Chapter LXXIV

  Their targets are in a clearing not far away. While Kina is hidden among the vegetation, from where the sound of their voices reaches her.

  "Ketan, I don't understand why we retreated. It was just a little group of nobodies. I could’ve taken that beggar down on my own," says someone Kina doesn't recognize.

  "Where’s your head at? You think it’s a good idea to start a fight at the most well-known inn in the region? Do you want to be hunted down?" This voice she recognizes belongs to one of the hunters who was sitting at the table with the priests, specifically the biggest of them.

  "Cator is right in what he says, but that wasn't the only reason. Those two were strange!" says the voice she thinks belongs to Ketan, whom she's almost certain is the leader of this merry band.

  "You were worried about two weirdos? That doesn't sound like you!" a new voice comments with amusement, even beginning to ugh.

  "Watch your words. That beggar is too strange not to be taken seriously. And that girl is definitely dangerous," Ketan replies coldly—confirming her suspicion that he'd recognized her as a potential threat.

  Something that, in a way, brought a smile to her lips—especially considering how the necromancer had always reacted as if she were practically irrelevant. Of course, from another perspective, having people aware of how dangerous she is is a failure in her competence. As her masters always taught her, people should only realize the danger she poses when they already have a knife in their chest.

  "Girl? What girl? The one rejected by a beggar? You think that little brat is really dangerous?" asks a new voice, also amused. To Kina's great frustration—since they’re talking about her disastrous approach to Nero.

  "The little brat, as you call her, was always observing us. And the way she was acting showed she was ready for a fight," Ketan begins expining in a way that makes her feel some respect for the man.

  "If you don't take that seriously, you’ll eventually be caught off guard in a very bad way," he continues, looking around at his seven companions. As if trying to make them learn a life lesson the easy way—because he knows they wouldn’t survive learning it the hard way. Not that it matters now!

  And yes, seven—because this chatty group still hasn’t realized that their lookout’s body is lying on the ground right next to Kina.

  "Besides, I don't want a fight with that Nero guy. If he really knows the location of that temple..." Ketan says as he straightens up, smiling from ear to ear. "...well, I can’t even imagine how much that information would be worth. Especially if this temple is anything like the Temple of Divine Blessings."

  He leaves the conclusion hanging. But judging by the shared joy, their intentions are clear, which in turn validates Kina’s decision to deal with this problem. They would never have let the situation end here—especially when the fortune and glory of discovering the temple call to them.

  That's when she hears the sound of an owl coming from behind the 'hunters' and slightly to their left. The sound brings a smile to her lips as she thinks the moment is near.

  "And to think we were only counting on what we could squeeze out of those two priests," says Cator with a ugh, quickly joined by the others.

  Kina, for her part, can only shake her head at the arrogance of these fools. So pleased with themselves while celebrating their imminent destruction.

  That's when another owl hoot is heard from behind the cheerful group, this time from the right. With that, she straightens up and murmurs, "Finally! They took their time."

  As she begins to move, emerging from her hiding pce, she can’t help but reflect on how ridiculous this group’s "hunter" disguise is. After all, what kind of hunter wouldn’t realize that owls wouldn’t be hooting now?

  When she appears in the clearing, she immediately starts running toward the group—careful to already have her throwing knives in hand before she starts.

  The fools take a while to even notice her. But when they do, they all turn to face her—just as expected.

  Seeing her charging at them, they hesitate. Almost certainly unsure of how to react.

  That's when she throws her knives. Her targets are, of course, the two leaders, who also seem to be the best fighters in the group—the inconspicuous Ketan and the rge Cator.

  With the knives thrown, she doesn’t even worry about the result. She’s sure they hit their targets—whatever damage they caused doesn’t matter now. She’s already within reach of the first group member, and as such, she must act.

  In an instant, her hand is on the hilt of her Ra’tel. Having seen her attack, her target still has the awareness to try and draw a knife. But she is prepared—and faster. In a single swift movement, her Ra’tel goes for the man’s neck. And blood follows.

  She went for the neck because she couldn’t afford the risk of her Ra’tel getting stuck right now.

  As the body starts to fall, screams erupt. The clearest and most sensible: “Attack! We’re under attack!”

  The remaining group members draw their weapons and start moving toward her. She, in turn, begins to retreat, drawing them in.

  If she were alone, her strategy would be to let them chase her—while she started separating them to deal with them one by one. A time-consuming and exhausting task.

  Fortunately, she’s not alone. And with that, her assistants fall upon the group’s rear. One manages the first silent kill, just as it should be. But the other lets his target alert the rest.

  Causing the rest of the group to turn to their rear. Which, in turn, allows Kina to move in on the nearest one.

  Amid all the confusion and death, her new target allows her to reach him while his back is turned. A generosity she can’t ignore. So she plunges her Ra’tel into his back. With her training, Kina easily avoids the target’s ribs and strikes the heart.

  A quick and reasonably painless death.

  Looking around, she sees her assistants finishing off the remaining two group members. This allows Kina to focus on her two initial targets—the leaders.

  Ketan lies motionless on the ground. As she walks over, she sees that her throw went wrong. She had aimed at the chest, hoping to hit the heart. But the knife struck the neck. He did die—but not the way she intended.

  Finally, there’s Cator, dragging himself along the ground. From the blood coming from his mouth and where the knife nded, she must have hit a lung at the very least.

  Seeing her approach, he turns to her with effort and asks, “Why!?”

  In a way, it’s funny that a man who clearly lived a life of violence can even ask such a thing. Surely many asked him the same.

  Not that any of it matters now. And how would she even answer? This is all their own fault! Or maybe, as they were already dead men, their fate was sealed the moment the mage entered that inn.

  Maybe, in their greed, they stood in the path of forces far greater than themselves.

  She, on her part, is only doing this to take the initiative. If they had attacked Nero and his group, while they were traveling to the temple. They would be destroyed anyway, but she may have had to reveal herself to the necromancer jeopardizing her mission. And that can't be allowed.

  No—none of it matters, Kina reflects, as she quickly ends the man’s pain. He may never get his answer, but at least his suffering is over.

  As she stands observing the result of her efforts and begins to consider what she should do next, a familiar voice echoes behind her:

  "A bit excessive, wasn’t it!?"