
“now then, there’s a lot I want to hear from you. So get ready to talk okay?”
“………Shit. How could I have let down my guard like that. Or rather, this isn’t anything like what we had heard at all! Are you really that Klaus-sama’s older brother!?”
“I don’t remember giving you the right to question me. If you want to live, obediently answer my questions. Who ordered you to tail me? Was it Klaus?”
“hehehe, as if Klaus-sama would directly talk to someone like me………sorry, but the threat of death won’t work on us. Now then, it’s time for me to go.”
The moment the hooded man muttered that, he seemed to have done something to himself as suddenly he clutched his neck in pain……….and before I could do anything to stop him or treat him, he died while still tied to the chair.
How should I say this……..he was a genuinely creepy man from start till the end.
I never planned on letting him live so I don’t really care that he died but, it hurts that I failed to get any real info from him.
It made all my work be for nothing but, I should at least put it in my head that I’m being actively targeted now. I need to start taking action quickly or they’ll take the initiative from me.
Before I burned his corpse away, I did take his hood off to see who he was but of course, it’s not like I’d recognize him.
If there was something that caught my eye, it would be the tattoo of a double headed snake on the bottom of his neck. Outside of that, it was just a normal looking man.
I should at least remember that tattoo and then ask about it at the info broker in the capital.
After that, I carried the corpse of the hooded man outside the city without getting caught by anyone’s eyes and then burned it to ashes with my [FireBall].
By the time I was done, the sun had already begun to rise again, and I lamented how much time I had wasted because of that hooded man.
After that, on my way back to [moonflower] I intentionally let myself look full of openings but, I didn’t notice anyone else aiming for me or following me so I have to assume that hooded man was the only one in Realzard.
Which means, that it’s likely that it was just coincidence that he found me and it’s not as if they know that I’m currently in Realzard.
It’s good that my location is still a secret however, when the contact from this man is lost, it’s very likely that they’ll get suspicious.
I think I have a week as a time limit. I need to quickly contact Charlotte in the capital.
I wanted to rest a bit more in Realzard but, now the situation isn’t one where I can relax anymore. I clicked my tongue in displeasure as I returned to my room in [Moonflower].
The lights in the room were still on, as I looked at both Ralf and Esta who were already awake.
The sun had only begun to rise just now so I thought they’d still be asleep but if they’re up, that works for me too.
“Chris! You’re way too late! We were worried!”
“My bad. I had someone attack me in the city.”
“Eh? An attack? Was it a pursuer from Klaus?”
“Yeah. Almost certainly. He definitely was an assassin sent by Klaus. I really want to get things going now so sorry, but today’s back street tour will have to wait unfortunately.”
“Yeah man! With the situation being what it is, I get it! So what’s the plan now?”
“………..First, let me tell you everything in detail. Then I’ll tell you two what to do.”
And so I sat down and told Ralf and Esta of everything that had taken place in order.
And then, I told them both to head to the capital and find a way to make contact with Charlotte or Mielle.