Assassination Attempt

Chapter 21: Assassination Attempt

'Where is he?' William's eyes moved back and forth nonstop.

The alley was completely silent, the only sound to be heard was William's breathing. His grip on his sword deepened, and his pulse increased in pace.

Then another sound broke the silence. It was something cutting through the air, traveling quite fast. It came from behind William, and he didn't want to risk it, so he jumped to the side and rolled.

A series of knives stabbed into his former position with terrifying precision. He got up again to go back on guard, but a person landed behind him.

"Behind you, Darling!" Debris exclaimed.

William turned as fast as he could, but could only cover his head. A knife tore open his left arm, leaving a large open cut, from which blood began to ooze.

"Ugh!" With the sword, he tried to hit the assassin, but the assassin had already jumped back. His footsteps didn't make any noise and that made it difficult for William to fight, as he relied heavily on his enhanced senses.

'Shit.' William gritted his teeth. Never before had he felt such pain, in his fight against the clown he was not hurt. Lucky for him, he managed to stay focused. 'I'm at a disadvantage. Should I use Debris?'

"Darling, you're too hurt to fight properly. Besides, if you use me then you can't take him to the others for questioning." Debris reminded her in his mind. Her voice trembled a bit.

William bit his lip in frustration, also to force himself not to lose concentration.

'Can I escape? No, surely he is as fast or faster than me, considering that he is an assassin.' He remembered how assassins used to be characters with a lot of speed in RPG games. 'He won't be as good as me at close combat but this wound is a handicap.'

William's mind was working faster than ever. The assassin, however, was not going to wait until he came up with a plan.

He moved like a cat, without making a sound. He raised the dagger in his hand and tried to stab William.

William did not back down. He darted forward and entered the assassin's guard, who widened his eyes not expecting this.

'He can't change his trajectory, he's dead.' The Beyonder potion that William had taken gave him the skills of a swordsman who would be at the top of the world before him.

However, the assassin suddenly slowed down in midair and changed direction, attempting to stab William in the throat. He was surprised, but not fazed, so he parried the blow masterfully, and the assassin had to retreat.

"Darling, he can shift the weight of his body." Debris reported.

'Alright, thanks.' He mentally thanked her and decided to take the lead this time. He made two quick jumps and placed himself in front of the assassin. 'Let's see if my knowledge has any value in this world.'

He held his sword with two hands for the first time in the fight, even if it hurt like hell. The assassin didn't stay still, he jumped back as he threw some knives.

William jumped. It was an impressive jump, he went over the knives and did not stop his pursuit. The assassin seemed impressed by the jump but he was not distracted.

William made a downward slash but the assassin deflected it with his dagger and prepared to stab William.

'He is stronger than I expected!' The assassin had concentrated all the strength of his body on that block! This was an ability from Sequence 9 of the Assassin pathway. 'But...'

A smile appeared on William's face. The assassin wanted to back away and made his body lighter than his so he could move in the opposite direction. Unfortunately for him, it was already too late.

Blood spurted from his entire torso.

William had used a technique from his previous world. Tsubame Gaeshi is a technique that had appeared in countless anime and video games.

In real life, the technique consisted of a simple downward slash called a kesagiri, immediately followed by a gyaku kesagiri, which was the same but in reverse.

It was effective because people tend to have a blind spot below. All attacks coming from below would be felt later than necessary unless you were an experienced swordsman.

The first attack was to distract, the second to win. Normally it would be done with a Japanese sword but with William's skill, it was possible to do it with a knight's sword.

The assassin desperately tried to cover his chest, it was surprising how he hadn't died from that wound but those were the advantages of being a Beyonder. William was also having problems with his left arm, having lost a lot of blood due to forcing it.

He stepped forward quickly and slammed the hilt of his sword into the assassin's head. He lost consciousness instantly.

'I must take him to Blackthorn Security Company before he dies.' William dropped to one knee on the ground, feeling a bit dizzy.

But he had no idea how he would accomplish that by carrying a man dripping with blood without anyone seeing him. He decided that at that point it no longer mattered.

He put his sword back in the guitar case and put it in front of him.

He carried the man on his back with great effort. Of course, he didn't forget to take the dagger from him.

He walked through several alleys, seeing some homeless people. At first, he was worried but, soon, he realized that they didn't care.

He was a little dizzy from losing blood but for some reason, he felt like he could make it all the way back without passing out.

Sure enough, he arrived at Blackthorn Security Company no less than an hour later.

His hands were full, and he couldn't open the door, so he knocked on it. Rozanne appeared three seconds later, and her eyes widened in horror at the look of William and the person he was carrying.

"He is an enemy Beyonder...he...attacked me...call the Captain." His voice sounded much more tired than he thought it would be.

At that moment, the adrenaline ran out, and he felt the pain in his arm. Between that and the blood loss, his eyes went blank, and he passed out.