The Assassin's Last Breath
BOOM!
Lightning erupted from my arm, fanning out in a wide arc that obliterated everything in front of me.
Sparks crackled and scattered wildly in all directions.
Even a Complete Body like Sahan wouldn't have left behind so much as bones if he'd been swept up in that electric surge. A Ghost Ant's body was as fragile as glass, after all.
'Hm? Where'd he go?'
But he'd dodged my attack.
"Huff... huff... this bastard, Stealth..."
Sahan revealed himself a step outside my attack radius, gasping for breath. It looked like he'd barely escaped by the skin of his teeth.
'So Stealth can be used as an evasion skill too.'
The moment I'd been about to land the hit, he'd activated Stealth.
Unlike the skill I knew, he'd reappeared as if teleporting through space.
That meant one thing.
'He's awakened his Stealth skill, just like I thought.'
Remembering the existence of Awakening—which I'd completely forgotten about—let me piece it together.
Before my regression, I'd just assumed Sahan's Stealth was high-grade enough to have all sorts of superior effects.
But now that I'd acquired it myself, I knew for sure.
'That's not something you can do just by having a high rank.'
Of course, I'd half-expected it.
Ghost Ants were the origin of Stealth, and Sahan was the pinnacle among them.
'In other words, he reached that peak by awakening Stealth.'
Recalling how Sahan had moved when he activated Stealth moments ago...
'Not spatial movement. That means... it's got something like super acceleration.'
Among Awakening effects, there were ones that massively boosted speed stats during skill activation.
And since Awakening couldn't be obtained intentionally, it often came with all sorts of enhancements that made skills far superior.
'No wonder his targets never stood a chance.'
Having unraveled Sahan's secret, my eyes gleamed.
'I'm catching him, no matter what.'
BAM!
I shot toward Sahan like a cannonball, accelerating my body with Wind Blade.
It wasn't quite the super acceleration he'd shown, but it was rapid enough to match.
His face filled my vision in an instant.
I swung my arm immediately.
Slash!
A cutting sound rang out, followed by strands of hair scattering in the air.
'Too shallow.'
Even as he heaved for breath, poisoned by my Primal Venom, Sahan activated Stealth again and vanished.
At the same time, a chill crept up the back of my neck.
I ducked my upper body forward without hesitation.
Whoosh—slash!
The air itself was shredded by the sharp dagger, a deadly rasp echoing.
A split-second slower, and my throat would've been slit.
'Oh ho, so Stealth's effects aren't just super acceleration.'
Swallowing my surprise, I lashed out with a kick toward the source of the presence without looking back.
BAM!
"Guhk."
Crash!
Sahan tumbled backward, struck by my kick.
'That was definitely Shadow Step, right?'
I let out a hollow chuckle at his hidden trump card.
Shadow Step.
An Awakening effect that assassins dreamed of, one of the top-tier enhancements for concealment skills.
'I didn't even see this before the regression when I killed him. He's got more tricks than I thought.'
Though luck had played a big part back then, too.
Anyway, Sahan seemed to have achieved Awakening twice over—something rare even once.
If he'd been at full strength, he'd have been a real handful even head-on.
Seeing him chain Stealth with super acceleration and Shadow Step, I realized how many variables he'd thrown at me throughout the fight. No wonder I'd been exhausted.
'Even if he'd fled, it would've been a pain.'
If he'd tried escaping in Stealth from the start, I might've lost him.
But spreading Primal Venom and applying tracking scent had been a godsend.
'So... sweet dreams.'
I unleashed Megaera Fear toward the fallen bastard.
KAAAAAH!
Inaudible to my ears, but a terrifying aura shook Sahan to his core.
"Ghk."
He froze mid-rise, trembling violently.
His debuffs from the Primal Venom must've amplified the Megaera Fear.
"I... can't... die here!"
As I closed in for the finish, Sahan roared and hauled himself up.
His body glowed orange—not ether, but rune power manifesting.
'Tch.'
I clicked my tongue at his tenacity.
Looks like he'd invoked Unyielding Will or Superhuman Stamina.
Both S-rank runes suited assassins perfectly in normal times, and their surge effects made them great as last resorts in crises.
"Die—!"
His eyes flashed murderous intent as he rallied like a dying flash, activating Stealth and its super acceleration once more.
Blindly trusting Fear would've been disastrous.
But...
'Exoskeleton, oil membrane.'
With partial primalization layering exoskeleton and oil membrane, I easily deflected his strike.
"Wh-what...?"
Horrified at me suddenly deploying dung beetle and cockroach abilities on top of Stealth, Sahan faltered.
And that was his last moment.
'Wind Blade.'
BOOM!
I slammed my foreleg, gale winds converging, straight into Sahan.
CRUNCH!
"GAAAH!"
He couldn't dodge and took the full hit.
"Guhk... how... a mere lesser mantis... Irregular... such... power."
His mangled body hit the ground, life rapidly fading from his eyes.
"Why... not me... you...!"
Did he think he was special?
Even I could see it was unfair, and he wailed in despair.
"I... can't... die like... Ah, my daughter Sarze..."
In his final instant, he reached vainly into the void with dimming eyes, then breathed his last.
'A daughter...'
His last thoughts of his child were somewhat pitiful.
Used by Craig like the rest, he must've had his reasons.
But unlike Kiria, Sahan's sins were unforgivable.
'Karma's a bitch.'
Fwoosh.
My reverie was brief.
Golden particles flowed from his corpse.
Predation activated.
Predating Ghost Ant corpse.
User already possesses Stealth (S) skill confirmed.
Special perk triggered!
Inheriting fragment of awakening effect on target's skill.
An image unfolded in my mind, right on cue.
'This is...?'
I couldn't help but be shocked.
It was a scene of activating Stealth, super acceleration and Shadow Step synergizing seamlessly.
'So under certain conditions, I can acquire the target's awakened skill effects.'
Another revelation about Predation's potential.
A major clue toward intentionally awakening skills.
I couldn't use Sahan's full effects yet, but the seed for awakening Stealth had been planted.
'Perfect.'
My body trembled with excitement at this windfall.
The Four Great Lords and their legions ahead—all monsters with at least one awakened skill.
Conditional or not, being able to predation such unique powers changed everything.
'A power like this means the enemies ahead are just as monstrous.'
Deep down, alongside my confidence, a vague tension lingered toward those who'd reach Transcendent Body.
The Manager and Apostles had seemed impossible at first, but now maybe doable—yet endless unfounded growth felt off.
Speed stat rises to 'S'.
'Whew.'
Still, cowering in fear already wasn't my style.
As my stats rose, my body felt lighter, drawing a grin.
Eliminating the Sahan threat left me deeply satisfied.
Then—
Shhh!
A black mass writhed from Sahan's corpse, crawling out.
"Kreek!"
It flailed on the dirt, emitting a grotesque screech.
'Parasite.'
I grimaced and swung my blade.
Slash!
The parasite's head flew off, its body gradually stilling.
Even Sahan, one of Craig's limbs, had been infected.
'Craig must know he's dead by now.'
* * *
Crack!
The red ruby embedded in the shaman stick shattered.
"...!"
Yuraan bulged her eyes at the sudden event.
"Sahan... is dead?"
A shattered ruby meant the parasite was dead—which implied the host was too.
The other possibility...
'He took Kun's antiparasitic and removed it...'
But Yuraan dismissed it immediately.
The parasite in Sahan had been implanted since childhood, evolved inseparably from his body.
No external drug could remove it.
'That means Sahan's really dead.'
Just handling one lesser mantis?
Caught off guard by the unforeseen development, Yuraan faltered briefly.
"The continent-shaking Kirin, eh."
Accepting his death, fury blazed in her eyes.
'No wonder Lord Craig ordered me to handle him personally.'
Now she had to step up.
'But first...'
Grinding her teeth, she stormed out of her tent.
"Keep hitting it!"
"Attack till it breaks!"
"Raaah!"
Outside, her Poison Centipede legion hammered the outer barrier of the Moon Paper Forest, home to the Shinseon Butterfly clan.
Here for revenge on Kun, she'd been stalled at this barrier for days.
Frustrated by the poor momentum, Yuraan bellowed at the top of her lungs.
"Kuuuun! Stop hiding like a coward and come face me! Grown old and all you got left is fear?!"
Ziiing.
A green spear materialized in her hand—her trait manifesting as a cursed weapon.
Myriad Evils Poison Thorn, twin pinnacle with Duraan's Dead Man's Poison Spear.
"Haaah!"
She thrust it skyward, virulent poison ether swirling so thick the heavens tinted green.
BOOM!
The toxic mass slammed the barrier, unleashing a massive roar.
* * *
After dealing with Sahan, I clutched the Megaera Mantis fossil fragment and scouted for a safe spot.
I found a small cave midway up a mountain.
I'd liberally sprayed Primal Venom around and set various defenses—primals wouldn't approach easily.
"Finally, the main event."
Gripping the fragment tight, I focused my mind without hesitation.
Fwoosh.
Emerald light burst from the fragment.
My consciousness sank into a trance.
......
—Soon we meet again.
I opened my eyes at the voice in my ear.
The emerald glow sharpened into clarity.
Bahamed, now fully manifesting his upper body, stared straight into my eyes.
—My choice was right! Receive it—my foreleg!