Siderius flexed his left arm, the silver bracer appeared. He opened his thumb, index and middle fingers at the same time, his soul evoked the process of alchemy.
A semi-transparent white barrier appeared around him.
The assassin’s blade came into contact with the barrier and immediately, the white barrier shattered like glass.
The barrier was not strong enough to repulse the strike but it stopped the assassin.
Most of the force of the strike was lost and the blade slowed down, allowing Siderius to grab the wrist of the assassin.
Siderius pulled the arm of the assassin toward him and turned his back. His hip bumped the assassin’s legs and he dropped down on his knees.
He was too weak to throw the assassin but he had skill to make up for his lack of strength.
Using gravity and the force of motion, Siderius threw the assassin over his shoulder, letting him slam on the ground.
Siderius disarmed the assassin in the process and took the knife from his hand. He proceeded to thrust the knife downward, aiming at the assassin’s neck. He meant to kill the assassin in one go.
It was better to keep him alive to gather more intel. But in the spur of the moment, Siderius could only do his best to neutralize this threat.
This was no mere guard. This was a professional killer. And if Siderius hesitated for a second, death may come for him.
If he was stronger and had better weapons, maybe he would consider catching the assassin instead of killing him. But he wasn’t sure he could.
The assassin blocked the dagger with his palm. The blade pierced through his flesh. Blood splashed out on the dark clothes of the pair.
The assassin let out a low grunt. His gaze changed. He knew he was facing actual danger now.
The masked man kicked Siderius’ off him, making Siderius bounce back a few steps.
His kick was hard and powerful. This was a strike from a veteran warrior. Siderius had to roll a few times to dissipate the force and got back on his feet.
The roll made his scarf fall off, revealing his face and white hair.
The assassin’s eyes widened.
The assassin also got back on his feet. His gaze remained focused on Siderius. He pulled the dagger out of his hand and cut out a piece of fabric on his clothes to wrap around his palm.
The assassin wrapped his hand tightly, temporarily stopping the bleeding.
"Your hair turned white." The assassin said. "I thought you were still rotting in prison."
Siderius raised his sword, aiming it at the assassin.
"And who would you be? Who sent you? Lyara? Thane?"
The assassin’s eyebrow jerked a little when Siderius mentioned Thane.
"So it was Thane. As I suspected, he did have something to do with her death."
"Heh heh. I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Really? Guess I have to gut it out of you then." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novèlfire.net
The assassin clenched his injured fist. Blood soaked the fabric around his hand. His palm was shaking a bit.
Siderius’ baggy clothes made him look bigger than he actually was. His throw previously was sublime. He also had that white barrier that had blocked the strike.
The assassin didn’t know if he could win.
"It wasn’t personal. I only did what my client ordered."
"Enough talking. Let’s fight."
Siderius moved forward but the assassin immediately turned his back and ran away.
"You’re not going anywhere!"
Siderius drew a V in the air, using the sigil once more.
The assassin’s two legs wobbled but he remained running. He was able to withstand the dizziness.
"Impressive. Let’s see how long you can keep going," Siderius said.
He chased after the assassin. His speed was still slower but he managed to shorten the distance thanks to Vertigo.
However, using Vertigo had its drawbacks. Sigil was a combat Alchemical Seal and it used the hunter’s stamina to conduct the process.
The more Siderius used Vertigo, the more tired he was.
His stamina decreased led to his speed decreased. This made him unable to catch up with the assassin even with Vertigo.
"I need a range weapon," Siderius thought to himself.
The chase continued for a while until the both of them went into a commune outside of Mucktown.
There were people present.
The assassin grabbed a woman and pulled her close. His dagger hovered on her neck.
"Stop! Or I will kill this woman!"
The threat fell into dead ears as Siderius didn’t slow down. He took this chance to thrust his sword at the assassin’s face.
The assassin pulled the woman to the side, using her as a meat shield.
"Stop! Or you will never clear your name! If you kill her, you will be the murderer they claimed you were!"
Siderius didn’t even care enough to answer.
He did divert the strike but only because he knew the thrust would not cause any harm to the assassin. And if the sword got stuck, that would be the end of this fight.
He switched to a slash that would hurt both the assassin and the woman if he chose to use her as a shield again.
"You heartless bastard!"
The assassin shoved the woman forward, interrupting Siderius’ strike. He jumped onto one side and delivered a stab from above.
Siderius grabbed the woman and with her, they both spun to the side, dodging the assassin’s attack.
"Hah! You’re not that tough!" The assassin exclaimed.
With the spin, Siderius delivered a back spinning kick right at the assassin’s stomach.
The kick was not strong but it hurt him. The assassin’s organs spurred. He bent his back and held his belly.
"What’s going on?!" The other commoners at the commune finally caught up.
Siderius didn’t give them any attention. He placed the woman gently on the ground.
"Leave this place," he said. His voice was soft and echoed through the night, like the voice of a dream.
His white hair and angelic face only made him more ethereal in the woman’s eyes. She blushed heavily.
"You... You are the murderer..." The woman said.
"That was what they accused me of."
Siderius moved toward the assassin, his cold blade thirst for blood.
"No where to run now."
The assassin scrambled and stood up straight. His dagger gleamed in the moonlight.
He smirked. "It won’t be easy to kill me, boy. Even if I die, I will make sure you come with me to hell."
"We’ll see about that."