Episode 20. The Problematic Assassin (1)
“Damn it…! I missed it again.”
A soft word floated through the dense forest.
Three people wearing gray robes and masks scanned the floor with sharp eyes. They were looking for some kind of trace.
“How many times has this happened?”
“You wicked bitch.”
The three of them exchanged glances, looking at each other in turn. After reading each other’s intentions, they dispersed again without any particular signal and began to search for traces of their target.
About 10 minutes had passed.
The three people gathered together again.
“What new traces have emerged?”
The other two shook their heads at the leader’s question.
“Is it really like it’s evaporated? But it was still visible just a little while ago.”
“Maybe it transformed again.”
“Ha, I’m sick of it. You’re just like those dog-like shape-shifters.”
Compared to Charcot, who gave disappointing answers, Virko seemed to have something to say.
“What’s wrong, Virko? Did you find any traces?”
“No. Instead, I did find some people. I felt them on the path through the forest… I think there must be a campsite nearby.”
“Camping? At this hour?”
It’s almost 4 in the morning now.
Grokal Lang asked again.
“What distance?”
“I think it will take about 20 minutes.”
Grokal nodded and looked at Virko Lang and Charco Lang.
“Okay, let’s start by approaching the campsite.”
Virko, who had discovered the human figure, took the lead, and the two men followed behind.
The three people started running again. They left no trace on the landscape, as if they were part of the forest.
Tadah. Shhh. Tadah.
The branches of the trees swayed gently as they passed.
The Assassins, a group of assassins who chase assassins.
Within the Assassin’s Creed, they are called ‘Gray Ghost Rats’ because of their bodies covered in gray robes and their faces hidden behind masks that have never been revealed to the outside world.
If an assassin on a mission defects, the Roinen family, having assessed the situation, will dispatch an assassination squad.
Since the mission was to capture or eliminate problematic assassins, the individual abilities of the assassination squad had to be unrivaled even within the assassination squad.
But their real strength lay elsewhere.
That’s right, a trio. In a world where assassination usually involves moving alone, the assassination squad was an exception, with three people moving together.
Having trained together systematically since childhood, they were able to read each other’s intentions just by looking at each other.
“… … !”
Virko, who was ahead, suddenly stops.
“What’s going on?”
Charcot’s question.
On the other hand, Grokal understood the situation without even hearing an answer.
“I feel a sense of darkness. Three… no, four?”
Darkness was the unique power of the Assassins and their vassals who swore loyalty to them. It was something unique that could not be imitated or copied.
This meant that there was a high probability that the target was nearby.
“There are four of them together. How could something like that happen at this time?”
“I guess there was a party.”
Charcot spoke in a boastful tone, and Virko chimed in.
“Watch your tongue, Charcot. There might be some lords there.”
At those words, Grokal shook his head.
“No. There is no dark side that can be called the owner’s.”
“Grocal, I think what I felt was the authors.”
“Should I stop by?”
“hmm.”
Grokal scratched his forehead.
The more the existence of the assassination squad was not revealed to other assassins, the better. Furthermore, it was burdensome not to be able to figure out the identity of the assassins on the other side.
But for them, chasing the target was the priority. They couldn’t overlook even a small thing when they had lost track of the traces.
“It’s not normal for there to be four assassins gathered together, right? And there’s no assassination mansion nearby.”
“Then let’s check it out?”
Grokal nodded.
“Wait a minute, Grokal. Could it be that they are the children of the assassin family that is hanging out with Roynenser?”
Even though Virko, who was reluctant, said this, Grokal’s decision was not overturned.
“Well, maybe that’s possible. I do feel a sense of youthful darkness. But that doesn’t matter, right?”
It was true. The will of the assassination squad was the will of Siren, the head of all assassination families. At this moment, nothing was more important than chasing the target.
Shaak.
As Grokal leaped from the branches, he ran ahead, while Charcot and Virco followed suit.
* * *
The owner of the young dark room was Rubin.
Rubin disguised himself as a two-star level by controlling the dark knot. There were also some aspects of him being intentionally crude so that the opponent would detect him. He waited patiently for the assassination squad to approach.
Their approach was soon detected, and the escorts who noticed it belatedly reported it.
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“Master Rubin, it seems that the assassination squad has discovered us and is approaching us.”
There was no need for further disguise.
Now that we were face to face with the assassination squad, it was best to cooperate with them as much as possible and send them away quickly.
Even though he was of the Roinen bloodline, he was not on close terms with the assassination squad. That was why the two escort vassals belonging to the main family were nervous.
But Rubin, in the eyes of the two escorts, looked calm. Maybe it was because he was a child of the main family. But somehow, that calmness was trustworthy.
Rubin placed his hand on the pole of the tent he was camping in and nodded silently.
‘We’ll meet soon.’
Rubin thought as he sat down on the chair he had pulled out of the carriage.
I had encountered the Slaughter Squad a few times before my return. As a member of the Roinen bloodline, I had only encountered them by chance, but fortunately, I had never done anything or been involved in anything that would make me a target.
At that moment, I remembered the cold gaze I had seen through the gray mask.
‘It was probably the Tielemans assassination squad and the Lang assassination squad.’
Rubin recalled his past life’s memory of having met with the leader of the Lang assassination squad. Nine years had passed since his return, so his memories were quite hazy.
‘I remember you telling me an old story back then. I think it was around this time. What was it?’
That’s what I think.
“master.”
The escorts spoke in lowered voices.
Knock knock. Knock knock.
The sound of the small bonfire lit in the center of the tent was unusually loud.
At some point, the figures of three people were visible outside the tent. The light from the lantern revealed three shadows.
A round, plump figure like a jar.
A single figure as thin as a stick.
And one figure with a balanced appearance between the two.
The three assassins stopped moving and looked around the tent.
Flutter.
Finally, the three people who had finished observing came inside, lifting the tent.
Gray cloak, mask revealing only two pupils. It lived up to its nickname of ‘Gray Ghost Rat’. Among them, the one with the jar-shaped body muttered.
“It smells familiar.”
Once they confirmed that they were not the target, their guard dropped slightly. The man who appeared to be the assassination leader began introducing his team members.
“That big guy is Virko, this skinny guy is Charko, and my name is Grokal.”
It was a brief introduction.
Whether they introduced themselves or not, Charcot, who was called Slim, walked around the edge of the tent and checked inside. The big Virko was also sitting on the ground with his eyes closed.
Grokal quietly watched his colleagues’ examination. In the end, the two shook their heads and gathered around Grokal, seemingly not getting satisfactory results.
Until then, Rubin’s escorts could only stand there in a tense state, unable to open their mouths.
“It smells familiar. That means… … .”
Grokal immediately understood what Birko meant.
“So they are the assassins of the main family.”
Both Charcot and Virko nodded in agreement. Grokal looked at Rubin and took a step forward.
The vassals of the main family. And a little boy who looked to be about nine years old. Then, the situation was fully understood.
“Meet the Roynen bloodline, Master Rubin.”
Grokal bowed first to show respect. The other two followed suit. They recognized Rubin only by his smell.
“This is my first time meeting you, my lord.”
“It’s my first time seeing a slaughterhouse.”
Rubin also answered calmly. It was a gentle meeting that slightly eased the tension of the escorts.
Charco and Virko sat down on the ground behind Grokal Lang, and Rubin’s escort also took up positions behind Rubin.
There was no noisy welcome, just quiet conversations that suited the quiet night in the forest.
“We are the Lang assassination squad.”
As expected, it was Lang.
I had met and talked with Lang Cheoksaljo before returning, but then and now, I still didn’t know the face behind the mask.
Grokal Lang, Charco Lang, and Virko Lang were not brothers, but they abandoned their previous surnames when they formed the Slaughter Squad.
The slaughter team was a group of at least three people. Only the head of the household, Siren, knew exactly how many such groups there were.
“Can you tell me who you’re chasing? I’d like to help if I can.”
Grokal’s eyes wavered for a moment at Rubin’s question. It was closer to curiosity than confusion.
Grokal knew nothing about Rubin, as he was a slayer who was under the command of the Roinen family but did not live within the family.
But the darkness that I felt from the boy now clearly explained who Rubin was.
‘Did you develop a dark side before becoming a monk?’
If it’s just after the dark smoke blooms, it’s normal to have a dark smoke of the first level. However, Rubin already felt a dark smoke of the second level.
It was a level that was far above average for an age that had just finished the ‘first selection’.
‘That’s interesting.’
Grokal was very intrigued by the fact that Rubin had a similar appearance to Siren.
Whether he knew it or not, Rubin just repeated the question with a look of regret.
“Even if you are of the Roinen bloodline, you still can’t know the mission of the assassination squad, right?”
Since becoming the leader of the slaughter group, Grokal felt like having a conversation with this boy named Rubin for the first time.
So, for the first time in a long time, I decided to break my own rule.
“Hmm, where should I start?”
