Power of Runes

It's my chance...

Roan thought as he saw both Ash and Elysia getting lost in each other. He did not bother with what they were doing; to him, it was nothing more than a perfect moment to strike, and that was all that mattered.

They already made my task easier by being away from the crowd.....

He was still in the form of a shadow, his figure formless and without features, but if he had a face right now, it would surely be smiling.

He closed the distance between them swiftly, his movement silent as he reached the same rooftop. With a wave of intent, he summoned something, and a shadowy arm rose from the roof, catching it in its grasp.

It was a cube-shaped artifact, something he had borrowed from his organization, the Ebon Court.

The Ebon Court was once not considered a criminal organization, but as time passed and they began taking contracts to kill anyone in exchange for money and resources, the title was eventually forced upon them.

Unlike the Assassin organizations and Families who were tied to humanity and carried out missions in service of the greater good, the Ebon Court made no such distinction. They did not hesitate to kill their fellow humans. They killed for money. They killed for resources.

.....Or simply for profit.

For a 5 Star assassin like Roan, borrowing such an artifact was nothing unusual.

When it came to assassinations, there was always the chance that the target would remain in public, surrounded by witnesses, which made the mission far more complicated. Because of this, most 4 and 5 Star assassins were provided with Space Isolation artifacts, objects designed to cut off a small area from its surroundings, creating a sealed space without disturbing the outside world.

Those ranked higher than Grandmaster did not need such things, since they possessed their own domains. A domain, even if it was a normal one, was still a domain.

Assassins ranked below 4 Stars, however, were never entrusted with such artifacts. Their chances of success were low, and the loss of something so rare and difficult to craft was not worth the risk.

Roan activated the artifact, and it pulsed in his hand. White zigzagging lines appeared across its surface, flickering and weaving together, before the cube expanded in the blink of an eye.

In the next instant, the solid object turned transparent, spreading outward until it covered the entire rooftop in an invisible barrier.

Ash felt something pass through his body, sharp and unsettling, and his instincts immediately flared with warning.

He was so engrossed in the sweetness of Elysia's lips just a moment ago that he had not thought about anything else, but now the atmosphere around him shifted and forced his focus to return.

Eclipse blinked into existence, landing firmly in his grasp, and at the same moment, a violet shield spread around him, enclosing both him and Elysia in its protective glow.

Elysia, sensing through Ash's abrupt reaction that something was wrong, tried to pull herself free. But Ash drew her firmly against his chest with one arm, holding her still, refusing to let her move.

Who is it...?

Ash's eyes narrowed as he ignored Elysia's struggling, his entire mind slipping into high alert. With Omni Thought activated and his Will spreading outward, his senses sharpened until every ripple of energy around him could be felt.

If he had been alone, he would not have cared much about what was happening. But Elysia was with him right now, and that changed everything. The sensation pressing against his instincts was eerily familiar, reminiscent of what he had felt when the demons attacked the academy.

Its a space isolation artifact...

The same suffocating feeling of being cut away from the world pressed down on him, a distinct sense of separation that could not be mistaken.

He could still see everything as it was. The rooftop remained beneath his feet, the stars stretched above, and in the distance, the hologram still showed Saint Lucan speaking proudly to the crowds. Yet no sound reached his ears, and he was certain that from outside, this rooftop looked like any other rooftop.

We are cut off from the space, it's an isolated space.....somewhat similar to what the demons did, but little inferior to it....

Ash's thoughts ran quickly. No attack had come yet, even though an entire minute had already passed, but he had no doubt this was the prelude to one.

Is it an assassin?

Names and possibilities raced through his head. Demons, Ray, Saints, even the Elves. He trusted no one, and so he weighed them all carefully, but as he analyzed the situation, only one name surfaced clearly in his mind.

Ethan Nightshade...

A sharp glint flickered in his eyes. He had already expected Ethan to make a move. After all, in the novel, Ethan had attacked Ray in the same way, so this was not surprising at all.

...I need to drop Elsyai at some safe place....

Just then, his awareness finally registered Elysia's voice breaking through the storm of thoughts in his head.

"-----me fight!!"

"Release me, I can also fight!!"

Her expression was fierce, her eyes calm despite the urgency in her voice, and in her hand she had already summoned a blade. The sharpness of her gaze told him she was ready, even if her face trembled slightly with emotion.

Thoughts stormed within him.

Inside a space isolation artifact, the surroundings are separated from reality. The ground and everything destroyed within it will vanish once the artifact is retrieved.....

The demons' version had been far more dangerous, capable of allowing interaction with mirrored versions of reality, though not the real objects themselves. Sometimes, however, those attacks had still reached the real world if certain conditions were met.

Ash pressed down slightly with his legs, and when the rooftop beneath him remained unbroken, the confirmation he needed settled clearly in his thoughts.

I need some distractions...oh right I had those too...

He recalled something he had purchased long ago but never found a chance to use. Now, it finally had a purpose.

With a single thought, he summoned it from his Soul Space, and the item burst forth. Smoke erupted instantly, expanding in a thick wave that cloaked the entire rooftop in a dense curtain. Using the smoke bomb as cover, Ash tightened his hold on Elysia and vanished into the shroud.

The coldness in his eyes did not lessen in the slightest. Instead, it deepened further, his expression hardening until every trace of warmth was erased. His aura shifted completely, cold and chilling, as if he had returned once again to the emotionless days of the Dragon Continent.

As the ground changed from roof tiles to the soft touch of grass, Ash finally released Elysia.

She said nothing, yet her eyes spoke with a thousand unspoken words. They were wide and shimmering faintly with unshed tears, holding a depth of emotions she could not voice. Shock, sorrow, anger, and anguish swirled together, but Ash forced himself to feel nothing.

He built walls inside his heart and mind with the help of the Soul Library, allowing only cold clarity to remain, for he did not wish to act under the influence of emotions.

"Stay here, I will return in a few minutes. Also, enter that hall..... no one will be able to harm you then."

Although his tone carried an icy calm, the warmth hidden behind his words was not completely erased, and Elysia caught a faint glimpse of it. Yet she could not even bring herself to register it clearly, because inside her chest, emotions raged like a storm.

There was anger that burned, sadness that weighed on her, anguish that tore her apart, and a biting self-hatred that gnawed at her pride. She felt powerless and weak, convinced that all the training she had poured herself into had been meaningless in the end.

....I wanted to fight along with him....

Her hands clenched tightly, nails pressing into her palms, but even through the haze of emotions, she still understood. If the enemy had been someone she could have handled, Ash would never have brought her here, beside the great hall where all sorts of guests were present, enjoying the party.

They were on one of the floating islands, high above the city, with the moonlight spilling down on them. Inside the hall were powerful figures, Saints and other awakened of lower ranks, people with strength far beyond ordinary humans. Ash knew no one would dare harm her there, and that was the reason he had chosen this place.

"Don't worry about me, you know I can't die."

He was about to teleport away when he felt a sudden tug at his clothes. Elysia was holding onto him with trembling hands, her head lowered, her voice barely more than a whisper, though every word carried the weight of her heart.

"B-Being.....not able to...die, doesn't mean...you will act recklessly. Please...take care of yourself. Return safe and.....return fast."

Her plea hung in the air, raw and desperate. Ash paused for a moment, long enough for his silence to become an answer, before he assured her with a faint nod and teleported away.

Left alone outside the hall, surrounded by the garden of the floating island, she stood beneath the cold silver light of the moon.

I hate myself....

I hate my luck, why can't I become strong fast...

I hate everything....

The words echoed inside her as the moonlight wrapped around her figure. Her thoughts began to blur, her mind falling blank, while her body responded instinctively to the burning desire within her heart. The flames of obsession demanded growth, forcing her into a trance.

Her body glimmered faintly, her outline touched by a subtle glow as if the moon itself was breathing life into her.

And then, like a ghost appearing from nowhere, a figure stood beside her, watching silently, confusion flickering in their thoughts.

What's she doing here...? And wait, is she in a trance again....?

****

All of this, from the moment Ash threw the smoke bomb to the instant he placed Elysia on the floating island and returned, had taken no more than fifteen to twenty seconds. By the time he reappeared, the smoke on the rooftop was already thinning, its veil beginning to fade.

....On time...

Ash thought as his gaze fell upon the dissolving haze. He had used it precisely, concealing from the assassin the truth that he could teleport outside of a space isolation artifact.

Logically speaking, teleporting outside from an isolated space was impossible. But Runes were born to break rules, and nothing could stop the power of a Rune except for another Rune.

Now that Elysia was safe, a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders, though he repeated to himself with cold certainty.

...She is not a burden..

Yet there was still one thing that unsettled him, a question that tugged at the edge of his awareness.

Why is no one attacking me...?

****

A/N: Sorry guys, I know I didn't upload chapters for the past 2 days. I think I was just a bit burned out (probably that, along with some extra workload besides writing). So yeah, it kinda turned out that way. Even today, I can only drop one chapter…

But starting tomorrow, everything will be back to normal! No more delays in updates, that's a promise!!! ✨🔥