Assassin Obstacle Course (7)

The red swords pointed their tips at them and shot off faster than last time. The assassins saw this coming, so they were able to dodge one or two, but not all of them. This time, they increased their fire resistance with a spell and strengthened their barriers, but direct impact still left a burn wound behind. There was no time for treatment as the few remaining swords flew at them, but there was enough distance between them so that they could strike the swords beforehand with spells or projectiles. However, they weren't the only ones that could adapt. Before colliding with the projectiles and spells, the red swords swerved out of the way and continued towards them.

This was completely unexpected so the assassins were late to react to the red swords, each earning a gruesome red burn on one of their arms in return. They didn't release a single scream, but looked at Dull Harmony with bewilderment in their eyes. They couldn't believed that a tesora-rank artifact could be this powerful and versatile, and they were right. Shui might have been a genius, but an artifact with that level of autonomous ability was above his current skill level. The only reason why Dull Harmony could function so well, was because it was made to perfectly fit Emily.

Even without her conscious input, the sword could respond to her subconscious impulses. This was why it attacked anyone who tried to do harm to her while she was unconscious. However, by consciously wishing to help the sword kill her enemies, she was able control the small red swords. Even if her cultivation wasn't strong enough to use it, her soul had the qualification.

Unaware that they had helped her improve in her use of the artifact, the assassins examined their options and determined that their best choice was to use their full power. The duke's assassin burnt his blood essence, while the Tower assassin was cloaked in an ominous shadow. As she sensed the sharp increase in the pressure that came at her, Emily sent more red swords at them, but it did not stop their charge. They dodged what they could but endured the sensation of sizzling flesh left by the explosion of a red sword as they dashed towards her.

Emily didn't want to take the risk of relying on her barrier of unknown durability to defend against these attacks, but she wasn't fast enough to escape either. Even so, it wasn't like she had seen the limit of Dull Harmony yet. Responding to her defensive intent, the remaining red swords were sucked back into the sword and replaced with small golden swords which spun around her. Emily entrusted herself to the sword; she had no other choice. She stood firm and waited for the assassins to use their full power against her. This time, their weapons were stopped by a translucent shell created by the golden swords, and two of the swords were consumed.

The assassins noticed the decrease in the golden swords so they continued attacking, but only full powered strikes could consume golden swords and the time it took them to use such strikes was equivalent to the time Dull Harmony needed to produce new golden swords, so a deadlock seemed to be created. However, Emily realized that this was an opportunity. Not even the force from their attacks reached her, so instead of enduring, she pushed forward and ran past them. If her cultivation was higher then she would also be able to shoot red swords at them while she fled, but in this case she had to focus on running.

Unfortunately, the assassins were quick-witted. Even if they could not damage her, one of them grabbed her with a rope artifact and began dragging her back. Emily stomped her feet as freedom got farther, but surprisingly, her stomp was accompanied by a sigh.

"Looks like I have to work after all."

Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of red light that blinded everyone for a moment. Once the light faded, there was a stunning beauty in red standing next to Emily. However, no matter how much her appearance resembled humans, anyone who looked into her eyes would get the feeling that she was different.

Emily's chest was filled with awe as she saw her, but the assassins felt chilly under her gaze. They didn't know who she was or how she appeared, but it was clear what side she stood on.

While the assassins prepared to face this new foe, she glanced at the rope that was tied around Emily's golden shell, and then, it snapped. More precisely, a flame suddenly appeared and incinerated a small section of the rope. Even so, she was the only one who knew how it was done. To the rest, the rope was cut after she glanced at it, so it seemed more plausible that she cut it faster than they could see. Regardless, whatever she did to mess with the rope was outside the norms.

"Are you okay?"

When the woman spoke, Emily lost any suspicions she had. Despite her strong soul, Emily couldn't stop the inconspicuous wave that slipped past her mental defense. Furthermore, the woman wasn't doing this on purpose, this was just the effect of her nature.

Fortunately, Emily was better than most and she had Dull Harmony, so she was able to regain a bit of her reason and respond.

"Uh, yes."

"That's good. I wouldn't want him to blame me for not keeping my word."

Emily wondered who the woman was talking about, but before she could ask, she found her body floating upwards.

"Take care."

Naturally, the assassins tried to stop Emily from being flown away, but one glare from the woman froze them in place. No matter how much they struggled, they could not resist her.

Once Emily was safely sent away, the woman sighed and brushed her vibrant red hair with her palm.

"I don't have the energy to waste on you two, so I'll let my new friends do it instead."

The assassins were already fighting against her natural charm breaking down their mental defenses while enduring the pressure of her gaze, but then they sensed an alarming number of people converging at this point. Furthermore, they were not coming because she called for them, but because they were aware of her presence.

"Goddess."

No matter how many tragedies they had seen, nothing freaked out the assassins more than being surrounded by what seemed to be a strange group with a fanatic look in their eyes. There were men and women of various ages and cultivations, even mortals, but this diverse group was unified by their faith in the woman standing before them. She hadn't intended for this to happen when she explored Paraj on the first day, but after a series of coincidences and misunderstandings stemming from her doing whatever she wanted, she had become their goddess.

However, she had already experienced the stress of being an active deity so she had planned to stay away from them, but they were more suited to be used here so she made a compromise.

"Thank you for coming everyone. Could you please kill these two for me?"

"If that is your divine will, then consider it done."

They seemed to be a bit too in sync, but the woman wasn't worried about that. The strongest among them were also in the Sky Realm, but they weren't a match for the assassins individually so if she left them on their own, causalities were guaranteed. That would inspire unnecessary karma so she continued suppressing them to the extent that they could barely release ten percent of their power.

'This should be enough, right Shui?'

Watching as her believers bullied the two assassins, Alia yawned.