"…who?"

"Alicia. Richard."

Cecilia Stuart's tone was tense all of a sudden. She was staring at the young lady with an impa.s.sive expression, but I could almost see the cracks that were beginning to appear all over her calm façade.

Alicia realized it too, but she was frozen to the spot, her eyes riveted to the impossible figure.

"Good evening, everyone."

The young woman was dressed in a tight, black bodysuit that accentuated her feminine curves and matched her dark hair and ruby eyes. She was beautiful, the kind of girl who would no doubt catch the attention of any guys who were around to see her, but at the same time she was emanating a dark, malicious aura that would scare them off just as quickly.

She smiled as she bowed politely, placing a hand on her well-endowed chest, which was being emphasized by her black, leather bodysuit. However, despite her gorgeous figure and deadly beauty, she wasn't the one who caught my eye.

A giant lumbered behind her, a dark-skinned goliath that towered over three meters. Like the young woman, he had red eyes that flashed demonically against the shadows, and his muscular stature seemed to be something that was sculpted from an uncompromising mountain of black iron, and his skin chiseled from solid granite. Blood-red tattoos adorned his dark gray skin, twisting and melding into strange, disturbing patterns similar to magic runes. Leather armor hung over his waist, but he was otherwise free of c.u.mbersome clothing. In his right hand he held a ma.s.sive scythe that curved cruelly, its silver surface reflecting the faint moonlight and giving an impression of a sharp, earthbound crescent ready to reap the souls of its unfortunate victims.

The grim reaper. The giant was the grim reaper himself. That was the first thought that came to my numb mind as I struggled to process the terrifying scene before me. Not only did the giant strike an intimidating figure, he was emanating so much demonic energy that I was suffocated just by being in his presence.

"…ugh…"

This goliath…his killing intent was so raw, so overwhelming that I felt as if I was facing a force of nature itself. A calamity that had manifested in human form. Death incarnate. This giant was a berserk tsunami of sheer strength caged within a body of flesh and blood, a killing machine without a safety switch, bereft of any remorse, emotion or mercy.

A demonic knight who had been completely stripped of his humanity.

There was no way we could fight that thing. We had to run. Every instinct in me was telling me to escape.

"Cecilia," Alicia whispered, her voice taut. She was staring at the two figures in fear and disbelief. "They are…"

"They are a.s.sa.s.sins," Cecilia replied quietly. "Sent after the members of the Stuart family."

I gulped and subconsciously took a step back, faltering from the tremendous amount of demonic energy the goliath was emanating.

"Good evening," the girl in the bodysuit greeted me and Alicia as she stepped forward with a deceptively friendly smile. I instinctively shrank back. "This is the first time we've met, isn't it?"

"…I guess." Despite my fear, I shrugged. "Uh, who are you?"

"Ah…forgive my manners." The girl smiled brightly as she swept a few strands of her long, black hair from her face. Her right hand was clad in a black leather glove that was synonymous with the tight bodysuit that hugged her curves. I suspected her left hand was as well. "I'm Selina Wright. As Miss Cecilia accurately pointed out, I'm an a.s.sa.s.sin."

"Not a very professional one," I observed dryly. "Standing around and introducing yourself to your targets openly instead of…you know, killing us."

"Oh, you misunderstand me. The both of you are not my targets." Selina waved dismissively at me and Alicia. Then she pointed a gloved finger at Cecilia. "My only target is her. The both of you can leave. As long as you don't get in the way, I'm not going to hurt you."

Well, that figured. Wait, what was that? I heard some existences beyond the fourth wall expressing their surprise and screaming out their questions. Wasn't the a.s.sa.s.sin here to kill me? But why would she want to kill me? Selina didn't know who I was, and she had absolutely no reason to target me. In contrast, Cecilia was the first daughter of the highly influential and wealthy Stuart Clan. They had no shortage of political rivals and economic enemies.

Huh? What? Because I was the protagonist? Or because of some stupid reason like some arrogant young master or the G.o.ddess's fanboys were jealous of me getting close to the G.o.ddess and they wanted to kill me because "how dare this trash blah, blah, blah…"? Are you serious? Since when did that sort of bulls.h.i.+t happen in reality? Of course no one was going to target me for a.s.sa.s.sination. I was an insignificant, unknown person who honestly didn't stand out. n.o.body was insane enough to waste time, money and resources hiring a.s.sa.s.sins to kill me over some extremely petty grudge like "he doesn't know his place" or "he offended me (an arrogant young master)!" or "we must kill this trash for getting near our G.o.ddess!"

Seriously, since when did such bulls.h.i.+t happen in real life? This was not a xianxia story or a Chinese web novel about arrogant young masters and face-slapping. Such ridiculous, contrived and unbelievable scenarios just didn't occur in reality.

Alicia and I exchanged glances, and then we stayed where we were.

"Cecilia is our friend," Alicia declared, despite her voice shaking ever so slightly. "We can't allow you to hurt her."

"Yeah, I'll feel bad if we just leave her and run away by ourselves," I agreed.

Selina shrugged, but she didn't look all that bothered. "Fine by me. If you want to die with her, then so be it. It makes no difference to me." she then glanced at the iron-like giant standing behind her and giggled. "But Hades will be so happy."

The black giant said nothing. He didn't even move a single muscle, merely waiting for an order from his master. I had a feeling that he wasn't human. He couldn't possibly be human. Swallowing, I regarded the silent goliath with trepidation.

This guy…he's a spirit. On the same level as Angelica. That must mean that Selina was a summoner like Dad.

"Stand back, the both of you," Cecilia ordered as she drew her sword out. I didn't see her take out her divine device, but she must have it on her gown, for she activated it and it expanded into a glowing blade. Cecilia calmly adopted a defensive stance, raising her sword in front of her. Her expression was resolute, and she showed no fear in front of such a formidable opponent.

Impressive.

In response to her incredible fighting spirit, the goliath named Hades growled and advanced a single huge step forward. The demonic energy billowed from his body and almost solidified into something tangible. The killing intent pouring from his ma.s.sive body was so thick that I felt as if I was suffocating.

"I'm shocked," Alicia whispered quietly as she cast an optical spell on her eyes, her purple pupils s.h.i.+mmering as she a.n.a.lyzed Hades. "In terms of raw ability, that thing is above Cecilia."

"That can't be good." I gulped in dread as I attempted to calm my trembling hands. I had seen Cecilia's combat skills firsthand, even tasted near-defeat at her hands when she took down Vermillion Phoenix. And now we were facing an enemy that was above her in terms of physical ability? Didn't that mean we were basically screwed?

"This isn't an opponent we can overpower with brute force," Alicia remarked. She sounded calm, but I could hear the strain in her voice. "Richard, you should keep your distance. Back me up with long-range spells, and then summon whatever you can. Cecilia will hold him off for you to complete your summoning spells, but when necessary, offer long-range support."

Alicia probably remembered how I summoned Lyra as a bow and used Vega. However, I shook my head and protested.

"I'm a guy. I can't just leave a girl like Cecilia to fight that giant in melee combat by herself."

"Just do what Alicia tells you to!" Cecilia snapped, her voice harsh. "I'll be fine. I can handle the melee combat. You'll only be in the way."

Ouch. The truth hurt, but I knew she was right.

"You too, Alicia. You specialize in long-range combat anyway, so stay back. Don't get too close."

"I understand." By now Alicia had drawn her divine devices. I was surprised to see that this time she had chosen to wield a pair of hi-tech energy guns that shot magical projectiles made from condensed energy. She wasn't using her bow this time, huh?

"Is your discussion over?" Selina asked sweetly. "Then I'll begin, okay?"

Cecilia tensed, but she did not rise to the a.s.sa.s.sin's provocation. Not that Selina cared. She shook her head in amus.e.m.e.nt, and then swung her hand down with a smile of antic.i.p.ation.

"Do it, Hades."

Hades' gigantic muscles bulged as arcane blood-red energy rippled through his ma.s.sive body, the tattoos glowing brilliantly in the dark. Then he literally disappeared.

The next thing I knew, Hades had cleared the distance of almost a hundred meters in a single bound, and was swinging his ma.s.sive scythe down with a ferocious roar.

"Gemini!"

Twin swords, one black and one white, materialized in my hands as I prepared to defend myself. Apparently Hades was targeting me first – which, admittedly was a sound tactical decision. Of the three of us, I was probably the weakest. Eliminate me first, and he would effectively cut our fighting strength by a third.

"Richard!"

Alicia whirled around in panic, realizing Hades' intent, but she was too late. Even as she raised her dual guns and let loose a volley of bolts, they dispersed harmlessly against Hades' solid back. Fortunately, I was more than capable of defending myself, and I parried Hades' blow by crossing my twin swords…

…only to have Castor and Pollux shatter instantly. Blood spouted from my arms as I was sent hurtling several dozen meters back, the sheer force propelling my body into the ground and leaving a trail of broken rocks and earth.

"Gah…!"

This guy was strong…incredibly strong. I had never met anyone who could fling me across such great distances with just a normal swing. Even without casting any spells or using any special techniques, Hades' attack packed so much raw power that it felt as if I had been struck by a truck.

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And he still wasn't done yet.

Aware that I was still alive, Hades bent his knees and sprang forward to end my life, his scythe slas.h.i.+ng down to behead me…