Xialuote had never imagined that while she was tailing the black-haired man, someone else had set their sights on her as well.
Prior to this, she had felt neither gaze nor malice; her assailant evidently possessed concealment abilities, escaping her spiritual perception until the actual strike.
This meant the man who had exposed himself first was very likely just bait, tasked with drawing their target's attention and luring her here, while the figure hiding in the shadows was the true attacker.
Her thoughts flashed in an instant as Xialuote rolled up from the ground. Her right hand drew the Dagger of Verdict from her waist. Immediately, a sensation of being watched with malice surfaced in her heart, originating from the very shadow that had just ambushed her. At the same time, a surge of confidence that she could easily defeat her opponent spread upward from the palm gripping the dagger.
Having tested this Sealed Artifact multiple times, Xialuote knew well where this confidence came from. Moreover, whenever 3-1452 was drawn from its sealing sheath, it easily attracted the attention of shadow creatures, an effect all the more pronounced in darker environments.
She had to end this quickly... Reining in her swelling confidence, she carefully observed her adversary.
The person was still blended into the alley's shadows, yet the outline of his body was caught in the moonlight. He had not truly melted into the shadows the way Zhuli'an had; rather, he was using the surroundings to diminish his presence.
Right—an Assassin possessed the ability to hide in shadows as well, unable to truly turn invisible until Sequence 7... Could he be a low-Sequence Beyonder of that pathway?
Xialuote's knowledge of Assassins came mainly from Hengli'aite, so she dared not jump to conclusions. After all, this world had twenty-two potion pathways, and abilities across different sequences could easily share similarities.
Yet the confidence imparted by the dagger in her hand still held sway. Not waiting for him to meld into the shadows again, she kicked off the ground and closed the distance between them. The dagger in her right hand thrust upward from below, while she fixed her eyes on the attacker's pale gaze, fully unleashing the Arbiter's aura that inspired dread and compelled obedience.
The tall, thin figure's instinctive dodge instantly froze.
Yet before Xialuote could drive the dagger into his chest, the attacker broke free of the influence. Bending backward from the waist to evade the blade's point, he kept his right-hand dagger close to his body and slashed sideways straight toward Xialuote's neck.
So fast... Unwilling to trade wounds, Xialuote pulled her arm back at once and dodged to the right.
The man with short, yellowish-brown hair seemed to have anticipated her reaction. Taking a step forward in tandem, his left hand lunged to seize Xialuote's shoulder, while the dagger in his right smoothly shifted from a slash to a thrust aimed straight at her chest.
She could only raise her left arm to knock his grabbing hand aside, twisting her right wrist to parry the incoming weapon with the spine of the Dagger of Verdict.
The two weapons clashed with a sharp ring. The force of the impact left Xialuote's wrist slightly numb. The Assassin's dagger hand was halted just the same, but in the next instant, he drove a knee toward her abdomen.
Xialuote pivoted just in time, letting the knee strike graze past her flank, and slammed an elbow into his chest, only for it to be blocked by his raised forearm.
In the brief moment of engagement, the two had traded several moves, and for the first time, Xialuote failed to gain the upper hand in close-quarters combat. That meant her opponent was also exceptionally skilled in melee!
When dealing with Zhuli'an previously—someone unsuited for head-on fighting whom she had driven into helpless submission—Xialuote had developed the illusion that hardly any low-Sequence Beyonder could best her in hand-to-hand combat.
Yet the man before her surpassed her in reflexes, strength, and speed alike, and likely possessed far more combat experience than an Arbiter who had only recently become a Beyonder.
Realizing this, Xialuote felt the surging confidence inflated by the Sealed Artifact's side effect finally recede somewhat. She no longer rushed to strike at vital spots, switching from offense to defense: her left arm shielded her body, while her right kept the blade leveled between them, denying him the chance to close in completely.
The man had clearly noticed the unusual grayish surface of the dagger in her hand as well. Not daring to reach in recklessly, he turned to feints to wear down her stamina.
First, he feinted toward her neck, then abruptly dropped low as she raised her guard, thrusting toward her abdomen. Unable to step back in time, Xialuote could only widen her eyes once more, attempting to overpower him through imposing aura.
The man's gaze grew dazed again, his movements slowing in kind.
Yet after the same ability was used repeatedly, the Assassin had gradually adapted. He merely took a step back to open up distance before pressing forward again, giving Xialuote no room to catch her breath.
Once Beyonder abilities fail to give me an advantage, the physical gap between male and female starts to show... Xialuote's breathing grew ragged, the arm holding her dagger began to ache, and an ominous foreboding mounted within her.
Yet just as she parried another thrust aimed at her shoulder and searched for an opening to counterattack, the tall, slender Assassin suddenly shifted his stance. Gripping the dagger's hilt with both hands, he sank slightly, his legs coiling like springs, and an entirely different aura of danger radiated from his frame.
In the next second, he kicked off hard and surged forward. His speed spiked abruptly, closing the gap with enough force to send Xialuote flying, the icy tip of his blade reaching her chest in a split second.
Yet right at that moment, a calm yet urgent voice rang in his ears:
"Intentional harm to another!"
The instant that voice—sounding like a formal pronouncement of guilt—fell, the man charging at full speed lost control over his body. Driven forward purely by momentum, he continued to hurtle ahead, entirely unable to alter his direction or make any other move.
Sure enough, even if I tailed his companion first, his sneak attack on me still counts as intentional harm... A spark of delight flared in Xialuote, but she instantly recognized that this restriction would last only a second or two. Without hesitation, she sidestepped the blade's point, thrusting the dagger in her right hand straight toward his chest.
Just as the sharp tip was about to pierce his clothes, she remembered she needed him alive. Forcibly twisting her wrist, she converted the thrust into a horizontal slash.
The grey blade sliced effortlessly into the right arm holding his knife. Blood welled instantly from the wound, and just as he broke free from the restraint, the agony and forward momentum threw him off balance, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Seizing the opening, Xialuote stepped onto his wrist, kicked the fallen dagger away, and bent down to press the unsheathed Dagger of Verdict against his neck.
The touch of the cold blade pressed against his skin made the man cease struggling at once.
"Who are you? Why were you tailing me?"
Xialuote demanded between ragged breaths. Seeing his lips clamped tight in refusal, she bore down slightly with the blade to add persuasion, commanding with an Arbiter's majesty:
"Speak!"
The man shuddered, the defiance in his pale eyes gradually ebbing away. In a low voice, he answered:
"I belong to Element Dawn."
Element Dawn... The records from within the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun flashed through Xialuote's mind. This organization had been active since the early Fifth Epoch. Its members believed that the spirit was the essence of humanity, while the physical flesh was merely a cage that bound it. Sins and evil were caused by the corrupting influence of the flesh; only by liberating the spirit through spirituality could salvation be attained.
Some of its radical members even made "helping others break free of their bodily cage" their personal mission, orchestrating numerous bloody incidents. It was designated an evil cult by all Seven Great Churches.
But what does that have to do with me? Granted, I transmigrated as a soul and entered this body, but I have no plans to move out just yet... Pondering this, Xialuote repeated her earlier question:
"Why were you tailing me?"
The man hesitated for a moment, then yielded under Xialuote's shifting blade.
"You weren't the original target... We were tailing another woman and noticed she had been in contact with you, so we arranged someone else to keep an eye on you. I lost track of my quarry halfway through and had to return to find my partner. When I saw you hiding off to the side, I wanted to pry some information out of you."
So it wasn't a prearranged ambush, but a coincidence... Xialuote frowned, realizing the woman this Assassin had been tailing was likely Hengli'aite. She pressed further:
"Why were you tailing that lady? Who gave the order?"
The man shut his mouth again. Even when the dagger cut a scratch into his neck and drew blood, he refused to make a sound.
Since intimidation isn't working, I'll have to use more direct methods... Xialuote looked toward his injured arm as a dangerous thought surfaced.
Snap one finger first. If he still won't talk, keep going, or even move further down... The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed—she even felt a flicker of anticipation.
No!
Xialuote snapped out of it with a start. She realized the Dagger of Verdict was constantly amplifying her confidence, making her feel entitled to punish this guilty person however she pleased.
She immediately withdrew the dagger and slid it into the leather sheath emblazoned with the Sun Holy Emblem. Looking back at the man's fingers on the ground, she no longer felt the urge to snap them one by one.
Yet just as she was pondering how to handle this stubborn Assassin, a shrill police whistle sounded from a distant street, followed closely by footsteps and shouts:
"The informant said it's right around here!"
"Watch out, she has a dagger!"
Xialuote's expression turned bizarre.
The black-haired man had likely noticed the fight here, realized he couldn't intervene, and actually ran off to report it to the police!
An evil cultist actually calling the police... She didn't know what to make of it, but she had to admit it was remarkably effective. For someone like her—who didn't want her father finding out where she went, and who would struggle to explain the existence of Beyonders to ordinary police—it struck right at her weak spot.
At that moment, the attacker pinned beneath her foot chuckled and said:
"There's no real grudge between us, is there? I ambushed you, sure, but you jumped my partner first. We're even.
"Let me go, and I won't report tonight's business to my superiors."
That's true. Element Dawn might be an evil cult, but they aren't the ones who abducted me for sacrifice. I don't really have a feud with them... Xialuote blinked, suddenly finding his words quite reasonable.
With rapid footsteps closing in, she hesitated for a brief moment before turning and ducking into the other end of the alley, quickly vanishing among the sprawling buildings.
Seeing her leave, the man with short, yellowish-brown hair scrambled up, retrieved his dagger with his uninjured hand, and leaped off a wooden crate by the wall. Catching the second-floor windowsill with one hand, he flipped effortlessly onto the rooftop as though entirely weightless.
Only after several police officers in uniform, carrying batons and lanterns, rushed past below did the man—tending his wound while holding his breath—let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the Instigation worked well. She probably has plenty of secrets of her own, which is why she hesitated the moment she heard the police whistle... I'll report this as soon as I get back... Thoughts flickered through his mind as he gazed in the direction Xialuote had departed for a few seconds, then turned to leave across the rooftops.
The lady he had lost track of earlier, Hengli'aite Mading, was standing quietly right before him.
Two streets away, Xialuote gradually slowed to a stop, her brows knitting together.
"Strange... I hold official Beyonder status. Why would I be afraid of the Telier police? He should be the one terrified of them..."
She muttered to herself, a growing realization dawning on her that she had been duped. Turning her gaze back toward the alley where they had fought, she felt an increasing urge to go back and take a look.
Chapter 57