84 Freezing Waters

His body still low on the ice, Riku was practically crawling as he slowly trailed behind Luke. His knees protested at the action, but it was something that he was used to doing anyway. Years of crawling through vents and alleyways had a thing for making knees as strong as steel, and it was paying dividends for him now despite the extreme cold still threatening to make his body shiver.

Using his experience to his advantage, the former assassin flitted from one awkward ice spire to the next, using the environment to his advantage as he slowly closed the gap between him and his target. The old man was still walking at a stead pace, but the dozens of pages still hovering around him told Riku that the old man was still ready for any and all attacks to hit his person. It wasn't ideal, but he still respected such a safe bet coming from someone that was for all intents and purposes, a civilian.

'Going to need to play this smart then...'

Narrowing his eyes, Riku rolled from one cover to the next. Eventually, he was a mere few meters away from his target. Luke was still walking at a steady pace, but it was clear that the old man was paying attention to the environment with how subtly the pages protecting her moved ever so slightly to cover against him. It was almost uncanny. Was he already discovered then? Was his power automatically moving to protect him?

"You're far too young to pull the wool over my eyes, young man."

Riku flinched at the sudden callout. Despite this, he remained composed as he retained his cover. Any other rookie would've revealed themselves the moment their target called out their location. However, he wasn't like them at all. He knew he still had the advantage. He just needed to see how much of it was still intact.

"You move with far too much professionalism to be a mere chef based on your clothing," Luke absently observed as he steps came to a halt. "Tell me, are you a hitman of some sort before all of this?"

The former assassin was tempted to respond. After all, he had already left that life behind, and he just wanted everyone to know that he was a simple sushi chef now. That was a stupid mistake to do, however, so her remained silent.

"Not even going to bother to answer my question? Very well. I suppose it's only natural for people like you to remain silent during a job," the old professor sighed. "Though I do wish you'd sate this old man's curiosity once you're feeling up to it."

The faint sound of rustling papers then followed, and before Riku could move to reposition, a barrage of elemental attacks suddenly opened fire on him from all directions. Pages upon pages surrounded him, some on fire, while others billowing with gusts of wind as he was faced with such an overwhelming force that he had no choice but to escape in the only other direction available to him.

Yes, he had no other choice but to cut another hole right underneath him, forcing him to sink beneath the icy waters of the Sea of Stars just as a massive explosion boomed right above him.

'That was close,' he thought to himself as he narrowed his eyes against the freezing waters. 'It seems that I can't sneak up to him then...'

With his body now thankfully being acclimated to the freezing temperatures, Riku had a much easier time swimming underwater as he gently floated underneath. Making sure to stay as silent as possible, he approached the Champion of Mimir from underneath, his knife at the ready to pull the old man right into the water with him as payback for forcing him to endure such a horrible time.

He wasn't going to suffer alone, obviously. Despite common sense and just killing the man, he wanted to at least see him shivering before he shanked his neck and let him bleed to death right in front of him.

*crack...*

An alarming sound suddenly echoed from right above Riku. Looking up, the faintest of cracks appeared right where he was, and it was only through instinct that he quickly darted away from the suspicious activity brewing above him. Just in time, a burning piece of paper pierced through, shooting straight down into the star-filled sea and disappearing into the darkness.

*crack... crack...*

Before Riku could even recover, two more foreboding echoes rippled from above, and the former assassin could only dodge and weave as the projectiles tracking him down began to grow in number. Even worse, every single one of them came with such pinpoint accuracy that he just knew the old man was playing with him now.

Twisting his body through the waters, the former assassin felt the air in his chest rapidly dwindling at all the effort he was doing. Add in the cold temperatures sapping him of his strength, and he immediately knew that he had to get out of the water fast if he wanted to have a chance at the old man.

Gritting his teeth, Riku spotted one of the many holes the enemy had given to him and weaved his way to it for a breath. It was dangerous, but it was much faster than having to cut a new hole for himself. Either way, he had a plan. And for added good measure...

[BOONS OF CHAOS: CHAOTIC SYSTEM TRUMP ACTIVATED]

[CHAOTIC REROLL COMMENCED]

Riku blinked away the stinging feeling in his eyes as he swiped away the prompt that suddenly appeared in front of him, just in time for him to dodge another flaming page that almost managed to burn him just from proximity alone. He had one roll per Depth anyway. He might as well let it happen now while he was looking for an exit strategy from the water.

[ROLL SUCCESSFUL]

[CHAOS WALK: ALLOWS THE CHAMPION'S FEET TO EMIT A LIGHT SHOCKWAVE WITH EVERY STEP. VALID FOR THIS DEPTH ONLY]

...

....

.......

That... That didn't look like it was helpful in the slightest.