PftA Book 5 - Interlude 2 - An Assassin's Last Mission

A/N: It's a bit of a longer chapter. I hope everyone likes it. Let me know what you think.

Even with the oaths she’d sworn, a part of Cin’Specter expected his former target to do something once she had him within her grasp. He certainly would have been tempted if he were in her position.

To protect himself, the Assassin had cast a very thin layer of Stasis around his body in the microsecond that it took the weaker Time Mage to target him with her spell.

Because he didn’t want to risk some kind of catastrophic failure within the girl’s inventory, he didn’t try to break through the Stasis spell that had settled on the outside of his own like a second shell.

His own spell only placed a thin layer of Time mana around his body, leaving him unaffected within. This allowed him to remain aware while still technically being under the effect of Stasis.

Cin knew he was playing a dangerous game, but he couldn’t help himself. At least it allowed him to retain control instead of placing him at the mercy of someone with a reason to hate him.

He knew that compensating the human wouldn’t be enough. That’s why he planned to leave her a little something within his inheritance – provided she wasn’t the one who killed him.

A moment later, Cin’s frozen body was transported into a storage space. He couldn’t sense how large the space was since his positioning was such that his vision was taken up fully by a large wardrobe directly in front of him.

Interestingly enough, the Assassin could sense that the storage space was also under a stasis effect. If he did break out of the Trinity Mage’s spell, the effect of the space itself would overwhelm him unless he managed to erect a domain first.

His affinity with Time magic was exceptional – likely higher than any other Time Mage who had come before him, including the Trinity Mage – so it was possible he’d manage. Possible, but not worth the effort or potential backlash.

Cin had only reached the strength he had because Arona had granted him access to the Sovereignty Sect’s hidden Time Mana Well. It was why he’d owed the former Matriarch a favor in the first place.

Now that the sect had been disbanded and all the elders who knew about the mana well had disappeared, Cin had pushed himself even closer to gaining a perfect affinity using the hidden resource.

Unfortunately, there was only so much that a mana well or any other external source could do to improve one’s affinities, and he was stuck a breath away from perfection. He would have probably continued to push for that last precious two points had it not been for the war.

Cin’s surroundings suddenly shifted. Though he could not see them, he knew that his team and two others were now outside the enemy’s headquarters.

As much as he disliked working with others, he knew that this mission was too large for a single assault team to accomplish. Thankfully, he wouldn’t have to interact directly with any of them for his part of the mission.

The Assassin carefully made his way forward after swapping his enchantment-powered stealth for a Time spell that worked by replacing his presence with an echo from the past when he wasn’t there.

It was almost the perfect form of stealth – one that very few Time Mages ever figured out unless they happened to join the Assassins’ Guild. It was one of their closest-held secrets, after all.

He would have already had it active if it wasn’t for the girl’s demand to place everyone in stasis. But he knew better than to mix active Time spells like that, especially knowing he’d be placed inside a dimensional space.

Layering the same Stasis spell was fine, but the way he twisted Time magic to allow him to remain unseen would likely cause far too much interference to keep both spells stable.

Cin made his way into the largest building, assuming that was where the enemy leader would be located. It would have been nice to have gotten more intel before starting the mission. He had no idea why the Council hadn’t done more toward that effect.

As far as he knew, only the academy where the Necromancer was located had gotten any additional reconnaissance.

Cin understood why that would be the Council’s focus. The threat that an active Necromancer could bring was simply too much to ignore, especially on a heavily populated planet.

While the other enemy leaders were significant threats, they were not quite as problematic as a Necromancer with a bunch of undead thralls. Such individuals rarely cared about things like Accords violations since their minions could earn them enough experience to make the system’s sanctions practically meaningless.

They were a blight that had to be stamped out at all costs.

Interestingly, the Necromancer’s lair did not get assigned an assault team since the stealth specialist was on site and would serve as the Assassin for that particular target. A contingent of military personnel would take care of the rest of the people on-site, ensuring none of the enemies slipped away.

However, since they couldn’t lock the site down spatially, there was always a chance that some enemy Space Mages or Arcane Mages might slip away, but that wasn’t something new.

[2A: Looks like everyone important is gathering for dinner. Map location is attached.]

The message from the second team’s leader came at the perfect time since Cin was just starting to get annoyed at not having found his target yet.

Nobody would be attacking during the meal since the rest of the teams weren’t in place yet, but they’d at least be able to lock onto their individual targets. Then, as soon as everyone else was at least somewhat ready, it would be on him to start the assault.

As the team leader for team one, his target was the Supreme Leader – the second most important target of the mission behind only the Necromancer.

If he succeeded, not only would he push himself through the last little bit of experience needed to ascend, but he’d leave the Alliance in a better position than it would have been without him.

Though Cin didn’t truly care all that much about things that didn’t directly affect him, he did have several progeny within the Alliance. Ensuring they weren’t slaughtered to fuel the ascension of monsters was the least he could do as a father and ancestor.

Well, that and provide a decent inheritance, which he’d planned for by attaching his recall beacon to the storage belt holding everything he owned. The Space Mage assigned to his team already knew what to do with it and was under oath to ensure his belongings were not inadvertently reappropriated.

He knew how tempting the belongings of a higher-tier mage were to those still climbing.

The Time Mage’s heart began pumping with excitement when the final diner entered the room, flanked by his entourage. The enemy’s Supreme Leader, General Valnar, was a true warrior beyond any other in the room.

Even he would likely fail if he were to face the Tier Ten naga in a fair fight.

But nothing said he had to fight fair. He was an Assassin, after all. Assassins were known to fight dirty.

Cin couldn’t risk using an identification spell on the enemy leader, but he could sense he was about the same strength as the Assassin.

In actual Strength, the naga probably had him beat. But Cin would bet that his mana pool and regeneration were much higher. His Agility was probably significantly better as well.

Just looking at him, Cin could tell the naga invested most of his points in Strength and Vitality. He could only hope he’d neglected Perception. Assassinating someone with a high Perception stat often proved difficult.

Cin and the rest of the gathered Alliance personnel watched undetected as their targets ate what would likely be many of their last meals. The enemies displayed their monstrous backgrounds, often eating raw hunks of meat without bothering with the strappings of polite society.

Utensils were largely ignored, as were napkins and – apparently – hygiene. Just watching the so-called elites eat would have made the Time Mage’s stomach turn if he was just a few tiers weaker.

They really were barely better than beasts.

The difference between the demis before him and the ones he’d interacted with within the Alliance was stark. It really showed how much better off the demis in the Alliance were over the ones who were still part of the Collective.

Why some Alliance demis would betray the Alliance in support of such barbarians was beyond him. Maybe it was their bestial heritage at play.

After what felt like hours of bloody feasting, his target was finally satiated enough to leave the table. Cin followed as the naga and his hangers-on made their way out of the dining hall and through the building.

He kept his distance and was careful not to focus too directly on his target. Even those without bestial instincts could often sense the focus of another. And with how far the naga had risen, Cin had no doubt the warrior’s senses for such things were well developed.

He sent a message requesting an update from each team leader as the door slid closed behind his target, and one of his followers took up a position right outside. All the teams had signaled they were in place a while back but were waiting for Cin to start everything off.

As the replies quickly came in, the Assassin slipped into his target’s quarters using a Phase technique that allowed him to access the room during a time in the past when the door was open. It took a lot of mana, but Cin had enough mana to spare.

Cin let his fellow team leaders know that he was about to attack. He then instructed his Interface Assistant to send another message once his attack had started.

If everything went well, he’d only need one attack. But just in case, it was better to have the IA deal with communication from here out.

He found the naga soaking in a deep pool. He’d known nagas were semi-aquatic, but for some reason, he’d expected to find a normal bedroom instead of a pool. The change in environment would make attacking tricky, even with his advantages.

The Assassin was almost tempted to wait until his target relocated.

“How long are you going to sculk around like a rat?” the naga asked.

The question startled Cin since he knew his stealth should have been more than sufficient to remain undetected.

He remained quiet. Some who knew they might be the target of an Assassin were known to make such comments in hopes of prompting said Assassin to act in haste. While Cin doubted that was the case this time, he had no plans to give up what little advantage he still had.

“I know you’re there. My elites sensed several rats hovering around the building. Watching us eat. Watching us train. You probably even think you have a chance at beating me,” his target said with a hissing chuckle.

Feeling a sense of danger, Cin stepped back through the door using the same Phase technique, releasing a sigh of relief when he made it out without difficulty. The hallway was empty aside from the honor guard standing by the General’s door.

No sound escaped from the Supreme Leader’s room. The wards were more than enough to keep whatever happened inside contained.

Would it be better to extend a domain and time-lock everything inside the room, or wait until the General goes somewhere I can attack more easily?

With how common anti-Time magic artifacts were among the invaders, Cin was concerned his domain would not deploy properly.

He had planned to rely on his affinity, Haste, and Time Magic Mastery since no amount of anti-Time magic artifacts would be able to counter the compounded effects of the three. The same could not be said for his domain since some enchantments could interfere with domains.

He would still win in the end. It would just take time to overwhelm the opposing enchantments. Depending on how strong they were, it could be nearly instantaneous, or it could take a few seconds. And seconds were critical in any kind of life-or-death engagement.

If the General realized what he was doing before his spell overlook any protections… It would still probably be safer than any other method of attack now that his target was on guard.

Ignoring the clueless drakin standing outside the door, Cin activated Haste and rapidly extended his domain into the General’s room. The domain snapped into place in less than half of a second, and Cin targeted it with Pause.

He dropped Haste to conserve his mana, which was good since something inside immediately started pushing back against the domain’s effect, draining his mana rapidly.

The Assassin grinned as he felt the resistance break, and everything within the room came under his control.

As an additional precaution, Cin extended his domain through the walls, floor, and ceiling, completely encapsulating the room and any enchantments that might be in place.

Because he controlled the domain, he was easily able to slip inside with Phase without regard to the enchantments that covered the door.

Halfway inside the pool was a frozen naga. It appeared the General had tried to exit when the domain activated, but he’d been caught before he could escape.

That was good. It would make things easier.

Cin removed his favorite sword from his storage belt. It had been his reward for finishing the same Tier Nine Assassin’s Challenge Rift that he’d trapped the Trinity Mage inside.

The sword was a growth item and had a blade edged with Arcane and Void mana that could cut through any element like butter. As a Tier Ten weapon, it had yet to encounter something it couldn’t cut.

The blade sliced through the air and into the naga’s thick neck. The damage instantly broke the Pause spell, though the domain itself remained in place.

To the Assassin’s immense surprise, the naga’s head did not fall from a bloody stump like he expected. Instead, the naga’s surprised countenance turned in his direction as blood spurted from the severed arteries.

Cin had learned long ago to target the front of the neck whenever possible – even if it made the strike more difficult. Even if stopped by an obscenely strong spine, the damage to the softer tissue would likely lead to a swift death as long as immediate aid was not rendered.

Of course, there were some with ridiculously high regeneration rates or personal healing spells that could heal such damage, but those took at least a bit of time.

Time that the target couldn’t focus fully on defending themselves.

Cin jumped away from the halberd that appeared in the naga’s hands. He’d activated Haste as soon as he realized his initial attack had been unsuccessful.

A dark peach sheen surrounded the target’s weapon, sending a spike of fear through the Assassin’s heart as he hurriedly equipped a [Soul Numbing] bandoleer he’d picked up back when he was Tier Seven.

It was weaker than him by a large margin, but he hoped it would be enough to keep him alive if he got hit.

Soul attacks were something every mage feared since even the weakest Soul attack could cause damage to the strongest warrior. Granted, it wouldn’t be much damage, but any ability to damage someone of a much higher tier was notable.

Fighting someone with a Soul affinity at the same tier? You’d have to be practically suicidal. It was a good thing that most Soul Mages had a natural predisposition toward healing instead of violence.

Unfortunately, it seemed the naga was one of the rare outliers who thrived in violence and bloodshed.

A wave of peach mana rippled out from the Supreme Leader, sending Cin to his knees as the disruptive force impacted his body and soul. He’d been completely unable to avoid the attack, even with his ability to move multiple times faster than his opponent.

The bandoleer kicked in, taking the edge off of the torturous pain long enough for him to trigger one of the many [Restore] talismans attached to his body.

Soul attacks disrupted how most responsive artifacts worked, which was why having some kind of soul-numbing artifact was so important in this kind of fight.

Still, the process took time, even with Haste active. And time wasn’t something he had much of when fighting an enemy Soul Mage.

‘How did nobody know the General was a Soul Mage?!’ Cin screamed silently.

Everyone had assumed the General was a Fate Mage since he never used any overt magic. The fact that the Collective had obviously been prepared for the restrictions on Time Mages and Pinnacles had only reinforced that belief.

The elf dodged a strike from the naga’s weapon, barely avoiding the softly glowing blade. It moved faster than he would have expected from a critically injured opponent.

A glance showed the large wound on the naga’s neck slowly sealing. The massive flow of blood had somehow reduced to a mere seeping.

Casting a domain-focused Pause once again, the Assassin sighed in relief as the spell snapped in place. The earlier resistance was completely gone.

“Okay,” Cin said with an almost imperceivable shake in his voice. It had been a long time since he’d been in any real danger from one of his targets. “Time spells still work, even if they cost a lot more to maintain. Can I…”

After a bit of testing, the elf shook his head. “He’s too strong for internal manipulation. So, I guess we’ll go back to one of my oldest tricks,” Cin said with a bittersweet smirk. “It’s fitting to use the same method for my last kill that I did for my first one.”

Shaking off the last remnant of the Soul attack – because restoring oneself back to a point before the attack didn’t fully remove the effects – the Assassin got himself into position.

Holding a partially cast spell, Cin swung his favorite sword, targeting the wound he’d already left on the naga’s neck.

The sword cut deeper this time, and the Assassin released his third casting of Pause as soon as his blade was pulled free.

Repeating the process, Cin went to work hacking through the naga’s thick, trunk-like neck. The next swing sliced through the hand that had covered the naga’s throat unconsciously before embedding itself into the enemy’s spinal column. The fourth swing cut through the naga’s weapon first when the General tried to block the attack.

Cin could sense a disturbance on the other side of the door during the brief moments when the spell covering the room was inactive, but ignored it.

The door broke open after the second to last strike. The Time Mage included the guard that rushed inside his domain when he cast the spell again.

When the naga’s head finally detached from his body, Cin scooped the item up and stored it in his belt. The Council would probably appreciate receiving proof of the enemy leader’s death.

Figuring he might as well take care of the extra enemy, he used the last moment of Haste to cut down the Tier Nine guard.

Cin could feel a sudden pressure on his soul, and it wasn’t because of the damage he’d taken moments earlier. Pulling up his status, Cin smiled when he saw his impending ascension.

The Supreme Leader alone hadn’t been enough to push him over, but adding the guard had given him just enough to cross the threshold.

“Finally,” the Assassin said as he activated the beacon on his belt and cast it aside. With a smile on his face, Cin triggered his ascension.

He felt a sharp pain in the center of his back and chest. Cin looked down to see a thin blade of navy metal protruding from his chest.

“No reward for you,” a shadowy figure growled, but Cin only smiled as light erupted from his body.

He’d finally done it.