V2Ch14-The Longest Night

Ramon raced through the forest.

Every minute he saved by moving more quickly would add to his family’s chances of survival.

I don’t know how that Rose fellow thinks he’s going to do anything against the cultists, he thought. But then, it seemed more about revenge for him than anything else. Maybe he’s prepared to die for that.

Whether Moishe would actually succeed in fighting the cultists for very long or not, Ramon couldn’t afford to waste the distraction he was creating.

Thank you for making this opening for us, man. I’ll get the camp far away from here, even if it takes all night!

—

Mustafa Roshan stopped dead in his tracks.

Moishe Rose had seemingly materialized out of the trees in front of him. He wore a sadistic smile and played with a pair of knives. Mustafa recognized them as the same type of blade that had pierced Fatemeh’s throat.

Think this through, Mustafa told himself. This man is an Assassin. He must have some tactical reason for appearing in front of me. It’s not just—wait, maybe he just wants to stall me while Fatemeh bleeds out! He wants revenge, not just efficient kills. How do I make an opening?

“What’s wrong, Mustafa?” Moishe interrupted Mustafa’s train of thought, his voice taunting. “You’ve been sacrificing people for weeks now. You’ve stared death in the face over and over. And yet you look so nervous.”

“You used to be one of us, you son of a bitch! You can’t act high and mighty now! You did the same as me, and for the same reasons—”

“Until your Prophet decided to sacrifice my fucking sister!” Anger flashed in Moishe’s expression. “Just because he didn’t like her Class Evolution! We were loyal! Loyal to your fucking Prophet! None of you cared! I remember who helped him bring her down. And who helped him when I tried to stop it. I remember your faces and your names. I don’t forget, and I don’t forgive. None of you bastards are getting out of this forest alive.” His face returned to the sadistic smirk from before. “Now it’s your sister on the chopping block. How does it feel?”

“Let me through, you son of a bitch!” Mustafa shifted his sister so that he could hold her with one arm, then drew his sword with his free hand.

He charged. No matter how deadly Moishe was, it had been a mistake to turn this into a face to face contest. Mustafa would make him pay for what he’d done to Fatemeh.

There was only a moment’s warning, from the corner of Mustafa’s vision.

He couldn’t react quickly enough, and the shape that darted from the trees struck his neck. Mustafa felt a set of sharp fangs sink into his neck, and the sword dropped from his hand almost instantly. Then his body dropped like a sack of bricks.

The world grew dim. The last thing he saw was Moishe Rose’s twisted smile approaching.

—

“Thank you, Cecilia,” Moishe murmured.

The viper slithered away from Mustafa’s corpse and up Moishe’s arm, twisting and positioning herself until she was wrapped around almost his whole upper body. He hadn’t known the snake long, but she clearly enjoyed physical contact as a means of showing and receiving affection.

Not the first girl I’ve known whose love language is touch, but you’re definitely the clingiest, he thought.

A ding.

[You killed Fatemeh Roshan Lv. 9. 200 exp gained!]

[Assassin leveled up!]

[Beast Tamer leveled up!]

[System-Boosted Human leveled up!]

[A Race Evolution is available. Review? Y/N]

So that was available. But it wasn’t something he was interested in right now. He selected N.

Race Evolution would take hours based on his prior observations. Even though he’d be better prepared for the fight if he was evolved, he would also be hours behind his element of surprise.

If the surprise wasn’t spoiled already.

Even if Robie gets through to a sentry and warns that the camp is in danger, I just need to make sure I kill him before he spills how close they are to the Rodriguez camp. The priority is protecting them. Perhaps Robie was the one he should’ve targeted first, since he would’ve gone down more quickly without the need to play these games and launch a sneak attack while Mustafa was distracted. Perhaps the desire for revenge had already clouded Moishe’s judgment.

No, Mustafa and Fatemeh Roshan were more dangerous and competent anyway. Stop second-guessing yourself. Every second you waste thinking puts the camp in more danger!

He started running in the direction he was pretty sure Robie had retreated, aiming to cut the coward off from Rostov’s camp. Fortunately, in his panic, Robie had chosen an indirect route.

The race was on.

Cecilia pressed herself more tightly against his body as Moishe ran through the trees, streamlining her form, trying to cling to him without slowing him down.

She’s a good partner, he thought. It was a shame his last companion had been killed when he had his falling out with Rostov’s group, but Cecilia was an excellent replacement.

Then there was no thought, only movement, for some meters.

Moishe sprinted for around five minutes, increasingly aware as he went on that the odds were getting lower and lower that he would stop Robie in time.

He was uncomfortably close to the enemy camp—he could spy the giant statue of Moloch peeking through the trees in the distance—when he spied a figure running in front of him. The run was more of a jog.

It seems I’m in luck. Robie’s cowardice lost out to his lack of Stamina.

The other man had failed to keep up the pace he needed to get back to his camp’s position before Moishe could catch up to him.

A voice called into the darkness. “Hey! You there!”

Moishe froze.

Damn it! He made it to the sentries on patrol…

Moishe was familiar enough with Rostov’s security measures from his time as one of the man’s followers.

But had they spotted him or Robie?

—

“Hey! You there!” Kassim Roukoz called into the darkness.

A figure froze.

“Friend or foe?!” Kassim asked.

“Friend!” A familiar voice called back immediately.

“Leonard? Step into the light, you moron!” Kassim said, relieved. “Why are you back here, anyway? Did the trail change directions?”

Hilda Rohm, also on sentry duty, visibly relaxed next to Kassim.

Leonard Robie’s face became visible through the gloom as he took a few steps toward the circle of Kassim’s torch light.

“We’re under attack,” he began.

“What’s that?!” Kassim demanded, stepping forward. “Who’s attacking us?”

“Urk!” Leonard made a sound as if he was about to vomit, and Kassim saw a knife handle seemingly growing out of his throat.

Then the knife disappeared, and the blood began to pour out of Leonard’s neck in quick-flowing bursts. The man collapsed to his knees, then fell face first onto the ground.

Kassim’s first instinct was to help him, but as he hadn’t seen the attacker, he was wary of another surprise strike.

“Hilda! We need more light!” he called.

She responded instantly, activating one of her Skills. Her body armor began to glow brightly, and the forest suddenly became significantly easier to see.

“There he is!” Kassim exclaimed.

A man, moving stooped toward Leonard’s position. Obviously planning to finish the job.

“We’re under attack!” Kassim yelled as loudly as he could. “Sound the alarm!”

The figure of Moishe Rose was unmistakable. Even if he believed that he and Hilda could take Rose down without difficulty, he didn’t want to charge in without sounding the alarm. Rose might have backup waiting somewhere just out of sight.

Rose seemed to freeze in place for a moment, as if he had a sudden case of stage fright. Kassim could dimly hear him hissing something, though he couldn’t hear the substance of what was said. But then he noticed a flash of movement.

Something small, moving suddenly and quickly toward Leonard’s body and then back again toward Rose’s. It was too fast, and the surroundings still too dim, for Kassim to be sure what he’d just witnessed.

“Get him!” he called, drawing his sword.

Hilda charged in next to him.

And Moishe smiled—fucking smiled!—before stepping back into the tree line and suddenly disappearing.

What the fuck?! I didn’t even know he could do that!

—

Rostov awakened to shouts and a general atmosphere of fear and disorder.

He quickly gathered what had happened from Alice and marched to the edge of camp to speak with Kassim and Hilda personally.

“Where did Rose go?” he asked upon hearing their report.

“He fucking melted into the forest!” Kassim half-screamed, gesturing wildly at the woods.

“That is a less than helpful characterization,” Rostov hissed, grinding his teeth as he spoke. “Which way did he go? Can you tell us that?”

Kassim shook his head. “I don’t know!”

“Hilda?” Rostov looked to the woman in white armor, who seemed slightly more composed than Kassim.

“We weren’t able to track his movements once he entered the darkness, sir,” she said simply.

“Fine then.” Rostov ground his teeth again. “What about Leonard? I heard he was the only one of the scouting team who returned alive.”

“Er, yes, Prophet,” Kassim said. “He is alive, but he’s in bad condition. One of the Healers is tending to him now.”

“You, take me to him!” Rostov demanded. He turned to Hilda. “You, grab three more people and return to sentry duty! We must redouble our security precautions!”

I don’t know how far away Rose actually moved. Even if I set up wards again, he might not be outside of their range right now. The camp is too big to adequately protect unless we all remain tightly packed. We’re a perfect target for an Assassin like him!

Kassim silently guided Rostov to where Catherine Ross was healing Leonard.

“What’s taking you, Catherine?!” Rostov questioned. His words came out more impatient than intended, but he didn’t apologize. No time. “I only see a cut on his neck. That should be easy work for you, no?”

“Oh, Prophet,” she replied, smiling smoothly. She didn’t take her hands or gaze away from Leonard as she spoke. “Please forgive the delay—”

“I cannot!” Rostov interrupted. “I’m not worried about how long he’ll take to be fully functional, but we need answers as to who’s ambushing us besides Moishe Rose. We need to know how many they have, what Skills they’ve demonstrated, and whether the enemy camp has notice of our position already, or if Rose was simply one of their perimeter guards. These questions are of critical and immediate importance. Failure is unacceptable!”

Catherine’s smile faltered slightly. “Prophet, I don’t know if it’s possible for him to wake up now! The cut on his neck wasn’t the only problem. The wounds are closed up now, but when they brought Leonard to me, he had two puncture marks on his neck. I believe he was bitten by a venomous snake. I’ve purified him, but I’m not sure when he’ll awaken. The healing process is taking a lot out of him—”

“Damn it!” Rostov exclaimed, stamping his foot. “Fuck!” He let out a long sigh, then turned away from Catherine.

“Alright! No one sleeps!” He shouted, ensuring his orders would spread more quickly. “From here on, we continue until daylight, when we’ll be able to see our enemies properly.” He looked at Kassim and lowered his voice. “We lost the trackers, but we still know the proper direction to travel in to reach our enemy, correct?”

“Yes, Prophet,” Kassim said simply.

Rostov could tell there was some objection Kassim wanted to raise but was afraid to. He took a deep breath.

“Kassim, do you have some problem with this course of action? I will hear whatever logistical concerns you may have.” He forced himself to adopt his more patient, wise, knowing demeanor for a moment.

“It’s just, I doubt that Moishe Rose came here and killed our tracking party and our sentries all by himself. He’s skilled, but we know generally what he’s capable of. He’s not on the same level as the intruder we had the other night.”

“So, you think he had help?” Rostov finished.

Kassim simply nodded. And swallowed audibly.

I’ve made him quite nervous, Rostov thought. Need to calm down. I will not maintain control over this group if I lead purely by fear.

“I think you may be right,” Rostov said. “We’re not far from sunrise, though. A couple more hours. If everyone keeps moving until then, it drastically reduces the odds that Rose or his allies will be able to pick off any more of us. And tomorrow, we’ll catch up and kill every last one of them!”

“Yes, sir,” Kassim said. He smiled weakly. And it was a little out of character for him to call Rostov ‘sir’ instead of ‘Prophet.’

His doubts are showing. And if I lose Kassim, one of the strongest believers...

“I know, Kassim,” Rostov said, trying to be cajoling. “I know. This is turning into the longest night of our lives, eh?”

Kassim smiled more genuinely.

“Yes, Prophet.”

“Yes. It’s always darkest before dawn, no?” He gestured at the horizon, where the first dim flickers of brightness were already visible. “Soon, our great ally will be able to lend us his assistance again. Once we have Moloch’s help once more, we’ll be inescapable.”