Chapter 1050: Game Of Cat And Mouse
Ruri was a force of chaos. She knew this well herself. She enjoyed seeing the faces of those whom she pranks. The sighs of her father and mother when they found out what she did in the morning.
The panic of people as she ran towards them.
But being a force of chaos meant always having a way to run.
To escape.
One needed to be slippery like an eel, treasures at their disposal and escape paths lined up at every turn.
It’s how they evade capture when sh*t hits the fan.
And it’s what Ruri prided herself in.
Stealth.
Absolute stealth.
When Ruri was five, she already knew what she wanted to be in the future.
She didn’t want to become a knight or a ruler. Nor did she want to devote herself to the Moon or any religion for that matter.
She wanted to become an assassin.
As a child, she had spent countless nights reading stories about killers hiding in plain sight. Assassins who could walk through guarded fortresses unnoticed. Thieves who could stand directly beside their targets without ever being perceived.
The slight of hand.
The manipulation of perception.
The understanding of habit and awareness.
To Ruri, there was something beautiful about existing right in front of someone while remaining completely unseen.
And her first Sigil embodied that obsession perfectly.
It helped her visualise her opponent’s line of sight and increases her speed drastically so long as she ran towards those points. Not only that, but attacking from the blind spot granted her increased damage.
Just with one Sigil, she couldn’t be caught by the guards in the city anymore.
At least...
So long as she is careful not to be spotted in the first place. With their physical capabilities, trying to evade capture after being spotted was too late.
Thus came her second Sigil.
If her first Sigil helped her visualise line of sight, the second helped her notice the awareness of those around her. Whether or not they were on guard, aggressive or passive. Even if they’re in her blind spot, so long as she closes her eyes and focuses her mind, she’ll be able to sense targeted aggression and ’zones’ where guards were most focused.
Finding gaps in defensive lines and moments of hesitation became easy.
With just these two Sigils, she was able to evade capture for a whole week before being spotted due to hunger issues.
Then it was time for the third.
She could see lines of sight. She could sense awareness.
What else did she need in order to become the perfect assassin? One who embodies the very definition of stealth?
Presence. Or rather, the lack of it.
In order to become the perfect assassin, Ruri needed to be able to eliminate her own presence.
Avoiding the eyes and awareness are one thing. But those with a sixth sense beyond normal comprehension will still be able to find her.
Traces left behind. Footsteps, killing intent, changes in the air.
Humans were creatures of instinct. Even if they didn’t consciously notice something, their bodies often reacted before the mind could catch up.
A chill down the spine. The urge to look behind, to look up.
A sense of danger.
Thus the third Sigil was one focused on erasing her presence.
It wasn’t the perfect solution but it was the foundation of her ideals.
To make others subconsciously ignore you when she wanted to be hidden.
Even if her tracks were left behind, they’ll still look away from her as though it was perfectly normal for her to be there.
Fourth was the ability to erase and hide her own tracks. The art of walking without leaving footsteps, to swim without ripples, to tread in snow without leaving marks.
To become the perfect hunter.
Her Fifth Sigil was one that almost guaranteed her escape in all scenarios. A ’toolbox’ of sorts that allowed her to make clones or leave marks behind to teleport away.
With these five Sigils, Ruri believed herself to be untouchable.
Once she was confident, she could cause all the trouble in the world and run away.
At least that’s how she believed it to be the case.
Until now.
In this moment, Ruri felt fear.
She felt a sense of dread like no other.
The understanding that no matter what she did, she wouldn’t be able to escape. No matter how far she ran, no matter what kind of tricks she’ll pull, she’ll be caught.
Don’t breathe. Don’t make a sound.
She told herself over and over, hiding behind a building while the new arrivals talked by the café.
The one who was the source of this fear was a pink haired girl with a set of lazy eyes.
Yet despite doing so, Ruri’s instincts told her not to underestimate the girl.
One wrong move and death would be swift.
An absolute being she could not offend.
If she ran... she’ll make herself known.
But if she didn’t run, it’ll only be a matter of time before her presence is revealed.
The worst part? Ruri was confident that the girl’s sixth sense had already picked her up.
To notice a pair of eyes staring at her.
It wasn’t a Sigil ability either. There was no fluctuation of Abyssal energy.
This was simply the girl’s natural detection.
What was a calm lake’s surface was now filled with danger.
’I shouldn’t have stepped so close...’ Ruri wanted to cry.
The moment she made a mistake, it was as though the entire lake turned red. Her Sigil went haywire and it was here she understood that the girl’s awareness was not normal.
Trying to leave would no doubt lead to her detection. Even with all of her Sigils.
However... By hiding herself here and trying her best to remain undetected, Ruri became privy to information she hadn’t expected to hear.
"What? What do you mean this entire city is being monitored?" A tall dark haired beauty asked with her legs crossed.
There was a slight tinge of red on her face as though she was embarrassed about something.
The girl she was talking to, the one with a set of lazy eyes casually petted the rabbit on the table.
"There seems to be a constant stream of energy being directed towards the tower in the middle.
"Everything within its vicinity is being monitored carefully. The moment anyone makes a large move, ’someone’ will know. It’s probably the prince considering his laziness is probably an act. A chunk of the wall I marked earlier is gone." The pink haired girl smiled while smoking a cigarette.
"So they know we’re here. What now?"
"What else? We try to get an audience. The sooner we figure out where Allura has gone, the better it is for me." The girl yawned while Ruri creased her brows.
Allura Agnelia.
A woman who visited the royals not long ago. Her presence was unlike anything she had seen before yet her vitality felt weak. If anything, she should’ve been more bothered about the two Lords next to her yet her father was clearly more on guard against Allura than the other two.
If they were here for her...
Ruri swallowed her saliva nervously.
This could be bad.
She wanted to leave but she had to find out more.
As long as she didn’t make a mistake, it should be easy to figure out their goals.
"Do you think they’ll be kind enough to accept an audience? Or even hear you out?"
"Who knows. But I think we should have some insurance in case things go wrong." Suna chuckled, finishing her cigarette with a small wicked smile.
"Insurance? What do you mean?" The tall girl was confused as the Suna let go of the rabbit.
And for a split moment, her eyes snapped towards Ruri’s exact hiding spot.
"!!!"
Her eyes widened, panic filled her chest and Ruri didn’t hesitate to activate her fifth Sigil.
A trap door opened underneath her as she clicked her tongue.
"Tch! Bad roll!" She grumbled.
Falling through a strange winding space, she landed on the roof of a watchtower and quickly turned around.
There she saw Suna yawning with her back against the wall.
"Hey~ Are you going somewhere? I didn’t think a Princess like yourself would be so proficient in hiding." She chuckled as Ruri didn’t hesitate.
Reaching into her bag, she threw two needles and dove towards Suna’s ’blind spot’.
Her speed made her body turn into a blur but-
"Not happening." Suna closed her eyes.
Her perception was not limited to vision after all.
Even if Ruri eliminated her presence and made Suna ignore her existence, Triggered casts didn’t care.
As long as the condition was met, it would automatically activate without Suna needing to do anything!
*BANG!!!
Ruri was thrown back as she triggered several invisible threads of energy that Suna had set down beforehand.
Falling backwards, Ruri activated her fifth Sigil for a second time as her body split into three. Two clones and one real.
Clicking her tongue again, she activated her first resonance!
Slipping into the shadows, three figures dashed away from Suna as she gave a slight yawn.
It was rather interesting to see a similar power as a certain time manipulator but now wasn’t the time to admire the creativity of a princess.
Since they already knew the group had entered the city, there was no point hiding their power.
With a snap of her finger, Suna or rather, Alice, slammed her palm down.
Threads shot out in all directions, creating a network of trigger casts across the city.
And as Ruri snapped one of the threads, her eyes snapped towards the east and her body disappeared.
In this game of cat and mouse, Ruri was never going to escape her grasp!
###
Within the tower that lie in the centre of the city, a woman suddenly lifted her head as her eyes turned towards the window.
