The Angel's Decision
Peter Kater was in a terrible mood at the moment.
Such horrible luck.
That well-built man from the Connoisseur Guild had indeed sent him in, and he knew beforehand that this mission was going to be like drawing a lottery.
The best result for him was for Roel Ascart to be all alone. He could swiftly get the job done and retreat as quickly as possible. It would have also been fine if Roel was with a random guard. Under such circumstances, as long as the guard wasn't too powerful, he should still be able to take care of the situation quickly.
As for the worst possible scenario, it was for Roel Ascart and Nora Xeclyde to be together with one another. The members of the Xeclyde House, possessors of the Angel Bloodline, were not people who could be dealt with easily.
'Don't play schemes with the Xeclyde House', this was a common consensus amongst all of the evil cults in Sia.
Several centuries ago, there was a powerful cult that had reached the peak of its influence back then that attempted to challenge that consensus. They assassinated a member of the Xeclyde House. The result of their actions was an unyielding pursuit with utterly no regard for the cost that lasted for a whole forty years.
Over the forty years, the cult traveled across all of the human countries and even tried hiding in the depths of a remote mountain range. However, no matter where they went, they were never able to hide from the eyes of the church. It felt like a sword was forever floating above their heads, threatening to sever their necks as soon as they tried to rest.
Just like that, a group that once boasted over 10,000 transcendents was utterly massacred to the final cultist over the course of forty years. Through its actions, the church gave a stern warning to all cults and rival powers,
If you want a fight, come at us straight-on. If we lose, we'll admit our defeat. However, if you wish to play the assassination game with us and threaten our lineage, then we'll use the full power of the Genesis Goddess Church to decimate you. You can run wherever you want, but you'll never be free.
It was fortunate that Peter's goal wasn't Nora, so his fate wouldn't be as tragic as that ancient cult. Based on the directives he had received from his superiors, he just had to temporarily keep Nora under control, so that he could kill Roel Ascart before making his getaway.
But, of course, things weren't so easy in practice.
First and foremost, it would be hard to keep Nora under control without injuring her. If he really did injure her, the Xeclydes might very well have some sort of peculiar means up their sleeves to track him down. Even if he was able to make a getaway now, what about in the future then? Was he going to spend his life wandering all around the world as a wanted fugitive once Nora came to power?
Peter was not a fool. He had a clear idea of the pros and cons of what he was doing. He was willing to carry out the mission entrusted to him by his superiors, but that was under the pretext that the risks and rewards were reasonable.
Having thought this far, he looked at the two children before him. They were still shocked from the abrupt situation, and a scheme began to surface in Peter's mind. He would make a bid for his survival.
"A good day to the two friends that we have here. Pardon me for my abrupt visit. I am a disciple of the Mythril Priory. I have come under the orders of my superior to take one of your lives.
"You're currently in the space I have created with my bloodline ability, a studio that's isolated from the rest of the world. You can give it a try, but I can assure you that any magic tools you have are rendered powerless here. There's only one way to escape from this space, and it's for one of you to die.
"I don't care which of you the person is, but blood must be shed. Thus, I would like to offer a proposal—why don't the two of you fight it out to decide on the survivor?"
Peter Kater spoke with a brilliant smile on his face, reminiscent of a devil enticing humans to sin. He reshaped reality for the two children through the lies he weaved into his words.
"I can assure you that I'll only kill the person who loses the duel. I won't touch a single hair on the head of the winner."
He calmly explained to the two children the rules of this place, and he reasoned that he hadn't wanted to come here either. He was forced to make a move by his superiors of the Mythril Priory, and it was out of his benevolence that one of them would be able to get out of here alive.
He expressed that he was very conflicted about having to choose between two precious lives. In order to be fair, he decided to entrust the decision to them, which was also the reason why he proposed this competition.
After saying his piece, Peter Kater stood calmly to the side as he watched the two children with a smug smile, as if he had just done something noble. The distorted portraits hung within the room revealed sinister smiles as well, and a jarring cackling that seemed to have come from the demons of hell reverberated loudly in the room.
Faced with such a situation, the faces of the two children turned pale.
Yes, this is more like it.
Peter Kater observed the scared-stiff young duo before him as he ridiculed them in his mind.
He believed that greed is an inherent nature of humans. A good upbringing and education could erase some traces of it, but similarly, it was possible to construct situations that exacerbate it too.
The tool that Peter used was fear. Humans tended to lose their rational judgment in the face of fear, making them more self-centered and egotistical. In this competition-like scenario that he had created, he had made himself out to be the one in authority who was leveraging a deal between the two of them. Everyone else here was nothing more than prey.
In the space he had constructed, one's standing and position no longer meant anything at all. Even humble coachmen would slaughter the noblemen they served for a chance at survival, let alone an esteemed princess of the Xeclydes.
With Nora Xeclyde's superior strength, she would be able to kill Roel in his stead.
While Peter was thinking such thoughts in his mind, the two children had finally fully digested the information that he had thrown at them.
Roel clasped the pendant he had received from Carter in his hands and attempted to infuse mana into it, but there was no reaction. He withstood his headache and turned to look at Nora, only to see that the latter was checking her magic tools too.
To their astonishment, Peter's words were true. Roel could hardly believe the situation he was in. He couldn't understand how this fellow managed to circumvent all of their guards to get to them, and he had no idea what this room they were in was either.
He was also oblivious that he was faced with the combined prowess of two powerful organizations, a line-up that was usually used to assassinate powerful nobles and even kings. He also had no idea why he was eyed by the Mythril Priory organization either.
However, there was one thing that he did know despite his ignorance.
You're only going to kill the loser? Hah, a heap of bullshit!
Looking at the deep crimson light that was flashing above Peter's head, Roel knew that the man standing before him was definitely not a trustworthy individual. He had cast the Calamity of Bloodshed, a spell he had bought from the Gold Coin Shop that helped him discern who carried killing intent toward him.
One thing that he was surprised to discover about the spell was that there were actually different classifications based on the intensity of the colors.
A light red color meant 'An enemy has revealed his killing intent, but you aren't his primary target'. A normal red color meant 'An enemy has directed his killing intent right at you'. A dark red color meant 'An enemy carries great killing intent toward you, and you're his primary target'.
The current situation was the third one, which meant that the enemy was specifically out to kill him!
This made Roel deeply worried, but at the same time, a sliver of doubt surfaced in his mind.
Doesn't this mean that Nora is uninvolved in this matter? If so, why did the enemy still come up with such a proposal?
Roel pondered for a moment, but in the end, he could only attribute it to the other party being unwilling to make a move by himself for some sort of reason. Nevertheless, the proposal he had made was indeed rather vile.
'Do not ever put a person's humanity to the test', this was a saying that Roel had often heard in his previous life. Humans could be noble, but they were fallible too. Their natures were not constant. Rather, they changed themselves to fit the situation.
Roel took a look at the eerie room filled with all sorts of distorted, dancing portraits. Those faces that had seven empty holes where their eyes, nostrils, ears, and mouth should be really challenged Roel's tolerance. He felt revulsion.
Nora was indeed a good person, but she was still young. Would she really be able to think rationally under this terrifying situation, when her life was threatened by another?
Roel didn't know the answer to this question. He raised his gaze to look at her, only to be faced with her sapphire eyes. Silence lingered between the two of them as Roel tried to make out her thoughts, but he couldn't discern anything from her impassive face.
But, all of a sudden, Nora stood up and pounced on him.
"Hey! You…"
The abrupt twist in the situation made Roel exclaim in horror, but before he could finish his sentence, Nora was already right before him. He reflexively reached for Ascendwing, but to his surprise, the princess did something different than what he had expected.
She reached out to grab his hands before pulling him behind her. Her impassive eyes finally revealed a hint of emotion. She gave the assassin a piercing look, her head raised in a dignified manner.
"You want us to fight it out? Dream on."