The man stepped out from the black smoke with the casual ease of someone stepping off a curb. Dust puffed around his boots.
He didn't even try to hide his face, the usual marble black mask that all members of the Cult wore.
Of course he didn't.
A smug, oily smirk stretched across his lips as if he owned the entire district.
Ryn had seen sketches of that face plastered across every wanted board in the capital—the most infamous and wanted serial killer in the kingdom, Rodrick Haze. Convicted for fifteen cases of torture and murder.
One day he had suddenly disappeared from his prison cell. There were no break-ins, no alarms had been tripped, he suddenly just… vanished.
Seems like the Cult got to him first, and it looks like he's loving his new job.
Ryn's hand tightened around his blade.
"You know," Scorpio drawled, brushing nonexistent dust off his sleeve, "I figured you'd be shaking. Maybe crying. Most people do when they see me."
He sniffed the air lightly. "But you look… calm. That's cute."
Ryn said nothing.
"I didn't expect you to escape from my underling," he continued. "Honestly? Gotta give you props."
He made a lazy circle with his finger, "You're making the hunt much better."
Ryn steadied his breathing. The venom in his words wasn't even what scared him; it was how relaxed Scorpio was. How casually he strolled closer, hands in his pockets, as if strolling through a market.
He didn't radiate obvious killing intent. If Ryn met this man at a market, he wouldn't even have known he was an assassin.
"Don't bother running," Scorpio said. "The girl too. I know she's around. And I'm feeling generous tonight, so I'll keep her alive for—"
"You talk too much."
Ryn's voice cut through the air like a blade.
Scorpio blinked.
Then he laughed.
A loud, cruel, uncontrolled laugh that echoed through the abandoned street.
He raised a finger toward Ryn, curling it again as a taunt.
"Fine. Impress me."
Ryn moved first. Activating Aquila early.
[Aquila Activated: Status increased by 100% for the next 5 minutes]
A streak of wind exploded beneath his boots. The world blurred. One heartbeat he stood ten paces away, the next, he was right in front of Scorpio, blade already cutting for the throat.
Scorpio's eyes twitched—not in surprise, but mild interest.
His hand rose lazily.
Clang.
With a gentle tap of his palm, he had deflected all of Ryn's momentum away. However, Ryn twisted, carrying the lost momentum to a second slash, aiming at his knees.
Scorpio jumped backwards, like an acrobat with years of experience.
"Cute angle," he murmured.
Ryn gritted his teeth. Using Aquila's Burst, he saw the path of light. However, it was different this time. There were no clear paths, it was muddled, like a sensory overload.
This guy's got no weakness??
He decided to choose the clearest path, pivoting and blurred to Scorpios blind spot, slashing upward.
[MP: 90/110]
A lethal line, it hit, but it felt like dragging his blade across sand. And he'd been right, because from Scorpio's body, instead of blood, sand started falling from the gash.
He turned around and delivered a kick, which Ryn barely managed to block but the force sent him flying into the nearby wall.
Ryn coughed out blood, the impact made his body shiver. He was definitely sure some ribs were broken, but the pure adrenaline forced him to move.
[HP: 120/150]
Scorpio approached, clapping.
"Wowww, I didn't expect you to land a hit. Congratulations Ryn Arctis!"
Ryn didn't reply, already prepared for his next attack. He needed to get Scorpio to land on the X marked on the ground somehow.
He does have a tendency to leap backwards when I attack head-on…
Ryn decided to commit on the thought. Dashing forward with Aquila's Burst, right in front of the man's chest.
Just as he thought, Scorpio had leapt backward again. However, he was a bit further away from the X.
Luckily, it wasn't too hard. Scorpio yawned, palm covering his mouth.
"You really thought you could make up the gap through effort alone?" Scorpio asked. "Please. I'm offended on behalf of real talent."
Ryn didn't rise to the bait.
He lunged for Scorpio's back, hoping the man to leapt backwards into the marked spot.
However, this time he didn't dodge.
He simply grabbed Ryn's wrist mid-swing. Ryn's bones creaked under the grip.
Then Scorpio leaned in, smirking, voice dropping to a whisper:
"Trick number one of fighting something above your tier… don't repeat your angles."
He threw Ryn overhead like a ragdoll. Landing with a THUD, Ryn coughed up some more blood.
Time seemed to slow as Ryn looked up for a split second. Just to see a massive scorpion's tail had emerged from the man's back.
And worse of all, it was coming toward him.
THWIP—
The stinger blurred, a black arc of death cutting through the air.
CRACK.
It punched straight through Ryn's abdomen.
A wet, sickening sound filled his ears—like meat tearing. Ryn's vision went white. Then black. Then red.
Ryn's breath hitched as the barbed chitin tore out of his abdomen, leaving fire in its wake. He hit the ground hard, rolling once before coming to a stop on his side.
He gasped—Then screamed silently as something colder than ice began crawling through his veins.
[HP: 78 → 70 → 62…]
It was a slow, burning paralysis, spreading from the wound outward like parasite under his skin.
Ryn clenched his jaw so tightly it cracked.
Not yet. Not yet—!
Scorpio approached with a spring in his step, clearly enjoying himself.
"Well, well…" he said, crouching so he could look Ryn directly in the eyes.
"Look at that. The venom's already eating you from the inside. Nasty stuff, isn't it?
Ryn could barely breathe.
His limbs were heavy stone. His heartbeat thrashed in his ears.
Scorpio tilted his head.
"You can feel it, right? The numbness? The heat in your lungs?" His grin widened.
"That's your nerves shutting down one by one. Very special toxin, by the way. I only use it on special kills."
As he spoke, the black lines beneath Ryn's skin crept further up his torso, pulsing like corrupted veins.
Scorpio leaned closer, savoring the moment.
"Don't worry," he whispered. "You won't die immediately. You'll fade slowly. Pathetically. You'll get to feel every—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Because he'd stepped forward again, adjusting his stance casually, putting his weight down—
directly onto the X.
Ryn's eyes flickered.
The trap…
Worked.
Scorpio continued talking, completely oblivious:
"Honestly, I expected more fight out of you. But I suppose some dogs only bark once."
Ryn forced air into his throat, every muscle burned but he didn't care. Because only one thing had to be done now.
His voice came out like a command:
"AMELIA!"
The response was instant.
TWEEE—!!
A single, razor-sharp flute note split the night like lightning.
The air vibrated. Scorpio's pupils shrank to pinpoints as invisible pressure slammed into his skull.
"What—?" he hissed, clutching his ears. "What is—?!"
Ryn activated his skill.
[Poison Resistance Activated: Poison will be nullified.]
A cold rush shot through Ryn's veins, his body burned to fight back the venom. His senses returned one by one.
But it was enough.
Enough to kill.
Ryn's fingers curled around his hilt.
He forced his legs beneath him—even Aquilia knew what to do. A path of light shone right through the man's chest.
Ryn took it.
[Skill: Aquila — Burst Step]
The world snapped forward in a straight line.
Ryn blurred, ripping across the ground toward Scorpio's staggered silhouette.
"HOW—!" Scorpio roared, trying to stabilize himself, but the flute's resonance made his footing slide like he was standing on shifting sand.
Ryn didn't give him a second.
He drove the sword in—
SCHK—!!
Straight through the heart.
Scorpio's eyes widened, disbelieving. He looked down, watching the steel buried in his chest as if he'd never imagined such a thing was possible.
"You…" Scorpio choked, blood spilling. "You…!"
He fell backwards, collapsing with a heavy crash that sent dust spiraling into the air.
For a moment, everything was still.
Ryn knelt, trembling, the sword still gripped in numb fingers, his breath came in jagged, uneven bursts.
Aquila slowed—he didn't know how much MP he had left but it can't have been much.
The poison was still eating the edges of his nerves, but the rush of resistance kept him conscious. It nullified the poison slowly.
Amelia sprinted down from her perch, dropping beside him, breath uneven with shock and fear.
"Ryn—you did it—you actually—!"
Her hands reached for him.
Then suddenly, a small shift in the stone created a sound. They both looked over to see the corpse twitch.
Crack.
The corpse's bone crunched, a fissure split across Scorpio's chest wound.
"What… is that?" Amelia whispered, eyes widening as she dragged Ryn a step backwards.
He gritted his teeth.
"Move," he rasped. "We need to move, now."
But it was already too late.
Scorpio's corpse arched sharply, head snapping back in an impossible angle.
Another crack rang out, followed by a wet, tearing sound. A long, segmented shape bulged beneath the skin of his back, searching for a way out until…
Something black and glossy tore through Scorpio's spine, gleaming under the moonlight.
A scorpion's tail. Twice the size of the one from before.
Scorpio's head rolled to the side. Eyes snapping open, glowing a dull, venomous amber.
His lips curled into a smile that was no longer human.
"Round two," he whispered.