Encounter with Assassin

A lone tree stands tall at the edge of the merchant town. Its branches wide, hidden from the world below.

High above, nestled in its crooked limbs—Ryu half sleeps like always, back against the bark, arms crossed, one leg hanging, cloak wrapped like a cocoon.

His eyes snap open.

He blinks once.

Then moves.

In one smooth motion, he drops from the branch—landing silently on both feet. The town lies just beyond the trees.

Ryu (murmurs):"...Morning already."

He stretches once. The sun peeks through clouds.

EXT. MERCHANT PLAZA – MID-MORNING

Elrik leans against a stone post near the fountain—arms folded, expression unimpressed.

His assistant waits behind him, adjusting a list of contacts for today's meetings.

Elrik taps his foot.

Elrik:"You're late."

Ryu steps from the crowd, calm, face unreadable.

Ryu (flat):"I got lost."

Elrik (snorts):"...You got lost?"

Ryu:"Yeah."

A pause.

Elrik raises an eyebrow—deciding whether or not to be annoyed. Then he just laughs.

Elrik:"You got lost. In this town. The one with not that many streets."

Ryu shrugs.

Elrik (mock sighs):"Whatever. Let's move. The textile idiots are first."

They begin walking again—Ryu one step behind.

EXT. BUSY MARKET STREET – LATER

They pass through alleys and narrow lanes, making stops.

Elrik speaks fast, negotiates faster—charisma and ego fused into every word.

Ryu walks silent. Watching. Always watching.

Between deals, Elrik glances sideways.

Elrik:"So... are you ever gonna carry a weapon?"

Ryu (without turning):"...I don't need one."

Elrik:"That's not creepy at all."

(beat)

"You planning to punch dragons to death or something?"

Ryu (quiet):"Maybe."

Ryu puts a finger on his chin and imagine himself punching Yizorushi

Elrik lets out a low laugh—but it fades as he studies Ryu more carefully.

They pause near a stall.

Elrik:"You're what... twenty-five? Thirty?"

Ryu:"Seventeen." (17)

Elrik blinks.

Looks again.

Elrik (low):"...Seventeen?"

(beat)

"Gods. What kind of warzone did you crawl out of to look like that?"

Ryu says nothing.

Just the same unreadable silence. The same storm behind his gaze.

Elrik looks at him—longer this time. Like he wants to ask more. Like he realizes this isn't a game anymore.

After Few hours of Elrik work.

They go through a narrow alley

Ryu walks behind Elrik, who's distracted reading a scroll.

Then—

Thunk.

A dagger embeds itself in the wall beside Ryu's head.

He reacts instantly.

Snatches a wooden pallet from the side and raises it just as another dagger slams into it.

Ryu (low, cold):"…Ambush."

Six figures drop into the alley from above—silent, masked, swift. Their movements practiced. Precise.

Gray cloaks. Masked Faces.

B-rank assassins. Surrounding them.

Then—Mirel steps out. No cloak. No mask. Her black hair tied back, eyes glinting.

She stops a few steps in front of Ryu. Hands behind her back like this is a game.

Mirel (smiling):"Nice outfit. The noble kid's taste?"(beat)"Time to surrender. RedDeath."

Ryu doesn't blink. Instead—he grabs Elrik by the back of his collar.

Elrik (panicked):"Wha—!?"

Ryu:"Close your eyes."

He hurls Elrik into the air.

At the same time, three daggers fly upward—all aiming for Elrik mid-air.

Ryu flicks his hands—Three black fire bullets shoot out, burning the weapons mid-flight.

He lands back in a low stance.

Ryu (thinking):"Six Elite Assassins. Plus her. I'm outnumbered.""I can handle twenty—maybe thirty—regular soldiers.""But not this. Not with him here.""If he dies… they'll all blame me."

He charges.

Slides forward with a low black-flame kick, the trail sparking across the ground.

The assassins leap back, precise.

Mirel grins, blocking his follow-up punch effortlessly.

Mirel:"Fast."

Ryu doesn't answer. He sprints, Elrik now under his arm like a sack.

Mirel follows.

She punches—a blur—and Ryu tilts his head just enough. The blow grazes.

He jumps sideways off the wall, twists in the air, and wraps his legs around an assassin's neck—SNAP.a single burst. The man's body seizes.

He drops limp.

Mirel's smile widens."Oho… you're better than I thought."

Another dagger flies. Ryu blocks it—but a second blade pierces his upper arm.

He does not flinch—just keeps running.

Assassin:

 "Doesn't he feel pain?"

Elrik (shouting):"You're hurt!"

Ryu:"Shut up."

Mirel raises her hand."Do not lose his track"

The assassins halt. Blend into shadows again.

Ryu doesn't stop running until he's clear of the alley—turns the next corner And enters a empty storage—then drops Elrik gently onto the ground.

Elrik collapses, breath ragged. Eyes wide. Hands shaking.

Elrik (staring at him):"…What the hell… who were they?"(beat)"…Who the hell are you?"

Ryu (low):"Alive?"

Elrik (nods, trembling):"Y-Yeah…"

Ryu (monotone):"Good. Let's keep it that way."

He just pulls the dagger out of his arm—tosses it aside.

Ryu:

 "It probably has venom"

Elrik:

"Shouldn't you go to a healer or a doctor"

Ryu doesn't answer. His eyes are already scanning the rafters, the corners, the cracks in the air.

Then—

WHOOOM

Ryu swings a fist into empty space.

A shockwave hums through the hall—rattling nails, snuffing the lantern.

From the darkness—

MIREL steps out of the shadows like mist peeling back. Her face—briefly shocked.

Mirel (low):"…You saw me?"

FLASHBACK – YEARS AGO – LAKE IN THE HELL FOREST

Child Ryu, maybe 9 years old, sits cross-legged on a rock, squinting hard at a still lake. His white hair is shorter. His face is more innocent.

Yizo:"Close your eyes. Feel the world—not through your skin, but through your mana."

Ryu closes his eyes tight. Straining. His fists clench.

A beat.

Suddenly—

FRTPPPPTT.

Yizo lifts an eyebrow. Ryu opens one eye, cheeks flushed.

RYU:"I felt something! Did it work?"

Yizo (deadpan):"No, idiot. You farted."

Ryu pouts.

YIZO (grinning):"But at least you're trying. Now—again. This time, don't blow wind from the wrong place."

Cut to—

FLASHBACK CONTINUES – MINUTES LATER

Ryu relaxes. This time, silent. Breathing.

The wind rustles grass.

A deer steps into the clearing—Ryu doesn't open his eyes, but lifts a finger, pointing right at it.

Yizo (soft):"There. Now you're doing it."

BACK TO PRESENT —

Ryu's eyes meet Mirel's.

RYU (cold):"Shadow magic won't help."

MIREL (quietly impressed):"...You really are trained."

She lunges.

Ryu meets her mid-air. A flurry of motion—fist against dagger, elbow against arm. He pivots low, dodging a stab and sweeping her legs—but she flips backward, sliding on her heels.

From above—FIVE AGENTS drop from the ceiling.

Daggers fly.

Ryu grabs Elrik by the collar and hurls him upward—past the beams, above the blades.

In one motion, Ryu coils his arm in black flames that flows into his arms, He closes his first and compresses mana inside of it.

BOOM.

Compressed black flame bursts from his fist.

It hits a thrown dagger midair—detonating in flame.

Agent (staggering):"What—?"

Ryu spins, ducks, and punches the floor.

KRRRAK—!!

The floorboards beneath the agents explode in black fire and half of the building explodes.

Two assassins vanish in the blast—torn apart by the sheer pressure.

Smoke. Screams.

Ryu vanishes into it, dragging Elrik through the burning crates.

INT. ALLEY – MOMENTS LATER

Ryu stumbles out of the smoke, cloak half-burned, carrying Elrik on his back.

He disappears down a side street—gone.

Ryu (thinking):

If it were just her—I'd win. But five? No. And this boy… I can't let him die.

BACK INSIDE – STORAGE HALL – SMOKY RUINS

Mirel watches the flames crackle. Her expression unreadable.

An agent limps beside her, blood on his sleeve.

AGENT:"...He took out two. While protecting the boy."

MIREL (quietly):"He could've killed four. Maybe five. But he held back."

(beat)

"He's stronger than me."

She crouches beside a scorch mark. Touches the wood—burned perfectly clean.

MIREL:"Mana control is beyond refined. And fire affinity like that... black flames."

She stands.

MIREL (smiling):"…Good thing I didn't come alone."

She turns to her agents.

MIREL:"We got what we came for. His power level. Fighting style. Magic."

AGENT (nervous):"...Should we pursue?"

MIREL (softly):"No."

(beat)"He knew when to run. That makes him dangerous."

She kneels again—dragging gloved fingers along a burn mark.

MIREL (half-whispered):"And that stare. Like he was ready to behead all of us."

She exhales. The grin returns.

Colder this time.

MIREL:"He didn't run because he was scared."

(beat)

"He ran because he was thinking ahead."

A long silence. The flames hiss.

MIREL (turns to her agents):"Log the engagement. All of it. Magic type. Output. Reactions. Timings."

(beat)

"And find out where he came from."

She pauses at the threshold of the broken building.

MIREL (grinning now, whispering to herself):"…You're not prey."

Her smile fades just slightly—eyes serious now.

MIREL:"…You're a problem."

She disappears into shadow.

EXT. ABANDONED DRAIN TUNNELS – NIGHT

Far beneath the merchant district—muddy, forgotten tunnels. The only sound is the slow drip of water and the crackle of Ryu's still-cooling aura.

Ryu crouches beside Elrik, who sits against a wall—wide-eyed, shaking, ash smudged on his cheek.

Elrik (breathless):

"...They were going to kill me."

(beat)

"And you—"

Ryu is silent. He rips a torn piece of cloth from his sleeve and begins wrapping the wound on his arm.

Elrik stares at the mark where the dagger had pierced.

Elrik:

"That… black fire. That wasn't normal magic, was it?"

(beat)

"Who are you?"

Ryu doesn't look at him.

Ryu (quietly):

"No one you need to know."

Elrik (frustrated):

"I do need to know! You just leveled half a building—while holding me like a sack of rice!"

Ryu tightens the cloth.

Ryu:

"You're still breathing. That's what matters."

Elrik:

"Yeah, because you kept me alive."

(beat)

"...Why?"

Ryu finally looks at him.

His expression isn't cold. Just tired. Old. Like someone who's fought too long with no real reason.

Ryu:

"Because if I let you die… I'd make enemies I'm not ready to fight yet."

Elrik (blinks):

"...That's it?"

Ryu shrugs.

Ryu:

"It's enough."

Elrik shakes his head slowly, trying to laugh—but it comes out shaky and hollow.

Elrik:

"You're insane. I hire a bodyguard… and end up being protected by a living weapon."

(beat)

"You are human, right?"

Ryu doesn't respond.

Instead, he lifts his head—eyes narrowing.

A tremor runs through the air.

His senses pulse outward like sonar.

Ryu (low):

"They'll come again. Not tonight. But soon."

Elrik (bitter laugh):

"Great. That's comforting."

The fire on Ryu's skin has cooled. The wound is dressed. Elrik breathes slower now. Still pale, but calmer.

A silence stretches between them.

Drip… drip… drip…

Finally, Elrik speaks.

Elrik (flat):

"So that's it? You saved me because it was... tactical?"

Ryu leans against the damp tunnel wall, one eye still scanning the dark.

Ryu:

"It wasn't personal."

Elrik (gritting teeth):

"Well, it felt pretty damn personal when I was dodging blades meant for my neck."

A beat. Then—

Elrik (exhaling):

"…But I get it."

He opens a pouch from his belt. A small clink of coins. Then another. Then another. A whole satchel.

He tosses it. It lands beside Ryu's foot.

Elrik:

"Triple the rate. No haggling."

Ryu looks at it. Doesn't move.

Elrik (firm):

"You kept me alive. That buys more than gold, but it's what I have."

Ryu doesn't look at the satchel.

He looks at Elrik.

Just long enough to make him shift slightly under the gaze.

Then, finally, Ryu speaks.

Ryu (quiet):"You talk too much."

Elrik (snorts):"And you talk too little. Somehow, we're still alive."

A pause. The sound of water echoes deeper in the tunnel.

Elrik (softer now):"...You're more than what I expected. A lot more."

(beat)

"I don't know who sent them. But I'll find out."

Ryu:"That's not your war."

Elrik:"Maybe not. But they made it my problem when they aimed at my head."

(beat)

"You don't survive in business by ignoring warnings."

Ryu says nothing. He kneels, picks up the satchel.

Elrik (nods once):"Good."

He turns to leave, boots echoing faintly against stone.

Then he stops.

Looks over his shoulder—eyes sharp, but no longer mocking.

Elrik:"Well... I wish you luck, Ryu."

(beat)

"We might meet again."

Ryu doesn't answer and walk away

Ryu: "True we might meet again."

EXT. BURNED WAREHOUSE RUINS – NIGHT

The wind whistles low through the scorched skeleton of the warehouse. Charred beams creak overhead. The smoke is gone, but the air still carries its scent—ash and fire.

Ryu steps through the wreckage, boots crunching softly over blackened wood and broken tile.

No bodies.

No blood.

No trace of the assassins he killed.

Only silence.

He crouches where one of them fell—his hand brushes over the floor. Smooth. Clean. Too clean.

Ryu (low):"...So you came back."

(beat)

"Didn't want to leave any evidence behind."

He stands.

His cloak flutters faintly in the breeze.

He scans the debris once more—and then his eye catches something.

A piece of parchment. Half-buried beneath a broken crate.

He pulls it free.

Dusts it off.

Flicks it open.

Just a few bold letters at the top—written in crimson ink.

"RED"(beat)"DEATH"

Ryu stares at the words.

No expression. But his eyes narrow—just slightly.

Ryu (quietly):"...So that's what they're calling me now."

The paper rustles in his hand.

Then—

FADE TO BLACK.

[END OF CHAPTER]