Timeless Assassin

"That's the Shadow Dragon, Leo Skyshard…"

One of the Righteous Faction soldiers recognized in a trembling voice, as Leo slowly turned his head toward the man and offered him a gentle smile that somehow felt far more terrifying than any threat he could have spoken.

"How kind of you to recognise me…"

He replied softly, his tone almost conversational as he rolled his shoulders back and tilted his head from side to side, each stretch producing a faint crack that echoed unnervingly through the circle of armored soldiers tightening around him.

*Gulp*

*Gasp*

*Unsheathing sounds*

The soldiers gathering around gulped nervously as Leo reached behind his waist with an unhurried ease and pulled out his twin daggers from their sheath, his motion comically casual as if he were warming up for something far beneath his actual capability.

"What's he doing?"

"Does he really think he can fight us all, alone?"

The soldiers asked amongst themselves as uneasiness began to ripple through the crowd.

Some shuffled their feet.

Some adjusted their grips on their weapons.

While most merely swallowed hard, unable to understand as to why the air itself felt heavier the moment he revealed his weapons.

"Shadow Dragon… are you here to surrender…?"

A soldier near the front asked, sweat sliding slowly down his temple as he forced the question out, his voice shaking more with each word.

However, Leo merely raised an eyebrow at the question, as he looked towards the man with mild amusement, as though the notion of surrender itself was funny to him.

"Do I look like I am here to surrender?"

He replied with an easy shrug, the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly as several soldiers took a cautious step back without fully realising they had done so.

By now the numbers around him had grown significantly, as hundreds turned to thousands, causing the circle around him to shrink in size noticeably.

"Is he serious…? Is he really planning to attack an entire military base alone…?"

"I thought he was a Grandmaster… how is he standing there like nothing matters…?"

"How has he not lost his mind after staying in a Stilled World for years? I thought the tainted mana there turned everyone insane?"

"Stay sharp. There is no way he came alone. The Cult always sends more behind the first arrival…"

Murmurs spread rapidly through the crowd, each voice feeding the nervous tension that trickled through the ranks, as Leo simply stood in the center of them all with his blades lowered at his sides, his aura held completely in check as he waited patiently for more and more soldiers to gather in front of him before he began.

'Come on faster, don't make me wait too much.'

He thought, as he could sense them gathering around him like insects drawn to a flame, their energies faint in comparison to his own, yet numerous enough to make the air feel crowded.

"MOVE!"

"LET US THROUGH!"

The higher ranking officers commanded, as they slowly pushed their way to the front, their presence more calm and powerful compared to the weaklings, as slowly but surely, they took charge of the whole situation.

"BE ALERT, MEN! HE MAY BE ALONE, BUT HIS AURA IS POWERFUL!"

A sharp voice cut through the noise, as a Transcendent tier Lieutenant pushed his way to the front lines, his own aura flaring faintly as he tried to steady the morale of the soldiers.

"I am a Transcendent, and even I can feel it from here," the man continued, sweat pearling along his temple despite his efforts to appear confident. "Which means he is very strong. This fight will not be easy, but if we hold our formation and buy time, we can stall him until the Commander arrives…"

The Lieutenant declared, as Leo flicked his gaze toward the man, his interest sharpening slightly.

"You already informed your Commander that I am here?"

He asked casually, twirling one of his daggers around his finger, as if they were discussing a mundane schedule rather than the imminent start of a massacre.

"Indeed," the Lieutenant replied, forcing his voice to stay steady. "The Commander will be here in roughly seven minutes. So this is your last chance to surrender peacefully and accept judgment under the Righteous Faction Laws."

He threatened, as for a moment, Leo simply looked around, taking in the sea of anxious faces, the drawn weapons, the uncertainty flashing behind hardened expressions, as a faint chuckle escaped his lips despite the heaviness of his situation.

"Seven minutes, is it…?"

He murmured, his eyes half lidded as he took a breath and rolled his wrists gently.

"I suppose I can spare seven."

He said coolly, as the Lieutenant frowned, clearly not understanding the meaning behind his words.

"Spare Seven…? What are you talking ab–"

He began, however, was interrupted, as Leo finally stopped holding back, and let his aura unfold for real.

*FWOOM*

Leo's aura erupted outward in a violent wave, invisible yet crushing, as it slammed into the gathered soldiers like a tidal surge of pure pressure that caused the atmosphere around them to thicken so drastically that even breathing suddenly felt like a laborious task

*Choke*

*Kneel*

Master tier soldiers were the first to buckle.

One by one, they dropped to their knees with strangled gasps, weapons clattering against the ground as their arms refused to obey them, their foreheads pressing toward the dirt as if the gravity around Leo had increased tenfold.

The stronger ones tried to grit their teeth and endure, veins bulging along their necks as they fought to stay upright, yet their vision blurred and their thoughts scattered, as fear turned into something closer to primal terror.

The Grandmasters fared slightly better, though not by much.

Several staggered backwards, boots dragging grooves in the ground as they struggled to remain on their feet, their own auras instinctively flaring in an attempt to resist the suffocating pressure, yet all it did was slow their decline rather than stop it completely.

"What in the blue hell… What is this pressure?"

The Lieutenant choked out, his previous confidence evaporating as sweat streamed down his face, his lungs burning with each breath, as if the air had turned into molten iron.

"You think this is good?"

Leo asked casually, pointing one of his daggers towards the man, as his eyes narrowed with quiet disdain.

"The pressure I gave off earlier was the trace amount I could not control," he said, his voice calm and conversational, as if he were explaining a basic concept to a confused student.

"That tiny fraction is the reason I cannot see my kids without hurting them.

Which has also become a source of great personal humiliation for me….."

He confessed, as the Lieutenant stared at him like he was a monster in human skin, unable to understand how anyone could refer to such oppressive force as a mere trace.

"However," Leo continued, his tone shifting ever so slightly as a sharp glint appeared in his eyes, "the pressure you are feeling now is about sixty percent of what I am capable of. And I am proud of it."

Leo explained, as a terrifying chill ran straight down the Lieutenant's spine.

"S… sixty percent…?"

He managed to croak out, as the muscles in his legs trembled involuntarily.

Leo's smile widened, though there was no warmth in it, only a predatory amusement.

"Yes. Sixty percent," he confirmed, tilting his head slightly. "Because my one hundred percent… feels like this."

*FWOOM*

He declared, as his aura surged yet again, causing the already heavy air to turn absolutely suffocating, as if a giant invisible hand had descended over the entire area and pressed down with ruthless, unrelenting force.

*CHOKE*

*THUD*

*CROAK*

At this point, master tier warriors who had somehow remained conscious under sixty percent dropped bonelessly to the ground, eyes rolling back as they collapsed into unconsciousness, their bodies sprawled in limp piles around the crater.

The weaker Grandmasters followed soon after, their knees smashing into the dirt as they clutched their chests, minds going blank as their wills crumbled under the overwhelming pressure.

While even the sturdier Grandmasters were forced to hunch over, their breaths coming in ragged gasps, as several of them spat blood from the strain of merely not collapsing completely.

While for the Transcendent Lieutenant, his right knee finally buckled as his body sank halfway toward the ground, one hand bracing against the earth as he shook violently, the veins around his eyes darkening as if they might burst.

"What insane pressure…"

He rasped, each word dragged painfully from his throat, as Leo walked toward him with unhurried steps, the sound of his boots crunching against the gravel oddly clear amidst the chorus of strained breathing and stifled groans.

The soldiers could only watch.

Some lay flat, pinned down by nothing but aura, unable to even lift their heads. Others knelt or crouched, bodies trembling as they tried to raise their weapons, yet their arms felt like lead, their instincts screaming at them to run, even though their bodies refused to move.

"M… monster…"

The Lieutenant whispered, his eyes wide with disbelief and horror, as he met Leo's indifferent gaze looking down at him.

However, Leo only smiled at that phrase, as if it were exactly what he wanted to hear.

"Thank you for the compliment."

He said softly, as his dagger flashed once.

*SHLICK*

The blade cut cleanly through the Lieutenant's neck, his head separating in one smooth motion as a thin arc of blood traced the air, before both pieces of him collapsed to the ground in opposite directions, as the dance of death finally began.