Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: 58. Rapids (1)
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Assassin Cult.
They were a religious order that made assassination their trade. They knew secretive techniques for slipping through shadows, and through them, they had claimed countless lives while amassing both wealth and infamy.
But not just anyone could wield such forbidden arts.
They brought in orphans and trained them in environments akin to the horrors of gu poison rituals, yet only a tiny fraction ever became assassins.
The rest were discarded.
Because of this, the truth about the Assassin Cult had long been buried in darkness.
Even within the cult, only a select few high-ranking members knew how one could travel through shadows or kill so stealthily.
And now that the Assassin Cult was gone, only one person remained who knew their secrets.
Asana.
She placed her foot on a patch of shadow.
Then, that presence spoke to her.
"Will you embrace the darkness...?"
Her body began sinking into the shadow below, as if swallowed by quicksand.
The Assassin God spoken of in the cult was unlike other deities—it truly existed.
But Asana saw it not as a god, but as a monster.
The cult's training was nothing more than playthings to amuse this god. Amid the endless torment of torture-like drills, its whims would grant power to those it favored.
Asana had received more of the Assassin God's favor than most in the cult's entire history.
"You shouldn't take it..."
"Shut up."
Asana showed no reverence for the Assassin God.
"It's dangerous..."
"A god, scared of humans?"
"..."
The Assassin God feared entering the imperial palace, almost as if it were terrified.
The time she spent away from Yuri under the pretext of training had actually been spent persuading the Assassin God and drawing in more of its power.
Thanks to that, she could now delve into even deeper darkness.
"Move with caution..."
"I said shut up."
"Heh, heh, heh..."
The Assassin God's voice reverberated directly in her mind, shaking her skull.
"Damn wench..."
"Then get lost."
"No choice. You're all I've got left. Heh, heh, heh..."
Some speculated that this entity might be a spirit.
But Asana had no interest in the Assassin God's true nature.
She was using it only because her employer, Yuri, needed her help.
Asana swam through the darkness, slipping past the palace barriers.
"An ominous place. I sense an aura you can't handle..."
The Assassin God kept chattering.
Asana ignored it.
She had known the risks from the start. Ever since nearly being dragged out of the shadows in Yuges, she had realized black magic might detect her.
So she had to move even more secretly and carefully.
And that was what she did best.
Even without the Assassin God's power, her skills were considered the finest in the cult's history.
"So this is where a human emperor dwells..."
Ignoring the Assassin God's prattle with one ear, Asana pressed deeper into the palace. Corners between corners, thresholds where doors met frames, every shadowed spot became her path.
Eventually, she reached her destination.
This was her first time coming this far.
"Today's stew is too salty. Did they overdo the seasoning?"
"My apologies. I'll inform the chef."
"No need. I like it salty."
In the grand hall draped with red cloth, the emperor dined alone.
Luxurious dishes covered the crystal-clear glass table with its golden legs, seemingly without end.
The emperor savored them, taking small bites.
The Assassin God chuckled.
"A human emperor who's a gourmet, eh? Heh, heh, heh..."
Asana lingered in the shadow cast by a statue, observing the Emperor Ivar closely.
She saw no trace yet of what her employer sought.
The emperor chatted with a bowed servant as he ate.
"What meat is this?"
"Beef, Your Majesty."
"I know it's beef. Which cut?"
"Rump..."
"Feeding me rump? A cow's ass? Hahaha!"
"My apologies."
"Apologies, my foot. It's delicious."
He acted finicky but never seriously scolded or summoned the chef.
Asana thought the emperor didn't seem like a total villain.
Many in power turned tyrannical. For the ruler of the continent, his behavior was downright decent.
He kept teasing the servant relentlessly.
"Is this worth risking it all for? Heh, heh, heh..."
Asana waited until the emperor finished his meal.
Dishes barely touched were cleared away, leaving only a white ice cream-like dessert before Ivar.
He scooped a bite with a teaspoon.
"Oh, first time trying this. Sweet and smooth. What's it called?"
"The chef developed it for Your Majesty. It has no name yet. Naming it yourself would be the greatest honor."
"No name, huh? Hahaha, developing food for me—I'm glad I became emperor. Let me think..."
Ivar laughed, twirling the spoon again. After two more bites, eyes crinkling with amusement—
The spoon stopped.
No smile lingered in Ivar's eyes.
"I have to name it too?"
"Your Majesty?"
He rose from his seat.
"Insolent fool, ordering me around."
"Pardon? That's not—"
"You filthy worm!"
Ivar bellowed, hurling items from the table. A plate shattered against the servant's forehead, blood trickling down.
A sudden shift.
The imperial guards rushed in.
"Your Majesty?"
Ivar didn't stop. He gripped the teaspoon he'd used for dessert and stood. The servant lay prostrate, bleeding on the floor.
Ivar seized his hair, yanking his head up.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty."
"If you're sorry, don't do sorry things."
What followed made even Asana grimace.
"Aaaargh!"
Like mixing ice cream, Ivar jammed the spoon into the servant's eye and twisted.
Blood and vitreous humor oozed from the socket.
"Y-Your Majesty."
Even the guards froze in shock but dared not intervene.
Ivar dropped the fainting servant and tossed the spoon aside with a clink.
"Bring a new teaspoon."
"Pardon?"
"Do I repeat myself?"
Glared at, two guards bowed and hurried out.
No one minded the convulsing servant on the floor.
"Heh, heh, heh..."
Only the Assassin God laughed as if delighted.
Asana watched silently.
When the guards returned with a new spoon, Ivar resumed his dessert casually, now attended by guards instead of the servant.
"Excellent flavor."
He closed his eyes, savoring it. Hard to believe this was the man who'd just gouged out an eye.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Ivar pushed the dessert aside and spat out what he'd eaten.
It was laced with blood.
"Huh?"
He stared blankly, then vomited blood.
"Kuhuk..."
A guard rushed to support him, shouting.
"Priest! Call a priest! Poison!"
"Poison!"
Chaos erupted in seconds.
Guards poured in; the emperor slumped against them, foaming and bleeding from the mouth.
"Poison" echoed through the hall.
"Speak of the devil, what a show. Heh, heh, heh..."
Asana asked the Assassin God.
"Will the emperor die?"
"He won't. His vitality is strong..."
"Is it really poison?"
"Who knows."
As the emperor was carried out on a stretcher, Asana sighed.
She couldn't interpret what she'd witnessed.
Time to leave. The palace's magical barriers drained the Assassin God's power faster than usual.
"Go."
Then, the Assassin God's urgent voice rang out.
"You must leave..."
"What?"
"Something. Is here."
The Assassin God fell silent. Instead, Asana's body sank deeper into the shadows—its power surging strongly.
Asana moved at once.
"Hurry."
Retracing her infiltration path, she raced along the shadow roads out of the palace.
Now even she sensed something pursuing her.
A black, ominous energy.
"Don't look back. Don't look back..."
The Assassin God warned.
But Asana ignored it and glanced behind.
The shock nearly stopped her breath.
A grotesque something with crimson eyes raced along the shadow path after her.
Its form flickered like shadows dancing in firelight, but those eerie eyes remained fixed, glaring at her.
Her body wouldn't obey.
Even the shadows that always aided her now dragged like mire.
"Snap out of it, you damn wench!"
The Assassin God's sharp cry snapped her from the trance.
"Run!"
Asana bolted wildly.
Being caught by that thing meant no merciful death.
Soon, she reached a narrow shadow crevice at the outer wall's edge.
This spot was both entrance and exit to the palace shadows.
Asana slipped through swiftly.
"Haa..."
Outside the palace, shadow paths branched everywhere.
Asana grabbed one at random and fled. The multitude of forks threw off the pursuer.
She leaped between shadows relentlessly.
Only when she felt truly safe did she emerge.
"Ah..."
A filthy back alley.
Exhausted, she collapsed. Using her powers this much meant bedrest for a while.
The Assassin God mumbled something, but outside the shadows, she couldn't hear clearly.
She let out a long sigh.
She didn't even know where she was. Couldn't muster strength to stand.
Then, footsteps approached from afar.
Asana tensed, hand inching to her hidden dagger.
This was the imperial capital's abandoned district. Anything could happen.
"Well, well. Looks like a young lady's lying here..."
Not just one.
Several snickering voices followed.
Asana struggled to rise, but exhaustion pinned her down. The price of overusing the Assassin God's power.
"Did she OD on drugs or something?"
"This is a rough neighborhood, y'know. Heh..."
She took a deep breath.
Preparing to unleash every ounce of strength in a burst.
"Guess we should help her out, huh?"
"No choice. Heh heh..."
"It's a world where we help each other. Huhu..."
"Quiet down, guys. You're scaring the lady. Hee hee..."
"Haven't done a good deed in a while. Heh heh heh..."
As someone touched her—
Asana sprang up, whipping out her dagger.
Her head spun from forcing her body, but she couldn't stay still.
But it was blocked.
"Now..."
A black-gloved hand gripped her wrist.
"...what's with the misunderstanding?"
Beyond it, a familiar face.
"Don't you think you're viewing the world too negatively, Miss Asana?"
"You..."
It was Gorio.
Behind him stood his men, holding picket signs with slogans like:
"Let's drive drugs out of the streets."
"Drugs turn people into idiots."
"Medicine to pharmacists, drugs to the security force."
"Drugs: the path to self-destruction."
"Do drugs, and you're done for."
He helped her up, still holding her hand.
"You haven't picked up drugs in the meantime, have you?"