The Tyrant as the Shadow Eminence

03 - Knight vs Assassin and Parting

He can feel the faint vibrations in the ground of the facility as he walks leisurely. Pinpointing his sister's scent through his enhanced nose is getting feeble due to the amount of blood that was sprayed on the walls from the lesser enemies.

He split up from the rest due to letting them handle from the main entrance as the foremost intruders while he dealt from the inside of the facility. So far, he killed over seventy wandering patrols and guards.

Just then, he heard a loud crash descending to his location, an impact sounded from the room in front of him on the other side. A malevolent presence.

Out came the room of an underground passage secret entry to the half he's in, a thirty-aged man with a large scar on his chest and fresh blood stains on the torn aristocratic clothing he's wearing.

Tatsumi immediately senses the high amount of magic power from his spot, determining him even higher than Alpha. It's visibly evident by the left red eye and veins over his body as well as a slight body muscle bulge.

"Dammit..."

The man also notices the standing Tatsumi on his way and stops a certain distance away. Recognition and vex passed his face, "You knew I was coming and forestalled me? But you're only one!"

In a fast swiftness, he postured and launched himself toward Tatsumi at a speed that made him disappear in the normal people's eyes while screaming in fury.

Meeting him midway, Tatsumi tilted his head sideways and swung his slime sword. The steel blade of his opponent whizzed past his head as it hit the air. The slime sword moved again, aiming for his back only for his opponent to counter the attack, slashing at Tatsumi repeatedly, each encountering an evasion.

Each of them is equally skilled at fighting each other as a couple of experienced professionals. With each strike and counter, the atmosphere of battle intensifies and grows more tense. Neither one would yield until their lives were claimed with both swords.

"Wha–!"

Tatsumi ducks from a horizontal slash and swings his feet to hit his enemy's own, making him tumble backward in a grunt. The noble then saw the black sword rushing to him, leaning to the side, and wasn't given a chance to completely dodge as his shoulder was pierced, causing him to wail in agony.

"Damn brat!" He yelled out. It wasn't his first time being wounded but he felt like there would be no end to the pain now. He had enough of these kids playing around with his life, just waiting for him to get caught off guard so they could kill him off with ease.

Grease never felt such disparity in strength before. Not even when he was fighting with those children led by that little elf who called herself Alpha, and even when he fought and lost to that red-haired princess at the Festival of the War of God.

Overwhelmed is the only word he could use at this moment as tried to fail to avoid several attacks, forming cuts on his body.

"Aargh!" He flew back harshly and received a strong punch to the face. Grease's opponent is a young boy who looks physically weak. Someone like him shouldn't be beaten. His overwhelming benefit in magic capability is being overturned by mere skill alone.

His current state comprises large gnashes, bones broken, and flesh sliced open adding the loss of a large amount of blood. Although he can heal all non-fatal wounds, he needs time for recovery.

"Why...? Even if you are strong, and even with all of you... no matter how much you try, you cannot win! The darkness of this world... runs much deeper than even you can imagine!"

Memories of his precious daughter ran through his mind. The way they walked through the kingdom, the way their hands held, the way they spent their time as family.