As the group trudged on through the woods, Zavier sank deeper and deeper into his own sea of thoughts. A good night's sleep had given him some clarity on his problems.
The more Zavier thought about it, the more convinced that the recent trend of events was a very unlikely coincidence. It made him terribly uncomfortable. Zavier ran the simulation in his head several times over;
"No doubt, the most logical move right now would be to retreat. But what if this is what the enemy wants? Could this have been their intentional plan all this while?"
Zavier knew that it was not entirely inconceivable that a diabolical mind could have set all this in motion. If this had been the intention of the enemy all this while, then it was very likely that they were headed towards trouble.
Zavier knew that his Aunt had factored the probability of them being attacked. This was the primary reason behind her suggesting that they stay off the main roads and stick with forging their own path through the forest.
It was a brilliant maneuver on her part, but if she could think of it, then the enemy would have most definitely thought of it as well.
The Marquess- Zavier hadn't forgotten about The Marquess.
It was a long shot, but Zavier strongly suspected that his uncle had a hand in the authorization of this mission.
The way the whole thing had successfully uprooted Zavier from the comfort of his daily routine suggested that this had been a subtle move by Val to keep Zavier away from both school and home.
Valarie's presence here probably meant that his uncle wanted to keep him safe. And now, they had chosen to go back, against the original plan. It slowly began to dawn on Zavier that the decision to go back had been a misguided one.
If this was what the enemy wanted, then they had to abort, FAST!
Unfortunately, in a way, it was already way too late for that.
Once again, Zavier had been too consumed by his own internal monologue that he had completely blanked out on his physical surroundings.
The moment Valarie suddenly stopped, Zavier instantly knew that a major problem was afoot. As he lifted up his eyes to take in the landscape, Zavier swallowed hard. How could he have missed this? The terrain was perfect for an ambush!
Instinctively, he activated his sense of perception and turned towards the direction his aunt was glaring at.
Soon, Zavier picked up two very unique and distinct energy surges heading their way with undeniable aggression. Even from a distance, Zavier could tell that they were coming in hot.
Alarmed by the sudden tension in the group, Alissa blinked in terror.
"You all are scaring me! What is going on?!"
She was instantly hushed by the others. Simultaneously, Valarie gestured her the hand sign to be quiet, Dahila simply glared at her, and Zavier shushed her, As the only one without magic, Alissa's imagination ran wild at the thought of what had suddenly gotten the normally calm Valarie so worked up.
Zavier felt a mixture of elation and fear at the same time. On one end, he was glad that he could finally have a showdown with the cowards who had been hunting after him from the shadows.
But that elation quickly turned to despair when he honed in on the second energy signature.
"Unbelievable!!"
Zavier thought to himself;
"This isn't the energy signature of a normal person!!"
It was a close call, but Zavier estimated that the second person was probably on the same level as his Aunt Valarie. It had already begun.
Zavier's first move was to step in front of Alissa. He admonished the frightened girl strongly;
"Listen to me carefully Alissa…"
Alissa's eyes were open, but it was very clear that she wasn't physically present. Zavier snapped his fingers angrily in her face twice.
"Get a hold of yourself Alissa!"
Zavier rasped.
"Listen, when the fight starts, make sure you stay behind me. DO NOT WANDER OFF ON YOUR OWN! Do you understand?"
Dahila also began to sense the raging energy signatures of the enemy. She also assumed a battle stance with that cold haughty glare that was typical of her.
As the enemy approached, the very air around them began to boil. The atmosphere grew dense from the pure bloodlust that was emanating from the enemy that.
Zavier was amazed. This was the first time he would face an enemy of this caliber. The mysterious masked man he had battled in the past, even Shiranui, none of them came close to what he was sensing from these enemies.
They were yet to be seen, and yet Zavier could practically taste their desire to slaughter.
Zavier's nervousness gradually began to manifest on his face and in his composure. Even though he knew he wouldn't really die if his body was destroyed, he couldn't stop thinking about the others.
Like a General issuing a command to her lieutenants, Valarie issued her first set of orders to Zavier and Dahila;
"You two, make sure you protect Alissa at all costs! I don't need you two interfering in this fight! Leave them to me! Understand?!"
Zavier and Dahila chorused their battle trained answer simultaneously;
"Yes ma'am!"
Zavier couldn't believe it! It was all happening so fast. His heart rate began to shoot up sporadically and his breathing grew heavier with each passing second.
Dahila's comforting voice stabilized his already troubled thoughts.
"Relax Zavier. You underestimate your aunt, today you're going to see why she has that fearsome reputation as a genius mage."
Zavier looked at her with a bland expression on his face, trying to mask his fear. Dahila saw through his bravado and encouraged him once again;
"It's the enemy who should be worried okay? Not us! Imagine going up against Valarie Adam? Chill okay?"
Dahila had barely finished her sentence when two unkindly figures emerged. Their faces were hidden behind eleventh century Japanese ritual masks. At their backs, they balanced two katanas that were crossed to form an 'X.' Head to toe, they were clad in black.
They looked identical in every way, but the level of their energy signatures were not. One was significantly powerful, while the other appeared to be very basic.
They looked every inch like the assassins that they were. They had the aura of mysteriousness, seriousness and death.
A black cloud seemed to hang over them like a halo. The moved like their feet didn't touch the ground, almost as if they were gliding. Zavier, Dahila and Alissa did nothing but stare at them in awe.
As their physical forms came into the full view of the group, one of them sighted Valarie and paused for a moment, almost in hesitation.
A deep booming voice that seemed to reverberate across the forest came from behind one of the masks;
"Well, well, Miss Valarie Adam This is an unexpected surprise. We didn't know we'd be running into a celebrity such as yourself."
Zavier was flabbergasted. Here were two terrible assassins acknowledging his seemingly ordinary aunt. It was unthinkable.
Zavier was yet to fully grasp the full length and scope of his aunt's reputation in the industry. He remembered what Dahila had told him and it suddenly made more sense now. He furtively turned towards her and shot her a questioning look.
Dahila didn't even need to answer, the other sinister figure stepped forward and began to recap Valarie's past accomplishments.
"Valarie Adam, the young prodigy who pioneered the engineering of one of the boundaries used by Caesar, the Capitol of the Hilling Empire."
The Hilling Empire was the name of the country where Zavier currently was.
"You're also the youngest mage to have ever become proficient in boundaries spells."
Zavier absorbed all of this information at lightning speed.
The young nephew couldn't believe that the aunt he had been living with all this time was a living legend of such terrible and fearsome repute.
It was weird, especially to Zavier having to hear all this from two strangers who had been contracted to kill him.
It was almost as if the assassin was offering up adulation to his aunt. There was no trace of mockery or sarcasm in either of the assassins' voices. It genuinely seemed like they held her in high regard.
Zavier hoped that his aunt's terrible reputation would play to his favor, and maybe the assassins would leave him alone. Of course, on both a conscious and subconscious level, Zavier knew that there was no way in hell that was going to happen.
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