Assassins in the Shadows
Aisia felt an extreme dread rising from deep within as she watched the scene before her. In her mind, this was where the true ordeal began.
If this really is the ruins, are they planning to use me as a shield and force me to face the monsters?
She clenched her teeth and resisted with everything she had, yet her body—stripped of most of its mana by the earlier rampage—left her no choice but to keep walking. Through the tangled strands of hair left wild from her struggle, her eyes met Kareha’s.
“So you mean to kill me here after all.”
She fixed him with a frigid glare.
He answered in a single, clipped sentence.
“That is not so. I cannot explain it now, but we will return together—without fail.”
She could not begin to grasp what “together” was supposed to mean. Hatred and distrust, impossible to erase, surged up inside her once more.
And so they stepped into the ruins, beginning their exploration of the labyrinthine passages where monsters and traps lay in wait. In these depths, another battle was about to begin.
When the light that woke the morning struck the stone pillars of the ancient ruins, the imperial forces and their soldiers already wore the look of men who had passed a restless night. The man who led them had refined their defensive posture without pause even through the hours of deepest darkness.
Dust clung to the frayed hems of their cloaks, and the damp air all around fed a growing sense of ill omen, yet he remained unshaken.
“Examine these tattered markings once more.”
He gave the quiet order to one of the soldiers.
“They clearly match the map, yet I cannot be certain where the entrance lies.”
The soldier wiped the sweat from the bridge of his nose and nodded heavily. Around them stood only massive statues blanketed in moss and uneven stone walls that had collapsed here and there, casting a gloomy presence. Whenever the wind blew, a strange whistling sound leaked from the gaps between buildings or beyond the crumbled walls and lingered at the ear.
“Is this truly the ruin where the Tear of Life sleeps?”
One soldier asked in a low voice. The atmosphere was the complete opposite of the sacred air they had expected if such a relic truly existed here.
“Why does such an eerie aura hang over the place so early?”
At those words the commanders exchanged glances, yet none offered an answer filled with certainty. Throughout the journey they had conducted countless preliminary investigations, but the ancient records had been filled with nothing but ambiguous phrases.
Adolf Kareha’s mind brushed past the prophecy-like warnings he had heard while researching these ruins, the tales of people who had vanished, and the countless rumors of guardians or monsters that protected the place. While he was still weighing his judgment before entering the site in earnest, the most important presence in these ruins—Aisia Lil Shuhain—stepped down from the carriage.
Because of the humiliation she had suffered at the hands of a Wurt Empire knight earlier, she shunned all contact with the knights escorting her. Combined with her abnormal physical state and the stress of the long carriage ride, she stood trembling on her legs, turning her body away and leaning upon her lady-in-waiting. In that heavy silence the way she clenched her fingers and closed her eyes was plain to see.
“Your Highness, you must move from this place.”
Someone approached and spoke carefully. Aisia lifted her head. A cold tension lay across her face.
“If this is the ruin site, I only wish to finish quickly and return.”
She spoke in a firm voice. The soldier swallowed. The woman before him was the Princess of Liberia and had already endured countless trials, yet being dragged here by force must still feel unjust. Out of a meager sense of mercy the soldier offered a respectful bow.
“Please move with care.”
He gave a final courteous greeting and withdrew. Imperial soldiers stood in a circle around the carriage, maintaining a perimeter, while a short distance away Adolf Kareha pressed close to a stone wall, studying something. From time to time he raised his head to examine the remnants of the high spires. Even though the ancient patterns carved into the rubble had worn away, he continued to research whether they might indicate the location of a passage or the signs of a trap.
“Halt the advance for now and wait here until I return. I will take only a few men and scout.”
He gave the clear order to his adjutant. The adjutant answered,
“I will accompany you as well. I cannot guarantee this ground is safe.”
But Adolf Kareha shook his head.
“A small number is better than a large force. The more traps a ruin holds, the greater the danger when many soldiers are present.”
The adjutant hesitated, then reluctantly bowed his head. Adolf Kareha preferred to take the lead himself. A general was ordinarily one who directed from the rear, yet he was different.
Aisia watched him for a long moment, then bit her lip at the white bandages visible through the gaps in his pauldron.
“Understood. I will issue orders only to the selected men.”
As he left to gather his subordinates, Adolf Kareha once more examined what looked like a dark passage. Then a presence behind him made him turn slightly. There was a soft rustle of a cloak.
“Do you intend to go in alone?”
The voice was calm, yet a sharp suspicion underlay it. He turned his gaze and found Aisia standing at a distance, staring at him.
“No. I will take only a few.”
He answered.
“And me?”
Aisia asked, arms folded. When their eyes met he noticed that hers had briefly settled on his shoulder.
Is she worried?
Until now she had behaved like a calf being led to the slaughterhouse. He could not understand the change in her heart.
“You yourself insisted I had to come along.”
Adolf Kareha wore a troubled expression.
“That is true. Your power is needed in these ruins… yet there is much danger, so I ask that you wait a little longer until preparations are complete.”
She gave a scornful laugh.
“In the end you mean to push me forward to clear the traps, don’t you? Put me in the vanguard so that when a trap triggers I am the first to die, then the rest of you can slip away safely.”
“You misunderstand.”
He answered shortly. Aisia turned her back on his reply and walked toward the carriage, a bitter smile on her lips.
“I no longer know why I came this far.”
She entered the tent and slammed the door hard. The soldiers heard the sound yet dared not open their mouths. Adolf Kareha let out a deep sigh.
It cannot be helped. I must give her a little more time.
He made another circuit of the ruins with his adjutant. The ancient ruins connected to sheer rock cliffs, and the inner passages twisted like a maze. Faint movements could be felt here and there—perhaps wild monsters or creatures that had nested in this place.
“The number of beasts lurking here may be considerable.”
The adjutant warned quietly.
“That may well be. We have not yet entered in earnest, so we must prepare for a decisive battle.”
He answered calmly. Yet the true threat they had not anticipated was already drawing near. Assassins trailing them, or agents of another hostile nation—perhaps even the vanguard of the demon race observed by the Wurt Empire. Whatever the case, something in the darkness was clearly targeting this party.
That night the sky overhead was covered by a black curtain without a single star. Even the wind died, creating a strange scene as though silence itself had settled over the land. The soldiers planted torches around the camp and kept a strict rotation of watches, never relaxing their vigilance.
Aisia sat awake alone in a nearby tent. Her heartbeat felt strangely agitated and uneasy.
“What is this…? This sense of dread…”
She tried to shake off the eerie premonition, yet it would not easily leave her.
At that same hour Adolf Kareha had spread a map in the temporary command post outside the tent and was continuing a conference with his adjutants. Between their words came the faint snorting of warhorses and the low murmur of soldiers exchanging talk.
“We begin the exploration early tomorrow.”
He issued the order to the assembled officers.
“Combat formations will be organized in small units. Those remaining in the rear will guard the camp and the carriages. We cannot rule out the possibility that monsters may swarm us, or that unwelcome guests may appear once more.”
After the officers had answered in turn and the meeting was about to conclude, a soldier burst in at a run.
“Intruders!”
The soldier’s face was pale and rigid.
“Someone approached stealthily from the eastern slope and felled our sentries!”
The assembly stirred.
“How many?”
Adolf Kareha asked without preamble.
“We cannot be certain, but several appear to be moving at once. Already there is a sense that they mean to surround the camp.”
In an instant the officers’ hands shot toward their weapons. The adjutant shouted,
“All hands to battle stations! It appears to be a night raid!”
A sudden enemy assault. They might have been tracking the party’s movements for days. Adolf Kareha rose at once and took up his sword.
“We must protect Aisia’s position.”
He spoke firmly. The previous assassin had clearly been after her.
I should have kept that assassin alive for interrogation.
The regret crossed his mind. The assassins had been meticulous; the moment the knights seized them they had bitten down on the poison hidden in their mouths and taken their own lives. Anticipating that the full force of the attack would concentrate on Aisia, he issued further orders.
“She is likely the target. Deploy half the troops to her side.”
“Half… half for a prisoner?!”
Another officer protested, but time had already run out. Darkness moved as one around the camp, and sharp arrows rained down like a storm.
“Down!”
Someone screamed, and the soldiers instantly raised their shields into a defensive stance. Some of the arrows targeted the torches; as the flames died the darkness deepened and chaos seized every direction at once.
A burst of fire flared somewhere, as though deliberately drawing every eye. These were no mere raiders; they were closer to an organized assassin guild. Their goal, Kareha suddenly realized, was almost certainly Aisia. They might have been sent by Liberia, or by some other power entirely.
“Stay calm! Form ranks and meet them!”
The adjutant raised his voice, yet the momentum of the enemies charging out of the dark was terrifying. They felled imperial soldiers with swords, daggers, and even magic.
“That way! They’re heading for the princess’s tent!”
Someone called in a low voice, and the sound of dozens of footsteps converged on a single point. At that moment Adolf Kareha drew his sword in a flash and sprinted forward.
“Clear the way!”
At the sound of his voice the soldiers parted. The tip of his blade was already driving toward the heart of the assassin band. Steel flashed and cut one of them down. A tearing sound rose, and a sharp scream mixed with blood and wind.
Yet beside him another enemy thrust a blade toward his waist; he arched his body backward and slipped clear of the strike.